Homecoming

"Homecoming" is the first chapter in Part I of The OA, and the first chapter of the series overall. This episode, along with the rest of the season, was made available for streaming on Netflix on December 16 th, 2016.

Synopsis
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Plot
The episode opens with a woman baring severe scarring on her back, later known as Prairie Johnson, running across a bridge from the perspective of a cellphone recording. The woman reaches the other side of the bridge and jumps inexplicably. The scene cuts to a hospital room, where she's informed by Alice, a nurse at St. Louis Hospital, that she's been unconscious for 3 days. Suffering hypothermia and severely bruised from the fall, Prairie is seemingly upset at the news that she did not flatline. Although avoiding the nurse's question regarding her scars, Prairie proclaims she is "The OA" when asked her name.

We are then introduced to Nancy and Abel Johnson, the adoptive parents of Prairie. Nancy receives a phone call from a friend who recognized Prairie from the bridge cellphone recording. Screaming for Abel, Nancy is stunned upon seeing the video. The two rush to St. Louis Hospital to be reunited with their adoptive child. Initially not recognizing her adoptive parents, Prairie whispers "Mom?" upon feeling Nancy's face. It is then we learn that Prairie Johnson went missing 7 years ago, and was initially blind before her disappearance.

The Johnsons return home where they are met by a giant crowd of locals excited to see the 'Michigan Miracle' - Upon hearing the crowd call her 'Prairie', she reminds herself that's not her name. Once inside, OA collapses upon feeling the carpet of her childhood home after all this time. OA is questioned by two FBI workers regarding her disappearance and experiences - OA retorts that she didn't "disappear", and in fact was present for all of it; All seven years, three months, and eleven days. The FBI pressure OA about why she jumped from the bridge, but she insists she was trying to get help. OA then details the events that transpired after her escape from captivity - She walked for days from "nowhere", and was then picked up by an old woman in a car. The woman brought OA to a place full of "lost people", but ultimately left to get back to where she was held captive. This was a lost cause, however, as OA explains that they were not dead, but gone. Later that night, OA rummages through the house, desperately trying to find the password to the internet with no luck. Nancy interrupts OA's endeavor, suggesting they take a night stroll. Nancy questions OA on her newfound sight, but OA expresses that she can't talk about it. OA's attention is drawn towards two troubled young men, Steve Winchell and Jesse Mills. The pair are students at Crestwood High School, found performing stunts atop a nearby house. The two are shocked to see Prairie out and about. The scene then cuts to Steve having sex with Angela, another student at Crestwood High School. Steve becomes enraged upon hearing that Angela is dating a guy in choir, and that she's only using him to get better at sex. Steve proceeds to punch a hole in the wall out of anger. Steve's father then enters, disappointed by reports from his teacher BBA (Betty Broderick-Allen) of Steve bullying other kids.

OA finds an old video recorder, and begins taping messages to a man named Homer, presumably one of her fellow captives during her disappearance. OA assures Homer that she didn't leave him behind and will continue to look for him. To OA's disappointment Nancy enters the room, breaking the news that the hospital recommends she doesn't have internet access. OA sneaks out of the house later that day in pursuit of internet access to find Homer, entering one of the abandoned homes in the neighborhood. There, a Crestwood student named Alfonso “French” Sosa is found hanging out, directing OA upstairs to ask for WiFi. OA finds Steve and Jesse upstairs selling hormone drugs to a trans Crestwood student, Buck Vu. Upon seeing OA, Steve snatches the video recorder out of her hands, accusing her of recording their operations. OA demands for the camera back and insists she's only there for the internet, but Steve viciously orders his dog to attack. After a brief struggle OA bites the dog back, making it calm down and submit. Blood running down her arm, OA nonchalantly walks out with her camera, smirking at Buck's question of how she regained her sight. OA returns home with a badly bitten arm. Nancy expresses the pain of not knowing what's going on with Prairie, and breaks the news to her that she watched her video recordings to Homer. OA assures Nancy that she's withholding things because she doesn't want to hurt her. Steve watches in on a choir lesson, specifically for a kid named Miles. Assuming Miles is the guy Angela is seeing, Steve punches him in the throat, lacerating his trachea. Knowing he's really messed up this time, Steve retreats to OA's window asking for help. Steve's parents are threatening to send him to Asheville, a behavioral military school. As leverage, Steve brings a router for internet access. OA agrees to help him, but on one condition - She needs five brave people, the abandoned house, and no physical contact. Planning to pose as Steve's parent for his teacher conference, OA and Steve go to a local clothing store to prepare. OA encourages Steve to work more on his "invisible self" instead of his visible self and to listen. Waiting outside the dressing room, Steve catches a glimpse of OA's scars much to his surprise. OA arrives at Crestwood High as Steve's "stepmother" to meet with BBA - Betty is calling for Steve's immediate expulsion following the incident with Miles. OA takes back control of the conversation, reminding BBA that the reason she became a teacher was to help people in need. Dazed by the experience, BBA is bewildered when Prairie again identifies herself as the OA.

