.
- Reverie, a virtual reality program
where the impossible becomes possible.
Anything you desire you can find here.
But sometimes, people get lost.
Caught between fantasy and reality.
That's where she comes in. Her name is Mara Kint.
Her job, find the lost ones and bring them home.
And maybe by saving them,
she just might find a way to save herself.
[sweeping orchestral music]
♪
- Previously on "Reverie"...
- But why are you so concerned about her, Charlie?
- She's running around in other people's brains,
using a technology we barely understand.
- Exitus!
- Have you noticed anything unusual
since the BCI was implanted?
Weird stuff, hallucinations?
We call it derealization. It's a temporary effect.
Put away anything associated with the person,
pictures, whatever, and take one of these.
[tense music]
- Hi, there.
[ominous music]
♪
[engine revs]
[tires screeching]
[tense music]
♪
- Good-bye, have a good day.
- Thank you. - Thanks.
- Hi, you mind staying open a tick longer?
I'd like to make a withdrawal.
- Everybody, hands in the air! - Get down on the floor!
- On the ground, now! - Get down, don't move.
- All of you, out from behind the counter, now!
- Do I have your undivided attention?
Good. In case anyone's confused,
my colleagues and I are here to extract
every last dollar from this fine establishment.
- Go. Load it up, load it up.
- Hell yeah.
♪
Thank you very much for your cooperation.
Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.
- Nate, are you in there?
Nate. [scoffs]
[knocking] Nate, I'm coming in.
Oh, my God. Nate.
Nate, can you hear me?
Nate!
[somber music]
♪
Why do you keep doing this?
[ominous music]
♪
- Hi, there.
Would you sit with me?
I know this isn't real.
I mean, I don't even know what you are.
You're not a ghost, are you?
No, okay.
Forget I even said that, because that would be weird.
As if this isn't already weird enough, but...
My God, is it good to see you again.
[laughs] You smiled.
Can I give you a hug?
Just a little one?
[gasps] [phone rings]
No, no, oh. [phone rings]
Oh, what are you doing?
[ringing continues] What are you doing?
Charlie, what's up?
- Mr. Hallo was fired from his job,
is severely in debt, and now he and my client
are in danger of losing their home.
All as a direct result of this time spent in Reverie.
Which is why-- - Mr. Baez--
- Which is why this morning, we're filing suit
against Onira-Tech for damages.
- Your husband's name is Nate?
How long has this been going on?
- Three months.
That's when he started using Reverie.
He's completely disappeared from my life.
- I am so sorry you're going through this.
- We're all very sorry, Mrs. Hallo.
But spending time in Reverie was your husband's choice.
- No, this wasn't a choice.
We're having a baby in a few months, and uh...
I don't even know if he's going to be there.
The Nate I married would never do something like that.
He couldn't. You don't know him, but...
he's always been there for me.
When my mother was dying,
he slept every night in the hospital for a month.
Now, he can't even talk to me.
Something's wrong.
He's all that I have now, I can't lose him.
Please.
I need him out of that program.
- I'm sorry, Mrs. Hallo. It doesn't work that way.
- [scoffs] Can't you just turn it off?
- Nate can't come out unless he chooses to.
- What if that never happens?
What am I supposed to do then?
- Okay, okay, I think we're done here.
- Give me one day. - Excuse me?
- Mrs. Hallo, I'm going to do everything that I can
to bring your husband back.
But I really need you to trust me.
- You have one day.
[dramatic music]
.
[soft music]
♪
- Apertus. [computer beeps]
[police siren chirps]
[exhales] Okay.
All right, where are you, Nate?
Well, that's definitely not him.
Okay, come on, come on.
Nobody goes into Reverie to be a looky-loo.
Badges and guns. Okay, now we're talking.
- The bank is surrounded, come out with your hands up.
- Uh, excuse me? - Whoa, ma'am.
You need to clear the area right now.
- I'm looking for Nate Hallo, have you seen him?
[gunshot]
- Go!
[dramatic music]
- You! - Hold your fire.
- You're Nate Hallo. - Civilian in the line of fire!
- Stop distracting me, I'm in the middle of a robbery here.
- Yes, I know. I can see that.
- My name is Mara Kint. I work for Omira-Tech.
[helicopter blades whirring]
Nate, you're in trouble. You have to leave.
What? No, stop, stop.
[dramatic music]
What?
- Come back! Get back here!
- Money! [overlapping shouting]
♪
- Wait, he was a bank robber?
How did you know it was him if he was wearing a mask?
- He was standing on a car, holding a gun,
a bag of money, and taunting the police.
