Pandora (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - I Shall Be Released - full transcript

Pandora...

I just lost the two most
important people in my life.

I'm not looking to care
about anyone else.

I'm sorry things didn't work out
with your girlfriend, Tom.

You can do better.

I didn't expect this
to happen so fast.

What are we doing?

For years, I lived as a slave
among the Adari.

How can we enslave
those who have no souls?

Get in the escape pod. I'm going
back to engage the dorsal thrusters.

- You'll die.
- Are you saying that she's...



not human?

- I have to try.
- I know.

Jax.

You need to let me go.

Jax!

Been looking for you.

Jax, can we... Can we talk?

Seriously?

What do you want, Xander?

We have a training mission.

- I want nothing to do with it.
- It's a test, Jax,

- to qualify for Command Track.
- I requested assignment

to the Exploratory Corps
Science Division.

I didn't apply
for Command Training.



I know you didn't,
but I see it in you.

- You have what it takes.
- I'm not interested...

A good captain
can be the difference

between life and death
for those under their command.

It's a responsibility
that very few can handle.

But maybe we were
wrong about you.

I'll see you tomorrow
at 0500 hours.

Or not.

It's your choice, Jax!

So, do you think she'll show?

You would know better than me.

I'm pretty sure she's not even
interested in Command Track.

I don't think she knows
what she wants.

Avar Sumitov,
reporting for duty.

Magda Coy.

Science and Medical Division.

Greetings, I'm...

Ralen the Zatarian.
I know.

I saw you at open mic night
at the Black Hole.

I liked what you said.

Are you going to be the first
Zatarian captain in EarthCom?

You can call me Pilar.

Or future captain,
if that's easier.

Jax Zhou.
Future captain's roommate.

Command Track, huh?

Keeping my options open?

You dated Greg Li, right?

You knew him?

We dated freshman year.

Great guy.
Killer abs.

I was shocked to hear
he dropped out of the Academy.

Me too.

Cadets!

Each of you has the potential
for Command Track.

But it takes more than potential

to get a special recommendation
from me to Chancellor Melvoin.

To that end, today's mission
will be something of a pop quiz

that you will be tested on
your piloting ability,

as well as overcoming
unexpected obstacles.

You will also be graded on
how well you can work as a team.

You get me?

We get you, sir.

Good.

Oh, man!

Oh, that was, like, so amazing.

Way better than the VR sex
I was having with my ex.

Oh, I should have broken up
with her eons ago.

I'd cut her some slack.

VR sex can never be as good
as the real thing.

Yeah.

Physically, that was amazing.

Mind blowing, actually.

Physically? I don't know.

I feel like there
was something...

more going on, you know?

Like a real connection.

Well, we did connect.
Several times, actually.

Not the connection
I was talking about.

But...

I don't know, just different.

Does sex ever feel different
for you?

Well, yeah.
Of course.

I've had sex in all sorts
of different positions.

You know, it feels
different every time.

Okay, no, that's...

That's not what I meant.

I mean...
I mean, yeah,

sex in different positions,
that's great. But...

what I mean is connecting
with a sexual partner,

but in an emotional way,

where it was truly
something special.

Have you ever experienced that?

Honestly, no.

I mean, I do have emotions,
of course,

but sex has always been just,
well, sex.

Oh, Atria, Atria, sex can...
Sex should be, so much..

So much more than that.

Then help me.

Tell me what "so much more"
feels like.

It's just...

more.

I don't know.
It's just...

Just more, I don't know.

Must be a really
important feeling

if that's all you can say
about it.

It is.

The most important feelings
are the hardest to describe.

You feel it in more
than just your body.

You feel it in your...
in your...

Soul?

Remember, I was raised
believing I didn't have a soul.

And really, how does anyone
even really know they have one?

You just feel it.
And I feel...

I feel our souls connecting.

Okay, okay.

I think I know
what we should do.

We should go on a date.

Atria...

will you go
on a real date with me?

How is that different from what
we're doing right now?

Oh, it's just...

It's just different.
It's special. It might...

It might help you feel
what I'm talking about.

If it's important to you,

let's do it.

