In season one episode ten, entitled “Figures of Light,” Danny (Steven Yeun) and Amy (Ali Wong) are left stranded in the desert to fend for themselves after getting into a car accident. In the previous episode, Amy saw Danny driving away from Jordan’s (Maria Bello) house, and she followed him while calling 911. Amy has bad reception, so 911 isn’t able to hear her. This frustrates her, and she catches up to Danny. The two of them try to run each other off the road, but they end up in a car accident and both go over the side of the road. Later, as Danny climbs out of his totaled car, he sees a gun laying on the ground. He looks away for a moment, and when he turns back around, Amy is holding the gun. She threatens to shoot him if he moves, but lucky for Danny, a bird swoops down over Amy’s head, and she gets distracted. Danny runs off as Amy screams and begins searching for him.
Danny does a good job staying hidden from Amy, but when Amy thinks she has found him, Danny sneaks up behind her and pushes her into a ditch. Danny feels slightly bad and yells, “Why’d you make me do that?” Amy lays knocked out on the ground while Danny walks around screaming for help, although it is nighttime and there is no one in sight. The only response Danny gets is from animals howling in the distance. Danny spends all night sitting on a big rock, yelling for help and texting Paul (Young Mazino) to see if he is still alive. In the morning, Amy wakes up and texts George (Joseph Lee) for help; however, neither of them have reception, so no text goes through.
Amy wakes up and hears Danny. She lost her gun and hurt her leg; therefore, she is no longer a threat to Danny. She asks for his help to get out, and he feels bad about everything that has happened, so he agrees. The two of them walk in circles with Amy on Danny’s back as they try to find a way out. After Danny is rude to her, Amy plucks one of his hairs, and he throws her off his back. When Amy lands on the ground, she finds her gun, and the two of them wrestle each other for it. Amy wins by breaking Danny’s arm. Amy uses the gun to control Danny instead of shooting him. She makes him search for water, berries, and edible plants. He finds some berries, and Amy tells him it’s an elderberry, so he believes her that it is safe to eat. The only problem is that Amy was wrong, and the berries he picked weren’t elderberries. They both spent a second night in the desert, this time together, having hallucinations.
They spend the night bonding and acting like friends. Despite their issues towards each other, it makes sense because, throughout the entire season, we’ve seen their similarities. Also, we’ve seen reasons why they would make great friends if they met under different circumstances.
In the morning, they help each other walk and find reception that only lasts long enough to see their notifications. They keep walking and find a way out of the wilderness. Just then, George appears with a gun and shoots Danny. Amy screams because when George found them, Danny was trying to help her; and she had just offered to help Danny with a lawyer and the police after hearing his side of things. We suddenly see the scene of their first meeting, and then see Amy’s hospital bed. Amy climbs into Danny’s hospital bed and gives him the hug and empathy that was long overdue.
Rating: 9/10