318529632879522118851911604551242545
Every day we enter numbers – enter then into the ATM, enter them into our phones, into our computers. They don’t mean anything. Or do they?
Here there be SPOILERS….
“In 1992 a shipping container fell overboard on its way from China to the United States releasing 29,000 rubber ducks into the Pacific Ocean. 10 months later the first of these rubber ducks washed ashore on the Alaskan coast. Since then these ducks have been found in Hawaii, South America, Australia and traveling slowly inside the arctic ice. But 2,000 of the ducks were caught up in the North Pacific Gyre, a vortex of currents moving between Japan, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the Aleutian Islands.”
Two boys toss around a soccer ball.
“Items that get caught in the gyre usually stay in the gyre, doomed to travel the same path forever circling in the same waters…”
Some old Jewish men are arguing. The Happy Pop Twins, Izumi & Miyoko, are dancing with Hello Kitty dolls in a VERY psychedelic bedroom.
“But not always. Their paths can be altered by a change in the weather, a storm at sea, a chance encounter with a pod of whales.”
A blond woman is walking on a beach and comes across a battered weathered Asian stop light covered in seaweed.
“20 years after the rubber ducks were lost at seas they’re still arriving on beaches around the world and the number of ducks in the gyre has decreased…”
A man marks a red star on a map in a tent on a beach.
“Which means it’s possible to break free even after years of circling the same waters it’s possible to find a way to shore.”
Martin confronts Abigail about Astercorp. According to Abigail this has been going on for more than 10 years. While Martin was on one of his many assignments, Sarah (Martin’s wife) spoke to Abigail about a strange man that approached her after Jake took a standardized test. The man was with Mobius (the shipping company from the last episode). While they’re jabbering on about who should have custody, Jake stops writing in his book and picks up a phone – there’s a jack-in-the-box that falls down to reveal the word “open” on the bottom of his box. When Jake touches the box it opens a dodecahedron sparkly globe. He puts the phone away and continues writing 2217 in his book. And while Martin and Abigail continue their custody verbal dance, Jake picks up the big crystal dodecahedron, calmly walks out the patio doors to the balcony, and proceeds to drop the big crystal dodecahedron on a police car far below. A police car that just happens to be numbered 2217.
While at the police station, Jake sets the big crystal dodecahedron in a security door. (First – that giant crystal paper weight didn’t break or shatter when it hit that police car from 2 stories up?!?! Second – they gave it BACK to the boy that chucked it over a balcony. Probably not the best toy for wayward boy.) Instead of getting on the elevator with his dad, Jake heads down through the door he just propped open. Yaaaa the one with the keypad security on it. Usually keypad security locks indicate “stay out” to the general public. But when has this ever stopped Jake from going where he needs to go?
OMG! There’s that freaky clown! During the commercials! It’s made to look like a tv hack and a woman tells us, “Citizens of the globe, daybreak is on the horizon but there are those that want to keep us in darkness. Find the truth. The answer lies in the dodecahedron.” www.findthetruth.org runs along the bottom of the screen. We’ll take a look at this gem a little later.
Jake stops in the hall just outside the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Records Archives Case Nos 0000-10000-000 through 0020-44399-999 and upends his soda. Yup right there on the floor. (On a side note – I have the findthetruth website open in the background while I write. It has the most amazing tranquil bird song and ocean sounds!) They book it down the hall and around a corner to wait. A man pushing a cart full of storage boxes rounds the corner at the other end of the hall. You guessed it, he hits that spilled soda, slips and sends boxes flying every which way. He goes back the way he came to get something to clean up the mess. Jake writes a few more 2217s in his book then heads over to the file disarray. Martin finds case file 2217 – it has Amelia Roberts name in it. (You KNOW Martin is SO stealing that file.)
The blond woman is still taking her walk on the beach. This time she picks up a battered maneki-neko – you know, those really cute happy luck cats with the bobbing paw. The man that marked the red star comes storming out of his tent and swipes it angrily from her hands yelling at her to get off his beach. She just follows him back into his tent and starts picking things up – like an old dirty sword. She’s figure out this is all debris from the Japanese tsunami. The guy is scavenging debris off the beach and selling it on Ebay! She’s pissed. He tells her to get out but she tosses a “how bout I ruin your day instead” then pulls out her phone which is counting down 2:22:07, 2:22:06, 2:22:05. She drops her red scarf, make a circle in the sand and “establishes a private structure” so now it’s her beach and he can’t take anything else off of it. (well that’ll fix him won’t it! I’m not understanding this ‘private structure’ thing. So you can go squat on any beach, build a structure, and claim that beach as yours?)
