Chapter 05: Painting
Marcela’s Decision
Episode 5 of The 3% season 4 begins moments after the electromagnetic pulse attack. Marcela awakens on the Offshore as the residents scream and scramble around. Their paradise is crumbling and with all electronics down, the ensuing anger is projected onto the rebels. Marcela gives an impassioned speech to the residents and tells them she’ll find the terrorists responsible. As she approaches the main building, smoke pours from the roof as radiation threatens to contaminate everything.
The 86th Process
In the past, we see Marcela arriving at the Offshore for the first time. She receives a letter which brings her before her Father, who clearly isn’t that happy. He’s cold, refusing to hug her back, as the pair sit and eat together. Marcela asks to be a painter but he refuses, telling her that there’s too many artists on the island already. Unfortunately she’s shunned by her Father who eventually tells her to leave. As we soon see, Marcela eventually decided to keep up a tough exterior for her Father while painting in secret.
Tough Choices
Marcela sits with Nair and they discuss the fate of their paradise island. With less than two weeks left on the Offshore before things become unlivable, Marcela blames the Shell. Gritting her teeth, she curses her luck for trying to negotiate with Joana and the others. Meanwhile, Marco makes a big decision and manages to get away from the others. After plunging into the jungle below, Veronica decides against capturing him and letting nature take its course. Seething with anger, Andre struggles to keep his composure. With the Process underway, he turns his back on what’s happening there and focuses on the Offshore. This proves to be an ill-fated decision as Xavier and the others complete their Cube task but receive no fanfare or communication afterwards. On the back of this, Xavier stands with the others and contemplates whether the Offshore has been destroyed.
A Family Reunion
Marco grabs a gun and finds his way to Leonardo’s house. With the Offshore destroyed, things are tense between them, to say the least. However, Leonardo isn’t that bothered by the boy’s presence and hands him a knife as they cut vegetables together. Ariel meanwhile rallies the troops and contemplates their next move. She decides to send 3 submarines to check on the Offshore and find out exactly what’s going on. While they do, Veronica brings the others to the main settlements on the island but it’s pure carnage. The Offshore residents desperately try to find a way off the island.
A Family Dinner
Marcela arrives home and finds Marco and Leonardo both sitting together eating. With the radiation spreading, she tells her Father they meed to leave. Despite Marco having the upper-hand here, Marcela eventually tells him that Gloria is pregnant. With Marco’s purpose over, he decides to stay on the Offshore. It’s here Marcela finally cracks and asks her son to come with her. He refuses, prompting her to get a gun. Holding it up to his face, Marco screams at her to fire. Eventually though she changes her mind and walks away. While the rest of the group head on the submarines home, Marco wanders down to the shore and starts coughing up blood. The radiation poisoning is clearly having an effect on him. As he starts chuckling, fragments of the past come back as we see his Process interview. He wanted to be with his family and in a cruel sense of irony, his final moments fulfill this wish.
The Episode Review
Interestingly, this entire episode revolves around Marcela and Marco’s familial ties. There’s definitely a sense of poetic irony here that Marco is the one to instigate the end of the Offshore. Given that Marcela and Leonardo have been instrumental in getting the Offshore to become what it is now, it’s perhaps fitting that Marco is the one to topple that house of cards. Massive question marks now lie over quite what’s going to happen. With no Shell or Offshore, it appears like the group are going to be forced into living together harmoniously on the Inland. Is this where the future of Brazil lies? We’ll have to wait and see with the final two episodes!
