Stasis

"**Stasis**" is the third episode of the Prime Video series *Tales from the Loop*. It and all other episodes of the series were written by series creator Nathaniel Halpern. It was directed by Dearbhla Walsh.

## Plot

Upon falling in love, a teenaged girl attempts to make the moment last forever.

## Summary

### Meeting someone new

A girl, May, plays a record, "The Dark End of the Street" by James Carr. She handles a device and narrates "That moment, that wonderful feeling of excitement. Why does it always pass?" She is shown kissing a boy, Jakob, who is actually Danny Jannson in Jakob's body. (see "Transpose") In a car, her father, Zhi, asks her how Jakob is. She tells him he's good. She continues "Even when you know it's special, then and there, it still ends. Why can't we stay in that moment, that feeling?" She is shown with another boy. "Why can't it last forever like we wish it could?"

She is fishing at the lake. Something catches on her rod and she wades into the water to investigate. It's the device from before. She picks it up and heads back to the shore, then places it in her tackle box. She and her father get back in the car to head home. He turns on the radio and a man chatters about the biological world and "physical and chemical assumptions." On the pier, she spots the other boy from before. Back at home, she takes out the device. She flicks its on/off switch, but nothing happens. She unclips a metal band from it. Her mother, Xiu, comes into the room, wearing a fancy kimono and complaining that she's not dressed. She is back in the car, the same guy from before chattering again. This time, Xiu switches it off, but Zhi turns it back on. May looks very bored.

They attend the reception for a wedding at the Mercer Tavern. Jakob/Danny is hanging out now with a girl named Stacey and May cannot stand it. She gets up and stands by the boy from the pier. Observing the bride and groom, he asks if she thinks that it'll last. She considers, then turns to him and says that she hopes so. She asks if she saw him by the lake earlier and he nods. She asks if he was with someone, but he says that he wasn't. She asks why not and he asks if she ever just wants to be alone. She looks over Jakob/Danny and tells him that she never does. He asks if she wants to go for a walk. She asks where and he just says "somewhere else." She looks over at her parents, then agrees. They go walking in the woods. Observing the way in which he walks, she asks if his foot has always been that way. He tells her that it has and she asks if it hurts. He says that it sometimes does. She replies that everybody's got something.

They stop by a tree and he comments that he heard that time moves slower in the woods. She tells him it's not true. He agrees that it's not, but says that it would be nice if it was. He says that's why he likes it out there, that the moment feels like it could just... last, they complete the sentence together. She asks if she can see his foot. He hesitates and she says he doesn't have to, but he tells her it's okay. He takes off his shoe, then his sock, showing her his deformed foot. She asks what he would do if it was normal. He tells her that he'd run. She says that she bets he'd be fast and he thanks her. It seems as if the moment is about to develop into something more, but then Jakob/Danny and Stacey are heard shouting, asking if they're there. Etahn tells her he'll see her around and she leaves him sitting there. Back at home, she continues tinkering with the device. She discovers what appears to be a broken component inside. That evening, she is working on her homework, when her mother comes into her room, telling her that she needs to clean up. She strokes her hair, saying that she had hair just like hers. May asks her how old she was when she got married and she replies that she was her age and that it was exciting at the time.

### A moment frozen

The next day, she and Ethan explore a graveyard. She indicates a tombstone asking "What about him?" and he replies that the occupant of the grave was part of a satanic sex cult and got shot by a jealous husband, but survived, but later died in a freak hot-air balloon accident. She sighs, saying that he's not like this at school, that he's usually really quiet. He tells her that he doesn't like being around people because they can be mean. He asks if he's talking too much and she tells him that he isn't, that she likes it. He asks if she's still with Jakob. They hear a creaking and she tells him to follow her. She has him distract a man, Lucas, while she pilfers a replacement for the broken component. They walk away and he asks her if she stole something. They go to her home, and she shows him the device. He asks if it's dangerous and she agrees that it probably is. He asks how she learned to repair stuff like this and she replies that she's always been curious about how things work. She takes it apart and puts it back together. She comments that it's kind of weird, but he says that it's cool. He asks if he can see her room, so she shows it to him. He says it's nice and she starts picking up a lot of loos clothes that are lying around. He indicates a sketch of her that was made by the real Jakob. He comments that he can't draw, but she's prettier than that. She asks if he wants to listen to a song and she plays "The Dark End of the Street." They sit together and listen and then she reclines her head on his shoulder. They turn to each other and kiss, then kiss again passionately. They then lay down on the bed, nothing of them to be seen. Then, May's mother Xiu walks in. May shouts at her to get out. She just turns and stands by the door. Ethan leaves, then so does Xiu, closing the door. May turns off the record.