In a small house in Japan the two boys with the soccer ball are trying to break the world record in dribbling. They have to beat the record of 24 hours. His father thinks it’s a waste of time. He and his wife speak about his lost job at the plant. He’s determined to get his old job back, while she tries to convince him that change can be good. As he leaves he hangs his head and says, “to think that he is descendant from a samurai” and the camera cuts to an empty sword rack on the wall.
Martin shows the Amelia file to Clea. It’s definitely the girl on the surveillance video but the file says she died 3 years ago. Martin knows Jake wants him to find her so he’s going to start with the autopsy. (Why not start at the Center? Clea has access to THAT?!?! And it was the last place y’all actually SAW her!)
Martin uses his amazing gift of gab to convince the coroner that he’s investigating the Amelia Roberts case and needs a copy of the autopsy report. The coroner remembers the case – the girl had died in a car accident, washed up on shore down river, the body was pretty bad so she was ID’d by dental records. As he turns to make copies for Martin, oddly parts of the report are missing – like all the photos.
Martin tries to call Amelia’s parents. He gets in touch with Frank, the father. Frank kind of flips out on Martin and hangs up. It seems the parents are divorced and it was the mother that asked that the case be reopened. Mr. Roberts believes his daughter is dead and wants to be left alone.
A news reporter is interviewing the Japanese family about the son’s record attempt. She asks some simple but painful questions regarding the father’s company and the tsunami. As they are talking the Vice President of his company pulls up.
The Blond has taken to calling the man “Ebay.” She berates him about scavenging off the loss of others. She tries to scare him into leaving a metal lobster trap by telling him it could be radioactive. She yells “You have NO shame!” And he replies “All I have is shame.”
As Clea is walking Jake back to his room, she sees Strepling escorting a group of men into the rec room. Strepling informs Clea that the situation has escalated due to the police incident. She threatens Clea to make the right decision.
Martin walks into Teller’s secret lab and interrupts Avram arguing “perfection” with a group of old Jewish men. The men nod at Martin, Avram nods yes, all of the old men leave. A problem has arisen and the problem is Martin. The 36 must never become self aware. Jake has become just that and has made Martin his instrument, something that has never happened. The old men think it’s dangerous if Jake meets Amelia, another possible “Lamed Vav” 36 Righteous people. Avram thinks the belief is antiquated and needs to evolve. He’s going to help Martin and Jake.
Ebay starts to have a nervous breakdown. He was in Japan during the tsunami. He was in a mall. He held on for 6 hours as the water rushed around him and another woman. He tried so hard to keep her occupied so she would hold on but she finally grew too tired and let go. He’s not putting the items on Ebay to sell them.. He’s putting the items online hoping that someone will claim them. He feels horrible about not being able to help the woman and then getting to return to the comfort of the US. He wants to try to make a difference. The blond probably feels like a total heel now and says she’ll help him.
Martin and Avram are searching through videos of Amelia. She’s so much like Jake – focused on her numbers book, silent. Out of nowhere she begins to speak. She tells Teller that she began her interest in weather maps after she got out of the hospital for appendicitis. Martin remembers that her appendix was listed on the autopsy report. That couldn’t have been Amelia that died. Martin almost jumps for joy then hugs Avram.
Jake is running an electric toy train. A call from Martin comes in on Clea’s phone. She ignores it. (What can she do? She’s in a room full of men and Dr. Strepling.) Jake puts a little man on the tracks in front of the train.
The Happy Pop Twins broadcast their little bits of luck for Seiji, the boy trying to break the world record for dribbling a soccer ball.
Martin gets beat on the back of the head in an alley. The guy steals the Amelia file AND the dvd with the video.
