Room 104 – The Night Babby Died

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

Abby (Lily Gladstone) approaches the door to Room 104, removing a lanyard from what appears to be a conference and knocking on the door. A rather spastic Bruce (Leonardo Nam) answers the door, disheveled and not ready to go out and join Abby for their planned dinner date. Instead, Bruce has a different type of night in mind – playing “Crowning Glory II,” a game that Abby and Bruce played religiously as children.

Abby is hesitant at first to engage Bruce’s erratic behavior, but Bruce reminds Abby that in the game their character Babby (a combination of Bruce and Abby) had died and once a character is killed in the game they are dead. Fortunately, Bruce has found a solution that would allow them to bring Babby back and therefore save their childhood character. As Bruce spouts off about creating new character Abbuce (a combination of Abby and Bruce) in order to work towards Babby’s resurrection, Abby still appears reluctant to play the game.

For Babby to come back Abbuce must get through the 1^st Quest – Blade of Courage, 2^nd Quest – The Shield of Truth, 3^rd Quest – The Crown of Glory and then bring Babby’s bones back to The Temple of Resurrection where the proper offering is given to try and bring back Babby. During “Blade of Courage” it is obvious that the quests are about more than just a game as Abby tries to get Bruce to open up about his mother’s recent passing. As Bruce loses the round, which is a puzzle, Abby finally decides to play the game and get them through the first quest.

As Abby plays “The Shield of Truth” round we learn that Abby treats children with cancer while Bruce has a forty-one year old pregnant girlfriend. But one momentary lapse in judgement causes Abby to lose the round and Bruce flips out. His anger comes from believing that Abby killed Babby’s character on that fateful day that Bruce learned his father was cheating with Abby’s mother, who was a maid for Bruce’s family. Where Bruce grew up barely knowing his father, Abby had support from him as she went through medical school. Abby had gotten what Bruce never received from his father. Too upset to deal with confrontation Bruce locks himself in the bathroom as Abby tries to explain how her life is no longer fun.

By “The Crown of Glory” Abby is still playing the game while Bruce remains in the bathroom, but not for long. Abby has finally reached Hydra’s Lair in the game and needs Bruce’s help to defeat them and win. Bruce emerges from the bathroom and grabs the remote from Abby, defeating the Hydra in a most spectacular fashion to win the game. During Bruce and Abby’s celebration over their win they see what they have wanted all this time: Babby’s bones in the Hydra’s Lair. They will finally be able to resurrect Babby!

At “The Temple of Resurrection” Bruce and Abby are teeming with excitement that they will see Babby again. Unfortunately, the resurrection ritual fails and instead Babby has been reduced to ash. In a reversal Bruce seems to take the loss in stride, but Abby is reduced to tears. Bruce works to console Abby and even repeats the wise words of the character on-screen, “Life comes and goes and in the hearts of the living, those that pass, live on.”

When given the option to build a memorial in honor of their fallen character, both Bruce and Abby agree to give Babby a proper send-off. As the memorial stands with “Babby (1991-2020)” chiseled into the bottom, Bruce and Abby say their own goodbyes in Room 104. Abby remembers that Babby made her laugh, something that she misses and wishes she could return to. Bruce embraces Abby as they share a moment over the loss of their character and friendship, hopefully repairing what they once shared.