'The Passage' season 1 finale preview: Shauna Babcock could actually be Amy's biggest threat
Spoiler Alert for 'The Passage' season finale
When we had first met Shauna Babcock on FOX's 'The Passage', she was a pale, forlorn-looking damsel locked within the distresses of her cell at the Project NOAH premises. But something about Brianne Howey's portrayal of the character had sort of raised the alarm that this is the danger we should be watching out for. Brought into Project NOAH as a test subject, Shauna was one of the 12 'virals' who suffered the side effects of the vampire venom she was injected with and turned into a vampire.
And now as she rampages with her other viral mates and plans on wreaking havoc on the planet, there's a high chance that our protagonist — Amy Bellafonte — even with her telepathic powers, couldn't brave the storm that is Shauna Babcock.
Don't mess with Shauna... #ThePassage pic.twitter.com/FJPNor1sWB
— The Passage (@ThePassageFOX) January 26, 2019
Worry not, it's all just a speculative theory, which in no way is meant to undermine the 10-year-old Amy's (Saniyya Sidney) boldness and conviction. This speculation has more to do with Shauna's progress as a potential threat and the way she turned from a mere death row inmate to the one who could change the game for even Amy — the only test subject who was not impacted by the side effects of the virus.
The reason why Shauna's elevation as one of the front-lining virals is even more significant is her haunting past. Raped by her stepfather at the age of 16, all she wanted to do was save up enough money to be able to move out of the house where she lives with her dysfunctional mother and the heinous stepfather.
But once she found out the stepfather stole all of that money, and worse — her mother knew about him raping Shauna all along and still chose to stay with him — the girl loses her cool and the resultant effect of the sudden trauma is her killing both the parents with a knife.
Fast forward to her time as a test subject at Project NOAH, and it is almost depressing to see how the fire in her just burnt out. It hits harder once viewers see the episode on her backstory because we find out that Shauna was never the deadpan, blank canvas only capable of acting upon her monstrous instincts that viewers have been greeted with ever since her introduction on the show.
She was a girl passionate about graphic makeup and modeling, a bold, free-spirited person with her own dreams and aspirations despite something terrible happening to her in her past.
But things change around, and so does her demeanor. Slowly, but meticulously, she weasels her way into the minds of the other virals in confinement, and soon we find out that she is not all that controlled by Dr. Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane) who was the starter of Project NOAH, and accidentally got bitten by one of the other virals. Fanning might like to believe that he has all the other virals in control and can use them to wreak havoc against humanity, and while Shauna's goal isn't all that far from his, if Howey's own words are to be believed, she has plans other than to play the mindless ranks in Fanning's army.
Thanks for coming along for the ride tonight.
— The Passage (@ThePassageFOX) March 5, 2019
Don't miss the 2-hour SEASON FINALE of #ThePassage next week. pic.twitter.com/J7CTuPc3Ev
Speaking to CinemaBlend, Howey reveals, "We ('The Passage') have had the flashback, and we've had the mindscapes, but we will have a flash-forward. Babcock also has to decide how she wants to spend the rest of eternity. So, a pretty big decision to make, I think, for anyone. And not everybody's going to make it. And some people sacrifice themselves for some other people. There are complicated arrangements that get made along the way."
While in the previous episode, we saw Amy almost turning into the virals — along the episode's title 'You're Not That Girl Anymore' — what we also find out that the words were, in fact, spoken to Shauna Babcock by Clark Richards (Vincent Piazza).
In that, Shauna isn't the girl from her past — impulsive and ready to act out upon her traumas. No, this revamped Shauna — as unaware as Richards might be — is far more sinister; in that, she is manipulative and can also disarm people. And we thought Fanning was the treat all along.
Also, when Howey says she has decided how she wants to spend the rest of her eternity, it might as well be an easy world where she rules as the supreme vampire, without the risks of one particular Amy Bellafonte. Not to forget, Shauna is older and also has a criminal history, and her kills after being turned into a vampire weren't amateur level murders either. Meanwhile, all Amy has is a bunch of humans with the best of interests at heart, but no superpowers at all.
A round of applause for the women who inspire us — thank you for being you. #InternationalWomensDay #ThePassage
— The Passage (@ThePassageFOX) March 8, 2019
📸: @jason_ensler pic.twitter.com/bMHui8IObc
What's also intriguing is that there's a flashforward coming in the big two-hour long finale — glimpses of which we saw in the promo teaser released by Fox ahead of the final two episodes. Amy says she has seen the future, shows the teaser, and she alarms people that it's bad — thus offering some answer to our speculation that not everything is going to be hunky dory for the girl who has been one of the most promising child characters on TV so far. Add that with the threat and ambitions of Shauna Babcock, and voila — this is going to be one epic finale that you aren't ready for!
'The Passage' returns with its season 1 finale on Monday, March 11, 8/7c, only on FOX.
