The Rift

The Rift is the fifth episode and season finale of Season 1 of Amazing Stories. It premiered on April 2, 2020. It is based on the graphic novel The Rift written by Don Handfield and Richard Rayner.

Synopsis
Season finale. When a WWII pilot crashes in modern-day Ohio, a young widow and her stepson are swept up in his search for home.

Plot
A woman, Mary Ann, and her son, Elijah, drive down the road as she switches through radio stations. Her son is on his phone playing a game. She assures him they'll be in Burlington soon. There's a zoo they can visit that is supposed to be the best in Indiana. She takes her phone from him as she wants him to talk with her instead of playing games. He thinks the San Diego zoo they're moving to is going to blow away the Indiana one. She knows he loves the zoo, but he doesn't think it'll be the same without his dad. The GPS goes out so she asks for the map. He finds a paper that says Jefferson and becomes increasingly more curious about it. She doesn't want to talk about it. He thinks it's for his new school, pestering her with questions.

Suddenly, the ground around them trembles, and all the windows in the car shatter. A high-pitched squeal debilitates them as a plane falls from the sky and crashes into the meadow. Elijah sprints to the barrier to look down at the crash. She calls 911 regarding the crash. She gives the phone to Elijah so she can check if the pilot is breathing. The plane is burning. Elijah screams for her to get away but she doesn't leave the man. The plane sputters and smokes. She helps the pilot out of the cockpit, though he returns briefly for a photograph. They stumble to land as she holds Elijah close. The man thanks them for their help, introducing himself as Lieutenant Theodore Cole, Second Squadron. He thinks they're British or Dutch, becoming confused when they claim to be Americans. He thinks he's in Burma, but Elijah corrects they are in Ohio. He was just in a dogfight over the ridge in Rangoon. He suddenly realizes he's not where he's meant to be. He sees the Dayton water tower and collapses to his knees. He grew up near Dayton. She assures him he'll be okay as they'll take him to a hospital. In the sky above, a fiery red hole stays open.

In the hospital, Mary Ann is treated for her burn while talking to Sheriff Parker. She explains they were coming from East and headed to Indiana when the plane crashed. Elijah chimes in that Theodore said he was in WWII. The Sheriff has seen head injuries before. The plane had no registered numbers on the tail. As the Sheriff and Mary Ann talk, Elijah watches the police around the nurse's station. He asks for money for the vending machine. She offers her credit card instead. The Sheriff is confused that Elijah calls her by her first name, but she clarifies it's a stepmom thing.

Elijah sneaks into Theodore's hospital room to find him sleeping. Elijah looks at his dog tags when he suddenly grabs his hand. He's confused as to why there are guards on him. Elijah explains they're worried he's a bad guy. The pilot isn't, as he was fighting the bad guys. He's a real soldier. He can't believe they shipped him home. He worries he missed Christmas, but Elijah assures him it's only September. Theodore thinks it's December 24th, Christmas Eve, 1941. He wants to leave but Elijah knows they won't let him go until they know who he is. Theodore states who he is again - Lieutenant Theodore Cole, First American Volunteer Group. He needs to get out of there. Elijah becomes scared when the man grabs him, so Theodore apologizes and releases him. He tells him about a peace offering in his jacket pocket. Elijah reluctantly takes a box of candy from the jacket pocket. Theodore explains that his wife gave them to him as a good luck charm - so nothing bad will happen to him when he flies. The candy is called a Whiz bar, though Elijah doesn't recognize it. Theodore states it's chocolate. The deputies spot them in the room and begin banging on the door to be let in. Theodore blocks it, telling Elijah to find Sheriff Simmons on Main Street to tell him that his friend Theodore Cole is in trouble. He lets the deputies inside and they restrain him, then drug him.

Mary Ann and Elijah are back on the road, with Elijah thinking Theodore is telling the truth. The Whiz bar candies haven't been made for 30 years. He wants to help Theodore by going to the Sheriff's station. He doesn't think Theodore should be alone as he might have a family. She slams on the breaks then turns around to head to Main Street instead of his aunt's house. Military vehicles arrive on the bridge where the accident took place. Bill Kaminski, NTSB, arrives on the scene. He closes the scene until further notice. He establishes a perimeter for the scene. He looks at the sky with a device but a woman joins him. She knows the answer isn't up there, nor are his scientific instruments going to tell him anything new. The key is the pilot. He instructs Nina to go get him.

Mary Ann and Elijah arrive at the station looking for Chief Simmons. The new Chief is McCarty. There hasn't been a Simmons since he's been there, which is a long time. Elijah looks at a photograph in a case, but she wants to leave. He covertly takes a baseball out of the case. McCarty scolds him as it's a signed Johnny Bench ball. Elijah purposefully drops it so the Chief will be distracted long enough for him to grab the photograph. Mary Ann apologizes for Elijah's behavior.

She takes him outside and she reprimands him. He shows her the photo of a group of men from 1938, with Theodore in the photo. She doesn't believe that it's the real Theodore.

