'Beyond' Recap: 'Tempus Fugit'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

At some point or another, we've all taken a few moments to daydream about what our life might be like if we were gifted with some kind of superpower that allows for us to do the impossible and save the day before we return our minds to our daily routine because hey...it's fun to go there and imagine wonders. But despite how much fun it is to dream like that, deep down, we all know those kinds of abilities would come with some level of responsibility and the harsh realities of having super-human powers, is what the second episode of Beyond, 'Tempus Fugit', decided to explore in great detail.  

Because when we last left Holden Matthews, he was now fully aware of the fact that he can move objects with his mind and save lives in the process and this discovery is something that Holden wants no part of. He sees it as something that needs to remain hidden and well...there's logic to that. After all, with the Sheriff's office now sniffing around regarding his little incident at the bar, he's quick to learn that his abilities aren't something that he can turn on and off without people taking notice and that revelation drives Holden to shun everything he's learned in the past twenty four hours and do his best to get on with the second chance that he has been given and try and live a normal life. 

Truly that notion was a stroke of genius for this episode because while it was neat to see Holden try and fit in and do everyday things like go to church or party with his brother...it's clear he's meant for something more. He doesn't fit in when it comes to this kind of stuff. He's tuned into something more and despite his best efforts to ignore it, there's no running from his new abilities and his past and thankfully for Holden, he comes to realize this once he manages to accidentally burn down a house with his powers, forcing him to embrace Willa's efforts to help him out and while he may not be embracing his newfound powers just yet, he's at least open to learning more about them...and his mysterious past. 

While Holden dealt with his newfound powers, the show took a moment to delve into some fascinating territory by giving us insight into the mysterious organization after Holden. We know now that this group prefers to stay in the shadows when it comes to their actions and that they have a massive compound away from the world known as Hollow Sky, where they seem to be training groups of kids for heavens knows what, and we also learned that the mysterious man in the Yellow Jacket, is in a lot of trouble for making Holden use his powers in such brazen and public fashion. In fact, Yellow Jacket's story was just as compelling as Holden's since we learned that he is a man who isn't bold or strong in the slightest in his everyday life and he clearly takes incredible joy in being something more by working for this shadow organization. 

Either way, this was a wonderful direction for the show to take for its second episode. Rather than go all rah-rah with Holden's powers and go the traditional route of Holden discovering his destiny and serving a higher cause, the story keeps him grounded as a man surrounded by some incredible circumstances and that lends a level of honesty to this story that you don't often see and I love the fact that Holden has to make the choice to learn more about his powers and his past and it looks like the next episode will begin exploring what we've all been waiting for...what exactly happened to Holden while he was stuck in his coma, and I can't wait to find out what we learn. Until next time. 

---