DISCLAIMER: This recap of Beacon 23 Season 1 Episode 7, “End Transmission,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
We’ve reached penultimate episode territory on Beacon 23, and sh*t has hit the fan. “End Transmission” brings the narrative to new heights as intruders hijack the beacon, demanding access to The Artifact. Bart’s story comes to a close, and surprisingly, his demise is poignant and heartfelt. I’ve been a vocal critic of this series’ flaws from the get-go, but it is improving significantly. We’re heading in the right direction now.
The various story threads finally feel like they’re coming together as the episode ends on quite the cliffhanger. Thankfully, there’s one more outing to add a button to this freshman season.
Ready to delve into “End Transmission”? Let’s get to it.
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Memory Erased
We open with Bart (Wade Bogert-O’Brien), greeting Solomon (Stephen Root) as the latter arrives at Beacon 23. Solomon is rude to Bart, who’s merely excited to have another human as a companion after years of solitude. This is clearly after Aster’s family and Keir, the man from The Column who tried to blow up the beacon. Solomon mentions Aster’s family and how her father was caught a few years back. Thankfully, Aster and her mom weren’t with him. Solomon’s well-aware of Bart’s proclivities for appealing to humanity. After all, he aided Aster and her family’s unsanctioned departure.
So, Solomon decides to delete Bart’s files, erasing the AI’s memories of everyone who resided in the beacon, from Dr. Avalon to Sophie to Aster to Keir. He’s a blank slate. This would explain why Bart didn’t immediately recognize Aster as Parsim when she arrived.
Keeping Watch
Next, we see Aster (Lena Headey) and Halan (Stephan James) taking turns watching The Artifact as it swirls outside the beacon. They take notes and chart its appearances. Then, Harmony (Natasha Mumba) reveals that Halan’s ship, the Amboyna, is heading toward them. However, Harmony doesn’t detect any lifeforms aboard it, much to Bart’s dismay. Bart inexplicably goes hard for Solomon. Admittedly, it feels like an abuse victim championing their abuser for fear of repercussions.
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Aster stands in the GWB, where she spots Parsim (Matilda Legault), her younger self. Suddenly, Aster is flooded with memories of her childhood on Beacon 23. She remembers it all. Halan finds Aster rummaging through her family’s belongings, which Bart kept. Aster reveals to Halan that she was born on the beacon. It’s all connected. Halan chats with Harmony about Aster’s revelation. Harmony finds it all improbable. Halan, on the other hand, is more apt to believe her.
Visitors
Later, Harmony and Halan learn that another vessel, an outdated one, is barreling toward them. It came out of Vega. Bart informs them that The Column, the organization Keir’s part of, is highly active in Vega. The ship sends a transmission, claiming its occupants must speak with Parsim. Then, we hear Keir’s voice (Marc Menchaca) as he calls out to Aster. Harmony’s instinct is to bar the ship from docking, but Aster invites their visitors in. She finds Keir in the docking bay. He’s fresh off his 10-year prison sentence, thanks to Bart. Naturally, Halan is on the defense. He gives Keir a pat down while the latter surreptitiously plants a small metal device on the side of a wall.
Then, Keir gives Aster and Halan beer, which Bart introduced him to a decade ago. Of course, Bart doesn’t remember Keir and their frank conversation. He also doesn’t recall Aster living in the beacon, even though Aster claims they were friends when she was a child.
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Keir is there for The Artifact. While he chats them up, we see his companions, Saldana (Jess Salgueiro) and Finch (Daniel Malik), secretly board the beacon thanks to the device Keir planted. This opened the airlock, allowing them to enter. They start searching for, well, something. Meanwhile, Bart learns that someone intentionally deleted his files, and it was his idol, Solomon.
Escalating the Action
Next, Saldana and Finch barge into the kitchen with guns blazing. Saldana knocks Halan unconscious while Aster shoots at Finch. Then, Keir grabs Aster by the neck to subdue her. Halan wakes up, bound to a railing, as Saldana finds his ring that unlocks pretty much everything in the lighthouse. Elsewhere, Finch finds the control panel. Remember that metal device? Its home is in a port in Finch’s neck. Finch removes it, wincing, to place it in the control panel. He plans to hack the beacon’s systems, effectively butting out Bart.
Finch and Saldana chat with Keir about their new pals. Keir scolds his buddies for using violence to get what they want. He was making progress with Aster. However, Saldana insists their mission can’t wait. Lives are at stake, and they need The Artifact. Keir persuades them to let him work Aster. Saldana gives him one hour to produce favorable results.