Theodore lurches awake in the hospital and pulls out his IV. He looks out the window to see military vehicles arriving. A nurse arrives with more medicine, but Cole drugs him instead. Nina arrives at the hospital to take the scene. The local police give her a hard time as they want to talk to the man in charge of her unit. However, the guy in charge is her and she's losing her patience. Meanwhile, Cole sneaks out of the hospital by wearing a nurse's scrubs. He grabs a change of clothing just as Nina finds the nurse in his room. Cole walks out the hospital door as he hears planes flying overhead, cars driving by with music playing, a woman talking on her phone. He tries to steal a car but the alarm blares. Nina hears the commotion and calls her men outside. They arrive just as Cole speeds off on a motorcycle.

The lake is drained as they collect all the evidence for the plane crash. The ground shakes badly as Bill watches the scene unfold. A scientist knows this is an anomaly, a gateway, but they didn't cover what happens if they don't send everything back through. Bill simply tells him to fix the plane.

Elijah continues to try and convince Mary Ann of Cole's identity. He thinks this is destiny and time travel. They arrive at a gas station so she can check the steaming engine. He sits in the front seat while she's busy reading the letter she didn't want him to see. He learns his school is in Burlington where his Aunt Julie lives, not California where they're supposed to go. She becomes nervous until he realizes that she's going to California without him. She's abandoning him. She insists that Burlington is a good school. He wants to be with her. She promised his father that she would always do the best for Elijah, and having him live with Julie is the best thing. He argues they've been okay since his dad died. He asks if he's been trouble, but she assures him that isn't the case. This isn't about him as she just has to give the best chance. She doesn't want a fight on this but he simply gets into the car. She knows he'll be taken care of by Aunt Julie, but he worries who will look after her as she cries all night instead of sleeping. Just then, they witness Cole's bike wipeout on the ground. Elijah thinks this is a sign. He shows Cole the picture and Cole explains the people in the photo. Elijah is insistent that he needs their help so Mary Ann eventually caves. Cole needs to see his wife and tell her what happened. They all get into the car.

As they drive, Cole realizes everything around him has changed. He sees his house so Mary Ann stops. He runs up the driveway and into the house, searching for Pauline. A woman appears so Cole explains he's looking for Pauline, but she thinks he's young to be her husband. Elijah explains that he's a friend of Pauline's. The nurse thinks that's nice as after the kids moved away no one's been to see her. Cole's surprised she's alive but she assures him she's fine. Cole looks at the photographs on the wall of Pauline and her family. He decides to wait outside. Mary Ann checks something on her phone, finding his obituary. He crashed in Burman only to be shot and killed while trying to evade capture.

The nurse sees the television with the family on the TV and threatens to call the police. Cole runs inside to see the house surrounded. Bill arrives with Nina as they just want to get him back where he belongs. The ground shakes again. Nina explains it's a cosmic tremor that is caused by him being there and what happened to him. He came through a Rift that made him travel to the future. His Rift is still open. Elijah interrupts as he died in Burma. He rushes Cole to the car while Mary Ann bangs on the hood, trying to stop the military from shooting. Bill and Nina try to talk Cole out of the car. He can't figure out the pedals as there are only two. Cole eventually figures it out and speeds off through the woods.

They drive through a family's backyard as Cole tells Elijah to trust him. there's a road leading to Miller's River, but Elijah doesn't see it. They go over the ledge to the field below, but the tire punctures causing them to stop. Cole makes sure Elijah, who is giddy, is safe. Cole leads Elijah across the river, where a large house sits on a hill. he danced with his wife there before he shipped out. It doesn't matter now as he didn't even get to say goodbye. He thought by never saying goodbye meant he didn't really leave. He asks about his obit. Elijah explains what it said. Cole thinks he should let them send him back since he doesn't belong there. Elijah should be with his mom, too. Elijah shrugs it off since she wants to dump him with his aunt. They both don't have anyone. Cole doesn't see the point in staying as Pauline lived a whole life without him. Elijah is adamant that he can't leave or die. Cole asks why he can't let it go, so Elijah shows him a photo of his father. He died in Afghanistan last April. Cole apologizes for his loss, but this world doesn't have anything for him. They sit on a bench together. Elijah wonders if there's a way to get Cole's life with Pauline back. He wants to change things. He wants to get Cole a Kevlar vest or better gun. That's why the Rift brought him - to give him a second chance.

The military vehicles arrive at a base with Mary Ann. Bill thinks she can help them find Elijah. She refuses to help him as they want to send Cole to his death. He explains there's more at stake than she realizes. She knows Cole is a good man but doesn't believe Bill is.

Elijah wants Cole to see Pauline but he doesn't want to impede on her life since she moved on. Elijah doesn't understand why he knows she's moved on. Cole explains that he took her to the movies on their first date. He bought her a box of cracker jacks with a green four-leaf clover pin inside. She said it was a sign of good luck and that they would always be together. When they got married and bought the house, the first thing she did was nail the pin to the mantel. He checked for it but it was gone. She probably pulled it out decades ago as she doesn't want to remember him.

