Peet Finch, a dorky orphan teen, and Wren Pierce, a privileged cheerleader, wake in the ghost town of Red Wind. Having both lost their memory, they work together despite their differences to survive the apocalyptic world around them. Peet quickly falls for her. One evening, Peet discovers a portal through a water tower back to the real world. In it he sees his and Wren’s bodies in hospital beds, comatose. At Wren’s bedside is her boyfriend, Duane. Peet hides his knowledge of the water tower portal, ensuring they both remain together. He soon regrets his decision, as Wren is kidnapped by crazed mental patients emerging from the woods, led by a demonic entity, Dr. Smile. With the help of children from the nearby hospital, Peet pursues Wren and her kidnappers through the encroaching woods into the haunting halls of Blackfork Asylum, all while uncovering the dark secrets of his forgotten past.
It’s late Summer in the early 80’s. Peet Finch, a dorky teenager, wakes in the post-apocalyptic neighborhood of Red Wind. As the sun sets, he meets a beautiful girl of privilege, Wren Pierce. Having both lost their memories, they explore an empty ghost-town, finding refuge in an abandoned plantation home bearing Wren’s last name on the mailbox.
As they explore Red Wind, sit atop an old water tower, and play an old piano together, Peet falls for her in this lonely new world. Although Wren does not necessarily fall for Peet, she shows sparks of interest — finding comfort in his soft-spoken care for her.
Peet’s heavenly world is short-lived, however.
His memory begins to return through a series of dreams about his childhood. Peet remembers being fostered by Wren’s parents, growing in friendship with her, exploring Red Wind, sitting atop the water tower, and learning to play piano from Wren. Promising to never part, they etch their names on the back of the piano. After a heavenly Summer, Peet moves in with his grandmother, while Wren grows in beauty and popularity in high-school. Peet can’t help but feel especially jealous as the cool new kid, Duane, flirts relentlessly with Wren.
Upon waking from his dreams, crazed dementia patients emerge from the woods to pound at their windows — every night at 2 a.m. Even stranger, Wren takes in a refugee child, Preston, fleeing from the woods, a vicious bite on his shoulder.
One evening, the tap water turns black. Soon after, Peet observes a cloaked entity hovering above the water tower. Entering the tower, Peet discovers an endless ocean teeming with the bodies of children. Peet dives to a glowing portal door and enters a dim room, observing his sleeping body. Is this all a dream? [bold is revealed later in the second to last episode] He observes his body and Wren’s, comatose. At her bedside sits Duane, holding her hand. As Peet’s ghost nears his own body, he observes the eyes opening, a heart monitor beeping.
Peet flees the water tower to tell Wren, but ultimately conceals his knowledge of the portal, knowing exiting the coma would almost certainly send Wren back into Duane’s arms. That night, however, the dementia patients break into their home and kidnap Wren, led by the cloaked entity. Fleeing from the hoard, Peet and Preston race through the woods and enter an abandoned hospital. Peet is soon knocked unconscious by a child.
Peet comes-to, finding himself bound to a hospital bed and flanked by a group of children. The group leader, Simeon, explains the truth: Peet resides in a strange coma world — a mirror of the real world they call “The Fragment”. Like Heaven and Hell, The Fragment is a very real alternate dimension, baring dim, lifeless reflections of the real world. It is a place for “sleepers” — humans who are not fully alive, but not fully dead: the comatose, dementia patients, and the clinically insane. Simeon confesses to finding pleasure in killing adults: clinically insane dementia patients from a nearby mental hospital, Blackfork Asylum. These adults, after all, tried to eat him in Blackfork at the behest of “Dr. Smile” before narrowly escaping. Failing to convince Simeon of his age, Simeon prepares to bash his head in. Panicked, Peet promises to show the children the way out of The Fragment. Having been stuck there for decades, Simeon agrees to showing Peet the way to Blackfork Asylum to save Wren, in exchange for knowledge of the portal location.
Peet, Preston, and Simeon journey through the Spiderian Sewer, Neverwood Forest, and up Blackfork Mountain. Preston, however, loses his sanity, begins calling himself “Richard”, and sleepwalks into the night.
Because of this, Peet learns of “soul swapping”, the ultimate goal of the dementia patients: to inhabit the bodies of children by consuming their flesh, and wake in younger bodies in the real world. Only Peet and Simeon remain as the world turns from a haunting Summer to a bleak and frozen Winter at the gates of Blackfork Asylum.
That night outside the asylum, Peet has a final dream: Duane flirts with Wren in high school. Wren, however, seems to also show interest in Peet, holding his hand one evening after playing their piano songs from childhood. Attempting to stake his claim, Peet spends his college savings on a date night, tuxedo, and engagement ring for Wren. In the car, he awkwardly asks her to marry him, to which she quickly says no. Peet soon apologizes, knowing this was too soon, and admits to being jealous of Duane. Wren, however, confesses to being pregnant with Duane’s child. Enraged and heart-broken, Peet repudiates Wren, forcing the ring into her hand, and accidentally drifting into oncoming traffic.
