Reverie – Apertus

By starrymag | June 5, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Tony Lenton (Joshua Bitton) brings Naomi Lenton (Hannah Levien) to a hotel balcony where several waiters and musicians are waiting for them. Naomi tells Tony that he’s out of his mind, and they toast to their anniversary. In reality, Tony lies in a coma in a hospital. Charlie Ventana (Dennis Haybert) informs Alexis Barrett (Jessica Lu) that there are now seven patients with Reverie-induced comas and is worried about an epidemic. Alexis reminds him that seven is only a small fraction, but Charlie warns her that the company will pull the plug on Reverie if they don’t find a way to reverse the problem. She suggests they use a radical solution to solve a radical problem.

 

Mara Kint (Sarah Shahi) drinks and self-medicates before class begins, and then has her students play a game to learn to identify non-verbal cues. After several students “drop dead” and Travis (Derek Wallace) successfully deduces that Devon (Raylene Harewood) is the “killer.” Mara tells them that they can apply these skills to everyday situations, and dismisses class upon noticing that Charlie has entered the classroom.

 

Charlie buys Mara dinner, and Mara insists her lessons are necessary since so many teens are less engaged in interpersonal connections. She argues that their ability to learn empathy is hindered, and Charlie tells her he has a job for her. He explains that he needs her to resume her hostage negotiation work, and explains that he now works as a liasion for a private tech company. Charlie explains that Reverie is a technology that can help users relive cherished memories, and asks her what her favorite memory is.

 

Mara tells him about a time when her mother took her and her sister to a field of floating paper lanterns. Charlie tells her she can do anything inside Reverie, even bring back loved ones from the dead with the help of social media images. He explains that some of their users are so addicted that they are trapped inside and he wants her to go inside Reverie to bring them back.

 

Later, Charlie tells Monica Shaw (Kathryn Morris) that Mara needs time to consider, arguing that Mara is the best person for the job. Charlie explains that Mara helped so many people, but wasn’t able to help her loved ones. In a flashback, Mara tries to talk Ray McConley (Christopher Redman) down as he holds a gun to her sister Jamie (Aadila Dosani) and Jamie’s daughter Brynn (Madeleine McGraw). As she starts to talk Ray down, Mara gets a text from Charlie that he’s on his way. Upon hearing the sirens, Ray gets angry at Mara for calling the police and shoots Jamie and Brynn.

 

Mara looks at the business card and decides to take the job. The next morning, Charlie and Alexis give Mara the tour of the facility. Charlie activates a door with his hand and the voice of Dylan (Kai Scott) welcomes him. He explains to Mara that Dylan is the building’s AI and introduces Dylan to Mara. Alexis shows Mara the implant that allows users to connect with Reverie, and Mara questions why it can’t be surgically removed. Alexis explains that it might cause permanent damage, and Charlie tells Mara that she’ll have to get the implant to do her job.

 

Charline shows Mara Tony’s comatose body, and explains that they want to reunite him with his family, Jay Lenton (Christopher Rosamond) and Iris (Kyla Matthews). Mara gets the implant and later finds herself standing in front of a door lit up with a symbol. Paul Hammond (Sendhil Ramamurthy) explains that the symbol indicates a gateway in Reverie and introduces himself, explaining that he specializes in the science of creating dreams. He explains that each Reverie is tailor-made for the user, and then sets her up with a training simulator.

 

Mara sits down and Paul hands her a tablet, explaining that saying the word “Apertus” will start the program. He tells her there will be a surprise waiting for her if she completes training, and Mara starts the program. Mara finds herself lying in a forest and she takes in the sights before her as she stands up. Paul explains that her brain will tell her body to move around in the program and Mara begins to walk.

 

Mara then begins to run and Paul explains that she can do anything she wants in Reverie unless it conflicts with the code. Mara asks if she can get hurt, and tests her ability by putting her hand in an open flame. The trees of the forest burst into flames and Mara is transported to a locked box that starts to fill up with water. She panics and Paul tells her to exit the program by saying the word “Exodus.” Mara exits the program and is transported back to reality.

 

Charlie tells Mara that she doesn’t have to rescue Tony today, but she is worried that he might not have another day. After Mara and Charlie leave, Paul tells Alexis that they could have figured out the problem without hiring Mara. Alexis reminds him that they could have lost the company if they waiting any longer. She tells him that Mara suceeded in the training simulator, but Paul reminds him that they have no idea what will happen if a second person enters the Reverie and orders a brain scan of Mara while she is inside.

 

Mara asks Jay and Iris about Tony, and Jay tells her that Tony’s been under a lot of pressure since his wife passed away in a car accident. Mara looks at pictures of Naomi and Jay explains that Tony thought he could bring her back through Reverie. Charlie tells Monica that Mara passed training as a flashback shows Mara revealing a door in the water filled box and escaping to a replica of the lantern field from her memory. Monica warns Charlie that they’re running out of time, and he insists Mara is ready.

