Echo Sphere

"**Echo Sphere**" is the fourth 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 Andrew Stanton.

## Plot

A young boy encounters a mysterious sculpture known as the Echo Sphere and must confront the nature of existence.

## Summary

### The Echo Sphere

Fireflies glow on the branch of a tree as a boy, Cole plays with a dog outside the home of his grandparents, Russ Willard and Klara. He catches some fireflies in a jar and Klara snaps a photo, then snaps a photo of Russ, who chuckles. Cole runs up and shows them the fireflies. That night, he watches the fireflies before going to sleep at his grandparents' house. In his study, Russ types something up at a computer. He sighs, considering his notes and keeps typing. He does his ablutions, cleaning up the toilet in the bathroom, but finds that it won't flush.

In the morning, Cole awakes and finds that the fireflies in his jar have been replaced with quarters. Outside, he and Russ do some planting and Russ quizzes him on his multiplication tables. He gets them all right and then asks him what it is that he does underground. Russ considers and then tells him that when someone says that something is impossible, he proves it's possible. Cole smiles at him and Russ places his hat on his head. Klara tells him that his father is there and they go inside. Russ takes the hat off - "Hats off in the house." They meet George at his car. George asks if there was any trouble and Russ replies "Just the usual kind." Cole gets in the car and fires finger guns at Russ. Russ pretends to be badly hit , then turns and fires off a pretend shot of his own. George honks and they take off, Russ waving goodbye.

Back in the house, Klara hands Russ a picture of Cole holding the firefly jar, saying that Loretta would love it. Russ calls it sweet, then shows Klara some dead fireflies, saying that her grandson forgot to poke air holes in the jar. Klara asks if "she" called yet, and replies "Not yet." He tosses the dead fireflies and washes his hands. He heads in to work at the Mercer Center for Experimental Physics ("underground"), biding good morning to the security guard at the station, Gaddis. He rides an elevator and thinks of a young version of his wife. He surveys his workplace, seeing his daughter-in-law Loretta showing somebody something on a chalkboard. He considers some calculations on a notepad and takes a phone call from a doctor. He has short, animated unheard conversation, then takes off his glasses and stares.

In the woods, Cole pokes a dead fawn with a stick. He talks with Russ, asking what his own dad was like his age. Russ replies that he was working long hours then. He takes Cole out for a long walk and they approach a large, spherical object. Cole is scared of it, but Russ tells him to not be afraid. They walk over to the object, which is labeled "MN-770," with the M badly faded. Cole asks if the object does something. Russ tells him to stand in front of an opening in the object and call out. Cole does so, calling out "Hello?" He hears "Hello" echo back many times, each time the voice getting deeper. Russ tells him that the voice is him as an old man. The sphere tells how long your life will be. He tells him to call again and count. Cole does so and counts up six echoes. Cole tells him to try and beat it. He replies that it's not a game, but Cole tells him to try anyway. So, he shouts into the sphere, but there are no echoes in return. He sighs and Cole asks if it's broken. He tells him that it's not, that nothing's wrong. He says that he has to tell him something. He does so and Cole stalks off. Russ shouts after him, but he just keeps walking.

### Lights in the dark

At the Willard household, the whole family is gathered around, including Jakob, who unknown to anyone else there, is actually Danny Jannson inside Jakob's body. Loretta asks if the doctors said how long that he has. Russ replies that it depends, but not long. George asks what he will do and he says he's not sure there's much *to* do. At this, Cole gets up and leaves. Russ continues that the doctor is sure, though. Klara says that she remembers the doctor as a little girl, Dr. Ballard, and it's odd that girl would be the one who gives them the news. Russ asks what his point is and Loretta asks if she can get a glass of water. He and Klara say that they just wanted to let them know the situation. George asks how they're being so calm about it and Russ says that these things happen. Loretta asks what they can do, but he says there's nothing they can do. Meanwhile, Danny/Jakob just sort of sinks into the couch, silent. Russ goes upstairs to find Cole. He knocks on his door and Cole tells him to go away. He tells him to not talk to him like that and demands that he open the door. He sighs and starts to leave, but then Cole unlocks the door. Russ says that he didn't think he was going to open it and asks him to sit. Russ sits too and tells him that his own father passed away when he was his age. Everybody stood talking, and he thought that nobody was keeping the body company, that it was all by itself. Cole suggests that there's something underground that could save him. He replies that it's impossible and Cole says "make it possible," throwing his own words back at him. He asks where someone goes when they die. Russ replies "in an urn." Cole asks what it is and he says that it's like a vase. Cole says that he wouldn't fit and he replies that they reduce your body to ask. "But... where do you go?" asks Cole again, and his meaning is clear. Russ replies that you don't exist anymore. He asks if Cole is asking about some kind of afterlife, saying that there's no reason to think that there is one. Cole answers that there could be and he asks what he would look like if there was. His body would be gone. Cole says that he'd have a new one and he asks what age he'd be. Cole replies that he'd be whatever age he is and he says that it doesn't sound like much fun. Cole says that he'd be young then. "Why?" Russ asks. Cole says that maybe he wouldn't have a body and Russ shushes him. He sits, considering.

