Reverie – No More Mr. Nice Guy

By starrymag | June 19, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

The Reverie world is frozen until Nate Hallo (Ashley Zukerman) drives up to a bank. Stepping out of the car, he puts on a wolf mask and leads a group of robbers into the bank. He stops the bank manager from closing the bank, saying that he has to make a withdrawal. The robbers push all of the scared customers together and Nate stands on a table, addressing them. He tells them to remain calm as his partners load their bags with cash and that the pleasure is his. In the real world, Amanda Hallo (Paton Ashbrook) forces herself into Nate’s room and finds Nate unresponsive.

 

Mara Kint (Sarah Shahi) looks at a photo of Brynn (Madeleine McGraw), and finds her standing behind her. Mara says hello and asks Brynn to sit with her, questioning what Brynn is. Brynn doesn’t answer, but smiles when Mara tells her it’s good to see her again. Mara asks if she can hug her, but Brynn disappears when Mara is brought back to reality by her phone ringing. She questions what she’s doing, and answers Charlie Ventana’s (Dennis Haybert) call.

 

Daniel Baez (Phillip Anthony-Rodriguez) sits with Amanda in Charlie’s office, threatening to sue Onira Tech for damages caused by Reverie. Amanda tells Mara that Nate has been absent from her life since he started using Reverie, but Charlie tells her that using Reverie was Nate’s choice. However, Amanda insists that the Nate she knows wouldn’t abandon her and their unborn child like that and tells them how he’s always been there for her. She tells them that she needs Nate to come out of Reverie, but Mara tells her that only he can make the decision. As Amanda and Baez leave, Mara asks for one day to try to convince Nate to leave Reverie.

 

Mara goes into Nate’s Reverie and finds herself standing amongst the police vehicles outside the bank. She looks for Nate and asks SWAT Team Captain Carpenter (Steve Suh) for help. Nate and the robbers shoot at the cops as they step out of the bank and Mara realizes that Nate is the leader of the robbers. Mara approaches him, but Nate tells her to stop distracting him. She tries to talk to him, but he climbs onto a ladder dangling out of a helicopter and flies away.

 

Paul Hammond (Sendhil Ramamurthy) is surprised that Nate was a bank robber in his Reverie, and Mara explains how she identified him despite his mask. He shows her images that Alexis Barrett (Jessica Lu) asked him to put together for a presentation that she’s been dreading. Paul suggests using a counterintuitive approach to getting Nate to talk to her, and Mara realizes that she should lure Nate to her.

 

Charlie tells Paul that Alexis is in a bad mood, and asks about Mara’s status. Paul tells him about Mara’s plan and that her brain scans are relatively normal. Charlie asks him if Mara is in trouble, and Paul insists she’s fine as long as she takes her meds and avoids images related to her derealization. Paul tells him that Mara is seeing someone from her past, and Charlie is concerned.

 

Mara asks Casey Hathaway (Sasha Compere) for help and introduces herself. Casey is excited to meet her, and Mara asks if she can help her bring a large object into Nate’s Reverie. Casey tells her she can, and Nate is tempted by the sight of an armored truck in his Reverie. He approaches and finds Mara waiting inside. Nate is surprised to see her and shoos the other robbers away.

 

Mara tells him that she’s there to help him, but Nate insists he’s fine. She warns him that his real life is falling apart, and tells him that Amanda needs him. Nate tells her Amanda is better off without him and that he’s staying. He locks Mara in the truck and orders his accomplice to drive her away. Mara pleads with the driver to stop, and exits the Reverie before they drive into a wall.

 

Mara visits Amanda, who tells her that Baez told her not to talk to her. Mara insists that Nate is her priority, and asks for her help. She theorizes that something is keeping Nate inside, but Amanda doesn’t know what it is. Amanda mentions that they had a break-in a couple of months ago, but he seemed fine afterwards and told her to move on. Amanda continues to insist that the break-in isn’t the problem, and continues to testify to Nate’s reliability.

 

Mara calls Charlie and asks him to look for information on the case. He agrees and asks if she’s going to be out for a while. She says that she’s going back to Onira Tech, and Charlie hangs up before searching Mara’s apartment. He finds Brynn’s photo and stuffed rabbit laying out, and Mara asks Casey for gasoline and a lighter for Nate’s Reverie. Paul asks what the purpose is, and Mara tells him it will help Nate pay attention to her.

 

Nate is horrified to see his car on fire, and Mara steals his bag before asking if he has her attention. He tells her to give the bag back, but Mara challenges him to make her as she runs down the street with it. Nate chases Mara into an alleyway, and Mara tells him that she won’t give his bag back until he talks to her. He tells her that he’s done talking, and he’s not ready to leave. Mara tells him what Amanda said about his reliability, and warns him not to let his marriage fall apart like the rest of his life.

