#none of it makes any sense of Reeve is piloting him at all times it just doesn’t. why did anything in temple of the ancients happen the way

[sarellathesphinx]

My biggest character flaw is that every time I see something about abt Cait being just a robot without his own personality, I can’t help writing a tag novel about how much I refuse to accept it

[popculturebuffet]

Lightyear of Two Worlds Part 2 of 2: Lightyear: The Toy Story that Shoudln't of Been a Toy's Story. (Comissoned by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy space rangers and welcome back to Lightyear of Two Worlds, my look at Disney's two very different attempts at defictionalizing the media that lead to the Buzz Lightyear toyline in the world of toy story.

Last week we looked at the pilot for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, which is awesome and it's absence from Disney+ continues to be one of the biggest examples of Disney Logic I have ever seen, keeping a series off the platform to honor the wishes of Sexual Harassment John Lassiter, who they fired for said harassment and whose now bafflingly working at competition because someone was stupid and selfish enough to hire him.

So with Pixar actively trying to forget BLOSC despite being a critical and commercial hit loved by many, it does make sense they'd take another stab at it and that stab is really why we're here: Lightyear, the latest Pixar Film at the time, their first theatrical release since Covid… and the first since Soul to not be warmly received, ending Pixar's hot streak it was on.

As you can guess this was far from their most popular film: Toy Story fans dislike it for not really fitting at all as the movie the Buzz Lightyear Toyline came from, replacing the beloved BLOSC, and being yet another mediocre addition to the franchise after the divisive Toy Story 4 aka the only toy story film I haven't seen at the time of this review out of sheer disinterest. And you have to work pretty hard to not make me want to watch a film with Keanu Reeves, Annie Pots, Christina Hendricks, Kegan Micheal Key, and Jordan Peele all in one place. Just saying. General fans didn't like it for assuming it was an attempt to MCUify Toy Story and start a new cinematic universe, which it wasn't any of those things, and fans of Soul, Luca and Turning Red were livid that none of these films got a theatrical release but THIS did. And…

Soul at least got a huge Christmas Day release, competing directly with the highly disappointing and previously reviewed Wonder Woman 84, and giving families something to watch on Christmas, giving it the closest to a theatrical release Disney could mid-pandemic and doing so for both smart commercial and genuinely kind reasons. Luca and Turning Red… both just kinda got released because the pandemic was still very bad for Children and was having a new wave and could've simply been delayed so those are less understandable. Turning Red especially given it clearly wasn't to keep Lightyear in it's place and what i've seen of it is excellent and I intend to finish it, I just made the mistake of trying to watch it while very tired already and felt it deserved my full attention and energy. And the more I unpacked all of this as I prepared to watch the film, watched the film and tried to write this review MULTIPLE times but Tumblr done ate it, the more intresting things became and the more I was excited to cover it. Lightyear may not be pixar's best film, but it's a throughly intresting one to unpack both for what it does right, where it failed, and where Disney and the films own director failed it. So join me to infinity and beyond as I take this verison of buzz otu of the package and see what works and what needs to be sent back to the factory for repairs.

What Does That Mean I Ask You? Before we can get into the actual film we have to get into it's marketing.. which is one of the things I felt hurt it the most. For starters while the first trailer is majestic as hell, showing off the film's gorgeous animation and using one of my favorite songs from the Late, Great David Bowie, Starman, in one of the best ways i've seen, it was also maddeningly vague, as was the films marketing marketing it as "not a prequel but the origin of the REAL Buzz Lightyear that inspired the toy"

It was a question everyone has as what it actually was in relation to Toy Story, an alternate universe, a reboot, a cabin in the alps, was VERY unclear and no one could give a straight answer. And in hindsight… there is NO reason they couldn't have. The film is meant to be the in universe film, the first of a trilogy at least in the Toy Story Universe, that inspired the Buzz Lightyear toyline, the movie that Andy loved enough to want a Buzz Lightyear figure more than anything. I will NEVER get why simply saying that was so difficult for the film's crew and Chris Evans himself. I mean in the real world it's basically a reboot of Buzz as an actual space ranger and not a living toy, and in fiction it's a movie. That's all you had to say. I managed to lay it out in a sentence. The film itself lays it out in the opening text: In 1995, a boy named Andy got a Buzz Lightyear toy for his birthday. It was from his favorite movie. This is that movie. Were they trying to hide that to avoid controversy, trying to build up mystery, trying to use it as part of a complicated heist?

It's some of the dumbest marketing i've seen… and just yesterday I found out the cover to the Plesantville soundtrack is this

Which is somehow less confusing than this choice. You had the perfect, simple explination of it, the perfect marketing line IN THE FILM ITSELF. WHY DID YOU TAKE SO LONG TO USE IT

This is Disney Logic at it's purest: not doing the obvious things for reasons only known to the unkonwable cosmic entity that lives in the disney boardroom and makes most of their decisions lest descenters be sent into the void. It's understandable people weren't really excited about the film when the marketing was confusing. You can be vauge about something and still get people hyped, Jordan Peele is a master at this, keeping his movies tight lipped since their built on sizeable twists and suspense, but this was trying to do that and instead steping of a field of rakes. And speaking of stepping on a filed of rakes let's talk about this being the in universe film that inspired the Buzz Lightyear Toyline shall we?

This FIlm Makes No Goddamn Sense as a Film In the Toy Story Universe I could leave it at the title but this is something that utterly baffled me and continues to. While Lightyear works okay as a film, as THE film that inspired the Buzz Toyline and, according to it's director, BLOSC, it is laughably nonsensical. Not as much as the films marketing but stil VERY close. I knew from just from research that this was going to need it's own section.

See the IDEA of making Buzz a movie instead of a tv show isn't bad. The director, Angus Maclane described it as "What if we made the movie that inspired the Buzz Lightyear Toy and made it awesome". And for all the faults with the film Maclane wasn't a bad choice: This isn't his first time with Toy Story having directed my personal faviorite of the Post Toy Story 3 shorts, Small Fry, in which a happy meal toy of buzz ties up our buzz and tries to replace him. The sheer hilarity of this tiny big headed toy trying to swagger in while no one remotely buys it (and only fake it so they can go find the real buzz), while Buzz is forced to deal with a support group for abandoned toys is amazing and still one of my faviorite toy story things. Angus also directed Toy Story of Terror, an excellent special. He knew the franchise and clearly does love it, to the point that despite the frequent burials of star command it not only inspired the film a bit, but he still treid to fit it into the verse when he didn't really have to nor Disney didn't care if it lived or died. It dosen't quite work in that regard and i'll get to that, but he still tried.

The idea is good, and honestly Buzz , while making a tiny bit more sense as a tie in to a tv show, still makes perfect sense as a movie tie in: the 90's were RIFE with movie toylines, to the point the lost in space movie i'm sure 80% of you didn't even know existed and which somehow shares a plot point with this movie had a MASSIVE toyline, one I almost forgot happened till I stumbled across one in package at a thrift store. They would give any movie a toyline and given Angus says the LIghtyear film got two sequels to make it a trilogy, and that Star Wars had a big toyline in the 90's to go with the relreases, it did make sense.

The problem is despite Angus saying that was the idea… Lightyear never REMOTELY comes off as the kind of movie that would've promoted the toys we see in the Toy Story movies. Lightyear.. isn't a star wars or star trek style space opera.. it's a hard sci fi story about guilt, lost time, and moving on. It's a pretty great story, one i'll get into the meat of soon enough, but it's not the kind of cheesy but still damn cool space opera like Star Wars or Star Trek that Buzz was clearly supposed to be, nor that kids would buy the merch for.

As my good friend Jess said as we watched this as I needed a copilot, this makes more sense as an in universe reboot of the Buzz Lightyear franchise than the original film. And I agree. It would've still kept what they were going for but worked much better. Out of universe.. this film IS a reboot and clearly trying to take a goofy property dead seriously. It fits more with modern sensibilities and is written and designed that way. If they wanted to make a reboot or make a cheesy 80's or 90's style sci fi flick that still kicked ass, either was viable but by trying to do both it fails. And that's not even getting into the fact that Buzz' best friend being openly gay and having an onscreen kiss disney SHOCKINGLY tried to cut out before sheepishly reinserting it for florida shaped reasons.

