'Beyond' Recap: 'Two Zero One' & 'Cheers, Bitch'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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​When we last left Holden Matthews and his friends and family on Beyond, things were actually pretty great. After all, Hollow Sky lay in ruin following everyone’s escape from the facility, their enigmatic leader Frost had died in the Realm and speaking of the Realm, it seems that Holden also managed to eliminate any further threats from this mysterious place by destroying the bridge, and it seemed that because of his powers and his heroic actions, at long last that Holden was going to be able to enjoy the normal life he’s so desired.
 
Which brings us to last night’s season two premiere, ‘Two Zero One’ and ‘Cheers, Bitch’, wherein we were finally able to check in on Holden and discover that well, life has been treating him well in the days following his big heroic moment. He has a job at last, thanks to an assist from his father, a bed that he can sleep comfortably in and he and Willa are seeing one another on a regular basis. But while it seems that life is peachy, there are new struggles for Holden to discover and overcome in these two tales, like the fact that relationships have their roadblocks, and that living a normal life is going to be quite the incredible task.
 
Because both he and Willa are doing their best to seem like an everyday couple, but that’s easier said than done. Their abilities and their experiences separate them from the rest of us and despite their best efforts to appear like average people, they faltered in keeping that façade up throughout these two episodes. Because when Holden was threatened by an annoying coworker with physical violence, Willa stepped in to kick some ass and she wowed everyone with fighting skills that are clearly out of this world. Plus, we do have to talk about that awkward and hilarious dinner, wherein Willa tried desperately to make a good impression on Holden’s parents because that’s when she realized, that being normal may never be possible for the couple, and when you combine her journey in this pair of episodes, with the fact that Holden is still trying desperately to fit in every chance he gets…you come to realize that she’s one hundred percent right in thinking that. 

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​However, while it was fascinating to watch the lovely couple do their best to try to adjust to a peaceful and normal life and put the past behind them, there were others in this two hour tale who had no intention of moving on after the events at Hollow Sky, in fact…Charlie and Yellow Jacket were out for revenge. Because their journey took them on an undercover mission to deal with Frost’s lieutenant, Shoemaker, and the duo quietly worked in the shadows to access Shoemaker’s home to steal important intel on Yellow Jacket’s daughter and in doing so, they came to discover that Shoemaker…has cancer. Of course, the precise plan as to how these two are going to take her down wasn’t revealed in this episode, but this plot thread served as wonderful contrast to the Holden and Willa storyline, and really, it’s kind of a guilty delight to see these two working together.
 
But, what mattered most about this pair of episodes, is the sheer fact that they served as the grand setup for a bigger plotline involving the Realm. In fact, it was quite interesting that Holden more or less wrote off that strange and foreboding dream that he had at the end of season one, especially considering that the dreams are continuing to happen, and they are showing a future filled with fire and fear and pain and he’s not the only one seeing this, since the series also introduced us to a man named Edgar, who apparently has also been to the Realm, and he’s looking for Holden and having similar visions, and to top it all off, Arthur is still desperate to return to the Realm, despite the warnings that Willa sent his way about the true dangers that lurk in that mystical place.
 
Of course, one could complain that this series premiere didn’t quite do enough to get the plot rolling over the course of two episodes and in all reality, I’m glad the show took it slow. Because, season one of Beyond was always about quality character development and taking a slow burn approach to revealing its plot points and it pleases me to no end that season two has maintained that tradition because once again I’m hooked. I’m dying to see how Holden will deal with the fact that one way or another, he’s likely going to have to use his powers and play the hero once again when he is against doing anything of the sort, and it should be equally as fascinating to discover what cataclysm is coming by way of the Realm in the weeks to come, and as an added bonus, we’ll probably get to enjoy more incredible insults from Charlie as she rips into Yellow Jacket as their plan comes to fruition. Either way, I’m so glad this wonderful television show is back on the air, and I’ll be waiting with baited breath to see where the story will take us, come next Thursday. Until then. 

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