Beacon 23, Season 1, Episode 7 - End Transmission

I liked this episode. It picks up in action, suspense and drama. The ever present mystery of the anomaly inches closer to revealing itself and more of the questions of the Beacon and Bart are addressed as well.

The episode opens with a rather traumatic scene that depicts Solomon doing a normal memory wipe of everything that has occured before. This has Bart crying out for forgiveness as his memory is wiped.There were quite a bit of Westworld Season 3 ending vibes with Delores losing her memory. In this, we see each passing tender memory as it is obliterated. Quite a touching scene and one that provides further insight into Bart as well as Solomon.

Aster and Halan go through a droll routine where each serves to act as beacon keeper for days on end until they are visited by what appears to be an aged Keir, previously jailed for activities related to the terrorist group, the Column. He seems pretty charming and stalls for time until his accomplices arrive. Once they arrive, Finch and Salana take Aster and Halan hostage. Finch "referred to as the one with the asshole in his neck" has an implant that allows him to interface with a computer and takes control of the Beacon, locking Bart out. They are convinced to give control back to Bart and he is shown to go through a stage where he remembers the past. He then predicts a window where the Anomaly will re-appear based on Farut's, Aster's father, calculations but notes the anomaly has been acting differently since the explosion that Grisha, Aster's mom, created. In rather dramatic fashion, Bart commits the equivalent of suicide and the beacon reboots.

The hostage takers send a message to a cryptic location that the beacon is secured. As the Column terrorist try to figure out a way to get Aster to communicate with the anomaly, QSA cutter ships arrive, presumably to take control of the beacon again. Halan manages to escape and board his ship, the Amboyna. The QSA cutter ships manage to break through the beacon's defense and head towards the beacon while Halan appears to start an approach to engage the ships. The show ends with what appears to be two more QSA cutter ships appearing behind the Amboyna. 

Analysis

I like this episode a lot. The action and suspense in this episode seem relevant and important to the story and plot.  I like when they have exposition on the AI and they did that in spades in this episode. Bart is depicted as a tragic future, and he certainly has suffered quite a big of hardship at the hands of humans. There is some nice philosophical discussion which I always enjoy in a sci-fi show especially the more unique and interesting the viewpoints.  AI as a sentient life form is explored and I love the though puzzle.

"Humans can tell themselves a story that serves a purpose, whether it's true or not. But a story is meaningless to me."

I was toying with the idea that Keir is stereotypical symbolic for Generation X while Aster and Halan represent millenials. We seem to have a beer loving old school apathetic type that likes to go against the grain show up just looking for a beer. While Aster and Halan are more high strung, with a strong sense of boundaries, a little more entitled.

Artifact not following the same pattern as before.

Cool tech and acronyms

The only thing cool in this episode was the little insect like gadget that attaches to Finch's neck.

Characters of interest

• Bart - The AI of Beacon 23, the beacon keepers, shows he grows quite attached to the particular human he serves and has severe abandonment issues. Bart is shown to have serious self worth issues in this episode and eventually takes his own existence/life.
• Keir - the worker from the Column sent to blow up the beacon. Returns to convince Aster to try to communicate with the Artifact. He is all in on the spiritual aspect of the artifact.
  
• Aster (Parsim) Calyx - always seems to have a different plan that what she shows, very unpredictable character, purposefully so. She seems to have a very intimate connection with the Artifact and likely is the only person who can communicate with it.
• Halan Kal Nielsen - blooming love interest for Aster? His only rival was killed by Aster herself. Seems to be alone in this world, and was revealed more than once to have traveled over 84,000 star systems to get to Beacon 23. He is forgiven by Bart in this episode and looks to turn into a hero to save the Beacon at the end.
• Rocky - the minerals entity, communicates with Halan, likely the cause of his hallucinations, tells bad jokes. He was not in this episode.
• Harmony - Aster's personal AI, revealed to be bound to QTA. Tries to be the voice of reason in this episode and is largely ignored.
• Saldana - column terrost, likes to kill people
  
• Finch - column terrorist with implants
  
• Alpeh, the holographic transcendic consciousness, appears to be in the beacon computers. Does not appear in this episode. He was not in this episode.

Mysteries and Questions...