As presented in the unstoppable marketing blitz, there's a lot of information about what The Event *isn't...*-- and, spoiler alert: it also *isn't* in this episode. But there's plenty of ratcheted-up tension, slowly unfolding plots, scenes that change their meaning when a little extra information is given, and shaky-shaky cameras. It's like what would happen if Lost and 24 had a baby with an overacheiver complex. But hey, it works, and I'm excited for next week.
I've decided I'm going to Scooby-Doo these recaps, organizing the scenes and clues into brackets by character. The entire style of the show is based around scenes focused on a single character (like a mini-Lost! ...I'm going to be saying that a lot) and then extending that scene or showing a different side of it from another character's point of view. It's risky and high-concept, but then again, that's why we tune in, right? For the purposes of this recap, I'm going to try to group everything together based on the time period it occurs, but there's a lot of black title cards with scribbly "EIGHT DAYS EARLIER"-style moments throughout. Watch the show for that stuff--it's part of the fun!
So, here we go:
Sean Walker (Jason Ritter). We meet Sean in an airplane bathroom, post-flush (Charlie Pace flashback...). He's covered in flopsweat as he returns to his seat and the plane takes off...just as a black SUV crashes onto the tarmac. We get a quick flashback to eight days prior, as he picks up his girlfriend Leila (Sarah Roemer) to go on a cruise. He's mid-proposal on St. Lucia when the screams of a drunk guy with his arm in a cast distracts him. Drunk guy's equally drunk girlfriend has fallen off a cliff into the water, and Drunk Guy can't swim due to the cast. Sean strips off his shirt (why is that always the first step?) and saves her. The four of them hang out that evening and get drunk-er. Leila gets a call from her parents that's chit-chatty and brief. The next day, Leila sleeps off a hangover while Sean and Drunk Girl go diving together. Sean returns to their cabin on the boat...to find his key-card no longer works, and there's a different couple staying in his room, with no record of him or Leila boarding the ship.
Michael Buchanan (Scott Patterson): Leila's dad's perspective gives us the other side of the beach phone call to her; seconds after it's done, masked gunmen break into his home, abduct his younger daughter Sam, and shoot and kill his wife. We hear a second shot in his direction...and then we jump to the present, with Michael boarding the same plane Sean is on. Michael's the pilot.
Sophia (Laura Innes): We jump back a year to a snowcapped mountain bunker in Alaska (Sarah Palin to the contrary, the footage is gorgeous). Simon Lee (Ian Anthony Dale) of the CIA is having a terse conversation with Sophia about someone named William. William, we learn, wants to trade information for freedom. Sophia tells Simon that this can't happen, and he needs to stop them. And then we see that she's a prisoner--her arms are in chains and a heavily-armed military guard is standing watch. Sophia's escorted back to her cell.
President Elias Martinez (Blair Underwood): The newly minted president of the United States. In another tense exchange (this episode is full of them), we learn of his plans to release 97 detainees from prison. It's cleverly written to swerve our minds towards Guantanamo Bay, but we get a quick flashback to over a year before, with the president anonymously receiving security information about the bunker in Alaska and traveling to meet with Sophia, their leader. He makes note of their living quarters and, curiously, their research labs.
Bringing It All Together:Back in the present, Against the background of his young son's birthday party, Martinez tells the no-longer-a-prisoner Sophia that he's making an important announcement that day. In prep for this, news crews are at the ready.
Meanwhile at the nearby airport, we watch that same scene of the SUV slamming onto the tarmac again--it's Simon behind the wheel, and we learn air-traffic control is desperately trying to stop the plane from taking off, due to the bomb-wielding assassin/terrorist aboard. Control's entire system goes down and Simon drives out onto the runway to stop the plane himself (this is an unwise move. How would that work?)--but he's too late, the plane takes off, and Simon is frowny and concerned.
We're back on board the flight, as Sean aims a gun at a stewardess and attempts to contact Michael, behind the bulkhead separating the passengers from the pilots. Sean desperately tries to talk him out of whatever's about to happen. A gunshot is heard from behind the bulkhead--Michael's killed his copilot, and is ready to fly the plane into the president's reception.
On the ground, people run for cover, as Sophia stands tall and braces for impact as the plane flies in. At the last second, a shimmering hole rips open in the air and swallows the plane. Sophia breathes deep--"They saved us." She turns to the president and delivers the titular line: "I haven't told you everything."
All in all, I'm sold for the next few episodes--The Event has started out as a gripping, topsy-turvy show that embraces the best of its two legacy programs and runs with it. I hadn't felt this kind of urgency when watching Lost since the first season, and it's nice to have that feeling back. I love the peppering of clues and the setups of mysteries throughout this episode--and, perhaps most gratifyingly, the promise of answers here and there, as the truncation of Lost's flashback-reveals over many episodes into one 44-minute package gives a lot of bang for the buck.
I'm excited and hopeful for what's to come with this show. Then again...I said the same thing about poor, misguided Flash Forward last year. I have high hopes that the second episode will cement some of the intriguing hooks of the first.
So...what did you think? Am I missing a clue or six? Let us know in the comments below. See you next week!