Bill shows Mary Ann the plane that is being restored so it can fly Cole back. This isn't about changing history. He shows her earthquakes and explosions caused by a Rift. Many global disasters are caused by Rifts, so they have to get Cole back home. Mary Ann tearfully says he has her phone.

Elijah takes Cole to the Army Surplus store which amazes him. Elijah wants him to pick the lock, but Cole doesn't know-how. He tries to jimmy it but it's all steel.

Mary Ann talks with Nina about the many Rifts she's worked on before. Even if they don't send everything about them back through, sometimes they fail and a natural disaster still occurs. She thinks the Rift does things for a reason. It stays open for exactly eleven hours. She thinks something needs to happen in that timeframe, but she has no idea what it is.

Cole and Elijah hear sirens so they run through train tracks. A helicopter lands as the military arrives in full gear. Mary Ann requests to talk with Cole first. Bill allows it, so she approaches. Elijah thinks she doesn't understand what he and Cole are doing. She corrects that he is the one who doesn't understand. Cole has conditions that they must meet before he goes back - a weapon and Kevlar. He wants to beat this thing. She knows he can't do that. The Rift has happened before and if he doesn't go back exactly the same way he came, then everything in a 10-mile radius day. Elijah doesn't believe them and hugs Cole. He's sure they're lying. Mary Ann pulls him off. She wants to save him too, but this is how things have to be. Cole remarks that destiny is a son of a bitch. He is ready to go when she stops him to explain The Rift might have appeared for a reason. She doesn't know what it is, but Elijah thinks he might know.

Bill, Nina, Mary Ann, Cole, and Elijah head to Pauline's house. Cole has five minutes with her before he has to leave. He enters the house and sees Pauline sitting at the kitchen table. She sees him and smiles, breathing his name softly. He apologizes for letting a superstition stop him from saying goodbye. He knows she's moved on and forgotten about him, but he needs her to know he always loved her and always will. He doesn't have much time. He gets up to leave when she stops him. She opens her locket to reveal the four-leaf clover on one side and his picture on the other. He smiles and touches the locket. He asks her to dance with him, though she's reluctant. He assures her he's got her. They begin to sway together in a box step. He whispers goodbye to her and leaves as she watches.

Cole walks through the field to the plane. Elijah calls out to him so he walks back. Elijah hugs him tightly as he cries. Cole knows Elijah will be okay as he has a good head on his shoulders. He thanks him for everything then asks for a moment with Mary Ann. He and Mary Ann walk to the plane where he remarks that California gets lonely. He knows about her plans to drop Elijah off in Indiana. She can't take care of herself let alone Elijah. He thinks he came to this timeline not only because Pauline is there, but because she is. He's a pilot who is killed in combat, while she lost a pilot of her own. He's supposed to say goodbye to Pauline, but she has to do something too. She should know what her husband would say. Bill gives Cole his radio and wishes him luck. Cole is about to board when he realizes something. He jogs back to Elijah to ask for the Whiz bar back. Elijah sniffles that on the way back he got hungry, so he ate it. He hands the wrapper back to Cole. Bill knows they won't make it back to the minimum safe distance in time. Cole thinks it's okay as he did what it wanted him to do. It wasn't about a random Whiz bar. He climbs into the plane, puts on his gear, and turns the engine back on. Mary Ann mouths "thank you again" to Cole, who nods in return. Elijah salutes the pilot. Bill and Nina watch the plane take off from their computers.

Cole clutches his photo of Pauline, putting it against the console with shaky hands. He stares at the photo as he flies the plane into the Rift. The scientists and everyone gathers in the field together. The Rift will close in one minute. Mary Ann clutches Elijah as they exchange I love you's. Cole flies into the Rift, and it closes. Everyone waits as the sky glows and then the Rift expands before the colors vanish. Everyone applauds their safety.

Mary Ann and Elijah drive down the highway together, exchanging smiles. She points out the "Welcome to California" sign.

Starring

 * Austin Stowell as Lieutenant Theodore Cole
 * Kerry Bishé as Mary Ann Whitaker
 * Duncan Joiner as Elijah Whitaker
 * Edward Burns as Bill Kaminski
 * Juliana Canfield as Nina Bowman

Co-Starring

 * Andrew Benator as Milburg
 * Martha Bird Knighton as Pauline
 * Erika Coleman as Pauline's Nurse
 * Michael Chandler as Sheriff Parker
 * Jay Devon Johnson as Police Chief McClarty
 * Alicia Roberts as TV News Anchor
 * Desmond Phillips as Deputy Sheriff #1
 * Henry Bazemore Jr. as Deputy Sheriff #2
 * Susan Williams as ER Nurse
 * Derek McDonnell as Male Nurse
 * Aly Ward Azevedo as Teenage Girl on Phone

Trivia

 * The Rift is the first episode not to feature any guest stars.
 * On December 12, 2021, Apple TV+ updated their site to include the words "season finale" before the episode synopsis of The Rift.
 * The Rift opened with a title card and radio station-themed credits.