Before - Signs and Symbols - Review: There's No Such Thing as "Beyond Science"

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In episode four of Apple TV+’s limited series Before, we finally learn a little more about Lynn and delve deeper into Eli’s psyche, uncovering the intensity of his inner turmoil and his struggle to accept that there may be forces beyond the realm of science.

Despite Eli’s objections in the last episode, Noah was admitted to a high-security psychiatric ward where he is being watched 24/7. Eli continues working with him, but their sessions grow increasingly challenging as the strange connection between them becomes more apparent with each interaction. When Noah talks Eli can sometimes hear his own voice speaking the same words at the very same time. He is also plagued by recurring visions of Noah stabbing him in the neck with a pen. He even begins to see himself reflected in Noah’s toy, a figurine of a man – the very one the boy claimed, “hurts people”. Eli needs a moment away from Noah, feeling overwhelmed and terrified by the implications of everything he’s experiencing. He steps out briefly – just long enough for Noah to slip away, taking one of the pens he’d been drawing with. Given the psychiatric ward’s strict ban on items like pens for safety reasons, this is a serious issue, especially since Noah has used a pen to harm someone in the past.

Eli immediately starts looking for the boy, not losing his calm but it is visible that he is more than a little worried about what the kid potentially could do. Thankfully he finds him rather quickly hiding in the linen closet. Gentle as always, he calms the kid, coaxing him out of his hiding place. He does not scold him, though he does push him regarding the pen’s whereabouts. And that is when Noah makes an observation that surprises him: Eli is scared. The psychiatrist denies it immediately but is reprimanded by a female voice only he can hear that whispers “liar”.

Eli is now more driven than ever to uncover what’s happening with Noah and how it connects to him – and, somehow, also to his late wife, Lynn. He starts to wonder if Lynn might have known Noah, or if they’d crossed paths before her death. How else could Noah have sketched an exact replica of the cabin from the photo in Lynn’s office? Eli clings to the hope of a logical explanation, though it’s becoming painfully clear that none exists. This truth only deepens when water begins dripping from the living room ceiling – a clogged drainpipe flooding the upstairs bathroom, the very room where Lynn died. In the drain, he finds strands of her hair.

With the help of his assistant Cleo, Eli tracks down the very church where Noah was left as a baby. He is hoping to get some information on the boy's birth parents. As he visits the church, he unexpectedly ends up bringing his granddaughter, Sophie, along – he’d forgotten he was supposed to watch her, making her his involuntary sidekick for the day. As they explore the quiet, echoing halls of the church, he overhears a woman praying – in Dutch, the same language Noah mysteriously spoke during one of his strange fits. A coincidence?

BEFORE, Pictured: Jacobi Jupe & Billy Crystal. Apple TV+ ©2024 Apple TV+. All Rights Reserved

Eli speaks with the church’s priest, hoping to learn about the boy’s biological parents. Though the priest has no new information to offer, he quickly senses a heaviness weighing on Eli and gently inquires about it. It’s Sophie who answers him, mentioning her grandmother's recent passing and then adds with childlike conviction, that her grandmother’s spirit now resides in her stuffed lizard – the plush toy she takes with her everywhere she goes. This claim very much unsettles Eli. He is already on edge from the strange occurrences he’s witnessed since meeting Noah. Despite everything he’s seen, Eli remains in denial, refusing to believe that anything could exist beyond the bounds of science. One wonders how he explains all these experiences to himself. If he dismisses anything that defies scientific reasoning and rejects even the possibility of a higher power, does that mean he believes he’s slowly going insane?

When Eli stumbles upon an old to-do list of Lynn's, he realizes there were parts of her life he never truly knew. As he reads her emails, he’s startled to find that his friend Jackson seemed to know more about certain aspects of her life than he, her own husband, did. He wants answers from Jackson, but with a party in full swing at Jackson’s place, getting a private word isn’t easy. Forced to mingle – a personal nightmare – Eli scans the crowd, only to be stunned when he spots Lynn in another party guest. She speaks to him, asking him to dance. He’s left reeling, overwhelmed by what he assumes is a hallucination and by the many people surrounding him.

BEFORE, Pictured: Judith Light. Apple TV+ ©2024 Apple TV+. All Rights Reserved

When he finally corners Jackson for the conversation he’s been seeking, his friend reveals that Lynn had asked him to keep certain things they had talked about private – things she felt Eli wouldn’t understand. She’d been working on a new book, sending Jackson sketches for it as she searched for a fitting ending. She was grappling with her mortality, reflecting on death, delving into ideas and beliefs beyond science which Eli neither shared nor understood. In the meantime, Eli had focused solely on new treatments and clinical trials, determined to heal her body from cancer but failing to realize her mind needed something deeper from him.

When Jackson hands over Lynn’s sketches, Eli is stunned to see symbols identical to those Noah has drawn. Yet he stubbornly clings to his belief that nothing exists outside the realm of science, even as the mysteries surrounding him deepen. These experiences must be absolutely terrifying for Eli, made even more isolating by the fact that he has no one to confide in.

Meanwhile, back at the hospital, a doctor tries to persuade Noah to hand over the pen he took from Eli. However, what they thought was a writing instrument turns out to be a toy – a small figurine of a man. Noah suddenly sees once again terrifying visions of a creature with tentacles gripping the doctor’s throat. The boy sees a layer of ice spreading across the room, snow begins to fall. He whispers Eli’s name before breaking into a scream.

While Before continues to receive predominantly reserved reviews, I find myself genuinely enjoying the show. It may not be the best television I’ve seen, but it’s intriguing, and the cast is exceptional. As already mentioned in last week's review, the biggest drawback for me is that the show seems to overlook the potential of its talented female cast. Judith Light is a powerhouse performer who brings remarkable depth to every role and consistently captivates, yet her character remains underdeveloped, leaving her with limited screen time and the audience wanting more. The same is the case for Rosie Perez’ character who plays Noah’s foster mom. It’s a missed opportunity in what I find to be a compelling narrative so far, and I hope upcoming episodes give these characters – and the actresses behind them – the depth they deserve.