Pilot

The **pilot episode** is the first episode of the first season of *The Passage*. It premiered on January 14th, 2019.

## Synopsis

*When two scientist search for a cure in Bolivia, one is attacked by something supernatural and they make a revolutionary discovery that changes everything. Three years later and the world is under threat by the Chinese avian flu. At a secret governmental medical facility in Colorado, The Center of Disease Control tasks a group of scientists to find a cure. Meanwhile, they have been working on a group of vampire-like individuals linked to the incident in Bolivia. However, to make their research easier, it is theorized that a child would be the best option for finding a cure. Two agents are not only tasked to recruit more patients, but to secure a child. Upon receiving the child, one of the agents grows fond of the child and becomes hesitant in delivering her to the facility, ultimately taking her and leaving.*

## Summary

In 2015, the Department of Defense and the Center for Disease Control sends out two scientists, Jonas Lear and Tim Fanning, to Bolivia to search for a rumored two-hundred and fifty-year-old man that could possibly serve as a breakthrough for a boundless remedy. A Bolivian native guides them to a cave but warns them to keep their distance before carrying a bucket full of blood. They disobey and, to their surprise, the man is discovered to be true. However, he turns out to be a blood-drinking creature and it attacks Fanning. Among the accompanying soldiers is Clark Richards, and he grabs a nearby stake after realizing that bullets are ineffective and kills it. Fanning is rushed to a hospital but instantly recovers, promising that he could change the world.

Three years later and two federal agents, Brad Wolgast and Phil Doyle, go to Huntsville State Prison to recruit a death row inmate named Anthony Carter and offer him the chance to be a patient for a government project called Project Noah. Brad enlightened Carter on the possibility of finding a cure and exchanging his life for something more positive. However, back at Project Noah, a group of scientists, including Jonas has a quick briefing on the Chinese avian flu which has reached pandemic levels, killing billions of people in the process. Jonas and an additional group of scientists, notably Nichole Sykes and Daniel Pet, are tasked with finding a cure. Pet has a theory and takes them down Cell 4B: A quarantined area that holds Fanning, who is now a fully transformed viral, along with other subjects who are just alike. Using the imprisoned individuals as examples of failures, Pet suggests that age is a factor and that a child would be their best chance for finding a cure. Sykes thinks on it and ultimately considers it, requesting that Richards sends out a party to retrieve a child.

In Memphis, Tennesee are a group of boys playing around in a fast-food restaurant. Among them is Amy Bellafonte who wins an arm-wrestling competition, and although she is invited to dinner by one of the boys, she declines. Later, reading *A Wrinkle In Time*, she is confronted by an employee about her being out so late without supervision. Amy reassures that her mother "works nights" and leaves the restaurant. Upon exiting the fast-food restaurant she witnesses a crime scene and realizes that her mother is the victim of a drug overdose. Due to having no relatives, she is taken by the police and put in temporary foster care.

Due to the agreement to cooperate with Project Noah, Brad and Phil transport Anthony the medical facility—to which Anthony has odd feelings about. Immediately after Anthony is escorted to another part of the facility, Brad and Phil are approached by Richards and are given the task to kidnap a child. They drive out to a foster home in Memphis where Amy resides. Meanwhile, Amy is in the backyard wrestling with another girl who stole her book. Eventually, the fight is broken up by their foster mother and Amy is summoned into the house. She meets the agents face to face and interrogates them on the absence of a female social--the preferred gender they send to girls like her. Ultimately, this makes Amy suspicious. She is told to pack her belongings and to go with them but sneaks outside of her bedroom window. Realizing it, Brad initially remains silent until Phil takes notice. Both agents jump into their car and chase Amy through the neighborhood.

Phil manages to catch Amy at a park but physically assaults her after she kicks him. After throwing her into the back of the car, they speed away from multiple witnesses. Brad makes a sudden stop and attacks Phil and threatens him for assaulting her. Immediately, Brad carefully tends to a terrified Amy with her ultimately assuring that she is uninjured. Suddenly, Brad is called by Richards and Brad explains the whole ordeal. With a change of heart, Brad suggests they abandon the mission but Richard refuses, instructing them what to do next and claiming that he will clean up the mess. Now in Arkansas, Amy gets motion sickness and Brad pulls over so she can vomit. Brad instructs Phil, who is growing tiresome of Brad, to get her snacks and ginger ale. Holding onto her book, Brad realizes that it was given to her by her mother and asks her personal questions about her, but to no avail. When asked about their destination, Brad tells her that they are going to see a doctor. However, Amy knows that he is lying.