- Really?
- Uh-huh.

Okay, well, it's a date.

Yes, it is a date.

Whatever that means.

Sometimes your navigation
goes down.

And as a commander,
you're forced to take the helm.

Cadet Coy, final year
at the Academy,

hoping for a command posting
in the Science Division.

Yes, fingers firmly crossed,
sir.

As you know,
the electromagnetic radiation

from this nebula is going to
play havoc with the navigation,

so we're going to need you
to fly us safely

through the nebula without
the use of your instrumentation.

Copy that, sir.

What'd I do?
I didn't touch anything.

Help! Please!

We're 12 sectors
out of Gamma Hydra.

Section 11.

We're dying here.

Please.

This is part of our training
mission too, right, sir?

- Please, anyone...
- The realism and inflection

of the voice is most impressive.

This is EarthCom training vessel
responding.

What is the nature
of your emergency?

I think this is the real deal,
guys.

I repeat, this is EarthCom
Earhart.

What is the nature
of your emergency?

Hello?

Hello? Do you read me?

There are no other EarthCom
ships in the sector,

Commander Duvall, just yours.

Sir, my cadets are not
prepared or equipped

to give emergency assistance
or exfil.

We just received intel

that another ship is within
ten hours

from the source
of the transmission.

Ten hours?

With respect, that might be
ten hours too late.

You and your team
will stand down

and resume your original
training mission.

Commodore Saninski out.

Copy that.

Out.

Jax?

So now we just
sit around and hope

that whoever was on the other
side of that distress call

can make it another ten hours.

We have to do something, Xander.

We can't do something.

And while we're on a mission,

it's Commander Duvall,
Cadet Zhou.

An EarthCom ship could have made
a huge difference

if it were in the vicinity
of New Portland when attacked.

My parents and everyone else
on that colony

might still be alive.

And I would be
devastated to know

there was a ship
close enough to help.

A ship that was just told
to do nothing.

Only recon.

Nothing more.

Simple recon.
Nothing more, Commander.

Commander, there's no record

of any Earth outpost
in this sector,

but I am detecting life signs
on the planet.

Bring us down, Cadet Coy.

Once we achieve seal,

Cadets Zhou, Coy, Ralen,
and Avar,

you're with me on the surface.

Pilar, stay with the ship
and monitor comms and vitals.

Emergency lights.

They're running
on auxiliary power.

Jax.

What?

Simple recon.
I know.

This is Commander Duvall
of EarthCom,

responding to your
distress call.

Can you hear me?

What is that?

We need to get back
to the ship. Now.

We can't just leave.

We can't just stay either, Jax.

You're not trained for this.

Isn't training
meant to prepare us

to risk our lives
to help others?

Like Greg did.

Yeah, but not
to throw them away.

That is the job
of any good commander,

and right now, I am the only
commander here.

My responsibility
is the safety and life

of everyone under my command,
and that includes you, Jax.

People are in trouble, Xander.

We have to do
everything we can to help.

Avar!

Guys! Come on!

Aah! Help me!

Come on!

Help me!

We need to fall back.
Right now.

This way.

Hurry, follow me

before they finish him
and get you.

- Let's go.
- Go, go.

Go, go!

What the hell is going on here?

Look, I'm trying to save you
so you can save us.

The distress call.
That was you?

What are those things?

Those "things"...are us.

Okay, we should be safe in here.

Okay, I need one of you
to tell me right now

why that distress call was sent,

why I just lost
one of my cadets...

Wait, wait, you guys are cadets?

Even the Zatarian?

You got a problem with that?

This is a research facility.

Strictly built
for special projects.

Special, as in off the grid.

Forging bacteria strains?

At a level you wouldn't
understand.

What does any of this have to do

with what we were
just attacked by?

Some experiments fail.

Some failures are catastrophic.

What is really going on here?

We've all been infected.

Dr. Palmer got hit
before any of us,

so we've been watching him,
trying to better understand.

The strain incites a series
of alarming mutations.

It suppresses
the higher brain function

and stimulates
the more primal one.

How long did this
metamorphosis take?

The length of the cycle
is unpredictable.

