The Detective – As the second episode of Moonhaven begins, Bella Sway (Emma McDonald) wakes up in a tent and begins freaking out. She eventually finds a way to escape only to fall into the water. Indira Mare (Amara Karan) has a meeting with ICON as Tycho worries about the Enjoy’s bodyguard nearly being killed using a stolen drug. She is warned that the extremist message is growing on the ground. They say the story can be controlled but wonder if Indira can control what is going on up there. They ask if it is Terra because they’d be fools to dismiss this as a coincidence. She is asked if they finally found a way to get an agent on Moonhaven. Indira asks if Terra has commented about it before she is asked about the council chair stepping down.

When Indira calls it complicated, they begin asking if the Mooners are turning against them since IO predicted a corruption in the workflow. Indira says they’re the same and these people have one goal which is to solve our mess. She believes the council will swap and they’ll continue doing what they’ve always done. She will see these troubles resolved and they will stay the course. Once the meeting ends, Indira is visibly upset. After the intro, a video is shown about how resisting change will lead to our own extinction. ICON picked the Moon as a setting to learn from the past in order to grow toward a brighter future. The IO technology will repair centuries of damage on Earth. We cannot rely solely on technology so we must evolve. The people on Moonhaven offer them a new way of living and a bridge to peace, health, and future.

Paul (Dominic Monaghan) wakes up and finds Fritz sleeping with Lone (Elaine Tan). He goes outside and gets naked among the trees as Arlo (Kadeem Hardison) told him to. Once he goes back inside, he tells Wish (Josh Tedeku) that the ship to take him to Earth is in the orbit. Wish is told to take his music with him so he’ll have a little piece of his family. Although Paul would be afraid that far away, Wish is not. Lone follows Paul outside to talk about their boy leaving. Paul says they still have time so they should make the days they have left sing. Lone knows he is going back to Bella and suspects she is dangerous, but Paul says they are us. She says gleam before they hold hands and look into each other’s eyes. Paul admits he didn’t know she was still there. She encourages him to take care today before he leaves and tries to visit Bella. When he enters, she asks where she is and begins trying to attack him.

Bella only stops when she punches the wall. He tells her that the Scapes are privacy huts for everyone. When asks why he brought her here, Paul begins talking about the frustangle which is a knot you don’t know how to untangle. He felt it last night. The Envoy’s bodyguard overdosed with stolen Singer. Bella tells him to use his machine to get the answer, but IO can’t help because the ship is in a diplomatic blind. That is why the gun worked. Bella is the only one who knows what happened. She learns that Strego is the one who got shot and also killed her sister. Bella claims she got back to CAT and saw that Strego had the needle in Tomm’s neck, but Tomm shot before he collapsed. Paul says Singer is very powerful and hard to get. She asks if Chill was involved in a drug deal before mentioning the kid they saw in the forest.

Bella just wants to get back to her ship because she knows she can fix it. She hopes he isn’t holding her here to try to heal her. He says there hasn’t been a murder here in a long time. Now, there are two and he might suspect her so he asks her to sit tight until he and Arlo figure out what is going on. She finds it odd that he said two murders until she learns that Tomm was revived even though his mind is far away and his body barely beats. When he leaves on the boat, she decides to swim over to the other hut. Indira visits Maite Voss (Ayelet Zurer) to talk about giving up her council responsibilities. She blames a Mooner for the attack on Tomm and says they’ve let chaos creep into this place. IO only said that there was trouble yet unspooled. Voss wonders if this was the trouble or if there could be something worse ahead.

Indira says ICON wants to make sure the mess is cleaned up and that Maite is stepping down. Voss asks about the Earther pilot after mentioning that the Mooner is dead. She goes on to say two Mooners are dead while two Earthers are alive. Indira will not have the bridge delayed so Maite will have to swap out. She will relinquish and pass her key to IO to the next council chair. Maite asks what will happen if she doesn’t do that. The two keys set the course for IO. One comes from the Moon and the other from the Mother. Maite wouldn’t step aside from that when her people need her the most, but Indira is adamant that she will step down. She wonders how Earth will respond when she knows her bridge to a better future sways in a perilous wind. When Indira asks if she’d leak this now, Maite admits she would if she compels her to do so.

