‘Lisey’s Story’ Recap: ‘No Light, No Spark’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Lisey’s Story’.
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Stories that revolve around the power of loss and grief usually shift gears and move themselves into supremely inspiring territory when the main character is ready to begin their long road to recovery, and it makes sense why. After all, the audience has just been through utter hell watching the character struggle with the pain of losing a loved one, so to see them stick to a plan of recovery and do everything to stand tall and conquer their pain is something of a reward for the viewer. A reward that can send one's spirit soaring and also serve to remind anyone watching that they can conquer this kind of pain if they keep their head held high and never let the moment take hold of them again—and honestly, this is really something of a disservice to the audience because in reality, the road back from grieving is not a perky or plucky one in the slightest. This path is often filled with tough days where the sorrow finds a way to wash over us, and it requires some serious self-work and reflection to finally keep it at bay—which makes most stories about grief nothing more than escapist fantasy that do little to prepare anyone for anything.

This is why stories that offer a raw look at the recovery process deserve our awe and respect, because they are offering a proverbial service to those in need, which is why the next episode of Lisey's Story on AppleTV+ is of note. The episode, ‘No Light, No Spark’ is a story that takes time to remind us of how difficult it is to see the recovery process through and the giant challenges that we face in trying to overcome grief. 'No Light, No Spark' accomplished this feat by having Lisey Landon succeed with something that everyone struggling with grieving process dreads: Acceptance.
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To overcome this part of grieving, we have to be honest with ourselves and accept the fact that our beloved is gone forever. The best way to do that is to dig deep within our shattered and rattled memory banks and relive the difficult day that we said goodbye. If we reflect honestly, we can finally let acceptance wash over us, which, in turn, lets the healing begin. And because Lisey had a little downtime before another important event in her life took place (which we'll get to in a moment), she did just that and reflected on the night that Scott Landon died. Obviously, this was a terrible night for Lisey, one where her love struggled mightily with a strange and nasty cough that had overtaken him. An illness so violent that he felt the need to make an impromptu trip to Boo'ya Moon to try and heal it before going on stage to greet his adoring fans at a book event.

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Alas, that trip was waste of time on Scott's part. It turns out that the Long Boy robbed Scott of any hope of healing his ailing body because he blocked every path to Boo'ya Moon's healing waters. This discovery motivated Scott to power through his poor health, and eventually, in front of his fans, break down and succumb to years of injury and illness that Boo'ya Moon's waters once healed. Knowing that his time was near, Scott called to his wife and saw her one last time before moving into whatever adventure awaited his soul next. By finally taking the time to confront and acknowledge that Scott's death was permanent and real and painful and ugly and everything in between, Lisey Landon was finally able to reach the acceptance phase and make peace with the reality of her situation before moving on to far more… unpleasant business.
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Jim Dooley was still out there and he still had his unfinished business with Lisey. And for Lisey, a failure to defeat him and remove him from her life would mean that she would never enjoy the peace that she just rediscovered, which led to the most harrowing sequence of this tale. Lisey, Darla, and Amanda worked hard to subdue Jim Dooley, with minimal success. Jim quickly made it clear that he was strong and determined to not lose this fight, which, in turn, led to some ugly and frightening moments. These moments saw Darla and Amanda fall to his strength, and of course, Lisey bore the worst part of his fury—her bruises formed quick, and bones appeared to be broken. But just when it seemed that Jim had the upper hand and was going to end Lisey's life, she executed the last part of her plan: Dragging Jim Dooley with her to Boo'ya Moon. And, by nature of the cliffhanger, that's where this episode leaves us: Lisey and her tormentor far away from the prying eyes of the world so their final showdown can take place on equal ground.

This was a powerful way to end an equally powerful tale. This episode was filled to the brim with moving and emotional moments—the kind that genuinely display one of the most difficult aspects of the grieving process. ‘No Light, No Spark’  held nothing back in teaching us that confronting the dark moment that brings us so much pain is no easy task, but it must be done if we ever want to enjoy life once again. Now that Lisey has done just that, the only question that remains is whether or not Lisey will get to enjoy what comes next. Jim Dooley is about as dangerous as they come, and equal footing or not, it's going to take one heck of a surprise and more than a little luck for Lisey to put her tormentor to rest for good. Until next time, Dear Reader.

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