It’s a new year and a new drama for Freeform as Beyond begins a new mystery. The sci-fi drama kicked off with a special preview of its first hour introducing us to Holden Matthews, a man who emerges from a 12-year coma with super powers.
Meet Holden Matthews
Beyond begins in the past on the day of a meteor shower. Holden is a young teen about to enter high school who goes to a water tower to watch the celestial event with his best friend Kevin. They’re typical nerdy kids who love outer space, sneaking beers and riding motor bikes.
However, their stargazing is interrupted by Kevin’s brother, angry over the stolen beers. A fight ensues and Holden flees on his bike, crashing it in the woods. That’s where things get weird. His electronics go on the fritz, a bright light comes out of the sky and things begin to float. Is it an abduction? We don’t know, but something weird and supremely unnatural definitely just happened.
12 Years Later
The show then cuts immediately to the present, 12 years later, where Holden, now in his 20s, has been in a coma ever since that night. He wakes up, completely freaking out the nurse and confusing the doctor because this is truly a medical miracle. The doctor wants to run more tests because Holden is talking and walking, neither of which he should be doing after spending 12 years in a coma, but she’s overruled by his parents.
In short order, Holden is reunited with his family, happy to have him home. There are his parents, Diane and Tom, plus his brother Luke, who has gone from 5-years-old to 17. And the whole world seems interested in his story (even Oprah wants to interview him!). The weirdest part might be how well Holden is adjusting. It probably helps that he was able to skip past those awkward teenage years and at least Wikipedia now exists to help him adjust.
The Nightmares Begin
Clues to what happened to Holden begin to emerge in his dreams. Surrounded by fire, there’s a creepy old man and a girl who promises to “See you soon.” But the most confusing part is that when Holden wakes up, he’s not in his bed, but he’s somehow traveled to the same spot in the woods where he first fell into the coma.
A second dream gives more clarity as the old man tells him to “Do it now” and not to be afraid while the girls warns him that they’re coming for him. And once again, his electronics freak out and he wakes up in the woods.
“Trust No One”
The mystery deepens as Holden’s doctor discovers that her office was broken into. Meanwhile, Holden goes shopping with his brother and it’s one of those charming little moments that speaks to the potential of Beyond because their roles are reversed. Luke has to teach his big brother how to do simple things like drive a car or talk to girls.
Holden talks to a mysterious girl named Willa, but things continue to get weird. She writes something on his arm, but it’s not her number, it’s a warning. “You’re in danger. Trust no one,” she wrote before saying “See you soon” and leaving.
One of those people Holden shouldn’t trust is Kevin, his childhood best friend who is now a school counselor with a wife and a baby on the way. Kevin offers to help Holden deal with coming back, but he’s a little too interested in what happened. Holden is right to be concerned because later that night, Kevin gets a phone call from a scary-voiced man who is apparently forcing Kevin to help find out if Holden is the person they’re looking for, whoever “they” are.
Holden’s Powers
The doctor wants a new MRI of Holden’s brain, so he returns to the hospital. However, during the test Holden has his surreal visions, the power goes off and everything starts to explode around him. Perhaps this is what the old man wanted him to do now, some bad-ass telekinesis.
At night we see a man in a yellow jacket who works for the mysterious phone voice. He gets a call that Kevin can’t be trusted and he’s to do whatever he needs to do to be certain that Holden is who they’re looking for.
Holden meets Kevin at a bar where Kevin tries to warn him that “they” are after him. Damn it, Kevin, stop using vague pronouns. Outside the bar, in the rain, the boys get attacked. Yellow Jacket Man holds down Holden, claiming that he knows what Holden can do and wants a demonstration.
Yellow Jacket Man threatens to shoot Kevin and tells Holden to stop the bullet. Luckily for Kevin, Holden is finally able to tap into his new powers and sends all of the men flying backwards using his mind. The result is one single awesome shot of Holden kneeling in the rain with his fist on the ground as two men are sent soaring through the air behind him.
What Happened to Holden?
As the men recover and start shooting at Holden, Willa drives up and tells him to get into her car. He does, but only because it’s preferable to dying. Willa reveals that she knows Holden, but he has no clue what’s happening and just wants to go back home.
Willa claims that while Holden’s body has been dormant for 12 years, his consciousness wasn’t and he lived an entire life growing up with her and learning to use and control his massive powers. She wants to protect him, but he still doesn’t believe her and decides to go back home.
Willa returns to her home where she finds the old man from Holden’s dreams who appears to be in a coma, but he can somehow telepathically send text messages to her. She informs him that Holden doesn’t remember and “they” are trying to get to him, but the old man tells her to say close and protect him.
However, Holden may not be the one who needs protecting because that night he has another bad dream as the electronics in his room go haywire and the faces on his bobbleheads melt off.
So who are “they” and who is the Man in the Yellow Jacket? Where was Holden’s consciousness for the past 12 years? And what’s the deal with the old man who sends psychic texts? Find out as Beyond airs Mondays at 9/8c on Freeform.
(Image courtesy of Freeform)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
