The Passage Review: You Are Like the Sun (Season 1 Episode 7)

Mark-Paul Gosselaar gives a striking performance on The Passage Season 1 Episode 7, “You Are Like the Sun,” an episode that focuses on loss and blame for both his character, Brad, and Saniyya Sidney’s Amy.

As Brad and Lila try to escape their kidnappers, Brad thinks back to how he got here in the first place. It started with the preparations for his daughter’s soccer team party.

Seemingly normal events — crossing the street to buy markers that his wife forget to pack in the bag of supplies, his daughter bringing his wallet to him a few moments later — are what led to her being shot by a man trying to rob that very store. It’s one of the most viscerally painful scenes I’ve seen on television in a long time.

Brad blames himself for every step, including what happens next. He tracks down his daughter’s killer and murders him, only to collapse with guilt right afterward. 

There are several striking scenes for Brad on this episode, but this is the one that really stands out as a stellar performance for Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The actor’s presence at that moment conveys so many conflicting emotions and such vulnerability as he visibly shakes.

And it’s that vulnerability that leads Brad right to Project NOAH, which, in all its horrors, is the thing that gave him new purpose.

It’s a powerful parallel between the vampires and the kinds of monsters that are actually real. The man who killed his daughter was a monster, and Brad became something of a monster himself.

Then as he describes it to Lila, after that, he worked to bring death row inmates to Project NOAH where they were turned into literal monsters. 

There’s another parallel, and this one involves Amy. She and Brad not only share grief in common, but they share blame also. Because Amy feels responsible for her mother’s death just as Brad felt responsible for his daughter’s.

Speaking of great performances, Saniyya Sidney is a force. I love watching this little girl on my television screen. Her portrayal of Amy keeps getting better.

This is a character that’s balancing being tough and independent with still being a child — and one who’s lost the most important person in her life. She’s strong and wise beyond her years, but she’s still vulnerable.

She won’t let Guilder see that side, though. I love the way she stands up to him — and the way she pulls herself together and wipes away her tears before she does.

So far, much of Amy’s bonding has been with Brad, but now she’s starting to bond more with Carter, at least in her mind. Carter visits her with the goal of getting her ready for Fanning, in a situation where he causes her way too much pain. But then he visits her again and apologizes, and tells her she can go anywhere any time. 

She does. She sees her mom.

It’s a sweet moment of closure for her and shows the importance of that relationship, making this an even more emotional episode. A knock at the door, though, makes that take a turn. It’s Fanning, and that’s where we end.

Elsewhere, another relationship is getting closure. As much as Jonas doesn’t want Elizabeth to die, her turning into a monster would be a worse fate. This is the most basic of themes in vampire stories — what’s the cost of being able to live forever?

Elizabeth isn’t just choosing between life and death here. She’s also choosing between Jonas and Fanning.

And for the first time, we see someone choose death.

It feels like a sacrifice, and it feels like love. Because in choosing death, she also chooses Jonas. It’s another really powerful scene. I’m interested to see what comes next for Jonas now.

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

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The Passage airs Mondays at 9/8c on FOX.

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