Again
The season 2 finale of Homecoming begins with the reveal that Walter was the man in the first episode by the shore as Alex wakes up on the boat. He hurries back to his car and makes his way to Leonard’s farm. From here, we cut back to the present again as Leonard’s conversation about their new partner with Audrey makes sense given we know the DOD is involved with the berries. This time though we see a slightly different perspective with both camera movements and characters changing from the static shots of the ground floor. During his speech, Leonard points to Bunda as the balloons fall from the sky and she discusses moving forward with future production of the serum with investors. Audrey realizes Alex has lost her memory and tries to help but not before getting word from Wendy that the caterers aren’t doing a good job – foreshadowing for what happens later on. Alex holds Audrey up with her taser just as Bunda arrives and introduces Yanic and Zach to them both. As she casually mentions memory loss, Alex chirps up prompting Audrey to make a hasty retreat. Meanwhile, we jump back to the moments during the night where we see Leonard and Walter discussing the Homecoming Project when he realizes that this troubled young man was one of the victims. He invites him in and shows off the file. As they get talking, Leonard admits Geist have a party coming up and the company is about to re-launch the program again and there’s nothing he can do about it. Back in the present, Audrey shows Walter’s file to Alex to try and get her memories back but as they continue to talk, Audrey admits that she had a choice between winning and losing and she chose to win. After learning more about her past, Alex and Audrey head back to the main atrium where Bunda admits she’s her partner. Alex notices Walter from afar and struggles to remember the truth. As everyone starts drinking from their cups, we cut to Walter who happens to have spiked everyone with the berries. Finally understanding what’s happening, Alex makes a choice and allows Audrey to drink the serum. As Audrey looks up, she notices Leonard looking down at them all and finally understands what’s happening. As everyone passes out, Audrey admits that she should have just gone back to bed that night, ironically pointing at this simple, seemingly innocent act as the catalyst for all that’s happening. With everyone passed out from drinking, Walter meets Leonard in his greenhouse one last time. After saying their goodbyes, Leonard meets Bunda out in the fields as she realizes she doesn’t have long left with her memory. Lamenting what could have been, he calls Leonard stubborn before he walks away and leaves her to her fate. Meanwhile Walter meets Alex in the atrium and tells her she should leave. Instead, she decides to wait with Audrey to be there for her when she wakes up while Walter rides away, holding his file and a list of the other candidates which is where the series ends. With a decent enough structure, the decision for everyone to lose their memory at the end is certainly poetic justice for Geist. The questionable ending for Audrey and Alex feels like a bit of a cheap shot, especially given how long we’ve taken to get to know these two characters across the season. Of course, Alex made her choice and has decided on a fresh start for them both so we’re left to presume a happy ending is on the table for them both. Ultimately though this season has really shifted perspectives and made Walter the main protagonist which throws into question the actual narrative focus of the season. It feels like Walter should have been the main character here, with the moments involving Alex early on acting as a subversion to what’s really going on. There’s certainly enough enjoyment to be had with this one and the poetic end involving the berries is the perfect way to finish off the Homecoming Project and Geist, even if the narrative focus hasn’t always been as good as it could be.
