Final reunions - and final partings.[2]
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Description[]
The Final Disciple To Leave[]
Cull leads Carpenter into the Grand Aquifer. The Aquifer is flooding and its disciples have fled. Carpenter is in a lot of pain. We can hear Faulkner distantly. Cull tells Carpenter to descend into the Dreaming Chamber, prompting Carpenter to ask if she’s not coming down with her. Carpenter gets Cull to uncuff her, before she turns and flees the Aquifer.
This Was When The Waters Parted...[]
Carpenter enters the Dreaming Chamber. Faulkner holds court to the empty room. He is bordering on hysterical, and trapped in his delusions. He asks Katabasian Rane, Sister Thurrocks and his Father their opinions. He is asking the question - two faces, two minds or two faces, one mind? Carpenter answers that in the seminary they taught that it’s two minds and four stomach compartments, making the Trawler-man a cow. Faulkner turns around at her response, but does not seem to recognise her.
He tells her that his people seem to keep on leaving without saying goodbye. He says he’s accustomed to sudden departure - that his father left him when he was young, and his brothers did as well. That his sister left but it was nobody’s fault. He says they’re leaving to serve a cause he doesn’t understand. Carpenter asks him if he recognises her. He does. He can’t not recognise her. He views her as Carpenter’s ghost, which she accepts. He asks if he’s being punished. Carpenter tells him that it looks that way. Faulkner babbles about punishment in the Garden Below. He wonders if he’s being punished, why is he smiling about the fact Carpenter has been sent back to him? She says that she shouldn’t be smiling either. He tries to tell her that he didn’t want them to use the Wither Mark in Glottage, that he wanted to be rid of the prophet. That his followers wouldn’t let him. They invented a version of him and forced him to become that. Carpenter asks if they’re to blame. He says that he’s to blame, but he’s still trying to run from it. He says that his choices might have been necessary. He tries to get her to agree with him and his rejection of the legalisation of the faith. He asks what he’s done that’s so wrong, in comparison to the Legislatures and the legalised faiths. He says that interpreted from the right angle, this won’t be seen as a tragedy. Carpenter bites back that she thought he didn’t want to be a great man anymore. Faulkner is increasingly paranoid, he’s convinced his people are still here. Carpenter grabs him and tries to tell him that nobody is here. He continues frantically babbling for a moment.
Faulkner turns to the water and admits a desire to leave and start a life down by the water, He says he could bear that weight. Carpenter confronts him, she asks if he can bear the weight of what he did to her. Faulkner hollowly lists his crimes against her. He lists all the people he killed - Sister Thurrocks, Sibling Rane, Katabasian Mason, Katabasian Greve, High Katabasian Roemont, and so many people in Glottage. Carpenter tells him that there will be a reckoning for what he’s done. He says that he will surrender and accept any punishment given to him. That he won’t let himself become a martyr, that he’ll make everything better. Carpenter says that she doesn’t know if he can.
Carpenter feels the pain of her injuries and sits down on the edge of the dreaming pool. Faulkner rushes to her side. She says she crashed her ride, which Faulkner takes to mean a car. He asks if she told them she was in pain, she says she didn’t and that she wanted to see him. He begins to babble again, that he’ll stay by her bedside and pray for her recovery. Carpenter tells him to stop, and asks him to just sit with her. He does so.
Carpenter calmly talks about their faith to keep Faulkner calm. She says everyone in the Silt Verses who matters dies with great elan, that every important person gets their moment. She says she liked that part of the Verses. She tells a story about how Em wanted to play at being a prophet, growing up. Carpenter would play his messenger until the game came to its conclusion. She was never allowed to play the prophet. But it can still feel like a blessing to be the messenger, to be so close to power but not aching to be rid of it. That Em was just as trapped in the game as she was, as he waited for her to finish the game he started. Carpenter muses that she’d like to tell Paige that story if she gets to see her again. It’s a little like an apology - an explanation of yourself. Faulkner is awoken somewhat by this. Carpenter tells him that Paige is a prophet now, too and hat Carpenter was trying to get back to her when she was found by Cull. Faulkner asks her what she’s a prophet of. Carpenter says she’s a prophet of her people, that the god doesn’t matter; it's just her way of telling her story. She mutters that Paige did a lot better with the role than Faulkner has. Faulkner worriedly tells her that it won’t end well. Carpenter said it never does, and never can. She muses that it might end better if the two of them are there to see it. She says that she can’t promise anything, that they’ll hate him for what he’s done because Paige’s people have been blamed for it. She says she’ll speak for him, if he comes with her. That even at the end of the world, she would speak for him. In spite of everything he’s done. He asks her why, and she says that he matters to her even if she’d be happier if they weren’t. Neither of them are getting out intact. They owe each other. Faulkner tries to understand it.