Seiji is still going. His mom takes tea out to the Vice President. The VP has informed Mr. Osugi that he is no longer needed at the company. After more than 6+ hours Seiji drops the ball… when he’s shocked that his father entered the house with his shoes on. In anger Seiji kicks the soccer ball at the samurai stand, smashing it to bits.
22:13, 22:12, the clock counts down on the blond woman’s phone. Ebay kicks a soccer ball on the beach as he sorts through more items. He asks why she keeps checking the time. She’s meeting someone. As she’s placing items in the tent she notices Mrs. Osugi on the news talking about the empty broken samurai stand. She sees that the symbol on the stand matches the symbol on the sword she was looking at earlier. She calls to Wade. His jaw drops as he sees the woman on the news. Mrs. Osugi is THE woman – the one that he tried to help during the tsunami!
Martin wakes up on a set of train tracks – and yup a train is coming! He has no place to go to get out of the way. He franticly tries every door he can find. He’s able to smash a door open just in the nick of time!
Martin meets with Abigail and tells her about the murder attempt by subway. (Why does he keep telling her stuff?!?! Martin! She WORKS for the bad guys!! Doofus!) She continues to press her point that she needs to have custody of Jake to protect him. Martin’s not falling for it. (Oh you won’t fall for THAT but you go and tell her just about everything?! Sigh)
Seiji tries to fix the samurai stand to no avail. He apologizes to his father for shaming the family. They hear cheering from outside. Mrs. Osugi and the reporter are talking to Wade on a tablet. Mrs. Osugi explains that he is the American that tried to save her life and that he has Mr. Osugi’s sword – all because of Seiji’s story on the news! Mr. Osugi bows respectfully to his son with tears in his eyes.
Wade runs out to tell the blond. 9, 8, 7, 6… she continues to look at her phone. The alarm rings. She’s supposed to meet a friend she’s been waiting a very long time to see. Her phone begins to ring. It’s Amelia’s father. The blond is Amelia’s mom! She cries, “The numbers sent me here.” “Don’t tell me you’re standing on a beach waiting for her to appear!” Lucy explains the whole craziness to Wade. This was the place, the time, the date she was supposed to be here. Lucy is a crying ball of goo now. But Wade has an idea. He gets his map. He thinks the debris field has altered her original current. She’s not in the right place. He asks if she believes she’s still alive. “Yes.” “Then don’t give up.” He’s going to help her plot a new course.
“Items that get caught in the gyre usually stay in the gyre…”
The Happy Pop Twins are trying to dribble soccer balls.
“Doomed to travel the same path forever circling in the same waters.”
The crowd is applauding Seiji.
“But not always. Their paths can be altered by a change in the weather, a storm at sea…”
The group of old men is arguing with Avram again.
“A chance encounter with a pod of whales…”
Lucy looks over a map of currents.
“Which means it’s possible to break free even after years of circling the same waters it’s possible to find a way to shore.”
Martin bursts into the center. Strepling is there to greet him with a group of policemen. The center has taken full custody of Jake by order of the court. The only way they could have done that is if Clea… oh geez, Clea sided with Strepling. It’s for Jake’s own good.
So far we’re an hour in to the 2-hour finale and there’s not been much more drama than any other episode this season. So far I really don’t feel awed like I thought I would. I hope the second hour gets a little juicier.
Part 2
Martin is looking at some old photos of him and Jake. He gets a call telling him something is going to happen today. He drops the box of photos and begins packing a bag of cloths.
“There are 31,530,000 seconds in a year… a thousand milliseconds in a second… a million microseconds… a billion nanoseconds… and a one constant connecting nanoseconds to years is change.”
Lucy puts a piece of luggage in a truck then looks over a map.
“The universe from atom to galaxy is in a perpetual state of flux but we humans don’t like change. We fight it. It scares us. So we create the illusion of stasis. We want to believe in a world at rest, the world of right now.”
Randall Meade (the fire fighter that won the lottery in the pilot) and a young boy are painting the inside of a MUCH better looking church.
“Yet our great paradox remains the same. The moment we grasp the now, that ‘now’ is gone.”
A young man walks on a dirt road in a tropical country. He’s looking for Jamar Beko.
“We cling to snapshots but life is moving pictures. Each nanosecond different than the last. Time forces us to grow, to adapt, because every time we blink our eyes the world shifts beneath our feet.”
