Dreadfeel – As the fifth episode of Moonhaven begins, Tomm Schultz (Joe Manganiello) thanks Arlo (Kadeem Hardison) for saving him all the trouble of finding the missing piece. Arlo warns him that it is very fragile and he could destroy it before he takes another step. He goes on to claim it is sad that Tomm made him do all the work finding it. After Tomm tells him to shut up, Arlo says there are no guns on the Glade so he brought his own weapon. He is ready to talk him to death. Tomm locks the door just before the fight begins. The fight continues briefly until Arlo uses the control panel next to him and Tomm begins struggling to breathe. Tomm opens the door to let air into the room while Arlo holds the flower out the door. Tomm threatens to kill him if he doesn’t give him the flower.

Although the door closes on Arlo’s arm, he doesn’t drop the flower. Tomm believes he knows exactly why he is there. Arlo disconnects his arm, opens the door, and runs off with his arm seconds later. Tomm watches as he jumps into the water. Indira Mare (Amara Karan) talks to one of the higher-ups about the resistance of Lune and how it is being coordinated. Tycho is worried because the numbers are growing after the ceremony. He knows Tomm is dangerous so it could be bad if he has formed an alliance with Maite Voss. Indira says she’ll get answers as soon as she finds Voss. If she can’t get the ships to land, the world will know they’re in trouble. She doesn’t think a coup is possible here, but it might be if Tomm can get both keys to IO. They’ll have control of everything so they could ask it to blow up the Earth.

Indira says there is a balance that works while he calls IO a tool. Maite Voss (Ayelet Zurer) walks around and looks at some yellow flowers. The same flowers are shown to Loa (Charis Agbonlahor). Voss says they were called volunteers. While weeds thieve the light and water, volunteers help the garden. Loa wonders whether she is a weed or volunteer on Moonhaven. Maite says she has brought only light. She begins telling her about Primo which is the past. It is vast and fear-tangled. Voss recommends spending the night here because she doesn’t have her wild explorer’s heart. She prefers the orchard and likes order. Loa decides to go ahead without her but promises to be back soon. They kiss before she goes. In the present, Maite walks through the same gate.

After the intro, Tello (Thom Ashley) and Blu (Robyn Holdaway) tell Bella that the envoy wants to see her. Sonda (Yazzmin Newell) tells Indira about Maite going into Primo. Indira tells her to keep it quiet since they can’t afford panic before Bella (Emma McDonald) arrives. Indira asks why Maite would stop the first wave from leaving. Bella suggests she didn’t want to ship out an army of her best and brightest with an insurgency forming at home. She doesn’t think that is why Maite is running though. Sonda says she was more erratic and talked to her about a new way forward. She has seen Maite dose herself so she might’ve gone too far. Sonda said nothing because she has looked up to her all her life and she always led them true. Bella reveals Maite told her she was going to find a gateway to a new civilization and believes an alien race has arrived on the moon because of IO.

When asked why, Bella says dreams, signs, and symbols. In private, Bella tells Indira what Maite said about being with her mother for a long time. That is the reason she was watching her and the reason she left. She thinks her mother crossed over to them and that the race can talk to IO. Voss has gone to find them and her mother. Indira believes Maite is lost, but Bella doesn’t need to be. Bella thinks they can still catch Maite if Sonda leads a team. Indira worries a Mooner may not do what is necessary. If the IO detects that the council chair has died, Maite’s key would transfer to the second. Then, Indira and Sonda could give the ships permission to land. Bella remembers Tomm asking her if her name meant beauty of war. After Bella admits she knew the answer, Indira encourages her to go to Primo and find Maite.

Bella goes to Elna (Martha Malone) who leads her to Paul (Dominic Monaghan) and Wish. They want her to take a breather so they’re going to have one last dance. Wish (Josh Tedeku) and Paul dance before Elna gets involved too. Once Bella convinces Paul to stop, he shows her how to reach Primo. He tells her that it could be dangerous. Bella understands if he doesn’t come because she knows he is loyal to Maite. He doesn’t think she’d do anything to harm the bridge but wants to know the truth. He points out the Pilinius Crater that Bella has seen paintings of previously. She has a feeling that Maite is heading to the crater. Paul says it is about a day’s hike before they’re interrupted by Arlo’s arrival. They put his arm back on and he begins telling them about the compass rose.

He offers to solve the riddle of the rose while they track down Maite. Paul worries that Tomm and his gang will be looking for Arlo. Bella recommends taking it to the envoy. Paul realizes that Arlo is happier than usual. Arlo thinks it is because they’re actually detecting. Before Paul loses, he tells Wish that he’ll be back before his departure. He tells Elna that everything will be fixed when she sees the transport ships come down. Sonda tells Tomm about Maite fleeing and the envoy being desperate. She is convinced that Maite’s madness will save their people. Tomm tells her about the flower and the fact that he let Arlo live. He doesn’t think it was his time to die. He thinks they’ll do his work for him if he is patient. She knows he is still there despite what he has gone through.

She argues this is the future since the first wave will stay without the bridge. She says Lune will finally have its way forward, but Tomm says there is no forward or backward. There are only seen and unseen. He says Maite will die, she’ll take the key, and they’re going to let the ships land because he has seen it. As Paul and Bella walk together, they discuss all the things Maite said. They reach the river so the bridge should be around there. Paul says they’re trapped in IO’s dream out here. Bella likes it when there is no map because she is used to it from her recon experience. Arlo gets the flower working again and immediately shows Indira, Blu, and the others. Indira wants to see where it leads, Arlo thinks they should wait for Bella and Paul, and Blu suggests burning it to ash. Blu recommends keeping the key far from its lock.