And he rejects her offer. He is too entrapped in his delusion to see the truth. He cannot accept wrongdoing. He describes Paige the way he appears. He says that she will demonstrate herself as the great prophet Carpenter could believe in, despite never believing in him. He continues to rage at the end that lies before him. He asks Carpenter if it’s the best she can offer him. She states that it’d be a better ending than this. He says that this isn’t how it ends. He has suffered and so there will be a great change. Carpenter believes that there is no meaning to it. He rages at her, saying that she never apologised for her disbelief in him. He says he hates her, because he knows her better than anyone else. Carpenter tells him that she hates him too. That she loves him, in spite of everything. That’s what it means to have a sibling. He staggers away angrily. He tells her that she is not his sister. Carpenter refuses to be his allegory.
Carpenter makes her final offering to him. She tells him to follow the river, and that she’ll leave a pile of rocks so that he knows where to turn and walk east. She gives up and turns to leave. Faulkner says that he is being tested, that the Trawler-man wants to see if he is able to let her go. She asks if he is. Faulkner doesn’t move towards her. She says goodbye to him. As she leaves, Faulkner continues with his story.
This One's For Me[]
Paige enters the radio room of the Grace. A radio broadcast is playing, and she turns it off after sitting down. She talks about how much they’re leaving behind. There’s comfort and beauty and love in all of it. They dug three graves for their friends who went on their pilgrimage and never returned. Paige hopes no one ever finds them. In her living room she scrawled a message in chalk in the living room - “Dennis Duplass helped.” She mourns for her father, Hayward and Carpenter. She wishes she wasn’t leaving them behind. Elgin enters, and Paige pretends to be examining one of the books they’re leaving. Elgin says the first draft is all about passion, the second about compromise. Elgin tells her that she likes the first draft best. Elgin’s already created a baggage train and set a watch. The government is on the highway. Paige is annoyed that she wasn’t told - but Elgin tells her she wanted her to have a moment of peace. She also wanted her to know that they waited for him for as long as they could. Paige asks if she does anything for herself, and Elgin says that all of this has been for herself. Elgin and Paige hug, before they leave together.
Hayward is racing back to the Grace. We hear the Border PA as he passes.
Paige and her followers are heading west into the hills. They wear radiation suits and masks. She looks back at the Grace, tiny behind them. They can see the Legislatures’ forces gathering. She knows they’ll be gone where they can’t follow soon enough.
Hayward pulls into the Grace, frantically yelling out to his people before realising that they’ve already left. He is relieved by this. He enters the radio room and attempts to speak to Paige.
Out in the hills, Paige hears his voice. Paige is horrified. She tells him to hide and that she’ll make her way back to him when it’s safe. She promises to come back. Hayward tells her not to. He says he just wanted to say goodbye. She babbles, furious at herself. She says she left too early, and Hayward corrects her. She didn’t leave too early and he didn’t get there too late. He gets to see her walk away. He says it’s the best feeling in the world. Paige sobs, and says she can’t leave him. He asks her if she figured out what the opposite of a sacrifice is. He tells her it’s a groaner. It’s a gift. A gift given with no conditions. He says his time with her was a gift, that hearing her voice again is another gift. That seeing her walk away is the greatest gift in the world. He asks her to keep walking until she’s lost to him, and not look back. Elgin calls to Paige saying they need to go. Her people refuse to leave without her. Hayward tells her she has to go. He begs her to let him have his gift. Paige tells him that he was a gift to her. She won’t forget him. She doesn’t want to say goodbye. He will dream of her walking on to somewhere better. The radio cuts out. Paige calls out to him.
The Legislatures’ forces see them heading west. Hayward hears the helicopters and formulates a plan.
Val listens to the helicopter pilots over the radio. We can hear gas leaking in the background. She calls the Glottage Meteorological Society and tells them that the winds are changing, blowing from west to east.
In the Grace, Hayward rages to try and get the helicopter’s attention. He tells them to shoot him, and they shoot at him but miss. He’s frustrated and breaking down. The wind rises.
Val collapses. She speaks her final lie: that she remembered who she was. She strikes a match, and Carson’s house explodes.
Hayward laughs as he realises what is happening. He didn’t anticipate this. He collapses, saying he’ll wait for Carpenter here. That he’ll tell her how it all went down. That Paige got away from them. He thinks she’ll laugh when she hears it. He calls out, saying that the Woundtree had their chance and didn’t come through, that the Cairn Maiden can try and take him. He tries to remember Carpenter’s prayer. He finally says that any other god can try and claim him. He wants something to turn him into a shape that will make him laugh. In return he receives silence. He finally says that he never cared much for any of them, that they didn’t make his life easier. He dies with satisfaction at the knowledge that his death isn’t for anyone else. It’s for him.
Out in the Polluted Lands, they struggle through the god-winds. Elgin calls out to her people. She gasps in awe and shock at the openness ahead of them. Paige tells them to continue. The Maiden had predicted this.
