02x03 - Exit Wounds

[bunniefuu]

Previously on "The Walking
Dead: World Beyond"...

I've been thinking about Silas,
what we can do with him.

- Tell me your name.
- Silas. What's yours?

- Dennis.
- Jennifer Mallick is my daughter.

She's just returned home.

Lyla said she gave you a
tour. What'd you think?

HOPE: I thought there'd be
a lot more guard towers

and att*ck dogs.

You saw me as someone worth saving.

- That's why I came back.
- Hello?

How the hell did you find me?

Hello, Felix?

Elton? Is that you?

I found Percy. He's hurt.

She's the one that sh*t me.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[WALKER GROWLING]

[GROWLING STOPS]

- [BODY THUDS]
- [WALKER GROWLING]

[GROWLING STOPS, BODY THUDS]

♪

♪

♪

[SQUELCHING]

♪

♪

MAN: Let's begin.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

[HORSE SNORTING]

We can still find him.

Huh?

I-I don't think losing Silas's stuff

was any kind of omen or anything.

Who said it was an omen?

I mean, we either ditched the
bag, or we were empty chow.

If anything, it worked out
because we found Teresa,

like, out of the blue.

Teresa?

She seems like a Teresa.

Yeah.

Somebody else's loss is our Teresa.

Point is, we're, uh...
we're gaining ground now,

so we can catch up to
the others provided we...

Provided what?

That we find 'em alive
or we find 'em at all?

Look, I'm just saying,
after what Huck did,

odds aren't good.

That's all.

Teresa or no Teresa.

Hey, hold on.

Whoa.

♪

When was the last time we ate?

♪

♪ Only left a day ago ♪

♪ I'll sleep the night,
and then I'll know ♪

♪ I'll know your heart is safe in mine ♪

♪ But nightmares keep me up at night ♪

♪ I dream you've found another girl ♪

♪ To show and share your busy world ♪

♪ I dream of you, your secret style ♪

♪ And call to say everything's fine ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ One night ♪

HUCK: This place?

[MUSIC FADES]

It's safe.

[RADIO CHATTER]

HOPE: So we just have
to go along with it?

I don't know.

[RADIO CHATTER]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

♪ To show and share your busy world ♪

♪ I dream of you, your secret style ♪

♪ And call to say everything's fine ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ It only takes one night ♪

♪ One night, one night ♪

DENNIS: It was your
mom's idea, wasn't it?

To send you off and not tell me.

After what you did,

what I did to try and fix it...

it's what I had to do to get past it.

It or me?

Dennis, people got hurt.

There had to be consequences.

You think I haven't been
paying for what happened?

Getting pulled from active duty,
working decontamination...

- It's not for me to decide.
- It is.

'Cause it's not my job
I'm trying to get back.

♪

So, uh... a lot's changed around here.

A lot's changed with you.

Hell of a souvenir you brought back.

Occupational hazard.

How's the outpost been?

Good crew?

They're shaping up.

Got sent this new one.

Big guy, quiet.

Heard they picked him up
out on a resource run.

Well, he's in good hands.

Listen, I'm coming back
later to drop off an M .

Maybe we can have dinner?

Just think about it?

Yeah, I'll think about it.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

♪

♪

♪

PERCY: Hey, no sign of g*ns.

Weapons look homemade.

Metal sheets are a question mark,
but I only see two sets of tracks.

Means they're alone.

And that Dakota fire pit means
they camped here overnight.

Which means they're
pretty far from home.

Well, how do you know they have a home?

Those turnips, they're all
the same size and shape.

Harvested.

Mm.

Conning these two out of all
their food should be cake.

What? Wait, wait, whoa, whoa.
What? What? Why?

- We don't need to do that.
- [CHUCKLES]

They have what we need.

But we don't need all their food.

We're looking for people
that could be anywhere.

- We need all we can get.
- We should just ask them

what they can spare, all right?

They seem like good people.

So did Huck.

Turned out she was only
good at sh**ting people.

