Chapter 06: Buttons
Refugees
Episode 6 of The 3% season 4 begins with Michele trying in vain to break free from her cell. As we skip back in time, we see Andre and Michele playing as siblings, with Michele’s older brother teasing her in the streets. Only, that playing soon turns tragic when Andre finds their parents dead at home. Andre lied to Michele to protect her, telling the young girl that their parents will meet them later and hurrying away. Back in the present the pressure mounts on Andre. He tells them all to lock the gates and organises a complete lock-in. As he does, the refugees from the Offshore arrive – including Marcela. She immediately finds out that Andre commanded this and heads up to confront him. With tensions high, the situation between Andre and Marcela hits boiling point. Andre decides to declare a state of emergency. Unwilling to listen, Marcela decides to usurp Andre’s place. She doesn’t get far though as one of the guards sticks a gun to her head, eventually ending with her arrested. With news of the Offshore being destroyed spreading, Andre struggles to keep the Process under control. Ariel however immediately approaches Gloria and tells her she doesn’t want to go to the Inland. Everything starts to unravel as small pockets of rioting begins to break out between the process members, refugees from the Offshore and the Process guards. However, when Andre finds out the culprits from the Pulse are onboard the sub, he demands they be brought to him.
Press The Button
With Michele collected from her jail cell too, she’s forced to watch helplessly from behind sound-proof glass as Andre hooks up all the five rebels to the familiar machine we’ve seen before with the electric currents. It’s an intense and cruel scene as the Process candidates step forward and press the buttons. Xavier initially struggles to do so until he finally caves and hits the switch. On the back of them doing this, Andre injects them all with the familiar tracker and welcomes them to the 3%. Only, there’s obviously no 3% because the Offshore is gone. So too, from the looks of it, are the rebels. Xavier heads in alone and frees each of them from their binds. The slimy Pedro arrives not long after and commends Xavier for his “smart” ploy, thinking he’s helping out to get brownie points. Only, as everyone suddenly stands up Pedro holds a gun up until Michele knocks him out. It turns out all of this was a an elaborate ploy to stop Andre, including Ariel helping to sabotage the machine. She managed to prevent a high level of voltage.
The Confrontation
While the others slip away in the vents and prepare to leave the Process, Michele stays behind. She hurries up the hallways, evading guards, before coming face to face with Andre. It turns out Michele actually knew about their parents dying all those years ago. Andre kept it quiet though and despite trying to protect her, did the exact opposite. Michele shoots Andre and lets him bleed out. As she does, Michele gets up and takes control of the radio broadcasts. She tells everyone that the Offshore is gone and admits the truth to them all. “This is the last broadcast, move on with your lives and be free,” She says, dropping the headset to the ground. After smashing up the console, she turns around to find Andre standing right there. He stabs her in the stomach and lets her bleed out. Andre looks up and sees the Founding Couple looking down on him, telling him they’re proud of what he’s done.
The Episode Review
With a shocking ending, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of ramifications are in store for Andre following Joana’s death. I’d imagine she may well be the martyr that spurs everyone into action. What will the future be like now that the truth is out? Given the extended 75 minute finale that’s up next, it’ll be interesting to see what direction the show goes with its final episode. For now though, The 3% bows out with a decent penultimate slice of drama. One thing’s for sure – you do not want to miss the last chapter of this thrilling dystopian drama.
