Hello, my fellow Debris fans,
I hope you enjoyed this episode as much as I did!
Directed by Tim Southam, written by Samantha Corbin-Miller, Tracy Bellomo, and Davia Carter, the Debris “You Can Call Me Caroline” episode is an outstanding work of television entertainment by series creator J.H. Wyman, Legendary Studios, Frequency Films presented in the United States by NBC Entertainment!
For those of you that are Fringe fans, this Debris episode was by far the most inspired by Fringe that I have seen so far. Fringe, produced by Warner Brothers Television from 2008 to 2013 is a series we have long admired here at Team WHR.
We are very pleased to see that many of the creators involved then, are bringing us quality science fiction entertainment entertainment each week!
No secret that J.H. Wyman sprinkles a little bit of that beloved show in everything he does. I was incredibly happy to see the parallels in this particular episode of Debris.
The name of this episode is “You Can Call Her Caroline” starring Caroline Packard (Evelyn Burke) is a little blonde girl who bears a striking resemblance to another little girl from the Fringe universe named “Olive” (Ada Breker) (or Olivia Dunham of the FBI Fringe Division as she was later known in that series).
We meet Caroline Packard later in this weeks episode “You Can Call Me Caroline”. Again the similarities to “Olive” in Fringe will be clear to admirers of both series.
You Can Call Her Caroline:
The episode opens with several people waiting for a ferry to arrive in Bar Harbor, Maine. One man, Liam Packard (Kynan Foster) nervously waits along with a couple apparently anxious about their in-laws arrival. A woman approaches Liam and asks for his duffle bag, which he refuses to hand over at first. Next thing we see is his body betray him and it is forced to give the woman the bag and in turn pull out a gun and kill himself.
This leads me to believe that Liam was in possession of some of the Debris and that it has mind control elements embedded within it.
I love that as the viewer with each episode we delve further and further into the debris and all the incredible things (good or bad) that it can do.
When Bryan Beneventi (Jonathan Tucker) goes back to the CIA to talk to Maddox (Norbert Leo Butz) he is told about Anson Ash (Scroobius Pip) and “Influx”. Maddox informs Bryan that Influx is an anti-government ideological movement organized to dismantle all the governments control over the debris. Bryan asks about the money that is used to fund this organization and Maddox tells him that he does not know, he has no clue where it all started.
That scene reminded me that “Influx” is almost being like a James Bond villain, mysterious and extremely rich with resources beyond our wildest dreams. It will be interesting to finally (if ever) we find out who is behind it and why. Maddox says that to him it seems like Influx are these autonomous cells.
Maddox shows Bryan the phone he recovered from Anson and there is a weird encryption on it that keeps receiving calls from Bar Harbor, Maine. Maddox asks Bryan to investigate “quietly” and find out what is happening and what are they facing, he does not want to lose anymore lives. Bryan curiously asks Maddox if Anson has told him what Influx needs George Jones for?
Bryan then drops the nugget to Maddox that Finola Jones (Riann Steele) and MI-6 might know that George Jones is alive. Bryan mentions that since he has been spending a lot of time with her lately, he is noticed she has been different (which is a lie). My guess is he told Maddox to gauge his reaction to the news, and as suspected he was almost unfazed.
When the body of Liam Packard is found, his debris levels are remarkably high. As Bryan examines his body with Agent Tom (Thomas Cadrot) and Finola, she mentions that Liam does not seem like he would be the kind of guy who would be involved with “Influx” or any kind of sleeper cells. Bryan mentions “clear skins” (or clean skins) which is “a person who does not have an existing criminal record or who has not attracted the attention of police or security forces.”
By definition that is exactly why he was chosen, inconspicuous, he would be able to blend in and not even be noticed. That is what those sleeper cells rely on the ability to be unassuming and not draw any attention to themselves.
Finola and Bryan find Liam’s brother Luke (Benjamin Hollingsworth) at Liam’s house with Liam’s daughter Caroline. Luke tells the team that Liam found pieces of the debris in the marsh behind his house.
When Liam found it, he had started looking onto UFO websites and even contacted people on the dark web about selling them the alien tech. The debris also altered Liam’s behavior, it made him more intense, like he had “shell shock” something Luke experienced when he was back from Afghanistan.
Bryan had mentioned that he was in Afghanistan as well with the Marines the MARSOC division to which Luke says, “wow you guys are no joke”. I am glad we find out about this regarding Bryan and his military background, it gives us a bit more insight to who he is. Finola asks him about his time in Afghanistan and Bryan shrugs her question off. She is as curious about his time there as we are.
The Debris that Liam had found was the kind that controlled mind and body, that whoever possessed it could control or manipulate others to their will. Finola notices that Caroline seems frightened by something. That is a powerful weapon indeed and in the wrong hands could be deadly.
As I mentioned before about the James Bond villain, this is exactly why it is imperative that the Debris does not ever fall into the wrong hands, the fall out would be catastrophic.
