Compounding Questions
Where is Karolina?
Episode 6 of Open Your Eyes Season 1 starts this finale with Julia/Karolina awakening in hospital. That strange black box is there too, and our protagonist is hooked up to machines. As she fades in and out of consciousness, the redhead sitting by her side suddenly bolts out the room to get a doctor. A neurologist called Andrezj appears and checks her vitals. He reveals that Karolina has been there for four week after a pretty gnarly car accident. She’s been in a coma for a little under a month, which seems to explain all the weird visions she’s been experiencing. In fact, Karolina’s Mother even shows up too. The redhead from earlier is actually Karolina’s sister, Patrycja. She’s been by her side this whole time and seems to be the anchor Karolina has had to the real world. But is this really the right reality?
Who is Janek?
As Karolina goes wandering off through the corridors, she hallucinates again, seeing Zofia and the gang from Second Chance stalking her. However, Janek arrives to comfort the girl and calm her down. Karolina takes comfort in this guy, especially when she learns he was the one who brought her to the hospital in the first place. As the plot continues to thicken, Karolina is approached by a grief-stricken Father. He thanks her for being kind to his son Ignacy, mentioning how they used to argue about music in the past. As he hands a picture over, Karolina’s eyes widen and her stomach knots; this kid is actually Szymon! Apparently he too was involved in the car accident four weeks prior.
Who is Janina Hass?
Everything is different in this reality, and Karolina struggles to work out who she is and what it all means. Well, when she wakes up again, she’s back in the hospital. It’s a brief dream sequence, one that points toward her next clue – Magda. She’s there, singing away, which gives Karolina a clue as to where she is. Following this dream, Karolina searches online and finds a woman named Janina Hass. Karolina sneaks in to her audition and hears her singing out of tune. This is nothing like the orchestral bliss from the dream. Magda speaks to Karolina in private though, handing over a book called Second Chance, which seems to hold the clues she’s after.
Is Second Chance really real?
Upon reading the book, Karolina realizes that a house depicted within matches the description of Second Chance. This house happens to be the family residence of Professor Tanatowski and is very much real. She’s a neurologist and supposedly a psychic too. Janek agrees to drive her there, with Patrycja tagging along too. On the way they stop at a gas station that matches that from Karolina’s visions. Eventually the pair head up to the house and question the Professor.
Who is Ariela?
As Karolina sits down with the Professor to talk, they mention a gravesite on the grounds. This happens to be the home of the deceased Aniela Tanatowski. In this reality it’s not Ariela but Aniela instead. It turns out the Professor is also allowing part of the facility to be rented out for a private nursery. The idea is to nurture a child’s talent before they grow older. This seems to back up the theory that this part of the grounds are being used by Zofia in secret for her strange therapy sessions. Right on cue, little Ariela rushes over. She’s Edyta’s daughter in this reality but seems to recognize Karolina. Given the knowing glance she gives our protagonist, it appears as if she slips in and out of the “nursery” from time to time.
Who is Adam? Does he remember who Karolina is?
At school, Karolina shows up and notices Clair De Luna being played again, this time by Adam. He kicks off his shoes just like she did at Second Chance and watches as he plays beautifully, effortlessly stroking the keys and hitting the right tempo. After the show, Karolina approaches Adam and hugs him. He’s certainly taken aback and reveals that his name isn’t actually Adam, it’s Xavier. He doesn’t remember her but as he turns and walks away, Piotr shows and warns Karolina away. It turns out Piotr is actually Adam’s father, hence his interest in the boy during the therapy sessions at Second Chance. It seems as if Karolina’s trip to the gas station and police department are still visions but everything around that is very much real.
What is going on with Zofia?
Back home, Karolina speaks to her Mother, who’s brought a psychologist in to help…Zofia. She shows up in Karolina bedroom and confirms the above. He’s also been intentionally drugged to forget everything that happened at Second Chance. Apparently this machine we’ve been seeing steals talent from these kids. The details here are a bit hazy and do feel free to weigh in with your theories in the comments below. Zofia confirms cryptically that this is all for a “better future”, whatever that means. Zofia offers to help retrieve Karolina’s talent, revealing that she’s no longer employed by the company. This could also explain why she’s a psychologist now. With Pawel and the others still trapped in Second Chance, Karolina is offered the opportunity of working with Zofia for the greater good. Will Karolina accept? Well, the final shot of the season shows her back in the facility again, siting on the edge of the bed with the black box in her hands.
Are there any unanswered questions?
Open Your Eyes is intentionally obsfucated and by the end, leaves a lot of unanswered questions. It’s also unclear whether we’re dealing with warped dreams merged with reality, alternate timelines or just one heady trip with a random dream sequence (episode 5’s road trip to the gas station) thrown in to obfuscate things. The machine in the basement and its purpose are both incredibly unclear and this whole plotline feels a bit halfbaked. A more outlandish theory could be that Karolina did in fact drown during episode 5 but Zofia dived in to help her out. She brought her to the hospital and paid off the doctor to lie about how long she’s been there. Karolina may not have even been in a coma but instead recovering from nearly being drowned. Take that with a pinch of salt though, as it’s hard to explain away the jump between these two episodes without some serious contrivances popping up. What about you guys though? What did you think of the ending? Have any theories to explain what’s really going on? Do let us know in the comments!
The Episode Review
So the first season of Open Your Eyes bows out with an open ending and lots of question marks over what direction this one is likely to take next – if it’s renewed that is. A mystery box that doesn’t really answer very much is incredibly frustrating but we do at least get some answers by the end of the season. There’s not quite enough to actually justify the plot holes and contrivances, which do drag down the overall score. What is the purpose of this Second Chance facility? Who’s funding it? Is Zofia playing mind games? What is the computer in the basement? And how does it work? What is this “greater future” that Zofia speaks of and how does that affect the kids? And why these kids specifically? All of these questions leave plenty of ground for the second season to step into but also bow out with a frustrating conclusion. The show has been an okay watch though and the mystery has been enticing enough to see through to the end. The characters have been quite underdeveloped though, especially the supporting cast, and the lack of chemistry between Adam and Karolina is definitely a big talking point. Whether Open Your Eyes has done enough to warrant a second season or not remains to be seen.