Whereas the stages
remain consistent.

In just a few hours,
a once brilliant mind

has been reduced to one
singular, horrific drive.

To eat.

Eat what?

Whoever they get first.

♪ Tell me all your thoughts
On God ♪

The best thing about the 1990s?

- Mm-hmm.
- Boy bands, Dunkaroos,

Doc Martens, grunge.

Kind of everything, really.

I'd never driven a car before.

I love it.

I've been on ground transports,
but that was awesome.

How does it work?

Old-fashioned combustion engine.

Ran on fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels?

Rotting plants
and dead dinosaurs.

Ew.

Is this what Earth
used to be like?

This was way before
the Great Migration started,

and from what I've read,
Earth was getting crowded.

We would never have had
the road to ourselves.

I can only imagine how Pilar
would have lived back then.

Like, the Internet
had just begun.

No datastream.

And if you wanted
to know something,

you'd have to go to a library
and look it up in a book.

- That would take forever.
- Right.

And, and, and the traditional
way to greet a friend was...

"Wassup?"

You know, I've never been
on a date before.

As a slave on Adar,

I was created
to only serve my masters.

I'm so sorry you had to live
like that.

Yes and no.

I wouldn't exist at all
if it weren't for the Adari.

Well, I hope our date is living
up to your expectations.

Thank you.

Mm, this is fun.

But I'm still not sure
what it has to do with us

having a sexual relationship.

Okay...

there is more to a relationship
than just sex.

It's about enjoying everything
about each other

and feeling our souls
connecting.

You feel it too, don't you?

I'm honestly not sure.

Hey. Wait, wait,
where are you going?

Emergency evac.

These are cadets, trainees,

and you've invited them into
a hotbed of virulent infection.

- Commander Duvall...
- We are not taking them with us.

We are sending a properly
equipped medivac team.

Tell them.

Go on, tell them it's too late.

Too late for what?

You can't leave.

The infection is airborne.

Ever since you arrived,
you've been infected.

In just a few hours' time,
we'll all be like him.

Commander Duvall, I'm sorry.

You're also positive
for infection.

Pilar?

We're under full quarantine.

Under no circumstances
should you break seal,

no matter what happens in here.

If things get ugly...

then you retreat to Earth.

I will not leave you all behind.

That's an order, Pilar.

In two hours, there might not
be anyone left to leave behind.

Duvall out.

Jax, you're next to get tested.

This is all a waste of time.

We already know the results.

Is there any way
to synthesize an antidote

to reverse the infection?

Well, yeah, that's what
I've been trying to do.

I just need to get to my lab
so I can continue my work.

There is no cure.

Guys, I found something.

Ralen's sample is negative.

No infection detected.

They know something.

What are you not telling us?

I am not infected
because I am Zatarian?

Is that it?

Yes. Yeah.

It's... It's your Zatarian blood.

Its makeup differs
from that of humans.

So it responds to certain
strains, bacterias,

in very different ways.

It's true.

Different species respond
differently to pathogens.

Look, if you survive,

the less you know, the better.

Pilar, I need you
to get on the datastream

and find out everything you can
about this outpost.

The entire research outpost
is off the grid.

It's completely severed
from the datastream.

It's like it doesn't even exist.

Pilar, what if I were able
to network you

over a local node onsite.

Could you hack the mainframe's
encryption protocols?

You already know the answer.

It's a private stream.
Government-level encryption.

Top-level security.
You'll never...

Clearly, you've never met Pilar,
doctor.

No. Jax.

I'll go.

I'm in command.

It's my responsibility.

In your condition,
you'll never make it.

It's not your responsibility
to get yourself killed...

Commander.

I will go with her.

Fine.

But watch your backs.

Watch your fronts.

You can't hack the mainframe
if you're dead.

Atria?

Thomas.

What the hell are you doing?

What do you mean?

I thought we were dating.

What are you doing
with that guy?

Oh, Thomas,

he's got nothing to do with you.

I'd really like to date again.

Oh.

Okay, Atria, whoa.

This is not how I roll.

I want to be in a relationship
with you, one-on-one.

Thomas, please.