Look, I've been out here a long time.

World does sh*t to people.

Even the good ones.

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

Hey, not always. Not us.

Okay? Wait here.

♪

Hi. Uh, hey, there.

I mean no harm.

Uh...

- I come in peace.
- Don't move.

Keep your hands high.

♪

You alone?

I-I have a traveling companion.

Percy. He's a good guy.

He, uh, hung back.

He's clean.

I'll find the friend.

What're you doing out here?

I was, uh, looking for my compatriots.

They were headed east
looking for their father,

but instead might've found trouble.

So you and your friend gonna
save 'em all by yourselves?

Uh, if we find them.

We've been traveling for a while now,

and we just came across your camp.

I know avoiding people out here
is usually the smart move,

but, um, it's been days
since we've eaten.

And, uh, I know this is a bad idea,

my brain and my friend both reject it,

but, uh, looks like my stomach's
calling the sh*ts,

and my heart may be in
line with my stomach, so...

What the hell are you talking about?

Y-You look like good people.

Or... you feel like good people.

Couldn't find anyone else.

Huh. Well, I mean, he was out there.

- So what do you want?
- Says he just wants food.

If it's not a bother.

Knock yourself out.

I'm Asha. This is my brother, Dev.

- So, you got a name?
- My name is, uh...

Percy. Per... uh...

- Percy? But you said...
- No.

No, sorry. I meant, uh...

- Uh, sh**t.
- Hey!

- Drop it!
- Whoa, hey, hey!

Okay, okay. Sorry, sorry.

This is, uh... just a big...

So, what, you're a couple con men?

What? W-What is she talking
about, con men? Uh, no.

Technically, he is... uh,
was... he was, um...

No, we're not here...
he wasn't trying...

He was trying... I'm sorry!

♪

♪

Holy sh*t! They were turnips!

Staff Sergeant Mallick.

The Board has reviewed
your two-year covert op

inside Omaha and its Campus Colony.

Despite some skepticism
regarding the means

by which you chose to deliver the asset,

you did so successfully and
with minimal expenditure.

Most notably, your work in Omaha,

some of which has been
redacted in our report,

has earned you full clemency
and a letter of commendation

from Major General Beale himself.

You furthered the priorities of the CRM.

Congratulations, Staff Sergeant.

You're cleared to resume active
duty here at the complex.

♪

LEO: Hey!

Leo, hey, I've been
meaning to talk to you.

I need to talk to you...
about Iris and Felix.

They weren't where you said they'd be.

Look, I'm sorry, but
the Lieutenant Colonel

- has teams out there searching...
- You mean your mother?

I was just told she's not even looking.

She's off in the Civic Republic
on official business.

I think your mother's lying.
I think you're lying.

Did you manipulate Hope into lying, too?

Was brainwashing part of
how you got her here?

Hope's alive because of what I did.

She's here.

And Iris and Felix will be, too,

- I promise you...
- They trusted you.

They were innocents, and
what you did to them,

what you took from them,

they'll never get that back.

That's what you did.

So I don't give a damn about
how you justify your lies

or who your mother is or
what name you give yourself.

You find my daughter.

♪

♪

♪

♪

[WALKERS GROWLING]

DEV: Watch out.

♪

We wait for 'em to pass,
we circle back to the horse.

[GROWLING CONTINUES]

♪

Hyah!

DEV: You got more behind you.

♪

Screw waiting.

Go. Go!

♪

Anaerobic bacteria dominate
within the body post-mortem,

resulting in the degradation
of fatty acids.

Hydrogenation, along with
autolysis and putrefaction,

results in the destruction
of soft tissue as seen here.

[STUDENTS GROANING]

Go ahead... make faces.

Just be glad you're in
here studying decay

and not out there, living in it.

♪

Fun fact... one of these images
is also my screensaver,

but I'm not saying which one.

Given all of this,

the decelerated decomposition rate

of a corpse once reanimated...

♪

Hope Bennett.