Back at Project Noah, Jonas is playing music in Cell 4B in hopes of Fanning responding. Grey approaches and reveals that despite Tim not showing signs, that he and many others have very realistic nightmares of Fanning. However, Jonas dismisses it by telling him not to look into it too much. In the same room, Pet and Richards are examining Shauna Babcock, another former death row inmate, where Pet is certain that they are all no longer productive. However, the longer Shauna stares at Richard, the more he feels eerie about it. Once it is feeding time, Shauna walks up to a sink and drinks out of it as it fills up with blood, continuously maintaining eye-contact with Richards.

Now in Texas, Brad receives a text from his ex-wife Lila Kyle while Amy uses his tablet. However, he chooses to ignore it. Amy then notices a free-way advertisement for a nearby carnival and, to Phil's dismay, Brad offers to take her there. When they reach the carnival, Phil pulls Brad aside and expresses his disappointment and clarifies that Amy is nothing more than a mission. Determined, Brad sets a time to meet back at the car.

At Project Noah, Sykes enters her bedroom and meets Richards sitting in a chair. The two get aroused by one another and end up in bed. He informs her about Amy being captive and reassures Sykes to calm her nerves. However, just as he leans in to kiss her, Shauna appears to be on the other end of it. She climbs on top of him and reminds him about lying to her and that he will make it up to her. She reveals her true form, having a veined face, golden yellow eyes, and fangs, but Richards jumps awake from a dream seconds after she bites into his throat.

At the carnival, Brad buys Amy treats and she sees a stuffed unicorn that appeals to her at a shooting game. The two playfully tease one another and Brad accepts the challenge, however, he shoots one target and allows Amy to complete the rest. After giving her a few pointers, Amy wins her prize. Brad is elated. Suddenly, he gets a call from Lila again and answers his phone. She speaks with him about her marriage proposal and brings up a difficult memory that Brad has difficulty coming to terms with. After Brad hangs up, Phil returns and is prepared to leave. Before leaving, they both go to the men's' room, where Brad renders Phil unconscious. He returns to Amy and reveals the truth to her, telling her that Colorado is a bad place and that it should be avoided.

Amy puts her trust in Brad without hesitation and they leave Phil behind. Word eventually gets out that Brad has gone rogue and Richards is tasked with apprehending him. Since then, Brad obtains another vehicle and takes Amy, who is asleep, somewhere peaceful. He looks at an old photograph of him, Lila, and his daughte, and reminisces. He eventually wakes Amy and takes her to a lake, offering her a chance to properly say goodbye to her mother and a less resentful way to deal with her grief. Confused at first, Amy recalls many of the good times she had with her mother and is overcome with emotion. Brad sympathetically consoles her.

In Colorado, Anthony is waiting for a physical examination and is examined by a mysterious doctor he knows nothing about. When asking for his identification, the doctor reveals himself to be Tim Fanning. In the midst of their conversation, Fanning's mouth begins to bleed and his eyes change color. He promises Anthony that things are going to get worse but reassures him that he will be alongside him throughout the entire process and that things will ultimately become amazing. As his fangs grow longer, he snarls and Anthony jumps awake from a nightmare in the very same medical room.

At this point, Brad and Amy still on the run. Brad is shopping at a gas station when he sees himself on the local news, labeling him a kidnapper to the world. He puts on a pair of shades and hides his face from the cashier before he can grab his products and exit the store. As a safety measure, he calls Lila on a payphone to warn her about Richards. Conveniently, Richards is already at Lila's home and she uses coded language to avoid tipping Richards and his men off. Pretending she is speaking to one of her own patients, Brad confesses his love to Lila and tells her to remain safe. Brad returns to the car but spots a sheriff in his rearview mirror, making him fearful to move. He confesses to Amy that he is going to turn himself in, figuring that it would be safer for Amy if she gains worldwide recognition. After he turns himself in, they are both taken to the police department. However, Brad overhears a phone call with the Department of Defense and believes that they are in danger. While the sheriff's back is turned, Brad encourages Amy to sneak behind the counter and grab the keys for his handcuffs. Successfully obtaining them, Brad frees himself just as Richards and his men arrive at the police station. After getting caught by the sheriff, Brad manages to disarm him and take the gun for himself. He holds the cop hostage but the cop is shot down by one of Richard's men. Brad shoots back and takes down three men. Lastly, he encounters Richards but manages to escape with Amy without injuring him. He steals a police car and flees the scene, being pursued along the way.