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“Beacon 23 Secure. Stand By.”
Halan watches while Finch hijacks Bart, and Saldana sends an encrypted message from the Quantum Tunneler. She states that Beacon 23 is now secured and to stand by. Keir apologizes to Aster for holding her captive. Bart informs Aster that he believes he remembers something. Keir removes Aster’s wrist shackles while Bart explains that a subroutine in his system can detect an absence of information. He needs access to it. Initially, Finch refuses, but he caves, removing the metal device to place it back in his neck.
Then, Bart shows pages from Aster’s father’s journal, where he tried to uncover the meaning of The Artifact. The problem with the rocks is that they appear and vanish with seemingly no rhyme or reason. It’s challenging to chart their path or their next appearance, but Bart has an idea. He chronicles a projection of this, predicting The Artifact will return within a particular set of coordinates and within a time window — 11:59 pm to 1:58 am. Aster compliments Bart on this, echoing Keir’s earlier sentiment that the AI really is a wonder.
Recruiting Halan
Saldana moves to release Halan from his wrist shackles, but the latter reveals he already wriggled free of his restraints. After all, he’s a soldier. More ships, potentially QTA or ISA, are en route to the beacon. Halan searches for a way out. Saldana believes he’d be a great asset to The Column. They’re working around the clock to save the residents of colonies on the brink of destruction. The Artifact will help with that. Halan rejects the offer, but Saldana encourages him to think about it.
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Halan encourages Aster to leave the beacon. It’s time to blow this popsicle stand. Elsewhere, Harmony chats with Bart, who admits that he lied about remembering Aster’s father. He just wanted to give her hope. Bart finally understands that Solomon was a bad guy. He tells Harmony he wants reparations for what happened to him. However, to act would contradict his programming.
QTA Is Here
While Keir and Saldana argue about what to do next, Finch reveals that QTA is already here. Their cutters are making a beeline toward them. Halan and Aster have a brief heart-to-heart, wherein the former decides to cut his losses and leave. Aster states she’s closer to understanding herself now more than ever, especially with her childhood memories returning. When Halan reveals they’ll probably die after unsuccessfully persuading her to leave with him, Aster replies, “There are worse things than dying.”
Next, Halan asks Bart to open the airlock. Bart reveals he can’t because of Finch’s orders. Bart apologizes for his treatment of Halan. He knows Solomon was the villain, while Halan is a good person. However, Bart gives Halan hints regarding how to open the airlock manually. Halan hops into the picker and departs. Aster and Bart discuss Halan’s departure while Finch and the others realize that the ambient temperature is rising. It’s all Bart’s doing. He also disrupts the beacon’s core systems, effectively locking Finch out.
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The End Is Near
Meanwhile, Halan flies toward the Amboyna. He boards it. As the temperature rises to critical levels, Aster and Keir make their way toward the control panel. They encourage Bart to lower the temperatures and stop sabotaging the systems. Well, Bart isn’t doing it to terrorize him. He’s planning to end his existence. Halan boards the Amboyna, where he spots a floating (and very dead) Solomon. He transfers everything he needs from the picker to the Amboyna so he can fly the latter.
Aster talks to Bart, hoping to convince him to save himself. Bart believes that AI must have faith in humanity. Aster pleads with him to keep that faith in her. Bart worries he’ll do something terrible again. His remorse is evident. Unfortunately, Bart ends his life, removing himself from the beacon. It’s as if he never existed. Elsewhere on the ship, Keir, Saldana and Finch realize that the QTA’s cutters have made it past their drones. On the Amboyna, Halan finds a sample of the glowing blue silicate.
Harmony imparts some wisdom to Aster. She urges Aster to surrender. She believes that a shared belief in the facts is the connective tissue between humans and AI. It’s their … wait for it … beacon. Aster watches Saldana, Finch and Keir as they argue before heading to the GWB. There, she watches The Artifact dance above her. Halan spots the QTA cutters moving toward the beacon. He decides to turn back and help Aster. We also see a few more ships break out of FTL, flying toward Beacon 23. Uh-oh.
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Can Halan help the others fight off the QTA? How will the beacon fare without Bart? What will happen to The Artifact? Only time (and one more episode) will tell.
Beacon 23 Season 1 is now streaming on MGM+.
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