Summary
The first episode of Resurrection opens with a young boy
waking up in a rice field in rural China.
He walks around aimlessly and when he encounters some locals in a
village, he asks, “Is she dead?” He
passes out in a crowd of people afterwards.
Agent J. Martin Bellamy (Marty), who works for the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement Agency, is in his office apparently thinking about his
relationship issues when he is tasked with picking the boy up from the airport
and taking him to Missouri. The young
boy, who seems to respond to the name “Jacob,” does not answer any of Agent
Bellamy’s questions because he will not speak.
Jacob finally draws out the word “Arcadia” using an app on Agent
Bellamy’s cell phone. Agent Bellamy calls
the Arcadia, Missouri Sheriff’s Department to check if there are any missing
children named Jacob reported. The
person on the other end of the call states that there are not and abruptly
hangs up the call.
Agent Bellamy contemplates taking Jacob to an adoption
service, but instead decides to let Jacob lead him to his home. When they arrive at the Langston residence,
Agent Bellamy explains to Henry Bellamy that he has his missing son. Henry Langston states that this would be
unlikely because his son died 32 years ago.
Jacob suddenly blurts out a riddle and Henry Langston finishes it. Jacob yells out “Daddy!” The two hug and Henry Langston’s wife comes
out to the porch and realizes her son is alive.
Henry Langston explains his account of how Jacob died when
he was 8 years old. Jacob fell in the
river, Henry Langston’s sister-in-law Barbara jumped in to save him and they
both drowned. Sheriff Fred Langston
arrives, very angry that Agent Bellamy is there. Sheriff Fred Langston is Henry Langston’s
brother. The sheriff is shocked to see
Jacob. At that moment, Jacob has a seizure and passes out.
At the hospital, the doctor checking Jacob’s vitals turns
out to be his cousin (Sheriff Langston’s daughter). Her mother Barbara supposedly drowned trying
to save Jacob. Jacob explains to the
doctor (Maggie), that he actually drowned trying to save her mother. Jacob also starts to tell Maggie about a man
that was holding her mother’s arm when they were at the river.
Everyone is very confused as to how Jacob has returned. Agent Bellamy and Maggie agree that DNA tests
need to be administered to determine whether or not he is really the Langstons’
son.
Jacob encounters Pastor Tom Hale, who was his childhood best
friend. Jacob is confused because it
seems that everyone he remembers has aged significantly. He asks Tom if he actually died, but Tom
doesn’t have an answer for him.
Maggie goes to visit her friend Elaine and explains what has
happened. Maggie is wondering if there
is more to her mother’s death than what everyone thinks. She feels guilty for her death because her
mother was taking her for a walk in her stroller by the river when she
drowned. Elaine talks about her father’s
death briefly.
Agent Bellamy gets Maggie’s help with researching Jacob’s
death. Maggie explains that Arcadians do
not typically trust outsiders. It has
been this way since the Civil War. While
they are looking at autopsy photos, they find unusual marks on Maggie’s
mother’s arm that could be fingernail indentations.
Jacob sneaks out of the hospital through a window and ends
up back in front of the Langston home.
When Henry Langston arrives with a police officer, Jacob runs off into
the woods and finds his G.I. Joe action figure hidden in a tree. Agent Bellamy and Maggie arrive at the
Langston home and Jacob explains what happened at the river when he tried to
save his aunt Barbara from drowning. After being in the water, then next thing
he remembers is waking up in China. He
again references the bald man holding her arm and says that he has seen him
before in a picture by the piano.
Agent Bellamy receives a call from the lab. He finds Henry Langston at the cemetery
sitting outside of the vault where Jacob’s body was placed after he died 32
years ago. Agent Bellamy explains that
Jacob is biologically his son. Lucille
Langston brings Jacob to church where Pastor Tom Hale is delivering a
sermon. The congregation is shocked by
Jacob’s presence.
Henry Langston meets his brother Sheriff Langston on his
porch. He reveals that his wife Barbara
was having an affair with the bald man that Jacob said was at the river when
they drowned.
Maggie is out with Elaine having drinks, when her brother
Ray calls saying that he has a gun. Ray
seems to be mentally unstable. The
women, along with Agent Bellamy go to Elaine’s house. Ray is holding a gun because he thought there
was an intruder. It turns out the
intruder is their dead father Caleb Richards.
No one can understand how this is happening, but Elaine sobs and hugs
her father.
Review
The Resurrection series is based on the book The Returned by Jason Mott. This episode was a strong start for
series. The first episode, like the
promos, alludes to more people returning from the dead in Arcadia,
Missouri. Two of these “returned” are
already revealed in the first episode. I
was impressed by how the characters already seem to have depth early on. As viewers, we learn there are some secrets
that have been kept for several years, such as Barbara Langston’s affair with
her brother-in-law’s former co-worker.
I was worried that this series was going to start of slowly
and drag on. I was pleasantly surprised
by how quick the first episode moved through the story line and showed that
many Arcadia residents are related or connected to each other. Within a 43-minute show, I feel like I
absorbed the same amount of information that I would have by reading several
chapters of a novel. I am curious to
know how and if the return of these dead people will ever be explained. I am also wondering how long Agent Bellamy
will remain relevant in the plot, as he was only involved because Jacob’s case
was initially an immigration issue. In
any event, this is an interesting role for Omar Epps.
Overall, this was a solid start to a mystery/fantasy series
that may or may not eventually provide an explanation. Maybe it doesn’t have to.
Please let me know what your comments or thoughts are.
Veronica Fitzpatrick
Twitter: RonnieLauren
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