Fire And Water – As the second episode of Keep Breathing begins, Danny (Jeff Wilbusch) and Liv (Melissa Barrera) talk about Ruth trying to hook them up. Once Liv asks if he is scared, Danny says they have to do this. She remembers them playing darts to see who has to buy the first round of drinks. He tells her that she first needs to get to the plane because it has a satphone and radio. If she can find them, she can get help. Liv takes off her clothes and walks into the water only to realize it is freezing cold. She quickly gets out. She tries to create a raft but has difficulty getting it into the water. She uses a rock to carve into a downed tree nearby. Later, she sits near Sam’s body and thinks about being with her father when he died. While she eats one of the power bars, she remembers talking to Danny about one of their coworkers making a firs-year do his work.

He doesn’t think it is a big deal, but she does because the woman produced several privileged documents to the other side. Liv reminds him that they’re not paid to make mistakes. They need to be always the best. If he wants someone to hold his hand, he should’ve joined a support group. Although he isn’t getting fired, he thinks he is. Liv admits that is why they’re here while he is still at the office doing what he can to claw this thing back. He asks if she thinks he is nice since it would be a compliment, but she says it is a liability. He asks if she was born this cynical. She responds by saying she had to work at it. She thinks he is too nice so she doesn’t trust it. Danny says sometimes people are what they are. As for Liv, she claims she is just work. He says that is too bad because he was looking forward to meeting the rest of her.

In the present, she drinks water before we see a flashback of her having sex with Danny. In the morning, Danny asks Liv if she is trying to sneak away from him. She explains she has to go in early to do some stuff. Danny tells her she is pretty great just before she leaves. In the present, Liv remembers being with George (Mike Dopud) before his death as well as her father. She uses a piece of wood to swim out into the water in hopes of reaching the plane. She tries to dive into the water, but it is still too cold. Liv eventually swims down into the plane to get the bag. Once she grabs it, she begins swimming up to the surface. She secures it to the log before going back for the other one. In a flashback, Liv has passed out after drinking too much. The candle in her room starts a fire by catching on the flowers next to her.

Liv attempts to get the radio, but finds it is attached to the wall of the plane. When she realizes she isn’t going to get it, she tries to swim back to the surface only to get her foot caught in the netting. While trying to free herself, she wakes up in the past and coughs due to the smoke. She collapses to the floor as the fire spreads around her. In the present, she manages to free her foot and swim out of the boat. A firefighter pulls Olivia out of the fire. We see a picture from her father’s funeral or obituary as he drags her out. Liv uses the log to swim back to land. However, she is forced to stop when she sees a bear. It eats her power bar, poops, and turns its attention to Sam’s body. Liv screams and screams until the bear eventually walks away. Once she makes it back to land, she checks her laptop and finds it has been soaked. She looks through her stuff and finds a sewing kit.

In a flashback, Danny gives her the earring she left at his place. She puts it in a drawer before Danny reveals he stole her winning dart from the bar last night. She asks about the motion and says she’d like to see it before the meeting. Danny questions if he did something. She sends him back to work before throwing the dart in the garbage. She gets it out and puts it in the drawer. Then, she finds stacks of money in one of the bags. She also discovers big bottles of oxycodone pills. At the hospital in the past, Olivia is told she should sue her building since the sprinkler system didn’t work. Besides smoke inhalation, her blood alcohol level was over ten times the legal limit. They had to pump her stomach and put her on hemodialysis.

The nurse or doctor tells her that she is sober and would be willing to listen to her. Although her lungs feel like they’re on fire, they can’t give her anything because of the baby. She is asked how far along she is with the baby. Liv drags Sam’s body elsewhere and creates a makeshift tombstone for him. She tells him goodbye. She tries to use a pair of glasses to create a fire with the money. Olivia celebrates once she manages to get the fire started. Later that night, she enjoys the fire and carves another line into the tree to mark three days. She hears Sam telling her that it is a nice fire, but it isn’t going to get her fed. Nobody is coming for her because nobody cares about her. He suggests she’ll be just as dead as him in a few more days.

 

Keep Breathing Review

The second episode of Keep Breathing followed the formula established in the first without any noticeable improvements. While not totally realistic, the survival scenes are at least interesting. The biggest problem is that Keep Breathing doesn’t know what it wants to be or what it wants to do. A few flashbacks here and there to provide insight into a character’s past is fine, but the flashbacks are too much here.

It doesn’t help that the flashbacks are covering multiple time periods. One is focusing on Liv’s relationship with Danny while the other involves the death of her father. These scenes slow the pace of the show and prevent the action from becoming intense. There is likely some type of message here although it is hard to say what that message might be right now.

Truthfully, this should be a show capable of keeping viewers on the edges of their seats but that is becoming less and less likely due to the slow pass and overwhelming flashbacks. The second episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Keep Breathing can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support us at this link.