The Passage season 1, episode 2 recap: You Owe Me A Unicorn

Even though Fox’s The Passage put forth a stronger second episode, ratings dropped in the key 18-49 demo by 22.8% in ratings.

The Passage seems to have its you-know-what together.

The pilot, I thought, had a ton of potential, but was a little slow (until the end) and a little spastic at times. Episode 2, “You Owe Me a Unicorn,” ran like a high-production, better-developed story.

I can see plots forming and potential for blossoming into must-see drama. Even the acting was better. I found out that the pilot had changed directors and maybe that’s why it seemed jumpy.

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But Episode 2 seemed more together and cohesive – proof that directing matters in a production. I’m excited to see how this show improves if it gains popularity.

Now for what’s going on in this story.

I know I keep comparing this show to Lost, but it has a Lost-feel. It’s not just the whole Desmond-is-now-Dr. Lear (Henry Ian Cusick) part. This Project Noah business has similarities to the Dharma Initiative.

Though we don’t know exactly why Project Noah began (but know it has something to do with Lear’s sick wife), it appears both started with good intentions. And both grew into something scary and in some ways unethical.

Besides both shows having a degree of supernaturalism, they also utilize flashbacks to give background. I hope The Passage uses them sparsely, peeling back layers one at a time.

Speaking of flashbacks, we find out through a flashback that Dr. Lear’s wife (Jerri Tubbs) is sick with early onset Alzheimer’s. Though she protests, Lear wants to enlist the help of his friend Fanning (Jamie McShane) to help find a cure for her. Thus, how they end up in the cave of wonders with the creepy vampire man.

By the end of the episode, we know that Lear’s wife is still sick and is much worse than how we saw her in the flashbacks.

As for the stars of the show, Brad and Amy, they’re still on the run. Brad is hurt badly from a gunshot wound at the police station. The two cleverly sneak on a school bus bound for a field trip, then steal a car and head for Wisconsin.

On the way, Brad passes out. So, Amy calls Lila (Emmanuelle Chriqui) to ask for help. When Brad comes to, he flips out because he figures Clarke is watching Lila and she could be in danger.

Brad and Amy have a moment in the car where they promise never to leave each other. She also makes sure he knows that he owes her a unicorn like the one they lost from the carnival back at the police station.

Their chemistry is the best on the show. Mark-Paul Gosselaar has this way about him where even when things are tense, he makes the people around him (and the audience) at ease. That and his fatherly demeanor with Amy (Saniyya Sidney), who seems wise beyond her years, mixes well. I think their on-screen chemistry will only build as the show progresses.

The pair ends up being taken in by an old friend of Brad’s from the military, Lacey (Kecia Lewis). She’s tough as nails, has her goat farm surrounded by boobie traps, and possesses quite the collection of guns.

Lila finds them there because when she found out they were in Wisconsin, she knew they would go see Lacey. She tends to Brad’s wounds, and they passionately kiss. The jury is still out whether they have chemistry or not. We also get some background about their daughter Eva who died before the timeline of the show, and whose death is the reason for their break-up. She was a tomboy, like Amy. So, that explains why Brad is so taken with her.

THE PASSAGE: L-R: Caroline Chikezie and Henry Ian Cusick in the “You Owe Me a Unicorn” episode of THE PASSAGE airing Monday, Jan. 21 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.© 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr: Erika Doss / FOX.

There’s a level of comfort while they’re at Lacey’s house. It almost feels like this could be a new normal if they can get away from the Project Noah people. They’re trying to get to Canada. And if they find them there, they’ll go to Amsterdam. What’s in Amsterdam? I don’t know.

Lacey offers to be the “whistleblower” on Project Noah, so Brad tells her the names of all the death row prisoners he recruited for the project. Lila listens.

Their calmness turns to crazy when Richards (Vincent Piazza) and a bunch of his soldiers(?) find them at Lacey’s. But she ain’t going out without a fight. It costs her life (we think). Lila almost escapes with Amy as Brad turns himself over, but Amy turns herself over, too. They promised they wouldn’t leave each other.

After Brad and Amy are thrown into the back of a van, stupid Richards tells his men they don’t have to sweep the house. Big mistake, because Lila is still inside and knows what’s going on at Project Noah. Maybe, if Lacey isn’t dead, she can save her (Lila is a doctor!), and they can blow that whistle together! Girl power!

And the last bit to highlight is the fact that these “blood-suckers” can actually enter dreams. In fact, Anthony Carter (McKinley Belcher III), Project Noah’s newest recruit, has his first “dream meeting.” But let’s back up.

Carter knows what they’re doing isn’t legal. The subjects are being tested without them knowing what they really agree to.

During the day, he’s never felt better! He’s running (and can run for days) and is a muscular man marvel. But while he’s asleep, that’s a different story.

He enters a bar with normal-looking Shauna Babcock (Brianne Howey) sitting at the bar. She warns him to do whatever “he” says. “He” is Fanning, and he appears as the bartender, pouring them each a glass of blood. Carter refuses to drink it, but Fanning still makes him settle up. Shauna reaches in and pulls out a tooth because they pay with themselves.

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Fanning also gives Carter a message to deliver to Lear: “You already changed the world. You just have to wait and see how.”

Yikes.

I guess we’ll find out more next week. But if the ratings for The Passage keep dropping, we may not get the chance to see it through. So, if you like it, keep watching!

Read last week’s recap.

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