There's also a TON of little things that just don't add up: Buzz' ship doesn't look a ton like the classic one, Zurg looks and acts NOTHING like the one we see in Toy Story 2 in toy or in the video games, and Buzz really doesn't look a ton like it. It just takes you out of the movie trying to figure out how the hell this movie came out in kayfabe 1995 and drags the film down slightly as a result. Onc eagain, easy solution in sight, stupid solution taken instead lest get sent to the void. We Should Be On By Now

So we've gotten into why the movie dosen't make a lick of sense in the Toy Story universe.. but what is it as a movie? What it is is honestly pretty good. While it has some flaws, we'll get to those the core of the film is a moving, high concept sci fi piece. The Film is a character piece, one centered around Buzz.. and the greatest mistake of his life. We see this mistake at the start of the film: Buzz is a Space Ranger, part of Star Commands mission to explore new worlds to settle on and explore. Buzz's job alongside his best friend and commanding officer Alisha is to check out these worlds ahead of time to see if their habitable before waking the science team. I find it neat this is done in resonable shifts: make sure ther'es a reason to stay and not a ton of hostile critters, then thaw out science team to likely check for toxins and other hidden dangers that Space Rangers prelimnary scans might have missed.

America's Ass Chris Evans and Uzo Aduba who unsuprisingly is playing someone who tries to find a way to save the day because that's who she is. Both are excellent. Evans admitely stumbles in this first act, which has a bit more comedy and most of it not landing, that has Buzz more like he is as a toy and patrick warburton: a tad hammy and jokey. It clashes with the more serious tone of the rest of th efilm and thankfully once we're past that Evans slips into the roll far better and plays the comedy scens like we know we can. Uzo is just great from start to finish as she always is when she shows up in a work, and plays Alisha as the compitent commander and compassionate but needed check to Buzz' love of protocol and obsessive need "finish the mission". THey have great chemistry and you really feel like they've been friends for a LONG time and this is just one adventure of many. I was also shocked to be reminded by Wikipedia this WASN'T Evan's first voice role: He played Casey Jones , and did a decent job if memory serves, in the excellent 2007 TMNT movie. He was also in Battle For Terra which I honestly forgot existed and probably will after this review finishes.

Things go bad fast though and all thanks to Buzz: His refusal to really work with a rookie they brought leaves him open to the planets living plants, and they quickly find out this planet is hostile as hell and try to leave. An engine failure and Buzz' half assed attempts to land with no help seal their fate and leave the crew stranded.

This is the moment I talked about and it's telling Buzz's first instict is to handcuff himself and insist he be court martialed, recognizing his ego and overconfidence has trapped hundreds of people on a hostile world with no easy way off as they'd need to try and synthize the crystals that make warp flight possible. It shows Buzz not only took his horrible mistake hard, but that he's geninely repentant. Alisha wisely get shim to pivot, using Buzz' sense of duty to point out the mission isn't done: They need to set up a colony so they can sythisze the fuel needed to find some way out of this.. and they need Buzz to both make sure they get that far and to do the flight work It's a heartwarming well meaning gesture, Alisha not likely happy with the crash but understanding that beating up her friend over it may send him spiraling further and that by giving him a purpose, it'll have him put his guilt towards making up for his mistakes and instead of drowning in them. As a wise man once said

The problem is telling him to Finish The Mission.. also leaves Buzz using said phrase as an unhealthy coping mechanisim for his own guilt. To him the ONLY way he can ever forgive himself for what he's done to these people is getting them home. The ONLY thing that matters is making the fuel stable and no matter what it costs him he'll do it. It's all he has to hold onto.

And thus we get a decent twist and one the trailers hid: while the trailers did reveal the plot involves buzz ending up generations after his friend with her dead, I assumed it'd be, funnily enough a Captain America situation: Buzz goes forward, his friend is long gone and he's a man out of time. While he's a man out of time HOW it happens is something I never could've imagined but it's incredibly creative, heartbreaking and tragic: Buzz lands from his first failed test flight.. and finds the tech who helped him years older, having grown a beard.. and thinking Buzz was DEAD. Buzz lost four years of his life due to time dilation, a scientific principal often mused about in space flight and why the cryosleep was likely applied: While Buzz himself doesn't age everything around him does, so while for him it was likely a few hours, for everyone else it was four years. As such he lost those years, missing his best friend getting engaged to a wonderful woman she met. It's driven home painfully by the fact he's shocked it just happened.. only for Alisha to interject it was three years ago. They've been together that long and Buzz missed all of it

Buzz is given one of the best parts of the film to cope. To Star Command and Alisha's credit, they've prepared for things like this and thus Buzz is given a therapy robot, Sox, a cat robot voiced by Peter Sohn. If that name doesn't ring a bell it's fair: Sohn's mostly done small rolls like the mugger in incredibles and is more a behind the scenes man, with his directorial debut coming soon with the awesome looking Elemental. I assumed going in Socks was simple Disney mandated comic relief. And while part of that is true, he's very deadpan and very hilarious at times… he's also endearing, genuinely trying to help Buzz with his trauma and process things while Buzz is determined to do the flight again, keep going and Finish the Mission. In this trying time where he's lost so much time and is only going to loose more, Sox is a lifeline, doing research on the crystals between flights and being Buzz's support and friend. Buzz , while slightly annoyed by his robot buddy, does genuinely apricate his efforts. Sadly Buzz fails to see the lost time as something to mourn nor takes any time to regroup, get counseling that isn't a robot cat, or reflect: he instead pushes forward.. and the insuring montage is tearjerking. Buzz continues to loose year, after year, only seeing his best friends life in glimpses as she has a child with her partner, anniversaries and other events. Buzz gets to intend, as Alisha makes sure he's included.. but he looses so much. By focusing so much on his past mistake, a mistake that to him was just days ago, a mistake he never took the time to forgive himself for, he's missing the key fact: That everyone and everything else has moved on. What he did was a terrible blunder, yes. Him trying to make up for it for noble.. but letting his drive to do so consume him cost him a life.

He could've found a partner himself if he wanted to , help settle this world as his friend had, been a part of her joys and triumphs and been there for her children and grandchildren. Instead he's just a passing figure, a story she can tell them.. and when she finally passes of old age, he's not there for it. He lost his best friend and being a part of her life all because he coudlnt' get up.. and the sadest part is he STILL plans to keep going, not realizing that in the decades that have passed the mission is obsolete: generations have grown up here and while space flight COULD be useful, escaping..is no longer necessary. And you can see why Buzz dosne't realize this: in his dogged pursuit only months, maybe a year has passed for him while DECADES have gone on. Oceans rised, empires fell.. and he stayed the same, trapped in the worst moment of his life trying to make up for it long after said mistake has turned from a horrible surivival situation to simply the way things are.

The film tries to hammer this home with the new commander, Cal Burnside> The problem is Cal.. is the worst character in the film and would be the worst part if not for the. For starters shortly AFTER Buzz just found out his friend was dead he decides to just.. tell Buzz the missions' canceled, his work was for nothing and it's over. Now granted, I get why: like I said this is home. Cal had his WHOLE LIFE here from birth to now. I suspect the ONLY reason Buzz wasn't stopped sooner is Alisha coudln't bare to do that to her friend and likely planned to simply talk him down from escaping and find another use for space flight once he was done.

Cal however dosen't seem to Graps Buzz woudlnt want to give up that easy, to him only a year, if that has passed while decades have passed to him or you know get him a therapist to help him adjust to his new life. Canceling the project is fine but the callousness this bastard has for a man who just found out the one shot he felt he had at redpention is dead, his best friend is dead, and he has NOTHING left but his robot cat is MIND BOGGLING. Oh and because the missions over he plans to have said cat memory wiped and murdered.

So yeah I do not like this guy at all. He was clearly meant to be gruff but well meaning.. but comes off as an unempathetic ass not helped by trying to arrest buzz for taking off soon after… even though that's obviously what he'd do and maybe treating him like a criminal instead of TALKING TO HIM MORE would help. Cal really fails to grasp what Buzz is going througha nd while I get it, unlike Alisha he dosen't know the guy, you'd THINK a legendary hero who had been around for decades at this point and been doing this for so long woul dbe someone he'd at least read up on heavily or something he'd read the breifings for if Alisha left any. Sure she could've done nothing and this could be her fault.. but given Cal's impulsive, overly holden to the rules, needlessly if unteitonally cruel actions, i'm inclined to beleivie he woudln't of cared.

So Buzz takes off again and ends up a few weeks later, finding the city covered with a dome and under siege by the forces of Zurg, whose also taking an intrest in Buzz. The only help he has are the incredibly green cadets of the local base who happened to not be behind the city's shield, what Burnside pivoted research too, at the time and are trying to find some way to stop Zurg: Izzy, Alisha's enthuastic granddaughter whose a big fan of Buzz' played by the radiant Kiki Palmer, Mo, a nervous sort played by a criminally misused Taika Watiti and Darby, played by Dale Soules of orange is the new black, a convict doing this as community service. Buzz naturally given the weird rookie thing doesn't want to use them, but is of course forced to rely on them

The cadets are a mixed bag. THe whole having to rely on them thing feels contrived and done a thousand times before, and they feel like the most cliche part of a film that's mostly fairly clever in doing space stuff. That said Izzy and Darby ARE endearing: Izzy is cheerful, genuinely wants to help and get better, and wants to take her shot. l She's also helpful, pointing out the space rangers suits stealth functions when the group gets some and having come up with operation surprise party, the plan to defeat Zurg, herself. You can't help but like her as she struggles to earn her uncle's approval. Darby is less complex being the comic relief, but she's still useful and entertaining, casually hot wiring stuff for the crews needs, making fun quips and generally being what scientests call a hoot. Mo is the weak link: Watiti CAN be funnier and deeper than this as seen with What We Do In the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death and The Thor Films, but is wasted here on an underdeveloped cowardly guy stereotype

I do get why star command fans aren't fond of these guys though: Their, aside from Izzy, a weak substitute for strong characters with far better designs. Izzy is still great though an emotional bedrock that helps Buzz see the life Alisha had, that it may of not been what she was planning.. but she wouldn't trade it. A life well lived.

