| The Way Through | |
|---|---|
| Season One, Episode Three | |
| |
| First aired | June 21, 2010 |
| Written by | Remi Aubuchon |
| Directed by | Bill Eagles |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous The Edge |
Next Exit One |
The way through is the third episode of Persons Unknown.
Synopsis
The group toils together for a week on a tunnel, only to find it useless due to a subterranean steel ring fitted with gas, so the hostile mood returns even worse. A helicopter proves neither rescue nor passerby, but drops a box with only three gas masks. Fierce rivalry for them emerges, cause to question claim-supporting family sob stories, but the winners are in for a gripping surprise. Bill and Charlie bonds strangely over their found-out secrets. We learn the reason San Francisco newspaper reporter Renbe takes such risks for the case that he fathered Janet' daughter, while she learns the kid is being turned against her by the manipulate grandmother.
Key Items
- Gas Mask (3)
Plot
For a week, the prisoners try to escape by tunneling out of the town. They get to the edge of town, only to discover a metal barrier. As they start to retreat, sirens go off and vents open in the wall. Gas spews out, filling the escape tunnel. Janet collapses and Joe goes back to pull her to safety.
Back at the Shanghai Palace, Janet insists there must be a way out, but the others aren't convinced. She refuses to give up and lashes out at the others, and Joe calms her down. She apologizes to the others, and Moira gets an idea. She suggests that instead of escaping, they try to send a signal to the outside world. The prisoners work together to gather everything in town that will burn and create a fire.
In San Francisco, Kat complains that Renbe missed their lunch appointment. He explains that he's gone back to Janet's disappearance, and thinks that the fact that Eleanor has Megan now that Janet as disappeared makes it a good story for their tabloid. She agrees for now, but tells him they need a body to make it a decent front-page story.
As they search for burnable material, Bill approaches Tori in soda shop. He hits on her and she throws him to the floor. Afterward, Bill complains to Charlie as they search for more items to burn. As they check out a TV repair store, Bill sees a TV screen that shows Charlie smothering a woman in her bed. When Charlie returns, the image disappears.
Once the signal fire is complete, the prisoners try to set it on fire, only to discover that everything in town has been dosed with fire retardant. However, a helicopter appears above them anyway. They wave to it but it simply hovers overhead, and then drops a large metal box on the street before flying away. The box opens on its own and inside they find seven boxes… containing only three gas masks.
Back at the hotel, Charlie, Graham, and Tori end up with the masks. Graham suggests they partner up, but Charlie points out that sharing a mask may not help. Graham gives his mask to Moira, and Janet demands Charlie's mask, insisting she needs to get back to her daughter. Charlie objects, saying that she's not the only one with family and that his wife is dying of cancer. The Night Manager comes out and explains that he's now working during the day because he's been promoted. He offers them a complimentary umbrella and departs. Joe suggests they search the town for things to protect, and Moira offers to help despite the fact she has a mask.
Renbe returns to his apartment and discovers that Edick has trashed the place and is waiting for him with a gun. He tells the reporter that he was told to kill him, but admires his work. Edick asks for Renbe's laptop, and when he denies having one, the detective beats him and takes it anyway along with the case photos.
Bill goes to see Charlie in his room and claims to have had a dream where Charlie smothers him. Charlie wonders what he's hinting at, while remembering smothering his wife and crying. Bill pushes him and Charlie walks away.
As Moira and Graham search a store for protective gear, Graham explains that he was a guard at a military prison where terrorist suspects were tortured. What he saw drove him to fully embrace the Muslim faith to gain clarity. Moira asks him to teach her some of what he knows so she can gain some clarity.
As Janet goes by a grocery store, she hears someone in the back. She goes to investigate and finds Charlie taking some soda. The doors seal and gas bumps in. Charlie dons his mask and panics, while Janet tries to break the door down. She collapses and the door opens on its own, and Charlie drags her out to the street where they realize that only their room filled with gas.
Back at the hotel, Janet rails at the surveillance camera and then smashes it. Graham figures the gas was dangerous and she was lucky to get out when she did. However, he points out that there are invisible gasses that their captors could use. The soldier suggests they have some improvised protective gear, but Bill isn't impressed.
Moira goes to the Shanghai Palace and finds a piano. She starts to play as Graham comes in, and explains she learned to play at the mental hospital. She was an orphan and cried constantly, so she was sent to a psychiatric hospital. When Moira felt safe there, she convinced herself she was crazy so she could stay. Graham asks her to play something else and she obliges.
Renbe breaks into Edick's office and searches for his laptop. He finds files on himself and Janet, and a photo of Edick with Tori's father. He also finds email correspondence from both Janet and Eleanor hiring Edick to look for the missing husband. There's an anonymous wire payment for $10,000 to Edick's Cayman account. Renbe calls the number on Edick's line and hears static. He hangs up but someone calls him on his cell phone and the reporter hears the same noise. Renbe grabs his laptop and leaves.
Charlie finds Bill at the sheriff's office, and explains how his wife was living in constant pain. However, he insists that he didn't smother her. Bill explains that he saw it on the TV screen, and tells Charlie not to worry about it.
Janet is eating ice cream at the soda shop when Joe comes in. She shares with him and he explains that his father used to take him for ice cream after Little League games, and then criticize his game play. Janet notes that at least he had a father, unlike her daughter Megan, who was abandoned by her father. As she looks at the posters in the store, she realizes that they're all of Eleanor and Megan. Janet runs to the hotel and demands Moira's mask, threatening her with a bottle. Joe grabs her, shows her a mirror, and tells her not to let their captors turn her into something she's not. Janet calms down as Joe hugs her.
The next morning, Janet apologizes to the others. The sirens go off again and the Night Manager quietly slips away as the doors lock and the lobby floods with gas. Moira, Tori, and Charlie don their masks, and Bill attacks Charlie and takes his mask. Graham struggles with him, while Joe realizes that the gas isn't toxic. However, the three persons with gas masks suddenly find gas inside of their masks. The masks are glued to their faces. After several minutes of struggle, the others finally manage to get them off.
Later, Graham bows to Mecca. Moira comes out and sits next to him. Meanwhile, Bill tries to apologize to Charlie. When Charlie doesn't accept his apology, Bill says that he's lying about killing his wife, even though he believes it. Charlie realizes that he's not a car salesman, and Bill agrees.
Joe comes to see Janet, who wonders what they can do next. He suggests that they simply endure and ride it out, but she believes they need to strip themselves of emotion and destroy their enemies. The Night Manager comes out with a bowl of fortune cookies and wishes them luck, but Janet throws them in the garbage and says that they'll make their own luck. She walks out with Joe.
Edick goes to see Lt. Gomez, an old acquaintance. Gomez isn't impressed with him, until Edick says that he can give him the primary suspect in Janet's disappearance. The detective explains that Janet's husband lives in San Francisco and gives Gomez a photo… of Mark Renbe.
