Friday, April 16, 2021

The Final Episode

    Episode 6 of Ad Vitam picks up where episode 5 left off. Episode 5 left off with Christa shooting Virgil. Episode 6 is the crime scene of where Virgil's body is found. It's still raining and Darius is walking to the body. He lifts the sheet covering the body and sees the scar on Virgil's arm where the tattoo was. He then looks over to see the gun from his glove compartment on the ground. Knowing full well its the one Christa stole from him. He recovers the body and then we see Darius being questioned by police in his precinct. They ask when Darius thinks Christa took the gun. He answers probably at the end of the day when reinforcements arrived. They then ask doesn't procedure state she stay in the back of the car? Darius answers I thought she would've stayed put. They also ask what the nature of his relationship was like with Christa. Darius answers the investigation took time. The officers continue to say that they were together at a hotel the night before Christa went missing. Darius says the rooms were separate but the officer comes back to say he was seen entering her room in the middle of the night. The officers continue to say that she spent the night at Darius's apartment. Darius interjects by saying she couldn't spend the night at her parents. Darius then brings up his wife and the officer interrupts him by saying that she no longer lives with Darius. Then the officer pushes further by saying what exactly happened was your wife tired if sharing breakfast with your young girlfriend? Darius then says that they have it all wrong. The other officer then asks if he was intimate with Christa. Darius smiles and starts to laugh a bit. 

    Darius is then seen with the chief of police setting his badge and gun down at his desk. He looks at a picture that was handed to him by the chief. The picture is of Christa and Virgil when she made him walk to where she killed him. Darius asks where did she go after, and why didn't she turn the gun on herself? The police chief then tells Darius that she just wasn't able to do it at that moment and that she will be found dead within the next couple of days. Darius then walks out.

    We are then shown pictures of the minors that are still missing. Finally it flashes to Darius's empty apartment. We listen to news caster talk about the missing minors and how no one is answering their questions about the minors. Darius is seen running around the town while we listen to the news caster. We then see Darius looking at a giant screen of pictures with someone else. We realize the man Darius is with is a therapist. This therapist is trying to help Darius "project" and find a a new career as Darius's time as a police officer is over. We then see Darius at a party with some fellow officers celebrating his retirement. Flash forward a couple hours and its night and Darius asks the man if he got it for him. They are then seen talking about Christa and Darius asks his fellow officer if he has a theory as to where Christa may be. The officer says he has no clue and that Darius needs to let it go.

    Darius is then seen looking at the gift the officers got him and he is calling his wife while looking at it in his apartment. It's very late at this point and Darius wife points this fact out to him but Darius thinks she means that it's too late for there relationship to be fixed. She then explains what she means and they end the call. Darius is then seen plugging a flash drive into the computer. On the flash drive is footage from cameras of the night Christa killed Virgil. We then see that Darius is continuing to work on the case even though he is no longer an officer.

    Skip ahead a couple of hours and Darius ahs fallen asleep while doing his work. We then see him awake and out of bed with a drink of some sort out on his patio. He then gets an alert from his phone that says he is ten days past his time to regenerate. He then walks back into the room where he is continuing the case to find Christa. He is looking at the monitors when he notices something in the video footage. Its the man from the Stern Museum smoking a cigarette. Darius then goes to Stern Museum and follows the man to a secret restaurant. This is where Darius meets Odessa. The woman that was partners with Virgil. They talk about the past a bit and then Darius is back home looking things up about Odessa. He then finds a picture of Odessa with Virgil at that banquet we first met Odessa at. Darius then calls a fellow officer Elias telling him its all connected somehow and that he should call him back. After he hangs up Darius's wife shows up at his apartment and they begin to talk about how things have been and how Darius is looking for a new career. They end up having intercourse. After that Darius's wife gets up and walks into Darius's office and sees that Darius hasn't let go of the case. She then leaves and Darius gets a little upset. Darius continues his work even though his wife basically left him. We then see Darius having flashbacks of everything that has happened throughout the show and finally we see Christa. 

    We realze that it was all a dream and Darius wakes up to the sound of his phone ringing. He begins to talk with a different police officer. Then we see Darius and this police officer at a meeting place. He then shows this officer the picture of  the man from the Museum and the officer doesn't make any sense of it. Then they continue to talk and then the officer attacks Darius with a knife but Darius wins said fight when the knife ends up in the officers neck. Darius takes what was in the officers car with him and on his person and then leaves. He inspects the stuff that he grabbed from the officer and doesn't notice anything about the things he grabbed. We then see him looking out over the city and the black phone like thing he grabbed is glowing. On the phone like thing it says Stern Museum.  Darius goes to the museum and watches as one of the missing minors is prematurely regenerated. This horrific scene shows the crowd of people what happens when minors are regenerated too early. Before it gets really bad they flip to another scene this scene has Christa in it and the same thing that happened to the other minor is about to happen to her. Darius steps forward and pulls out his gun and shoots the glass in the four corners so not to hit Christa. The glass breaks and water sprays all over the place and Darius stands up and there is a shard of glass in his stomach. he pulls it out and gets to Christa and she wakes up and they run out of there. 