She won’t let Indira frame this as Moon trouble when it is of Earth. Bella passes by the hut where two people are holding hands before stealing their boat. Arlo finds it odd that the machine doesn’t work, but Paul thinks they should be looking for clues to find out what happened here. He tells Arlo what Bella said and makes sure he doesn’t touch anything since he might learn how to check for fingerprints. They speculate that Strego stabbed Tomm with the Singer he stole and intended to sneak back to Earth. Arlo suggests his true love waits there with a child that was conceived through space using an ancient magic of sorts. Arlo goes on about Bella’s blood frenzy. Then, he wonders if this is all connected to Chill Spen somehow.

Paul wonders if Chill and Strego had planned to smuggle the drug. He asks why Strego would kill her or extract his dark. Arlo wonders if he did it to prevent IO from knowing the dark deed he did. Paul says he had it at the station so he must’ve taken it out after that. What did he do that he didn’t want IO seeing? It had to be something so bad that he’d want to leave the moon behind. Paul notices the dog tags hanging nearby. He asks if they’ve ever had such a lost soul. Bella tries to find her ship to no avail. Arlo wonders if Chill might’ve known too much about Strego’s darkness. They visit Asus who admits the Bright has helped and joy comes easy again. Instead of sadness, she now giggles at the thought of her sister. Paul explains that death is silly without grief. When asked about Strego and Chill, she says they fit together well.

Although they had hard and easy days, the killing doesn’t make any sense. She wonders why they’re asking so many questions about the dead so Arlo explains they’re solving the case. Strego often worried about the bridge and how much different it would be as they begin leaving the moon. Asus asks if it matters why they died since they’re dead and her grief is dealt. She asks if they’ve done their real job for Bella. Asus gives them a locked box that Chill gave her and said she would be coming back for. They think it is a clue, but Asus just wants them to give it to Bella. She tells them to stop chasing the gonesouls and get back to those left behind. Bella finds a group of people singing while a woman screams while standing in the middle of their circle. She leaves before they can notice her.

Arlo and Paul visit Indira who tells them that Tomm will be moved to the healing house today. Arlo doesn’t think he’ll be the same after taking 10 Singers at once. She asks about Bella as Paul begins telling her what Bella claims she saw. Indira says the incident changes everything. Paul has spent time with Bella and believes she is telling the truth. Indira asks if she can share something in confidence. She says thanks to what Moonhaven is and what they are IO is safe here. It learns from the best of us and not the worst. No one on Earth has ever been able to contaminate Lune with terror or greed. Arlo says they have terror and greed, but it is their job to heal the wounds. She says they have crimes of passion because they’re human.

True evil has never set foot here. ICON is worried that some Earth extremists have found a way to get an agent on the moon with the intention of stopping the bridge from moving forward. She is asked if she thinks the pilot was involved. She wants to believe the incident on the ship was just a random event. When Bella finds herself encircled by locals, she asks what they’ve done with her ship. She just wants to go home. A woman approaches to tell her that she cannot run anymore. Moments later, Paul finds Bella locked up with an electronic bracelet around her wrist. He uses the system to watch videos from Bella’s service in the military. Then, he goes through her bag and plays her music using the spinning top. He watches the interview they did with Bella previously.

During another interview, he tells her she should’ve stayed on the sea although he knows she struggles to stay in one place. There is still one not left to untie. He plays the video of her talking to Jatey about bringing home the Singer. She is the smuggler and Jate Mura served four tours in the Tremendous War. They met in the Pacific before she started smuggling black market goods for him. She explains that the Singer was dropped by her ship using a fake bird and she wasn’t working with Strego or anyone else. She claims those guys were going at it when Strego must’ve found the Singer and used it to save himself. Paul warns her that she is in bigger trouble now since her fate lies with the Council and the people of Moonhaven. After admitting he doesn’t know what they’ll do to her, he gives her the locked box from her sister.