This is the one day of the
week when we actually apply

the science you're learning
to the state of the world.

But perhaps there's another
aspect of decomposition

you'd be more interested in?

Uh, sorry, Dr. Ellis.

- I'm... I'm good.
- You sure?

Because if I'm boring you...

If you're asking, you know,
I wouldn't mind

hitting the fermentation angle.

Which is the putrefaction of
organic compounds, right?

When yeast is kept in an
anaerobic environment,

the glycolysis process releases ethanol,

turns sugar to acids, gases, or alcohol,

and prevents the growth
of harmful microorganisms

or whatever.

You know, I was just thinking
that if fermentation

can make an awesome bottle of vodka,

then there has to be more
good that can come out of it.

[LAUGHTER]

You know, why focus on the negative

when there's also some positives?

MASON: She makes a great point.

Although, technically,
uh, in yeast fermentation,

the pyruvate produced through glycolysis

releases carbon dioxide before ethanol.

Obviously.

It produces a two-carbon compound.

- Acetaldehyde.
- Which is reduced by NADH to ethanol.

Well, one molecule of ethanol
and two molecules of CO .

No, it's two molecules of ethanol.

Actually, I...

Actually, Mason, Ms. Bennett's right.

And unless you'd like to offer
your own unique analysis

of anaerobic decay, let's
pause the debate, shall we?

Your father's been researching fungi

as a means of accelerating decay.

If he hasn't already looked into yeast,

maybe the two of you should
put your heads together.

It's divergent thinking like yours

that makes this place what it is.

♪

Hey, Hope. [CHUCKLES]

Um, are you... are you busy later?

Why? You wanna debate my plans, too?

[CHUCKLES]

Deserved. Um, no,

I just... I got word we were
getting the rest of the day off

in honor of Omaha.

A few of us were gonna
get together later,

take our minds off things.
Thought maybe you'd wanna join?

♪

Look, you guys seem
like a real fun bunch,

but, um, I think I'm
gonna stay in and study.

♪

: , sub-basement directly under lab H,

in case you change your mind.

♪

Whoa!

[GRUNTS]

- You good?
- Yeah.

Look, they're gonna be on
us soon. We got to, uh...

What?

♪

♪

[WALKER GROWLS]

[GASPING]

♪

♪

♪

Take it!

[GROWLING CONTINUES]

♪

[GRUNTS]

♪

♪

[ALL PANTING]

Come on.

- It's safe just past the... Look out!
- [WALKER GROWLING]

♪

Thank you. Whoa!

[GRUNTS]

- Do it!
- What?

Do what?! Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

No, no, no, no, no, no!
Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!

Hey! You got bit!

It's how you live.

- Do it!
- No, no, no!

I... Kids can wear 'em,
kids can't tear 'em!

The tufted cord and durable
stitch make it bite-proof!

I'm not bit! Look!

It's like... cloth armor.

Yeah. Industrial corduroy.

[SIGHS]

♪

What?

What, what? Why is she
looking at me like that?

♪

Hey, be glad she didn't
like your underwear.

♪

[SQUELCHING]

♪

♪

♪

[BOTH WHISPERING]

♪

♪

I'd never considered
saccharomyces cerevisiae...

or anything from the brettanomyces
lambicus strain.

You just came up with
this out of the blue?

Yep.

Out of the blue.

Never thought about
brewing yeast in my life.

[SIGHS]

I know what you're doing.

Dad, I'm not gonna try
and make alcohol here.

Even if I did, the kids would probably
just use it to sanitize stuff.

You're trying to keep me distracted.

From... all of it.

It's like you said.

There's nothing we can do, right?

So all we can do is just wait

and trust... that they're okay.

And, you know, who knows, they
could be way closer than we think.

You know something.

You know something, and
you're not telling me.

- I talked to Huck.
- Wait.

What... What did... What did she say?

Nothing.

- Well, who else are you talking to?
- Is she threatening you?

- No, no!
- Did she do something

- to Iris and Felix?
- No, Dad, can you just trust me?!

