Original release date: May 7, 2021
Grace overrules Sheldon and forces Walter to recruit his daughter Raikou, an assassin, to assist in telepathically searching the Blackstar clone’s brain for clues. Sheldon becomes worried that dissension among the superheroes could lead to abandoning the code and brutal authoritarianism. In 1929, Sheldon leads the group to the island, where they are pushed to their physical and emotional limits. They nearly kill each other until Sheldon realizes this is a test of their worthiness. They are pronounced worthy by ghosts of their loved ones and given superpowers.
* * *
[Fitz] How do we know this isn’t a trap?
[Petra] Or how much time we’ll have before Blackstar’s mind collapses back into mush, and then we can’t get Walter back?
What’s your take?
Well, it’s a risk, no two ways about it.
That’s an understatement, Walter. You could die.
[inhales deeply]
I’m the only one who can do it.
It’s the only way to find out who’s behind all this.
Raikou.
She could help.
She’s a psychic. She’s almost as strong as you are.
We are not inviting a contract killer into our own backyard.
[Grace] George is relentless.
This is the only way to find answers before we get hit with another Blackstar or something a hell of a lot worse.
We need Raikou.
Walter, find her.
[thunder rumbling]
[car horns honking]
[ominous music playing]
[grunts]
[yelling]
[both grunting]
[screams]
[yells, grunts]
[yells]
[yells, grunts]
[panting]
[in Japanese] Where do you think you’re going, you piece of shit?
[yells]
[gasps]
[ethereal tinkling]
[scoffs]
You gotta be shitting me.
Good to see you too. It’s been a minute.
I’m working.
I’m monitoring the situation through your eyes in Tokyo.
The Rook is pissing himself.
And what’s left of his men are still peeling themselves off the pavement.
What do you want, Dad?
I need a favor.
[in Japanese] Kill this bitch!
A favor? For you, a million a day, plus expenses, or you could find someone else.
Oh, wait. There is no one else.
A million a day, plus expenses.
You got yourself a deal, old man.
[all grunting]
[gasps]
[in Japanese] Let’s wrap this up.
I just got another gig.
[splattering]
[dramatic music playing]
[crew shouting indistinctly]
[Sheldon] It all started when my father died.
I had a… an episode at his funeral.
When I woke up in the hospital, my father was there.
We’d already put him in the ground, but… but there he was.
He tried to scare me off from putting the pieces together, from… from solving that puzzle.
You know, I think he was trying to test me.
Making sure that I was worthy, that we were worthy.
Worthy of what?
From whatever’s out there waiting for us on that island.
[crew shouting indistinctly]
Two bags? [chuckles] Someone’s overcompensating.
If you carried your weight, I wouldn’t have to.
[George chuckles]
The storm, you said it was alive.
I was dehydrated. You know, I was in shock.
You saw that island appear out of nowhere.
[inhales sharply] Yeah, that… that one’s a little harder to explain.
These are the visions that led me here, that led me to you, Richard.
You’re a part of this.
[sighs] Thank you.
Thank you for not letting me drown in the middle of the ocean.
No, I mean that. I… I mean it. Thank you.
[splutters]
But I am not rowing with you
to some island that just mysteriously appeared…
Okay, just…
…out of goddamn thin air, all right?
Because your… your visions and your feelings are telling you to.
You said you were on a voluntary mission when your ship went down.
What does that have to do with anything?
Well, it means you’re a man who wants to make a difference, who wants his life to mean something.
You… you have no idea what I lost when that ship went down.
No.
No, I… I… I don’t.
But I’ve learned that there’s a terrible gift to loss…
Which leaves nothing left to lose, which means you have everything to gain.
Captain, your crew should stay on the ship.
[laughs]
None of my men are witless enough to go near that island, Mr. Sampson.
We’ll make it back as quick as we can.
You have three days.
After that, we return to Safi with or without you.
Three days.
[Borges] Your sidearms.