    We see them continuing to run in a forest and Darius is slowing down significantly. He stops at a trees and sits up and tells Christa about his baby and then tells her to run. She does as she's told and Darius is left there and dies. We see that the police department finds him and the missing minors after this. Then we see Darius's wife in his apartment and she is clearly upset about what happened to Darius. The Christa appears and Christa tells Darius's wife that he was excited to have a baby and that he loved them both very much. Christa leaves after hugging Darius's wife. The final scene is Christa and some teenagers going to find somewhere else to go on a boat.

    This show was interesting to say the least. It shows how technology could be corrupted and misused and not good for us as human beings. The technology in this show is both exciting and frightening. I think the over all lesson of this show is to not push technology too far or else things will become corrupt.




Friday, April 2, 2021

Surveillance in Ad Vitam

    Episode 5 starts 10 years from the present day in the show. We see a young boy getting tested to see if he is compatible for regeneration after being stressed from exams and taking an exam every week. This boy needing to take an exam every week is the department of health's orders. The little shot that the boy gets (which is the test) then gives the information that he has done well on his a phone that his father looks at. The mother then jokingly says that they used to tell people about showering once a week but the elder daughter takes the joke farther and makes everyone laugh. We then see a news feed that was being broadcasted on the TV in the home after they had finished having dinner and were finishing desert. The news feed shows riots happening amongst minors. The family discusses what the news feed was saying and we find out that the boy is Virgil Berti. His older sister asks what he thinks about being forced to regenerate and he says he doesn't know. The mother and father then walk away and sped time cleaning up while Virgil and his sister talk for a bit about what Virgil wants to do after he regenerates. Virgil gets a message from his friends that makes him say he is going to go study with some friends. He gets up and leaves. 

    We see his journey to a stadium once there Nahel shows up and says that he waited for Christa but she never showed. Then a bunch of other minors show up and gather in a circle around Virgil. The only thing is they don't know Virgil as Virgil, they know him as Karon. He then gives a speech to all the minors, saying things like they will thank you for your sacrifice. They then all say a verse of some sort and after that Virgil stops in the middle of the circle and pulls a gun from his waist. Everyone surrounding him does the same. Virgil gets out of the center of the circle and stands next to Nahel. He then puts the gun up to his head and people begin to shoot themselves in the head. Virgil is the last one alive or so we think. We hear gasping breathing and find Linus still alive but with blood all over his face from shooting himself. Virgil then steps up to finish him off but instead saves him by taking Linus to the hospital. We then see a nurse talking to him, trying to get him to explain what happened. He begins to explain how he was taking a walk through the park and heard the shots he ran to see what had happened and found the bodies of many minors in the stadium.

    After the screen fades to black we see Virgil in the shower. We can see he has the same tattoo that Christa and the bodies from episode one had. He is then seen reading the news article on the mass suicide in the stadium. He looks unsettled by what the news article. The news article says that a young woman was saved by her parents from the mass suicide. That young woman is Christa. Virgil is then seen walking back to his house and he stops because he sees a police car right in front of his house. After Virgil walks up to the cops one of the officers ask if he is Virgil Berti. Virgil confirms that and the cops ask him to come with them. And he does and we fins him back at the hospital were he took Linus. The doctor is explaining to Vigil that Linus is delirious and has brain damage and has been saying things that don't make sense. Virgil is then seen in Linus's hospital room trying to talk to Linus to get him to remember. It doesn't work Linus just ends up spouting more nonsense and then Virgil leaves.

    As Virgil leaves he walks past an elderly man. This elderly man asks him to help him walk. The elderly man then begins to talk about how he knows what Virgil did for Linus and how that was very brave. Virgil then begins to feel guilty about what he did and says they are all dead because of him. We then see his parents playing a card game with the news on the TV. Virgil is in the bathroom with a razor and cutting the tattoo off his arm. His parents don't know what he is doing because he made it seem like he was getting a bath.

