The Program

In the morning, Nurse Kell takes Sloane to meet her therapist, Dr. Warren. Dr. Warren offers Sloane a red pill, which she says will help her. Sloane takes the pill, hoping that it will make the process easier. During their session, Sloane talks about how she and James share a similar guilt surrounding Brady’s death. After the session, Dr. Warren gives her a yellow pill, which she says will help the feeling of relaxation last longer.

In the recreation room, the boy who tried talking to Sloane from before approaches her. He invites her to play cards with him and his friends. At their session, Dr. Warren asks about James. Sloane does not want to talk about James because The Program changed him. Dr. Warren gives her the yellow pill at the end of the session. Sloane tells her that she does not want to take the pill, and Dr. Warren says that if she refuses, a nurse will give it to her forcefully. This scares Sloane, so she takes the pill before leaving.

In the cafeteria, the boy who invited Sloane to play cards introduces himself to her as Michael Realm. Sloane goes to the card game with Realm. A girl named Tabitha asks to play, but Realm says that she cannot. Tabitha leaves angrily. Realm tells Sloane that Tabitha took QuikDeath before coming to The Program and that it gave her brain damage. He assures Sloane that Tabitha will not remember what happened and that she never remembers the rules of the card game, which is why they do not let her play. Realm introduces Sloane to Derek and Shep, who play cards with them. Realm says that they play the card game “Bullshit,” which Sloane used to play with Brady and James.

A week later, Dr. Warren asks about Sloane’s first kiss with James. Sloane tells her about how she and James went to the river one day. At the river, James went swimming, and Sloane thought it would be funny to hide his clothes. When she picked up his clothes, a purple heart-shaped ring fell out of his pocket. James told her that the ring was for her. He kissed her, and Sloane felt so happy knowing that he wanted to be with her.

Later, the dark-haired handler wakes Sloane up from her nap. He introduces himself as Roger and offers to help her save a memory in exchange for sexual favors. Sloane tells him to get out, but he tells her to think about his offer because she has already lost so many memories. After he leaves, Sloane realizes that she cannot remember when James gave her the ring, and she wonders how much she has already forgotten.

Later, Sloane goes with Realm to play cards with Derek and Shep again. Tabitha returns and has the same conversation with Realm from before. Afterward, Realm walks her back to her room. As they walk down the hallway, Sloane panics when she sees Roger and asks Realm to keep him away from her. Realm lets her sleep in his bed because she worries that Roger will come into her room again.

The next day, Sloane asks Roger how he can give her back her memories. Roger explains that he cannot make her recover her forgotten memories, but that he can help her save a memory. He explains that the yellow pill she takes targets the memories that she tells Dr. Warren, and the red pill is a truth serum. Roger pulls out a purple pill and tells her that if she takes it, she can save one memory that she does not want to lose. Sloane asks him what he wants in return, and he tells her that he wants to kiss her. Sloane takes the pill from him. Roger says that when she takes it, she must focus on the memory she wants to hold on to. Sloane lets him kiss her, but she kicks him and tells him to leave when he gropes her.

After Roger leaves, Sloane swallows the pill and pictures James and Brady in the picture that she hid in the mattress. The next morning in session, Sloane refuses the red pill. Dr. Warren calls in a nurse, who grabs Sloane and stabs her with a needle. Dr. Warren asks Sloane to tell her about Brady’s death. Sloane explains that she could not grieve Brady’s death because everyone thought that her grief was a sign of depression. Sloane explains that the only person she could be herself around was James. Dr. Warren tells Sloane that they have to cut out what makes her sick from her brain. Dr. Warren offers her the yellow pill, but Sloane makes the nurse give it to her.

At the end of the week, Roger tells her that he has spent time at her old school because of James. Sloane knows that James was her boyfriend before The Program, but she has trouble remembering anything else. Roger tells her that she will forget James completely after a few more sessions with Dr. Warren. Sloane says she does not want another pill from Roger, but he grabs her arm. Realm appears and tells Roger to leave Sloane alone. Roger leaves, and Realm helps her to her room, where she falls asleep.