May returns to her toolshed and continues her work on the device. She installs the new component and places one of the metal bands from the device on her wrist. She then turns on the device and all sound around her stops. She looks around in confusion and calls for her parents. She goes upstairs. There, she finds her father frozen writing something on a document and her mother standing at the sink, the water from the faucet completely motionless. She stares at the device. The next day at school, she approaches Ethan at his locker. She asks if she can show him something. He nods and she takes him to the gym, telling him that she's found a way they can be together. She has him put on one of the metal bracelets. He asks if she fixed it and she nods. She puts on the other bracelet, then switches on the device. Once again, all sound stops. She sets down the device and gets up, him following. They go out into the hall, where all of the students are frozen in action. Nobody and nothing is moving in the slightest. "Neat, huh?" she says to Ethan. Ethan waves his hand in front of Jakob/Danny, but gets no response. May chuckles as Ethan imitates a girl holding her nose. He asks May why they aren't frozen too and she holds up the hand with her bracelet. He considers his own bracelet and asks if the whole town is like this. She agrees "It's just us."

They go outside and observe the frozen town. May sees a man reaching for a penny. She picks up herself and tosses it. Ethan honks the horn of a car, then they both shout to the air. May removes a sun hat from a woman's head and places it atop the head of a man riding a bicycle. Ethan adjusts it and May laughs. They pour each other drinks at the bar and Ethan asks what May wants to do. "What about him?" asks May, indicating Gaddis. Ethan whispers that he was sent from another dimension to see what makes them tick. May cracks up giggling, saying it seems about right. He tells her that he likes being alone with her. He starts to move in to kiss her, but instead she takes him to the middle of the street and kisses him there. She then starts pulling off her clothing. "Here?" he asks. She asks when they'll ever get another chance to do something like this. So he takes off his pants and they make out. They then lay next to each other. He pants, and she asks if he's okay. He says he forgot to breathe. She looks around, then goes and stands on top of a car. Ethan sits up and looks around, saying that it's like a dream. She tells him that in the future whenever he walks down this street, he'll think about what they did here. He asks how long it lasts and she replies that it's as long as they want. This moment can last forever.

### Promise made, promise broken

They plunder a store, May putting on a beautiful dress and twirling in it for Ethan. Ethan gets himself a fancy crossbow. He asks where they're going to keep all of it. They head to home with an upscale Asian look, May saying that she always liked the idea of living there. He tells her that now's her chance. They sit on a swing outside by the lake. He asks her how you say "What time is it?" in Chinese and she tells him. He repeats it, then asks about "I love you." She says that it's not as easy. He asks her "why" and she thinks for a moment, then recites the phrase. He asks her to say it one more time, so she does. He then says it himself, but he's a bit off. She chuckles and he tries again, this time doing better. She considers him, then says the phrase herself, this time not simply reciting it. Later, they go back to the graveyard and he uses the crossbow to shoot a deer. She asks if it doesn't freak him out, but he tells her that it doesn't. She asks what does freak him out and he replies that snakes do. He asks about her. "Being alone," she replies. She says she told him she doesn't like it. He asks her why and she says that it would just be her and she's not her favorite person. He tells her that she's really confident. He then tells her not to worry, that he's there and he'll never leave her. She asks him to promise and he does.

They go out riding on a motorcycle, May driving, just them on the open road. They start living their lives together, day after day, just them. May learns to shoot the crossbow. They make love. They enjoy the sight of a picked flower, a bee frozen atop it. One day, they are in bed when May asks him how long it's been like this. He thinks and then replies "A month?" "Longer?" wonders May. He asks her if she'll break up with Jakob when they turn it off. She replies that she guesses so, then says that she will. "Yes or no?" he asks, and she replies that she said yes. He says that it'll be strange for everything to be normal again, but they can still do this whenever they want, maybe next time at night. He chuckles at the thought. May looks troubled, but agrees. She grabs the device and turns it off, but nothing happens. She starts flicking the switch rapidly, but there is no effect. He asks if it's broken, if she can fix it. She tells him to let her think and starts unscrewing it. He asks if he's stuck and she says that she's there too. She opens up the device. The component from before is burnt out. She says that it should be fixed if they get a fresh one. He asks where they get one.

She visits an MCEP van and opens up a box, but it's empty. She goes inside the nearby home, Lucas's home. As the continues searching the home, she finds a pair of earrings, which she recognizes as belonging to her mother. She walks through the home and discovers her mother in bed with Lucas, the two of them frozen in the middle of a passionate sex act. She stares in shock. "Found it," Ethan comments from behind her, then, seeing the scene, comments "Nice. A forbidden love." He continues that they communicate when they can meet through secret messages left under a rock by a lighthouse. She tells him to shut up and seeing that it's her mother, he immediately apologizes. She, however, tells him to just shut up. She starts gathering up all the clothing from around the room, tossing it out on the ground outside, saying that she'll make it so that they have nothing to cover themselves with. He calls this stupid and she tells him that he doesn't have to be there. He says that it's not like anyone's going to see them and she asks if he's saying she's stupid. He tells her that's not what he said. She replies that it is and starts to walk off. He says that he didn't know it was her mom, that he didn't do anything. He asks her why she's being this way -- "like a bitch." She retaliates by calling him a "cripple." He stares at her in shock and hands her the component. He then walks off himself. She heads back inside, removing some clothing from the closet, but then stares at her mother and Lucas. Truly considering the moment, she seems to think better of what she's doing and dumps the clothes on the ground.