    Skip forward to almost present day, and we see Virgil giving sponsors a tour of one of his Avenir buildings. He describes it as a place where minors don't have to feel the control of the government. After the tour is over we see Virgil leaving, he gets into his car and the radio states that it is the birthday of the elder. While Virgil is driving he sees a car with people celebrating the elders birthday. Vigil is now at home and having coffee with the TV on and that's when the beach suicide comes up on the news. The screen then flips to inside one of the Avenir buildings where those who help host the party are talking about the mass suicide. Virgil walks in when right as one of the leaders asks how the mass suicide makes them feel. People say they feel upset, sad, angry, and even guilty. Virgil looks at one of the leaders who hasn't said anything and then walks out. We then see that Virgil is visiting the elderly man who seems like he has gotten worse health-wise. They talk a little about the beach suicide and then the elderly man says he has a gift for Virgil. The gift is a rosary. The old man then explains that he wants Virgil there to hold his hand. Then we flash to episode 1 where the old man that was dying was up on an alter. This is that same scene but from Virgil's point of view. Then after the old man dies we see Virgil partying and celebrating with many drinks and dancing. While we see Virgil dance we hear his voice say that someone told him he has to celebrate life and that he has to repeat those words as he faces death again. 

    Flash forward a few days and we see Virgil at a meeting with the sponsors. The sponsors have agreed to sponsor Virgil's Avenir. After the meeting Virgil is seen walking out with his partner and they talk about how the police came by the Avenir building and asked questions about them and if they know how comes in and out of the building. Vigil's partner then says well you know we don't keep a list and then says that he needs to smile that today is a good day.

    Flash forward to the party that Avenir is holding when the police are there watching it. We see Virgil practicing a speech and then someone comes to make sure he looks good and then another person steals his speech. Virgil then chase after the person who stole his speech but gets picked up by the crowd. Then someone tells him that someone from the party committed suicide after being chased by the cops. Virgil then goes to check out what happened and then we see the scene with Darius take place. Then Ian comes up to Virgil and tells Virgil that the center is getting closed down and then Virgil tries to get Darius's attention by crossing the police tape. We then see Vigil talking with the news reporter about what happened.

    We see that Avenir was shut down and looks very empty. Virgil is seen looking out over the ocean when Ian comes up to tell Virgil that they are closing all of the centers across the country. They then talk about a way for them to get the police a list of names of who comes in to the centers. Virgil thinks about what Ian said and then tells Ian that its not a bad idea. Ian says he already did it and that he would call Virgil with news. We then see Virgil asleep and having a nightmare. In this nightmare he hears the doorbell buzzing and gets up to answer the door but when he gets there its Linus. Linus looks the same way he did the night he attempted to take his life in the stadium. Virgil wakes up and still hears his doorbell buzzing and answers it and is told that "she" wants to talk. Virgil then leaves his home and goes with the man that was at the door. We then find Virgil in a car with 3 other people. The man that was at the door, his partner and someone else. The reason why we don't know who the 4th person is because they have their head covered by a cloth bag. Virgil's partner doesn't look happy. And starts by telling Virgil she always knows when someone lies and that's why she is only going to ask her question once. The fourth person is then revealed to be Ian. Ian is very confused and so is Virgil. Then Virgil's partner asks about who else he told about the data they collected. Virgil then says he doesn't understand what's going on and asks Ian and as Ian starts to talk he gets slapped. Virgil answers the question by saying that he hasn't told anyone else. Ian then gets killed by by the man putting a bag over his head and suffocating him. Virgil tries to help him but the man keeps him back. After Ian dies then Virgil asks why. His partner then says the best example is you and starts saying his name and Karon. Then his partner then says if he gives up now then that is stupid.

    The car stops and Virgil gets out. We then see that Avenir has been reopened and they clean up the building from the party. Once they are done someone walks up to Vigil and asks about Ian. He says he doesn't know where Ian is. And then she says that what Virgil has done is really inspiring and walks away. Once we hear the doors shut Virgil begins to cry. Virgil is then seen getting into his car and that's when we see Christa put a gun to his head and tell him to drive. Christa then demands Virgil to stop the car and get out as it begins to rain. They both walk out into the rain and Christa tells him to stop after walking to a certain point and then tells him to take his shirt off. She then tells Virgil to get on his knees and he does. We then hear Virgil talking saying he never left the stadium that night. And then Christa kills him. A second later we see Christa get tackled and that's where the episode ends.

    The problem with surveillance in this episode is seen with most of the episode. If surveillance had been applied to Virgil's phone when he was going to the stadium then maybe the police could've stopped the mass suicide. Another thing with surveillance that could've been helpful would've been if the Avenir buildings kept track of who does the workshops and who comes and goes from the Avenir buildings. This could've helped prevent the death of the girl. The biggest problem is seen with Virgil's partner when she asks Virgil about the data that was collected and she ends up getting ahold of the one person Virgil told about what she was doing. These examples show how surveillance can be a good and a bad thing.




The Final Episode

     Episode 6 of Ad Vitam picks up where episode 5 left off. Episode 5 left off with Christa shooting Virgil. Episode 6 is the crime scene ...