Debris Season 1, Episode 6 recap: Supernova

Debris Episode 6, “Supernova,” opens with a strange scene of a few teenagers taking stuff from an abandoned shack with several corpses left behind. One asks, “What do we do now?” “We have to try again, we need more people.” That sounds ominous.

On the plane, Finola and Bryan are headed toward the latest debris spot in Enville, Tennessee when they get to talking about George. Finola tells Bryan a story about how, before he died, her father spent his last birthday in Greece. He purchased his own present for Finola to gift him. At first, it seems like an endearing story meant to subtly guilt Bryan for keeping the truth about George a secret, but then we find out Finola had an ulterior motive.

Ferris had instructed Finola to tell that story to gauge Bryan’s reaction to learning George was in Greece. While talking to Ferris on the phone, Finola also asks who that agent was we saw in the last episode that delivered the USB (the guy played by Sebastian Roché), Ferris says his name is Agent Brill. I’m sure we’ll be seeing him more soon.

Upon arriving in Enville, Finola and Bryan learn that a local woman found the corpses while walking her dog. So far, they’ve found three corpses. Dr. Masakela (Daniel Bacon) says the bodies died recently. “It’s like the life was literally sucked out of them.” The debris leaves a mysterious electrostatic field around the bodies, enough to charge a cellphone (which the good doctor can’t help but demonstrate).

Bryan discovers a medical ID left behind identifying one of the bodies as an elderly man reported missing named Bill Jarvah. In fact, all three bodies are elderly people recently reported missing. Given their age, Finola and Bryan deduce that someone must have brought them there. Masakela says they’ll have to take the bodies to Langley for further study.

Debris Episode 6 recap: Craig questions Anson.

In Washington D.C., Craig visits Anson in his cell. We learn Anson is ex-SAS, that he once even infiltrated the IRA in Northern Ireland before abandoning his military duty. Craig questions him about Influx. “Who’s funding you? We know it’s not the Russians or the Chinese.”

Anson doesn’t give Craig any real answers but accuses him of wanting geopolitical dominance to rule the world. “You don’t get to control this debris, this technology is meant to free the world, not entrap it.”

Craig changes tactics. What’s the deal with George Jones? They know Anson swapped bodies in the morgue. Did he reanimate George’s corpse with debris? “Are you torturing George Jones to learn our secrets?” Instead of answering any more questions, Anson… falls asleep? A bit random but okay, mood. I fall asleep when I don’t want to do stuff, too.

Abandoning the interrogation, Craig checks in with his tech team. Anson has been receiving mysterious phone calls and he wants his phone cracked to find out where they’re originating.

Debris Episode 6 recap: Finola and Bryan track down missing elderly people

Back in Tennessee, Bryan and Finola notice chalk markings on the trees near the shack. Bryan notes that sometimes hikers do that so they don’t get lost, but the purpose of these specific markings is currently unknown. Then Craig contacts Bryan, asking him to press Finola for more details about George’s death. He wants to know if Influx had a long-term plan to capture George. Intel suggests George was in the Mediterranean before he died, which of course, Bryan now knows due to Finola’s story. He tells Craig as much and Craig asks him to find out more specifics like the dates he was there, etc.

A fellow investigator interrupts the call to tell Bryan they’ve confirmed all the corpses were elderly and now another man in his 80s named Caspian Cole has gone missing from the nearby town of McMinnville. That means whoever is doing this is probably there.

We pivot to the teens we met in the opening scene. They’re hanging out on an empty stretch of road. The girl is hula-hooping and then suddenly collapses, she warns the others not to go further while her boyfriend marks the distance as 237 feet. It looks like he’s keeping tabs on how far away she can stand being from the debris. “Soon we’ll be free, we just have to find a few more. We have to keep going.”

A few states over, in D.C., Craig meets with his Russian buddy Tarkolov. They’re cryptic, discussing how they want America and Russia to succeed so “both countries can have their place in the history books.” Tarkolov tells Craig to meet him that night at 8:00 p.m. to complete their shady deal.

