#moonbeammuses

the episode is shot primarily from jeremy's perspective. the opening scene is seen through the mirror in his room, as aisling kneels in front of him and helps him with his tie, pausing regularly to let him look in the mirror and approve of the process. the lighting is bright and warm, a sunny afternoon cast through the blinds as we see jeremy regularly crane his neck to see outside the window, until aisling gently holds his shoulders. " she said 2:30PM. that's what she said. what if she thinks i'm bad, for not knowing how to tie my tie? what if she says i'm defe-- "

" she won't. hey. she won't say anything. you know, grandpa richard still wears the same tie that pop-pop stanley tied on their wedding day? i don't hear many people calling him bad, do you? come on. you have nothing to worry about. you're amazing, and she knows that. she just wants to make sure i can handle it. "

a tense smile is exchanged, and then the camera cuts; at jeremy's height, we watch as aisling holds his hand and leads him to the front door, where the frosted glass blurs the face of the woman outside. jeremy greets her politely, but is visibly nervous as they retire to the living room, noticed by the social worker as she leans forward with a small smile. " jeremy, dear, i want you to understand something. i'm here to make sure you and your foster mom are a good match. okay? and if it all goes well, then you'll officially be adopted. but if i have any concerns, it just means we'll have another visit with one of my colleagues. okay? all you have to do is tell me the truth. "

the camera shifts back to aisling and jeremy. jeremy looks relieved at the clear instructions. aisling looks pleasantly panicked, but gives jeremy a gentle squeeze of the hand before taking her seat and giving him some space. " okay. here's the truth. "

we enter a beautiful montage. it's a radiant, vibrant thing of pure child-like joy. jeremy discusses meeting aisling in the park, and how excited he was to have a mother again. we see him sitting on a swing as aisling pushes him, then on a picnic blanket as they eat sandwiches together. we see him getting tucked into bed by aisling, a little night light in the shape of a star on the wall. we see him waking up, heading out to the kitchen, and giggling as he helps make the pancake batter, cheering when he tosses a pancake just right, and tucking into a thick stack. one might argue that the memories are almost too bright, too peachy, too idyllic. but jeremy remains loyal to this unwavering depiction of his time in the apartment. aisling looks stunned, and the social worker seems pleased with these memories. but then she asks a question that plunges the scene into a tense, jarring silence. " and do you feel safe here, jeremy? "

jeremy gazes at the social worker for a moment, hands clasped together in his lap. aisling is seen leaning forward a fraction of an inch, the tension excruciatingly clear. we catch a snatched glimpse of a memory. aisling on the ground, a dead man on the tiles, blood on her hands as she pushes herself to her knees, coughing soundlessly. the camera shakes; the camera is in fact jeremy's perspective, as seen when we get a new angle, jeremy staring frantically at aisling as she tries to see if he's hurt. " baby, did he hurt you? jeremy, did he-- "

" you're a monster! "

the memory shatters, jeremy's cry fading away as aisling stares straight ahead, fingertips whitening against the arms of the armchair. we hear jeremy speak up. " i know my mother would do anything to keep me safe. " the relief is palpable; aisling inhales, eyes closing, nodding soundlessly as the interview winds to a close, and the social worker prepares to leave. once jeremy bounces out to find advik, though, the social worker turns to aisling with a curious look.

" he has a spectacular memory, doesn't he? most adults struggle to remember so acutely as he does. let alone a child. "

" he's a spectacular boy. " aisling shrugs it off, and the social worker seems unconvinced, but ultimately unable to take the matter further. as they bid farewell, aisling returns inside, when she hears a thud. rushing out to the roof garden, she finds jeremy having fallen on the ground, and rushes to his side. the camera locks in, first on his wincing face, and then the slight touches of blue on his shirt sleeve. aisling gently rolls up the sleeve, soothing him gently as we realize little jeremy is bleeding... blue? " it's okay. advik, petal, will you run and fetch jeremy's kit, please? we'll patch you up, then how about some ice-cream? "

the episode opens on a young man in his late teens leaving the diner, clasping a polystyrene container. he tears it open, chucking it into the trash and passing the steak sub within to a pleasantly surprised man walking past him. left alone with the card, the camera pulls in, revealing a tiny map scratched into the card in dark blue ink. he's about to leave, when we see two men wearing masks emerge from a car across the street, making a beeline for the lad. they're about to grab him, when aisling emerges from the diner, watching them with a warning glow to her eyes. " try it and see, dipshits. "

the lad turns, startled, then sees the two men stop in their tracks, turn on their heels, and skulk back into their car. aisling waits until they're gone, the engine fading into the distance, before switching to a bright smile, resting a kind hand on the lad's arm. " let me give you a lift. hm? "

opening credits roll, but instead of the usual intro, we get photos of aisling and erik together, candid shots, surveillance shots, professional photographs, all throughout history to the present day. the final shot is of them in front of genosha; from here, we get the next scene, where aisling is driving the guy up to the gates. a young woman rushes out to greet them, but seems pointedly avoidant of aisling, giving quick directions to find "him", and then patting the car roof and leaving as aisling restarts the ignition. " but... you're not a mutant, right? how do you know about this place? " it seems that discussion has been constant on the journey here; but actually discussing the connection between aisling and the mutants has been spared. this is where we, the audience, join the discussion.