 

As Nate considers Mara’s request to leave with her, he heads the revving of a motorcycle in the distance. He asks her if she’s responsible, but she tells him she’s not. The rider, a heavily scarred and tattooed man, climbs off the motorcycle and pushes Mara out of the way. He chains Nate to his motorcycle, and drives away dragging Nate behind him.

 

Mara tells Paul what happened, questioning why the program would terrify him like that. Paul explains that the program is complicated, and that it senses what the user truly needs inside the Reverie. Paul offers to take her inside one of his Reveries to demonstrate what he means. Mara is surprised that he’s willing to show her that, but Paul tells her he trusts her.

 

Paul takes Mara into one of his Reveries, an accurate replica of his childhood home. Mara is impressed, and Paul explains that he didn’t initially understand why he kept wanting to come back to a place he hated. He tells her that he suffers from anxiety due to his childhood trauma, and that he’s been treating it with the Reverie. Paul takes her upstairs showing her that the Reverie created something not in his original home, a strange door.

 

As somebody bangs on the door from the other side, Paul explains the abuse he suffered from his father and that the Reverie made the door so he could confront his father. Paul opens the door and finds his father standing inside the room. Paul tells him that he can go, and shuts the door. Mara thanks Paul for sharing that, and asks if he’s okay. Paul tells her he is, and Mara asks about the other doors in his Reverie. He tells her he’ll save them for another time.

 

Charlie shows Mara a police sketch of the suspect that robbed Nate and Amanda, and tells her that police said that Nate never came in to identify him. Mara tells him that Nate told Amanda to move on from the robbery, and Charlie says that he wouldn’t be able to move on himself. Mara tells him that the man inside the Reverie looked different and says that his look was too distinct to not be accurate. She figures out a way to get Nate out, and asks Charlie for his help.

 

Charlie meets with Detective Jeanine Bregman (Elena Campbell-Martinez), and gives her the description Mara described. Bregman suggests that the suspect is part of a gang and should be able to identify him with the help of gang counselor. Charlie thanks her for her help, and she asks why the witness didn’t mention it before. Mara asks Alexis how her presentation is going. Alexis sarcastically says it’s going great, and Mara has Dylan (Kai Scott) prove that Alexis is lying.

 

Mara suggests that she focus on what the investors are going to say as much as on what’s she’s going to say, and asks what the presentation is about. Alexis launches into a boring speech about it, and Mara tells her forget the numbers and talk about her dreams. She replies with an impassioned speech about how she wants to change the world with Reverie, and Mara advises her to say that instead. Mara gets a call from Charlie, telling her that the suspect has been found and will be arrested only if Nate comes in to identify him.

 

Mara finds Nate sporting a bruise at a bar, and he tells her that the man dragged him across town before dumping him. She asks why he didn’t leave, but he tells her that he can’t. Mara tells him that the man will only be arrested if Nate identifies him. Nate tells her that the Reverie is the only place he feels confident, and Mara realizes that his fears is about more than a break-in.

 

Nate confesses that the man assaulted him a couple weeks later and threatened to kill him if he went to the police. He tells her he’s been terrified ever since, and Mara tells him what happened to her family, admitting she hasn’t been able to go back to the place where it happened. Mara tells him that his fear will never go away unless he does something about it, and Nate tells her that he’s more afraid of Amanda finding out the truth. Mara assures him that Amanda loves him and is waiting for him. Nate wakes up and goes to Bregman. She tells him that they will show him the suspect and they will take him away if Nate identifies him. The police bring the man out of the car and Nate stares at him before identifying him.

 

Charlie asks to speak to Mara and questions if he was wrong to bring her in. Mara reminds him that she just succeeded in rescuing Nate, but Charlie tells her that she’s not being truthful. He asks who she’s seeing in her derealization hallucinations, and Mara tells her it’s just Brynn. Charlie accuses him of not following Paul’s instructions, but she admits that getting to spend a few moments with Brynn was more than she dreamed. She tells him that helping people has made her feel better about herself, begging him not to take that away. Charlie tells her to get some rest, and she thanks him.

 

Nate returns home and Amanda tells him that Mara told him what happened. He tells her he’s feeling better now, and apologizes. She asks why he didn’t say anything, and he admits he was ashamed that he just froze. He admits that he feels bad that he wasn’t able to protect her, but Amanda assures him she loves him and that they will protect each other. Mara takes her pills and drives to the house of  her sister and Brynn’s murders. She finds the door open and relives the memories in her head as forces herself to keep walking inside. Mara finds Brynn waiting for her inside, and she tells her that she’s there for a reason as the entire room starts glitching.