Debris Episode 11 Review Asalah- Jonathan Tucker Shines As His Past And The Anasazi Come Together

Jonathan Tucker gives a soulful performance as Agent Bryan Beneventi in Debris Episode 11 that begs for a season two renewal.

Debris has been an emotional series from the very beginning. It is what sets it apart from its counterparts. This isn’t just a sci-fi show about space aliens coming to Earth for mysterious reasons. There is plenty of mystery, and the debris does some nifty things, but the true heart of the show is Bryan and Finola. Their chemistry and individual histories are what drives the drama. Debris Episode 11 was devoted entirely to Bryan, who has a dark past that has been chasing him for years. We know from small snippets overheard in conversations he even saw some jail time. What did the man do? Bryan has seemed like the ultimate “good guy,” but even good people have bad days. What went wrong on the worst day in his life?

We finally know what happened to Bryan in Afganistan. The former soldier showed all the signs of PTSD, intense guilt, and a desperate desire to atone for his sins. With physical and emotional scars to show for it, he is a haunted man. It is one of the most compelling parts of Jonathan Tucker’s Agent Beneventi. He isn’t a simple government man mindlessly following orders, nor is he a hardened lawman conditioned to believe what he is told. Bryan is a complex character full of warring emotions. His past influences every decision he makes. In Debris Episode 11, we see why.

Bryan and Finola are continuing to work on debris cases while George tries to uncover what is happening and how to stop it. The partners have great chemistry that speaks of years of work despite their shortened time together. Creator J.H. Wyman knows how to develop characters, and Finola and Bryan are no different. There is a lived-in quality to their speech patterns that speak of trust and trial.

Finola’s father, George, is being set up as the flawed but brilliant genius. He is headed to Arizona. The enigmatic scientist still needs aluminum foil to cover himself for some reason. We don’t know what he is protecting himself from, nor do we know what he expects to find in the desert. We can assume, Influx has a way to track George, and hopefully, the foil can keep him concealed long enough to see what he is looking for. By the end of the Debris Episode 11, Finola has the Ligari files, so we may not need to wait much longer to find out what secrets they hold.

A school teacher Mariel Caldwell, played by Erin Karpluck, is asking for Bryan in the middle of a park. Just before being found, a shimmer is seen on camera footage following her. What that shimmer is we never find out, but the debris clearly has found a new skill. It can communicate without being active now. Somehow the debris is showing Mariel all of Bryan’s memories from war. She knows his mother’s last words and everything that happened to him in Afganistan.

The two are linked psychically and physically. Every beat of their hearts and every relived memory is shared by the two. It is a brilliant enclosed episode that showcases the mythos of Debris and the acting prowess of Tucker. Tucker was a soldier with a just moral code. He believed in protecting the innocent and defending the weak. He also understood that when there is that much violence involved, things happen. Good intentions can pave the way for terrible consequences. Just because he thinks they are in Afganistan for the right reason doesn’t mean nothing bad will happen. Unfortunately, the worst happens to a young girl Asalah who was helping Bryan. He has tremendous remorse for her death and his role in it.

Additionally, when he later went to the cave, Asalah told him about he found Taliban members, but not the ones he was looking for. The CIA protected these men as assets, and Bryan killed them out of anger. His need to get revenge overrode his desire to follow orders. That decision landed him in military prison and would have probably cost him his life if Maddox had not intervened. Now his difficulty turning against Maddox makes sense. Maddox has flaws, but Bryan does owe him his life. We will have to hope his motives aren’t entirely nefarious.

The debris is evolving, and this new wrinkle is interesting. We have seen a lot of these powers in other series before, but never quite like this. The idea that an alien intelligence is uploading all humans’ emotions and memories should be terrifying. Not only will they know about our weaknesses, but more importantly, they will know our flaws. What happens when they find enough information to judge us. Humans are notoriously self-serving. We are a violent race. These aren’t attractive qualities. I hope they find enough redeeming qualities to helo not hurt us. Regrettably, we will never know why the debris forced Bryan to relive the memory. Before he could get answers from Mariel, his ECT severed the tie between them.

What would you do to right your past wrongs? Guilt makes us do dumb things. Hopefully, Bryan can turn to Finola for comfort. The man will need all the help he can get dealing with his trauma and atoning for his sins. Catch up on all our Debris coverage here.

Scattered Wreckage

• Sedona, Arizona, is a hotbed of alien activity. Between UFO sightings and strange occurrences, the locals all firmly believe something out there isn’t of this world. Whether it be aliens, Bigfoot, or something else entirely, there are too many weird things to discount completely.
• The mystery of the Anasazi in the American Southwest has long been a debated phenomenon. Seven centuries ago, the Anasazi made the cliffs their home in New Mexico and Arizona. Their descendants of the Hopi and, Pueblo, and Zuni tribe today. Likely the Native American at the end of the episode is from one of these tribes. He is praying to the heavens. A ritual involving black metal buried in the East, Blue metal in the South, Yellow Metal in the West, and White Meta in the North. Lastly, the ancient spirit sprinkled black dust over the planet. Is that an origin story of humanity on Earth? Like Prometheus’ giant elders that seeded our planet and others, maybe something or someone has seeded Earth and is back to check on us?
• The end credits audio certainly seems to be leading us to the realization that there may be more Bryans out there. The possibility also exists we hear transmissions from one of the other realities. The recording could also be of a future event.