Debris Episode 6 recap: Bryan finds out something disturbing, the team closes in on the teens

Finola shows Bryan the footage they’ve gathered of Caspian being abducted. Another man in his 90s named Jose Manza has also gone missing, last seen 10 blocks away from the same spot Caspian was taken. The group finds the teen’s abandoned car with some of the victim’s clothing in the trunk. Then Bryan gets contacted by one of Craig’s men, Kearn. They’re inside Finola’s apartment, looking through her personal emails. Bryan isn’t thrilled to hear this and he doesn’t give them any info. “You’re on your own.”

Back to the teens, the apparent group leader approaches yet another elderly man, this one named Subash (Devinder Dillon). We see his tactics to manipulate these people. He asks if Subash is alone and Subash says his sons live in other cities. “Sometimes I feel like they’re just waiting for me to die.” “I can help you with that.”

While waiting for more intel, Bryan decides to coax more information about George out of Finola. He mentions the story she told him on the plan, revealing they never knew bout that side of him at Orbital, only that he was a hyper-focused genius. Finola says her father was obsessed with neurological computing. He thought nightmares could be the brain’s way of solving difficult equations.

Finola grows suspicious of Bryan’s line of questioning. “Why are you asking me about my father, Bryan?” Finally, he tells her the truth and Finola tells him she already knew and she knew he knew. Bryan tells her most of what he knows, regarding the footage he saw and the fact Craig is trying to get intel on George’s Greece trip. “I need to know if I can trust you with what I told you.” Pfft. I don’t blame Finola for getting out of the car after Bryan says that.

Debris Episode 6 recap: The debris is de-aging people!

Elsewhere, we see the teens leading Subash deeper into the woods. He starts having difficulties breathing and so the leader of the group hands him the debris, telling him to hold onto it tight because it “happens so fast.” Subash takes the debris and it starts to react. The teens hear sirens in the distance and two of them break off to investigate. Bryan and Finola see them and give chase. Bryan manages to tackle one to the ground, questioning him about the whereabouts of Caspian and Joe. “I am Caspian Cole.” !!! Subash is de-aged by the debris. “It’s a miracle.” He’s told to stay near the group. “You’re with us now.”

The escaping teen returns to the woods to warn the others, we can guess he’s a de-aged Jose Manza. But sadly, the younger Joe gets too far from the debris and dies — looking exactly like the corpses from the beginning of Debris Episode 6. The leader’s girlfriend tells him they need to stop because she doesn’t want “it” to “happen again.” I’m assuming she means the people dying.

Since the team managed to capture the de-aged Subash (Siddhartha Minhas) and Caspian (Cardi Wong), they’re able to question them about the debris. Caspian warns Bryan that if they don’t let them go, they’ll die because the other guy, who we find out is named Kurt Cox (Dylan Colton), is already on the outer reaches and Caspian doesn’t think he’ll stay within the radius for long.

Bryan gets a walkie-talkie to communicate with Kurt and his girl, Clara Cox (Paloma Kwiatkowski). Kurt and Clara are within 1,000 feet of the investigation site where Subash and Caspian are being held. Kurt says they’re helping people who deserve to get a second chance at life. He blames Bryan for Jose’s death because they forced him to run too far. Kurt implores Bryan to help him with “the math.” He believes the more people they make young, the farther they can all be from the debris without dying. “If we can figure it out, none of us have to be near it anymore.”

That’s not working. They already found the other bodies and more innocent people will die if Kurt doesn’t stop. But Kurt is stubborn. he threatens to run if they don’t help and then Caspian and Subash’s blood will be on Bryan’s hands, too.

Debris Episode 6 recap: Kurt and Clara decide to die on their own terms

Over in Langley, Dr. Masakela contacts Bryan to tell him about his findings. According to him, the debris acts as a “biological boomerang,” of sorts. He thinks he can reverse the effects. The teens will be old again, but at least they’ll be alive.