After playing cards, Sloane hangs out with Realm in his room. Sloane tells him about Roger groping her. She tells Realm that Roger gave her a pill to remember one memory. Realm gets upset and tells Sloane that the pill does not work. Later, Realm and Sloane cuddle together in his bed. Realm tries to kiss Sloane, but she pulls away, telling him that she still loves James. She explains that she wants to see if she remembers James after The Program. Realm tells her that if she is meant to be with James, then they will find each other again.

The next day, Sloane tells Dr. Warren that when James and Sloane became public about their relationship after Brady died, Sloane’s parents and James’s dad tried to keep them apart because they did not think it was a good idea for them to be together. Sloane tells Dr. Warren that she knows that James loves her because she knows everything about him. After the session, Dr. Warren gives Sloane a black pill. Dr. Warren tells Sloane that she should say goodbye to James because she will not remember him anymore. Sloane jams a finger down her throat, throwing up the pill, but a nurse comes in with a needle to take away Sloane’s final memories of James.

Sloane sobs as she leaves Dr. Warren’s office. She hears James’s voice tell her that he loves her as she collapses. Later, Sloane wakes up restrained on her bed with Roger next to her. Roger says that he will not hurt her, but that he wants to punish Realm. Roger sedates Sloane. When Sloane wakes up, Realm stands over her. He asks her if Roger hurt her, but Sloane tells him that Roger is baiting Realm to get him moved to another facility. Realm leaves, and Sloane watches as Realm punches Roger in the face. Realm grabs Roger’s arm and twists it until it snaps. A group of guards arrive and lead Realm away. The next day, The Program fires Roger.

A few days later, Realm returns. Sloane hugs him and tells him that they fired Roger. Realm tells her that he missed her, and Sloane realizes that she missed him too. That night as they play cards, Sloane cannot shake the feeling that she misses someone important, but she cannot remember who it is. Sloane goes to Realm’s room for the night. In bed, Realm kisses Sloane. Even though she enjoys it, she feels consumed with grief. Realm apologizes, and Sloane says she wants to sleep in her bed that night. As she walks to her room, Sloane cannot shake the feeling of loss.

The next day, Sloane avoids Realm. Later, she walks to Dr. Warren’s office, hoping to catch Realm as he leaves so they can discuss the kiss. Sloane overhears Dr. Warren say that she must send Realm to a different facility, but Realm says that will jeopardize Sloane’s recovery. Realm says that he needs time to make sure that the pills have erased all of Sloane’s memories. Realm sees Sloane standing outside, but he does not tell Dr. Warren. Sloane realizes that her only friend is a member of The Program.

Later, Realm tells Sloane that he is her friend. Realm explains that he is a handler and that they assigned him to her case because she was difficult. Realm explains that he was a patient in The Program, but because his parents were dead, Dr. Warren offered him a job. Realm says that many returners have issues because they do not have an emotional connection with anyone, so The Program hires handlers to form bonds with the patients. Realm tells Sloane that he has feelings for her, but he should not have taken advantage of her. Realm says that he told Dr. Warren what she confided in him so that it was easier to erase her memories. Sloane says that she can never forgive him in his attempt to erase her past. Realm asks her not to tell the other patients about him, but Sloane tells him that she will tell everyone in the facility about him. Realm grabs her and suddenly kisses her. Sloane does not fight back but gasps as she looks down to see that Realm has stabbed a needle in her thigh. Realm apologizes but tells her that he cannot let her tell anyone what she knows because The Program will never let him out.

When Sloane wakes up, she feels groggy. Sloane realizes that an entire day has passed, and she finds Realm. She tells him that she thinks The Program did something to her because she has no memory of the day before. Realm tells her that she had a fever, which is why she does not remember anything. He tells her that she has earned garden time, and he takes Sloane outside. Realm asks her if she is mad at him, and Sloane tells him that she is not; however, she cannot shake the feeling that she should not trust him, even though she does not know why.

A few days later, Realm tells her that it is his last night in The Program. They go for a last walk together, and Realm tells her that if she wants him, he will wait for her. A week later, Sloane meets with Dr. Warren one last time. Dr. Warren says that they want her to survive, but if The Program flags her after she leaves, she must stay in The Program until she turns eighteen. Dr. Warren tells her that she may feel numb at first, but she will feel again as she reacclimates to society. Sloane says goodbye, and a handler walks her outside to her parents. She hugs them both, happy that she feels “cured.”