I do care about your feelings,
but just try to understand.

Soul connection or not,

sex for me is just
a biological function.

A pleasurable one
that I've enjoyed

fulfilling with men, women,
and many other alien species.

Not counting my time on Adar,

sex has almost always been
just an enjoyable function.

And with you, it's been
a really enjoyable one.

Oh, yeah, just what every man
wants to be.

An enjoyable function.

You know,

my dad can read minds.

But me, I read emotions.

And I know what you're feeling.

More importantly,
what you're not feeling.

I get it.

I thought I could change you,
but...

I guess not.

Keep going.
You're only a few meters away

- from the mainframe vault.
- Pilar, we're in.

I've activated a local
network hub.

Can you access a local node now?

Attempting to establish
a connection.

They weren't kidding, Jax.

This is some major league
encryption.

This is no ordinary
research outpost.

Can you break it?

- It's not working.
- It has to work, Pilar.

Xander doesn't have
much time left.

I know. I'm trying, okay?

Pilar, can you hear me?

Pilar, can you hear me?
Answer me.

Pilar, are you all right?
Do you copy?

Pilar!

I've run the simulation
ten times.

Everything tells me the antidote
should work, but it's not.

There's something
they're not telling us, sir.

Pilar, can you hear me?
Answer me.

Pilar.

It's okay, Jax.
I'm all right.

Unfortunately, you're not.

What is it?

This isn't an EarthCom
research outpost.

It's a classified
biochemical weapons facility

owned by Parallax Galactic.

What kind of weapons?

Jax...

you need to see this.

Oh, my God, Ralen.

They're all...

Zatarian.

Yes.

Oh, Thomas. Hi.

Hey.

Do you...

do you want to maybe
get together and study tonight?

Maybe we can work on
our stellar cartography homework

and watch the stars together.

Yeah, I finished that
last night.

Oh. That's cool.

Maybe we can
get together anyway.

No, I have other plans tonight.

Thomas, I...

Look, I want to be with you
and only you.

It's not crazy
to expect the same thing.

But you're just not
capable of that, so...

Look, I... I have to go. Sorry.

Thomas, wait...

Please.

How could you experiment
on the Zatarians?

You're supposed to be doctors.

You swore an oath to do no harm.

They were already dead
when we got them.

What were you doing with them?

Don't tell them.

Answer her question.

You're under orders.

It's classified.

Wipe out the Zatarians.

That was the objective.

One, aggressive,
lethal infection

that humans wouldn't
be susceptible to,

and that also would not appear
to not be responsible for.

The irony is,

Zatarian biology is similar
to humans,

but strangely responded
differently to our pathogens.

Our attempts had
the opposite results.

Now, the only ones in danger
of being wiped out are humans.

I should kill you
where you stand

for what you tried to do
to my people.

Stand down, Ralen.

Did Pilar manage to penetrate
the mainframe network?

Yes.

We have a bigger,
more immediate problem.

This entire facility
is owned by Parallax.

They have a ship en route here
as we speak.

Well, that's no rescue ship.

That's a cleanup ship.

They'll recover whatever
research they want to keep,

and then they'll incinerate
this entire outpost from orbit.

Including us.

If the infection
doesn't get us first...

that Parallax ship will.

You said Zatarian biology

was unaffected
by the pathogen, right?

More than being unaffected,

Ralen's blood cells seem to be
outright killing the infection.

I think what you've been missing
this whole time

is a living,
breathing Zatarian sample.

It appears the only good
Zatarian

is not always
a dead Zatarian after all.

It's possible the antibodies
in Zatarian blood may be

what we need to potentially
reverse the infection.

You set out to end all
Zatarians,

and now only a Zatarian can
save you from ending yourself.

Who says the universe doesn't
have a perverse sense of humor?

I still need
to get to the main lab,

and then maybe we can
synthesize a cure.

I did not say
I would give my blood.

You wished to commit genocide
against my entire race.

And now you expect me
to save you.

Xander...

you need to order him
to give his blood.

Otherwise, we all die here.

Then we all die.

It's his choice.

I can't make it for him.

I think I found something,
Commander.