Indira worries Tomm has found some hidden weakness in them. She blames herself before arguing she had a strong obligation to fix it. Indira wants to see where it goes because IO will protect her. Arlo says okay but he is coming too. Paul and Bella reach tombstones from the original settlements. When they learned about the moon in school, Bella says they learned about the science and their saviors in the sky. Earth was going to be healed. Paul still believes it will be. Bella asks how he can believe when everything is so messed up. He believes they’re the same because they fight for a cause. Bella argues there was no cause and it was just people in high places sending people to die. Paul thinks he was lucky to be born here and play his part although he knows nothing is perfect. He has his doubts, but he always knows they’re contributing to something bigger.

Paul informs her that he won’t let her kill Maite and that they’re going to bring her back alive. Moments later, they run into the camp belonging to the Gazers. They prefer a simpler life beyond the everyday stress of the Glade. They’ve been on edge for the past few weeks because their comms went down. They were going to send a group to the Glade to see if they had answers for IO being restless and disturbed. They call them glitches and violent spasms. They discuss the bridge snapping in two and Maite being out here. They’re not worried about people from the Glade because the shadowy forms on the edge of the ruins are more concerning. Some people think they are the ghosts of the original settlers. Zek tells them about the child she saw in the trees and how it was wild, swift, and different.

As Arlo leads the others, Tello asks him how he acquired his arm. He says he was in a debris storm when the Tofi burned up on reentry. It was a bad day for everyone, but IO put him back together. They begin talking about what happened after you die. Arlo thinks this is what you get so you better get it right. Indira agrees. Once the rose blinks, Arlo says they’re getting close. Bella tells Paul that Zek saw what she did so he has to believe her now. He argues they fill the darkness with their own concerns. Bella thinks you have to believe yourself. She is good at it now and it has kept her alive. She is convinced what she saw was real, but Paul suspects Maite is chasing ghosts. When he says he doesn’t believe in the impossible, Bella says they’re on the moon so impossible things happen all the time now.

Bella believes IO got created because someone was chasing a ghost. After Paul questions if she thinks her mother is still alive, Bella walks away. Arlo tells the others that they cannot go past the wall because the air will get too thin and they’ll die. When Indira goes anyway, the others follow her. The tree begins glowing orange. Arlo touches it and says it is the same composite as the flower. He wonders what they’ve unlocked. Once he catches a leave that falls from the tree, he finds his name on it. They’re family names so the tree must tell the blood. It works for Blu too. When the others try, Arlo stops them because only IO should have this information. Tomm tells them things change. Indira accuses him of wanting to break the very thing that holds the moon together, but he claims he is making it stronger. As they get ready to fight, Tomm reminds them they’re not on the Glade so IO can’t save them out here.

They pull guns and Blu’s dad Tello is shot. IO begins shaking the ground causing the other to run. Tomm’s men try to shoot them. Arlo is hit before he drops to the ground. After Bella wakes up, she hears Paul mumbling in his sleep. She learns that he is experiencing dreadfeel. Maite finds them but walks away without saying anything. In a flashback, she hangs out with Loa in her studio. Loa believes running from Earth was a mistake after all.  She left her daughter and can’t sleep at night. Maite tells her she is a seeker while the rest of them march in circles. Loa wants to go back. In the present, Paul and Bella follow Maite to the edge of a cliff. Paul tells her people think she is behind the Glade’s trouble even though he doesn’t. He insists they need to let the ships land. Maite thinks Loa has come back to them and could be the bridge between the past and future.

Bella says her mother is dead. Maite regretted for years that she told Loa her daughter was dead so she wouldn’t go back to Earth. Bella grabs Paul’s knife before accusing Maite of stealing her life from her. Maite says this is the beginning. After she asks Bella how she wants to be remembered, she falls back from the ledge. The little kid rushes in and pushes Bella over the edge, but she manages to hang on. Paul tries to pull her back up. When the little girl lets go, she levitates briefly before falling. Paul helps Bella climb back onto the surface. Paul and Bella run into Blu who tells them what has happened. The ships pass by overhead. Elna sees the ships leading her to believe everything is going to be okay.

 

Moonhaven Review

There is only one episode left of Moonhaven and it is unfathomable to imagine that this could possibly get renewed for another season. Unfortunately, it just hasn’t been good enough in any shape or form. The characters are shallow and some of them are downright unlikeable. The series is just going through the motions and moving from scene to scene without any substance or heart.

The only possible exciting thing about Moonhaven is the fact that there could be a war between Mooners and Earthers. Even if that happens, they’d probably find a way to make it the most uninteresting affair with wooden characters. Kadeem Hardison and Dominic Monaghan have delivered decent performances, but nothing could save this sinking ship.

If I had to use one word to describe Moonhaven, it’d have to be dreadful or cringe. While some of the technology and ideas are cool, I don’t give a hoot about any of the characters or what happens to the Moon or Earth. It’d be nice to have a captivating sci-fi series, but this isn’t it. At this point, those who make it through all six episodes truly deserve a reward. The episode scores a 4 out of 10. Recaps of Moonhaven can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link.