The Passage recap: A trip down memory lane is rife with tragedy

The Passage slows things down in its latest episode so we can finally learn how Brad and Lila’s daughter died, plus Elizabeth makes a choice.

In last week’s episode of The Passage, we finally got confirmation that the viral disease is indeed a contagious one. Wilson wreaked havoc through the neighboring forests and turned several stray passerby into blood-sucking creatures akin to the ones at Project NOAH.

However, in the latest episode, the show dials things back down to simmer, when it should be moving at full steam ahead, with a filler episode full of flashbacks. Don’t get me wrong, the scenes of Amy making amends with her mother and Elizabeth deciding between Jonas and Fanning were powerful.

But I didn’t feel we needed an entire episode dedicated to these moments. They would have been better served being woven into the narrative instead of blocked off into an episode of their own.

Brad and Lila’s story also becomes a rather pointless kidnapping endeavor that is easily fixed though we do learn what happened to their daughter.

THE PASSAGE: L-R: Emmanuelle Chriqui and Mark-Paul Gosselaar – © 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr. Erika Doss / FOX.

The Truth about Eva

This week we learn about how Brad and Lila’s daughter, Eva, died. The story isn’t particularly original or interesting, if anyone was expecting a twist. It’s the run of the mill, victim getting caught in the cross-hairs of a random convenience store robbery story.

And even though the guy is apprehended, Brad doesn’t identify him in the police line-up so he can kill him with his own two hands. I was kind of disappointed with this backstory. It’s terribly cliche, especially the idea of a young girl being fridged to spurn her father’s revenge story.

Both Brad and Lila blame themselves for Eva’s death and their marriage fell apart under the weight of all the guilt. Though in present tense, they are forced to bond as they escape the clutches of their kidnappers. Their real ally, Clark Richards, arrives just in time to keep them from getting murdered at gunpoint.

Apparently, he’s finally wizened up to Guilder’s crooked agenda and doesn’t want anything to do with Project NOAH anymore. He promises to help them and Amy escape.

This new, heroic, version of Clark, gels better with the flashback version. Apparently he was, at one point, Eva’s godfather.

THE PASSAGE: Brianne Howey and Jamie McShane – © 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr. Erika Doss / FOX.

Elizabeth Makes a Choice

Poor Jonas has to deal with losing his wife all over again as the vaccine takes hold. At first, it appears Elizabeth may be playing right into Fanning’s hands. The only reason he injected her is because he believed she loved him as much as he loves her and would gladly become a viral if it meant spending her life with him.

But he miscalculated, severely. As Elizabeth begins to fade, she chooses Jonas, she chooses to die with her humanity intact. It’s a tragic scene, where Jonas cradles Elizabeth’s frail, dying body as she takes her last breaths, but again, I found it a shame Elizabeth had to be killed to fulfill Jonas’ story.

THE PASSAGE: L-R: Saniyya Sidney and Saycon Sengbloh – © 2019 FOX Broadcasting. Cr. Erika Doss / FOX.

Carter Helps Amy Make Amends

The reason the battered copy of A Wrinkle in Time is so important to Amy is because it is the last item she has connecting her to her mother. Amy is still reeling over her mother’s death, she’s a young girl and the loss is a traumatic one. With everything going on, she’s barely had time to process it.

In this week’s episode of The Passage, Carter tries to help her cope with the profound loss in the best way he can. Even though he has accepted Fanning’s offer, he’s still a kind man and clearly has a gentle heart. Plus I don’t think he’s buying everything Fanning is selling.

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He helps Amy understand her feelings about her mother’s death. Amy has a tremendous sense of guilt because they got into a fight before she left and by the time she came back, her mom was dead. The fact such a little girl believes this is her fault breaks my heart. I love Amy as a character, you can’t help but want to hug her.

Carter also teaches Amy a few tricks about how to access her memories. She is able to create her own dreamscape, similar to the ones we’ve seen Fanning, Shauna, and Carter all utilize before, and in it, she greets her mother and makes amends. Even if, as an audience member, we know it isn’t Amy’s fault, this is what she needed to understand that on her own terms.

It’s a touching scene between mother and daughter, brought to a grinding halt by an interruption from a frustrated Tim Fanning.

Odds & Ends

• Since Elizabeth was supposed to be Fanning’s 12th viral, he is going after Amy hard, next. I wonder if the number 12 is meant to be Christ-like, since Fanning has that whole delusions of grandeur thing going on. Maybe he needs his “12 disciples.”
• While I am enjoying The Passage, I will admit the pacing is somewhat sluggish. I feel like things are happening in every episode sure, but the Brad/Lila kidnapping felt like filler. The Elizabeth plot could probably have happened a week ago. There are only 3 episodes left of the first season and only 1 viral has even escaped from Project NOAH. I’m not feeling a sense of impending doom or dread.

A new episode of The Passage titled “You Are Not that Girl Anymore” premieres March 4th on FOX.

Do you feel The Passage is moving too slow? Let us know what you think in the comments.