[crew speaking indistinctly]
[Richard] Still got room for one more?
[Borges] Hold her steady.
Yeah, we could squeeze you in.
You were wrong, you know?
About us not having anything left to lose.
We’ve still got our lives, and they’re in your hands now.
[Borges] Check the engines again. Make sure they’re okay.
Is that the last?
Drop the lines. Let her go.
[Sheldon grunts]
[indistinct chattering]
[ominous music playing]
[Chloe] I just saw her.
I wasn’t… I… I wasn’t in a good place.
We went out a couple times back in junior high.
[sighs]
I had to listen to her sigh about your tight little butt for two whole months.
[both chuckle]
You think this is because of me?
Because of what I did to Blackstar?
[Chloe sighs]
You do the right thing, somebody dies.
You do the wrong thing…
Somebody dies.
But you have to make a choice.
Otherwise, you’re just standing by, letting the world go.
I couldn’t live with myself if I did that.
Oh. [chuckles]
Shit.
Maybe you’ll be the next Utopian after all.
Hey, Chloe?
You should come by more often when Mom and Dad are here.
Don’t hold your breath.
But I’ll… I’ll think about it.
[door opens]
[door closes]
[camera clicks]
[ominous music playing]
[wind howling]
[indistinct chattering]
[camera clicks]
All right, Ulysses…
Where to?
I don’t know.
Let’s go.
[footsteps echoing]
[Grace sighs]
[Sheldon] You mind telling me what that was about?
Seemed pretty self-explanatory.
Oh, I guess I’m a little slow today.
The clock was ticking. I made a decision.
[Sheldon] Yeah, and so did I.
We’ve seen enough dissension lately. You don’t need to be adding to it.
I didn’t realize that having an opposing view to yours was considered dissension now.
The Union hasn’t been this unstable since Skyfox turned on us.
You and I, especially, need to show a united front.
[Grace] No.
I can’t do that.
Not when I disagree with you.
I’m doing everything I can to keep this thing from falling apart.
[Grace] Well, it’s not working.
The Code is broken.
The Code is not broken. It’s being challenged.
No, it is broken when Ghost Beam dies and Baryon lives.
So what are you proposing? That we just abandon the very values we built this whole thing on? Throw it all away?
I don’t know! I just wanna be able to talk about whatever this is right now!
Discuss options! Try to fix it!
We live in a different time! It’s not the 1930s anymore!
That’s why we need to stick to the Code even more.
The country needs it right now more than ever.
No, it’s why you need it more than ever.
[sighs]
Please… [sighs]
[sighs]
You always said that we had to uphold the Code because the alternative would take free will away from the people.
Yes, there would be consequences.
Well, now you’re taking it away yourself by trying to control everything.
Whose free will am I trying to take away, exactly?
Brandon. Chloe.
[Sheldon] They made their own choices.
Me.
And all those young supers, those kids out there, they…
They feel unheard, like we don’t have their back.
They’re scared, Sheldon.
We’re asking them to blindly believe in something that doesn’t make sense anymore.
Is that how you feel?
You know, when I was younger, I… I spent my time asking questions, seeking the truth, and somewhere along the way…
[sighs]
…I lost that.
We made a lot of sacrifices, putting on these uniforms and living this life.
I will not make truth one of them, not anymore.
What do you want me to do?
I just want you to listen, really hear what people are saying, what they’re afraid of, and then talk to them.
Don’t you remember the island and what we had to do to earn these powers?
That’s what you need to do now.
Grace, you have no idea what I need to do.
[dramatic music playing]
[Sheldon grunting]
[Richard] Come on.
It’s like we’re walking in place.
The mountain’s no closer than when we started.
We just have to… [coughs] …keep up the pace.
You’re carrying too much. Here, let me get that.
Hey! Easy! It’s all the supplies we got.
Share the burden, princess.
Good luck with that.
Walt’s never been one to relinquish control.
