“Wish You Were Here” is episode three of season one of Extant.
Kern visits the vet where Sam did an ultrasound on Molly in the previous episode, “Extinct”, and takes the data. He tells Sparks that Sam knows Molly is pregnant, which Sparks thinks must have been a surprise for Sam, given her knowledge of Molly’s attempts. Molly was pregnant once before, but lost it. From Marcus Dawkins. There was an automobile accident and she lost it, and him. Kern says they need to contain this before anyone else knows. Sparks is going to speak to Molly. and tell her something more believable than the truth.
Molly is in bed and she remembers coming home to tell John there was another failed attempt. She doesn’t want possibilities any longer. Perhaps they should face the facts and accept they are not meant to have a child together. John suggests another option. Ethan. He’s at the point where he’ll be taken home for the beta testing phase. So, why don’t they have him? Molly is uncertain. Plus, she’s just signed up for the Seraphim rotation. Today, after seeing the doctor. She doesn’t know when, or if, she’ll go, though. John convinces her to try with Ethan.
John wakes up; he needs to get a cake for Molly’s party. Her birthday party. Yes, it isn’t her birthday, but she had that millions of miles away with no-one to sing for her. Apparently, B.E.N. did.
John gets Ethan dressed for school then asks him if he’ll be okay int he house for a few minutes. Molly is running and her monitor is telling her to slow down. She doesn’t, until she sees a launch. Ethan is watching a bird and decides to head out to create something to catch the bird. Molly arrives back to find Sparks waiting. He tells her she was right; there was a covert program at the medical centre running experiments on astronauts off the books. She was picked because her samples were in storage. The baby is hers and John’s. It was a blind test; that’s why no-one told her. Sparks is also concerned about her brain scans, as they are identical to Harmon’s, and Sparks thinks Molly may be suffering the same kind of hallucinations Harmon did before he killed himself. He’d like her to go into the hospital to be checked over for a day or two.
Ethan is dropped off at school and the principal comes to Molly and John afterwards; some parents have questions about Ethan. Namely, is he safe. John tells them Ethan has passed all the tests; he now needs interactions with his peers. No, he isn’t dangerous. One parent calls Ethan a toaster with hair. Molly agrees, but says Ethan is also their son. She doesn’t expect them to understand; sometimes she has a hard time understanding herself. Ethan isn’t dangerous; he’s different. And you don’t have to be afraid of what’s different.
Julie is worried about Ethan being at school. Or, rather, worried about the other children. Ethan has no nature; it’s all nurture. And kids his age are not nurturing.
Molly tells Sam what Sparks said. Sam doesn’t believe it. She knows everyone at the med centre and none of them would do anything like this. And there’s too much oversight for a covert program. Molly asks what’s in it for Sparks, though to claim this. Molly hasn’t told John yet. She wants to find Harmon; if they were testing Molly, they were certainly testing him. Harmon’s caravan is empty, though. There is a symbol on the wall, that looks similar to what was seen pressing on Molly’s stomach. From within. Not that she would know that, being unconscious at the time.
There is definitely something going on and it seems Sparks, Kern and Yasumoto may have at least some idea as to what it is. From the clues seen so far, Molly’s baby may not, despite what the ultrasound showed, be of human origin.