TWD World Beyond: The Sky Is a Graveyard (Episode 1.08)

In Episode 1.07 of World Beyond, horror-struck viewers watched as a friendly game of "Truth or Dare" descended into a crime scene -- our resident magician, Tony, was found dead, with Silas and the presumed murder weapon resting helplessly nearby.

Thus, this week's episode begins with Silas tied to a swing set frame as his traveling companions discuss his fate -- Iris and Elton believe that Silas may be innocent, while the others argue that frequent evidence of his violent tendencies cannot be ignored.

(On a personal note, it seems rather odd that Percy, a grifter who hasn't proven his trustworthiness, is nowhere to be found. I'm hopeful that he factors into next week's season finale somehow.)

Meanwhile, Huck returns with a plethora of Iris' drawings that Silas evidently plucked from Campus Colony garbage cans while performing his janitorial duties -- in Hope's mind, this revelation lands as an unforgivable offense.

Nonetheless, Elton visits Silas to express faith in his friend, saying, "I'm not scared of you. I don't think you would ever hurt anybody without just cause." 

Unfortunately, following Percy's trail does not provide Elton with any tangible evidence to prove Silas' innocence.

While Hope and Huck dig Tony's grave, Felix approaches Silas to discuss his past, present, and future -- though Silas insists that he does not wish to follow in his father's footsteps, his inability to remember what happened at the scene of the crime has proven alarming.

As the group continues to ponder his fate, Silas battles with flashbacks that viewers were first made privy to as he struggled to dispose of an empty in the early stages of their journey to New York.

In one fateful encounter, it seems that Silas' father took his violence too far, strangling his son until Silas retaliated by swinging a picture frame at him and leaving him slumped on the floor, bleeding out.

After assuring a concerned neighbor that he was not in immediate danger, however, Silas proceeded to find his injured father missing.

Although his father had abusive tendencies and was a clear threat to both his wife and son, Silas vividly recalls more wholesome childhood memories -- laying on his bedroom floor with music blasting, his father explaining the joys of attending a rock concert.

In this moment, however, Silas found himself laying on his bedroom floor with music blasting, having locked the door to avoid the reanimated corpse of his father -- a compelling question finally answered after weeks of debate: Silas did kill his father.

The repercussions of his actions were nothing short of disastrous -- upon his mother's arrival, Silas sprinted downstairs to save her from his father, smashing the empty's head against the ground repeatedly while his mother cowered in the corner, horrified by what her son had done.

His spirit thoroughly crushed, present-day Silas allows these recollections to overcome him as an empty bursts through a fence and approaches him -- though he's ready to accept death, Hope comes to his rescue in an unforeseen turn of events.

During this encounter, Hope expresses her anger with Silas, saying that she believes he killed Tony (whether it was intentional or not) and decided to save him simply because they have witnessed too much death.

As the night progresses, Elton and Iris are both unable to sleep, concerned about their friend's fate -- Iris shares a childhood memory in which Hope remarked that the sky is full of stars that have already died, though Elton corrects her with his scientific-based evidence that "The Sky Is NOT a Graveyard".

This astral conversation quickly gives way to Elton's insistence that Iris has been a leader since the beginning of their journey, and thus, a vote regarding Silas' fate should be "majority rule" -- Elton views Felix as the "swing-vote" in this instance, though his hopefulness quickly becomes irrelevant after a pair of emotional conversations the following morning.

When Iris finally confronts Silas, he explains that her drawings were "too beautiful" to throw away, though after begging him to tell her that he's innocent, Silas responds in heartbreaking fashion -- admitting to killing Percy and Tony, as well as his own father, and promising that he'll never forget her, before setting out on his own path.

Soon after this conversation, Elton confides in Hope with his decision to leave the group in pursuit of Silas, as well as his mother and sister -- fearing for her friend's safety, Hope finally tells Elton what viewers have known since the series premiere: she killed his mother on "The Night the Sky Fell".

Thus, Elton departs with the devastating realization that his mother may not have been the positive role model he'd always imagined (having killed Hope and Iris' mother) -- Hope's words ringing in his head, "You forgave Silas, maybe one day you'll forgive me too..."

Meanwhile, Silas' lonely journey begins with him killing an empty and leaving his headphones behind, metaphorically ditching his horrifying past and seeking the fresh start he's always desired.

Finally, Sunday's episode concludes with perhaps the most stunning revelation to date -- my initial skepticism was valid, as Huck (or Jennifer, per her birth name) is actually the daughter of CRM Lieutenant Colonel Elizabeth Kublek.

I spy . . . a major plot twist.

What are your thoughts as we approach next week's two-part season finale?

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