The Man Who Sold the World And it's around this time Buzz gets kidnapped by our main villian, Zurg, played by character actor i'm not too familiar with but does terrific here James Brolin. And it's here we get a twist MANY hated: Zurg.. is an older Buzz, one from another timeline who did land on time.. and was nearly arrested. Understandably bitter at Burnsides treatment of him after FINALLY mastering the fuel he sped off and ended up aging some.. and ended up in the past. The time dilation turned out to work both ways and provided Future Buzz an opportunity: go back to when the accident happen, stop it and prevent this timeline from ever happening. Admittedly we get one of the dumbest parts of the film as Future Buzz just.. found the Zurg equipment. There might be a real Zurg whose shit he stole, the robots just call him that. It is impressively half assed, having the main villian just find this stuff instead of having Future Buzz' socks simply come up with the robots and ships. We know our Socks has been spending the decades studying the fuel and likely thus the ships himself, and givne he hacked star command to get the test flight going could probably do the same now covertly to get robot plans and anything Future Buzz needed. It's UTTERLY lazy in a film that's usually anything butt when it comes to it's plot.

That said while the "he found this stuff' thing is VERY stupid.. I have to admit.. I LOVE Future Buzz. Yes really. I get the hate to a point: evil future self isn't the newest thing with Hulk having done it brilliantly with Future Imperfect and the Maestro back in the 9's and other films like said Lost in Space and Lego Movie: The Second Part being brought up. But the thign is just because a trope HAS been done.. dosen't mean it can't work again. The way it's done here is better than how it seems for LIS, and is far different from Lego Movie 2. The motivations are different, the characterization is diffrent and the intent is different.

The reason Future Buzz works is he's the embodiment of our Main Buzz's obession with "finishing the mission'" Our Buzz has finally stopped long enough to see his guilt is no longer needed, that his friend had a full life as did everyone else and they created somethign wonderful out of a terrible situation: generations of families, a life well lived and a home.

Future Buzz, who yes I get is Zurg but is not really zurglike so it's easier to only call him that when I want to rather than all the dang time, never stopped. He never stopped thinking of the mission, never stopped trying, and only thought of that. And it's divergince that gives Buzz clarity: he realizes that if he does this, resets time anjd finally fixes his mistake he'll reach his goal: but Izzy , Mo, even Commander Douchecanoe will never exist and the good life Alisha had, the partner she met will never happen. All that will be gone.. and in the end when faced with getting what he want, with seemingly getting his redemption.. Buzz backs away. He's finally done one of the hardest things a person can do, a thing I struggle with when I fuck up, and perhaps why this film hit so hard: he forgives himself and lets his mistake go

Naturally there's more to this: Zurrg refuses to see reason and plans to still hard reset things, Buzz' crew save him, as does Future Socks who realizes his old friend has lost his way and invests in a new buzz.. before sadly getting killed by Zurg!Buzz for his betryal. An actiony and decent climax has had but for me the most important part is done: Buzz forgave himself , broke the cycle and finds a new future. Commander Steaming Bowl of Elephant Piss while arresting buzz depsite you know CLEARLY stopping Zurg

Reopens the Space Rangers, now dedicated to exploring nearbye systems with the perfected crystal and protecting their home from threats, with the Zurg incident having shown there's more out there. Our heroes head to infinity and beyond.. and Buzz finally embraces the future. It's a good ending and as you can see the plot.. really isn't that bad. I get Future Buzz being divisive, but to me it's a solid tale of living and guilt.. and moving past it to infinity and beyond The problem isn't future Buzz as a character: Brolin is fantastic and he's a perfect evil oppisite. The problem is the biggest one with the film

This Shoudln't Of Been A Toy Story The thing that holds the film back from being a true classic.. is that it's a Buzz Lighyear tale. on it's own it's fucking amazing and could've easily been a pixar sci fi movie about a man grappling with his mistakes. But the buzz bits grafted onto it don't take. The Space Ranger Uniforms for staters are too goofy for the tone: Buzz and co wear realistic nasa style uniforms when not in flight and Buzz has a realistic flight suit he uses for the tests. Their iconic outfits dont' get me wrong, but they just don't fit this movie with their gaudy color scheme and space age design. More importanntly though in connection to the toy versions.. it just dosen't work. Zurg is modernly redeisgned to be threatning, and isn't the hammy darth vader clone he was in Toy Story. As I said NONE of this makes sense as the original toy story. There's a clever bit here and there, the space ranger suits Mo and Darby use are the Blue and Red Variants used in the original toyline. I love that so much. But ultimately it just feels like a familiar IP Grafted onto a truly great story.

That's the tragedy here: This is a fairly decent film. It's not as bad as it's hate, but it's hampred by trying to be something it's not. It was assumed to be a star wars style action film but it's not. It was saddled with a lisence that only actively hurt it. If LIghtyear were just allowed to be a cool high concept sci fi film with some action, fun characters, and a truly deep core it'd work. As it stands, Lightyear is a flawed messy film that I still feel is woth a look. The three films before it are objectively better, again even with just maybe 20 minutes of Turning Red it's far more cohesive, personal and well thought out than this entire film, and the three after it, Elemental, Elio and Inside Out 2 look far more intresting, this flim dosen't really deserve to be remember as this hated failure it's become. It should be remembered at what it is: a mistake in making it a toy story film.. but a decent sci fi story about letting go of guilt all the same. Thanks for reading, follow for more, consider reading my patreon.. and as all three Buzzes would say, all deserving of the uniform, To Infinity, And Beyond.

[brothers-all]

Aru'e Tio'r (Enemy Within)

Whooooo guess who's still alive? ME! For now anyway. School is breathing down my neck, but I only have this next week left and then I AM FREE (assuming I passed all my tests that is) I am so sorry for the super late Update, especially since it feels kinda short for the wait, but I tried working on it as much as I could and I think it says a lot but not too much (which will be shown next time) SO yeah, I'm back! Hopefully, I'll be able to get my regular irregular updates up soon as well. And again, there's plenty of you lovely reviewers so I went from oldest to newest on my reply thingy.

Now, onwards to the thing you've all been waiting for! Hopefully there's still people left who read it. Also, this is where my own story for Rex's past comes into play, so if you haven't read it yet, feel free to do so - It's Aliit Ori'shya tal'din (Family is more than blood) but it's not really necessary to understand this story

[Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [Ch.9] [Ch.10] [Ch.11] [FanFic] [AO3] [Master-list]

More about the 112th [Standard Headcannons] [Happy Version]

Chapter 12

Despite how tired they were; they knew this would likely be the last battle. So, they pressed on. With reinforcements here as well, it made it bearable and probably the only reason they were still alive.

“They’re retreating!” the voice came over all the com. links and everyone relaxed ever so slightly. The Umbarans were leaving and the Separatists were destroyed. They’ve won.

“Cody, any luck with reaching the surface?” Obi-Wan asked, steadily flying back to the Negotiator. They won this battle, finally, but the war isn’t over.

“No, only static. We can’t reach anyone,” the worry in the Commander’s voice couldn’t be missed. And the feeling he was getting through the Force didn’t bode any better.

“We should get these men back on the ships – they deserve rest,” Kenobi glanced around at the pilots and saw their tired but relieved smiles.

“Perhaps-” Cody started, cutting himself off. Just as the General was going to prompt him to continue, he spoke again. “Perhaps we could send a small party down, to check on things? Maybe going there with a fresh communicator could break this static?” He didn’t sound like his usual self, less confidant, but given what was happening, it was understandable.

“I second that,” Tiin’s voice cut through as he flew closer to Obi-Wan. “We need to organize with ground forces as soon as able.”

“It’s settled then,” Kenobi gave a small grin. “Cody, take a squad of your best men and see what’s happening down there. Report back as soon as you are able.”

“Waxer, Boil! Get the boys organized – we’re heading to the surface!” Cody called as he briskly walked through the ship. He needed experts – Umbara was no place for rookies. Trapper and Hunt are a must and he was hoping Nighteye was feeling better.

“Sir!” the duo quickly saluted and scurried off in a rush to tell the others. They’ve all been itching for a fight and some action, but they weren’t fools – they need to be ready for anything down there.