Please?

Can you do that for me,
that one thing for me?

Please?

Of course I trust you.

It was really hard out there.

Okay? And it's really hard in here.

I don't know. I...

I guess I just wanted this to be
a distraction... for me, too.

I know.

You didn't ask for this.

None of us did.

I just...

I wish I could give you a
distraction from the distraction.

♪

MASON: To those who were fighting
to survive in this world,

we remember them.

To our sister city, Omaha.

- Omaha!
- Hear, hear!

[CHATTER]

♪

♪

What happened to studying?

♪

You know, didn't seem fair
that I should have to study

for the future alone, so...

- Mm.
- Yeah.

Welcome to "The Bunker."

Normally, we're more of
a "fun bunch," but...

♪

Can I show you around?

♪

[HORSE NEIGHS]

PERCY: Hey.

You wanna tell us
where you're taking us?

What kinda cult sh*t was that?

Maybe... Maybe if you hadn't
tried to steal from them.

You shoulda listened.

World's a shitshow.

I told you, you either
accept it or you die.

That's just how it is.

_

♪

_

[HORSES NEIGHING]

Whoa.

♪

Hey.

You got any more of those?

♪

♪

[CHATTER]

MASON: I know I said it before,

but I'm really sorry about
what happened to your home.

Yeah. Uh, so did you get the
stuff from the Civic Republic?

Just the parts.

Some of it actually came from Portland.

Just like some of us.

Built everything ourselves.

Ian, you wanna give Hope the rundown?

Yes.

I constructed the frame,

and then I had to calculate the distance

between all of the holes on
the game board by hand

because we don't have a CNC machine.

And then I scavenged some
PVC pipe for the air conduit,

and I used a vac tube for the fan.

There's a lot more to it,
but I've been talking a lot.

- [CHUCKLES]
- Thanks, Ian.

So, what is your claim to fame?

Ooh.

Last month,
in computer-engineering class,

Professor Verschuren helped me build

a master control panel for all the labs.

But I kinda co-opted it to
install the sound system.

You won't tell your dad, right?

No promises.

How long have you been here?

About three years now.

Yeah.

Yeah, I did well on a bunch of
tests and, uh, ended up here.

I'm from the CR.

And that's about all I can
say about it. [CHUCKLES]

That's all anyone from
there can say about it.

'Cause they tell you
not to say anything,

or because you believe
in what they're doing?

Mm.

Little of both, I guess.

And you're okay with being away
from your family for, like, ever?

Mm. Not ever.

All of us from the CR get to go
home for two weeks every year.

[CHUCKLES] Yeah. Ah.

In all honesty, though,
getting to learn from people

like your dad and Dr. Ellis,
it's a real honor.

And I like it here, so...

The soldiers? You like them, too?

[CHUCKLES]

My dad wanted me to
go the m*llitary route.

It wasn't for me.

So I just focus on the science.

Stuff we're learning here
is gonna unlock the future.

The people from Portland,
they don't even know

the next time they get to go home.

It's not perfect.

But I think I recall someone saying,

"Why focus on the negative
when there's so much positive?"

♪

Ooh. You down to play a game?

♪

Are you sure?

I won't go easy on you.

I didn't think you would.

[LIQUID POURING]

I should probably catch up.

[SLURPS]

[GROANS]

♪

♪

[CHATTER]

[HORSE NEIGHS]

Elton, Percy...

We're here.

Wait. I-I never told you my na...

I still don't understand.

♪

♪

♪

- I... I thought you were...
- Yeah.

♪

I, uh... Yeah, I thought I was, too.

Is it just you?

Uh, Felix and I found Will.

They're... They're out
on patrol right now,

- helping out.
- Yeah.

We found this while we were looking
for our other horse that ran off.

Same horse you happened to find.

What're the odds, huh?

Wait. So you two knew the entire time?

Our mom runs this place.

Iris told her how you all got separated.

We were just gonna bring you here,

but when Percy tried to steal from us,

we decided to... have some fun.