Jake’s writing in his book – 4370. Clea is in Jakes room packing an overnight bag. Jake walks in, puts on a hoodie (good choice Jake), and grabs a blue cell phone out of the box-o-phones under his bed. Something’s out of place – Jake pops the hoodie up on his head. He’s never done this.
Martin is still packing. He pulls a huge roll of cash out of a coffee can. (Really?! Do people really keep money in coffee cans still?) Abigail arrives. He tells her they’re moving Jake 50 miles upstate. Abigail wants to call her swanky lawyers. (I guess Abigail ISN’T one of the bad guys. They have Jake. There’s no reason she’d still be pleading with him to give her custody.) Martin’s not going to wait for lawyers. He’s got other plans.
Martin goes to Arnie’s (the pawn shop owner from the pilot that Martin saves) to buy a gun. Arnie’s on the phone with someone looking for a 1917 sextant (a gorgeous piece of brass used to navigate). Arnie sells Martin the gun reluctantly and tries talk him out of this crazy plan. (Interesting that Martin doesn’t buy any bullets. Proof positive that he’s not a violent man by nature.)
The young man sits in a car reviewing some video of Jamar Beko. Jamar used to sing with his brother but doesn’t do that anymore, not since his brother died. Lucy drives by in the background. She’s leaving a message for her husband trying to get the number of the man that called asking about Amelia. (That would be Martin.)
Clea tries to say good bye to Jake. He takes a picture of the crystal dodecahedron using the pretty blue phone. (The product placement in this show is starting to tick me off.) He looks up at a bowl of popcorn. Clea thinks he’s going to write her a message like he did once before but all he does is dump the popcorn in his backpack. (Way to go Jake!) Martin walks into the center like he’s supposed to be there. Strepling calls his name.
Randall and the boy stand in a sparkly clean freshly painted rebuilt church. Gwen, the kid’s mom, walks in carrying a big box. It contains that 1917 sextant from Arnie’s. Colin ordered it off the internet; he’s a bit of a navigation buff. (I love how this show slips names in randomly in the story. You never really know who anyone is at first.) It seems Colin has taken to Randall and gone and invited him to diner without his mom’s permission. Now moms got to do the awkward “you don’t have to come if you don’t want to” but we all know the grownups really kind of like each other. (At least I hope they do. I’m a sucker for a romantic ‘Touch’ story!)
Dr. Strepling advises Martin to make his good bye brief. The look of hate Martin throws at Clea is red hot amazing. But Jakes not in the rec room! There’s another kid in Jake’s hoodie. Clea just smiles a little at Martin as Strepling freaks out.
Oh god oh god OH GOD! It’s that clown again!! Make it stop!! That things is all kinds of creepy!
Martin plays the outraged parent yelling and screaming. Strepling demands he leave immediately. Clea whispers to him as she escorts him out that she put Jake in a cab and called the doorman to make sure Jake gets into the apartment safely.
Martin gets home to find no Jake. He does, however, find the pretty blue phone. Jake has left him a clue using the picture of the crystal dodecahedron (I’m NEVER going to forget how to spell that word now) and a picture of the number 4370 in popcorn.
Jake is walking down the street and someone drops their phone. It’s playing a video of African musicians. Jake smiles briefly. The kid that dropped the phone comes back to retrieve it. Jake continues walking and looking at his book of numbers. “You see them too?” It’s the Invisible Prince! (Everyone is coming back!) Walt also has a book of numbers. (I LOVE his quirky medieval lingo!) He diverts the attention of the police officers so Jake can slip into the subway.
Lucy’s at a gas station when the young musician gets out of a very dead car. They chit chat a bit. He shows her the same African music video. He posted it an hour ago and it’s already gotten 318 hits. 318 was important to her daughter so Lucy agrees to give the guy a lift.
Colin is messing around with his sextant. He asks Randall to give him some numbers, like the ones he finds on the blueprints to the church… 87, 31, 11, 1, 9, 20 – his numbers, the numbers he used to play the lottery. He’d really like to know if there’s a place Colin’s sextant can point out using those numbers. The numbers on the blueprint form a spiral.