At class that same day, BBA smiles and winks at Steve, letting him know his plan worked. OA smiles to herself as she walks home, Steve likely reminding her of Homer. OA returns home, eager to search the web for him. She stumbles upon a YouTube video - In 2007, a football player named Homer Roberts suffered a near fatal accident that left him paralyzed and in a coma. Claiming he had a near-death experience and flatlined, Homer miraculously recovered. Touching the screen, OA cries for Homer, asking where he is. This is interrupted by Nancy knocking on the door, stating the FBI is on the phone. In reality it is Steve, reveling in their success. OA reminds Steve that it's now his turn to return the favor - She needs five people to meet at midnight at the abandoned house, and they all must leave their front doors open to "invite her in."

BBA runs into Mr. Winchell at a grocery store, recounting her experience with "Mrs. Winchell" at the parent/teacher conference. BBA is shocked when the real Mrs. Winchell walks up, learning that Prairie impersonated her. The Winchell parents confront the Johnsons at their home, forcing Steve to confess his plan. Mrs. Winchell berates Nancy, suggesting that Prairie gets professional help. Upstairs, OA races to upload a video to YouTube asking for help. Later that day, Nancy and Abel remove OA's door, no longer trusting her to be on her own. In bed at night, BBA's curiosity gets the best of her and searches the internet for "OA" - This leads her to OA's YouTube video. A sequence then plays showing the group of Crestwood kids (Steve, Jesse, Buck, and French) journey to the house. The group convene at the abandoned house just as OA was preparing to leave thinking no one would show. At first excited, OA states they can't do this without 5 people, not including her. It is then BBA walks up the stairs, completing the group of 5. Jesse questions why they're all there - OA explains that she needs to go somewhere and that she has to leave something important behind. Although skeptical at first, she convinces the group to close their eyes and open their mind while she recounts her story up to this point. Surprisingly, OA wasn't born blind. She was born as Nina Azarova in 1987 in Russia. Her father was a very wealthy man who ran a mining company, and her mother died in childbirth. Because her father was so rich, their family was always watched by the Voi. As a child, Prairie was haunted by vivid dreams of being trapped in an aquarium-like cage. To put an end to these dreams, Nina's father digs an ice-hole in a pond, making Nina float in the freezing waters to overcome her fear. This stopped the dreams, until one day they came to fruition - Nina's school bus carrying the sons and daughters of all the Russian scions is attacked by the Voi, forcing it over a bridge and crashing into the water. Nina manages to swim out of the bus but drowns and dies before making it to the surface. A spiritual guardian figure, Khatun, fetches Nina out of the water. Khatun warns Nina that if she returns to life, she will suffer greatly. Nina adamantly asks to return, to which Khatun takes her sight, stating she cannot bear Nina to see the horrors to come. Nina awakens on shore with her father clutching her in his arms, learning she can no longer see at all.

Cast & Characters

 * Starring

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 * Guest Starring

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 * Co-Starring

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Notes & Trivia
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