Debris S01E07: You Can Call Her Caroline

© NBC

Mind control and shadowy government shenanigans mark this week's episode.
by Chuck Duncan

Guest Cast: Benjamin Hollingworth, Evelyn Burke

This week's episode of Debris left me with more questions than answers. The largest part of the episode was about some debris with another new power -- mind control. But there were very short moments with both Maddox and Ferris that leave us scratching our heads. And why on earth did Bryan tell Maddox that Finola knows her father is alive? He wants her to trust him, then he goes and blows up that trust after it took her a bit of time to finally trust him!

Maddox's torture of Ash was a bit gruesome and introduced some new technology that seemed more plot contrivance than anything remotely based in reality. I'm not even sure how it would work. They painted some goo on Ash's feet, connected him to jumper cables, and slid some metal contacts under his scalp -- ouch -- but presumably not into his brain. Right? So how could Ash's thoughts translate to video that revealed his secrets to Maddox? I know this is sci-fi but that was really out there.

And Ferris. What's her game now, trying to lure Finola back to England by using her sister's drug addiction? At least her sister was in the position to use a childhood code they shared -- how convenient -- to let her know that there was someone in the room and she couldn't really talk. Of course that just put Finola on red alert but she had more issues to deal with.

The 'Debris of the Week' in this episode gave the person closest to it the ability to control the minds of others. At first we saw a guy with a duffel bag, presumably with the debris inside. Everything around him freezes in time except for one woman who approaches him for the bag. He seems to be fighting himself but gives it to her and she walks away, leaving the man to blow his brains out. The woman is later found without the duffel and no memory of what happened.

Bryan and Finola pay a visit to the man's brother who tells them he was obsessed with conspiracy theories and had been offered $50,000 for the debris that was found in the marsh behind the house. He also asks Finola who to tell his niece that her father is dead. Bryan spots the blue duffel bag on a table in another room, but it's never explained how it got there. Was his brother actually trying to sell the debris or dispose of it? Did the woman walk it back to Luke? Who knows. Bryan and Finola leave but a short time later Finola realizes they didn't even bother to check the marsh. Why would they leave without checking the marsh? They do return but don't find anything.

The girl, Caroline, later goes out to the marsh and sits in the water, small pieces of the debris looking like large fish scales are somehow attracted to her. Finola and Bryan are also perplexed as to why the girl's mother, who has sole custody of her daughter after the divorce, left the girl with her uncle. Her odd response, echoed by her new husband, was that 'she belongs there'. None of this sits right with them.

© NBC

Returning to the house, Caroline is able to tell Finola that her uncle hurt her father and he's making her get the pieces of debris out of the marsh for him. Inside the house, Uncle Luke is having a chat with Bryan about their time in the service, but Luke is obviously affected negatively about his duty, telling Bryan how the military just wants them to be machines and now he's going to make them pay for what they did to him. It's never clearly explained what they did to him, or if he has some form of PTSD, but after the conversation Bryan and Finola leave again as if there is nothing odd going on. Then Luke gets angry with Caroline because even though she's told him there is nothing left in the marsh, he knows she's hiding it somewhere. He finally finds all of the debris hidden inside of an old diving suit in a shed.

Bryan and Finola end up back at the military base to head back home and Finola suddenly wonders how they got there. Bryan is confused for a moment too, and they both watch as a plane flies overhead then dives to the ground. Luke shows up with his bag of debris, and when Finola pulls her gun on him, he makes her point it downward. When Bryan attempts to take a shot, Luke forces Bryan to turn the gun on himself, just as he did his brother, while making Finola turn around so she's not facing either of them. Bryan is fighting Luke as best as he can and just before he pulls the trigger Luke falls to the ground, a piece of the debris buried right between his eyes. Caroline saved the day.

With Luke dead, everyone influenced by his mind control is back to normal and Caroline is reunited with her mother, who assures her she did not just leave her there. Finola also tells her that what she did was brave and saved their lives and for that she will always be indebted to the girl. Meanwhile, Maddox calls Bryan and tells him they've got a lead on George Jones, and now Bryan and Finola are off to Washington state to see what they can find. But does anyone have any trust anymore?