Once Bryan and Finola head toward the marsh to find the debris, Finola hesitates as a feeling of dread washes over her. Bryan asks her if she is okay, and she responds “the debris does not want us here” that the debris “spoke to her” almost like a whisper.
Anson Ash is being held in a top-secret location and is currently strapped to a chair and it looks like he may be tortured to find out where George Jones (Tyrone Benskin) is being held. Maddox enters and starts talking to him about where Anson is from in England and his military past. As he is doing this, he injects Novocain into Anson’s head and then a team member makes an incision into what I assume is the memory part of the brain.
With Maddox still talking to Anson about a little church in his hometown of Lancashire and how Maddox wanted to paint it the next time he visited it. He is making sure to describe to Anson everything Maddox remembers, so that Anson can recall it himself and project a mental image of it. Anson resists as best as he can, but the shock treatment is too powerful.
This scene made me audibly gasp because Maddox brings out this device or rather a “window” that will help Anson’s image show up. That moment was a genuine Fringe moment for me, it reminded me of the “window” that was invented by Walter Bishop (John Noble) and William Bell (Leonard Nimoy) that could bend time in order to see the Alternative universe. Maddox talked about the different frequency that the bells of the church were on, the vibration was different, again the reference to Fringe and the different frequencies both universes and Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) were on.
The last number Liam had called was his ex-wife Gloria Hernandez (Kate Dion-Richard), when asked why she does not have her daughter her answer was “she belongs there”. The way she said it was eerie, like it was not her saying it was as if she was being forced or manipulated to say it.
The similarities to Fringe keep showing up as Caroline enters the marsh and sits down in the water. Again, this reminds me of whenever Olivia (Anna Torv) would enter the “tank” and activate the Cortexiphan in order to travel to the Alt universe. Caroline is connected to the debris and is able to summon it from the depths of the marsh. Water has always been a conductor of energy, so it is no surprise that when Caroline sits in the marsh, she is connected to it. She is the only one that can “communicate” with it.
Caroline warns Finola to stay away from the barn where the Debris is being held. Caroline tells Finola that it was because of the debris that her uncle Luke is acting the way he has and that it was Luke that controlled Liam to kill himself. She has been hiding pieces in order for Luke not to get a large amount, his plans for it are not good. “Mission must be executed” Luke told the team, he wants revenge on the military for what they did to him, Bryan can relate to it but knows better than to do what Luke is planning. Bryan tells Luke that he can help him or at least get him the help he needs for his PTSD.
Next thing we see is Finola and Bryan back at base, no way they just left without the debris or anything from the house. When asked they say nothing was found and that Caroline “she belongs there” was repeated by Bryan. Finola asks how they got back since she did not remember leaving and driving back. Luke had followed them made his presence known by crashing a military plane with the debris mind control. Luke comes towards Finola carrying the bag of debris, she pulls her gun as well as the MP’s that help her and Luke immediately makes one of the MP’s shoot his partner and then turns the gun on Finola.
As Bryan shot the other MP who was ready to shoot Finola, Luke asks Bryan if he is “he’s with them now” and forces Bryan’s hand to point the gun to his own head. Finola fights against the control telling Bryan to fight it as Luke is telling him to pull the trigger. Luke empties the debris on top of a car and just as he is starting to interact with it, we see him fall over and collapse, a sharp piece of debris stuck in his head. Caroline to the rescue, she appears and saves the day. She can communicate with it after all.
Caroline is reunited again with her mother and all is restored at least for now. When Gloria asks Finola what Liam found, she tells Gloria that they are still trying to figure it out. Finola tells Caroline that she was the strongest out of all of them, again just like Olivia who was the strongest and the (if memory serves, it has been a long time since I have seen Fringe) the only one left of the Cortexiphan kids.
The theme of family, connection, love was present and part if the common theme that runs through all of the episodes so far. As the episode draws to a close Finola receives a call from her sister Dee (Gabrielle Ryan). Dee mentions a place “Michelle’s country house” that she wants Finola to visit with her again when Finola comes back to England. Once Finola hangs up, she knows there something not right with her sister, Michelle’s country house was code for when their parents were around and did not want them to hear what the sisters were talking about.
Her suspicions were correct as we see Dee hand the phone to Priya Ferry (Anjali Jay) once the call ends. Maddox also calls Bryan and lets him know that they found out where George Jones is and in turn Bryan tells Finola. Good stuff!
I am hoping that once George Jones is found we may get a few more answers about the Debris, “Influx”, Orbital and all the shady dealings. Well Debris fans, I hope you enjoyed this Fringe heavy episode as much as I have.
As always, please stay safe and happy viewing and make certain you tune in to NBC next week for more Debris!
Thank you for visiting WormholeRiders News Agency. Thanks to Kenn for video embedding and adding images for my feature article. I will be back later this season to provide additional analysis about Debris as we learn more about this fabulous new science fiction series on NBC!
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Until next time,
Regards,
Thank you Lori @noz4a2 for an awesome analysis of episode 7 of #Debris where you accurately identified #Fringe’y elements in #DebrisNBC.
Best Regards,
Kenn of #TeamWHR