As the episode opens, viewers see a dirty and disheveled Luce/Lucinda Price (Jessica Alexander) running for her life across various parts of Budapest, Hungary. Her adventures take her from the streets to a train station back to the streets and through several churches. It is one of the churches where she experiences what would best be described as a rift opening in the universe. It disappears as several officers detain her.

The next few scenes briefly show Luce being trialed and found guilty of one count of fourth-degree arson as well as a count of manslaughter. Due to her psychological history, the court Judge (Jeremy Wheeler) and her parents agree to have Luce remanded to a local psychiatric institute where she will serve no less than two years, with a maximum of eight.

It immediately becomes clear that although she’s not necessarily under 24/7 lock and key, the institute is run like a prison. Luce’s first real interaction with resident psychiatrist, Dr. Howson (Alexander Siddig), is just as jarring as it is brief. It is here that she learns she will not be allowed contact with the outside world. Even worse, he assures her that they will confront her visions. It doesn’t help matters when she’s handed over to Peen Van Lockwood (Eme Kingdom) for orientation. The library and church are the oldest part of the institute, dating back to 1727. While Luce learns the crucial role the Howson Family has played in the development of the institute, Roland (Lawrence Walker) delivers what appears to be a small electrical circuit board to Daniel (Gijs Blom). There is also a very brief discussion about escape which Roland makes sound impossible and advises against. The appeal of uncovering more about his past appears too much for Daniel to resist.

Luce and Penn just happen to be rounding the corner at the same time Roland and Daniel’s meeting concludes. They are both jarred by the sight of each other but there is something so stirring about the encounter that it causes Daniel physical pain. Seconds later Luce is officially introduced to her living quarters and Cam (Timothy Innes).

Later that day, Luce meets her neighboring resident, Arriane (Josefine Koeing), while Daniel attends a session with Dr. Howson. Arriane shares what little she knows about herself which appears to be very little. She does later offer to trade origin stories with Luce but the announcement of meal time sidetracks them. Daniel appears to be just in the dark about his past as he pleads with Howson to share more. Howson refuses.

Luce attempts to learn more about Daniel after being invited to eat lunch with Cam, Gabbe (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness), and Molly (Maura Bird). Once Luce quickly tires of Molly’s petulant attitude, a physical confrontation follows. Despite Arriane remaining neutral, one of the guards feels the need to shock her with some type of remote trigger. This leads to Luce learning that the more dangerous patients are fitted with electric ankle bracelets that allow them to be shocked.

After the encounter, Luce visits the library where she sees Roland and Daniel completing their transaction from earlier. Their conversation gives the impression that Daniel is going to escape. Once Daniel is alone, Luce approaches him but their conversation is cut short thanks to the arrival of Sophia Miriam/Ms. Sophia Bliss (Sarah Niles). Luce plays the newcomer’s card, pretending to be lost. Much to Luce’s surprise, Sophia tells her that she grew up seeing the world differently than most people and the world needs people who see things differently to balance it out.

As lockdown arrives that night, Daniel is shown possibly trying to contact someone with what looks like an improvised Morse code device. He doesn’t appear to have any success. The following day when the residents gather at the front of the institute for the hike, Luce learns about someone named, Cassie (Llaura Majid) who escaped. This is when the footage briefly skips over to Cassie arriving in the woods, giving the impression that she is there to pick someone up.

The residents begin their marathons in two groups. Daniel is in the first group, whereas Luce, Cam, and Arriane are in the second. Luce immediately realizes they are not only being followed by men on ATVs but they have drones tracking them as well. Nonetheless, Daniel appears bound and determined to escape and puts his recently required electronic board to good use by destroying several of the perimeter cameras. He apparently even has a solution for the 10,000-volt fence that works. Luce and Cam just happen to pass by as he breaches the fence which leads to them following him. It doesn’t take security long to pick up on the breach as well.

While Daniel runs as fast as he can to escape, Cam and Luce’s efforts have turned into a fast walk. At one point, Cam even begins toying with walking on the edge of the mountain and talking about jumping off.  He eventually does fall backward off the mountain, but not before ominously telling Luce that there is a much deeper reason for her being sent to the institute. Daniel is just about to meet Cassie when he hears Luce’s pleas for help. Something about her voice inspires a memory within him that causes him to immediately race back toward her. As he does, Luce begins to see the same rift opening that she saw in the opening scenes. It is only minutes after Daniel reaches Luce that security arrives and takes them back to the institute.

Cassie is still waiting for Daniel when she becomes spooked by a nearby noise and leaves. Luce appears to be amidst a panic attack as she and Daniel are taken back to the institute. As they are taken back, he tells her that there was a girl who looked just like her that died. He doesn’t tell her where he saw her, where, or how she died, only that she died.

The episode ends with what appears to be a Groundhog moment where Luce is briefly taken back to her arrival at the institute. There are also a few brief flashes of what appears to be her trapped in a fire.

 

Fallen Review

This could be a very intriguing series. I will say that the creators did a good job of making me want to tune in for more. Not so as much because the content was extra intriguing, but because it was extremely confusing. At least that’s where the first episode left off. We don’t know if Luce was dreaming, imagining, or really went back in time. Is Cam really dead? There are tons of questions yet to be answered and I’d like to learn more. Despite this being a longer episode, I felt that things stayed on point for the most part. The smaller cast list helps eliminate a lot of the fluff content. I’d give this episode a 5.6 out of 10.

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