Reverie – Altum Somnum

By starrymag | July 4, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

At the Mercodyne Building, a man with briefcase (Steve Rizzo) steps inside and sees the long line to go through security. He steps outside to make a phone call informing that he’ll be late and the building explodes. Charlie Ventana (Dennis Haybert) tells Mara Kint (Sarah Shahi) to come to his office. Monica Shaw (Kathryn Morris) rejects Charlie’s request to speak privately, and confirms that she works for the Department of Defense. Alexis Barrett (Jessica Lu) comments that she thought they worked independently of their financing, but Monica tells her she’s simply asking for their help.

 

Monica tells them that she wants to help prevent a terrorist attack, and informs them of the bombing. Paul Hammond (Sendhil Ramamurthy) questions why this building was targeted, and Charlie tells him that the building has a lot of offices belonging to military contractors. Monica shows them a video made by the masked bomber, Silas (Stacey Hinnen), criticizing the military’s actions and threatening more damage. Monica asks Mara to go into the mind of the only surviving witness, Denise Lang (Ashleigh LaThrop), through Reverie to identify Silas, explaining that Denise was a security guard who crossed paths with Silas on security footage.

 

Monica explains that Denise was badly burned and is estimated to have six to ten hours of life left. Paul confirms that she wants them to induce a Reverie and Alexis is surprised to hear that Charlie gave Monica Reverie’s source code. Charlie and Paul argue that it’s too dangerous to go in, but Alexis argues that it would be a great challenge. Mara sees photos of the bomb’s victims, and agrees to go in despite knowing that Monica put the pictures out on purpose.

 

Alexis believes that Denise will be able to identify Silas with the help of noradrenaline, and Dylan (Kai Scott) explains that noradrenaline is a hormone that stimulates the memory portion of the brain. Paul and Alexis suggest that recreating the security footage will help Denise remember Silas, and that Mara will be able to see the recreation of Silas’ face through her. Mara asks Paul if he’s on board with this, and he admits he believes this is an invasion of privacy and sets a terrible precedent. However, he tells her that he wants her to be safe if she goes in.

 

Paul addresses his team, telling them they have an hour to build this new program but the purpose is classified. He oversees them as they work, and tells them to dig deep and use creativity to recreate the security footage. Mara watches as Denise has the Reverie implant inserted, and Paul later hands her the tablet to enter the finished Reverie. Paul explains that Denise has been sent in first to get her bearings, and Alexis warns Mara not to mention Reverie to her. Charlie warns Mara to be careful, and Mara enters the Reverie.

 

Mara looks around the recreated lobby, taking note of the large exit icon. Denise asks her where to go, admitting that she feels weird. She asks if she’s ever felt like she isn’t in her own body, and Mara tells her that everyone feels like that sometimes. Denise remarks that the day has to get better, and asks Mara if she needs something. Mara tells her she’s waiting for someone and follows Denise.

 

Monica tells Charlie that they’re saving lives, but Charlie accuses her of using Mara to show off the technology to her department. He accuses her of risking Mara’s life on a wild goose chase, but Monica insists that he’s underestimating Mara before admitting that she wants the Department Of Defense to see Reverie 2.0 as a tool with many potential uses. Monica gets a call that the real Denise was on medical leave, and that the one they have is an imposter. Mara witnesses Denise recognize Silas and call out to him, but the program is unable to replicate his face.

 

Dylan informs the group that the imposter’s real name is Ashley Trent. Paul asks Monica how they missed that, and Monica explains that the real Denise’s work status was never updated by the security firm. Despite the evidence that Ashley helped Silas get access to the building, Mara insists that the Ashley she met was not a bad person. Alexis asks if they’re done with the operation, but Monica reminds her that they haven’t identified Silas yet and that they have someone who can help prevent the other bombings.

 

Alexis walks out of the meeting, and Mara suggests that she go back in and talk to Ashley. Paul warns her that Ashley is dying and that she doesn’t want to be inside the Reverie when it crashes, but Mara insists she’ll be okay. Mara requests every possible bit of information on Ashley to help her. Alexis admits to Charlie that she feels like she’s on the outs in her own company, and gets mad at him for giving away the source code without consulting her. Charlie reminds her that she never wanted the details of the deals, and tells her that she needs to act like she wants to be in charge of the company. Alexis tells him that it’s her company, and that Steve Jobs didn’t become successful because he was a people person. He tells her she needs more than vision and tells her they’re going for a ride.

 

Mara talks to Ashley’s mother, Mrs. Trent (Anne-Marie Johnson), about Ashley. Trent tells her that the Ashley she knew wasn’t so angry, but her father went to prison for swindling money out of a lot of people. She admits that she tried to avoid telling Ashley the truth, but they lost everything due to the ensuing civil suits and Ashley was bullied at school. Trent tells her that she sent Ashley to camp to deal with her anger, but it was unsuccessful. Mara asks when the last time she saw Ashley was, and Trent admits that it’s been over a year.

