The Greatest Love Story Never Told

An Earth 2 Episode Summary
by Ariadne
[June 8, 1995]

CONTENTS:

• Teaser
• Act I
• Act II
• Act III
• Act IV
• Act V

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Screenplay by: Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett
Directed by: James Frawley

The Teaser

Danziger is crawling and stumbling along a mesa. He is lost and unable to contact the group. He got turned around in a wind storm, and his gear compass is down. He is rather incoherent and says you've done it this time, Johnny. He fires off a flare, then falls down a hill. A man in a robe comes to stand over him.

The man, called the Elder, takes him to caverns populated by quite a large number of people. When Danziger in his delirium calls for Devon Adair, The Elder sends a boy off. The boy runs through the tunnels until he reaches a man with an eyepatch. He calls the man Governor and tells him his Devon has come.

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Act I

At base camp they are very concerned about the loss of contact with Danziger. Julia says he was supposed to be scouting for food, and they lost him at 1800 hours last night. Yale reminds them that he has been known to turn off his gear for hours at a time.

Adair, Baines and Walman return from searching for Danziger; they have been unsuccessful and complain of the cold. Julia leaves to get insulated; it's her turn to search. Yale suggests Danziger is waiting out the storm somewhere. True is very worried; the storm ended last night. Adair and Bess try to calm her fears by saying that he is a smart man.

Alonzo is dreaming. Julia comes in the tent, calls him 'Lonzo, and says the two of them are going out searching for Danziger. Alonzo wakes up, startled, and calls for Devon. Julia says no, she is Julia, then realizes he was having a dream. He says Adair has to go alone; Danziger is sick. He doesn't know who has him, but he doesn't think it's the Terrians. He emphasizes that as long as Adair goes alone, they won't hurt her.

In the caverns, people carry a delirious Danziger in a stretcher to a room lined with sleeping Terrians. The Elder says they couldn't leave him out there in that traffic; he could never recuperate with everyone glaring at him. He's caught the fever and is a fool for staying above in this cold. Danziger rambles, asking where he is and about the Terrians. The Elder says this is their space; the humans are only visitors. He then says he must wish his granddaughter back on the space stations pleasant dreams and lays his hand on a Terrian.

Adair drives the dune rail to the location specified in Alonzo's dream (5 degrees west, top of the mesa). She calls Yale over gear and tells him she sees nothing. When she logs off, True emerges from the back of the rail. Adair is very annoyed; the dream said she must come alone. Her plans to return True to camp are interrupted by the appearance of the boy. Adair assures him True won't be any trouble, and he signals them to follow. He leads them into the caverns.

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Act II

The boy takes Adair and True to see the man in with the eyepatch. Adair asks where Danziger is, then asks who he is. The boy says he's the man who brought her here, the one who sent for her across the heavens. Adair explains her mission, but the man is silent. She says whatever he has to say he can say in front of True, but he is still silent. The boy agrees to take True somewhere safe.

When they are alone, the man comments on how young she is. She is surprised by this. He asks if Ulysses survived. She wants to know how he knows her son's name. He says he knows a lot of things about her; that her mother died when she was 18, that she is afraid of the dark, that she hasn't had a lover since Uly was born. She grows fearful and asks who he is and how he knows these things. He says he is Sheppard and that they know each other. Adair is incredulous; she doesn't know him! She demands to know where Danziger is. Sheppard says he is safe and turns away.

Adair runs through the caverns calling for Danziger. True calls her to his location. Adair says something is wrong here; they've got to get back to camp. She then notices Danziger's fever. She asks him if he told the man with the eyepatch anything about her or Uly; he doesn't know. The Elder enters and says she is the one who knows Sheppard; there is no call for her to be afraid of him. He places his hands on either side of her head and asks if she does not know the man's face, his eyes, his voice. She does not; maybe they think she's someone she's not. She tries to drag Danziger out of bed, but he is too weak. She then tries to call Yale over gear, but it won't work down there. The Elder says he will contact her people for her.

Alonzo wakes from a dream. He tells the group Adair and Danziger are fine, and True is with them. Julia asks if the message came from the Terrians; he says it seems like Terrians, but it's not. Morgan asks what that's supposed to mean; he says Alonzo seems coherent, but he's not. Alonzo says there are human emotions behind the dreams. The message is that they are okay; whoever has them will never let danger come.

Later that day, the boy gives True food. She asks about the place, and he says it's the Underground; Terrians and humans live there together. It's not safe up on top. Here, Governor takes care of all of them. He's confused by True's reference to her father. He guesses one of the men must be his father - it's not important down there.

Adair goes to see Sheppard and asks if they met when she was a child. He says he's a penal colonist and has been there a long, long time; he was sent there for his crimes. She asks how he knows her. He says the Terrians took all of them in, those that were exiled with him and those that followed; they thought him redeemable. Come winter, an amazing thing happened; as the Terrians hibernated, they opened their dreamscape to them. Terrian minds are vessels that can dream them anywhere; they dreamed themselves home to talk to their loved ones while they slept. He didn't have any loved ones, but he went back anyway, and in his dreams he met her. She insists they didn't meet. He passes his hand over her face and for a moment transports her to the dream world; she recognizes him as the man from her dreams, the voice that told her to come there. He asks about Uly, and she says he was healed by the Terrians, just like he said. She is crying, amazed that he is real. He says he waited for decades to touch her face; he feared she would never come.

