"Paul Levinson's It's Real Life is a page-turning exploration into that multiverse known as rock and roll. But it is much more than a marvelous adventure narrated by a master storyteller...it is also an exquisite meditation on the very nature of alternate history." -- Jack Dann, The Fiction Writer's Guide to Alternate History

Monday, January 7, 2019

Counterpart 2.5: The World-Splitter

 

An excellent Counterpart 2.5 tonight on many fronts, but the one that most caught my attention, got me to sit straight up, was Yanek's revelation to Howard Alpha that Yanek was the one who made our single world split in two - or whose work caused that to happen.   We don't yet know if that was intended or an accident, and indeed don't know anything more than Yanek said that.  We can assume he's telling the truth.

We also learned something not as fundamental to the two worlds, but fundamental to the lives of our main characters.   This came from Yanek's revelation to us all that he is Emily's father.  Now how's that for a pivotal character. 

So here's what we now know:  Yanek was responsible for the split, which caused his daughter Emily to split in two, caused him to split in two, indeed caused everyone to divide like an amoeba.  But which Yanek have we been seeing?  Alpha or Prime?  He's of course in Prime-world now, but with every episode, we find that there are more and more crossovers, people from one world living in the other.   And whichever Yanek this is, where is his other now?

We saw in the coming attractions that we're going to learn much more about Yanek back then, when he was much younger and somehow causes the world to split. Good!  And I have a feeling - no evidence, just a feeling - that the other Yanek is no longer with us, not in either world.  Maybe the Yanek we're seeing killed him.

Meanwhile, it was quite a night for Peter Alpha.  Clare sleeps with her boyfriend - literally, since the two have known each other since they were kids in that terrorist training school.  Then he comes this close to taking his own life - thanks, Howard Prime for telling Peter about the gun - but fate has another idea.  I'm glad - Peter's an interesting not to mention crucially important character.

Counterpart is off next week.  I'll see you back here in two with a review of the next episode.

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