You got a real screwed-up
way of having fun.

Wait.

Where's Hope?

♪

♪

Okay.

♪

"Blindfolded."

- _
- [LAUGHTER]

Someone hand me a blindfold.

♪

[CROWD GASPS, MURMURS]

♪

Can't b*at that.

♪

[LAUGHTER]

[GRUNTS]

[LAUGHTER CONTINUES]

IRIS: 'Cause that's what we do...

we protect each other.

And we always will.

[POUNDING ON DOOR]

♪

I need you to take me
to Iris and Felix. Now.

It's been days, okay?

I've been doing everything
that you said!

- What the hell have you been doing?
- Kid...

You said it yourself...
if the CRM finds them first,

or if your mom figures out
what Felix and Iris know...

Did you even check to make
sure that they made it?

There's guards, patrols...
It isn't as easy as you think.

I don't give a sh*t!

You're gonna go, and you're
gonna take me with you.

You can try and warn Felix and Iris,

but they're not gonna listen to you.

Felix probably wants to k*ll you.

You need me to go with you.

Okay. You know I'm right.

We'll go tomorrow.

We'll talk to 'em and
take it from there.

Why not tonight?

Because... Dammit.

[PAN SIZZLING]

My first patrol shift out
there isn't 'til tomorrow.

It's how we get there unnoticed.

It's just one day.

In one day, a whole city
of people got wiped out.

I know you talked to my dad.

Okay? And if they don't come back soon,

he's gonna start stirring sh*t up.

♪

I want my family back.

♪

ELTON: I don't understand.

How can Hope just be gone?

IRIS: I think it was the CRM.

They tried to k*ll Will.

- Why?
- I don't know.

PERCY: I told you, kid...
the world's a damn shitshow.

You either accept it or you die.

♪

BRODY: It was a routine
assignment to put up signs...

and instead you bring
back two more strays?

They got split up from their friends.
We brought them together.

ROBIN: We should get Indira.

Lieutenant Colonel Kublek
is looking for them...

Exactly. They're putting the
whole community in danger.

You both know full well the
agreement we have with the CRM.

They make us live in their shadow
and play by their rules.

We were here first.

Screw the agreement.

That's not for you to decide.

♪

DENNIS: Was thinking about
the old place on the base.

You reading the paper, me at the stove.

Some of the best days of my life.

♪

[CHUCKLES]

I know.

I'm a simple guy.

♪

Who definitely overdressed. [CHUCKLES]

No, you look good.

Um, I was actually just gonna go change.

Well, you don't have to.

[WATER SPLASHING]

You, uh... You look great.

♪

♪

♪

♪

Hey, what's going on?

♪

That M you serviced.

- You still got the keys?
- Yeah. Why?

♪

I left because of what you did,

try and come back from it.

And while I was gone,
I had to do some things, too.

♪

Some things I hated doing.

But because I left,

five people are alive
who would've been dead.

♪

Does that mean they're alive
because of your mistakes?

Does it mean I should be
okay with how things went?

I wanna be.

And maybe I will.

♪

But right now, I'm still
trying to figure it out,

and I'm sorry, but I can't...

♪

I can't be with you right now.

♪

Dennis, I need you to give me the keys,

and I need you to not ask me why.

♪

Please.

♪

[RADIO CHATTER]

Destination and reason for departure?

Classified business for
Lieutenant Colonel Kublek.

[PAPERS RUSTLING]

♪

♪

Staff Sergeant Mallick.

Corporal Pierce.

After you left, I was transferred here

to assume your responsibilities.

I work closely with
the Lieutenant Colonel.

She's an inspiration.

Yes. She is.

♪

♪

♪

[RADIO CHATTER]

♪

Drive safely, Staff Sergeant.

♪

[KEYS JINGLE]

[ENGINE STARTS]

♪

♪

[CHATTER IN DISTANCE]

That's "Verité." The artist
who made it d*ed at the start.

Now it's a reminder of
everybody we've lost.