“Hang on brothers, we’re on our way.”

As Reeve stepped out the tent again, he let out a sad and trembling sigh. He hadn’t meant to do that - to tell them everything like that. He was supposed to be better than that. And yet… And yet he too was broken and looked to these men as heroes, as guides to something better and something more. And maybe, maybe he wanted them to understand, to see just how bad things were here. Maybe he wanted to let it all out, all the pain and suffering he’s felt since everything had gone to hell. After all, he was broken as well…

“Captain?” his eyes snapped up at the voices and he saw three brothers standing there, looking anxious and worried. Then again, when didn’t any of them look that way?

“Yes?” his voice was stuffy and weak so he cleared his voice and straightened his back. He remembers these three - they’re a bit younger than him, but older than most here. And there were five of them, back then… He remembers one of theirs was the first to take his own life rather than wait for Krell to do so. Many more followed.

“Is - is it true? That, they’re from the 501st?” their eyes were wide and hoping and he didn’t know why.

“Yes,” was his simple answer. He can’t blame them from hoping - who wouldn’t want to meet their hero? Someone they looked up to so much. “Go in if you want, just don’t overwhelm them, okay?”

“Thank you sir!” their lips formed weak smiles, but smiles nonetheless. When was the last time any of them had really been able to smile?

“Is this everyone?” Ahsoka asked, looking at the gathered soldiers. Many were tired and wounded, and those able, took watch over their small resting spot. They needed a camp and fast.

“Yes. About 50 made it, the rest either captured or dead,” Appo’s voice was cold and curt, but she sensed the anger and sadness from the Force around him.

“We need to find a defensible spot and soon - we got lucky no Umbaran’s attacked us so far,” Kano said, looking around at the men.

“I need to know,” Tano stared up at them, eyes hard, “what happened here.” It wasn’t a question.

“...We’ll explain everything as we move,” Appo seemed to promise, but the pain in his tone made her question it. Just how much would they really tell?

“Then we better get moving…”

“Hey… Hey! Heeeey!” he heard someone calling, but it was like he was underwater. What happened?

“Cut it out! Let him sleep,” a shove, a grunt and a snicker. He knew those voices.

“He’s usually the first one up…” a third one now, and they sounded closer.

“Rough week – it’s understandable,” a fourth one and he swallowed hard to keep his panic in control. This can’t be real.

“Hey, Rexy, can you hear us?” a hand on his shoulder and he managed to open his eyes.

“Welcome back to the living!” he was greeted by four brothers – one with long hair, a bald one, a bearded one and a tattooed one.

“…” he opened his mouth, but no words came out. No, no, this can’t be… It can’t.

“Why are you crying?” they looked in worry and concern, but they seemed real.

“…You died,” his voice was barely above a whisper and he could feel the tears running down his face.

Jezdec, or was it Fives, laughed as Bishop, why does he look like Jesse, shook his head. Pion, since when does Kix have long hair, gave a weak smile and Turm, is that Hardcase, seemed highly amused. Then, they each bent down, aiming to pick him up, when a bright light blinded him, hurting his eyes and he had to close them. But just before he could, he saw Echo again, or what they made him into.

“Good morning, Captain,” he heard and the voice boomed in his head, enhancing his headache. But he knew instantly who the speaker was, as if the way he said his rank wasn’t indication enough.

Rex quickly managed to turn his pain into hate as he glared at the Besalisk, who stood in front of him, grinning. It was then that he noticed he was trapped – his hands were raised above him and held there with a small containment field, encasing both his fists, as his feet barely touched the floor. The top of his armour has been stripped off, so at least he had more manoeuvrability. It did little to ease him though, as he tried to struggle against his bonds. And as he did, he felt something on his head - felt like a metal ring, with small boxes on his temples. What is it?

“None of that,” the activation of a lightsaber and it’s light next to his head gave the soldier pause as he glared at the Jedi. “You are making this needlessly harder for yourself.”

“…” the Captain remained silent and saw the glint of annoyance in Krell’s eyes. Good.

“So be it,” Pong hissed and raised one arm. As soon as he did, Rex felt his airway close and couldn’t breathe properly. He started choking, even closing his eyes, before suddenly being released and automatically gasped for air.

“Sir,” his vision was blurry, but he managed to see… an Umbaran? Why was he-

“What?” Krell snapped, turning back to the native.

“The clones are ready for the implants – you said you wished to remain updated?” the Umbaran’s voice was more mechanical than he remembers – must be using a translator.

“…Of course, I’ll be there momentarily,” Krell waved him off and turned back to the captured soldier. “Don’t go anywhere now,” the sadistic smirk on his face made Rex sick and he actually swallowed. The power coming off the bastard was… immense. With a fleeting glare Rex let out a deep breath and hung his head, feeling exhausted.

They sat in silence, their eyes focused on some random point in the tent as they tried to swallow and process what they’ve been told. To think their distant brothers had it so bad? It just… seemed too unreal to imagine. Their eyes met briefly, and they both saw the sadness and sorrow in the others, while their faces were unable to hide worry. What are they going to do?

Just then, they noticed the trio of brothers entering the tent, looking skittish but excited as they seem to whisper among each other about something.

“Can we help you?” Fives decided to ask, still sitting by his brother’s legs.

“Um…” the middle one, maybe a little bit taller than his companions, shifted his weight. “You’re the 501st men, right?” his voice was weak and his words quick as he avoided looking either of them in the eyes.

“Yeah,” Jesse spoke up, leaning on his elbows to get a proper view of the rookies.

The middle one craned his neck, whispering to his friends again as they seemed to get into a small argument. But their eyes always drifted back to the duo.

“Okay, okay!” the far left one, a bandage over his left shoulder, hissed more loudly and took a small step forward. “We were… um…” he mumbled, biting his lip.

“Captain!” the far right one, holding his bucket in his hands, added to his friend, almost in fear.

“R-Right… Um,” the bandaged one started again. “Your Captain… He’s still the same, right?”

“…There’s only been one captain in the 501st,” Fives clarified, but he looked confused. A look at Jesse, but the man only shrugged.

“So it’s still him…” the middle one whispered, eyes widening slightly. “We don’t… get much news out here.” At that, the ARC winced internally. That’s right. If anything did happen, these soldiers wouldn’t know about it.

“Why do you ask?” Jesse mange to speak and made the boys jump slightly.

“Well…”

“Dogma…” Tup whispered, looking up from where he was sitting. “What’s going on out there?” He was tired but dared not sleep. Ever since… since Krell captured them, they were brought to one of the Umbaran secret bunkers. Looked like a lab of some sorts. There were many others too – they were together with Kite, Jigsaw and Griff in the second one from the entrance as Umbarans kept milling about. When they were brought in here, strange collars were placed on their napes and so far, no one was sure what they did. Nothing good.

“…I don’t know…” Dogma’s quite voice sounded defeated as the man stood by the prison field-gate, trying to understand.

“There’s a lot of the others… Probably half of everyone who was at the base…” Kite’s eyes followed the movement outside and inside the cells.

“How many more do you think were killed?” Jigsaw didn’t mean to sound so angry, but the hopelessness of the situation put him in a dark mood.

“From what we heard, some are still left,” Griff spoke up for the first time in a while, voice low and weak. “The medics barricaded themselves and the wounded in one of the hangers.”

“Krell would’ve been able to open them without much problem…” Tup mumbled, resting his chin on his arms as he wrapped them around his knees.

“What?” Kite asked, turning his attention to the rookie. The others gave a similar confused expression, with Dogma clenching his fists.

“Krell betrayed us,” Tup didn’t raise his voice, but he felt sick as the words left his mouth.

“…” the silence in the cell was broken only by the Umbarans outside, as the others were too shocked to give a verbal answer.

“I knew he was a bastard but…” Griff didn’t even finish, shaking his head.

“How long? How long has he been working with them?” Jigsaw looked from one brother to the other, trying to keep his anger from growing.

“Who knows…? But think about what’s happened here? It’s all on him…” Dogma spoke up, but the sheer anger and hate beneath his words made his brothers pause. For someone who seems to always be in control, he was losing the battle against his feelings quickly.

Before anyone was able to say any more, the door opened and through it walked the Besalisk himself and a group of Umbarans. Suddenly, everyone’s attention was on the Jedi.

They landed carefully and as quietly as they could. The deadly silence around them as they disembarked put them all on high alert.

“Communications?” Cody asked, looking at Jetstream as he worked on the transmitter.

“Losing fast – there has to be something here blocking any outgoing or incoming transmission,” Jetstream explained, clearly annoyed.

“How much time till we’re compactly in the dark?” Boil glanced from one brother to the other.

“I’d give it half an hour, maybe less. The closer we’re going to get to this thing, the sooner it’ll all be gibberish.”

