Breathe Season 1 Episode 3 Recap

Hierarchy of Needs – The show begins with a flashback of Liv (Melissa Barrera) watching a home health nurse (Erika Hau) feed her father (Juan Pablo Espinosa). Liv’s mother (Florencia Lozano) paints her. Young Liv (Joselyn Picard) works at her desk. Danny (Jeff Wilbusch) gives her a bite of food before they kiss. While holding up her painting, Liv’s mother says she now looks like her.

Back to the present – Liv startles awake. After starting a fire, she has a flashback of watching her mother from her bed. Her mother weeps while talking to herself. She tells Liv that she loves her before grabbing her bag and walking out the door.

Back to the present – Liv licks a foil food wrapper while having a flashback of Danny bringing her lunch. He jokingly says he doesn’t like her and hasn’t any interest in them being friends. She assures him that she does eat while holding up a bag of Barritas. He refers to her snacks as a “cry for help.”

In a flashback, a female doctor (Michelle Choi-Lee) names off a list of food that she should avoid. Back to the present, Liv empties a pill bottle on the ground before refilling with water from a lake. She tells herself the water needs to be boiled.

While walking through the woods, she imagines a plane crashing. She retrieves several pieces of debris before heading back to her campsite. She shapes a piece of scrap metal to boil water.

In a flashback, Liv’s father and teacher (Katrina Reynolds) discuss her being unable to concentrate. He asks if her work is being impacted. She tells him that Liv talks to herself and has no interest in making friends. He assures her that they will manage on their own.

Back to the present, Liv celebrates as the water in her makeshift pot boils. She burns her fingers while trying to dip the pill bottle into the boiling water.

While burning money, Liv images Sam (Austin Stowell) saying it isn’t hers. He asks if she believes they may like to have it back. She adds more money to the fire. When he realizes, she isn’t going to listen, he walks away.

Once the water is cool, she pours it into the pill bottle. After examining it, she gulps it all done.

In a flashback, young Liv has a cup of hot cocoa. He describes the cocoa as “delicious.” She tells him that her mother used to make it for her. She turns her focus back to a drawing of her mother in a window seat. He asks if she’s spending a lot of time drawing. She questions why they don’t have any visitors. He assures her that they don’t need family. She asks what will happen if he goes away. He promises to not leave her. She questions if her mother misses them. He becomes upset when she asks why her mother left. She scribbles out her mother’s face in her drawing.

Back to the present, Liv tries to catch fish with her hand. She makes a handmade fishing pole out of a branch, dental floss, and a brass ring. When the fish bite, she jerks back on the branch until it snaps.

While walking through the woods, Liv has a flashback of telling her team that they need to develop a timeline from the evidence. Danny suggests it would take several days. She warns him that their time is limited to a day. Ruth (Getenesh Berhe) informs her of her father being taken to the hospital following a fall. Danny tells the others that they should give Liv some time. Liv demands they continue working until the timeline is completed.

Back to the present, Liv continues trekking through the woods. In a flashback, Ruth asks Liv about her father. Liv assures her that he is doing okay before suggesting they start preparing the first drafts. Ruth tries to convince her to take time off to spend with her father. Liv tells her that she and her father rarely talk. Ruth explains how she was in a similar situation with her brother, David. Raising her voice, Ruth says she doesn’t need her help. Ruth warns her that she will regret her decision.

Liv visits her father at the hospital.

Back to the present, Liv finds berries in the woods. While filling her pill bottle with berries, she has a flashback of the doctor telling her food that should be excluded from her diet.

Back to the present – Liv divides the berries into three piles. As she prepares to eat her first berry, Sam warns her that she will die if it is poisonous. She chews the berry for a few seconds before spitting it out. Sam sarcastically suggests she isn’t an outdoor person. After testing a different berry, she begins stuffing her mouth full.

Sam sings “Home On The Range” while Liv lays by the fire. She suddenly vomits. In a flashback, she vomits in the bathroom. She speaks with a realtor (Alison Wandzura) about selling her father’s home. As the lady holds a piece of décor, Liv explains how her mother got it for her father as a gag gift on their first date.

Back to the present, Liv has a dream of walking through the woods when she encounters a bear. She mimics the bear eating berries off the bush without utilizing her hands.

Liv boils the berries before eating them. After realizing she is okay, she heads for the woods for more berries. When it starts raining, she rushes back to her camp. She empties several pill bottles to catch rainwater. She crawls underneath a makeshift shelter while it rains.

In a flashback, Danny stops by her office with lunch. She suggests they not make it a habit because he is a distraction for her. Back to the present, Liv stretches what looks like a rope from her campsite to the top of a mountain. She has a flashback of being a child at an art exhibit. She stares at a wall filled with paintings of women with red scribbles on their faces. Her mother turns to see her standing there.

In a flashback, Liv packs up her father’s things when she discovers a box of postcards. One of the cards is dated May 2004. It’s dated to Liv, “Thinking of you in Peru! Mom.” Another postcard shows her mother will be in Inuvik until September. The date on her phone is August 28.

In a flashback – Liv is in an airport.

Back to the present – Sam sees a lighted area in the distance. When Sam asks what it could be, she assures him that she will find out as the episode comes to an end.

 

Keep Breathing Review

The plot is interesting enough but in no way unique. It has a “Robinson Crusoe” feel. I will say it’s uncompelling in many ways. If someone found themselves stranded in the woods, they surely wouldn’t roam around at night. Liv ignores the dangers of her surroundings and doesn’t do anything to create a protective shelter. A diet of berries will not suffice very long.

Liv, at no fault of her own, has found herself in an unpredictable and dangerous situation. Even so, it is difficult to empathize with her. Her sharp tongue and standoffish attitude make her unlikeable. It is difficult to say if we are supposed to support her or hope the wild animals get her.

I question why they chose Sam of all people to feed Liv’s psychosis. Why not her father?

I wanted to add that it was a bit silly for Liv to give up catching a fish so easily. Here you are in a situation where food is essential for survival. What does Liv do, give up?

The scenery is breathtaking.

The continuous transition from present to past is ridiculous. I understand the importance of flashbacks is to give viewers a perspective of Liv before the plane crash. The poor execution nearly foiled the writer(s) agenda.

The show deserves a 6. Get more Keep Breathing recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link to learn more.