Before: Season 1 Episode 6 “Fever Dream” – Recap and Review
A shift in “Before” nearly promises a better show as how Eli met Lynn and Benjamin is dove into.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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| Originally Aired | November 22, 2024 |
| Network | Apple TV Plus |
| Director(s) | Emmanuel Sei-Kuffour Jr. |
| Writer(s) | Desta Dedres Reff |
| Character | ACTOR’S NAME |
| Jane | Hope Davis |
| Sue Ann | Miriam Shor |
| Eli | Billy Crystal |
| Barbara | Maria Dizzia |
| Lynn | Judith Light |
| Sophie | Rebecca Ruane |
| Denise | Rosie Perez |
| Cleo | Ava Lalezarzadeh |
| Gail | Sakina Jaffrey |
| Lawrence | Lenny Venito |
| Noah | Jacobi Jupe |
| Benjamin | Will Hochman |
Storyline Recap
I Need You To Get Away From Here – Jane, Sue Ann, Eli, Barbara
Eli cutting open a child as some psychological technique doesn’t go over well at the hospital. Yes, what he did has now led to all the children who were suddenly experiencing symptoms in the last episode recovering. However, no hard evidence supports the idea that what Eli did or what was going on with Noah is related to the phenomena.
So, with that in mind, Jane, who wants to be Eli’s ally, tells him to leave, stay away from the hospital, and she’ll work things out. Frustrated, Eli goes home only to see Sue Ann getting the house ready to be shown, and he bickers and goes back and forth with her. Then, Barbara shows up reminding Eli that he was supposed to be with his granddaughter and the three of them were supposed to go ice skating.
Hey, Be With Us – Barbara, Eli, Sophie, Lynn
Begrudgingly, Eli goes skating with Barbara and Sophie, but his mind is clearly elsewhere. Barbara tries to pull him in, likely so Sophie won’t know the same pain of a person in her life, a family member, seeing her as secondary to what else they have going on. However, Eli is stuck on Noah until the ghost of Lynn shows up.
With that, Eli starts asking questions about what Barbara knows about Lynn and Benjamin. Since Eli usually does not talk about her mother, there is some excitement. Maybe he’ll open up to her and talk finally? But the reminder that Eli was Ben’s doctor when he was a resident shuts him down.
Who Can I Turn To? – Denise, Noah, Cleo, Eli, Gail
Denise is a wreck. Eli was supposed to be a trusted ally, as was Gail, but Gail is talking about Noah being sent to a more intense facility. Eli just cut open Noah, and when Denise goes to Eli’s office for answers, she meets Cleo. The two are friendly, but when Denise sees Eli’s wall looking like a conspiracy theorist trying to tie things together, she realizes she is on her own and is upset by how powerless she feels to protect and help Noah in the face of all this.
The Ballad Of Benjamin Walker – Lynn, Benjamin, Eli, Lawrence, Noah, Cleo
Benjamin Walker died around 1977, but it seems Eli has a few gaps or blocked-out memories regarding that. So, Cleo, who is very resourceful, gets Benjamin’s file to Eli, and with an address there, he goes to the home where Benjamin lived. There, he finds Lawrence, Benjamin’s younger brother, and the two talk about Benjamin and drum up old memories.
For Lawrence, Benjamin was someone who had night terrors and addiction and had moments when he was a good older brother, but there was more disappointment than joy there. For Eli? It is Benjamin’s death that led him to meet Lynn, and it could be submitted that Eli may have taken part in Benjamin’s dying when he cracked a rib when Benjamin was convulsing – likely from an overdose.
The mark from the internal bleeding triggers Eli and leads him to go to the hospital to see Noah, and he realizes, looking at the birthmark on Noah’s chest, it matches how Benjamin’s bruise from the damage Eli did. Thus, this pushes the idea that when Noah speaks about Eli hurting him, the likelihood of Benjamin speaking through Noah is high.
New Character Descriptions
Benjamin
Benjamin is Lynn’s ex who, from speaking Dutch, talking about a worm behind his eye, and more, has a lot of the struggles Noah has.
Lawrence
Lawrence is Benajmin’s younger brother, and he helps Eli piece together who Benjamin was when he was alive.
Review
Highlights
Moving On From Building A Foundation
I would submit that pushing the idea Noah and Benjamin are indefinitely linked means “Before” has finished laying out its foundation for the show and is actually building towards something. With the bruise/ birthmark connecting Noah and Benjamin, now things are making sense. Add in how Lynn and Eli met on the day, or around the day Benjamin died and Eli potentially being involved with his death, and all points start to meet up.
Now, does this answer why Lynn killed herself or provide much of an avenue to get to why it happened? No. But this episode feels like a jolt of adrenaline after the series became relatively ho-hum due to feeling like it wasn’t getting anywhere and was providing filler.
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