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Act III

Sheppard stands over Danziger. He asks if he has enough blankets, then says he was calling Devon Adair by name when he was brought in; they must have been through a great deal together. Danziger guesses so, then asks what he is getting at. Sheppard is sorry to have bothered him and leaves.

The boy and True are looking at a strange bed belonging to Katrina, the ancient lady. He says the bed came from the land before here. He is surprised True came from the stations; only the old people come from there. Katrina enters and is angry they are there. She warns True about Sheppard; he has done unspeakable things, atrocities, crimes against humanity. He is a terrible man with the blackest heart and the hands of a murderer. True is frightened.

She runs to Danziger and says they must get out of there, telling him all she heard about Sheppard.

Adair goes above to call Yale on gear. She tells him they are safe. He is suspicious, but she is rather cryptic. When she goes back below, she joins Sheppard.

True and Danziger are getting ready to leave when Adair enters. She asks to speak to him alone. She says she was wrong to be frightened of Sheppard; she and he have this bond like they've known each other forever. Danziger reminds her she just met him. She says she is asking Sheppard to come with them. Danziger disagrees vehemently and tells her what he's learned about his past. She says he and True can leave without her.

Adair asks Sheppard what brought him there. He says she knows already. He had a twin sister; they were very close. They made a pact to always stay together, but she was true evil. She got involved in black magic and learned how to darken his heart. He has spent 30 years seeking amends, but doesn't know if it's enough. Adair asks why he picked her out of all the women on the stations. He says he heard her cry; he had to come. They kiss.

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Act IV

Adair and Sheppard are laying together, talking. She says it's all starting to come back to her; it's not like normal memories. She remembers how he made her feel not so alone, like he was guiding her through decisions. He says it was a long time ago for him. He is not the same man from those dreams; he is older, scarred by the life down there. Life on this planet can be difficult. She asks him to come with them. He angrily says there is no way they can discuss this. She says she has to leave - they are meeting the colony ship at New Pacifica.

They hear shouting, and Sheppard goes to it. Two of the people are fighting, and he breaks it up. The fighters beg him not to send them out. He reminds them violence is forbidden; the Terrians can purge them out of there.

Danziger roams the caverns. He overhears Sheppard and Katrina arguing. He tells her she doesn't need him. She says she has been very tolerant of his visitors. He assures her nothing will change and that the visitors will leave as soon as their man is well.

The Elder comes upon Danziger and tells him he shouldn't be out of bed. Danziger asks about Sheppard and Katrina's conversation. The Elder says Sheppard is a good man, but Danziger doesn't buy it. He is messing with Adair's head and he knows he's got his number; he can't even look Danziger in the eye. The Elder says that's not why he won't look at him; it's because he knows Danziger's in love with her. Danziger denies it, and the Elder leaves.

Sheppard sees Adair sleeping. He goes to the Terrians' hibernation room. The boy had been looking through Danziger's things and hid behind a Terrian upon his arrival. Sheppard touches that Terrian and dreams to Adair. She says it feels different in there; she is afraid to say goodbye, to lose him now that she finally found him. He says he's not there to say goodbye; he could not mention this outside of his mind's eye, but... The boy touches the Terrian and joins the dream in time to hear Sheppard say he is going to make the journey with her; he will meet her up above. The Elder can lead the people here. All they want is what he wants - a place to feel safe. The only place he feels safe is with her. The boy leaves the dream before he can hear Sheppard tell Adair she mustn't tell a soul about it. Years ago he made a pledge to his sister, who is here. Her sleep capsule malfunctioned on the trip over and she aged; she lost everything. She made him swear on blood she wouldn't lose him. Her name is Katrina.

The boy runs to True and says she will be leaving him; she, Sheppard, Adair and Danziger will all be leaving him. He will miss her. Katrina has been listening to them and mocks them.

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Act V

Danziger is packing to leave when Sheppard enters. They say goodbye testily. Sheppard asks Danziger to promise to take care of Adair no matter what happens. Danziger says he takes care of all his friends. Adair enters and thanks Sheppard for everything. After he leaves, Danziger says he thought she wasn't leaving without that guy. She says things change.

The Elder leads them to the exit of the caverns. They have a cordial leave-taking, but he whispers to Adair he is glad they she and Sheppard found each other. She is glad as well.

Up top, Adair looks around and asks the others to wait. True says she doesn't see him. Adair asks how she knew that; who else knows? True says Katrina heard. Danziger says they agreed Sheppard wasn't coming with them and tries to stop Adair from rushing back to the caverns. She tells him to trust her; she knows what she's doing. She runs back to the caverns.

She meets Sheppard coming up the steps and warns him of the danger. As they hurry to leave, Katrina stabs him, then goes after Adair. As she is about to stab her as well, Danziger appears and shoots her. Adair looks at him, then runs to Sheppard. She cradles him in her arms. He says she came to him; they found each other. He dies. As she holds him, crying, the Elder says he'll find her again.

That night Adair looks at the stars from a window in the dome loft. Below, True and Danziger watch her. True asks if he thinks Adair will be okay. He says he'll make sure of it, and they leave together.

Adair goes to Uly. She gets into bed next to him and says she wishes he could have met him. When she falls to sleep, she sees Sheppard in her dreams.

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