'Beyond' Recap: 'Into the Light'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

When we last left Holden Matthews on Beyond, he was in one tough place. The possible love of his life was back in the Realm in a desperate effort to keep him safe. His brother was locked away in a room courtesy of his nemesis Frost and he was left with no choice but to help this utter madman return to the Realm in order to keep all of them safe, and when the penultimate episode of the season leaves you with that kind of cliffhanger, you know the season finale is going to deliver one heck of a story and last night Beyond absolutely managed to knock my socks off.

But what truly made the season one finale of this show so absolutely impressive is that the story didn't go into unexpected places to impress us. It stayed true to how the story has been told all season long, which meant there were no powerful speeches to be found from our villain. Or some epic showdown where he and Holden used their powers to fight in the Realm. This was just another character driven episode that went into some surprisingly philosophical places all while reminding everyone involved in the story that there are consequences for their actions, with a dash of more information on Hollow Sky's business plans throw in for good measure. 

That last piece was actually quite important and incredibly fascinating because it added an extra layer of evil to Frost and his plans since we learned that Hollow Sky is planning to make the Afterlife a tourist attraction and make millions in the process, all that needed to happen was for Frost and Holden and Willa to return with the knowledge of where the Bridge lies in the Realm and well...while in the Realm the trio found the gateway between life and death and this is where the episode went super philosophical because we have been taught to believe that the Afterlife is a place where good human souls go in one direction and bad human souls go in another and the show posed the theory that perhaps when we die, good and evil all head into the great beyond through one central nexus point...because what Frost found...were ugly spirits ready to use his desire to cross the Bridge as their own way back to our world, which meant Holden had one big decision to make...destroy the bridge, or let them come.

Naturally, Holden obliterated the Bridge rather than let that kind of evil roam free and potentially find a way back to our world and in doing so, he set in motion a chain of stunning events. First and foremost the act left Frost in a coma for a change, and by incapacitating him Hollow Sky may be in serious financial jeopardy which hey...isn't exactly a bad thing. Plus, this second time around in the Realm taught Holden how to properly harness his powers since he was able to use them perfectly when he, Jeff, his brother and Willa escaped that twisted compound...but there are consequences to be had for his actions. Because it's clear now that evil is roaming free through the Realm and eventually...it's coming to earth since these dark spirits have no place to go and that, should make for quite an interesting plot line, come season two.

When all is said and done however, I absolutely adored this season finale. It was powerful, poignant, and thoughtful and like the rest of season one, it was unconventional and unique and I'm so glad to see a show like this one on the air that takes chances in this fashion and it makes the wait for season two all the more difficult, especially when you consider what else might be coming our way. After all, there's a chance that Frost could awaken from his coma and set out for revenge against Holden, or...there's a strong chance he's lying in wait to unleash his vendetta in the Realm and that may make the clean up operation in that world all the more difficult when the time comes. Either way, I can't wait to see where this story is going to go, but at least we can binge watch this season until the second one arrives and enjoy the beginning of Holden Matthews' incredible journey, one more time. Until next year. 

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