“Then we better work fast – are our group links still operational?” the Commander activated his and saw his brothers doing the same.

“Read you sir,” they chimed in. At least they had something.

“Good – spread out into three groups, but not too far away. This is enemy territory. We need to be able to take them out quickly and neatly, otherwise these woods will be swarmed with Umbaran patrols,” Cody saw the boys already moving into squads as he spoke.

“What’s our main objective?” Trapper asked as all eyes turned on their superior.

“Find the airbase and our brothers,” was the simple reply as Cody himself joined a squad.

“How are we supposed to do that?” Waxer tried to make it sound humours, but the Commander’s answer killed any of the joy.

“Follow the bodies.”

He was tired, in pain and couldn’t properly focus. So much happened so quickly… he could hardly wrap his mind around it. Echo was alive – if he could call it that. Krell’s been a traitor for who knows how long. Fives, Jesse and Hardcase – what happened to them? What happened to all his brothers in the hanger? When was the last time he dreamt of them…

But maybe more than anything, he wanted to know why he was here. Why was Krell keeping him locked up, but very much alive? What does he plan to gain, that he can’t get himself. It made Rex shiver where he hung, just thinking about it. Letting out a deep breath, he tried to focus, to remember what happened. He found Echo, Krell saw him and then…

He fired off his blaster, but the Jedi used one of his lightsabers to deflect the shots. He didn’t have much room to manoeuvre, so Krell easily crashed into him, sending him flying into the nearest wall and knocking the air out of his lungs. For a second, the world turned dark and in the next, blight lights almost blinded him. The weapons were inches from his neck on both sides – if he even tried to move up, he’d behead himself.

“How troublesome,” the Besalisk had said, frowning as he looked down on the clone. “This makes things… complicated.”

Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something, he felt his head knocked back against the wall and everything was spinning and there were black dots in his vision. A second shove and his head hit the wall again, this time he could feel something dripping down his neck. A third, and he was knocked unconscious.

Another deep sigh and Rex frowned as he could hardly feel his arms any longer. Looking up, the field holding him was solid and seemed to be connected to a panel on the outside of his cell. So much for trying to break free. He was worried about everyone – especially since he had no idea how long he was unconscious. Just what madness has Krell done in that time?

“This seems like a good enough place,” Kano said quietly as what was gathered of the escapees arrived at a small clearing in the forest. They’ve ran into a scouting group of Umbarans, but managed to take them out while not losing anyone.

“…” Appo said nothing as he stared off in the distance, but he clenched his fists. The others were quietly whispering to themselves and Ahsoka glanced from group to group. Then, she followed the Sergeant’s gaze and felt the air in her throat choke.

“…What happened here?” her voice was a quiver, her eyes wide and a hand going up to cover her mouth. Tears, sudden and unbidden, started falling down her cheeks as she took in the white amour lying in the red and black fields of flora. Brothers. Vode. Dead. All of them.

“…War,” someone, she didn’t know who, said back quietly. Only then did she notice the destroyed shells of Umbaran walkers and tanks, as well as the dark suits of the natives. But the amount of white clad bodies she saw. Never before had she seen such a number of dead.

The emotions radiating off the others did little to help her ease her mind and control her emotions as she tried to stifle a sob.

“Commander…” a hand on her shoulder – probably Appo – but she didn’t react. She didn’t want to be commander. Not right now. She can’t be. She was Ahsoka, padawan learner and youngling.

A sudden noise near them put everyone on edge as they reached for their weapons, and Ahoka just barely had time to collect herself to yell a warning before the first shot was fired.

“Everything is ready,” an Umbaran said as he walked up to the Jedi, handing a datapad.

“Then prepare the first two volunteers,” a smirk came to the Besalisk’s face as he looked down and then looked at the imprisoned soldiers.

The Umbaran turned around, said something in their tongue, and the fifth cell was opened up. Instantly, the soldiers inside tried to fight it off, but the natives had long, electric staffs and shocked any brother who would fight.

The first two, being torn away from their group, were Lad and Himo – rookies. Yells and shouts of the older ones were heard as the two were dragged forward, forced on their knees with their backs bent. The electric shocks must have cramped up their muscles as they clearly had problems moving at all.

“Do it,” Krell said and two Umbarans, wearing black and yellow instead of the usual gear, walked over and behind the two rookies, holding blue boxes. Once there, they pressed a button on the collar and it opened up a small compartment. It was like a small cage only on the nape. And then… then they took something from those blue boxes. It looked like bugs – small and glowing blue, with long antennas and a tail with a sting at the end of it. The men only saw them for a second, before those things were placed in the collars – compartments more like – and it was closed. But not a second later, and the two rookies started screaming and thrashing, their bloody cries shaking many of their brothers to the core. Yet just as quickly as it started, it ended and the two calmed down, head hung and eyes void. The Umbarans released them and they collapsed forward, still unmoving.

“Well?” Krell was impatient as he asked, frowning down.

“…Dead,” an Umbaran checked their pulses and shook his head. “We need to fix it so it works properly.”

“Well, do it. You have all the lab rats you may need and I’ll be fetching those who thought they could hide soon. I want this working.”

“Understood.”

As Pong turned to leave, the still imprisoned soldiers couldn’t breathe or even really react. Some went to touch the collars on their napes, swallowing in fear. Others simply dropped down, unable to stand any longer. Few of the rookies turned away, trying to fight the emotions boiling inside. But they were all scared.

“Alright, you should be able to move now, but don’t go rock jumping yet,” a medic said as he did a final check on Jesse. “But…” he cut himself off, a weak sigh escaping.

“But?” Jesse asked as he slowly and carefully put his feet off the bed.

“You’ll never be able to move like you did before. Running should be fine, but any more complex movement and you risk injury again,” there was sadness and pity in his eyes as he spoke that.

“It can’t be that bad!” Jesse tried to protest, but as he stepped on his feet, he nearly lost his balance. Luckily, Fives caught him quickly enough. “I can hardly feel my legs…” the words left his mouth before he could stop them.

“That’s what I was talking about – they’re still damaged. I’m not… I’m not sure how long, if even ever, they will fully heal.”

“…” another silence in the tent as the two 501st boys let this sink in.

“Hey,” came a voice as someone entered the tent. It was the bandaged rookie from before. “They said he’s woken up – you can see him now.”

“Thank whoever,” Fives breathed out, a small smile of relief on his face. But still, one look at Jesse put him back into a sad mood.

“Let’s go… He’ll be lonely soon,” Jesse managed, but didn’t deny the support Fives gave him as they slowly walked towards the exit.

“Just follow me – the Captain is already there. He’ll probably have some more questions for all of you.”

Cut! Hehe, things are probably still confusing and all over the place, but I think we're getting somewhere! Hopefully, anyway. Jumped a lot all around again, so I hope it didn't make anyone space sick or anything - you can always ask me about something, and I'll do my best to try and clarify, without spoling the story ANYWAY! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Please, do review what you thought - I love hearing from you lovely people! Till next time~

[animus-inspire-archive]

Starter for @hartbeating

In many ways things have started to settle since Meteorfall. Edge was practically a city now in its own right, not just a hub adjacent to the ruins that still haunt at the horizon. Geostigma, that Jenovan curse, has been eradicated thanks to the efforts of a motley crew and the powerful will of a flower seller. The World Regenesis Organisation has taken full shape, becoming the de-facto governing body to a still grieving world. 

Things have started to settle but for the man at the helm of that organisation, things never stop. In some ways, he is a little more unsettled than ever. 

It had started back at the W.R.O.’s inception. Reeve, having taken to leadership, began to receive threats on his life. Not too unusual perhaps for someone in his position, no matter how he insists on the title Commissioner, but no less unsettling. He has spent a little time working on making decoys, full life-like suits that could be piloted by you-know-who. Though, if pressed, he would say that the death threats had barely factored in to that idea. More soldiers were being employed by the organisation, a military arm in all but name. Though their purpose was to help keep the peace and to protect the people, not at all to guard just one man. Shalua has been using her skills as a biomechanical engineer for a whole range of potential scenarios, had been crucial in the development of the suits, yet Reeve has not succumbed to augmentations no matter how tempting the concept may have been. The security of the W.R.O. has been beefed up in recent times, because that makes every ounce of sense with a wider viewpoint, and it has nothing to do with an individual’s needs. 

There were none who knew the extent of the target that has been painted on Reeve’s broad shoulders, and very few that he would even consider turning to for help. The Turks were an obvious choice, Tseng perhaps would even agree in some cock-eyed version of repayment or out of respect for the man they both once looked up to. Yet all the Turks form a cabal loyal to Rufus, who was in a far more precarious position when all was said and done. Besides, Reeve did not much wish to feel like a mission, a charge or - Gaia forbid - beholden. Whilst he has considered Vincent with more seriousness, for now - at least - the former Turk-come-ally-and-friend is being left alone on his travels. Reeve has also taken to ‘letting off some steam’ down at the shooting range in H.Q.. He knows that he is not rusted, despite not particularly becoming any more proficient, at using a firearm. 

