As we begin this episode we see Hawk with his parents, sister, and the man in charge of discipline and unburdening within the movement gather around a hole that was dug. We quickly learn their motivation for being there is so Hawk can plant a tree in order of offset the perceived negative things he did. In what is similar to a confession in Catholic faith, Hawk begins explaining his wrong doing. I was all but biting my nails in anticipation for his confession to losing his V-Card when he snuck out of “gathering.” But he didn’t, he kept that piece of information to himself. To protect her perhaps? We won’t have much time to reflect on that, because we are soon distracted by the media storm brewing outside the compound as a result of Cal bring in the illegal refugees.
As all the elders and higher ups in the movement gather to discuss this, Eddie is late. He has snuck off to some cabin to bring things to Alison. Thank goodness he still helping her. When he returns to the compound and gets to the meeting they’re discussing the perception the media has of them and the potential devastation it could have. Something is telling me with all the extra eyes on the movement Eddie needs to be even more precautious when helping Alison.
Cal has a very rude awakening at this meeting, when not one person supports him for bringing the refugees to their compound. They all agree it is way too dangerous for their own families and the overall movement to have so much attention. When even Sarah refuses her support, you can see the rage start to boil. He then asks who they can expect to tell these refugees they need to go home to poverty and violence. He is stunned when the response was that it was to be him. And I can already see his wheels spinning as he tries to decide how he will get out of it.
Agent Gaines gets good news; he’s officially a receptive in the movement and Washington wants him covering the movement full-time. They finally see what he has seen in them this whole time, something bigger is going on there. Something that isn’t all peace and love. Speaking of love, Hawk is in deep. He has thrown all caution to the wind when it comes to his IS girlfriend, Ashley. They are skipping school, breaking and entering, and having lots of grown up time if you know what I mean. As for sexual exploration, Mary is finding a new friend herself. Someone to distract her from the fact Sean is gone, a girl within the movement. It makes me sad. I wish someone would help her deal with the sexual trauma she has been through instead of feeding into it. But this time, it seems Mary is doing the manipulation, not cool.
Cal heads over to where the refugees are to speak to them, and my heart breaks. I can’t stand him, but I have so much empathy for the displaced refugees. And apparently he does too, as he tells them the light is telling him to fight for them. “Your fate, is my fate,” he says. And this sounds a little scary to me. Something tells me blood will be shed for this promise to be kept. When Cal tells the elders what he said, they freak out, and rightfully so! He brought with him reinforcements; all of the younger members of the movement in all lower rungs. And they demand democracy, they want to vote.
And just when you think things can’t get worse, Cal finds Alison with Eddie. My anxiety goes through the roof, instantly. Alison makes a break for it while Eddie takes Cal to ensure she gets away. I wish he would have hit him harder, but I digress. Cal tells him he knew he never had an affair with Miranda and she told him that he said he saw no light. This prompts Eddie to tell Cal of all people what is really going on, and he tells him about what happened in Peru. His vision of Steve dying, and there being no light, no ladder. Cal freaks out because he knows that Eddie knows the truth, but quickly tells him that’s not true at all. At this point Eddie says what I am thinking by telling Cal he has the upper hand just like he wanted, he can now ruin his marriage with Sarah like he knows he wants to. But Cal tells him he needs to take the 250 mile walk that Steve did so he can regain faith. It’s December mind you, so maybe he’s hoping he will die in the cold keeping his hands clean? That’s my guess at least. He threatens Eddie that if he doesn’t do the walk he will tell Sarah everything, and his lack of faith would kill them. And she already has enough on her plate worrying about saving Hawk from leaving her precious movement.
Another big shock comes for Cal when Silas comes all the way from Peru to confront him. He tells him Steve has been communicating with him and sent him a message. He isn’t happy with Cal, and the movement is dead. My heart drops when Cal snaps and kills Silas when he calls him out for being a fraud. Even Cal seems to be scared of this darker part of himself when he realized what he did, he panics. He is so far gone, and the only person who really knows the truth is Eddie. It becomes very suspect when Cal doesn’t show for the vote that will decide if the refugees will stay. In place of Cal speaking, Sarah steps in. She defends the refugees, and speaks out to defend helping them. She speaks to their hearts, and Eddie chimes in to help bring her message home by quoting the ladder. In his absence Cal has brought them closer. Just in time for him to leave for his walk, but Hawk wants to walk with him. He says he is lost and needs to. But we can all see they are the ones who are awake. The lost ones are the ones in the movement. Especially Cal who is seen at the close of the episode drinking next to Silas’ dead body. I can’t wait to see how this all plays out.
Written by Kaylynn Kasandra. Awkward hippie who enjoys helping people, creating things, reading, sci-fi, fantasy, and Thor. Find more from her at kaylynnkasandra.com and
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