‘Dispatches from Elsewhere’ Recap: ‘Clara’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

​What’s fascinating about modern society, is how much stock we put into structuring our lives to a tee. For it really is an outstanding expectation that we go to college and find a career and stick with it, so that we enjoy stability and security for the rest of our lives. Which isn’t a knock upon said structure by any means. Because a steady paycheck does indeed afford us a great many benefits. After all, it puts food on the table, it allows for us to fund our pursuits and see the world if we so choose. But while those are wonderful benefits to following that particular structure in life, the fact of the matter is; it isn’t for everyone.
 
For there are plenty of people out there who are bored by the norms, and the struggle with fitting into a particular mold or trying to follow the path of so many, is quite the difficult venture for them. And oddly enough, there are also plenty of folks who follow the standard path, that come to realize that it dips them into the mundane, to the point where life becomes stifling and stagnant. But while those issues make it seem as though life is rough for a great deal of human beings, since so many of us struggle with routine and finding our path from time to time. What matters more; is that at no point are we truly trapped within the framework that the world prefers to operate within. There are ways to expand our minds and explore endless possibilities and it just so happens that breaking free of the mold and finding one’s way served as the central themes to last night’s episode of Dispatches from Elsewhere.
 
For ‘Clara’ took the time to explore the life and times of the character that everyone in the Elsewhere Society has been desperately seeking and what we learned early on, is that Clara is someone who most certainly doesn’t fit the everyday mold. For she is/was a dreamer, and she was terrified of the world she saw in front of her. One where everyone stuck to the plan and went about their days in miserable fashion because of it. Which prompted her to try and inject a little magic into the world, and with the help of her friends; they were able to create incredible beauty in Fishtown. And for her efforts, joy came to this place and suddenly people were open to new possibilities in life and they were eager to look beyond the concrete jungle surrounding them and see the beauty of the world and well, her story turned out to be quite infectious.

---

Because everything she had to say resonated with Peter and Eve, since they are the two in the group that are most in need of guidance and direction from the universe. And her words helped them to understand that they aren’t trapped in their current lives and that they can be and do whatever they want in life and that prompted Peter to ‘quit’ his job after he took the time to spice things up for the users of his company’s software, and he was quite excited at the endless possibilities that now lay ahead of him. As for Eve, well she took those words to heart by being more open about how she feels lost in life and doing that and receiving some encouragement from her former professor allowed for her to realize that being honest with herself and trying new things in life, might help her find her way at last and really, this segment of the story was downright magical for so many reasons.
 
For starters, Peter and Eve finally found some direction and they’re actually excited to see what the future holds for them and you can never go wrong with enjoying quality character growth. But more importantly, their journey was in essence, a message to the audience. One that reminded us to be more like these characters and embrace the wonder of life and take risks and break free of molds when we feel trapped. Because such boldness frees the mind and the soul and that was a wonderful message to find present within the framework of a tale that ended in ominous fashion. Because this story also took the time to enhance the plot like never before, since we came to learn that Clara is/was real and Jejune may indeed have her, and that changes everything.
 
In the end however, this really was quite the incredible tale. Because this one was supremely complex in nature as it shifted between Clara’s backstory and the everyday lives of our intrepid characters. But it sure didn’t seem all that complex and that’s thanks in large part to the work of Director Althea Jones. Because her guiding hand allowed for everything to work seamlessly in this episode, and truly Althea is one of the most dynamic directors in the business right now. Because every time she steps behind the camera she creates something genuinely magnificent and she absolutely deserves recognition for her work in this tale. For her keen eye also allowed for some incredible visuals to come to life, making this episode its own work of art. But all beauty and wonder aside, what also makes this episode so fascinating, is the sheer fact that the plot is truly thickening, and the game has in a way come to an end. Because now our dear friends genuinely need to get to the bottom of what happened to Clara and no good ever comes from digging for the truth, when suspicious circumstances are involved. Until next time.

---