[eerie music playing]
[panting]
Look at this.
[Grace] What?
It looks like it grew this way from the inside out.
We’ve seen these before.
These are the patterns that I’ve been seeing in my head.
Christ, Shel!
It’s what led me to… to… to Kansas.
[Richard] Guys! Over here!
[grunts]
[shudders]
Man alive!
Back to the boat.
Yeah.
Wait, wait, wait, Walt. No, no, no, no…
[Richard shouts, gasps]
[all gasping, panting]
[tree creaking]
[Grace shrieks]
[all gasping]
[Fitz] What the hell’s going on? [grunts]
[panting, gasps]
The island won’t let us leave.
[knocking on door]
Hey.
[Petra] Hey.
I thought you’d be helping Fitz and Walter.
Yeah, I’m headed right back, but I had to talk to you.
What is it? [sighs]
I’m thinking about leaving the Union.
I’ve thought about it hard.
Even talked to my dad.
And what did he say?
It was my decision.
You can’t leave the Union, not now.
Look, I don’t want to, but losing Janna…
Petra, if you go, others will follow you.
Your parents, Walter, you should see them. I’ve never seen things so fractured.
So that’s why you need to stay. This is when they need us most.
I don’t believe in the Code anymore, Brandon.
I’m sorry.
No.
[sighs]
Look, I… I wish I could tell you that I’ve never had any doubts…
But I have.
Especially over the last few days.
And? How do you deal with it?
I just remember what my dad told me a long time ago.
He said the Code wasn’t meant to make our lives easier.
You have to care about people, about this world.
That’s not easy to deal with sometimes, but what we do, it’s never about the easy way out.
That’s what separates us from everyone else.
[wind howling]
[Sheldon panting]
[Richard] Great.
Can someone explain this to me?
[Grace sighs]
This place is messing with my head.
Not just yours.
Look…
If we keep going,
there has to be a way back.
I’m sorry. Am I the only one who saw these trees pop up out of nowhere when they tried to leave?
It’s like the island is alive.
So… so, let’s just rot here?
That’s your answer?
Who’s with Walter after what we just saw?
Hmm.
Well, looks like you’re on your own, pal.
[whispers] Again.
[grunts]
[Sheldon] Look, hey, we have to cross the desert.
We’ve come this far. We have to see what’s out there.
Yeah, and what exactly is that, Shel? Your sanity?
Maybe your sense of courage.
I don’t know.
Right. You don’t.
[grunts echoing]
[ringing sharply]
[gasping]
I didn’t ask for this.
[Walter] No, of course you didn’t.
‘Cause when’s the last time you had to ask for anything?
Go.
Go out there and see how you fare on your own.
I am tired of you questioning every little thing that I do.
Guess what, Walter? Not everything works out exactly the way you want it to.
[panting]
Deal with it… for once.
Go on. Walk away, yeah. Walk away.
[Walter] Give me the supplies.
Oh, no, no. Hey, wait, wait.
I’m not asking.
[Grace] Hey, there’s…
Back off!
I’m not asking, Fitz! What, are you gonna stop me?
Wait! Wait, Walter.
[panting]
[Grace] Just… wait.
[breathing shakily]
Look at those trees.
Look at that snow.
[panting]
He’s right.
We have to cross that desert.
[classical piano music playing]
[indistinct chattering over radio]
[alert buzzes]
[door whirs open]
The hell you want? This is just starting to get juicy.
[music turns off]
I wanted to give you a chance, your last one.
More intimidating if I knew what the shit you were talking about.
I’m gonna hack into your dead copy’s brain.
By the end of the day, I’ll know everything.
Real cocky, coming in here all alone.
If you’re involved in this, if you’re working with Skyfox…
[scoffs] Skyfox? Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.
[Walter] Answer me.
Are you in contact with George Hutchence?
I wish. I always liked him better than the rest of you long-underwear little shits.
He took me out for drinks one time after he busted up a job I was on.