All these contingency plans, all these skills and talents of the people around him, were very much needed. However it would rankle Reeve to assume their services for personal reasons. He does not want a bodyguard or to be a nuisance, he just needs a little peace of mind. And whilst said mind has never been stronger in some ways, his body is certainly weaker than before. Each passing quarter he finds himself readjusting the buckle on his belt. So what can he do to balance both body and mind in greater harmony, and who can he trust to help him with this? There was only one person coming to mind - Tifa Lockhart. 

On the surface of it she is an unparalleled beauty, a beloved barmaid, but Reeve knows, as do the others, that she is also a highly disciplined, highly skilled monk of martial arts. Having sent her a message and received a reply, Reeve makes his way further into Edge towards the new Seventh Heaven. Pushing through the door, he lingers a little at the entrance, somewhat awkward. Even now, he still feels like an imposter, whiskers twitching slightly in anticipation before he calls out, “Hello Tifa. Are you certain this is a good time?”

[metawitches]

Review

Fox’s new science fiction series, The Passage, which is based on Justin Cronin’s trilogy of novels, got off to a great start this week. The pilot served as an appetizer to whet our taste buds for what’s to come in this series, giving us small bites of different aspects of the universe established in Justin Cronin’s books and the changes made in order to transfer it to the screen. So far, all of the important book elements are present (or on their way), and the changes make sense, given the different logistics required for books vs TV.

I enjoyed everyone in the cast, though I can’t say they’re all exactly how I pictured the characters in the book. That’s mostly because the show has done a great job of diversifying what was a very white, male cast of characters in the book version of Project Noah. This is a welcome change. The gender swaps have already made for some intriguing changes in character interactions.

The early part of the story depends on the chemistry and believability of the pseudo father-daughter relationship between Mark-Paul Gosselaar’s federal agent, Brad Wolgast, and Saniyya Sidney’s orphaned 10 year old girl, Amy Bellafonte. The two actors nail it. Individually, they are each talented, charismatic and charming. Together, they share an immediate warmth and light that makes it understandable why they’d bond so quickly. Both characters come into the relationship feeling like they are alone in the world and each is mourning a deep loss. Their chemistry allows them to slot each other into the holes in their hearts.

The virals (vampires) are suitably menacing as they lie in wait for their prey and use hypnotic psychological tricks to draw in their victims. The series has added the threat of a global avian flu pandemic, which kills its victims in 12 hours, to help explain the reasoning for the accelerated pace of the research on the virals, who were meant to cure all diseases.

Since TV doesn’t have the extended time frame of the books to show the doctors’ inner deterioration and it would be tedious to show their interior downward spirals, the urgency of a plague is a suitable trade off to explain the reasoning behind experimenting on a child. Not that the reasoning actually makes sense in the book or here, but the added desperation makes their self-indulgent decisions more comprehensible.

Just don’t examine any of the science too closely, or your head might begin to show large veins similar to what the virals exhibit when they feed. This story probably begins after a long period where the government has been run by people who don’t believe in science or intellectualism, but who do believe in heightened national security. Thus, even the scientists use sketchy logic, and the only way to get any science funded is to prove that it can be useful to the military.

Not naming names or states, but if you look around today’s world, it’s not an implausible scenario.

The Passage was developed for TV by Liz Heldens. It’s executive produced by Liz Heldens, Matt Reeves, David W. Zucker, Adam Kassan and Ridley Scott, with cinematography by Ramsey Nickell and Byron Shah. The Passage also stars Jamie McShane as Dr. Tim Fanning, Caroline Chikezie as Dr. Major Nichole Sykes, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Dr. Lila Kyle, Brianne Howey as Shauna Babcock, McKinley Belcher III as Anthony Carter, Henry Ian Cusick as Dr. Jonas Lear, Vincent Piazza as Clark Richards and Kecia Lewis as Sister Lacey Antoine.

Recap

The Passage is narrated by Amy Bellafonte, the orphaned ten year old who will one day save humanity, according to the show’s tagline. The first moments of the pilot show Amy at some later point in the story, when she is no longer a relative innocent. She tells us that she now knows that monsters are real, and they’ve changed everything. It all started with two old friends who wanted to do good in the world.

Flashback to 2015, and an expedition to the remote Bolivian Highlands, where Dr Jonas Lear and Dr Tim Fanning hope to find a legendary 250 year old man to use in their research, which is sponsored by the Department of Defense and the Centers for Disease Control. They are guided by a Bolivian native who doesn’t speak English and accompanied by Department of Defense representative Clark Richards, plus a security team.

After days of walking through the jungle, the guide shows them a cave at the bottom of a gorge. He stops at the top of the gorge and refuses to go any closer to the 250 year old man. They can see a boy carrying a bucket of blood into the cave. The rest of the expedition goes down into the cave to have a look around. They aren’t at all phased by the bucket of blood.

Where did my face palm emoji go?

They are, after all, American scientists with big American guns. Up until now, virtually everything in their lives has taught them that either the science, the guns or being American will win the day for them. Time’s up on those beliefs.

When they enter the cave, the boy with the blood is unlocking a cage holding the 250 year old man, so that he can put the blood inside. The American team doesn’t pick up on this, and wants to know why the man is caged.

The boy appears to miss noticing the expedition until they’re right on top of him. He opens the cage to give the blood to the 250 year old man. Meanwhile, Fanning is concerned about why the man is being kept in a cage and steps forward to question the boy. When the boy finally notices them, he tells them to leave, using the word “jararaca”, which one of the soldiers translates as “vampire”.

Tim gets too close to the cage. The vampire attacks him and goes straight for his neck. Richards finds a long wooden stake, conveniently left lying around the cave. He throws it, like a spear, at the vampire’s chest. The vampire is driven away from Dr Fanning and probably killed, since he doesn’t appear to come back to Project Noah.

Tim’s neck is bleeding profusely. Lear puts pressure on the bleeding, but it doesn’t look hopeful. Later, he sits and prays in a clinic waiting room. Fanning finds his way to Lear, removing the bandage from his neck as he walks. He’s healed remarkably quickly. Lear notices that Fanning’s mouth is bleeding. Just then, one of his teeth falls out.

Fanning tells Lear that he feels amazing and that they must have found what they’re looking for, a great cure all for disease. They’re going to help so many people. Only he says it in the creepiest voice possible, with a creepy intensity. He’s not at all bothered by his tooth falling out.

Normal people are bothered by these things. I’ve had recurring nightmares about losing my teeth since I was a child.

Henry Ian Cusick (Lear) pulls off a perfectly complex emotional reaction that shows he realizes they’ve just opened Pandora’s box and there’s no way he can close it. And part of him doesn’t want to. Jamie McShane (Fanning) manages to be terrifying, and all he does is stand there, looking like he’s just made an amazing discovery.

Amy tells us that Project Noah came out of the discoveries made in the cave. Then Project Noah led to everything else that happened.

Jump forward three years, to 2018, and Huntsville State Prison, in Texas. Two federal agents, Brad Wolgast and Phil Doyle, have been sent to convince a death row inmate, Anthony Carter, to join the research trials at Project Noah, in exchange for having his sentence commuted.

Once they sit down with Carter, Wolgast does most of the talking. He explains that Project Noah is a medical organization that’s working on a drug which would make people immune to all infectious diseases. Carter has the opportunity to join other infamous death row inmates who have already had their sentences commuted, in exchange for joining the drug trial, such as Martin Echols, John Baffes, and Shauna Babcock. They are all out in Colorado enjoying the scenery and the joys of becoming human guinea pigs.

Carter has reservations, and would like to talk to one of the other inmates who’s taken the deal. Doyle jumps in to remind him that it’s the drug trial or death. It sounds like a threat. This is why Wolgast does the talking. He sounds like he’s trying to convince Carter to go on vacation.

Wolgast takes back control of the conversation. He acknowledges how unusual the situation is, and assures Carter that he has a choice. But Carter is going to be executed. Wolgast is offering him time. “I can give you an ocean of time.”

In Telluride, Colorado, at Project Noah, Dr Major Nichole Sykes calls a meeting because word has just come through that the team needs to step up the pace of their experiments. An outbreak of Chinese avian flu has mutated and become an epidemic. It’s airborne, there’s no vaccine, and it has an incubation period of 12 hours. Patients are dead less than a day after exposure. There’s fear that it could become a global pandemic, with projections that it could reach the US in 3 months. The CDC feels that their research is the best hope for a vaccine.

This would be one of the areas where we’re just not going to examine the science, and we’ll all be much happier for it.

Lear points out that they haven’t gotten a subject safely through trials. They’re nowhere near close to having a vaccine ready. He suggests incubating in mammalian vero cells, but Dr Sykes shoots him down, saying that they’d need extended passaging with antitryptic activity.

