The Program

At school, Kevin gives Realm’s address to Sloane, explaining that The Program pulled him off her case. After school, James drives Sloane to Realm’s house. Realm introduces himself to James, but when he hears James’s name, he looks upset. Sloane takes out the picture and shows it to Realm. She explains about the pain in her head and the brief memory that helped her find the picture. Realm explains to Sloane how she kept her memory through Roger’s purple pill. Realm advises them both to restart their lives, but James accuses Realm of working for The Program. Realm says that some things are destined to repeat themselves, and Sloane realizes that he knows something about her past. Sloane begs Realm to tell her, and he explains that James and Sloane witnessed Brady die by suicide. Realm refuses to say anything else because he fears that it will hurt Sloane’s recovery.

When Sloane gets home, she asks her father if Brady died by suicide, and her father confirms it. At the Wellness Center, Sloane sees Liam. Liam says that they dated briefly, but she will never remember it because she is empty without her memories. Liam coughs up blood and says that he took QuikDeath because he knows that they are coming for him. He collapses. Sloane realizes that he is dead, and she hurries to the car because she does not want anyone to flag her.

Later that night, Sloane drives to James’s house. Sloane tells him about Liam and that her father confirmed that Brady died by suicide. Sloane does not know why she wants to talk to James, but she tells him that she feels drawn to him. James says that he wants to find out about his past, but he has no interest in Sloane romantically.

Sloane drives to Realm’s house. Sloane tells Realm that she does not know why it hurts her feelings when James acts indifferent toward her. Realm tells her that she will forget about him. He kisses her, but Sloane does not return it. He tells Sloane that she will always be in love with James. Sloane asks what he means, and Realm explains that she and James were in love before The Program. She tells him that James does not feel the same way about her, but Realm says James is denying his feelings. Sloane asks Realm why he does not want her to remember everything, and he says that he wants some of his secrets kept in the past. At school, Sloane wonders if she should tell James about their past. They decide to cut class again.

James takes Sloane to the river, and she tells him that she remembers coming to the river with Brady. James goes swimming, while Sloane sits on the shore. She decides to hide his clothes as a joke, but when she picks up his pants, a pink heart-shaped ring falls out. It looks just like the ring that Sloane found in her mattress. Sloane feels a memory form of her stuffing the ring in the mattress. James comes out of the river, and she asks about the ring. He says that he saw it in a gumball machine, and it made him think of her. Sloane says that he has given her the ring before. James kisses Sloane, and it feels familiar. James tells Sloane that he thinks he is in love with her, even though he does not know why. Sloane says that she loves him too.

As James drives Sloane home, Sloane sees that she has multiple missed calls from her mom, so she calls her back. Sloane’s mother says that she needs her to come home, but Sloane hangs up. Sloane says that she does not think that her mother was alone, and she feels terrified, knowing that they will take her away again. James promises that he will protect her, and he says that they should run away together. As they drive, Sloane gets a text from Realm that he needs to see her.

When they pull up to Realm’s house, there is a black Escalade in the driveway. A woman comes out of the house and introduces herself as Anna, Realm’s sister. She tells them that Realm is not there and that he will not be coming back. Anna explains that she texted Sloane because Realm wanted Anna to talk with her. Anna says that The Program has been watching Sloane and that they know she left Realm’s house the night before. Realm had to fulfill an obligation, but he wants Sloane to run away to escape The Program. Anna says that Sloane and James should go east where they will meet a group of rebels against The Program. Kevin and Lacey are a part of the organization, and James and Sloane can meet them at the Idaho border. Realm will find her when he can. Anna gives Sloane the keys to the Escalade, which she says has supplies in it. She then gives Sloane an orange pill. Anna says that the pill will bring back the lost memories, but Sloane may want to leave some things in the past. Sloane stares at the pill, wondering if she wants to relive her trauma without James remembering or if she wants to move forward. She puts the pill in her pocket to decide later, even though she feels like the decision means turning her back on her past self. James and Sloane get into the car, and Sloane decides that she wants to fight against The Program because of what they have taken from her.

In The Program, Nurse Kell tells someone named Ally that she should try to make friends in the facility. Ally brushes this off, but Realm convinces her to join him for cards. Realm asks Ally if she knows how to play “Asshole,” and Ally smiles, thinking of how she used to play that game with her friends. A girl named Tabitha comes into the room and asks to play with them, but Realm says no. Tabitha storms out, and Realm explains that Tabitha has short-term memory loss from QuikDeath. Realm introduces Ally to Derek and Shep, and they all play cards. Realm calls her “Sloane,” but Ally reminds him of her name. Realm looks sad and explains that his medication must be affecting his memory. Derek and Shep glare at Realm, but as they play the game, Ally wonders if she imagined the tension because they are soon laughing together. Ally feels hopeful as Realm walks her back to her room.