BY: ORANGECHAIR
Last night, NBC premiered the 5th episode of their new drama Awake. The story looks at a man named Michael Britten (Jason Isaacs) after a terrible car has torn his life and his mind apart. Whether he is special or just trying to cope with an extreme loss, Michael Britten lives two separate lives. In on life, his son Rex Britten (Dylan Minnette) survived the car crash his wife Hannah Britten (Laura Allen) did not. In this world, Michael falls asleep and wakes up in another world. In the second world, Michael’s wife survived the crash while his son did not. Each time Michael falls asleep, he wakes up in the other world. So far, the story has not touched much on the mysteries that surround Michael’s crash. The show has structured itself by creating a new case for Detective Britten to work on in each episode. Episode 5 was no different, pitting Britten against the notorious Gemini Killer, but a single phone call at the end of the episode finally gave the audience some input as to where the show’s mysteries are heading.
In the past, the show has given us some insight into the mysterious crash but nothing quite like the end of episode 5. As an audience, we have been clued into the fact that Britten’s boss has some knowledge of the oddities surrounding Britten’s crash but we don’t know the true level of her involvement. Each episode also gives us some connection between Britten’s two worlds, a connection that generally helps Britten solve his current case. The end of the most recent episode however provides us with the most direct yet cryptic clue yet. Though Britten is able to save Gemini’s final victim, the Gemini Killer is able to elude the Detective for the entire episode. The episode’s close includes a phone call from the Gemini Killer who, throughout the course of the episode has developed quite an understanding of Michael Britten. In the phone call, the Gemini Killer suggests that he has an understanding of Britten’s situation, referring himself and Britten as “men like us.” Gemini’s language and confidence suggests that he knows something more about Britten’s situation than Britten does himself. The two men, according to Gemini, see the world in a different way. At the end of the phone call, Gemini makes it very clear that this may not be the last we are seeing of him.
This new character that NBC has introduced could mean a number of things for the future of the show. This is the first time there has ever been any reference of somebody else “like” Michael Britten. Though Gemini does not reference any real specific similarities his mention of the unique way he sees the world seems to mirror the unique way Britten uses his two worlds to solve his various cases. There is some odd connection between this serial killer and Britten and I hope this isn’t the last we see of the Gemini Killer.