Dr Pet jumps in and says that he has an idea, but it’s unorthodox, and it’ll be unpopular. Dr Sykes is willing to consider anything. Pet leads them down to the cells where the “patients” are kept.

He summarizes the trials so far. Fanning is Patient Zero. He was age 52 at the time of exposure and experienced a brief period of rapid healing, followed by a decline into a veinous, nearly catatonic, blood-sucking monster, who is, none the less, immune to disease.

Immortality comes with a price. Since they are scientists and eschew superstition, at Project Noah they are careful not to call the immortal blood-sucking patients vampires.

After Fanning, Project Noah began importing Death Row convicts to experiment on. John Baffes, Victor Chavez, Kathy Turrell, Rupert Sosa. They attenuated the formula in between patients, and each patient stayed healthy and human for longer, with fewer side effects, but they still turn into vampires in the end. They are getting closer to the right formula.

Echols, Martinez, June Reinhardt (a white supremacist), all reflected the improvements in the formula. The most recent patient is Shauna Babcock, Patient 11. She’s the best result they’ve had. It was 28 days before she began to decline, and she’s retained her human looks. She’s got both the disease immunity and the blood-sucking monster aspects of the virus, but it’s progress.

From all of this, Dr Pet has figured out that it’s not just the adjustments to the formula that make the difference. It’s the age of the subject, because the formula attacks neurons, and younger people have more neurons. “The more neurons, the less severe the decline.”

Anthony Carter is 25 and will arrive at the compound tomorrow. Dr Pet still wants to experiment on him, because, what the heck, why not? Wouldn’t want to ruin their track record of abusing inmates, which is, after all, a time-honored American tradition.

But what he really needs is a child, with billions and billions of innocent and untouched neurons waiting just for him. The child would react to the formula with zero side effects, like daddy’s perfect little angel.

He says this with near religious fervor, but there’s nothing pedophilic about it, really.

Sykes spends the day trying to find another way to solve the issue, but eventually she asks Richards, who is now the head of security for Project Noah, if he’d be able to find a child that no one would miss. Richards won’t have any problem locating and kidnapping one of the many children who fall through the cracks in the social services system on a regular basis. But he’s worried about how Sykes will handle this compromise.

She has convinced herself that she has to live with it, because the trade off is one child’s life versus millions of people. This conversation makes it clear that Richards and Sykes have grown close.

Which brings us to the introduction of Amy Harper Bellafonte, who is currently hanging around a fast food joint, arm wrestling other kids for cash. She stays at the restaurant until closing, long after the other kids have gone home for the night, then goes to find her drug addict mom at the fleabag motel where they currently live.

Her mom is dead, having OD’d sometime that day. The police are taking her body away. They bring Amy back to the station with them and arrange temporary foster care for the weekend, since it’s too late to call Social Services. Her paperwork can wait until Monday.

“I’m the girl from nowhere. The one no one will miss. That’s why they chose me. My name is Amy Bellafonte. This is how the world ends.”

Brad and Doyle deliver Carter to the Project Noah compound. A nurse meets them in the lobby of the main building, which used to be a resort hotel. She takes Carter downstairs in an elevator. When the doors close on his face, it feels very final. Doyle asks if Brad ever wonders what happens to the psychopaths after they drop them off. Brad says he doesn’t think about it. Doyle looks like he does. He also looks like he might potentially be one of the serial killers.

Richards greets them cordially, hugging Brad. They are old friends who served 3 tours in Special Ops together. Richards says that Brad taught him everything he knows, and that Doyle shouldn’t make Brad angry, because he’s dangerous.

Hopefully Brad has a few tricks up his sleeve that he hasn’t shared with Richards or Doyle. It pays to stay one step ahead of guys like that.

Richards hands Brad their next assignment, the folder with Amy’s information. There’s a moment of tension, as Richards wait to see if Brad will object to abducting a child. But Brad is loyal to his country and organization, and tells Richards, “No problem.”

  When Brad and Doyle arrive at Amy’s foster home, she’s out back wrestling with a girl who stole her most prized possession, the copy of A Wrinkle in Time given to her by her mother. Brad explains that the government thinks that her mother died because she was exposed to a toxin, so they want Amy to see a specialist in Colorado to see of she was exposed as well. Amy tells him that her mother was a drug addict who died of a drug overdose. He continues with his script. She refuses to play along, but does cooperate when the foster mom sends her upstairs to pack her things.

It’s funny that Brad couldn’t alter his script to say that her mother’s drugs were laced with the toxin. Of course, then he wouldn’t be able to explain Amy’s supposed exposure.

Amy has her own plan anyway. She packs up her stuff in her backpack, tosses it out the window, jumps out after it, sneaks into the backyard and grabs her book, then runs away. Brad notices parts of this happening, but doesn’t react quickly enough. He and Doyle have to drive the car down the block to catch Amy. Doyle picks her up to carry her back to the car, with her fighting him the whole way. When he doesn’t like how hard she’s fighting him, he slaps her, hard enough to make her forehead swell.

Brad drives until they’re out of that neighborhood, then stops on the side of the road. He grabs Doyle’s neck and slams his face into the console, telling him that if he hits Amy again, Brad will shoot him in the face. Next, he checks on Amy in the back seat. She’s scared of him at first, but begins to trust him when he asks about her injury to make sure she’s okay.

Richards calls to make sure they got Amy. Brad tells him they got her, but it went sideways, with many witnesses. He thinks they should drop her somewhere and abort. Richards won’t hear of it, and orders Brad to follow their usual procedures to get back to Colorado. Richards warns Brad not to test him or the people they work for.

Amy gets car sick as they’re driving through a small town in Arkansas. Brad helps her and sends Doyle to the store for supplies. While they wait for Doyle, they talk about her book, A Wrinkle in Time. It was given to her by her mother. When they get back in the car, Brad gives Amy the front seat to help with the car sickness. Doyle looks like he sucked on a lemon.

Lear stands outside of Fanning’s cell and stares at his old friend. He’s playing Fanning’s favorite song, Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain, hoping it will get through to Tim and cause a reaction. One of the custodians, Lawrence Grey, joins Lear, and asks about the song.

He tells Lear that he thinks Tim is still in there, because he comes to Grey in dreams. In the dreams, Tim says that he wants to go home, and he wants Grey to come with him. Grey confides that it’s not just him. Other guys on the staff are having nightmares, too. Grey asks if Lear is having nightmares.

Lear gives Grey a condescending smile and tells him that it’s just cabin fever. He shouldn’t worry about it.

Said the smug, rational character at the beginning of every horror movie ever.

A few cells away, in front of Shauna Babcock’s cell, Dr Pet tells Richards that playing Fanning’s song won’t do any good, because the virals have no higher brain function. The MRIs have proven it. They all have little quirks, like pacing or staring, but they’re just reflexes that don’t mean anything. He notes that Babcock likes to stare at Richards.

Richards hasn’t noticed. He thought she never looked at him. Dr Pet asks about Shauna’s crimes, so Richards tells him that she was in jail for murdering both of her parents.

Next up is feeding time. They have a trough feeding system set up that is literally a type used with farm animals. A sluice opens up, and blood pours into the trough. The patient uses their hands to scoop blood up into their mouths. When Shauna’s done eating, she has blood all over her mouth and chin, running down her neck. She walks right up to the glass to stare Richards in the eyes.

It’s a toss-up who should be eaten first, Richards or Pet.

Brad lets Amy watch cartoons on his pad while they drive. She teases him when he gets a text from his ex-wife, Lila. They quickly develop a teasing, natural rhythm to their banter. Soon, they drive by a sign advertising a local carnival. Amy doesn’t say anything, but her face shows that she’s excited by the idea. Brad decides they should check it out.

Once they stop, Doyle pulls Brad aside to loudly ask why he’s treating the cargo like a child. Brad is appalled, and tells Doyle that he and Amy are going inside for 90 minutes. Doyle can do what he wants. Brad doesn’t punch him, but it’s a close thing.

Doyle has clearly never taken a road trip with a child, cargo or not. Did he want her vomiting in the back seat the whole way? But then, he slapped Amy 5 minutes after he met her, so he’s at the top of the virals menu as well.

We find out just how close Sykes and Richards have grown when she finds him waiting for her in her room. She tells him that she doesn’t want to talk, and he agrees that’s not what he wants either. They fall into each other, then into bed.

Later, he tells her that Amy should be there in a day or two. He has confidence in Sykes’ interpretation of the science and that Amy will be okay. They kiss again.

Sykes turns into Babcock, who tells him she misses him and asks if he thinks about her. He tells her he does. She says that she thinks about him, too, but he shouldn’t have lied to her. She knows he’ll make it up to her later. Then she reveals her fangs and goes to bite his neck.

