Banshee Recap: “We Shall Live Forever”
Original Air Date (Cinemax): Friday March 1, 2013
Season 1 Episode 8
by Julianne Snow:
Banshee’s eighth episode, ‘We Shall Live Forever’ begins with vignettes of Carrie and Lucas rekindling their passion for one another. As Carrie wakes up and prepares to leave, Lucas begs her to stay, using her real name ‘Ana’ as a means to make reconnect the old life they once shared with the new life they could have. When Carrie tells him “that person, Ana, is dead,” and that the night they shared was her way of saying ‘goodbye’, her words obviously anger him. Through the resulting conversation, Lucas finally gets Carrie to admit that Deva is his – shocker! He wants to be a family, but she tells him again to leave stating simply that if he ever loved her, he’d leave. She also warns that if he doesn’t, “I’ll kill you myself.”
Carrie leaves Lucas’ apartment and as she is walking to her car, she hears someone following her. Thinking it is Lucas, she turns to confront him and finds Olek, one of Rabbit’s henchmen. He forces Carrie into the trunk of his car, his intention to return her to Rabbit, but before he has a chance to leave, Lucas smashes the window of the car and points a gun at him.
Perspective shifts to the Amish community and Rebecca as she is coming out of her house that morning. On the porch of her family’s house stands her mother, father and other family members, all of them looking somber. Once Rebecca realizes that this means she is being shunned, she drops to her knees in front of her mother, imploring that they not do this to her, that she can change. Her father dumps a bag of evidence chronicling her double life and with that Rebecca knows the decision has been made. With nowhere else to go, she goes to her uncle who welcomes her with open arms. Excusing himself with the promise that she can stay as long as she likes, Proctor leaves to visit Benjamin Longshadow, who is on his deathbed. While he tries to be respectful to Alex, the chief’s son and next in line for leadership within the tribe, he is still treated quite icily. Later in the episode, another visitor comes to the hospital; she is angry and presents herself with a very definitive attitude of ‘I don’t give a fuck’. Her only request, after Alex greets her as his sister, is to be informed of Benjamin death. Do any of the families in Banshee get along?
After visiting Benjamin in the hospital, Proctor goes to see his family, the same one that shunned him so many years ago. When he gets there, he is met with stony silence from many and the request to leave the farm. He speaks out against his family and what they are doing to Rebecca, but it falls on deaf ears. They simply believe that she has made her choice. Proctor then tells all of his family the only reason they are still in Banshee is that he lets them be there. It’s an angry tirade and one the appears to be motivated by the pain of his shunning – an event that we learns happened when he was nineteen and involved him standing up for his family against thugs that would do them wrong.
Handcuffed and restrained in Lucas’ apartment, both Carrie and Lucas interrogate Olek, sometimes in English, other times in Ukrainian. Olek admits that he was the one to tip off Rabbit about Lucas and Ana’s plan to betray him all those years ago. When Rebecca shows up to talk to Lucas, he offers her a ride back into town knowing that she cannot see Olek and Carrie in his apartment. That and the fact that Lucas is trying desperately to get Carrie back and having Rebecca too close for comfort is certainly not going to help him achieve that. When he drops her off, she gives him a kiss, only to be seen by Burton who is keeping tabs on her.
When Carrie and Olek are left alone, she tells him that she knew he loved her and has always loved her. Olek is resistant to admit it, but finally does which angers Carrie even more. When Olek tells Carrie that she should run, she misunderstands, thinking that he means from Rabbit. The truth of the matter is Olek has uncuffed himself and a bloody, exhausting fight ensues with each matching the other blow for blow. It’s a brutal fight – brutal! The fight ends with the two of them spent, broken and bloody in a heap on the floor; Carrie with a stab wound in her stomach and Olek with one in his back.
Throughout the entire conversation and really the entire episode, Gordon is on a rampage in the bedroom he shares with Carrie after he realizes she never came home that night. He’s frustrated, angry, and wants to know exactly what his wife is hiding. After turning the place upside-down, but finding nothing definitive, he spots a locket with a picture of a house. After lighting up a joint, Deva enters the room, wondering what is going on. The conversation between them is awkward, as many of them are, but Gordon tells her everything is going to be all right.
Once Rebecca returns home, she showers. Proctor storms in while she is showering, dragging her out by the hair and shoving her onto the bed. He screams that he wants her to leave, citing that she’s only been in his home for less than a day and she’s already whoring herself out to Lucas (thanks to Burton for reporting back incorrectly). There is a disturbing amount of sexual tension that exists between them so it’s unsure if that has something to do with his anger. Proctor wants her out of his house, but in a moment of honesty, she apologizes and explains that she has just lost her family and doesn’t know how to handle it. Proctor understands this on a fundamental level and the two of them come to an easy acceptance of each other’s situation.
Back at Lucas’ apartment, the pair of Olek and Carrie are still on the floor and Carrie is dropping in and out of consciousness. She remembers what it used to be like before the theft; how the three of them, Lucas, Olek and Carrie, used to drink and proclaim that they will live forever. With the last bit of strength she has, she drives a plank into Olek’s neck, killing him. With the deed done, she lapses into unconsciousness. When Lucas returns, he finds her on the floor covered in blood lying partially underneath a dead Olek. Scooping her up into his arms, he leaves, hopefully to take her to a hospital, but somehow that seems unlikely for the simple reason of: how does he explain how she got like tha without revealing too much?
The bonus scene after the credits is a good one, though I will admit it’s a little sad and somewhat foreboding. Don’t miss it!
I’m glad that we’ve gotten some answers in this episode. I had suspicions all along that Deva was Lucas’ child. Knowing that for sure doesn’t really change anything, but it does add another layer as to why he chose to stay in Banshee. I also enjoyed the backstory of Proctor. As a character, you’re not meant to like him, but from what you learn, you can definitely see that he’s a product of the environment he grew up in. Wanting a little justice and perhaps even a little respect shouldn’t ostracize you from the people who are meant to love you, but it’s what happened to him. He may live in a fancy house with many of the things that the Amish choose not to use, but deep down he is still that 19 year old young man looking for the approval of his family. It’s sad, but it deepens the reasoning behind many of his actions that much more.
DarkMedia contributor Julianne Snow was first lulled into the horror genre by her parents during an ill-advised viewing of Alien when she was only 4 years old. Since that date, it’s been a given that Julianne will watch and read anything that is horror related. Her short fiction has appeared in anthologies from Sirens Call Publications and Open Casket Press, as well as The Sirens Call and various other websites showcasing short fiction. She is the author of the Days with the Undead series, which can be found on her website dayswiththeundead.com. Her first novel, Days with the Undead: Book One was published in early 2012 and is based on her popular web serial. Find her on Twitter @CdnZmbiRytr.
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