If that's not a depressed suburbanite's fantasy,
I don't know what is. - Any idea why he's staying in?
- He flew away on a helicopter before we could talk about it.
What is that, anyway?
- Design images Alexis asked me to put together.
She has a presentation to the board tomorrow.
- I bet she loves that.
- It's hard to describe just how much she hates it.
Like the heat of 10,000 suns starts to get there, but...
You know, you could try red teaming Hallo.
- Red what? - Red teaming.
It's a tech company thing.
When you run into an obstacle you can't overcome,
you try a counter-intuitive approach.
The opposite of what logic suggests.
- So, instead of me chasing him,
I get him to come to me.
- Exactly.
- Oh, I wouldn't go in there.
Alexis is preparing for tomorrow.
And her mood is less than receptive.
- How's it coming? - Eh, there's still time.
How's Mara doing with Hallo?
- Made contact, she's trying again.
- Hmm. What's her state of mind?
- She says it's good.
I've been monitoring her EEG, like you asked.
Brainwave activity is well within normal parameters.
Though there is more volatility than I'd like to see.
- Paul, is she in trouble or not?
- She's fine, as long as she takes her meds
and stays away from imagery that induces derealization.
- The effects she was experiencing...
they're hallucinations, right?
- She said she was seeing somebody from her past.
- She say who she saw?
- I didn't think it was my business to ask, to be honest.
Is there something I should know?
- Nothing at all.
- Can you help me? - Uh, maybe.
- Hi, I'm Mara Kint. - Casey Hathaway.
You're the 2.0 lady. Awesome.
- So you're a designer.
- Yeah, I float between the teams.
Decal there runs the wind team, Megan's in charge of water,
and we all work on greenery.
- Okay, so I need help getting ready for a Reverie.
- Sure, anything I can do.
- I know that I can change my look when I go in,
and carry something small, like a gun.
Well, the question is, can I carry something much larger?
- Yeah, absolutely. What did you have in mind?
- He's shooting, then he takes off on a helicopter,
throwing money like a madman.
- Is that what I think it is?
Hey, boss, check out that armored truck.
- Oh, wow.
Have a look at that.
[tense music]
♪
Take the front, I'll take the back.
♪
You again.
Give me some space.
I said give me some space. What--
Okay, what do you want?
- I'm here to help you. - I don't need it, I'm fine.
Thanks. - Okay, look.
I understand.
In here, you get to be who you want.
You get to do what you want. And that's very powerful,
but you're paying for it with your life, Nate.
Your real life.
You are spending so much time in the Reverie
that it's falling apart.
- Lady, I don't even know what you're talking about.
- Oh, yes, you do. I spoke with your wife.
She said something's wrong.
She really needs you to come out.
- Annie...
Annie's better off without me.
This is my real life now.
- No, Nate-- - We're done here.
[dramatic music]
- No, no, hey.
Wait! Wait!
[pounding on door] - You know what to do.
[pounding] - Hey!
♪
What are you doing? Excuse me?
Okay, come on, let me out of here.
- [laughing] - Okay?
Stop! Stop!
- End of the road! [laughing]
- Stop!
Exitus!
[gasps]
[heavy breathing]
.
[gentle music]
♪
- Hi, Annie.
- My lawyer said not to talk to you.
- Oh, I'm not here about the lawsuit.
All I care about is Nate.
Please.
I could really use your help to get him out.
- Okay.
- I think you were right.
Something is wrong.
Something is keeping him in there.
Do you have any idea what that could be?
- I've asked myself that question a million times.
I can't figure it out.
- Well, were there money issues?
Or maybe it had something to do with your pregnancy?
- No, nothing like that.
Nate couldn't wait to be a dad.
- Well, there has to be a reason.
- I don't know, I...
For a while, I thought it might have
something to do with the break-in, but...
- You had a break-in?
- Yeah, it was pretty awful.
We were both home when it happened.
- Oh, my God.
- Someone broke in through a window.
I was in the other room, but Nate walked in on him.
He had a knife.
He didn't hurt us, thank God.
But I couldn't sleep for weeks afterwards.
- I can't even imagine. How did Nate handle it?
- He was fine.
I mean, we were both freaked out the night it happened,
but he got over it pretty quickly.
Actually, he started telling me a few weeks later
I needed to move on.
- Well, maybe he didn't. - No.
The break-in didn't do this. Something else happened.
That's what's so weird about all this.
Nate's the guy other people lean on.
Friends, family, work.
He's always had everything under control.
Until this.
He would never leave me alone.
Not unless something were really wrong.
- Hey, Charlie. - Hey, what's up?
