The Story Shall Stay

The Story Shall Stay Synopsis: CONNOR HOLLOWAY’s story is one of the perfect storm. Through rumor, mistrust, and at times his own actions, his wife KATE dies as the result of renowned town doctor DREW MATTHEWS’ mistake, one that Drew eventually admits was fueled by his own biases. In the structure of 13 Reasons Why, we alternate between past and present, showing the events that led up to Kate’s death. Through voiceover at the beginning of each episode (which in the finale we learn has been Connor’s eulogy), Connor’s daughter POE guides us through his story. The show explores a classic question: are monsters born, or are they made? Perhaps the answer is both. But at its core, this is a family drama, with the apocalypse as a backdrop for Connor’s journey from a justice obsessed widow to a father who puts his children’s hopes in front of his own. The world-changing event that Connor has prepared for his entire adult life is here. A pandemic is sweeping the nation, and no one in his small town is ready. Realizing that the disease is going to push them toward the water (pinning them in), a group of the townspeople know there is one place they can go if they want to live: his doorstep. Knowing he holds the only key to safety within a hundred miles, Connor hand-selects the people he thinks will be most useful to come inside, knowing he is simultaneously giving the others a death sentence. Ultimately, letting people into the compound serves another purpose: it allows Connor to pick his own successor. Right before the pandemic hit, he found out that he has a terminal illness. Realizing his children are still not ready to be in charge, he knows his replacement must come from the outside. Despite hating everyone who he believes caused his wife’s death, he must now turn to them for help, without letting them know his condition. Throughout the series, the newcomers will test Connor’s world perspective. As they adjust to life on the compound, CASSIUS, a former police officer, will constantly be looking for ways to undermine Connor’s authority, but others, like VERA, Drew’s wife, will excel and prove to be valuable assets. While they learn to hunt, prepare food, and defend themselves, they will show Connor that humanity is capable of far more than cruelty. When Drew risks his own life to save Poe, Connor realizes that the person he sees as responsible for his wife’s death is the most qualified to take his place. Connor isn’t sure he can trust a man who represents the humiliation he and his family endured at the hands of their neighbors. Connor must decide whether to forgive Drew and give him the critical knowledge he needs to run their makeshift civilization or hold on to his pride and risk the collapse of the compound, his family, and his legacy. He finally realizes that he has been using the supposed need to keep his family safe to disguise his own desires to keep them close and makes the ultimate sacrifice by keeping his illness a secret from Poe when she asks to leave. When asked why, he replies, “If I told her, she would have stayed.”