Episode 7 begins with Ms. Miriam (Sarah Niles) telling the residents that Doctor Clifford Howson (Alexander Siddig) and his brother designed Sword & Cross to protect them. Gabbe (Indeyarna Donaldson-Holness) is the first to express her doubt but it doesn’t take the other long to join in. Despite the Veil remaining in place and functional, it appears that the escaped Outcast (Adam Zambryzczky) managed to send a homing signal to the others.
Sometime later Luce/Lucinda Price (Jessica Alexander) is out for a morning run when she hears a plea for help that leads her to an injured Penn Lockwood (Esme Kingdom). Before Luce rushes off for help, Penn cryptically tells her that she was right, there were ravens in the keep. When Luce returns with help, there are no signs of Penn. Once Penn shows up in perfect health, the security footage reveals that Luce was alone earlier.
Things are even bleaker for Cassie (Laura Majid) when Howson tells her that she’s only got a few days to live. Although it’s not fully explained she blames her situation on Howson’s sibling rivalry. She accuses him of being willing to do anything to anyone as long as he wins.
After going through their intake documents, several of the residents have a hard time coping with their pasts. Roland Sparks (Lawrence Walker) and Arriane (Josefine Koenig) bond over not fully understanding where they come from while Penn returns to her father, Edward’s (James Callis), gravesite. She’s overcome with the memory from the night of the campfire when she finds his damaged glasses on the ground.
When Luce checks on Daniel Grigori (Gijs Blom), she not only learns that he’s recovering quicker than ever but he purposely asks Howson to wipe his memory so that he would forget about her. Daniel claims that every time they get together, she ends up dying. Luce points out that it’s her risk, her decision, but Daniel apparently can’t deal with such an immense loss.
Cam (Timothy Innes) becomes even further isolated when he admits that he already knew everything Miriam shared with them that morning about the Outcasts. He attempts to justify keeping quiet by saying they wouldn’t have believed him and even if they did, Howson would have made them forget. He also tells them that the institute’s staff has been specifically training them so that they can protect them against the Outcasts in the upcoming battle. It’s unclear whether or not they believe him.
While Ms. Sophia (Sarah Niles) approaches Howson with concerns about Luce’s earlier encounter/vision, Penn tells Luce about finding Edward’s glasses and watching the security footage. Luce offers her immediate assistance, but Penn appears too frightened to pursue it further. This eventually leads to them discussing Luce’s earlier vision as well. Once Luce mentions what Penn said about the ravens and the keep, Penn tells her that she hasn’t been inside there since Edward died.
Luce eventually approaches Howson about her vision. This leads to them discussing everything from death to everything in the universe being connected. Once he tells her that everything is connected, not always physical but connected, she asks what would happen if someone separated one of those connections. His cryptic response is that this would make you alone. He then appears to go on a tangent about how every trauma, every moment; practically every instance shapes a person’s life. Apparently, the big takeaway is that those moments never leave; they are always with a person.
Penn visits the keep where she not only has visions of Edward, but she finds what appear to be family photos and a letter. Although she is interrupted by the arrival of Tasha (Sam Bell), she later shares her discoveries with Luce. According to the letter, she is the child of Edward and Tasha. It was the elders forcing them to give Penn up that led to Edward becoming more outspoken about the institute’s treatment of the residents.
Although Luce convinces Penn to confront Tasha, it appears it will have to wait until later due to the need to repair the fences and get the horses back to the stables. The residents are split into groups to tackle the repairs but Daniel is given a pass due to her recent medical scare. This leads to him briefly visiting Cassie where they discuss her imminent death. He attempts to take the blame but the discussion doesn’t go much further.
Penn’s later discussion with Tasha doesn’t go much better. It ends with Penn storming off after the majority of her questions are answered with the statement – you wouldn’t understand. Despite Luce being furious with Cam’s deception, he takes advantage of their being paired together by convincing her to go on a horse ride. She agrees to ride and eventually falls off at one point. Once it’s revealed that he’s perfectly fine, he tells her that as much as either one of them might hate to say it, she is meant to be with Daniel.
Penn prepares to leave the facility when Luce confronts Daniel about her feelings. Their discussion doesn’t go too far due to them being unable to keep their hands off each other. Gabbe visits Molly (Maura Bird) to let her know that she’s around if she ever feels the need to talk about what happened with Eugene (Nick Wittman). Although Molly claims to be unaffected by the encounter, she appears grateful for Gabbe’s efforts.
Penn visits Luce before she leaves and attempts to get her to go with her. Luce not only turns her down but tells her that she’s more likely to find the answers she wants in the institute, rather than in the outside world. Luce attempts to return Edwards’s letter but Penn tells her to keep it. She also asks Penn to wait a few days before she leaves but the goodbye look, she gives suggests this won’t be the case.
As soon as Luce returns to her room, she receives a visit from Arriane, who wants to return the clothes she has been stealing. She apologizes and tells Luce that she only wanted to be part of her life. Luce tells her that she is. This eventually leads to Arriane asking about the letter Luce is holding. After Luce briefly explains, they read the letter together. This is where Edward announces his undying love for Penn and mentions having a vision of him and Penn together before Tasha even became pregnant with her.
As Luce and Arriane continue to read the letter, Penn makes a last stop at the keep where she encounters Ms. Sophia. When they share a goodbye hug, Ms. Sophia takes a needle from her hair and stabs Penn. Sophia apologizes to her as he dies and tells her that she is merely trying to fulfill the prophecy.
The episode ends with Luce and Arriane realizing they have been locked in their room as Penn’s life fades away.
Fallen Review
As per usual the episode answered just enough to keep me guessing. At this point, I am beginning to believe that this series was adapted only for previous readers of the book. I’ve never read the book but I would have to imagine that it does a more thorough job of explaining this. Other than that, the series isn’t awful. I accredited a lot of the downfall to poor editing. If you notice in the last few scenes, Luce meets with Penn and gets the letter from Edward. Then in the next scene when Arriane returns her clothes, she claims she got the letter from Penn much earlier that morning.
Other than little bits like that, I’d give the episode a 5.5 out of 10. Get more Fallen recaps here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. See what others are saying here.
