Season 2 - Episode 73: A Difference of Philosophies

## Synopsis

Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie decide to do more research on the Blackout Society before figuring out what to do about Sophia running for mayor. Henry talks to River at school and finds out the boy he got in a fight with is the son of the woman River's dad is dating. River also tells Henry about the other candidate for running for mayor - John Stanton. Bjorn asks Oliver to meet him to talk about the Blackout Society. Oliver provides a lot of useful information about how many people are in the society and who the leading members are. Oliver also states that he's not going to try and stop the Blackout Society from releasing all the information they have. Sammie and Henry are doing research in the library when Sammie starts to tell Henry about the deal Jadis tried to strike with her involving giving her information on the Empty Man.

## Episode Description

A lot has happened recently, and our heroes have a lot to discuss.

## Key Events

* Bjorn and Henry both learn from different sources that there are two candidates running for mayor: Sophia Foster, the leader of the Blackout Society, and John Stanton, an anchor for News at Nine.
* Oliver provides Bjorn with more information about the Blackout Society but admits he's not going to stop the society from releasing all the information they have.

## Summary

Bjorn, Henry, Sammie, Stanley, and Miguel are sitting around the table in the kitchen at the fort having dinner. Bjorn brings up the Blackout Society and what to do with them. They all agree on the fact that they don't have a lot of information about the Blackout Society to be able to make a solid decision. Henry says he can have River essentially 'spy' on her dad, the Chief of Police, and report any other information she finds. Sammie suggests pouring through social media. Bjorn says he can contact H.U.N.T.E.R. and let them know about the situation as they'd be likely to help mitigate this as well. They decide to play it safe for now and gather information.

Henry, back at school after winter break, meets up with River on the roof. Henry tries to apologize for the fight. River explains that her dad is dating a new woman, a veterinarian, and her son, Darren, is the one that Henry beat up. River admits she's not mad that he beat him up but asks that Henry let her handle it in the future as he's trying to get along with him. Henry agrees and then asks her if she saw the announcement about Sophia running for mayor. River tells him he shouldn't worry about it too much, that her opposition is a man named John Stanton - a popular news anchor for "News at Nine" that is one of the most beloved men in the city. Henry still asks River for help, asking him to pass along any information she might hear about Sophia from her dad to him.

Henry gets a distant look and River asks him what's wrong. Henry says that she was the one 'normal' person in his life and now he's bringing her farther into things. River says that she's not 'normal' but she understands what he means. River offers him a Kit Kat and Henry takes it.

Sammie and Elise are at a dog park with Sparks. Sammie and Elise catch up after being apart for a while during their winter breaks. Elise asks Sammie how things are with Oliver and Sammie says that they're going well, adding she's never been in a relationship with anyone this long. Elise says it's nice to see Sammie with someone stable and Sammie blushes. Sammie then asks Elise if she's met anyone recently and Elise admit that she just started seeing someone she met at a Christmas party - his name is Steven and he's an accounting major. She pulls out her phone and shows Sammie a picture. Elise suddenly spots something in the distance, points, and asks Sammie if that's her mom and dad. Sammie looks and sees that Helena and Tony are walking through the park together. Sammie turns red and says she didn't know they were together before they quickly make their way out of the park.

Bjorn is writing up his report on the squonk to H.U.N.T.E.R. He adds at the end that he found out the Blackout Society's leader is running for mayor and that he's looking into it more. He then texts Oliver and asks him to meet to talk about the Blackout Society. Oliver agrees to meet. Later that day, Oliver shows up to Bjorn's townhouse with donuts. Bjorn grabs a chocolate donut with chocolate icing and Oliver takes a jelly-filled one.

Bjorn has set up a white board in his living room with notes to try and organize his thoughts. He asks Oliver some questions and Oliver tells him that there's about 100 attendees at the meetings, that they don't have a lot of memories to go around but they do have a lot of circumstantial evidence - photos of Bjorn, Henry, and Sammie at different places. Oliver adds that there are about 20-30 core people in the Blackout Society that are the 'hardcore' believers that take everything very seriously while others are a bit more fantastical about it. There's also a Google Drive back up account that they keep all their information on. Bjorn asks who else in the society he needs to worry about besides Sophia. Oliver tells him to keep an eye on Daisy, Sophia's press secretary.

Bjorn asks how serious and excited they are about Sophia running for mayor and Oliver says the entire Blackout Society is onboard, wanting to see someone more middle-class win instead of John 'moneybags' Stanton. Oliver says that from what he's heard, John isn't the most well-liked guy on the island. Bjorn recaps everything that he's learned from Oliver and then asks if there's anything else he knows that he can share, specifically about the new benefactors. Oliver says most of them are confused but curious and have the money to throw at that 'curiosity.' The leader of the group is Edward Sykes, rich with old money and a retired man.

Oliver says his impression of everyone in the Blackout Society is that they're mostly harmless and fixes Bjorn with a hard look. Bjorn asks if he's worried about how they're going to handle this group and Oliver admits that he is - he's seen how terrified Sammie is of the Council, and he doesn't know much about H.U.N.T.E.R., but he knows not everyone at the Council or H.U.N.T.E.R. is as kind as Bjorn is. Bjorn admits he knows exactly what Oliver means. Bjorn emphasizes that his goal has always been the preservation of life and that he doesn't want people worked up into a frenzy over monsters. He assures he'll be careful with how he handles this.

Bjorn asks if there's anything else they can do to ensure people's safety and Oliver says he wouldn't do anything at all. Bjorn clarifies that he's suggesting they just let Sophia win the election and expose everything that's happening on the island. Oliver says that he's spent most of his life trying to get information out exactly like the Blackout Society is doing, the only reason he's been more restrained lately is because it threatens Sammie's safety. He says he's happy to provide more information to the Blackout Society to them all but he's not inclined to stop them.

Henry and Sammie are doing a deep dive through various social media platforms for information on the Blackout Society. They are sitting in the library doing their research. Sammie asks if Henry has found anything and he says no. Sammie then tells Henry that she needs to talk to him about something and he's going to get mad at her when she tells him. Sammie tells Henry that when they were purging Jadis from her body she offered her one last deal - that if she found her a new body, she'd give her information on how to defeat the Empty Man.

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Henry Marlowe
* Sammie Overbrook
* Miguel Rodriguez
* Stanley Marlowe
* River Hanson
* Elise Romano
* Helena Overbrook
* Tony Alvarez