He saw right through your self-righteous Code.
He knew it was all bullshit and Shelly’s way of staying in control.
Look how he ended up.
Yeah, good old George may be on the I am, but at least he’s honest with himself, unlike the rest of the Union.
I don’t know how you can live with yourselves.
If I could, I’d find a way to expose the Utopian for the fraud that he I…
[ethereal tinkling]
[Walter] I’ve just made your brain forget how to breathe.
[gasping]
I’m gonna dig into your dead twin’s mind.
And if I don’t find what I’m looking for, I’m coming back to dig into yours.
And when I’m done, there will be nothing left.
[gasps]
[sinister music playing]
[coughing]
[panting]
You think offing a copy of me was bad?
Just wait to see what happens out there when you do it to the real thing.
I don’t give a shit.
I’m not my fucking brother.
[all panting]
[wind howling]
[all panting]
You’re not seeing your dad again, are you?
No. No, I haven’t seen him since the boat. I’m just trying to get my bearings here.
[Richard coughs]
[Grace sighs]
Why you?
[Sheldon grunts]
[Grace] Why did your father come to you… [grunts] …and not Walt?
[George] I can think of several reasons.
[Sheldon] I honestly don’t know.
[Walter] Yeah, you do, Shel.
‘Cause even though he’s gone, you’re still the golden boy.
[grunts] Your dad always was a good judge of character.
[Grace] Just stop sniping at him all the time.
I call it self-defense.
I have opened myself up many times to Walter.
Oh, please!
What?
The Rinsdale benefit, uh, the… the… the party at… at Harry Lloyd’s.
No, you have rebuffed me more times than I can possibly count.
No, no, no, no. You prefer to work alone, remember?
[laughs] Says the man who almost walked out on us!
This is what he does, gang.
This is what he does when he doesn’t feel heard.
When we were kids…
Shut up!
…he used to lock himself in a dark room.
[Sheldon] George.
No. Remember that, Shel?
Lock himself in a dark room. Either that or he’d burst into tears.
[Sheldon] George!
[eerie music playing]
[Fitz] Who would you choose if, you know, you could see someone again, someone you lost?
For me, it’d be my grandma.
Smartest damn person I ever knew.
[sighs] She got me reading books.
Hell, taught me how to read.
She loved everything about this world, even when it didn’t love her back.
[Grace] My uncle.
He was a photographer.
Mostly birds.
I hate birds. [chuckles]
He died in the Second Battle of the Marne, helping the French and the British four months before the war was over.
Philip, another doctor, pediatrician.
He loved kids, even when they were vomiting and shitting all over him. [chuckles]
He was on the ship with me to Vila do Corvo. We were…
We were friends since before I can remember.
My mother.
I’d do anything to be able to say goodbye.
Walt? What about you?
No one.
I don’t live in the past.
[panting]
[ominous music playing]
[wind howling]
[Sheldon grunts]
[grunts]
[gasps]
[grunts]
[gasping]
[yells]
Can anyone hear me?
[Richard] I can hear you!
[Sheldon] Follow my voice!
All right.
[yells]
[Sheldon] Walter!
I can’t see!
[Sheldon] George!
[George] Sheldon, I’m here! Grab my hand!
[Sheldon] George!
Where’s Grace?
[George] Here.
[Grace] I’m right here! Give me your hand!
[Sheldon] All right, everyone link arms. Link arms!
[grunts]
[grunts, coughs]
We gotta keep pushing forward.
[footsteps approaching]
Thanks for coming.
Hmm. Don’t get choked up.
Job’s a job.
Digging the beard, big guy. You got, like, a hot Santa thing going on.
Don’t do that.
If you’re trying to read my mind, even Walt can’t get in there.
[scoffs] Don’t need to read your mind to know you’ve got a stick up your ass.
Hello, Raikou.
I would’ve charged by the hour if I knew we were gonna engage in small talk.