Bella is taken in front of the council as Paul tells everyone about the encrypted call and Bella’s involvement in the smuggling operation. There is nothing to indicate that Bella played a part in the violent events that took place on the ship. One member says the Singer is not a good choice to be bought and sold so stealing it means not understanding the nature of who they are. The Earther wounds them all and the wounds will not heal until the guard wakes and speaks the truth. She recommends keeping Bella asleep until the answers are available. Bella argues that they should send her home instead of making her sleep. One member agrees because the gifts of the Bridge will come to her in her own time. Paul asks to speak for a minute before saying he is a speaker or a detective.

His job is to find the wounds incurred in this community and understand how they can be healed. He reveals that Bella has a dark heart since she killed 72 souls during the Tremendous War. She has been captured and tortured. Bella picked a violent life and they have no responsibility for that, but these instincts rooted long before that choice. He says this is against the rules of his calling but thinks they should know about Bella’s mother leaving her on Earth. He claims they are responsible for her soul twist and have a duty to repair it. Bella asks why her blood matters considering she hadn’t set foot on Glade until two days ago. She questions how she is supposed to feel something for people she doesn’t even know. Maite asks where their duty to her is when she feels no connection to them.

Paul questions whether they should cast her back to the place they’ve sworn to heal while she is violent and broken. He wonders how they’re supposed to succeed if they cannot heal the dark heart of Bella Sway. He offers to make her his charge, open his house to her, and make her actions his responsibility. Maite agrees with Paul and welcomes Bella to Moonhaven. Later, she tells Paul that she is a member of his cult now. Paul has been taught that reparations must be made when we hurt someone. He also calls her a liar who breaks laws, promises, and people. Bella doesn’t think she owes anything because she fought for a cause. He tells her that she fought to keep moving so she is a coward who is orbiting her darkness. Paul admits he fought to keep her here so she can help him.

This cult is the only way they’re going to survive and Paul worries it could be in real danger. He tells her there is someone she needs to meet before taking her to a house where no one lives anymore. She finds her sister sitting in a chair as Paul explains IO assembles the gonesoul from their living responses. It is a projection of her sister and enough to give closure to those who seek it. She is given permission to talk to her. Bella approaches Chill (Nina Barker-Francis) who says she likes to walk in the dark. The days are too loud and bright. She is asked about the night she died and whether she was trying to meet someone besides Strego. Chill asks why she seems so familiar before learning they had the same mother. Bella wonders if she somehow sent for her. Chill begins talking about her sister named Asus.

Before leaving, Bella says she is sorry for not getting here in time. Back at home, Paul brings Bella’s things to her. She warns him that she is bringing trouble for him. Then, they begin talking about Fritz who yearns for Lone. He weaves himself into the family. If it holds, he will stay. It is called a knit and it isn’t uncommon here. Paul confesses that he and Lone have troubles. Bella sits down with the box. She admits that she lied because Tomm tried to kill her after he shot Strego. She injected Tomm with the singer. She thinks he attacked her because she saw something she shouldn’t have. Bella says Strego looked at Tomm and said it was done before he died. Paul says there might be an agent from Earth trying to destroy everything and he can’t be positive it isn’t her.

He agrees to give her ship back and let her leave if she helps him figure this out. Bella manages to get the box open to find out that it contains her mother’s things. Paul finds a small stone that shows them a message from Chill to Asus. She claims they did whatever they did for Asus and everyone else. They must be strong and protect themselves. They lied to us because they were never going to Earth and the Bridge is just a trap.

 

Moonhaven Review

There are still glimpses of potential for Moonhaven, but that potential is quickly evaporating after two painfully slow episodes. The scenery has been gorgeous and the high-tech stuff looks good on screen. There is a possibility that Moonhaven has a deeper purpose and meaning even though it hasn’t managed to get it across in a purposeful way yet.

The dialogue isn’t great since it seems like the characters are speaking in riddles at times. Although it may change in future episodes, it has been very difficult to care for any of the characters, especially the overly simple Mooners. The beginning of the episode felt more like an infomercial than a television show.

The episodes are too long and the pacing is too slow without enough thrill to keep the viewer glued to their seat. While there was a lot going on in the episode, there was little of substance, not enough meat, and too much babble. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Moonhaven can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.