As the fires rage and wasps swarm in Fortitude‘s “Episode 12,” the season finale is drenched in religious introspection. The sinners of this desolate Arctic purgatory turn to fire to cleanse not only the zombie-creating prehistoric wasps but also the regrets and mistakes of their past. In moments, “Episode 12” emerges as the most hopeful episode of the show, sparking crucial reconciliation and allowing many characters to find some semblance of peace. There’s even what some might call a miracle, with Vincent surviving the massive gas explosion he creates to kill the wasps that poor Doc releases from her mouth.
Fire as a Seductive Device
The keyword here is “in moments.” At its core, “Episode 12” hints at even darker things on the horizon, with the characters of its titular town captivated by the slow-motion, fix-it-all solution that fire offers them. It’s a seductive device, promising to burn away everything from the past, as if it never existed. A little fire, and Ronnie and the mammoth carcass are no longer issues. A little more fire, and the roomful of wasps isn’t so scary anymore. “Episode 12” is about consequences and how they’re unavoidable, no matter how far we run from them. Fortitude is the most isolated place in the world, but like the ice beneath them, it can only hold the darkness inside for so long.
Metaphorical and Real Ice
Sometimes, the ice is metaphorical, a psychological device used to preserve a memory or state of mind, refusing to let go of a specific event, detail, or decision. Other times, the ice is real. Along with its study of human nature, Fortitude is a show about the environment. After all, this cosmic, wasp-filled justice comes courtesy of Hilda trying to build a hotel on a moving glacier. Mother Nature is not kind, nor is she quick to adapt. Most of all, Mother Nature is something we don’t understand. As we continue to heat up the atmosphere, embracing the quick-fixes of the world and fueling the fire of pollution, it will eventually come back to bite us.
Fortitude’s Environmental Warning
It may not be today or even in 100 years, but the first rule of the universe is “for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This is a zero-sum game, and the more we stretch the rubber band of nature, the harder it will snap back when it inevitably does. Have we stretched it to the point of snapping? Fortitude doesn’t offer an answer to this. Instead, it frames the horrors of this in subversive ways, through rich characters and a layered narrative that is less concerned about closure than it is about ensuring the cosmic scales are even.
An Unsatisfying Finale
Or a lack thereof: if anything, the third act of “Episode 12” points out how that scale is out of balance, possibly permanently. The mammoth graveyard has melted and started forming a plague (we hear the bugs that take down stupid, drunk Yuri), rendering any reconciliation between Hilda and Eric (or Vincent’s short-term survival) ineffective. A heartwarming moment is cut short by Elena’s transformation (which… stops when she gets shot? A little confused there) and poor Dan’s inability to have a single good day, standing over his burning city with a tired, slightly frightened look on his face as large parts of the town he was sworn to protect melt and disfigure themselves.
The imbalance of karmic scales is what makes “Episode 12” feel like such an unsatisfying finale. There isn’t much offered in the way of closure, just a sinking feeling that things are not getting any better, even if the mysteries are (mostly) solved and the mammoth carcass is taken care of. “Episode 12” revels in its lack of resolution, instead engaging viewers with the overwhelming sense of dread from every non-ending. All Fortitude wants to tell us in the finale is that things are only beginning, and the true measure of their karmic debt will be revealed in its (recently announced!) second season.
A Haunting High Note
Is it a cheap tactic? Sure, but how Fortitude employs it is genius, leaving the audience sitting on the edge of their seats, the only coherent thought being that while a few things have improved, nothing is getting better in this desolate little town. Things are only getting worse, which makes every day in the snow-covered landscape a little harder to bear (no pun intended).
Everything is frozen in Fortitude: our lives (RIP Morton), our desires, our failures, which makes them all the more impossible to let go. Yet the more damaged we are, the more damaging we can get if we don’t face the truth. That central message applies to every layer of Fortitude, and the finale does a wonderful job capturing that, with its long shots of blazing fires and deep looks into the eyes of many characters (be it to the camera or each other), ending the most exciting new series of 2015 (so far) on a haunting high note.
Other thoughts/observations:
– Thanks for joining me this season! I’ll be back in 2016 to cover (the sadly Morton-less) Season 2!
[Photo via Pivot]
