As Station Eleven’s 7th episode begins, Kirsten (Mackenzie Davis) wakes up and finds herself surrounded by dead Red Bandanas. She looks over and spots young Kirsten (Matilda Lawler) looking through their clothes for supplies. Young Kirsten warns her that she is dying because one of them shot her with poison. Adult Kirsten tries to suck the poison from her skin as her younger self reveals she has the antidote. Kirsten asks her younger self to give her the antidote, but she doesn’t and instead begins running from her. She follows the little girl until she comes across a strange door. Before stepping inside, she looks at her wrist and can see the poison begin to affect her body. As she steps inside the door, she is taken to the apartment where she spent time with Frank (Nabhaan Rizwan) and Jeevan (Himesh Patel). Jeevan admits he is still afraid of the dark when his brother asks.

The lights of the building nearby begin turning off in rapid succession. Young Kirsten describes the city as being like a spaceship while Jeevan says they’re screwed. Adult Kirsten tries to talk to Jeevan who ignores her. Instead, he turns to young Kirsten and says it is going to be okay although she heard otherwise. He says they have to think about the future because they’ll be out of food around spring and those left will want to fight each other. Since this can’t last, Jeevan believes they’ll have to leave at some point. We jump back as Frank learns his sister told Jeevan to come to him. He doesn’t want that and threatens to have the guard stop him. He tries to clean up the drugs he left on the counter before the guard calls and tells him Jeevan and Kirsten are downstairs. Before long, they sit around the television and learn about Paris being on fire right now. Jeevan reveals there is a coup attempt in China as well.

Frank makes Kirsten something to drink while encouraging Jeevan to turn the news off. He is optimistic that everything will be back to normal in a few days since the power is still on. He turns off the television and tells Jeevan in Hindi that Kirsten is slowly realizing her parents are dead. Jeevan reminds him that his sister is dead too although Frank says they’re adults and should worry more about Kirsten. Jeevan asks her if she’d like to get some rest in the spare room. Kirsten agrees and promises to let them know when she hears from her parents. Jeevan jokes that parenting is easy. Once she is out of the room, Jeevan asks his brother what is going to happen, but Frank doesn’t have an answer. Frank asks about King Lear before we jump forward and Kirsten finds him reading the Station Eleven book. She gives him a gift for Christmas. He admits he forgot and agrees to give her the comic back.

Frank confesses he should be working, but he just keeps reading the book over and over. He insists he can relate to all the characters in the book. Older Kirsten pleads with her younger self to give her the antidote because she has to get back. Younger tells her she hid the antidote in her pocket so she can go if she wants. Kirsten retrieves it and checks her veins once again. She believes she has more time so she decides to stay with them a bit longer. After another time warp, we learn it is 75 days before the play. Frank reveals that Kirsten is moving into the closet and kids like little rooms like that because they make the world seem small. When asked if she is okay, Frank believes she is traumatized since she just found out about her parents dying. Jeevan says that makes three of them. When he asks to change the batteries in the television remote, Frank wonders how in the world Jeevan made it this far.

When Jeevan finds the heroin, he takes Frank outside to confront him in private. Frank says he started 10 months ago but quit and doesn’t have any withdrawal symptoms. He eventually confesses that he isn’t able to ghostwrite when he is sober. Frank says whatever is going on outside is irrelevant and whatever he had is gone. He can’t write novels because he doesn’t make stuff up. He takes the bag and hides it in the drawer. Jeevan instructs him they’ll leave together if they must and his brother will get better. Before Jeevan leaves the room, he reminds his brother they have a kid now. Older Kirsten warns younger Kirsten not to write the play because she leaves one day too late. Next, they sit around and listen for an update as they learn they’re going to lose more amenities.

They encountered a flu that exploded and they weren’t ready for a 1-in-1,000 survival rate. Young Kirsten begins singing a Christmas song in hopes of raising their spirits. Then, we jump to 79 days before the play. Frank asks Kirsten if she has heard anything from her parents. He tells her about seeing the sunrise over the lake for the first time and wanting to be here forever. She learns that Frank moved in about 10 months ago and has been ghostwriting an autobiography. He warns her that his brother does dumb stuff sometimes such as bringing home a dead bird that had its neck broken once. He says his brother is a terrible babysitter and he is a shut-in. He asks her what kids eat before they sit down for breakfast. She reveals she had a brother who died before he was born. He might’ve been at home with the babysitter when Jeevan walked her home.

Frank says he doesn’t like thinking in maybes. Frank begins telling her about his leg and the fact that someone tried to blow him up because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was in Sri Lanka where there is a war that never ends. He was there to write a story for Vanity Fair. He went there, talks to the locals, and hired a guide. He remembers looking up and finding his guide running away. He took another step and got blown up. He floated before ending up in the hospital and unable to remember anything. He looks down and found Jeevan sleeping on the floor. He was in a military base hospital in Singapore and his brother got a 24-hour flight on Siya’s credit card to reach him. Jeevan says he flew first-class and she never found out, but Frank says she did. Later, Kirsten asks Frank if he wants to be in her play before Jeevan interrupts to say they need a fire in the spare room. Frank asks them to meet him at the table in ten minutes because he has something to show them.

