A Spark of Light

Hugh thinks that he has become complacent after hours of talking on the phone with George. He is panicking after hearing the gunshot, worried for Wren. He confesses to Quandt that one of the hostages is his daughter. Quandt is angry and wants to remove him from the case, but Hugh reminds him that only his chief can do that.

Bex is lying in the hospital operating room, worrying about Wren and Hugh. She thinks back to Hugh as a stubborn child and smiles as she drifts into unconsciousness.

Janine thinks about why she chose to disguise herself as a patient and sneak into the clinic. She opposes abortion because of her younger brother, Ben, who was born with Down syndrome when Janine was 12. Her love for Ben convinced her that every child deserves a chance to live. She thinks that it is too late for Joy’s child but not too late for Joy to be born again.

Izzy comforts a dying Olive and thinks about the first patient she had who died. Izzy tells Olive that she was very brave but is herself frightened that she will die and that there will be nothing waiting for her on the other side.

Louie lies on the floor of the clinic and thinks about his past. He was inspired to become a doctor after reading a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., while in detention at school. He had been motivated to become an OB-GYN because of his mother’s death but referred patients seeking abortions to a different doctor since he was a practicing Catholic. However, one day at mass, he heard a homily about the Good Samaritan and realized that he was called to help the many women of the South who were seeking abortions, especially women like his mother. His grandmother, also a devout Catholic, does not disapprove of his work. Instead, she tells him that she hopes no one else will lose a child and grandchild like she did.

Louie has faced anti-abortion protestors many times, but this is the first time that he has felt like he might die. He tries to comfort Izzy by asking her how far along in her pregnancy she is. She chats briefly with him but does not seem at ease—he knows that this is because they are both afraid that they will not survive the evening.

Joy thinks about the circumstances that led her to being here at the clinic today and sees her path as a series of small decisions. She was born in foster care and has had a difficult life. Currently, she works as a waitress at a cocktail bar in the Jackson airport and is only a few credits away from the bachelor’s degree that she has struggled to afford. Her pregnancy is the result of a brief affair with a married man that she met in the bar, and she knows that she cannot afford to keep the child and also finish school. She has pawned her laptop and taken time off work to afford the procedure and thinks bitterly that if she were richer, she wouldn’t be here.

Wren is terrified and thinks about how when she was a little girl, she thought her father was invincible. She watches George warily, knowing that he might take revenge for being stabbed. He grabs her roughly, and she tells him that her father won’t let him leave alive, accidentally revealing that her father is the hostage negotiator on the phone. George smiles, telling Wren that it is his lucky day.

In Beth’s hospital room, Willie Cork, the prosecutor who charged Beth with murder, and her public defender, Mandy, argue about fetal personhood and whether or not Beth has truly committed a crime. They assume that she is asleep, but she accidentally makes a noise and reveals that she has overheard the whole conversation. Beth is frightened and realizes that she could go to prison.

George calls Hugh and reveals that he knows who Wren is. Hugh tries to bond with him by saying that he didn’t know Wren was there and that they both have daughters who acted alone. He tells George that there is an honorable way to end this standoff, for his daughter’s sake.

Outside the clinic, Hugh texts Wren, asking her if she is all right. Dots appear as if she is replying, but there is no text message. Chief Monroe, his boss, introduces him to Quandt, the head of the SWAT team. Quandt wants to rush the clinic, but Hugh urges him not to, reminding him that they might lose a hostage.

The shooter drags Wren out of her closet hiding place and orders Izzy to tie her hands. Izzy quietly introduces herself and the others and tells Wren that Bex was allowed to leave safely. Wren is relieved and thinks that it is her fault that her aunt was here to begin with. She wanted birth control so that she could have safe sex with her new boyfriend, Ryan, but she felt too awkward to ask her dad to take her to the gynecologist. Now she wishes that she had done that instead of asking Bex to take her here. They stop talking when George brings Olive into the room and points a gun at Wren.

Olive is terrified but is proud of herself for not showing it. She thinks that her wife, Peg, would be shocked if she could see her now since Olive is usually easily frightened. She knows that George was raised in the South and sees her as a timid, elderly lady, so she tries to be as nonthreatening as possible. Her ploy works since George yells at her but does not tie her up, and he also tucks the gun away. Wren pretends to cry loudly to cover up the buzzing of her hidden phone, and Olive is able to turn off the phone while embracing her.

In the ambulance, Bex tries to ask the paramedic about Wren, but he doesn’t understand her. She feels guilty for going behind Hugh’s back. Wren had confided in her about her crush and asked for help getting birth control. Bex had agreed, honored by Wren’s trust.

Louie overhears George on the phone with Hugh, asking about a “her.” He and Izzy quietly talk and decide that it must be his daughter who sought an abortion. Janine joins in and tries to argue the anti-abortion viewpoint, which appalls Izzy and Joy. Joy points out that George has hit Janine in the head and might kill her. Janine says that children deserve to be protected, and Louie argues that what he and the clinic do often involves protecting children—especially ones who have unwanted or forced pregnancies.

Beth tells Mandy that she didn’t know what to do with the fetus and put it in the garbage, wrapped in a towel. She could not obtain an abortion without parental consent, so she ordered abortion pills online and used them at home. However, the hemorrhage landed her in the emergency room. Mandy tells Beth that she and her husband terminated a pregnancy because the embryo had severe abnormalities incompatible with life. She is sympathetic to Beth because the two of them made similar decisions, but only one of them is considered a crime.

George is still on the phone with Hugh, who tells him that he can help him speak to Lil. George worries that he has miscalculated. He loves Lil and has imagined himself as a superhero or angel avenging her suffering, but now he worries that he will have lost her forever because of what he has done. George orders them to turn on the TV in the clinic and hears the newscaster talking about his dishonorable discharge from the military. He thinks that Lil might see this and screams with rage, hanging up and throwing a lamp against the wall.

Hugh asks Quandt to cut all communications with the building so that George will have to go through him to get information. Quandt is reluctant but agrees.

Olive is a retired professor of brain science and thinks that she needs to use her intelligence to help them escape. She convinces George to let her use the bathroom, and once inside, she writes a note on the toilet paper in Sharpie saying that they outnumber him and asking for ideas or a plan. Joy and Janine use the restroom in turn and decide to trip him and go for the gun.

When it’s Wren’s turn, she is frustrated to find that her phone doesn’t work. She takes so long that George briefly interrupts, causing her to drop it into the toilet. She thinks about her dad and imagines him advising her to be safe and keep the others safe. She reads the notes and flushes the toilet. When she returns, Izzy tapes her hands again but manages to pass her a tiny scalpel blade.

George is lost in his thoughts, remembering his military service in Bosnia. He intervened to stop a young girl’s sexual assault, but her family refused to testify, and he was dishonorably discharged. At home, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and attacked his wife one night in his sleep before realizing who she was. In the present, he kicks Louie in the leg, and everyone screams.

The women coordinate an attack on George, with Izzy loudly stating that she and her boyfriend wanted to go on a “trip.” Janine responds to this verbal cue by sticking out her foot and tripping George while Joy distracts him by loudly moaning in pain. Wren tries to get the gun but only manages to stab George in the palm. He aims at her and pulls the trigger.

Olive, watching the fight, thinks that this is why she was supposed to be at the clinic that day. She jumps in front of the bullet, saving Wren’s life.