Martin finally catches up with Jake at Sarah’s grave – 4370, Sarah’s birthday April 3, 1970. Abigail calls and of course Martin tells her everything. (sigh)
Clea finally calls Strepling to the carpet on all the crap that’s gone down at the center – Teller’s death, Amelia, Astercorp. Strepling is quaking in her pumps.
Martin takes Jake to the only person he can trust – Avram. When he gets to the “lab” Avram has some bad news for him. Everything is gone. Well not everything everything – they left Avram’s diamonds. They look every shred of Teller’s research though. Jake begins to write the Amelia sequence again on the chalkboard.
Randall breaks it to Gwen that he’s got to leave for a while. She tries to talk him out of it, that this is all there is to life. But he’s got a debt to repay and he won’t stop until he does.
Avram has a friend that owns a bus station. Jake leaves a map of currents on the table. There will be 2 tickets to Minneapolis waiting for them.
Lucy stops to drop Zack off. He’s telling her what he’s doing. He’s traveling around the world. 50 different countries. 50 different musicians. All singing the same song. He goes to the door – 3287 but Thomas Beko isn’t there.
Jake will not get on the bus. He continues to look at the departure board until his dad finally gets it. 4370 goes to Los Angles. I guess they’re changing their bus tickets.
Zack gets a shocker. Jumar’s brother Thomas is no longer a Thomas but rather Thomasina. He/she couldn’t stay in her country because no one would understand her desition.
Randall goes to the coordinates and finds an empty lot.
Martin and Jake are busted at the bus station. A chase ensues. Martin pulls the gun. The officer… agent… Astercorp thug… (I’m not clear who these guys are working for) tries to beat Martin into submission but Martin gives him a brick to the head. Jake runs out into the street in front of an oncoming car. You’ll never guess who’s in that car! Randall! Jake gets in the car before Randall can protest. Martin fallows suit. He reminds Randall of how they met and that he is THE Martin that Randall’s been looking for. I can’t type through the tears. The story Randall tells is so sweet. He gives Martin and Jake the final minutes of Sarah’s life. She was injured. He carried her down to the 87th floor but had to put her down to rest. She told him she was ok to stay. She had had the sweetest life she could have ever chosen. He left her there. He has regretted that since 9-11. He’s relayed his message. His debt has been paid. He also gives them his car.
Martin calls Clea to let her know they’re alright. He won’t tell her where they’re going.
“Every day, every moment, every nanosecond the world changes. Electrons bump into each other and react. People collide and alter each other’s paths. Change isn’t easy. More often its wrenching and difficult and maybe that’s a good thing because it’s change that makes us strong, keeps us resilient and teaches us to evolve.”
Jake runs to the end of a pier followed by his dad. That’s as far west as they can go. A blond woman walks behind them. A map with currents flies up onto Jake. Martin and Jake finally meet Lucy. They finally meet Amelia in a way.
OMG!!!!
Jake holds Martin’s hand!!!!
31852963287952211885191160455124254522174370
And so it ends. Some of the threads have come full circle. I’m not sure how I feel about these last two episodes. I thought there would be more… but I don’t know what that more would be. I loved all of the tiny things that have happened in each episode; a look, a touch, a slight smile. I love the hint of mysticism. I love the love; between Martin and Jake, between random people like Filipe and Yarah, between Tomer and Kamilah. There were a ton of little inconsistencies and random acts of bad acting but I don’t think it ever made me cringe or want to stop watching. I hope the writers can look back on this season and fine tune the next set of threads.
Oh you still want to know about that scary as hell clown?
It’s a viral ad for Fox’s new show ‘Daybreak.’ They seem to be connecting the two shows through the big crystal dodecahedron. I didn’t watch all of the videos or unlock any secrets yet. It’s got me hooked a little though. Reminds me of Syfy’s show Alphas. Even the main character looks like Cameron Hicks (played by Warren Christie who looks remarkably a lot like Lost’s Matthew Fox). The only thing that stuck in my craw was the product placement again. It’s not only about their new show; it’s also splashed heavily with AT&T product. I get it. TV shows need ads. But I’d prefer they leave the ads in the commercials and stop making these great shows into 40 minute commercials within commercials.
What did y’all think?
Did you miss an episode? Check out our recap of ‘Touch: ‘Tessellations‘.
