File No. 50 – Icebreaker – Gemini Division

Posted by Samuel Walters

“Isolated and alone, Anna tries to go on as she carries the future of the Sims inside her belly.”

Location: Weddel Sea

“Icebreaker” is the fiftieth episode in the Gemini Division series. It’s the conclusion to season one. And it leaves us with one hell of a cliffhanger.

In this episode:

Anna tells Gemini Division, “Go to hell.”
“Nothing is entirely true to you people.”
Amasso reached his termination date.
He said, “I wanted to die a soldier.”
Anna tells Amasso, “You’re a leader. A hero.”
Anna: “Every minute alive is a privilege. And you live that with no regrets.”
Anna: “Amasso, you showed more love than most humans ever do.”
Amasso’s courage inspired his men.
Anna built a funeral pyre for Amasso
Anna has a retro virus that is rewriting her DNA
The retro virus might have been due to her childhood illness
Gemini offers to have Nick by her side.
Gemini is trying to “dig Nick back up.”
Anna asks, “Do I want Nick back? Would it be Nick, or would it be some xerox copy.”
Anna receives some of Nick’s decoded core from Hera (M&M).
Nick says, “The happiest people I’ve seen — it’s a mother and father with a baby.”
Anna says, “Nick wouldn’t want to come back. And I’m going to honor it … The future of the SIMs depends on me now. I’m the future of the SIMs.”
“I love you Tommy.”
Anna tosses her phone into the sea …

For all the bluster of the SIM v. Gemini Division war, the episode manages to find the real heart of the story within the characters — and not within some explosive shootout. In a sense, it reminds me of the Foundation series in which (almost) all of the epic space battles took place, essentially, “offscreen” and the real human drama is what was told to the readers. It’s a sign of the confidence in the story. And here, it works exceptionally well.

This story brings Anna to a kind of closure on her quest to come to terms with her relationship with Nick. The timely video feed of Nick’s final memories, which do a good job of detailing his passion for living in the moment, allow Anna to accept Nick’s passing. I find the narrative decision to have Anna actually choose to forego Nick’s resurrection to be very, very compelling. And plausible. The setup was perfectly handled by way of Amasso and my only criticism is more philosophical than it is with anything to do with how the episode was crafted.

First, Amasso.

Amasso’s swan song is an exceptional bookend to his previous speech in “Linnaea.” It was touching, tragic, and demonstrated Amasso’s own journey. Through his passing, Anna’s discussions on love, the nature of love, and what it means to act with love are simply beautiful. And the inherent philosophy of carpe diem fits perfectly within the discussion.

But I do have to question the stated “no regrets” mantra. To be fair, the episode does provide a rebuttal to it, through Amasso’s own statement. But even with a passion for life, even with an acceptance to live in the moment, the reality is that there are consequences for our actions. And to live completely without regret is to ignore any sort of personal accountability. I honestly do not believe the series is taking a position here, but I would love to see a further exploration of this mantra somewhere down the road. That doesn’t mean that Anna has to, suddenly, want Nick to return to her. But I think that Anna’s own personal journey will, necessarily, have to confront her own regrets.

But of course, the series has proved especially adept at portraying moral questions in ways that demonstrate deep complexities of such explorations. And “Icebreaker” is a perfect example of that. So while the issue of “no regrets” may be left a bit more open ended than, say, the capacity for SIMs to show love, that doesn’t mean the episode itself has somehow made a mistake. Rather, it has the potential to inspire a serious debate — and that is a very good thing.

The conclusion to season one, with Anna tossing her phone into the sea, feels like a legitimate cliffhanger. Tossing the phone aside will also allow the series to take a brand new direction in the future (should it decide to do so). Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the performances — particularly from Rosario Dawson. Truly inspired.

And finally, I plan to writeup a more comprehensive reflection on season one, as well as an overall grade. But something to consider: this series has demonstrated the ability for a powerful story to be told with compelling visuals, acting and production. If anything, it has proven that nothing needs to be lost when it comes to creating a web series. I look forward to seeing more …

Topics: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Web Series
Filed under: Gemini Division