Detour to Paradise, to find oneself better...
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Long and perilous is the way to Paradise for human souls... Full of surprises are the detours that destiny make us take; chances that we must seize... A chance that Mason Capwell will know how to seize. It is inhabited by his alter ego, Sonny Sprockett, that this initiatory journey, that this dive into another fantastic reality of Mason begins; journey that will lead him to the women he loves.

While he was about to say “I do” to Gina DeMott in the chapel of priest Michael Donnelly, Sonny Sprockett is wounded by a gunshot. Sonny, under the gaze of his fiancée but also of his whole family, collapses at the foot of the altar. Wounded, he slowly disappears to give way to the personality of Mason who has time, before being driven to the hospital, to whisper “I love you” in Julia's ear. Driven in the operating room, Mason is taken in charge by Dr. Scott Clark. Then he is installed in intensive care, plunged in a deep coma.

In his hospital room, Mason lies unconscious, as absent to the world around him. Yet, at his side, Gina and Julia argue : the one to find Sonny and the other to defend Mason and rebuild a home for Samantha. During their argument, Mason's heart stops, as if he were tired, really tired of these incessant quarrels around him. Scott orders everyone to leave the room, he just wants Michael by his side. Gina and Julia meet in the corridor, the one as the other praying ardently, between two scathing lines, so that he wakes up with the right personality. While a call is made for a recovery team in Mason's room, Julia and Gina burst into the room. Michael is about to give him the last rites, much to Julia's chagrin, and Scott begins a heart massage. Suddenly...

Suddenly, the room is tinged with blue and there are impressive shadows, almost heavy, around the other people in the room, as if waiting for a drama. On his bed, Mason's body is tinted with white, to become a ghostly silhouette. His silhouette becomes a translucent light and, dressed in trousers and a wool sweater of an immaculate white, Mason leaves the room, having glanced at his other himself, lying on the hospital bed. No one seems to see his double white; all eyes are focused on the screen of the scope which transcribes Mason's heartbeat. Gina then entrusts her fears to Bunny, not understanding who can blame Mason. Julia takes refuge in the arms of C.C., the only person perhaps strong enough to prevent her from sinking, because as she shouts between sobs, she does not want Mason to die...

Far from the gaze of men, Mason's double continues his race. He enters an elevator that stops at the infinite stage. He arrives in an all white waiting room, whose ground is nimbed of a white flocon cloud. Behind a desk, a secretary is there, looking on a TV screen embedded in the wall, a TV show : the sound and images leave no doubt, she watches the show Santa Barbara.

The woman welcomes Mason, telling him that he is expected, as if this were an evidence. She is also dressed in white : a sequined dress that highlights her generous breasts. Her pen is a white ostrich feather, which she grabs with a white glove. With a simple gesture of her hand, she stops the TV. While Mason asks her who she is, she answers that he has to make an effort. No doubt the woman in front of him is known : this figure, this mouth, these eyes, these eyebrows. And, when she quotes him film titles, Mason offers another film, Mommie Dearest. Mason was mistaken, he confused her with Faye Dunaway, a terrible caricature, as she describes it ! Mason then recognizes the actress Joan Crawford.

Amused, while Mason asks her what he is doing there, she suddenly makes an angel's voice sing to welcome him to the kingdom of heaven. In Mason's eyes, this is only a mistake, a monumental mistake. But, as Joan Crawford explains to him, here, there can be no mistake. Sure, he is a little early, but the computer announced his arrival. As if trapped, Mason goes back to the elevator to leave the place. Playful, Joan seems to appreciate Mason's humour. Then she asks him to sit down, for He will come to take care of him in a little while. A moment later, Mason, very surprised, understands that he will end up talking with God, even if his identity is never pronounced.

As usual, when he is on the defensive, Mason attacks and tries to sting the other by alluding to Joan Crawford, the movie Mommie Dearest, which is nothing but a biography of Joan, and whose role was played by Faye Dunaway. Vexed, Joan's face becomes tense and assures Mason that it is only a matter of lying. Moreover, she has always refused to see it. But, as He has a soft spot for movie stars, she ended up here.

Mason then wonders about his identity : Mason Capwell or Sonny Sprockett, this other personality that he invented in his childhood, identity that comes to haunt him today, wishing to be able to live his life too. Mason tries to find out if Sonny is there too. And, with a graceful movement of hand, Joan lights up the TV screen on the wall, and we see, in an atmosphere of red smoke, Sonny on a mechanical horse, doing a rodeo, an eternal rodeo. Sonny seems not to have the same chance as Mason... And a certain fear creeps in with him...