- Okay, so, Nate and Annie had a break-in four months ago.
He walked in on the intruder.
- Well, that's a scary situation.
Think that's got something to do
with why he's staying in Reverie?
- Well, she doesn't, but I just want to check it out.
So, can you pull the case file and see what's there?
- Sure thing. Are you out of the office?
- Yeah, just for an hour or so.
- Heading home?
- Uh, no. I'm going back to Onira-Tech
to go in after Nate. Why?
- Oh, no reason. I'll see you when you get in.
[eerie music]
♪
- Hey, guys, I need a can of gasoline and a lighter.
- Hell yeah! - Hang on a minute, why?
- For his Reverie.
- And gasoline's going to do what, exactly?
- It's going to make him pay attention.
[dramatic music]
- My car!
What the hell happened to my car?
Hey!
- Do I have your attention?
- What? - How about now?
- They're mine, just give them back.
- Make me. - No, no, no, no, no.
It's all right, it's okay, I got it, I got it.
♪
Nowhere else to go.
Give me back what's mine.
- Not until you talk to me.
- [heavy breathing] No, no more talking.
You're just going to try to get me to leave.
- Why won't you? - I'm not ready.
- But that's not you, Nate.
I talked to Annie, she told me about her mom dying,
and how you were there for her every single day.
You're not the kind of guy to just walk away.
I understand that these Reveries
are very hard to let go of.
But you are destroying your life by staying in.
It has cost you your job.
Your house, maybe.
Don't let it cost you your marriage too.
Your new family.
You can leave.
Right now, with me.
Let's just leave.
[somber music]
♪
[engine revs]
- What's that? Is that you?
- No. I don't know.
- I've never heard that in here before.
No.
- What is that?
[tires screech]
[ominous music]
♪
Hey, stop.
What are you doing? Stop. [grunts]
- [grunts]
[engine revs]
- Wait! Hey, wait!
Stop!
- Nate!
.
- You should have seen his face.
Paul, this thing that appeared.
Nate didn't bring it with him into his Reverie.
He was terrified of it.
Why would the program do that to him?
- The program's complicated.
It reads clients on a chemical and neurological level.
Sometimes, it unearths things. - What things?
- Let's say you want to go to Paris in your Reverie.
We build that, and the algorithm fills out the world.
But the program takes it further.
It watches your reactions.
Figures out you don't just want Paris.
You want Paris in May. On a crisp night after a rain,
with the scent of tulips and Nutella in the air.
- So, you're telling me what?
That Nate Hallo wanted to be attacked?
- Not wanted. Needed, maybe.
For reasons he may not be able to fully articulate.
Uh...
I can show you what I mean.
But I'll have to take you into one of my Reveries.
If that's all right.
- Of course.
I mean, if it's all right with you.
- I think I can trust you.
[computer beeping]
- [gasps]
These are all Reveries you designed.
- One of the perks of the job.
Through here.
This is my house from when I was a child.
I built it as an experiment.
To see if I could recreate an environment purely from memory.
- Well, it looks pretty good to me.
- It is actually, I'm quite proud of it.
But after it was done, I kept coming back.
I couldn't figure out why.
You know, when I left the real place,
I couldn't get out fast enough.
Swore I'd never go back.
- How come?
- Most of my life, I've dealt with fear and anxiety.
Night terrors, panic attacks.
Some days, I couldn't leave my room.
All that started here.
- You don't seem like an anxious person.
- [chuckles] You get good at covering up.
And lately, I've been treating it.
- With Reverie.
- This way.
My parent's room, my room, my sister's room.
Then one visit, I found this.
- What is it?
- It's something the program added for me.
It read me, and read my reactions.
And manifested something I would instinctively
connect with this house.
- A door?
Yeah, okay.
Not a door.
What's behind it? What's behind the door, Paul?
[loud banging]
- My father was a difficult man.
Not a good provider, an alcoholic.
Cruel and abusive when he drank.
On the good nights, he'd pass out.
[door rattling]
On the bad ones... [loud banging]
In here, I realized...
that all my fear was fear of him.
[loud banging] And I had tried things.
Drugs, therapy. but nothing worked.
Not until the program created this.
A Reverie version of my father.
[door rattling]
And a safe place where I could face him.
[loud banging]
- Paul...
♪
I learned he wasn't a monster.
Just a deeply unhappy man.
With a family he never really wanted.
You can go.
Shall we?
[computer beeping]
- Thank you for sharing that.
- [exhales] No problem.
- Are you okay? - I'm fine.
- Paul.
- Yes?
- Those other doors in the Anteroom.
The other Reveries.
- What do I use them for?