### Special because it doesn't last

She walks out of the house with the stasis device, shouting for Ethan. She shouts again, but gets no answer. She runs all around the town, shouting, but he does not reply. In the middle of the street, she begs for him to answer her. She wanders, and eventually finds him standing on a structure by the lake. She approaches him from behind, asking if he will look at her and saying that she didn't mean to say what she said. She says that when he said he felt stuck there, it really hurt and she was scared that he was going to leave her. Seeing her mother like that made her really upset. She pleads that she can't be alone, telling him that she needs him. She asks if he will talk to her, pleads with him, but still gets no answer. She steps forward and sees the truth - he is frozen in time. His bracelet is suspended in mid-air beneath his wrist. She stares, disappointed, then flips the switch on the stasis device.

The bracelet falls to the ground and he turns to her. They both look down and he picks up the bracelet and hands it to her. Sadness is written all over both their faces as he walks off. She sobs, now alone on the structure. She narrates again about a moment not lasting. At home, she lays in her bed and flexes the bracelet. She then hides the stasis device in a box under her bed and listens again to "The Dark End of the Street," then stops the record. She sits with her father back at the lake. He asks if there's something on her mind. She does not answer and he asks if it's about her boyfriend. She replies that she doesn't think they'll be together much longer. He replies that he sees and tells her that sometimes things are special because they don't last. She looks at him, giving thought to what he said. Back at home, she finds her mother doing her makeup and places the earrings on the counter of the sink. One day, she is out walking when she spots Ethan across the street. She looks at him and he looks at her. He crosses the street and she starts to walk away, but he catches up to her in an alley. He asks how she is and she just gestures noncommittally. She asks about him and he asks her what happened. She replies that he broke his promise. "And you said what you said," he retorts. She starts to walk away again. He calls after her and says the Chinese phrase for "I love you." She stares, sadly, then turns and walks away. Both go their separate directions, but May recalls the feel of the wind in her hair during the motorcycle ride.

## Cast

### Starring

* Daniel Zolghadri as Jakob (Danny Jannson)

### Guest starring

* Ato Essandoh as Gaddis
* Nicole Law as May
* Danny Kang as Ethan
* Leann Lei as Xiu
* Dominic Rains as Lucas

### Co-starring

* Robert Nahum as Logan the Bartender
* Tatiana Latreille as Lauren
* Victor J. Ho as Zhi
* Christin Park as Stacey
* Alec Carlos as Mark
* Erin Okrainec as Fiddle Player
* Pamela Jeffrey as Flute Player
* Denae Boucher as Bride
* Kamal Chioua as Groom

## Scene breakdown

*The following are the scenes of this episode, as indicated via Amazon's X-ray feature*:

1. Amazon Original (00:00:00)
2. Title Sequence (00:00:05)
3. Passing moments (00:00:26)
4. Fishing by the lake (00:02:36)
5. Attending a wedding (00:05:51)
6. A walk in the woods (00:08:20)
7. Quiet moments (00:12:34)
8. Ethan and May get closer (00:13:59)
9. Figuring out what the machine does (00:20:26)
10. A way to be together (00:22:06)
11. Exploring the city (00:24:49)
12. Becoming more intimate (00:26:43)
13. Enjoying the moment (00:35:19)
14. Back to reality (00:36:56)
15. May apologizes to Ethan (00:45:31)
16. Sometimes things are special because they don't last (00:49:35)
17. End Credits (00:54:50)

## Music

* "The Dark End of the Street" by James Carr
* "Take Me" by Karen Dalton

## Behind the scenes

* In this episode, a road-sign can be seen with an arrow pointing to the right for "Suomela" and another to the left for "Winesburg." While there is a real Winesburg in Ohio, it is not located anywhere near Mercer. There is no Suomela anywhere in or near Ohio.
* As revealed in the scene commentary "Endless Love," the stasis device used by May in this episode was designed by Simon Stålenhag, author of the original *Tales from the Loop* book and who served as a consultant and co-executive producer for the series.
* In the same scene commentary, showrunner Nathaniel Halpern stated that while it was easy to create the effect of being frozen in time with people, it was a big job for the visual effects team to freeze everything in the background, such as the leaves on the ground.

## References

1. ↑ Writer's Guild of America West - *Tales from the Loop*
2. ↑ *Tales from the Loop* on Amazon