While Mason wanders in another world, in the hospital corridors, his people tear themselves apart. Gina and C.C. have a violent altercation under the eyes of Bunny and Dr. Scott Clark. Scott, facing the violence of the words exchanged, expels Gina from the hospital. Scott is aware that anger will not be a support for Mason. Julia stays in Mason's room, really aspiring him to wake up.

In a white elsewhere, Joan makes Mason enter a large office. The room is also completely white from the floor to the ceiling, the furniture is white and from the floor there seems to be a white vaporous cloud. On a wall can be guessed three letters GRC; below a logo, the wheel of a peacock surmounted by a halo (the logo can remind that of NBC, the channel that broadcasts Santa Barbara in the United States). Unable to resist the temptation, Mason goes around the room, details for a moment the office, before letting himself be attracted by a register placed on a small table : the register of newcomers of the year 1989. Captivated, Mason settles down at the office and browse it in search of his name. Quickly, he finds himself in the listing : his arrival is scheduled for tonight. Once the shock past, Mason finally seems to accept this news. Then, he searches for another identity : Adriana Castillo. He finds nothing for his niece. Suddenly, he hears a noise. Mason hastens to drop the register and to get up, when a man enters the room. He is all dressed in white, with black hair, black beard, golden glasses on his face. All his person releases a certain authority and real responsibilities. As soon as he enters, he complains about his busy schedule (the apostles, the choir of angels, etc...).

He settles down at his office, after seeing (which He certainly already knew) that Mason is agnostic. For his part, He explains that it is not serious, as it is He who created him. In fact, He created everything from Hell to Paradise ! The only real difficulty is to put some order in men. Then, He announces to Mason his future destination : cloud 18, a cloud with a nice view, where he will be fine. Mason, as a good lawyer, then seizes the opportunity to try to argue and check if there is not a mistake, as he is a young man, his coming here can only be too soon. He also explains that his life has not been exemplary; he swears that he has always acted with good intentions. Irrelevant remark in the end, because as He points out, the adage is well known : Hell is paved with good intentions. Having managed to start a discussion, Mason hopes to find a way to turn the situation to his advantage, as he has always done : he asks for another chance to redeem himself. But He does not let himself be so easily taken in Mason's explanations. He gets up and goes to two television screens embedded in the wall : one is dedicated to the past and the other to the present. He will show him the elements of the file that He has on him : his black spot being his loving troubles. The screen of the past lights up. In the first scene, Julia, angry, slaps him. In another scene, Gina pushes him away. In the next one, Mary asks him to leave her alone, accusing him of being only a manipulator. This scene seems to hit Mason. Then, it is a new scene with Julia, during their last wedding, where she answers no, unable to marry him. In the last scene, he kisses Gina, under Julia's gaze.

The evidence is overwhelming. Mason is dismayed. Especially as the severe look of the man in front of him accentuates the guilt. Mason has no choice but to acknowledge his wrongs and the sins committed. Paternalistic towards Mason, as towards all men, He taps him on the cheek, telling him that, despite his mistakes, it could have been worse, he could have ended up roasting downstairs.

The second sequence is broadcast on the television of the present : we find Michael and Julia in a waiting room of the hospital. It shows Julia acknowledging that she let Sonny steal the papers, because she wanted to protect Michael. Julia also confesses that she loves Mason and that she wishes more than anything that Mason recovers from his wounds. Mason, again, uses these images to argue for his return to Earth : Julia loves him and she needs him. Mason has proof, if he needed it, of the depth of the love that Julia has for him. He concludes by trying to pull the right heartstrings : if he dies, Julia will have her life ruined, just like his daughter who will not know her father. Above all, he still has so much to do. Perhaps for a rare time in his life, Mason understands that every act has consequences and that it is possible that tomorrow will not allow us to ask forgiveness or to repair our mistakes, simply because there is no tomorrow. Mason is touching this truth with his finger, he is touching, as after Mary's death, the ephemeral character of life. So, Mason lets himself go to sincerity, even to confess his faults and his mistakes : he describes himself as He and certainly as his father see him, as a wretched man who ruined his life.

The lawyer in Mason quickly takes over, and he continues his argument by reporting some of the mistakes on Sonny. But He is not fooled : contrary to what Mason says, he let himself be dominated by Sonny, he let him take control of his life. However, His judgment is not so severe : He concludes by telling Mason that he used his life badly and it is for this reason that He was forced to call him back to Him.

