The OA: Empire of Light
December 18, 2016 5:34 PM - Season 1, Episode 7 - Subscribe
An ominous new dream and a tense outing with Nancy and Abel take a toll on OA. Steve finds his life in turmoil once again.
A no-flashback episode:
*Abel and Nancy are woken by the sounds of OA screaming; when Abel goes to investigate (gun in hand), he finds OA sobbing from a nosebleed-inducing dream. OA asks him what he thought about the note she left when she ran away, he says he forgot about the note.
*OA talks with the FBI counselor (Rahim) again, he says maybe the dreams aren't premonitions but signs of being at a juncture in life. In the waiting area, Abel asks Nancy about there having been a note, but she dismisses it. Afterwards, Nancy asks Rahim about OA going back on medication for the dreams like when she was a child, but he tells them he's not a doctor, and suggests they do something familiar that they used to do as a family.
*At alternative school, Steve starts talking to the girl who stormed out of class on his first day, and they kiss.
*At storytelling house, OA has Steve take everyone through the 2nd movement. When he gets home, his father says he's had to pay $5K to the parents of the boy Steve punched in the trachea, to avoid getting sued, and when Steve gets out of the shower the goons from Asheville are there to take him away.
*Back at the house OA and Betty talk, about the afterlife and the portal, and about how Betty hasn't been able to cash the $50K check of her inheritance from Theo. Afterwards, Betty sees Steve getting shoved into the Asheville van and follows. When the van stops at a gas station, she tells Steve to pretend the goons are molesting him so she can claim to have witnessed it, but nobody takes notice, so she bribes the goons with the cashier's check in exchange for Steve's release.
*Nancy, Abel, and OA go to a restaurant, where French is waitering. A girl takes a selfie with OA, calls her the Michigan Miracle.
*Nancy has a meltdown, and when OA tells her that she made the scars herself and that she's the Original Angel, Nancy slaps her. French gets OA out of the restaurant; in their car ride he points out that she's told the 5 all about her childhood in Russia and her time in Hap's lab, but nothing about her life in Crestwood and that maybe that's the missing piece.
*Back at the house, Steve lashes out at everyone, and stabs OA in the leg with a pencil when she hugs him, but she holds him until the rage passes.
*She tells them she will now finish the story.
A no-flashback episode:
*Abel and Nancy are woken by the sounds of OA screaming; when Abel goes to investigate (gun in hand), he finds OA sobbing from a nosebleed-inducing dream. OA asks him what he thought about the note she left when she ran away, he says he forgot about the note.
*OA talks with the FBI counselor (Rahim) again, he says maybe the dreams aren't premonitions but signs of being at a juncture in life. In the waiting area, Abel asks Nancy about there having been a note, but she dismisses it. Afterwards, Nancy asks Rahim about OA going back on medication for the dreams like when she was a child, but he tells them he's not a doctor, and suggests they do something familiar that they used to do as a family.
*At alternative school, Steve starts talking to the girl who stormed out of class on his first day, and they kiss.
*At storytelling house, OA has Steve take everyone through the 2nd movement. When he gets home, his father says he's had to pay $5K to the parents of the boy Steve punched in the trachea, to avoid getting sued, and when Steve gets out of the shower the goons from Asheville are there to take him away.
*Back at the house OA and Betty talk, about the afterlife and the portal, and about how Betty hasn't been able to cash the $50K check of her inheritance from Theo. Afterwards, Betty sees Steve getting shoved into the Asheville van and follows. When the van stops at a gas station, she tells Steve to pretend the goons are molesting him so she can claim to have witnessed it, but nobody takes notice, so she bribes the goons with the cashier's check in exchange for Steve's release.
*Nancy, Abel, and OA go to a restaurant, where French is waitering. A girl takes a selfie with OA, calls her the Michigan Miracle.
*Nancy has a meltdown, and when OA tells her that she made the scars herself and that she's the Original Angel, Nancy slaps her. French gets OA out of the restaurant; in their car ride he points out that she's told the 5 all about her childhood in Russia and her time in Hap's lab, but nothing about her life in Crestwood and that maybe that's the missing piece.
*Back at the house, Steve lashes out at everyone, and stabs OA in the leg with a pencil when she hugs him, but she holds him until the rage passes.
*She tells them she will now finish the story.
I guess I liked OA hugging Steve through the rage as a callback to the way she stopped his dog from continuing to maul her several episodes back. (But I liked it better in that scene, since I find Rottweilers adorable. More adorable than Steve, anyway, though having him kidnapped and on his way to being institutionally abused did kinda succeed at pushing my "oh, poor woobie" button. Or maybe it was my "go, BBA!" button.)
posted by oh yeah! at 7:28 AM on December 23, 2016
posted by oh yeah! at 7:28 AM on December 23, 2016
I loved that BBA's plan didn't work at first, so she ended giving away the 50k from her brother's estate to save him. Which is vastly different from Steve's dad just writing a check to shut someone up.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:47 AM on December 23, 2016
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:47 AM on December 23, 2016
This is also the next to the last episode and it feels like there's a lot to cover in terms of tying things up. No spoilers please, but I do wonder if OA's story turns out to be a fabrication and she's certainly disturbed from truly being abused for years.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:56 AM on December 23, 2016
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:56 AM on December 23, 2016
AUGH! GRAWR! So awful. Chekov's cashier's check was the moment too far for me. I've 100% flipped to hate watching. One more episode to go, tomorrow, I will try to remain strong.
posted by Nelson at 9:48 PM on December 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Nelson at 9:48 PM on December 30, 2016 [1 favorite]
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There's a 1,001 snarky and true answers to this, but I do admire the show tackling this problem in its own hamfisted way. We've got soooo much woo going on, why not ad on a bit more.
Also, Betty's nickname is BBA now, which looks suspiciously like "Barb," in a delightful way.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 6:10 AM on December 23, 2016