I just ran
the infection test again,

and I can't explain it.

I thought it was a mistake
at first,

but Jax's sample
is also negative.

No infection detected.

There's no sign of anything.

No... no infection.

She's in perfect health.

How is that even possible?

If we had longer, I could study
the bloods further.

But for now we can just say
it's a miracle.

Call it whatever you want.

We don't have time
to worry about this.

A Parallax ship is en route
to vaporize this place.

Your blood, your call, Ralen.

We're with the commander.

We support whatever
you decide to do.

I will assist you...

because you are my friends.

And it's what any honorable
commander would do.

But I do not have to like it.

Jax...

Jax...

neither you nor Ralen
are infected.

You don't have to do this.

Just be here when we get back.

Is that an order, cadet?

You bet your ass it is.

I don't have much time left
myself.

I need your scientists
to come with us

and help me in the lab.

On it, sir.

You need to go. Now!

Okay, just a bit further
to the lab, up the stairs.

Okay, let's go.
Let's go.

Let's run!

Here. In here.

Let's go, let's go.

We got to go! Come on! Go!

We have to stop firing on them.

If we synthesize an antidote,
we could save them too.

We could have cured him.

I consider him cured.

Go. Go. Run.

Okay, Ralen.

- How long will this take?
- Well, once we get started,

the Fractionator will need
60 seconds

to complete a full synthesis.

Pilar, talk to me.

You find anything?

Yes.

A self-destruct protocol.

Built into the facility
for an emergency cover-up.

Yeah, and we can destroy it all

before Parallax get their hands
on anything.

Pilar...

as soon as that Parallax ship
is in the system,

initiate self-destruct...

whether the rest of us
are out or not.

That thing have a volume switch?

Unfortunately not.

Oh, my God.

No, you've got to wait.

They're coming! Aah!

You got to hold them off!

It's almost done.

Okay, stop.

Watch out!

Ralen.

The cure...

it's gone!

Not all of it.

Cadet Coy?

Jax?

Where's Cadet Coy?

In case there are any immediate
adverse affects,

I need to go first.

And then Dr. Norris.

If anything happens...

don't hesitate...

to put me down.

Cheers.

How long does it take to work?

How do we even know
if it's working?

It's working.

It's working.

Pilar...

fire up those engines.

We're getting the hell
out of Dodge.

Now it's your turn,
Dr. Norris?

I don't think so.

I only managed to save
enough antidote for one person.

Who knows?

Maybe there's a modicum
of forgiveness

waiting for me
on the other side.

Perhaps there is.

I thought you would be
more upset.

There's no profit in peace.

We always need an enemy.

And the Zatarians
play their role all too well.

Nonetheless, the Adari
will be disappointed

that their little science
project

to annihilate the Zatarians
failed.

I assume you want to tell
the Seeker yourself?

That zealot
is of no concern to me.

If Captain Jaworski's intel
about Tiaga proves accurate,

then every government
in the civilized worlds

will be beholden to us...

Hmm.

Or risk annihilation.

So how was the little
training mission?

We are forbidden to speak of it.

Hmm. Classified. Top secret.
Very hush-hush, huh?

Something like that.
Yeah.

What else is new?

So, what's up
with you and Atria?

Also classified.

I'm sorry, Wendall,

but we are not having
intercourse anymore.

"Wassup?"

Aww.

Excuse me.

Drinking alone?

Yeah.

The military man in me
knows that casualties

are a part of the job.

- It...
- It sucks.

I know.

I've been working alone
for a really long time,

and working with a team is...
Is different.

You start to feel
incredibly responsible

for the people
under your command.

You start to care
for them, and so...

To Magda and Avar.

Magda and Avar.

And Greg.

And Greg.

You know, you're a leader, Jax.

You inspire people around you.

Your friends over there,

they would follow you
until the ends of the galaxy.

I mean, they've only known you
a short while,

and yet you can bet
they would give...

any sacrifice necessary for you.

Greg certainly did.

Don't.

You need to be
on Command Track, Jax.

And believe me when I say

that you have no idea
what's in store for you.

Why didn't I get infected?

I wish I knew.

Have a good night, Jax.