Mason continues his argument with a new approach. After acknowledging his mistakes, he goes to the next step : the promise of change with his return on Earth. In the words that he presents to Him, he explains that he will get closer to his father and the rest of his family, he will prostrate on his knees in front of Julia to obtain her forgiveness. He will make sure to change. Mason swears to change. He is so convinced that he is close to swearing before God himself. He would almost let himself be tempted by the passion that animates Mason. But He knows Mason in depth, He knows all his talents, all his tools, all his stratagems... So, to close their exchange, He takes out a white binder from a drawer on which it is written in gold letters : The Chronicles of Mason Lamont Capwell. He drops it forcefully on the desk. Anxious, Mason looks at it with apprehension. He explains to him that this is the story of his life. Now it is He who will direct the exchanges, a bit like in court; after the defense, the word goes to the prosecution, before the sentence !

In Mason's room, C.C. is at his son's bedside. He comes to confess his mistakes in front of this son whom he surprises himself to love. He also wants another chance to make up for the mistakes he made as a child. C.C., in a breath, entrusts his regrets and his love. He is joined by Julia who comes to embrace him. She is so sure he will wake up and have a chance to make up.

The discussion between Mason and He starts on another path, and this is without appeal. He asks Mason to sit down, because the detour in the past of Mason's life, to possibly decide a future, risks taking a little time. He closes in a dry snap the book of Mason's chronicles. The observation seems without appeal, as Mason himself notes it. Both agree : there is not much to save in this life. Mason, slowly, resigns himself not to have a second chance. Maybe this is really what he deserves. And, while Mason accepts the possibility of staying here, he understands through the words of his judge that there can be at least another possibility. Mason is surprised, like Him, by this possibility. He appears touched by Mason's passion, by his desire to try to repair the wrongs he has committed, by the suffering that his death could cause, but above all he appears touched by the sincere need for redemption that emanates from Mason. He finally allows himself to be convinced by his talents : He offers to send him to another cloud, cloud 9. He explains to him that cloud 9 is in a way a transition cloud, a place where he can meditate on his mistakes, to think about the future that he could perhaps have; but above all this cloud will allow him to speak with a young woman of his past, the woman who made him discover love.

Mason's face calms down. He lets himself be won over by the words... His heart and soul are invaded by the memory that awakens in him. In a breath, like a light prayer, Mason whispers a name he hadn't pronounced in months. Mary... Now, here, this name does not cause any trouble, quite the contrary. A gentle tranquility invades Mason, the certainty of being listened to, of being understood and beyond everything of to be loved and forgiven.

In a pastel blue and flaky place, Joan escorts Mason to cloud 9. Joan moves away and leaves Mason alone with one advice, that of not wasting this time granted to him. As Joan's figure fades, another takes on consistency to become almost real. Mason recognizes her immediately, even if today she has long hair. No doubt, it is Mary who faces him.

A world of pastel blue flakes envelops them, a world of softness and peace. The world below, here, has no hold. Only love and benevolence find a place on cloud 9. Mason does not believe his eyes. He looks at Mary, staring at her; he wants to immerse himself in this vision, that it erases forever the terrible memories that haunted him so painfully. Mary looks at him and smiles. To make sure of her presence, to make her even more real, Mason stretches his arms towards Mary to try to touch her face. But as his hands approach her, Mary slowly disintegrates and ends up disappearing completely, leaving a worried Mason. Mary reappears a few steps behind him, still dressed in her white dress. Mason approaches her and tries again to touch her. Mary stops him in his gesture. She explains that they cannot touch each other, simply because she has become an angel, an angel made of fire and ice, which is dangerous for a mortal.

Face to face, they can only touch each other with their eyes. Mason does not leave her eyes, fearing that she will be taken from him again. He does not understand what happens to him, whether he is alive or dead : the situation completely escapes him. He would almost go crazy. As Mary points it out, he tries too hard to analyze things, which can sometimes prevent him from living and fully enjoying the present moment. Yet, as Mason almost admits it, in their life before, he never tried to analyze their story with her because, in Mason's eyes, Mary will have been the only woman... Mary looks at him and smiles, touched by this obvious truth. Mary confirms to him that their love is timeless, and so that Mason gets soaked with it and makes sure of it, she asks him to look into her eyes; in the mirror of her soul, he can find the proof that she never ceased to love him. Mason does much more than look at her, he caresses her, he touches her with his eyes. And he ends up knowing...