 

Paul gives Mara the tablet to access Tony’s Reverie and wishes her luck. Mara goes inside and Tony spots her standing in the San Francisco hotel as he’s walking with Naomi. She follows them but finds herself transported to a Chinese street festival. Mara continues to follow them, but is temporarily distracted by the sight of Brynn’s stuffed rabbit. Mara sees Tony and Naomi enter a store but finds herself in an elevator when she follows. The door opens and Mara finds herself in a library. She opens a door to find the performers of the festival staring back at her from the street. Mara closes the door and walks to another one with a butterfly resting on the handle.

 

Mara opens it and ends up on the balcony. Tony demands to know who she is, telling her that she’s not supposed to be there. She tries to talk to him about Naomi, but Tony asks how she knows that name as he looks fearful towards the butterfly. The dream starts crumbling, and Mara exits as Tony throws her off the balcony. Paul assures Mara that she didn’t actually fall, and asks about the brain spike caused by the sight of Brynn and her rabbit. However, she lies that she didn’t see anything unusual.

 

Mara comments on Iris’ book, and Iris tells her that Tony and Naomi used to read it to her before bed. She asks Iris if her parents ever talked about San Francisco, and Iris tells her that Tony proposed to Naomi there. She asks Mara if Tony is going to be okay, Mara promises to do everything she can for him. Later, Mara calls for Dylan and asks for a search of all of Tony’s photos for a butterfly.  Three photos come up and Mara identifies the butterfly in a tattoo on a woman that Dylan identifies as Allison Young (Marie Collins).

 

Mara visits Allison at work, and tells her what happened to Tony. Allison tells her that Naomi was her best friend, and Naomi and Tony were happy. Mara asks if there were any problems, and Allison tells Mara that Naomi was sick. As Mara looks around Tony’s house, Dr. Vega (Alison Araya) tells Charlie about the results of Mara’s brain scan. She explains that Paul ordered the test, and that Mara shows signs of a psychiatric disorder. Mara finds an drug envelope marked with a butterfly in a drawer. She shows it to Charlie and Paul and explains how Tony reacted to the butterfly in Reverie. Alexis explains that everyone reacts to the program in different ways, and Mara suggests that the butterfly represents Tony’s guilt before requesting to go back into Tony’s Reverie.

 

Mara goes back inside and spots Tony and Naomi in the hotel lobby. She approaches them, but Tony closes the elevator on her. Tony appears behind her and reminds her he ordered her to stay away from him. Mara tells Tony that she knows why he’s seeing the butterfly and everyone in the lobby freezes and stares at her. Tony asks who she is, and Mara introduces herself before explaining the reason she’s there. He tells her he didn’t consent to her presence, and Mara apologizes before asking about his proposal. Tony tells her about the proposal, and she tells him that they both have a memory they want to live in and a memory they want to forget.

 

Tony tells her about Naomi’s condition, and that he started taking drugs out of stress, causing him to be impaired when he drove in the crash that killed Naomi. He insists he failed Naomi, and that he and Naomi always talked about coming back to San Francisco for their anniversary. Tony breaks down, and Mara assures him it will get better before telling him about feeling responsible for her sister’s death. She tells him that things changed for her upon seeing how Iris was reacting to Tony’s coma, and Tony is surprised that Iris is there.

 

Mara tells him that he’s been in a coma, and that he has been inside Reverie for two weeks. Tony doesn’t believe it, but Mara asks when the last time he remembers sleeping. He can’t answer, and Mara tells him that Iris is real and waiting for him. She warns him that he will never come back if he stays, and asks if that was what Naomi would want. Tony apologizes to Naomi for the things not going according to plan, but Naomi tells him she doesn’t regret any of it. He tells her it’s time to go home, and she kisses him goodbye.

 

Tony wakes up and Iris embraces him. Jay welcomes him back, and Charlie declares that Mara succeeded. Tony requests Mara to come into the room and he and Iris thank her. Charlie asks Paul why he ordered a brain scan on Mara, and he argues that they’re in uncharted waters. Charlie tells him to bring all test results to him and to monitor Mara. Alexis asks Dylan to play a game with her and he produces an electronic game. She comments that they used to play this when they were young, and looks over at her wall of photos of a brother and sister together.

 

Monica warns Charlie that more Reverie users are falling into comas, and that she can’t help him keep it quiet for much longer. She tells him that she wanted to eventually implement the program into the Department of Defense, as she feels it has potential. Mara arrives home and looks at a picture of Jamie, Brynn, and Ray. She flashes back to Ray killing himself after killing Jamie and Brynn, and she throws away her liquor bottles around the apartment in the present. As she is about to dump her pills into the toilet, she investigates a noise and freaks out upon seeing a vision of Brynn standing in the hallway holding her rabbit that disappears when she turns the lights on.