Don’t push it. He’s barely tolerating you being here.
Shit. I was hoping for an autograph.
Just please keep quiet and do the job.
Grace will have to manage you if you get out of line.
Oh, I’d love to see her try.
She’s glad you’re here.
That makes one of us.
I’m glad too.
I heard about the job in Riyadh.
Decapitating Cryptomorph and still extracting his memories?
I’m not even sure I could’ve done that.
I’m damn good at what I do.
Yeah. I know you are.
[Grace] Hey!
[hands clap]
Anything you two have to say to each other, you say in front of us.
Understood?
She’s sexy when she’s giving orders.
Aren’t you the one who knows when people are lying?
Oh, I don’t need powers to know when you’re full of shit.
[Walter] Raikou…
All right, don’t have a hemorrhage.
Can we do this, please?
[Grace] Med bay’s this way.
Keep up, old man.
[all panting, coughing]
[Grace] I don’t know how we’re crossing this.
[panting]
[grunting]
Right here.
[coughs, grunts]
Follow me.
[rocks sliding]
[panting]
[breathing shakily]
[panting]
Hey, Walt, was it… was it true what you said earlier?
[grunts]
I said a lot of things.
About me being Dad’s golden boy.
Why don’t you focus on where you’re going?
You know, I always thought you were…
You were Dad’s favorite. I mean, you’re the one that got the good grades.
You were his right-hand man at the company.
He just… [breathing shakily]
That’s what someone looks for in an employee, not a son.
[Sheldon] You see, that’s your problem, Walt.
You can’t take a compliment.
Everything is a slight.
You know, maybe if you lightened up a bit, George wouldn’t be so hard on you.
Don’t even bring him into it!
Exactly your problem, Walt.
You wanna know… [breathing shakily] …what my problem is?
It’s taking a back seat to a younger brother who never deserved to have the attention he received, who… who had everything handed to him, so he didn’t have to fight for a scrap.
You see, everything’s… it comes easy to you, Shel, ’cause people always agree with whatever you propose, like… like you’re some kind of messiah.
You snap your fingers, and people follow.
You have no idea what it feels like to have no one take you seriously, even when you know you’re right.
Walt, that’s just not true. Come on.
Dad would still be alive if you’d listened to me!
[gasping]
[wind howling]
[Walter] Dad… [sobbing]
No. I told… I told you, Shel, that it wasn’t time to expand the company.
And you…
Walt.
…you treated it like gossip.
[sobbing]
You ridiculed me.
You didn’t listen, Shel.
You never listen.
Come on.
No, no. Just… just… just keep moving!
[all shouting]
Walter!
[Walter yells]
[panting]
[Sheldon grunting]
Oh my God.
[grunting]
Come on. There we go.
[Walter panting]
[George] Oh God.
[Sheldon] Come on.
[ominous music playing]
All right. That’s the last one.
[Fitz] Negative alpha. Negative beta.
Negative theta. Negative delta.
Nobody home.
That’ll happen when you’re dead.
Are you sure about this?
[Walter] Now you’re asking?
[sighs]
[Sheldon] There has to be another way.
There always is.
Not this time.
[Fitz] Okay, here we go. [sighs]
Don’t look directly into the light.
[sighs]
Well, that was disappointing.
What happened?
His system runs off antimatter. That’s a hell of a tank of gas.
Hey, give me a boost, kiddo.
See if we can jump-start this bastard together.
[Sheldon panting]
What the hell is this?
The clothing here looks Maori.
These are Viking-era axes.
These groups are from different cultures and centuries.
Yeah, but why are they here?
Guys…
We’re not the first ones to be invited here.
[blade rings]
[Walter] Guys, look at this.
This can’t be it.
There has to be a way through.
[Walter] Sheldon.
Sheldon! Listen to me!
Hey, hey, hey, hey!
It is over!
Hey! Walt! Drop the blade!
[Walter] It is over!
Walt, drop the blade!