He lets himself be inhabited by this sweet sensation that envelops and penetrates him. Mary's love seeps into Mason through each of the pores of her skin, the least of her cells is invaded by this absolute love. He gets himself totally abandoned. Mason can only realize the obvious : Mary's love is such a powerful force that it drives away all the hatred and all the suffering that, until then, possessed him. The feeling is strange and all new for Mason. In the face of Mary's love, he has just, certainly for the first time, let go and let himself be invaded by love and happiness... It is as if Paradise had just entered into him; he is Paradise. Mary and he are Paradise. The moment is so powerful, so new, so destabilizing for Mason, that he asks to stay. The very memory of Julia and Samantha has gone away, as if held back by the blue fog veil that envelops them. This blue veil isolates Mary and Mason, protects them from the worlds around them, from the feelings around them, to let them enjoy fully, serenely, the moment. Paradise envelops them and Mason, invaded by emotions, by the recovered love, by the new serenity, wishes to stay here, his desire being galvanized by the presence of Mary, this woman whom he loved more than anything in the world. So Mason asks Mary what he must do to stay here with her; he is ready to accept all the conditions, without even knowing them.

For the first time, Mary moves away her look from Mason to evoke the conditions for him to win his place in Paradise. The first thing to do to be accepted in Paradise is to review your whole life and especially to draw all the necessary consequences. Mason is almost relieved; he has just fulfilled this condition and it was very trying for him : he realized that the man he is is not the one he thinks he is. As if to justify himself, he tells Mary that he has been through many disasters. And Mary tells him that she already knows all this, she lives by his side all the time : she is his guardian angel. This truth surprises Mason and also reassures him in some place. As if to prove him definitively the evidence of this state, Mary lists the stages of his life : his loss of memory in an explosion, his kidnapping by the Indian (Elena Nikolas' associate), his two wives, his two comas, his two personalities... And finally, Mary talks to him about his beautiful little daughter, and it is thanks to her that he was able to access so far.

Touched by Mary's words, Mason tries to understand how she could become his guardian angel, he who perhaps expected to be escorted by a little devil. If Mason does not seem to understand, this is nevertheless an evidence. It was love that guided Mary in her mortal life, but also in her angel life. Mary explains to Mason that she asked for it, because in her life on Earth, he was the person she loved the most in the world. Although she struggled to stay alive, God decided that the time of her death had come. The evocation of the past, of this painful past, is not painful for Mason. The feelings here are no longer the same. Yet, as he tells Mary, he never ceased to love her, and it is not because he tried to forget her. Despite her efforts, she was always there, in him, with him, invisible at his side... It is by saying it that he realizes it, Mason verbalizes the presence of his guardian angel at his side. But at the time, he was neither able to realize it, nor even able to appreciate this presence, so violent were the bites of pain. Today, nearly three years after her disappearance, Mason found a little peace. It is certainly because of this appeasement that he plans to stay here with the one who taught him to love, the one who taught him the value of a moment shared at two, with a look, with a hand that touches him, the value of finding the person for whom his heart agrees to beat at another pace. And Mary has a heart worth beating at his own pace. So...

So Mason insists, he wants to stay and accepts the conditions of his renunciation of the other world. Mary, who knows everything of Mason's life, advises him to evaluate his life, to reflect on the past and present relationships with his father. Mason, who must be honest, admits that today his relations with his father have found a certain serenity, they have almost become intimate, which is an excellent result in view of their difficult past. Today, although his father told him that he loved him, he admits that he does not know if he can trust him. Deep down, Mason still has this strange feeling of not belonging to the Capwell family, as if he had been exchanged at birth with another baby. Which is not the case, the Capwells are Mason's real family. He does not see any sense in this and yet, it is simple : C.C. and Mason must learn to live together, in harmony; this is the daily challenge that they must succeed so that the doors of Paradise can open for one as for the other.

Reassured by Mary's presence and stimulated by the particular atmosphere on cloud 9, Mason lets himself go into confidence. He confides to Mary that no one has ever understood him as well as she. And, in the course of the exchanges, Mason asks the important question : could Mary come back to Earth with him ? If Mason apprehends the answer, it is not the case of Mary who, thanks to her faith, found peace, serenity, and feels no resentment against her life before. Her earthly time is over, they have lived what they had to live. Today, Mary is fully satisfied with her angel life. For Mason, if he feels less pain in front of Mary's death, another feeling worries him : his guilt. Mason, in his unconscious, considers himself responsible for her death. It is because of him that this terrible drama happened. Mary hastens to reassure him to change his mind : it is not his fault. And today she found what she could never have found on Earth : peace. The smile that illuminates Mary's face is a proof of her serenity. At this moment, his past is not cruel, not painful. It is acted for Mary that they lived the story they were meant to live.

Slowly, and without him realizing it, Mary guides Mason towards a destiny different than that of staying here, on cloud 9 with her. She explains to him that God or destiny did not err in making her leave Earth. Her true destiny was to become his guardian angel. Today, they will not be able to live together again, simply because Mason has links with Earth. Despite the doubts that Mason may have, Mary assures him, deep and sincere ties root him to Earth; one of these ties is called Julia and another, Samantha. Mason is surprised that Mary knows everything about his life, his feelings. Mary knows that he loves Julia, she knows how long it took him to commit to her, she knows that it is because she awakened him to love that today he can love Julia.