That morning, he and Klara have breakfast and whistle to each other. Russ fixes the faulty toilet. In his office, he tells Loretta that he's never taken a sick day in his life. Loretta replies that she never has either and that he saved them all up for now. "Bad joke," she comments. She points to a photo, asking how old he was then. He tells her he was 25 and the place was just an idea, full of potential. She asks if it feels like a long time ago. "Blink of an eye," he replies. He mentions her wedding and she says that was a long time ago. He says that he should have gone. She notes that he didn't think much of her at the time. He agrees that he didn't, and she says his son would want to hear about his wanting to have gone. He tells her to sit, asking if the Loop is really what she's always wanted. She tells him that it is. "Just like your mother," he agrees. "And you?" she asks. He tells her that he thought it was, and that someone will need to be there to lead everything. He's spoken to the board and it's hers if she wants it. She tells him that she does. He nods, saying that it's good and that he thought the place would fall part without him sitting at a desk, but it won't. He asks if he could offer her some unsolicited advice. "Please," she responds, and he tells her that even though she won't, she should take a sick day now and then. She'll wonder where all the time and potential went, that it'll be gone in a blink of an eye.

Russ sits on a bench outside, listening to the humming from the nearby towers. He goes to the Willard family house and is greeted by George, who asks if he's feeling okay. He tells him he's feeling fine and George asks if he came to see him. He tells him he wants to take Cole for a drive. George calls for Cole, but there's no answer. He goes to get him and they go for their drive. They climb some stairs, Russ exhausted by the climb and telling Cole to go ahead. They stand before a control panel. Cole tells Russ that he can't see anything, that it's too dark. Russ lifts a panel on the controls and Cole flicks a switch, turning on a large lamp. Cole flicks more switches and more lights come on. He finally flicks all of a dozen switches until they are bathed in light. Russ tells him to remember that he can always find light in the dark. Cole smiles and looks at the lights. It has started snowing as they return home. Cole gets out and Russ does the finger gun thing. Cole pretends to have been hit, then tosses off a shot of his own. He lays down on the seat of the car for a moment, then gets back up, and laughs at Cole. "See?" comments Cole. "I knew you wouldn't die." He heads inside and Russ drives back to his own home. He starts to head inside, then stands, sobbing. He walks towards the house, then stands and sobs some more outside. He collects himself and finally goes inside, where Klara is sitting watching television. She asks if he ate and he comments that they should put something in an empty space on one of the shelves. She whistles to him, and is startled when he doesn't whistle back, but he finally does. He goes to his bed, again remembering the young Klara, then collapses on the floor. The television continues in the background.

### Make it possible

In the morning, Cole climbs a tree and sees his father hurriedly getting into his vehicle. Danny/Jakob comes outside and tells him that grandpa is in the hospital. Cole asks if he's dead, but Danny/Jakob replies "not yet." Cole climbs down, asking Danny/Jakob to come with him. He asks where and he says that they're going to save him. They go to the entrance of the Loop. Danny/Jakob says that they won't let him in and Cole replies that there's another way, in the field. Danny/Jakob says that it's dumb, but Cole tells him that down there, anything is possible. Danny/Jakob asks what it's supposed to mean and he walks off, saying that he'll do it alone. He examines several metal coverings in the ground, finding them latched tight, until finally he comes to one that opens. He climbs down a long ladder and the hole latches behind him. From a little ways away outside, the Jakob robot watches. Cole emerges into a long tunnel. He passes by a group of people meeting in a room and approaches the Eclipse, the beating heart of the Loop. The door to the vault containing it is open. He stands before the Eclipse, listening to its thumping. He reaches out to touch it, but then his mother Loretta shouts his name. In her office, she tells him that he could have gotten hurt. George asks what he was trying to do and he says that he thought there was something that could help grandpa. Loretta tells him that she knows he loves his grandfather, but he cuts her off. He says that the thing in the room was made from the same stuff that "the girl" had, referring to the young version of his mother he met, not knowing that it was her. He asks if it could cure Russ. George says it's not what it's for and he asks what the point of everything there is. "Make it possible," he demands. Loretta tells him that Russ built the Loop to do many things, but what he want isn't one of them. They might not like it, but dying is part of life, the very last part. "I'm sorry," she tells him. He tells her that she wants to see him. George says that he doesn't think it's a good idea right now. Loretta says that they'll see, but for now, he should just go home.