[rumbling]
[grunting]
[all panting]
[ringing sharply]
[grunts, yells]
Whoa!
[yelling]
[gasps]
[yells]
[Grace yells, shrieks]
[Richard grunts]
No! No!
[panting]
[grunts]
[Grace panting]
[shrieks]
You… you did this!
No. No, it’s another… it’s another test!
[Fitz] No!
[all yelling, grunting]
[grunting]
No, no, no!
[gun fires]
[both grunting]
[swords clanging]
[indistinct shouting]
[both grunting]
Stop! Stop!
Stop!
[panting]
[panting] Stop.
[gasping]
Look at them.
[panting]
They killed each other.
[gasps]
This island is pitting…
Us against each other. It’s testing us.
I mean, think about it.
All we’ve done since we got off that goddamn boat is… fight.
[Sheldon panting]
[Grace] Look at them.
Groups of six.
They’re just like us.
But why?
To see if we can overcome adversity together.
That means there has to be…
There has to be a way out of this.
[grunts]
[coughs]
[sighs, gasps]
[ethereal chiming]
Jesus. [gasps]
[George] What the hell?
What the hell was that?
[Sheldon] Put it back.
What?
[Sheldon] Put your hand back.
Put it back!
[ethereal chiming]
My God.
There’s a reason we all had to be here.
Grace, come on. Come here. Fitz, Richard, Walter, come on.
[Grace laughing]
[ethereal chiming intensifies]
[Sheldon chuckling, panting]
Walt. Come on.
Come on. We need you.
Ea…
[Walter] What?
It’s not working. It’s not working.
[Sheldon] No, no, no. It’s gotta work.
It has to work.
We’ve come this far. We’ve come this far together.
Together.
Walter, George, you guys gotta put everything aside.
You gotta let things go.
No.
[panting]
No.
[Grace] It’s not just about George and Walter.
It’s about you and Walter too.
[ethereal music playing]
[Walter gasps]
[Grace gasps]
[Fitz gasping]
Did you see that?
[gasps]
He’s spiking across the board, but it’s random, unstable.
Whatever you’re gonna do, you best get to it.
He could flatline at any moment.
Give me your hand.
I should’ve charged you more.
[ethereal tinkling]
Oh, the path I took last time, it’s closed.
It’s collapsed.
[gasps]
No, wait.
There.
Not a lot to work with.
No, it’s enough.
[exhales shakily]
That’s it.
Almost there.
[breathing shakily]
[distorted voices overlapping]
What do you see?
[distorted voices overlapping]
Walt? Walt?
[Sheldon] Walt?
No, something’s not…
[distorted voices overlapping]
It’s not right.
[Grace] Walt?
[groaning, yelling]
[Grace] Oh my God! Walter!
[Sheldon] What did you do?
Raikou, do something!
I am. I’m keeping the door to Blackstar’s mind open.
It closes, Walt’s never getting out.
[footsteps echoing]
[all panting]
[gasps]
[ethereal music playing]
[ethereal tinkling]
[Sheldon] No.
No, not you. Not now.
Get out of my head.
No, no. Wait, Shel.
I see him too.
[whispers] No.
You have completed the ordeal.
[man 1] …completed the ordeal.
[woman 1] …completed the ordeal.
[Chester] You have succeeded where so many others have failed.
You have succeeded where so many have failed.
You have crossed untold distances…
You have crossed untold distances…
[Chester] …suffered unthinkable loss.
[man 2] …unthinkable loss.
[woman 1] …unthinkable loss.
…suffered unthinkable loss.
[woman 2] …suffered unthinkable loss.
Yet you have prevailed.
And you are found worthy.
[all apparitions] …worthy.
[dramatic music playing]
Mr. Welbeck! Come about, hard to port!
We’re getting the hell out of here!
[Welbeck] Aye!
[dramatic choral music playing]
Captain!
Mon Dieu!
[eerie music playing]
