Reunion

Broadcast 05/12/95
Written by Thania St. John
Directed by Deborah Reinisch

Guest Stars: Turhan Bey (Abernathy), Kimberly Cullum (Young Samantha), Stephen Mills (The Man), Gammy Singer (Nurse Jackie), Kaci Williams (Young Sydney), Matthew Koruba (Young Duncan).

Synopsis: Sydney is reunited with her sister. She learns that her father is still alive, and that a faction of The Committee is hunting them. One of Oliver's oldest allies turns out to be a traitor. Oliver, having been ordered to kill Sydney, rebels against The Committee. The fugitives finally make contact with The Man. Sydney's mother is rescued from her coma, but Sydney gets trapped in VR.7 (?).

Observed Data

VR: We discover (apparently) the secret of how VR.5 works: Dr. Joseph Bloom has a VR computer set-up that is connected to the telephone lines (presumably locally only?), and the key to accessing VR is retinal patterns...i.e., if the patterns are recognized, the owner gains access to the system; the system has only been up and running again since Dr. Bloom and Samantha started hiding in their old house (Dr. Bloom's secret lab), six months ago; VR can definitely be used to "reprogram" memories, although it seems to work imperfectly; people in VR.6 can work in teams to erase such conditioning because they have access to each other's subconscious minds, which overlap to form "the truth"; "time and space do not function the same way" in VR.7 (a person can get trapped in there).

The Committee: there is a fracture at the very centre of TC; TC seems to recruit extensively from within families (they like blood-ties), although if Oliver and Sydney's cases are indicative, family members may not be brought in on the secret until their late twenties; a man named Abernathy was a colleague of Oliver's father (who apparently died for him), and became Oliver's Committee "Keeper" (mentor/control agent/father confessor)--he was also the first known member of the splinter faction (hereafter "TSF"); it was TSF that abducted Dr. Bloom and Samantha 17 years ago (and has presumably held them captive all this time); The Man is apparently on the side of TC opposing TSF, and considers himself Sydney's "Keeper" (and now Oliver's, too--but what about Duncan?).

Miscellaneous: The car accident never happened--it was a combination of VR reprogramming and the actual abduction of Sydney's father and sister; Nora Bloom did not attempt suicide, either--she got lost in VR while reprogramming Duncan and Sydney's memories; Samantha and Duncan appear to have had a burgeoning adolescent romance; Joseph Bloom may be insane, having fractured his personality with VR.8 (like Alex).

Summary

• People from TC took Sam; not an accident
• It's been 6 months since the pilot (in the show's time)
• Sam has lived 17 years with TC
• Sydney knew that Duncan could use VR
• "Wolfenstein 3D"-like imagery in VR.7
• Fiber optics were used in the workshop in the episode (instead of phone)
• There's been a "fracture at the top" in TC, says the stranger
• We hear that there are factions in TC for the first time in the show
• Oliver says a renegade faction is trying to kill Syd
• Sam and Dr. Bloom were hiding in Germany with the Committee
• Abernathy worked with Oliver's father
• Committee operates within close-knit family ties (generation to generation)
• VR.7 mentioned for first time
• Lies; when all three (Duncan/Syd/Sam) together, we get the truth
• Woman who looked after Nora was part of the Committee
• Nora tried to erase memories + replace with good ones
• Mysterious man changed stories