" i know erik. "

and now we begin to see what the start looked like. the camera, angled towards aisling as she steers to the left, cuts to an identical scene where aisling's restyled in a significantly more 90's style. this is part of her gradual return to 2018, thanks to time travelling 7,000 years into the past, which she'll reveal later; for now, she parks the car outside a small bar, heads inside, and sits at a booth with a glass of scotch. a timelapse occurs; it's shortly after noon when she arrives, but the sun is plunging, and the bar emptying, when the door finally opens with any real significance. the camera cuts from a side-profile of aisling and the booth, to a calf-height shot of a figure entering the pub. we can also see the hinges of the door seem to tense slightly, preventing it from closing as a couple walk past and promptly exit the bar, leaving just aisling, the new arrival and the bartender within.

" it's been a minute. " a familiar voice remarks. the camera closes in on the mirror behind the bartender, refocusing to reveal erik, a smile unfolding on his face. aisling slides the scotch to his side of the table. " neat? "

" the rocks melted about five hours ago. " aisling prepares to stand, but erik takes his seat across from her, a familiar smile on his face. we hear a faint hum as a tarnished metal ice bucket floats across to them, a small pair of tongs lifting a cube out at a time. aisling doesn't break eye contact, only speaking when he lifts out a fourth and raises his eyebrows inquiringly. the vibes can only be described as being that of an old married couple, very much in love, and very much aware of the other's flaws and virtues in equal measure. " show-off. "

" where's your drink? "

" i'm not here for a social visit, love. it seems that our trip to reykjavik has followed us home. "

suddenly we're back in the present day. the man is staring at aisling in complete and utter disbelief. she casts a number of increasingly worried glances in his direction, before finally caving. " what? "

" reykjavik, 1991?! that was you guys?! "

" not entirely. i mean. he moved the country, i kept the population asleep, but... the portal was someone else. look, there's something you should know before you go inside. erik's seen mutantkind through the decades. he's seen the social attitudes change. he's seen what happens when people find an excuse to disguise cruelty as necessity. whatever he does now, to keep the people here safe... trust that it's something done with experience and history in mind. "

the man nods, then turns to look out the window. the camera pulls back from the passenger-side window, panning around to reveal a new section of genosha, still being built, and by none other than erik himself, levitating over it all, bringing sheets of steel and grids of iron bars into place, merging the metal until the structures are in place. we can see that the natural wildlife is thriving, that perfect balance of minerals in the soil maintaining healthy flora, and in turn, healthy animals. stainless steel irrigation systems line fields of corn and wheat. metal tracks run in the roads, on which trams run seamlessly through the ever expanding town. erik opens his eyes, sunlight pouring over him as he smiles, descends, and lands right next to the car as aisling and the man emerge.

" you just can't help yourself, can you? " she jokes, to which erik laughs, leading them through the town and towards a tall, immaculate building with circular windows.

" please. make yourself at home. we've had to expand quite a bit, due to so many arriving. " as the man leaves, erik turns his attention back to aisling. the fond smile she wore earlier is now touched with concern. " you've been responsible for at least half of these, by the way. "

" i doubt they've all been as docile as your new arrival. " when erik looks at her, aisling shakes her head. " he almost got ambushed. i think... maybe i'm drawing too much attention. erik, my love, i don't know what i'd do if anything were to happen to you, or to-- "

" but nothing has. and nothing will. we're impermeable, aisling. for once... for the first time in history... there is a place in the world where mutants can be safe. where mutant children can be protected... it's real. it's here. it's now. and we can only grow stronger. a handful of cowards can't hope to stop us now. " the camera catches an angle of erik that will be the subject of SO many gifs. golden sunlight filtering through his hair, a twinkle to his eye, a look of hope and levity in his face that has long been lacking in his life. we've seen erik as the voice of reality, one that's seen so many dark times for mutantkind. we've seen him fight hard to level the playing field, to protect his people. this episode is the first time we see him living in a reality wherein he is protecting mutants all over the world with the very idea of genosha. the two share an intimate moment. hands are held. foreheads touch. there's a lull.

" and we can always pull another reykjavik. "

aisling answers instantly. " never again. "