Beyond – Ties That Bind

By starrymag | January 22, 2017

By: Colton Newman

 

 

Episode three entitled Ties That Bind starts right where we left off with Holden (Burkely Duffield) confronting Willa (Dilan Gwyn) about their mysterious past together in the Realm. Here Willa openly explains to Holden that while he was in his coma his physical body stayed in his hometown and his mind traveled to another world. As Holden attempts to wrap his mind around what Willa has just told him, he explains to her that he just wants “it” (him causing fires every time he takes a nap) to stop before he gets someone hurt.

 

As this conversation is being had, we break to Kevin (Jordan Calloway) who is driving his truck back home when he makes a frantic call to his wife about packing up and leaving. While talking to his wife, Kevin realizes that he is being followed by another car. After just a short chat with his wife, the car that is tailing him becomes aggressive and begins to ram Kevin’s truck. Kevin is pursued for a short time before he is run off the road and into the forest.

 

As tension builds with Kevin we cut back to Willa and Holden where she is still trying to explain to Holden that his flashbacks to the Realm are somewhat like PTSD and can be brought on by high levels of stress. She then explains that by freeing his repressed memories, Holden will be able to control his “powers.” As Willa brings out a syringe to inject Holden with medication to relax him, we learn that Holden is in fact terrified of needles. This might be subtle hint to the fact that he still has the mindset of a younger version of himself. As Holden gets frustrated with Willa and is about to leave, she warns him that if he doesn’t get help soon his “outbursts” could get worse. Before Holden closes the door to Willa’s apartment he stops and asks one final question, “Those 12 years, were they good?” To this Willa responds with “What you and I had, it was good…” as if in those few seconds she just relived her journey with Holden.

 

We later join a much happier Holden having dinner with his brother Luke (Jonathan Whitesell) and his parents Tom (Michael McGrady) and Diane (Romy Rosemont). Holden is reminiscing about how nothing has changed in the restaurant since he has awoken from his 12-year coma and his brother and parents start telling stories about Luke trying to get his drivers license. To this, Holden’s mom brings up that he should take his high school equivalency test, which Holden’s dad then disputes with Diane. The argument between his two parents heats up and becomes more aggressive than the usual marital row. As Tom and Diane continue to argue, despite Holden trying to cut in, Luke interjects that he’s “done lying.” He reveals to Holden that his parents had a divorce while he was in a coma. It’s then explained that they wanted to keep it a secret so that Holden was able to come home to a “stable” environment. This comes to Holden as a complete surprise so he storms out of the restaurant.

 

What must be an hour or so later, Holden is strolling through a park to an old batting cage that he used to visit before his coma. To his dismay the batting cage has been locked up. This seems like another disappointment to him so he begins to take is anger out on the locked gate with an old baseball bat that he found in the trash. As Holden’s gets more aggressive his powers start to bring the batting cage to life. He starts to have more flash backs of the Realm and of Arthur (Alex Diakun). A police officer shows up and Holden realizes he probably can’t explain what he’s done so he runs.

 

After realizing that Willa has been right about him not being able to control his “powers,” Holden finds himself back at her place. Holden questions Willa farther about the man he is seeing in his flashbacks. She slyly avoids the question while Holden gets ready to try Willa’s method of making him remember his past.

 

As Willa is preparing to help retrieve Holden’s memories, the “Man in the Yellow Jacket” (Peter Kelamis) is at home watching “The Bachelor” with his wife and daughter. His wine runs dry while eating and he has to fetch another bottle from his outdoor shed with a suspiciously large lock on it. As he is retrieving his wine, grunts are heard in the background where it is revealed that it is none other than Kevin.   Kevin is bloodied and zip tied to a pole as his captor taunts him.

 

Back at Willa’s she is explaining to Holden that during his coma his mind left his body and traveled to another world called the Realm. As Willa continues she explains that when Holden’s mind traveled back to his body on Earth, parts of the Realm were carried over with him. This seems to be the reason for his flashbacks, and his powers. After Willa tells him this, a seemingly more understanding Holden allows her to inject him with a sedative that “..helps boost memoires in mice.”

 

Holden wakes to find himself in a jungle like place with long tunnels made up of vines. As Holden ventures deeper into the jungle the plants around him seem to come alive and start to lead him to a bright light at the end of one of the tunnels. After panic sets in, he runs straight out of what appears to be an exit and into a free fall as he has actually run off a cliff. As Holden falls, a seemingly magical looking world full of plants, waterfalls, cliffs and stone carvings appear around him. This is the Realm.

