Reverie Review: Point of Origin (Season 1 Episode 10)

Reverie Season 1 Episode 10, “Point of Origin,” wrapped up the series’ first season with a largely mediocre hour that gave closure to several characters, but wasn’t terribly exciting to watch.

It’s unfortunate, since the back half of Reverie’s first season has generally been quite strong, flirting with complicated questions of consent, technology and the nature of reality, while giving more screentime to characters who aren’t Mara.

That’s true most notably for Alexis, who has emerged in the season’s final three episodes as a fully developed character with believable internal conflicts and a genuine personality. Who would have believed that could happen after the show’s early episodes?

In short, the show kept getting better week after week. Therefore, it’s a bit disappointing to end the season on a finale that is, at its best, just okay. Not to mention one that wraps up several major storylines in what is perhaps the dullest way possible.

REVERIE — “Point of Origin” Episode 110 — (Photo by: Chris Haston/NBC)

“Point of Origin” opens with Mara’s totally illegal and nonconsensual reverie trip to visit her comatose murderer brother-in-law.

It’s hard to overstate what a let-down this moment is, as the show doesn’t really look that closely at Mara’s decision to Ray into killing himself, or what it means for her character going forward.

Instead, it’s all about Mara finding closure and helping Ray move on. I mean, I suppose the idea that Mara would want forgiveness from someone she thought she wronged, even if it’s a man who murdered her family is pretty consistent with her character. But, it’s not particularly satisfying storytelling.

Speaking of things that are less than satisfying: Man, Oliver Hill kind of clunked out as a villain, yeah? When he first appeared, it was easy to assume he’d be a character with an intriguing hint of darkness, but who wasn’t maybe all bad.

After all, his complaints that he’d been pushed out of his own company for realizing that they technology he built was making him crazy seemed like they were at least partially valid ones. The Onira Tech crew did need to wrestle with the implications of its work – from dangerous derealizations to government-created virtual torture sites.

As the season went on, Oliver simply became more and more unhinged, and the value of any of his arguments dissipated further. It’s hard to sympathize with a guy who steals from his former employer, stalks his ex and repeatedly sets fires for revenge.

In “Point of Origin” Oliver basically does all of these things, kidnapping Alexis and attempting to burn down the Onira Tech data servers to destroy reverie forever.

At this point, he’s not a particularly compelling villain, and even though his actions manage to bring everyone from Monica Shaw to Charlie together against him, there’s very little tension about whether or not his plan will actually succeed.

(Though, let’s be real: Did anyone understand how that massive fire got contained so quickly?)

With several of the major storylines stumbling, it’s a relief to say that the Reverie season finale did get one element exactly right: Alexis. After relegating her character to the background for a big chunk of the season, we’ve watched her grow into a thoughtful, compelling figure in her own right.

This week, not only do we see Alexis stand up to her abuser and work to save herself before Mara arrives to help, she finally lets go of her dead brother. After weeks of wondering exactly how Dylan died, she finally tells us what happened to him, and why she chose to reimagine him as the Onira Tech AI.

That Alexis eventually chooses to upgrade Dylan to a more adult voice and personality is a great moment for her character, and one that actually feels very earned after everything she’s been through the past few weeks.

(I don’t, however, believe this girl is 25. Just saying.)

Stray Thoughts and Observations:

• The most interesting part of “Point of Origin” occurs in its final frame, as a dark, ghoulish version of Mara is revealed in the dark reverie she escaped earlier, glitching ominously. What does that mean? Can the new, updated reverie technology make clones? Is there a second Mara and, if so, how “real” is she? There are tons of ways this could go in Season 2, should the show get one. And I think that this is already a more interesting plotlines than the derealization story that never really went anywhere because it was serving as a cover for a twist about Mara’s past.
• I’m assuming the overarching “clients” for Season 2 — should it happen — will be the folks still trapped in reverie thanks to Oliver’s attack?
• Paul and Mara are like THISCLOSE to happening, why won’t this show let me live.
• Did we ever find out what happened to Mara’s nice ex, Chris? Does he know she was dating an imaginary version of him for a hot minute there?
• Ten episodes later and I still can’t believe there isn’t some fail-safe method built in to the system to force-boot people out of their reveries, but I guess if Onira Tech figured that out we’d have no show.

What did you think of this episode of Reverie? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Reverie airs Wednesdays at 10pm on NBC.

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