Then Bryan gets a package delivered to him with some kind of vaccine inside. He injects himself and when Finola comes to his door he quickly hides it. Hm, what’s that about? Finola lets Bryan know that Kurt was a former Knoxville engineer and Clara is his wife of over 50 years. He’d been taking care of her through late-stage dementia, so it makes sense why he’s desperate to keep the debris.

Arms with this knowledge, Bryan, Finola and the team try to track Kurt through the darkening woods. Bryan tells him they can undo all of this, but Kurt doesn’t want to go back to the life they were living before. He thinks the debris was a gift from God because it appeared in the cliffs near his house after praying to save Clara. “This is saving her life, this is saving our lives together.” He rants about how people should be born elderly and de-age, because no one values the time they have until it’s too late. “Everyone should have more time.”

Bryan tries to convince Kurt to find peace in the fact he can comfort Clara in the time they have left. Just when the team thinks they’re closing in on Kurt, they find a relayed walkie instead. Remember, Kurt is savvy, he was an engineer.

Clara becomes the voice of reason. She tells Kurt they have to stop all of this. Kurt argues they can’t, they were given a gift. “We already had our gift. A life with each other.” Kurt reveals his real fear: That if they go back, Clara will die in that state and won’t remember to wait for him.

In D.C., Craig and Tarkolov meet at 8 p.m. as agreed upon. Tarkolov advises him to go meet with a woman named Irina (Andrea Stefancikova), who apparently Craig has a history with. He meets her inside a hotel room where she shows him a suitcase. “Where’s the rest of it?” “It’s enough to show we have it.” Inside is a piece of debris. Irina turns it on. Craig drops a top on the debris and it hovers, spinning.

Kurt contacts Bryan again and says they’re going to turn themselves in, to tell Caspian and Subash not to worry. Finola tells Bryan there is a hazmat team near them they can meet, but Kurt and Clara only leave the debris behind. Bryan realizes what they’re going to do and tries to tell him to come back so they can help them. Instead, Kurt and Clara walk away hand-in-hand through the woods. Remember the chalk markings from earlier? They were used to mark how far they could go from the debris. Now Kurt and Clara can use them to walk away and die on their own terms, together.

Finola visits Subash to inform him what will happen next. He and Caspian will be sent to a facility where they can get help. They will grow old again. Surprisingly, Subash is okay with that. He tells Finola that they can’t take away what the debris gave him. “The miracle of life, I just needed to feel it again, and after this, I’m going to fight for every last day.”

Debris Episode 6 recap: Craig’s shady deal, Finola & Bryan tell each other everything

At the hotel, Irina questions why Craig wants this particular piece of debris. Don’t have stronger pieces with connections to communications? Craig says because this piece works. Irina wonders if he’s ready for this because his method of working with Tarkolov is unusual. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

In the final scenes of Debris Episode 6, Finola answers Bryan’s question from earlier. Yes, he can trust her, she appreciates him telling her the truth because she knows it wasn’t easy for him to defy his orders. In return, Finola tells him that Ferris is the one who pushed her to tell him the Greece story. Finola has since realized she can’t trust Ferris and she doesn’t think Bryan can trust Craig. Intel says Craig is going against the coalition, although they think he’s in bed with the Chinese. Bryan doesn’t want to believe that. He’s loyal to Craig because Craig saved his life — perhaps that injection we saw him take? But Finola is adamant. She says they can only trust each other and Bryan reveals the final thing he knows, that they’re surveilling her apartment.

The last moment of Debris Episode 6 shows Craig departing the hotel when he receives a call from the lab. They traced the calls from Anson’s phone to a cell in Maine. Craig tells his team to stay on it.

What did you think about Debris Episode 6? Who is calling Craig? Are Finola and Bryan finally on the same page? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

New episodes of Debris air Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. EST on NBC.