Another time, perhaps.
- Got something for you.
- This is the man that broke into Nate Hallo's home?
- Yeah, it turns out it wasn't his first time,
and it wasn't his last.
He's been linked to four home invasions in the last year.
LAPD's been looking for this guy for a long time.
And there is something else. - What?
- I spoke to the detective that was assigned to the case.
Nate Hallo never came in. - What are you talking about?
- The detectives wanted him to look at mug books
so that they could identify this guy.
He never showed.
- Well, that must have been a mistake.
- No, he stood up the police three times.
It was no mistake. For whatever reason,
he didn't want to identify him.
- A few weeks after the break in,
Nate told his wife that she needed to move on.
- What? A guy breaks into my home,
while I'm there with my wife, I'm not moving on from that.
- And this isn't the guy that I saw in the Reverie.
In the Reverie, he was much bigger.
And he had all these scars all over his body.
And he had tattoos.
He had two black X's right on the side of his neck.
There's no mention of any tattoos here.
- Maybe it only exists in the Reverie.
- No, it was too specific.
Like it was a detail from his personal life.
I think this assault is why Nate's staying in.
And I think the program read him,
and then created some sort of
Reverie version of his attacker.
Charlie, I know how to get him out.
But I need your help.
- Detective Bregman?
Charlie Ventana. Thanks for meeting me.
- Jeanie. Heard good stuff about you.
Lot of people on the job were really sad to see you go.
- Some weren't, believe me.
- So you got any leads for us on this home invasion suspect?
- Yeah, new information from one of his victims.
Your suspect had a tattoo on his neck, two black X's.
- Yeah? - Yeah, any help?
- Maybe.
Could be that our guy runs with the Calle Veinte gang.
Small street gang that uses two X's to rep their set.
- Think you can ID him? - I can't, but a friend of mine
is a gang counselor downtown.
He used to run with these guys. If anybody can ID him, he can.
I'll give him a call. - Thank you, Jeanie.
- Hey, I'm curious, uh...
this witness client of yours,
why didn't he mention this before?
- Good question.
- I didn't think anyone else was here.
- I'm just waiting for a phone call from Charlie.
He's getting me something.
I hope he's getting me something.
I can't get Nate Hallo out if he doesn't.
You?
- I'm working on a presentation for tomorrow.
- Oh, yeah, I heard about that. The investors, that's right.
How's that going? - Great, actually, really well.
- Oh, Dylan, what is the most recent thing
Alexis said about the presentation?
- That it made her want to jump off the roof.
- Dylan. - She asked.
- [exhales]
God, I hate these things.
I hate them, I hate them, I hate them.
- You need LERI. - Who's Larry?
- No, not Larry. LERI. L-E-R-I.
Listening, Empathy, Rapport, Influence.
- Okay, that sounds touchy-feely.
- Listening, you have to actually hear
what the other person wants.
Not just think about what you're going to say next.
- Yeah, I'm not good at that.
- And empathy means understanding
where the other person's coming from.
But more importantly, it's how they feel.
- I knew this sounded touchy-feely.
- Okay, you want my help or not?
Now, rapport happens when the other person
understands what you're feeling.
And then once you have rapport...
- I'll be able to influence people.
- Exactly. LERI.
So, what's the presentation? - It's a strategy launch.
- Okay, great. What's the strategy?
- To increase new users by 12% at fiscal year end.
Cap loss generated debt at current rates,
and expand overseas manufacturing to--
- [snoring]
- [groans] I know.
- Forget about the numbers, just talk to me.
What is your dream for Onira-Tech?
- I want everyone in the world to experience Reverie.
Every single person. - Why?
- Because Reverie is not an escape.
It's a bridge. It can connect people.
You experience it alone, but it shows you you're not.
Use it right, and you can gain self-confidence, you can heal.
Feel better about yourself.
- Learn not to be afraid.
- Yes.
Reverie is... [inhales]
A gift.
Everyone should have it.
- Say that, you'll do fine.
- Thanks.
Did you just LERI me?
[phone rings]
- Charlie, what's up?
- LAPD tracked down Hallo's attacker.
They're sitting on his house,
and will pick him up when he comes home.
- Oh, that's great.
- Slow down, there's a catch.
They'll only hold him if Hallo ID's him.
If not, he walks.
Mara, it's time to get our client out.
.
[computer beeping]
- It's okay, it's just me. - I asked them to wait outside.
I wanted to be alone.
- Are you all right?
- Pretty far from it right now, I have to say.
That thing dragged me halfway across the city
before he dumped me by the side of the road.
- Why didn't you leave last night?