Sneaking through the adult-infested halls, Peet and Simeon find hundreds of patients locked in large bird cages hanging from the ceiling. Claiming to be children from Red Wind, they guide Peet to the attic. Simeon is caught, while Peet finds Wren strapped to an altar. About to “soul swap”, an old man attempts to bite into Wren’s shoulder. Peet saves her and together they flee from a mob of patients, arriving at the water tower in Red Wind.
Knowing full-well the water tower is the only escape, Peet confesses his knowledge of the portal — to which Wren admits she has not only known about the portal since the beginning, but that she did not lose her memory. She was ultimately avoiding a more frightening nightmare of her pregnancy: she was raped by Duane the week before the car wreck. They kiss and climb the water tower. The mob, however, climbs close behind. Peet leads Wren inside and holds the door shut, sacrificing himself.
Wren wakes.
It’s the first day of Spring. Wren visits Peet’s comatose body every morning for several days. One morning, she finds him missing. She tracks him down, and finds him living with a strange old woman in a ritzy retirement community. He tells her his name is “Carl”, and that Wren is crazy.
Suffering from night terrors of adults entering her room, an unfortunate miscarriage, and grieving Peet, Wren seeks counsel from a therapist. She is baffled to find the location of her appointment, Blackfork Asylum. There, the doctor explains away her coma “dream”, writes her a prescription for antipsychotics, and ushers her out the door. However, she hears the song she played with Peet in The Fragment. Following the notes into a parlor, she finds an old man playing the piano. She calls out “Peet?”, and the man turns.
Like LOST, The Fragment is a strange dimension in which the characters have lost their memory. Not only does this allow Michael to build the show around almost infinite character back-story revelations in multiple seasons, it also allows for rule breaking twists. For example, some characters can be 1,000 years old, stuck in The Fragment. Babies in The Fragment can be demonic entities. Some characters can be on a bad psychedelic trip, or “asleep” in an overdose. Perhaps time functions a little differently in The Fragment — perhaps one day is a year. Because The Fragment is a place between life and death, the rules of this other worldly dimension are loose, and we can have fun with that. More importantly, because this is a very real dimension that isn’t Hell or Heaven, we aren’t painting ourselves into a corner that doesn’t pay-off. Our characters are engaged in real world stakes on a blank, infinite canvas. We don’t simply end the final season with, “They’re dead. Surprise!” Their actions have real-world consequences.
PEET FINCH
A 17-year old orphan. Fiercely loyal, Peet is quick to feel rejection, and also quick to accept it and “move on”, at-least, that’s what he thinks he’s doing. “I’m over it” means he’s buried it deep, resulting in sudden bursts of tearful anger. We have sympathy for Peet after we learn of his mother’s death from a brain tumor. His father quickly blamed Peet, and “moved on” with another woman, abandoning him at the age of 5.
Peet’s only meaningful relationship in life is with his best friend, Wren. She has teal eyes, and plays the piano, just like his mother. The love they shared for each-other from 5-years-old into high-school was as deep as a sibling’s, but as richly loving as with a spouse. Therefore, abandoning Wren is impossible for Peet’s character. This also means that Wren abandoning Peet for another guy is heart-breaking.
WREN PIERCE
Wren can’t possibly understand what Peet has gone through in his lonely life. Wren’s perspective is the opposite of Peet’s: the world is her oyster, filled with easy friendships, adoration, and instant gratification. Although she is certainly beautiful and spoiled (her father is a wealthy businessman), Wren is incredibly kind and generous (and quite gullible), which means she is also easily manipulated by other guys. Wren innocently falling into drug use at various parties sends Peet into a painful and jealous tailspin: he can’t control his only family and friend from falling into the wrong crowd, and worse, falling for a jerk, Duane. Picking up Wren drunk and high eventually becomes Peet’s Friday night routine, and he both hates and loves it: it’s the only time she calls him anymore. It’s at her breaking point that she leans into Peet, and abandons her friend group for several weeks. Peet is euphoric, but only until he learns of her pregnancy with Duane’s child. All this gives Peet pause when complimenting taking Wren back to the real world. She is finally safe in his arms — why would he ruin it?
DR. SMILE
An unknown entity orchestrating the kidnapping and soul-swapping of children with his elderly dementia patients. Not much is revealed about Dr. Smile in Season 1, although it is clear he is behind the kidnappings. In later seasons, we learn that Dr. Smile is a very real doctor who learned of the existence of The Fragment through drug experimentation. Dr. Smile started a mental hospital for the elderly with the intention of secretly profiting from “soul trafficking”: making millions from elderly clients and their families looking to swap their bodies with children. Dr. Smile’s character plays into the themes of sexual trauma and the consumption of innocence by the guilty, which parallels closely with Wren’s rape.