 

Charlie pulls up in front of a house of a friend of Ashley’s. Alexis wants to stay in the car, but Charlie takes her phone away and accuses her of hiding. Charlie tells her that the money they got from the Department Of Defense to help fund Reverie development came with strings, and tells her to get out the car and take some responsibility. Alexis joins Charlie and they knock on the door asking for Edith Leonard (Allison Rood). The woman tells them that Edith isn’t home, and hesitates before saying her name is Margaret.

 

Charlie tells Alexis his suspicions that “Margaret” is really Edith and go inside to find the house vacated. Alexis finds evidence of the forged security badge and they run outside to find Edith attempting to escape over the fence. Edith is unable to climb and points a gun at them. Alexis tells Edith that Ashley is dying, but Edith tells her that Silas told her Ashley is dead. Edith tells them that the reign of fire begins today before shooting herself in the head.

 

Monica tells Mara that they need to keep working, and Mara asks how much time they have. Charlie estimates they have hours until the next bomb goes off, and Mara tells them she has a plan. Paul hands Mara the tablet and urges her to stay safe before she enters the program. Mara looks in the mirror and sees that she has taken on Edith’s appearance. As Mara steps into the building, Ashley embraces her and asks what she’s doing there.

 

Ashley admits that something feels wrong and asks Mara to look at the closet. Mara opens the door and sees a forest with a cabin inside. She lies that she sees nothing unusual, but Ashley believes that they’re being punished for their actions. Mara tells her that there’s time to go to police with what they know and save lives, but Ashley collapses and Mara exits the program.

 

Paul tells Mara that Ashley’s lung collapsed, and Mara reports that she wasn’t able to get any information. Monica tells them that they have no time, and that they got a possible tip about the next bomb’s location. Mara tells Paul about Ashley’s remorse about her actions and about the forest. Paul suggests that the forest is a result of Ashley’s brain creating an alternate Reverie, suggesting that her brain is rejecting their Reverie. Mara insists that she has to go back in despite Paul’s warnings.

 

Mara finds Trent sitting by Ashley’s bedside, and asks her if she spent time at a cabin. Trent tells her that they used to have a cabin when Ashley was a kid and asks how she knew about it. Mara tells her it’s hard to explain, and Trent explains that they built the cabin as a family. Trent hands her Ashley’s copy of Alice In Wonderland, explaining that Ashley memorized it and commenting that everyone exploited Ashley. Mara remarks that nobody gave Ashley the truth she needed and goes back into the program.

 

Mara finds the Reverie frozen and goes through the open closet door into the forest. Monica calls Charlie and tells him the tip they received was a hoax, and tells him to find Mara before a lot more people die. Mara approaches the cabin and enters to find Ashley sitting by the fire. Ashley asks if others are going to come into the forest and freaks out when Mara addresses her by name. She tells Mara that she doesn’t know what’s real anymore, and Mara brings up Ashley’s history of being lied to.

 

Ashley asks Mara who she is, and Mara identifies herself before explaining that she is inside Reverie. Mara explains that she’s real in the outside world, but that everything in the Reverie is fantasy. She admits to posing as Edith and apologizes. Mara explains that her company put Ashley in the Reverie to get information out of her, and confirms that she’s dying. Ashley asks for confirmation that the bomb went off and tells Mara that Silas told her that there would be no casualties.

 

Mara tells her that Silas manipulated her and prayed on her vulnerabilities. Ashley tearfully admits that Silas made her feel special and calls herself a monster. Mara comforts her, and tells her that her mom is sitting at her bedside in the real world. Ashley explains that she was told that the bomb would go off in the evening, but was alarmed to see that the timer had forty-five seconds left. Mara tells her she can stop it from happening again, and the Reverie starts shaking. Ashley gives the location of the next bomb, and Mara thanks her. Ashley then tells Mara to go, but tells her that she has one last request.

 

The Reverie starts disappearing around Mara, but Mara is unable to leave the Reverie. Remembering the exit icon in the building lobby, Mara runs to it and exits through it just in time. Trent tells Mara that Ashley is gone, and Mara sits down next to her. Mara explains that Ashley showed her the cabin in the Reverie, and that she spent her last moments helping them save lives. She tells Trent that Ashley told her to tell her that Ladybug loved her and Trent tells her the childhood story. Mara tells her Ashley had one more request and reads a passage from Alice In Wonderland to her.

 

Charlie checks on Alexis, and tells her that her program helped save a lot of lives. He tells her a story about watching his friend die when he was a teenager, and Alexis asks why he’s telling her. Charlie tells her that he was the first person he saw die, and apologizes for her having to witness Edith’s suicide. Alexis tells him that Edith wasn’t the first person she’s seen die, and thanks him before looking at Edith’s social media profile. The teams gathers, and Monica offers them a drink to celebrate. Monica thanks Mara for her efforts, and Alexis asks to join them. Paul passes out drinks, and Charlie toasts to a job well done. Paul toasts to the program, Monica to teamwork, Alexis to Steve Jobs, and Mara to Ashley.