Holden hasn’t been awake from his coma long in “Beyond,” but with so many different abilities coming to the surface and his family lying to him, he’s out to find something to stabilize him in “Ties That Bind.” He goes to Willa for help.
Holden’s memories want to break free
According to Willa, Holden’s abilities aren’t exactly because he’s different, and nothing has been done to him. Instead, they’re manifestations of his memories from “The Realm” trying to break free. If everyone had the kind of memory issues Holden did, there’s be a lot more spontaneous combustion in the world.
Willa and Holden work to uncover his repressed memories with a combination of drugs and visualization techniques that leave Holden confused, with fragmented visions of the Realm, and hovering on the edge of hypothermia. It looks like Holden can’t take these “trips” to the Realm, but of course, we know he’s going to keep trying, especially once Willa starts to reveal things to him about the Realm.
Holden’s family is full of liars
As much as his family obviously loves him, the three of them have all also banded together to lie to him - until Luke can’t take it anymore, that is. Luke has lived under the crushing weight and responsibility of being the younger brother of the kid in the coma for nearly as long as he can remember, so it’s no wonder that now that Holden’s back, he snaps.
He’s the one who gets his parents to tell Holden they’re separated, and he’s the one who drops some cold, hard, truths on his father with regard to the kind of childhood he experienced.
Holden’s mother has also been spending a lot of quality time with the pastor. At face value, this is probably just because she turned to the church after Holden was in a coma.
With a show like “Beyond,” though, it seems prudent to look deeper, and when Holden is suspicious about Pastor Ian waiting up all night with his mother, so am I.
The Realm is a fantastical place
Holden does manage to find his way into the Realm, or at least into fragmented memories of the Realm, with Willa’s help. What we see appears to include both ancient ruins and futuristic cities.
There are beautiful landscapes and dangerous beings. Holden might not have been too far off when he wondered if Narnia was already taken for a name. I can’t wait to see more of the Realm, even if it is (so far) very CGI and very fake.
The man in the yellow jacket stops Kevin
We don’t know just how involved Kevin was in keeping an eye on his childhood best friend, or what else he was even involved in, and the man in the yellow jacket decided to make sure we’ll never find out from Kevin himself. Frankly, this is such a disappointment. Kevin’s betrayal was revealed so quickly that unraveling it with Kevin trying to prove himself trustworthy would have been more interesting than yet more proof that the man in the yellow jacket is cold-blooded.
What’s going on with Arthur?
Arthur is on the run in the Realm, but from whom? We also know, per Willa, that Holden spent the 12 years he was there on the run as well. Again, who is pursuing people whose minds are visiting this new world, and why? It looks like Arthur is likely Willa’s grandfather after we get a little bit of her family history in “Ties That Bind,” but it also sounds like he’s in trouble. He needs Holden’s help in the Realm, but Holden is having a lot of difficulty getting access again. What happens to Arthur if he doesn’t get help? And what happens to Holden if he does?
The verdict
The mysteries of the show are much more interesting than the soapy drama of the family dynamics, so I’ll keep tuning in.
3 out of 5 stars.
What’s next
Jeff and Holden are going to spend some quality time together, whether Holden wants to or not, next week, following “Shadowhunters.”
