Station Eleven Rewatch: Episode Eight
“I don't buy it. The past is safe. Everything else changes."
Join me for the final Zoom discussion—technically later today (Sunday, 12/22) since it’s well after midnight in Florida where I’m typing this. I’ll be (re)watching the last two episodes and getting posts for both of those up before we meet. The Zoom (8-10pm ET) is open to all paid subscribers. You can join that club at any time and you also have the option of gifting a subscription. Paid subscribers get access to all posts plus the comments and the chat.
Kirsten: “What happened?”
Tyler: “You killed all those Bandanas, but… they got you with that dirty chemistry… People say their poison makes you see ghosts. What’d you dream about?”
K: “The First Hundred.”
T: “Cody died.”
K: “I saw… I’m sorry. You guys were together a long time.”
T: “There’s no before.”
In addition to finding out that Kirsten killed the Bandanas who attacked at the end of Episode Seven, we learn that Tyler took care of Kirsten for three days after. Their surprising alliance continues to surprise. Also, in this exchange it feels like Tyler’s There’s no before might simply be about avoiding pain. When he says it here, the words feel less mysterious or philosophical, and more like a defense mechanism.
***
Tyler: “Why are you helping me?”
Kirsten: “You’re going to die and I can’t stop it.”
The fact that she is quoting the book and we’re reminded that Jeevan said these exact words to Frank in the play… So good.
Tyler: “Isn’t that everyone?”
***
“I don’t think I’ve ever said this out loud. But I have always felt like a failure. Every room I’ve walked into, I felt hated. I know it’s wrong and I know it’s not true but… I feel it. I feel it, and I accept it.” —Clark
Clark wants to be important. When he walks in to show off the karaoke machine, the kids don’t seem to care. Clark’s need for power and control are on display in this episode. It’s 20 years after the pandemic and he’s still talking about quarantine. We can’t let the sick enter our community, he says. We can’t risk infection!