Cole rides an elevator with the security guard, Gaddis. He seems to want to say something, but doesn't. Outside, Danny/Jakob asks what happened. Cole asks if he told on him, but he says that he didn't. Cole walks away, past him, into the woods. At home, he rolls the empty firefly jar back and forth. He pokes at the dead fawn in the forest again. He goes to school and stares out the window. His teacher, Sarah, stares at him, and he goes back to his test paper. He works in the garden with Klara and continues to roll the jar. He finds that the dead fawn is now just bones. He stares at the Echo Sphere, then walks away. He rolls the jar again, but this time it falls and shatters. He picks up the shards and overhears his parents talking at the table, his father George making the unfortunate comment "I just wish he would die already." Cole tells him that he wants to see Grandpa. The change from the jar lies unclaimed on the floor. They go to the hospital. George tells him that before they go into his room, he wants Cole to promise to remember his grandfather as he was, not how he is. Cole nods and they go in. George calls out to Russ, saying for him to look who's there. He says that it's Cole, his grandson, but in his hospital bed, Russ just asks "When," then mumbles "Klara, it's raining." He has a flash of her in her 20s again. George says that they should go. Russ shouts incoherently for his wife and George tells Cole to wait outside. Russ has another flash of his young wife and raves, while Cole sits covering his eyes in a chair outside.

### A glimpse of the future

That night, he lies sniffling in bed. He calls for Jakob and Danny/Jakob asks him what happened. He says that it's not fair. Danny/Jakob turns on a lamp and walks over to Cole's bed, sitting with him. "I can't save him," cries Cole. Danny/Jakob places a hand on his shoulder, not really sure what else to do. In the hospital room, Klara sleeps on a chair next to Russ, who passes away in the night. On the edge of death or passing over, he has a vision of going to visit the Eclipse. He presses his hands on it, then presses his head to it and appears to vanish inside it. At the Willard home, George takes a call. He tells someone on the other end of the line "That's not necessary" and hangs up. He gives Cole and Danny/Jakob the news: "Your grandmother was there. He wasn't alone." At the Loop, his desk sits empty. At his home, the garden is thriving, but Klara's hat sits on her bed. Klara replaces the empty space on the shelf with an urn containing his ashes.

At a memorial service for Russ, Cole meets a young teenage girl, Zoe, tending bar. She asks if it was his grandfather that died and he agrees. She asks if he was buried or cremated. He replies that he was cremated, wondering why she asked the question. She replies that she was just curious, asking what he would have for himself. He says that doesn't know and she replies that she would prefer to buried like her mom. He asks if her mom died and she nods and tells him "Yeah." "Sorry," he replies. She asks if he wants to help her and he sits down, helping her to make some drinks. He tends to the garden with Klara while the dog plays by them, tomatoes growing nicely. They pick one. He eats a sandwich and goes into Russ's study, feeling the keyboard of his computer. He tapes a key and Klara comes in, telling him his father is outside. He asks what Russ did in there, but she tells him that he never told her. He meets his father outside. George thanks Klara for looking after him and she gives him a photo to give to Loretta. She tells him that the toilet broke again and he promises to have someone come take a look at it. He gets in the car and hands the photo to Cole. He says that it's nice and Cole agrees, remembering Russ and the fireflies. They drive away and Cole stares some more at the photo. Klara goes inside, sits at a table, and whistles alone. At dusk, Cole walks outside. He returns to the object from before, the Echo Sphere. He shouts "Hello?!" inside. As the echoes resound, he seems to have a vision of himself at various stages of his life, having a family, a child, and a birthday with his grandson blowing out the candles on a cake. Fireflies dance inside the Echo Sphere.

## Cast

### Starring

* Rebecca Hall as Loretta Willard
* Paul Schneider as George Willard
* Duncan Joiner as Cole
* Daniel Zolghadri as Jakob (Danny Jannson)
* Jonathan Pryce as Russ Willard

### Guest starring

* Ato Essandoh as Gaddis
* Jane Alexander as Klara

### Co-starring

* Robert Nahum as Logan the Bartender
* Stefanie Estes as Sarah the Teacher
* Christin Park as Stacey
* Sierra Alexis as Zoe
* Dylan Bodner as Cole (20s)
* Jamie Parcells as Cole (30s/40s)
* Shane Carruth as Cole (50s)
* James Janssens as Cole (80s)
* Jodi Lynn Thomas as Klara (20s)
* Kassianni Austin as Molly (30-50)
* Lynn G. LePage as Molly (80s)
* Kaelan McLaren as Alex (10)
* Fay Kelman as Olivia (40)
* Trevor Russell as Nate (40)
* Carter Heintz as Nate

## 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. Hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa (00:00:26)
4. Quiet observations (00:05:41)
5. A day at the office (00:06:20)
6. Adventures with Cole and Grandpa (00:08:38)
7. Russ breaks the news to his family (00:12:19)
8. Cole has a hard time with the news (00:13:56)
9. Some unsolicited advice (00:17:13)
10. Russ comes to pick up Cole (00:21:04)
11. You can always find light in the dark (00:22:31)
12. Everything can change in the blink of an eye (00:25:22)
13. A plan to save him (00:28:55)
14. Cole tries to make the impossible possible (00:30:40)
15. Time goes on (00:35:09)
16. A visit to the hospital (00:37:12)
17. Cole feels helpless (00:39:04)
18. Step into the unknown (00:40:25)
19. The days after death (00:41:51)
20. Spending time with Grandma (00:45:46)
21. Living a long, full life (00:48:49)
22. End Credits (00:49:56)

## Behind the scenes

A scene shown briefly at the end of this episode in which Cole visits his family home with his wife and son is seen at greater length in the Season 1 finale, "Home."

## References

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