Celestial Body
The Episode Recap
Episode 13 of Debris sees this turbulent sci-fi series come to an end in true network TV fashion – with an open ending that leaves even more questions unanswered. The episode itself begins with a woman joining numerous others as they stand socially-distanced while crying. Meanwhile, Bryan and Finola learn about Anson zapping out of Langley. They show up at the antenna where George is wrapped in tin foil and desperate to leave. He’s got coordinates for the map-maker piece of debris but the signal is weak. After spying a strange swirling humanoid creature out in the woods, he’s clearly erratic and struggling. Anyway, they make it to ground zero where we saw all those people from before, standing and crying. They’re all facing East and each seem to be entranced, seemingly affected before arriving at this location. With George joining them for this investigation, the trio set out to find the debris piece to examine exactly what it’s doing. When everyone bursts out laughing, George deduces that this is a sign of emotional convergence; a way of bringing together emotionally charged individuals going through heightened moments in their life. George finds the debris piece, which is glittering in the sunlight as he approaches. Together, they begin to study it. George deduces that they need to sever the link between the people and the debris piece in order to move it. However, that also comes at a consequence – the people will have their memories erased completely. There’s no time to come up with an alternate plan, and that stems from the fact INFLUX operatives are en-route. It turns out George Jones actually phoned them and he’s the one responsible. George wasn’t killed after all and in fact actually took his own life to allow himself to be reborn. It turns out this debris piece is just a small part of a much larger whole. George intends to enable it to help transform the human mind. He wants to help take humanity to a higher plane of existence. Speak of the devils, Anson meets Otto (notably played by John Noble who was Walter Bishop in Fringe!) He sports a drop of blood on his face too; a direct result of murdering and contorting different individuals inside a gas station. They hit the road and prepare to head up to the debris site. They eventually manage to blindside Finola and hold her up at gunpoint. Otto walks with him, where George mentions how a “telesphere was born yesterday. It came from a pocket dimension inside Orbital and its birth may have triggered the debris”. Using electronic equipment, the group begin severing the connection between the debris and the people facing East. They do it slowly, with each of the Influx members (and Finola) given a pill to make sure their memories stay intact. Bryan is sadly going to be a sacrifice in all this, along with the 50 other, brainwashed individuals. The blast sends everyone to the group, with their memories wiped and the debris piece able to be moved into George’s car. Bryan staggers up and finds himself struggling. However, he somehow still holds his memories intact. Otto checks him and realizes that he’s the “Third man” in all this. His identity has been hidden all this time and he’s key to what’s happening. Well, Influx and George Jones both leave together while Bryan stays behind with Finola. There, she learns that he was injured in a debris event with Garcia and a Chinese agent named Ming. He’s been taking medication ever since and decides they need to tell Maddox what’s going on. Elsewhere, Maddox meets Irina, and they discuss a piece of debris together. He’s taken this out of Langley too, and back home brings it before Dario who suddenly starts talking again. It seems to be a direct result of this debris but it’s not actually clear if that’s what’s happening. It could also be a cause-and-effect sort of deal from the debris blast. Either way, it’s a welcome sign. Remember the Indian guy sitting facing the sunset? Yep, he’s here too and we cut across to him. We learn his name is actually Dahkeya. The strange white orb that Finola saw from Langley is there, along with MI-6 agent Brill as well, who claims this orb has had “a long journey.” Heading inside a cave the camera pans across to show another Finola, this one locked in stasis. What does it all mean? We’ll have to wait and hope this one is renewed for a second season!
The Episode Review
Debris bows out with an open ending that leaves yet more questions on the table. Of course, it was always going to be difficult to wrap up a story like this but the series doesn’t really give many answers, save for a couple of tidbits involving George Jones and his role. We know Bryan has a larger role to play in all this but it’s still unclear how – or why. There’s also no explanation for the strange black swirly figure stalking George nor the Indian and what’s happening with the other Finola in the cave. In fact, the episode simply feels like a bridge to the next season, which to be fair is exactly what Fringe did on multiple occasions. For fans of that show, seasons 2 and 3 have gasp-out-loud cliffhangers. Thank god that one wasn’t cancelled before its time! So will this be renewed? It seems likely to be honest when you check the ratings, which have remained steady across the season. As a final episode though, Debris does okay but it’s undoubtedly not as strong as it perhaps could have been.
The Ending Explained
“Nothing is really explained” would be a pretty good way to sum this up but let’s collect what we know and try to piece together some of this while we await whether this is renewed for season 2 or not.
What’s happening to Finola? Who are the men inside the cave?
At the end of the episode we obviously see Finola locked in stasis with Brill declaring that they “can begin” now that the orb of light has arrived. Judging by what we’ve seen across the season there are several different theories that could explain this. The first could well be linked to that excellent two-part episode midway through the season. We’ve seen the debris pieces messing around with alternate universes and realities so this could be another version of Finola that’s fallen through the cracks of time and ended up suspended in animation. Given Fringe’s wacky storylines, it certainly wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility. The other theory comes from the idea that this is a clone, and that the debris pieces are learning more about human physiology to create a brand new race of “super humans”, with Otto and George Jones at the forefront of this.
What is Bryan’s role in all this?
We know Bryan has a large role to play in this series and it seems like he can stave off some of the effects from the debris. This links back to earlier episodes too, most notably when one of the pieces called out for him specifically. It’s also no mistake that he’s teamed up with Finola either, whom George is adamant needs to come with him until she refuses. Otto refers to Bryan as the “third man” at the end as well, so that’s either in reference to Ming and Garcia being involved in the blast, or it could be more literal and reference him as the third man alongside him and George Jones; the three men at the forefront of this whole debris event.
What happened to Bryan in the past?
This past debris event seems to be the key to unlocking more about what’s happening. Otto’s words to Bryan end with “They’ve done a great job hiding your identity.” Could this be tied to the plot involving Finola? Could he be a clone of some description? It certainly wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility given this series, but it’s also left open to interpretation too. With lots of unanswered questions and plenty to chew over, what do you guys think? Did you enjoy Debris? Does it deserve a second season? Do you have any theories for what’s going on? Do let us know in the comments below!
