Reverie Season 1 Episode 7 Review: The Black Mandala

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Huh, so that's one purpose for which the military wanted to use Reverie.

Mara ended up caught in some bad business on Reverie Season 1 Episode 7.

Charlie and the rest of the Onira-Tech crew should have realized there would be some distasteful moments being in bed with the Defense Department.

Wrongly Imprisoned - Reverie

I'd say interrogating an underage Syrian refugee would qualify as one such moment.

Seriously, how naive are Alexis and Paul, and even Charlie for that matter?

Using the program to treat PTSD is laudable. Training with Reverie is perfectly unobjectionable. Interrogation and psychological warfare are more debatable.

Related: Reverie Season 1 Episode 6 Review: Pas De Deux

It's obvious Paul is all about pushing the envelope in Reverie. So it would be possible to fly in there if only you could turn off part of your mind. That's easier said than done, it appeared, after watching Paul do that face plant in the forest.

Still, that's the wonder of Reverie, where anything is possible.

Unfortunately, it was immediately followed by how dark the program could become, in the wrong hands.

Annoyed Coder - Reverie Season 1 Episode 7

Mara was certainly disoriented when Reverie didn't work like it was supposed to. Obviously, the military had been mucking around with Alexis's code.

I still don't get how Mara essentially got booted out that first time, when fluctuations ran through the program. Was that some kind of defense mechanism?

Related: Reverie Quotes: Season 1 Episode 6

The Onira-Tech team deserved props for how quickly they were able to locate the correct address where Ehmet was being held captive. Of course, it was a military program.

I'm still not sure what to make of Monica.

Initially, she told Charlie and company that yes, the military was using Reverie as an interrogation tool, and there was absolutely nothing they could do about it since they had signed a contract to work with Defense.

But once Onira-Tech had found evidence that Ehmet was nowhere near the terrorist attack, and, in fact, was underage, she came down on that interrogator like the wrath of God.

On the Defensive - Reverie Season 1 Episode 7

Then, in the end, Charlie had pieced together that Monica had caused the cross programs to occur so that Onira-Tech would do the dirty work of crashing that program for her. She just had to turn Mara loose, and that was doomed. Mara is tenacious.

So I guess this is a case of better the devil you know.

This does beg the question of what the dark Reveries are. If something like this can be created with access to Alexis' code, what must those programs created with bastardized codes be like? I'm hoping that topic will get addressed before Reverie Season 1 is complete.

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In the end, Mara was explaining to Chris that she finally felt like part of a team again. That's accurate, as this was the best team effort so far. Usually, Mara does most of the heavy lifting, consulting with the others as needed. This time, everyone had their roles.

Charlie pulled in Monica and did research. Alexis hacked into the military program and got Mara the tools she needed. Everyone lied their asses' off to Defense to cover for Mara inside the program, blocking entrance by Drew the interrogator. Even Dylan assisted the befuddled British filmmaker.

That isn't to say that Mara didn't have to do the hardest work. She had to think on her feet in an unfamiliar environment. She had to convince a teen boy to follow her. Finally, she had to defeat the surprises the program created to block them.

Ready to Fly - Reverie Season 1 Episode 7

Still, they wouldn't have escaped if Ehmet hadn't been able to overcome his fears.

Something that wasn't adequately explained was Mara's getting shot in Reverie. She had said earlier that it's possible to be injured in there. But if everything there is happening in her mind, why did she still have a big bruise in the real world afterward?

Related: Reverie's Sendhil Ramamurthy Q&A

Paul didn't seem to have an explanation for that. Mara just seemed to blow it off as "shit happens." Is it something with her or something in the program? Either way, it needs to be investigated further.

Mara was able to reach Ehmet by explaining that she had to relearn how to trust people again. She was slowly coming out of her shell, learning to embrace life again.

Nowhere was that clearer than her reconnecting with Chris in the last scene. Hopefully, he continues to good for Mara.

To follow Mara's development, watch Reverie online.

What else is the military up to with Reverie? How much has Mara overcome her past? Will Paul really learn to fly? Comment below.

The Black Mandala Review

Editor Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
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Rating: 5.0 / 5.0 (3 Votes)

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.

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Reverie Season 1 Episode 7 Quotes

Paul: Where were you?
Mara: I don't know.

Paul: Everything we know, or think we know, tells us that [flying] is impossible. But in {Reverie], everything is possible. All you have to do is believe, and practice.
Mara: Ok, but leaning ain't flying.
Paul: Quite right. Thank you for pointing that out, Mara.