#rnm speculation

the liminal space or “pocket dimension” is an interesting concept. but what i think we may actually be looking at right now, is some form of alex’s mindscape.

alex has spent his entire life in survival mode. first with jesse, then in the air force. and this liminal space reflects that. when we see him, he’s in survival mode yet again - this time from an unknown element causing his death. he assumes radiation because chemical warfare would match up with his military background and upbringing.

why the 1940′s? given this is the only instance of the liminal space we’ve seen, it might be because that’s when it all went wrong in alex’s mind. that’s when the ship crashed, that’s when his ancestors began their targeted genocide of the aliens. 

(could this also be indicative of theo’s hand, where the setting of the liminal space for anyone would be the same? it’s possible. when alex fell through, the “open” symbole illuminated on michael’s console. perhaps the liminal space only takes the shape of the mindscape of the first person dropped into it? perhaps that’s why nora and louise locked jones up - to make him the first one to use it?)

alex sets up the faraday cage trap at the drive-in. this is another method of his survival - gain the upper hand on anyone who may be dangerous. 

all of alex’s scenes take place at the drive-in. and in alex’s mind, his first date with michael was back in 1x03 at the drive-in. to alex, we learn, it didn’t matter that it ended poorly, he still has fond memories of it, and it holds special importance to him. 

one of the first things dallas asks about is the fruit, to which alex answers that he’s seen a grove of weird looking trees. it’s only after this that bonnie and dallas return later saying the grove has been burned down. this is information that had he known about, alex surely would have provided. 

alex mentions is that he’s noticed a drop in barometric pressure - something he’d also referred to in 4x01 right before the st. elmo’s fire happened. the presence of an electric magnetic storm is “new” he says, but it’s not the first time we’ve heard about one on the show - in 1x12 alex mentioned it outside caulfield.

the fractals on his chest appear similiar to the ones that appeared on liz’s arm in 4x09 while she was in her mindscape and under the influence of the mist. liz’s mindscape adventure was for her to try and work through her internal conflict regarding the science and max, and whether max was holding her back. in alex’s case, he’s faced with michael’s ongoing decision - stay on earth with him and give up seeing the planet he’s been looking for, or travel back to oasis and the home he’s been searching for since he first crawled out of the pod. the alex we’re seeing in the liminal space right now is seemingly making the decision for michael - alex gets the shred of happiness he believes he’s allowed, and he’s also freeing michael from having to make that choice.

so why would tezca need to throw alex into the pocket dimension as a contingency plan? well in 4x11 we learn that anyone with the triad symbol can’t make the jump to oasis through the portal. it’s entirely possible that jones found out not only about max’s tattoo but michael’s as well. so when jones found out about alex (”there is someone you care about as much as nora”), he realized if he was going to try and use liz to bypass theo’s lock, there needed to be stakes. trapping michael in the pocket dimension knowing he would go after alex means that liz will be unable to say no any longer.

I mean, considering Alex isn't dead or wrapped unconsciously in a cocoon of quicksand, buried deep in the desert.

I'm so here for Michael to find out that they quicksanded his boyfriend while they were luring him with tales of home.

I love you, Guerin, but I need to see you go ballistic on them and on yourself too.

When Michael opens the ‘portal’, Alex is there but neither can get through. They hold their hands up to each other’s at the threshold. This will be the cliffhanger.

Then in the next episode, they find out that the only way to free Alex/break down the barrier is to bring about the Alighting.

I’ve seen a ton on this hellscape platform about how RNM could have handled TB’s absence better. But.. what if they didn’t know how much he would be able to film? What if... it was an episode to episode decision from Tyler about what he could handle healthwise since he got his surgery AFTER they finished filming? From 4x03 through 4x07 we all could see spaces where the gang could discover that Alex was being held in quicksand and maybe that was a deliberate choice by the writers and showrunner.

Anyway I’m working on a long WIP, that had a very general “here’s where we end” outline but as I write, other stuff starts to occur to me, so I add it in, I make room. I just feel like RNM season 4 plots did the same thing, they left room for Alex, but ultimately couldn’t reintroduce him to the story until the actor gave them a go-ahead. Script drafts become shooting drafts sometimes right up to the 11th hour. 

We’ve all see how much can change from a script draft to a shooting draft, look at the pilot of RNM - they had Michael as a foster brother to Alex ffs.