 

With a sudden jolt, Holden goes from free fall to being awake in a bathtub back in the real world. As Willa tries to comfort him, he begins to finally realize that she has been telling the truth about the Realm the whole time. After Holden seems to recover from what he has just witnessed, he and Willa break down his experience. She seems to be preparing to attempt it again, as she gives Holden a shopping list.

 

Back at Holden’s house, his mother and Pastor Ian (Chad Willett) are having morning coffee and discussing Holden’s reaction after finding out about his parents’ divorce. As Diane hears the front door open, she rushes over expecting Holden but runs into her ex-husband Tom. Tom and Pastor Ian exchange a horribly uncomfortable short conversation about Holden’s well being just as Holden enters the house and run up to his room without so much as noticing the company in the kitchen. Holden is seen rushing off to bed for what must be a well needed nap.

 

Back in the shed owned by The Man in the Yellow Jacket we find Kevin still bound tightly to a poll as his capture approaches him. The man in the jacket explains that he is with an organization that is out to explore the world of the Realm and that they needed to make sure Holden had been there, before they tried to capture him. In provoking Holden, the man in the jacket needed to use Kevin as a tool to more or less bring out Holden’s powers in a time of need. But as Kevin soon finds out he was not meant to see what he saw that night by the bar. Kevin then asks and pleads with his capture to see his pregnant wife.

 

Holden is seen entering a sports shop looking somewhat reluctant to be there. He then pulls out the shopping list he was given by Willa. It reads “Skateboard, Helmet, Knee Pads and Elbow Pads.” While Holden is trying on elbow pads in a childlike manner he is approached by Jamie (Emilija Baranac) who was the girl he met at the party before he burnt it down. She strikes up some small talk before Holden smoothly knocks a helmet off a store rack. With little to no recovery from that Jamie asks to get his number. She takes Holden’s phone to put her number in when she see’s a text from Willa that says “You have work to do. He again “smoothly” plays that off by telling Jamie that Willa is his sister and not to worry about her. As Jamie leaves, she tells Holden to call her sometime (you know for a date!).

 

While Holden is out shopping Willa is out as well visiting Arthur. She is told by an assistant that he has been asking for her all day. Arthur is seen still laying in bed in a coma. Willa tells him that Holden is starting to remember, but he’s remembering slowly. It is then reveled what Willa is working toward as she lightly tells Arthur that nothing will distract her from bring him home.

 

Kevin is now in a car with his captor outside of his house. He is able to watch his wife pull up and go inside of their house. He thanks the man for bring him home, but as he tries to get open the door and go to his wife Kevin realizes the car doors are locked. Kevin is never seen again.

 

As Tom (Holden’s Dad) tries to busy himself with tools and other garage equipment, Luke walks up to let his dad know that he wants to go back to his classes to catch some finals. As their conversation heats up Luke takes a jab at his father and calls him out because Tom seems to hide and avoid problems (like his marriage, his coma so, and his sassy son Luke). Luke keeps talking to his father and he seems to being going through therapy with himself where he reaches the conclusion that he is somewhat jealous of Holden and how he seems to always be the center of attention.

 

Back in Willa’s apartment she is on her computer casually looking at pictures of Holden (not creepy at all). As if on cue, she hears a knock at her door and it is none other than Holden back from his shopping spree. Willa sets up her place to send Holden back into the Realm, Holden is getting strapped up with his new sports gear as he puts on a brave face. Next thing he knows he’s right back in the tunnels and vines. As Holden seems to be repeating the same mistake he made before, he runs out into the light and right into a vast futurist city. While Holden stands in the abandons city somewhat in awe of where he is, the sound of flapping wings and screeching is heard in the distance. Holden turns to see a swarm of black birds flying towards him. As the flock of birds reach him they begin to attack but to no prevail does Holden fight them off. The attack seems to be getting worse as he wakes up yet again in the bathtub where Willa has moved him.

 

The next morning after Holden has had time to recover from what he has just been through him and Willa are in a small dinner getting breakfast. It’s here that Willa reluctantly tells Holden that she had entered the Realm voluntarily. This is where the two of them met. She goes on to tell Holden that her mother passed away during child birth and that after she was born her father fled to leave Willa to be cared after by her grand father (Arthur).

 

As all seems peaceful for the moment, Holden and Diane bid fair well to Luke as he leaves to go back to college. Luke is back in college and Holden himself is also working on school, taking the high school equivalency test. For someone who is trying to avoid stress, a test wasn’t the best choice. Just moments into the test Holden begins to have a flashback to the Realm when he gets up to get some fresh air. Just outside of the school Holden is approached by Kevin’s brother Jeff (Jeff Pierre). Jeff interrogates Holden about where his brother is. When Holden can’t come up with a good answer, Jeff pulls Holden into his car and they are gone.