Richards wakes up from his nightmare. Sykes is asleep next to him.

Amy wants the giant stuffed unicorn that’s a prize for one of the carnival shooting games. She challenges Brad to win it for her. He easily makes the shot, then coaches her through making the second two necessary for claiming the unicorn. He’s a great teacher and supportive of her, even though other people are waiting.

While Amy’s waiting for her unicorn, Brad gets a call from his ex-wife Lila, who’s calling because she wanted to check in with him as their daughter’s birthday nears. Eva died three years ago and it hasn’t gotten any easier. Also, Lila’s new boyfriend, David, asked her to marry him. Since Brad isn’t getting over the loss of Eva, which he shouldn’t blame himself for, and coming home, she said yes. She needs to move on, and maybe have another baby.

These two are a mess.

The end of Amy’s childhood.

Amy has her unicorn, and asks Brad if he’s okay. Before he can answer, Doyle appears, ready to drag them back to the car, because he’s anti-fun. Brad says he needs to use the men’s room, but Doyle wants to go first, so Brad lets him. Brad follows Doyle a moment later and puts Doyle in a sleeper hold until he passes out.

When he gets back to Amy, he tells her that they’re ditching Doyle and not going to Colorado, because it’s a bad place. He starts to make a speech about why she should trust him, but Amy’s already ten steps ahead of him, literally and figuratively. They need to get to the car and leave, before Doyle wakes up, and she trusts him. She’s got no one else, and he’s a good guy.

At Project Noah, their escape is bad news. A disembodied voice reminds Sykes and Richards that, “Brad Wolgast earned a silver star in 2005 and was credited with 98 kills in Afghanistan. This is not the guy we want going rogue. We need this contained…He knows enough to make him a liability. Do what you have to do.” Richards tries to talk the voice out of an extreme response, with no luck. After that, Richards is resigned to doing his job.

Brad takes Amy to a wooded area next to a river. Before they get out of the car, he looks at a family photo of himself with Lila and Eva. Then he takes Amy to stand on the riverbank, and explains that he thought they could remember her mom here, since there wasn’t a funeral service for her.

He asks Amy to share some memories. At first, Amy is stuck on her mother’s drug addiction. Brad tells her anger is poison, and suggests she leave some of it there. Then Amy focuses on positive memories. She remembers when her mom made her a birthday cake out of donut holes and whipped cream. She let Amy lie in her bed to watch TV and was always nice when Amy got scared. And she always said that Amy was the joy of her life. By now, Amy is crying. Brad hugs her.

Anthony Carter waits in an examining room at Project Noah, until he’s joined by a doctor, who says he’s going to do a quick exam. We can’t see the doctor’s face. The doctor says that Carter seems healthy and will be a great addition to their research. Carter asks what the doctor’s name is.

Dr Tim Fanning is revealed, looking human again. Cater asks what’s going to happen. Fanning tells him that it’s going to be rough, then it’s going to get worse and worse, but Fanning will be with him the whole time. As he talks, Fanning looks less human, and his mouth begins to bleed. He tells Carter that it will get better, and when it does, “Oh brother, it’s gonna be glorious!”

Carter wakes up, still alone in the examining room. Down in his cell, Fanning smiles.

Apparently there’s more going on in the vampire’s heads than an MRI can show.

Brad stops at a convenience store to buy drinks and snacks, and sees that he and Amy are all over the news. They’re saying he abducted Amy. He calls Lila to warn her that the feds might be asking about him, but Richards is already at Lila’s house. Lila is on the ball, and pretends that Brad is a patient calling. She tells him that Richards has a tactical team with him. Brad tells her that he’s just trying to do the right thing, she was right about everything and he loves her. He never stopped.

He couldn’t tell her all of that when he wasn’t about to be killed?

Brad decides that since he’s not going to be able to get her across the border, they should surrender to the local cops, and try to get Amy on TV, so the feds can’t disappear her. He turns himself in, but the locals do everything wrong. He’s handcuffed to a chair when Richards shows up with at least two tac teams. He has Amy grab the keys and he unlocks the cuffs, then they try to make a run for it.

The local sheriff doesn’t understand what’s happening, until the feds shoot him instead of helping him. Brad has a shoot out in the police station with Richards and the tac teams. He really is a better fighter than everybody else, though, and Amy has good instincts from years of hiding out with her mother. Brad comes face to face with Richards, and tells him that he doesn’t understand why they need Amy so much. But Richards won’t explain why they need her. Instead, Richards shoots Brad in the side as they’re escaping.

They make it into a police car and drive away, with the feds in pursuit. Amy is close to panicking. Brad tells her to look at him. When she does, he says, “It’s gonna be okay. You understand? I’m not gonna leave you, I promise.”

Amy: “Of everything that happened, this is the part I think of most. Whatever was coming, we would face it together.”

Brad tells her to put her seatbelt on, now.

Strap in everybody, the end is nigh. It’s going to be a wild ride.

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Commentary

Dr Lear and Dr Pet

I don’t know where the series is going with that slight indication toward pedophilia they indicated with Dr Pet, but it was a huge theme in this part of the book. Dr Pet is a new character who was created for the series. So far, he seems to be the unethical side of Dr Lear from the book. My guess is that they split Lear’s personality into two people, one good, one ruthless, so that his/their motivations would be easier to understand. (Neither Lear nor Amy were involved in the pedophilia aspects of the story, but they could be transferring those aspects to different characters.)

Vipers and Vampires

Besides being a vampire, a jararaca is also a species of South American snake in the pit viper family. It’s a common snake within its range and is one of the major sources of snakebites in the area. It’s venom was used to develop ACE inhibitors, medications used for the treatment of hypertension and some types of congestive heart failure. The viral vampires do have a snake-like quality, sitting and staring for hours at a time, then leaping into action to feed. A formula from each has been used to extend life.

“Typical [jararaca bite] symptoms include local swelling, petechiae [a red or purple spot on the skin, caused by a minor bleed], bruising and blistering of the affected limb, spontaneous systemic bleeding of the gums and into the skin, subconjunctival hemorrhage [bleeding in the whites of the eyes] and incoagulable blood [blood that won’t clot]. The systemic symptoms can potentially be fatal and may involve hemostatic disorders [blood disorders involving difficulty clotting], intracranial hemorrhage, shock and renal failure.”–Wikipedia

It sounds like the early symptoms of viral vampirism are very similar to the symptoms of the jararaca bite. They both involve issues with bleeding and clotting. Causing victims to have an inability to clot would be useful for a vampire, for obvious reasons. Maybe it’s also helpful for the transition stages, to help the patient bleed out whatever is now unnecessary to the body.

The Jararaca and Karma

You can look at the expedition to the Bolivian cave in at least two ways. You could say that the Americans corrupted the indigenous guide into selling out his ancestors and their secrets, leading ultimately to the end of their people. Or you could say that he conned them out of their money and took them to the cave thinking that the jararaca could get a few tasty meals out of them, and the secrets of his ancestors would be protected. It was bad luck that the confrontation went the other way.

On a deeper level, there’s an element of Colonialism to the story, as the Americans feel they can go into the third world country, supported by their military, and remove whatever resources they find valuable. They feel free to murder the indigenous people at the first sign of trouble. They ignore the locals who try to explain the traditional wisdom surrounding the 250 year old man, assuming that indigenous people only traffic in superstition, while they will use their own superior form of science.

250 years gives many opportunities to test out theories using trial and error. Devices and lab coats aren’t required to do experiments.

When Europeans came to America, they brought with them diseases, such as smallpox, for which the indigenous people of the Americas had no immunity, causing massive epidemics and mortality. It’s only fitting that the Colonists’ descendants should bring about the end through a plague, started by underestimating the native culture.

The jararaca was 250 years old, yet he was a buried legend, even in Bolivia. The people he lived with had learned to take his power seriously and keep him under control. The people in the surrounding areas had learned to ignore the legend, because it led in a dangerous direction. It was only the scientists and the military, who thought they had conquered nature, that were foolish enough to bring the virus out into the world and experiment with it.

In that sense, the vampire virus is a metaphor for all of the stupid, self-destructive ideas humans pursue, while telling themselves that these are great ideas. We love to open Pandora’s box, even as others are trying to tell us why it’s a mistake.

If You Like The Passage:

Containment was a fun one and done CW series about an outbreak of a plague in Atlanta.  It’s now on Netflix. The Rain is about the ongoing crisis following the spread of an engineered virus in Scandinavia, following a group trapped in a quarantine zone. It’s a Netflix Original with one season already available and a second season in the works. The Strain is another show which follows an outbreak of super creepy viral vampirism. It lasted 4 seasons/46 episodes on FX and is available on Hulu.

        The Passage Season 1 Episode 1: Pilot Recap Review Fox's new science fiction series, The Passage, which is based on Justin Cronin's trilogy of novels, got off to a great start this week.