He heard something on the tapes he sent him and it has something to do with the way he laughed. He says it is a real and a way to stay hot. He plays it for them and begins rapping. They dance and sing with him. Then, we jump forward to the day before the play. Jeevan says they only have 12 days of food left so they have to leave first thing tomorrow. Frank doesn’t want to go because he hasn’t finished the autobiography. Kirsten hasn’t finished her play either, but Jeevan doesn’t think they’ll finish. He reminds Frank of the Alive movie and the fact that they survived. Old Kirsten tells young Kirsten that she has been spying on them as Jeevan talks to himself in his makeshift tent. She thought he had started speaking to himself at the cabin. He thinks he is talking to Siya about convincing Frank to leave the apartment with them. He tells Frank he is going to open the door although Frank doesn’t respond. Jeevan begins removing the barrier in front of the door.

Kirsten says she has finished writing so they can do it tomorrow before leaving. She asks what he would’ve done if he knew the flu was coming. Jeevan admits he would’ve come home earlier from LA. He says he was late for everything. As for Kirsten, she would’ve said goodbye to Arthur. She complains she didn’t get to say goodbye to anyone. He instructs her to say goodbye now before returning to the door. He opens the door and walks down the corridor. Kirsten looks for Luli in the duct system. While Frank takes down his notes, Jeevan searches one of the apartments and finds a radio and piano. He finds the window open and wind blowing through. Young Kirsten walks outside and says it smells so bad. She is told it is the dead bodies. Old Kirsten tells her to close the door and go talk to Frank. He gives her something he got from his grandfather and explains he owed her a present. It is a compass he had in his pocket when he stepped on the mine that day.

It always points east. Kirsten reveals she made the whole play the death scene and he will play Lonagan. She admits it is his death scene just as Jeevan returns. Jeevan says he found something and Kirsten says Frank thinks they should go east. She begins preparing beans after that. They sit down and begin working on her play although it is very long and little light left. The radio starts making noises. Jeevan uses it and listens to a woman and man talk about the whole Mississippi being filled with bodies. He responds telling her not to come because it isn’t safe. In Hindi, Frank tells his brother that he won’t survive trying to help both of them. He knows Kirsten can’t survive without him though. They agree to do the play. We see Jeevan in a spacesuit as he recites the lines.

Young Kirsten tries to convince her older self to leave and deal with the poison, but she won’t. The play continues. Frank says he was lonely when he let him in and this strange time was the happiest of his life. He knows he is going to die. He responds that everyone is and you can’t stop it. Jeevan or Eleven says he was trying to come home and Lonagan was the only person who knew him before. Young Kirsten sneaks up behind Lonagan, puts a knife to his neck, and orders him to turn on the engines. He says he can’t do that. She kills him as she says she is tired of that answer. Eleven calls her an idiot because she needed him to survive. Frank says goodbye Eleven before encouraging his brother to say his line, but he won’t. the cat, Luli, finally comes back. They find a stranger in the house as they yell for Kirsten to run right now. The man wants them to leave and says he lives there now. Jeevan is okay with that, but Frank won’t say one way or another. Frank apologizes to his brother before telling the stranger he isn’t leaving.

The stranger stabs Frank in the stomach and a fight between him and Jeevan begins. Adult Kirsten watches as the stranger overpowers Jeevan. She remembers Frank reading Station Eleven to her. Once young Kirsten returns, older Kirsten says it is okay because Jeevan survives and you get to see Frank again. She promises it isn’t her fault because she did the play. Frank removes the knife and throws it to the side. Jeevan bashes the guy before checking on his brother. Frank insists he is okay because of the armor, but Jeevan doesn’t believe it. He calls for Siya as Frank bleeds out. Frank tells his brother she is dead and he wants to lie down in his bed. After Frank dies, Jeevan puts his body in his bed. Kirsten finds him cleaning out his spacesuit in the bathtub and learns they’re safe now. He admits he thought the play was good. Kirsten hugs and comforts him. They prepare to leave as Kirsten tells Jeevan he was really good as Dr. Eleven. We watch as they leave the complex.

She admits she almost made him Lonagan. He asks what happens next in her book. She says it is Eleven and the rebel undersea leader for a while. Older Kirsten tells her she has to go with Jeevan although she wants her to come too. Before Kirsten leaves the apartment, she takes the big knife with her. In the present, Kirsten tells Frank she should probably leave now. She tells him goodbye as the episode ends.

 

Station Eleven Review

On its own, this was likely one of the better episodes of Station Eleven although not perfect by any means. The biggest issue is the way they decided to layout the story making it confusing and tedious at times. In fact, I often get frustrated with the show’s progression knowing the episodes are barely interconnected to begin with and any decent episode will be followed by something entirely different.

They were okay with changing the story so I am confused as to why they didn’t change the pacing and flashbacks. That will likely be the biggest flaw for the series although it has other issues. I sincerely believe the series would’ve been more effective and emotional if the episodes were linear. Again, this was one of the better episodes of the series although it was a bit predictable in the end.

We also have to overlook the fact that this really isn’t happening since Kirsten isn’t going to get poisoned and be transported back in time. That isn’t a big deal for fans of the series though. I’ll also say I cringed hard when Frank and the others started singing the rap song. While I mostly enjoyed this episode, I am not confident I’ll enjoy the next one since I don’t know what to expect or which characters will be featured. It is just too difficult for me to care about any of the characters besides Frank, Jeevan, and young Kirsten.

Sadly, the episode shows that Station Eleven could’ve skillfully been transformed into a smash hit, but the nonlinear storytelling will kill it for many viewers. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Station Eleven recaps can be found on Reel Mockery here.