That's our "truth."

I'm sorry for what you've lost, too.

Your friend Silas...

... your home...

If I'd known, I wouldn't have...

I, uh, hope we're not causing
too many problems by being here.

The problems were already here.

My mom founded this place
before the world changed.

Then the CRM came in and offered
us supplies to help us live.

Making those "hazard" signs,

keeping people from finding
their research place,

that's part of the deal.

We come across anybody, we pretend
the whole place is contaminated.

So it was all for show?

The flowers on the empties' eyes... ?

"Empties"?

You think they're empty?

We call 'em "vessels."

Some of us think they keep
souls stuck between here

and the next life.

k*lling 'em helps the soul move on.

Well, what about the flowers?

That's just my little personal touch.

A little beauty in the
darkness left behind.

Any other questions?

Can I get my TuffyStitch back?

We'll see.

♪

[CRICKETS CHIRPING]

Are you sure you know what you're doing?

[CHUCKLES]

Uh-huh.

This is just 'til their medic can
look it over in the morning.

[FIRE CRACKLING]

What?

You seem different.

Um...

I'll need your shirt off
to clean the exit wound.

Or... Or you could, uh...

- No, no, it's cool. Uh...
- ... wait for a medic.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

I, um...

I never got a chance to
thank you for that night.

Surprising me with...

the art in the truck. That was...

It wasn't anything. [CHUCKLES]

You cut up your art books.

It was.

Yeah, okay, it was. It was, uh...

It was something.

Wish I coulda been there.

You're here now, so...

Yeah.

It's just, uh...

you know, after what Huck did
to my uncle, I just, uh...

I know.

They just... keep taking.

My dad, Hope, Silas,
if he's even still...

♪

But you and Elton, you found us.

♪

It's a second chance.

♪

We just... We just
have to make it count.

♪

[WIND CHIMES CLANGING]

♪

♪

♪

Hope?

♪

♪

- Does your mother know you're here?
- She doesn't,

and she won't.

[EXHALES DEEPLY]

Plaskett. Going somewhere?

Looks to me like he was
trying to bail on us.

Hey, you okay?

- I can't be here right now.
- Where are you going?

I'm trying to get us back together

- in a way that's smart.
- What's smart is you staying here.

What do you want?

He's got to learn.

[WALKER GROWLS]

♪

_

Wha... [GRUNTS]

MATT: This episode was
directed by Aisha Tyler.

She comes to this show as a huge fan

of "The Walking Dead" and
The Walking Dead Universe,

so she brought a lot to the episodes.

She really had a huge hand in
bringing to life the sequence

when Elton trips, and suddenly,
he and Percy are surrounded

by these empties coming
out of the leaves.

She had come to me with,
what if they're in the ground,

and suddenly, our characters
are surrounded?

And so, we just brainstormed
a bunch of different versions

of, you know, what are some
cool beats within that action?

And so, we came up
together with the idea

of the eye opening underneath Elton.

The idea of Elton scrambling back,

and suddenly, an empty peels its
back off the stump of a tree,

and it's covered in these mushrooms.

And I really loved the idea of
just seeing these empties show

that the world has kind
of overtaken them.

The world has grown in around them,

but they're still a thr*at,

and they're still something
to be dealt with.

That was really something that
she brought to the episode,

and the emotion in
general was just fantastic

throughout this episode.

♪

[BOTH GRUNTING]

♪

One of the things we always want to do

when we are introduced
to a new community...

like, what makes them different?

What makes them unique?

And, you know, one of the things

that the writers and I
talked a lot about was,

how do they view the
dead walking the Earth?

And the thing that we
really found interesting

was that what if they looked at
empties as not just the dead,

but the idea that perhaps
there are still living souls

trapped inside them?

So, the act of k*lling them
wasn't always in self-defense.

It was also in the spirit
of freeing the souls

within the empties and letting them go

to that next place,
wherever that place might be.