However, his love for Julia is sometimes not enough to balance the scales, because Mason is often too hard on himself. Mary assures him, he did not spoil his life, he did great things. Mary, gently, leads him tenderly to recognize his love for Julia. It does not cause her pain. She understands and accepts that he has found love again with another woman. There is nothing abnormal about it. Especially as Julia loves him and, contrary to what Mason can imagine, he can lead her towards happiness. All he has to do is try. Mason's face changes, as if he was also considering this possibility : offering Julia the happiness to which she is entitled. The idea of this possibility awakens in him a new desire : the desire to try...

Mary feels the subtle changes in Mason and she knows that she has reached her goal : to make Mason want to try again, to make him want to live again... to fight for those he loves. Sitting next to each other, Mary was able to guide Mason towards a change of attitude. Mason's idea of returning on Earth becomes almost a certainty, although he does not want to be separated from Mary. He is reassured when she mentions the possibility of organizing another meeting later, perhaps. The moment fades and Mason understands that it is time to prepare for his return to Earth and to put order in his life. It will be a complicated moment, especially since Mason has done almost everything to make the task as difficult as possible : he married Gina, he will have to explain himself with his father, he will also explain himself with Julia, he will have to give back the money that he took... Filled with confidence, Mary knows that he will succeed. A slight silence sets in.

A slight silence during which Mason acquires the conviction that he is going to leave this cloud, that he is going to let Mary and return to Earth, to return to Julia. He gets up and asks what he has to do to be sent back to Earth. He even asks what magic trick will send him back down. Serene and reassured, Mary says that she will take charge of everything. But at the moment of moving away, Mason wants to keep the trace of this moment, he wants to be soaked by this moment, he wants to engrave it in his heart. He needs to look at Mary for another minute. At this moment, the absence comes back to gnaw him, the recent years lack is felt. Because Mason knows the beauty of the luck that has just been granted to him. He fears that one day he will not be able to find Mary again, to share a moment again with his sweet and tender Mary. The love he feels for her has regenerated during this meeting and, because he is human, Mason is afraid again of being gnawed by lack. He knows he is weak and wants to take as many memories as possible to give him courage. Mason, if he does not dare to say it, is afraid : afraid of having to lose Mary again. And, as if he were pronouncing vows of newlyweds, Mason confesses all the love that he experienced, that he feels and that he will experience eternally for her. He loved Mary so much, she taught him everything about love. "I love you, Mary..."

In front of him, Mary feels the strength of this love and, in return, she transmits all hers to him. Her look, her smile, are the most beautiful encouragement for Mason, the most beautiful evidence... Before letting him walk away, Mary wishes him good luck... Both experience the certainty, in the depths of their being, that they will always be one, always linked to each other. Mary knows it because today is her mission as a guardian angel. Mason knows it because the love that unites them is immortal, since he survived a first death. Transformed a second time in contact with Mary, Mason's body dissolves, evaporates into the infinity of Paradise; it becomes fog, it becomes snowflake, it becomes light...

It becomes light. Mason becomes a being of white light again and returns slowly to his hospital room, in the same way that he left it. In the room, Julia is there, watching over him. While Mason joins the body of his double lying on the hospital bed, Julia wakes up with the feeling of a presence at her side. Her eyes are instinctively on Mason. She does not see the two parts of his being coming together, but she feels in her heart, in her flesh, that Mason is coming back to her. For proof, his heartbeat is stabilizing. And, with it, Julia's hope is reborn...

A fantastic little parenthesis that allows the reunion with the late Mary DuVall and to find, for a moment, the strong alchemy between the two characters. This sequence brings, beyond a continuity to their relationship, the possibility for the writers and the team of the show to “apologize“ for the brutal disappearance of the character. The words written for Mary at this meeting are very clear : we must not regret, we had to live what we had to live... Soothing words that can allow everyone, including viewers, to turn the page without regret or remorse, but with a recovered serenity, and also, for those who had dropped out, to return to the show. We can also see in this sequence all the talent of the writers who have mixed (as very often) humor and feelings. The character of Joan Crawford, played by Joe Marinelli, is marvellous. The character of God, played by the president of NBC daytime programming, Brian Frons, can be interpreted, at the time, as a powerful support of the network towards the show, a recognition towards the actors, but also towards the technical crew. Could it be otherwise after the show won back-to-back three Emmy awards for outstanding drama series...

Text written for this site by Lilian

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