SIMEON KRANESLICE
Simeon is brusk and over-confident. The oldest of the children in Redwind Hospital, he assumes the role of the group-leader. He more often than not threatens anyone who crosses his group’s path with his studded baseball bat. Peet and Simeon struggle to find common ground on most things, but must work together to each reach their goal. Although Simeon may seem heartless, he has his reasons, and we ultimately discover him to have selfless intentions. We eventually learn he has been trapped in the fragment for 40 years, meaning he’s actually almost 55 in real life. Additionally, he’s seen hundreds of children, close friends, come and go from The Fragment, and many kidnapped to Blackfork Asylum. Simeon has no tolerance for wishful thinking, forgiveness, or gullibility. The Fragment is a brutal place, requiring equal brutality in the opposite direction. We eventually learn Simeon was once engaged to Peet’s mother in the real world. Simeon and Peet grow in friendship, ultimately leading to Simeon assuming a fatherly role over Peet. Simeon is considered the “wise sage” in a traditional hero story.
DUANE LeANUS
Suave, flirty, manipulative, calm, and macho. He is everything Peet isn’t: a tall and strong quarterback for the Red Wind Vultures. Duane bullies just about everyone, including Peet. Nobody dares make fun of Duane’s last name — he’s broken one too many noses. He is, however, convincingly kind, but only when Wren is around. Duane leads Wren down a dark path, introducing her to pills and alcohol at after-game parties. Duane’s flirtation with Wren is certainly enticing to her — he’s quite good at it, appearing genuine and kind. We learn Duane eventually raped a passed-out Wren one night after a party, resulting in her pregnancy. This is why Wren incorrectly blames herself, and feels powerful guilt in The Fragment.
Duane communicates with Peet from the real world via the The Fragment water tower. Peet is able to just barely whisper through his comatose body, while able to clearly hear Duane as he talks to Peet’s body. Duane intends to kill Peet in the real world. Peet, after all, learned of Wren’s rape, and must be silenced.
GOMER (“GOMBOYSA”)
Brother to Goma.
GOMA (“GOMGIRLSA”)
Sister to Gomer.
SADIE SMITH
200 year old child who died while in a coma. She is forever trapped.
& MORE…
We focus on Wren. Unable to forget Peet, Wren re-enters The Fragment through a induced coma. The world is, however, not as she recalls. It is a barren wasteland, and Peet has been “transferred” to a mental hospital thousands of miles away. On Wren’s journey, Wren finds the “children” from Season 1, who claim to know Peet. However, they are all old, hiding in the woods. Additionally, Wren meets a young boy, who is revealed to be the soul of her miscarried son. Growing in deep affection with the child, Wren must choose between abandoning him, or rescuing the love of her life, Peet.
During Season 2, a series of questions are to be explored:
Should she swap her son’s soul with the live body of a child? Or, perhaps one of the children could give their life for her child?
Once Peet is found (as an older soul-swapped dementia patient), how exactly does he exit The Fragment? How does he get his body back, which is now alive and well in the real world? Does Wren need to kidnap the body in the real world, and induce it into a coma?
Once Wren wakes, what are the legal ramifications of her seemingly bizarre actions?
Who exactly is Dr. Smile? Is he a real doctor, perhaps “trafficking” souls of older couples for a premium price?
What became of Wren’s rapist, Duane?
What became of Simeon and the children? What are their backstories? Perhaps we learn Simeon has been in The Fragment for centuries.
Director and writer, known for Twin Falls Idaho (1999), Northfork (2003) and The Astronaut Farmer (2001), and his current television series, Bring On The Dancing Horses (post-production).
Creator, illustrator, composer, and director of Neversong (Apple Arcade) and Pinstripe (5/5 TIME acclaimed video game). Thomas is also an entrepreneur, YouTuber with over 240,000 subscribers, and aspiring director of The Man In The Cradle (watch at Crypt.TV) with a passion for hauntingly beautiful story-telling.
Actress known for Blue Crush, The Domestrics, Before I Wake, Superman Returns, and dozens more.
The imagery above was gathered from various websites and portfolios. Below are a few links to relevant artists. Other images were pulled and manipulated from Pinterest and Google Images. The music above are only samplings written from Thomas Brush, the creator of the Neversong and Pinstripe video games. Some songs above are from Pinstripe, and are only meant to show-case Thomas’ portfolio and skill as a composer.
https://kylejthompson.tumblr.com/page/22
https://scene360.com/art/112730/brendon-burton-2/
https://www.thomasjordanphoto.com/#/acrosstown/=
https://society6.com/leireunzueta