So, the more we kind
of talked about that,

the more we kind of really
thought that was interesting,

and we wanted to
accomplish a few things.

Like, one, we wanted
to introduce the idea

of this ritual of freeing the souls.

But we also wanted Dev and
Asha to feel like a thr*at,

a little menacing to our
dynamic duo of the episode.

So rather than just seeing
Dev and Asha k*ll empties,

part of that ritual was
scooping out the eyeballs

and then putting flowers
into the sockets.

And it really made for this
very strange, very eerie,

and also very beautiful imagery.

We also wanted to use this ritual

as a means of creating a sense
of mystery around Dev and Asha.

You know, is this sort of
some weird, odd sacrifice

that they're doing?

What are they praying for
exactly when they're doing this?

And all of those questions
are kind of swirling around,

and it's leaving Percy and Elton

feeling very sort of
off-put by all of it,

and that's definitely by intention.

We call them Vessels.

Some of us think they keep souls stuck

between here and the next life.

Any other questions?

Could I get my TuffyStitch back?

We'll see.

Nicolas wore that TuffyStitch suit

throughout the entire
season last season,

and it was hot last season.

You know, it got probably into
the s with the heat index

with all the humidity layered in.

And so I think that
Nicolas is pretty happy

to take a little break
from it this year.

But, also, for me,
it's like, I always love

seeing characters grow
and seeing them change...

just not internally,
but also externally.

And, you know, the TuffyStitch
is an armor for Elton.

In a way, I think it helped him
maybe divorce his connection

to the world a little bit.

It was emotional armor in a lot of ways,

not just physical armor.

And so, you know, as he's attempting

to immerse himself in this world

and he's realizing how
difficult this world is,

I think he's feeling it more.

And as a result of that,
it was really cool to see him

without the armor of the
TuffyStitch on him head to toe.

♪

When we left Elton last season,

he'd gone back to a positive place.

Like, he had just learned
what his mom did,

the fact that his mom had
k*lled Hope and Iris' mom.

And then, you know, Hope
had then turned around

and k*lled his mom.

[g*nsh*t]

It was something that I think
he was struggling with.

He started to overcome it
at the end of last season,

but what we see this season
is that Elton is pushing back,

and he's choosing to
believe that, you know...

that people are good,
that the world is good.

- They have what we need.
- They seem like good people.

So did Huck.

Turned out, she was only
good at sh**t' people.

Percy is feeling
something very different.

Percy is reeling from
the loss of his uncle.

This person that the group
had come to trust, Huck,

turned out to be this k*ller.

So, you know, whereas Percy
is sort of wallowing in, like,

how cruel this world can be,
Elton is doing the opposite,

where he's a little bit in denial
about how cruel this world can be.

And so, there is a sense
of reward that he gets

for believing in Dev and Asha,
believing they're good people,

and that ultimately reunites
he and Percy with Iris.

And so, it seems like a bit of reward

that he gets from the world
for believing in the world.

But what we then see

is that reward kind
of gets stripped away

when what he learns after this reunion

is that the CRM is responsible

for the destruction of their home,

which means everyone that Elton
grew up with, they're all dead.

And that's a huge thing
for Elton to deal with,

and it seems to reinforce
Percy's view of the world.

And so, that really is what
this episode is about for Elton.

How does he choose to see the world?

Is he in denial to think it's good?

And that is really the
thing that sets Elton off

on his journey throughout Season .

The end of Episode

is a huge turning point in the season.

Prior to this, our characters
have all been split up,

and they've all gone through
things that are very different,

and they've lived through
different experiences.

Even though it hasn't been a lot
of time, so much has happened.

We know that Hope has been
exposed to the CRM now,

and we know that from the outside,

Iris's anger towards
the CRM has only grown.

And as we'll see in Episode ,

like, they're all on separate pages now.

So this is the beginning
of seeing those threads

start to come together,
and it's just a question

of how things are gonna go from here,

how this reunion's gonna go, and
that's really gonna set the stage

for the rest of the season.

♪

♪

♪

♪