...And At Last He Understood[]
The Aquifer is flooding with water. Faulkner is continuing to rant and babble. He comes up with a new story, a new way of spinning the tale. As he does so, he finally comes to the realisation of what he has just done. He dips his hand into the water of the dreaming pool and attempts to speak to his god. He reminisces about seeing his god, about his pilgrimage with Carpenter and Paige. When he tries to remember it, he only comes up with his own reflection. He doesn’t know if there was ever a face at all. He wonders what was truly behind that smile, back then. The only holy comfort and grace that he received was from Carpenter. His consolation is that he will be remembered as the faith’s enemy: the person who split the faith and drowned a city. He will not be the Parish’s pet. He gives his first and last prophecy: that the Trawler-man will die alone and full of terror. He finds comfort in this.
Fauylkner turns to think about himself. Does it really end like this? He wonders if it’s really a bad thing to be nothing, to be humbled, but keep living. He realises that it’s not too late. He can still change. He yells for Carpenter and runs out into the corridor.
The river rises and fills the Aquifer. He begins to wade through the water, calling to Carpenter and believing that he can see her. He says he knew she’d wait. He says he loves her and that he’s leaving them behind and that he can bear the weight with pride. He chooses her, not him. He begins to drown in the water. He calls out for his sister to help him. He calls out Marco and receives no response. He pleads with the Trawler-man to let him go. The last thing he does is call out to a sister who cannot hear him.
Dead, And Not Dead Yet[]
Carpenter walks in immense pain by the White Gull. It’s hard for her to remember when it was easy. Her side, leg and head hurt. She remembers her promise to Hayward, but she knows they can do without her. As long as Paige and Hayward have each other, they can go a long way without her. She sees no sense in rushing. If she makes it back, she makes it back. If she doesn’t, she’ll dream of them walking on without her. The river seems angry, or maybe it’s just what rivers do sometimes. She meets the dying gods, and ignores them. She comes to a waterfall, and begins building her cairn of pebbles as a sign for Faulkner. She is exhausted, and she decides to wait for him.
Faulkner arrives at dusk. The Trawler-man’s final offering for her, a final trick. She wades into the water and hauls him out before the falls. Once she has completed her task, Carpenter screams in grief and anguish. And she cries. Faulkner is a drowned man. He could be any one of the river’s victims - a face from her childhood, or his. He has been caught forever in his very worst moment. Carpenter does the best she can to make it better. She brushes out his blond hairs and washes the silt from his face, before closing his eyes. She frees him from the robes and the crown of kelp. She doesn’t pray over him because the Cairn Maiden’s prayers don’t belong to him. The silence between the words, that belongs to the two of them. No matter how things go, it can end with love. Carpenter provides bountiful amounts of love and care and kindness. She doesn’t know what to do with him - whether he would want to be buried on land or in the water. She decides to return him to the river, so that he has a chance of his final wish to come true - no matter what that is. And then he leaves Carpenter behind. She watches him become lost to her. And she continues watching, for a while.
Carpenter climbs back up onto the cliffside. The stone cairn has toppled over due to the god-winds. She notices the Peninsula’s past coming down out of the hills. She stares over the new sky and current, at the war torn landscape, and she sees a willow tree. She speaks to the Cairn Maiden, saying it's not the place she would have chosen but it’s still beautiful.
Except, Carpenter is still alive. She gets up, unamused and exhausted. She’ll be back, and she asks not to wait too long. She plans to catch up to Hayward and Paige, get that haircut, maybe find some cats to take care of. As she walks on, she remembers her Nana Glass’ song. She can’t quite remember the ending and laughs, tired and broken.
And then a single gunshot rings out. Carpenter gasps and staggers, running into the river and diving into the water as another shot is fired. It is unclear if either shot hits her. Tainsley runs over to the riverbank. He has fulfilled his prophecy. It doesn’t make him feel fulfilled. His Sergeant comes over, spinning a story of what happened here. Carpenter’s body doesn’t come up. His Sergeant tells him that there are sure kills, and then there are sure enough. This doesn’t satisfy, which can always be changed. They leave.
The White Gull continues, slow and steady. We might hear a swimmer below its surface.
These Were The Silt Verses[]
A montage, reminiscent of the Chapter 30 opening, plays out. The woods downriver. An elk pursued by dogs. A busy highway, where an enlistment ad still plays. Faulkner’s triumphal speech to his people playing over the speakers in the Grand Aquifer. The edge of the Polluted Lands with the Border PA. The Grace and its wind chimes.
Then we are in the radio tower at the Grace. The radio turns on, and we hear Paige’s final broadcast. She hopes that this is not how it ends, but it is the last we’ll see of them. They look absurd and hopeless, and soon they’ll be lost to us. Paige walks at the very back, because there is a god that hungers inside her. She will become a saint, one day, and it will hurt. They walk on, with hope and love. She hopes we find a way to follow them. The radio cuts out.
Trivia[]
- Faulkner is blond.
- The missing word that Carpenter can't remember is "seed".
- Carpenter and Hayward are clear parallels in this episode, watching those they love become lost to them.