Solar Winds
Episode 3 of Debris begins in Ohio with an engineer staring up at a strange translucent wall. This shimmering, grey screen suddenly shows numerous black outlines as people eerily press up against it. At Langley, Bryan has a CT scan where we learn the radiation from the last episode had no effect on him. He asks Craig about George Jones and contemplates whether they should take Finola back home. That suggestion is immediately shot down. Bryan jumps on the plane with Finola, arriving at the scene of the next spooky occurrence. With no debris in sight, the duo split up. While most of the authorities wear hazmat suits, Finola and Bryan decide not to. Well, things take an eerie turn when a strange voice starts saying “hello” and asking about the light. Finola believes they need to make contact with this person and tries to figure out how. Only, her plan is suddenly cut short when “The Square” reappears. This allows Finola to communicates with the figure inside, who confirms that her name is Nicole Hegman. She’s a real missing person as it turns out, dating back to 2019. What is her connection with this square? Well, before Finola can ask, the screen fades out of view again. Bryan wonders whether this could be a hub of some kind for missing people. Together, they watch an old video about Finola’s Father, specifically one about dimensions and access points. They try to work out whether this could be connected in some way. The next day, Finola and Bryan bring Nicole’s Father, Richard Hegman, into the fold. When they do, they ask about what happened the day Nicole disappeared. After hearing his story, Bryan admits that he thinks this could be something similar to the Bermuda Triangle…which is an awful example to give considering almost every instance of phenomena inside that patch can be explained through human error, magnetic variations and violent weather. Anyway, I digress: Bryan and Finola play the recording for Richard, who admits that he’s been having a recurring dream about her. As he steps up to the Square, Nicole begins talking to her Father. It’s short-lived though, and after telling her he loves her, the Square disappears again. As the group go on the hunt, they find the large chunk of debris but not much else. Instead of taking it away, they decide to move it closer to the Square in a bid to increase the frequency. Well, this seems to work and it shows off all the missing people that are caught inside. And now these guys decide to wear hazmat suits. Nicole is still trapped though but the difference now is that they can actually see her. Using the other bits of debris, the team manage to bring back all the other missing people, who are all thankfully socially distancing too. However, these men and women are all from different time periods, bringing up a lot of questions over how this all works. After saving them all, the Square disappears. Back at Langley, Craig plays a game of catch with his chair, throwing it through a piece of debris and, with another strategically placed behind him, allowing this strange loop to continue. He then sits on that same chair and learns that the body found is not George Jones. It’s someone else.
The Episode Review
Debris is sinking into all the usual network TV problems. What began as an intriguing drama has now devolved into throwing away basic science and logic in favour of emotionally charged melodrama. Now, there’s nothing wrong with emotion of course, but this episode exemplifies everything wrong with leaning into that rather than the sci-fi hook. First of all, why is everyone wearing a hazmat suit apart from our two main characters? Throughout this episode the inconsistent use of this completely negates the threat – at one point Finola wanders right up to the Square with absolutely no protective gear at all. Later on, when they use the debris to amplify the signal, she does. Meanwhile, it seems like every bit of debris from this spaceship has landed in the US. I know bits have landed in the UK and possibly China too thanks to exposition, but it would have been nice to see this series jet off to different locations. If the budget doesn’t allow for it though, just grab some green screens, stock establishing shots and some imaginative prop work. It’s also tough to shake the feeling that this debris situation would be big news too. Seeing bits of spacecraft crash down through the atmosphere would surely trigger a response akin to the gold rush. Everyone would be looking for these bits of ship and it would be pure chaos. The biggest slip-up here though comes from the Bermuda triangle tidbit. The fact that these agents – quite straight-faced too – mention how the Bermuda triangle is supernaturally charged shows a lack of research and care. There’s enough to stick with though, and anyone who’s a lover of X-Files or Fringe will jump straight on this. At the same time though, don’t expect anything anywhere near the level of those two aforementioned shows. 3 episodes in, Debris has been a real mixed bag so far.
