Bryan is finally drinking the Kool-Aid!
Sometimes, you need to see what all the fuss is about to understand all the fuss.
After what he experienced on Debris Season 1 Episode 11, Bryan was not only open to what the debris was offering but eager to discover more.
On the other hand, Finola has had a rougher go of late, and she’s having a hard time distancing the wonder of the debris from the bureaucratic side.
That’s quite a development, and it has been slowly brewing in the second half of the season.
When George was found alive and Finola realized how detrimental the debris has been to her family, she’s been more interested in uncovering the whys of it all than allowing the debris to reveal itself as it sees fit.
It still boggles my mind that George drove across the country by himself. It was even more surprising that Finola and Bryan were just minutes behind him.
George’s mind has been piecing together the information he had lost about Orbital and INFLUX. While Finola cannot let go of the idea that they used George so badly that he took his own life, George is more interested in solving the task before him.
He made quite the leap to do it, too.
Even so, by the time he revealed to Finola what he had discovered, he was wrapped in foil again, which doesn’t send a message of faith about what he remembers or how he views it.
His recollection is that the missing piece will uncover the location of every piece of debris on the planet, and that kind of information in the wrong hands could be devastating.
What are any hands the right hands? Ash is free again and rejoined with the fellow who resembles Maddox. We have no idea of their plans for the debris once collected, but he was whinging about how the debris belongs to the people and not the government.
Finola: Dad. I think it’s really great that you’re remembering more now. I just need to know when you remember. We need to know if you remember why Maddox wants you dead.
George: I have been thinking about that. Maybe it’s because he fears what he can’t control.
Finola: What do you mean he fears what he can’t control?
George: Well, he works for government. That’s what governments do. Even alone, the subjugation of India. Colonization. Right here in the US, the massacre at Wounded Knee, the Japanese internment camps. I mean, do I need to go on? Governments are created to serve the public interest and everywhere, inevitably, they serve their own, and people are left to suffer. Please, sweetheart. Be careful of this so-called coalition.
Finola: I know. I believe in Bryan, but Orbital doesn’t feel like a coalition at all.
George: Smart girl.
George and Finola have very little regard for Orbital, even as they work with the organization. Orbital’s purpose is suspect, at best, and Maddox didn’t help things by admitting they’re weaponizing debris.
Orbital seems to have considered nothing about the debris other than how they can repurpose it for its own use.
And it cannot be a coincidence that Ash and his pal were back together again at the same time the Russian told Maddox George located the piece, and they could do it the next day.
Maddox could want to protect that piece of debris as he suggested to Finola, or Orbital could be no better than INFLUX.
But, perhaps what George has discovered about the debris and INFLUX and Maddox’s search for a specific piece of it isn’t the most significant part of Debris Season 1 Episode 12.
The case went down at Orbital, which ensured that Maddox and all that he represents were available as the case unfolded.
Someone made the call for reinforcements when logged debris began making a run for it of its own volition. Well, as much on its own as it could. At first, it made its way around the warehouse quite well, but timing being of the essence, it recruited the warehouse techs to do its bidding.
By the time Bryan and Finola arrived, debris was lined up and making its way through a pocket universe with the casing spit out on the other side. Despite their best efforts to stop it or close the hole, the willful debris kept on moving.
If we can all collectively pat me on the back, the first thing I thought of when I saw the single-file line of debris was that they should determine what debris was involved. Every piece is cataloged, giving them a decent starting point.
It took a while, but Finola finally gave the order to attack that mission from the casing carcasses left behind. They never got to determine what was being amassed or why, though. There wasn’t enough time. Things began unfolding rapidly.
If Finola is wary of the debris now, its lack of care for humanity as it uses us to accomplish its own goals undoubtedly feeds into her doubt.
Techs were in a trancelike state and so focused on moving debris that they perished as a result. That seems sketchy if we’re to believe that there is a greater purpose to the debris.
And it’s hard to fault that there is a greater purpose now.
Bryan was plagued by visions or events that reunited him briefly with Asalah and Mariel. Bryan was upset that he was disconnected from Mariel before getting the full scope of what was being offered to him, but he got a second chance and took it.
Of course, we only got the same brief conversation that Finola had, which came down to trust and belief that there is something larger at play.
You’re afraid, and that’s not you. I’m asking you to believe again. For the first time, I do.
Bryan
Where once the debris would come first regardless for Finola, now she’s taking Bryan’s word that the debris is benevolent based on his experience. They’ve done a little dance in their beliefs that has settled nicely, cementing their partnership as a driving factor for what comes next.
And that debris did have a purpose. So many movies exploring alien life have used the little ball of light scenario. The one that comes to mind first is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
If you watch Debris online, you know that Debris Season 1 Episode 3 had another allusion to the great movie. Debris seems to employ a pattern of encounters that closely mirrors those from the film.
The debris created something, a small sphere that didn’t engage with those at Orbital, but it didn’t shy away either. It’s the first contact they’ve had with an entity other than the debris itself. Before that, the active debris needed humans, but this ball of light seems to be something altogether different.
Although we didn’t get much from Bryan other than to believe, he did allude to the debris choosing him because it wanted to understand what drove him to protect people.
Now that they have that awareness, perhaps how the debris and humans interact will be different. Or maybe the intelligence needed that confirmation to open a connection beyond the debris itself.
And if it did, how will INFLUX and Maddox get in the way of furthering communications?
Now, we’re down to one episode and no renewal for the series.
NBC had its upfront presentation, and there wasn’t hide nor hair of Debris on the Fall schedule or in the news. It’s down to the wire, and we have no idea how it will land.
I’d hate for the show to progress this far and provoke so many thoughts only to be pulled.
What do you think is ahead for Debris Season 1 Episode 13? Will we have any answers?
And while you’re commenting, share whether you have any theories on what Ferris has been up to lately. Her nefarious presence seems to have disappeared!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.