- I wanted to, I did. I couldn't, I couldn't move.
I could hardly breathe.
- Okay, come on.
Let's get you out of here. - I can't.
- Yes, you can, Nate.
There's no danger anymore. We found him.
LAPD is at his house right now. He's going to prison.
But only if you leave and identify him.
I know this isn't easy,
but it's the only way you'll get past this.
- I-I never used to be afraid. Not like this.
I was strong, I was confident.
Here is the only place I can feel like that again.
- It's okay.
You know, if somebody came into my home,
I don't know how I'd get over it.
That's not it, is it?
Something else happened.
- He came back.
It was a few weeks after the break-in.
I was in the alley, taking out the trash.
And I felt the metal on the back of my neck first.
And then I heard his voice.
And he said he'd kill me if I talked to the police.
I thought I was going to die.
I thought that was my last moment on Earth.
Since then, I just...
haven't been able to shake the fear, it's in my bones.
I don't think I could face him, it's pathetic.
- No.
Two years ago...
my sister and my niece were killed right in front of me.
Shot by my brother-in-law.
I still can't go back to the house where it happened.
I can't even drive down the street.
The problem is...
I know that that fear will never go away.
Not until I face it.
And neither will yours.
Unless you do something about it.
- You know what I'm most afraid of?
- What?
- Telling Annie why I'm really here.
If she finds out who I really am,
how could she love me? - Nate.
All she wants is to have you back.
To start a family.
She loves you, I know it.
It's time to go. She's waiting for you.
[computer beeping]
[gentle music]
♪
- All right, thanks. - Yeah.
- [exhales]
- Okay, Mr. Hallo, here's how this is going to work.
In a minute, I'm going to have those officers
bring the suspect out of the back of that car.
They're going to face him towards you.
You just take a look at him. If that's the man
that assaulted you, you just let me know.
You ready? - Yeah, I'm ready.
- Is that the man that assaulted you?
Mr. Hallo?
- That's him.
That's the guy.
- Are you sure?
- [deep breath] Positive.
[dramatic music]
♪
.
- Got a minute?
- Sure, yeah. What's up?
- I appreciate everything you're doing.
But I'm wondering if I was wrong
to bring you into Onira-Tech.
- What? Why?
- The job comes with a lot of stress.
And I'm not sure if it's the best fit for you.
- I just got Nate Hallo out of a Reverie.
Where is this coming from?
- You know how much I like you, Mara.
But I can't have you here if you're not truthful with me.
- I am.
- Who are you seeing in your derealization episodes?
Jamie?
- Charlie, listen. - Are you seeing your sister?
Your niece, is it Brynn?
- Yes.
- What about the brother-in-law, Ray?
- It's just Brynn.
- And I take it you're not following Paul's instructions.
I warned you how dangerous this was.
- I know it's dangerous, but the truth is...
seeing Brynn, just...
getting to spend a few moments with her, it--
It was more than I dreamed.
Charlie, this job, helping all these people...
It has made me feel really good about myself again.
I haven't felt that way in a really long time.
Don't take that away from me.
- [sighs]
Okay.
Head home. - Okay.
- Get some rest. - Thank you.
Thank you, Charlie. - A new day tomorrow.
- Mara told me what happened.
Are you okay?
- I'm better now.
I'm so sorry, Annie.
I never meant to hurt you.
- I had no idea he came back.
Why didn't you say anything?
- Some shame, some self-loathing.
More shame. - Why?
You didn't do anything.
- I didn't fight, didn't yell, didn't even run.
I just froze.
- I would have done the same thing.
- It's different.
I always thought that if something happened,
I could take care of you, and...
I could protect you.
I didn't want you to stop loving me.
- You don't always have to protect me, Nate.
We protect each other.
- ♪ Stand on a stage for you ♪
♪ Do the things that I'm afraid to do ♪
♪ I know you want me to
♪
♪ I will be brave for you
♪
♪ I will be brave
♪
♪ Do the things that I'm afraid to do ♪
♪
♪ I know you want me to
♪
[somber music]
♪
[echoing] - I still can't go back
to the house where it happened.
I can't even drive down the street.
Just tell me how all of this got started.
[tense music]
♪
- It's too late for it. I really screwed up.
- No.
You haven't done anything that can't be undone.
You can do this, you can do this.
Okay.
- [screaming] - Ray! Ray! Ray!
[crying]
You got this, you got this.
You got this.
- Brynn.
What are you doing here?
- Aunt Mara.
- Yes, baby, yes. Yes.
- You're here for a reason.
- What reason, honey?
[electricity crackling]
This isn't real.
This is...
this is not real.