#911 foreshadowing

So in episode 2 we have the scene when the inara spins out of control after being hit by the satellite - Parker suggests a hard reset - unplug and plug back in and Lewis gives Parker his commemorative coin to use as a screwdriver in order to enable him to access the ‘plug’ as it were.

There are a couple things I need to briefly explain before we get into the details.

Firstly, each of the people onboard the Inara represent either themself (Hen and Athena) or one of the main firefam - Lewis Kern is Chim, Parker is Eddie, and Tricia is Buck and each of their experiences through this arc foreshadow their respective firefam members arc for the wider season. I will explain all of this better in the big meta (it’s an absolute beast which is why it’s taking a bit to get written!) but for now just go with me on this.

The other more general thing I need to point out (which I’m sure most people have already picked up on) is the fact that we’ve had so so many callbacks to events from season 2 in these opening 4 episodes and that’s super important and relevant.

With that laid out, back to the scene in question. The Inara spinning out happens fairly early in the arc and that suggests what it is foreshadowing will also happen - or at the very least get clearly underway fairly early in the rest of the season - which to me means it’s more than likely to happen tonight - especially because Dia de los muertos is an eddisode and with Parker being the key character in the scene on the Inara and him being a representation of Eddie - well you see where I’m going with this!

I think what we’re getting foreshadowed is really important for both Eddie and Chim and it setting up their respective stories for the season. So Parker gets told by Tricia to ‘tech bro it’ and figure out how fix the broken IMU and stop the Inara spinning. The IMU is the inertia measuring unit - which is essentially a sensor that reports various things such as force, speed, and orientation which allows the control - the computer - to adjust its settings and ensure stability - it’s used in a lot of modern vehicles etc. The fact it’s the IMU that’s gone wrong is really important - it is a metaphor for a humans internal ‘sensors’ having gone wrong - and being in need of a reset (remember that one of the things the IMU deals with is orientation 🤨🧐 - a very literal metaphor for sexuality - see where I’m going with this yet?!)

The Inara is controlled from the ground - not onboard the pod itself - a metaphor for the concept of your life being controlled by others and you having little autonomy and ability to choose your own direction or the speed you travel at .

Parker suggests unplugging it and plugging it back in to try and reset it - a manual reboot if you will. The control unit is behind a panel that’s fixed with screws and he needs a screwdriver to open it and access the unit but he doesn’t have one himself. This is a metaphor for actively needing to work to access what you need or want to try and fix and that you might not have the ‘key’ to open that panel/ door yourself - but that someone else might.

Lewis has a commemorative coin that he had made for his cancelled Apollo 18 mission (bear in mind that apollo is the Greek god of the sun, light, truth, prophecy, and healing amongst other things as well as being considered the Greek god most closely associated with bisexuality and all of this is relevant to this arc!) - and with Lewis being a representation of Chim this feels like a metaphor for chims previous stint as interim captain which was ended by Bobbys return to the captaincy at the end of season 2 - but it’s worth noting that Chim spent most of thst stint feeling like he was failing at the role and then that led to him refusing to undertake the role again until the end of season 8.

The coin feels like it’s a symbol of “failing” at something (one’s own internal perception of failure) and then carrying that failure with you from then on - but finding a use for that failure down the line in order to help someone else - and in letting go of the coin/ failure Lewis/Chim free themselves of that burden and can then embrace their future fully.

So that coin is telling us chims stint as interim captain is important and is also a block for Chim in why he won’t take the captains exam and become the full captain of the 118.

Honestly I love this as a concept and a way of making Chim into the full Captain of the 118 down the line - it’s such a fantastic callback and way of really giving him some growth - because I was worried about how it was going to work and really feel like Chim was growing and developing as a character, but I digress.

So Lewis giving Parker the coin to use as a screwdriver signifies Chim giving Eddie the tool he needs to unlock himself. Why is this remotely relevant?? Well while Chim was interim captain the 118 attended a car accident - the one that ultimately killed Shannon. Chim carrying guilt and feeling like he failed was a key part of that episode - feeling like he failed not only as a captain and as a paramedic, but also failed as a friend - because he couldn’t save Shannon. Chim and Eddie both made the choice to not intubate Shannon so she could say goodbye. My personal thoughts are that Chim has carried that decision with him ever since and it had a far more profound impact on him than we have ever really explored or even recognised, so it feels really important that we’re cycling back round to it now - something 911 is incredibly good at doing.

