Kieran pushes open the door to his locked room, and we see him walk past stacks of boxes. What is in them?  Simultaneously, Lauren is showering. Both are thinking of the mess they're in and Lauren pushes the thought away to ruminate on the information Tim Sake provided her.   Kieran, at his desk, sighs, rolls up his sleeves, and begins to draw.  

Lauren decides to hunt for more information and goes to the attic, where she uncovers a box of her parents' office papers.  Kieran, drawing, recalls a memory where someone asks his younger self why he draws so often. He tells his anonymous interlocuter that he does so to remind himself that humanity can be beautiful. 

We then see present day Kieran smiling down on his drawing of Will and Kym arguing.   

Lauren, in the attic, find a picture of her family and their staff in better days. A tear falls on the picture.   

She finds a staff directory and sees that the driver, Abel Sandman, died with her parents in the crash.   

To her surprise, she then finds a pamphlet agitating for better treatment from XX14. We discuss her reaction and the political implications.   

She sees that the Snapdragon dates from 3 years before the Phantom Scythe began, and then finds an Orion and Sons business card that says, "They are all DEAD. This is the point of no return. But it is not the end."  

She is confused.  

Kieran, done drawing, closes the light and leaves the room, letting us see a room filled with his drawings of the life around him, including a very curious drawing of Lauren and Kieran's first encounter, where he wonders, "Why did I freeze?" A vital clue in our theorizing.   

We learn that he doesn't know why he hesitated, but he felt human again, for the first time since.... at which point, the edge of a cursed chair blocks us from seeing the subject of a portrait. !!

***

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗛𝘆𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗻:

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗼𝗽𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻:

𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻:

𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗻 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁:

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗰𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱:

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝗧𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀:

𝗔𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗧𝘂𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀: 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆, 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘀:

Suzie, LadyLibris, Lily, Jenny, Haley, Maria, Molly, Veronica, Emily, Emily, Jo Rochelle, Saucy Tuggles, Meg, Anne Rose, Priya, Alexa, Misti, Laura, Joanne, Patty, Jen, Imilda, Ester, I’m Watching You, Tora’s Poppy Seed, Mari, Jenn, Emily Jean, Jenn, Erin, Dee, Kay, Lily, Becketts, and Deranda.