We can view that moment in season 2 and the choices made by both Chim and Eddie as a big reset of Eddie’s life - because ultimately Shannon died and neither Chim nor Eddie got closure from that event - for different reasons.

Now though we’re at a point where both of them need to unlock and reset once again and so Lewis offering the coin so Parker can open the panel and do the manual rest, is suggesting to me that there’s going to be a conversation between Chim and Eddie about how Shannon’s death played out that helps both of them unlock themselves and finally move forward because they can get much needed closure. Chim was the one most connected with that call apart from Eddie - Hen and Buck were both there but were really bystanders.

Parker’s manual reset does manage to stop the Inara from spinning and this then enables the crew to make contact with earth (through Karen) and make it to the ISS.

So this brief scene along with the outcomes of the arc for both Lewis and Parker suggests that we’ll see Chim ultimately take the captains exam and succeed in becoming the full Captain of the 118 and that Eddie will free himself from the ghost of Shannon (finally - poor woman deserves to rest) and move forward with his life. The fact we see Parker become CEO of the company with Tricia’s help and that we are shown that Parker and Tricia are now together as a couple, along with other references such as Apollo is very loudly foreshadowing that Eddie will become a fully fledged paramedic and that he and Buck will be in a romantic relationship by the end of the season!

Buddie is going canon and the foreshadowing Tim laid down in this opening space arc says so!!

I think we might see this plotline for Eddie and Chim start to kick off in tonight’s episode - I don’t think we’ll get the conversation in this episode but I think the exploration of death and the veil being at it’s thinnest etc will bring Shannon back into the story in a clear way and set up them talking either in the next episode or in 907 after hiatus!!

the colour coding around Parker and Tricia on the ISS and in the pod was super fascinating and revealing. Because Parker and Tricia are foreshadowing Eddie and Buck's arc for the season what we see in terms of colour - both costume and the general lighting of the scenes - is very revealing. Parker is Eddie while Tricia is Buck.

So onboard the ISS everything is generally blue toned with some yellow accents - which fits very nicely with yellow/blue colour theory!

so the pod has this greenish blue colour to the lighting when Major Lewis is inside it

while the ISS is very much blue toned,

but when Parker is in the pod the green is reduced and there is more blue - but also more yellow toning to the green (its especially visible on Parkers face if you watch the scene!)

but it stays blue outside of the pod - where Tricia is

then when all the 'macronauts' and Captain Stanton get into the pod the entire thing becomes very green

we stay in the green tones until the pod hits the earths atmosphere when it flares orange

and then - at the moment Parker grabs Tricias hand - the orange fades into a yellow - except Hen, Athena and Captain Stanton remain green coded as you can see below

then we flow into bright white lighting of being back on terra firma

But they're still holding hands.

What does all this mean - well I have been going on and on abut blue/yellow colour coding with Buck and Eddie for literally years, and green has always been an important colour relating to Buddie - and not just because of break up green! around Eddie Green is mostly olive/khaki coloured greens - that tie into his military past - they're a symbol of protection when it comes to him - him protecting himself - its a form of armour in many ways.

Essentially what we have going on here across this reentry arc within the episode is colour theory foreshadowing which is character specific. Note how the only time Tricia is bathed in green light is when she is physically in the pod - the rest of the time she is blue coded or she is yellow/orange coded - before becoming red coded when we see her back out in the world - symbolising her finding her power which is suggesting that the same can be said for Buck - that he will find his power - find himself.

Parker on the other hand is only blue coded when he is in the ISS - as soon as he gets into the pod he becomes green/yellow coded and remains that way until we hit the orange and yellow (we never see him outside the pod after he's got into it and that is relevant - it is part of my theory about the foreshadowing going on across the opening 4 episodes and I'll explain it all in my upcoming meta on the subject) then back out in the world his colours are all over the place - we have green, maroon, blue, and gold/yellow. The green we see him bathed in is colour coding for Eddie protecting himself - its armour - even as he's deconstructing himself ( parker deconstructing the pod) - we then get to see the transition from green to orange to yellow and it symbolising Eddie finding himself and coming into his own.

"You ready?" "Never readier"

THE FORESHADOWING. To each other, they are THE guy, the One. And they are finally ready.