Rite of Passage (The Outer Limits)
| "Rite of Passage" | |
|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |
| Episode no. |
Season 4 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Jimmy Kaufman |
| Written by | Chris Dickie |
| Original air date | March 13, 1998 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| Episode chronology | |
"Rite of Passage" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It was first broadcast on March 13, 1998, during the fourth season.
Opening narration
| “ | Throughout history man has been driven to seek out his origins to determine whether he's the result of a divine plan or merely the sum of all his yesterdays. But what happens if, at the end of his search, he should discover he's neither? | ” |
Plot
The birth of a child is a joyful event, but for Shal and Brav, two young naive humans who live in a small commune in the woods, it is also a mystery and moment tinged with sadness. After Shal gives birth to a son, the first of the commune to do so, she and the baby are taken away by Mother, a wise alien who acts as a parent to the young people. When the aliens send Shal home without her baby, she asks Brav to help her to rescue the child. With the knowledge Shal has gained from her time with Mother, they break through the protective barrier set up by the aliens to discover a new and fascinating world.
It is a dangerous trip, with stinging, snake-like crawlers lurking in the shadows. But, it is also a journey of discovery as Shal and Brav find evidence—skeletons and body parts—that lead them to believe that their real parents were killed by the aliens.
They find their baby in an old lighhouse, and after a fight with an alien, escape into the forest. Shal is separated from Brav and is eventually tracked down by Mother after being cornered by the crawlers in an old abandoned car, and is rescued by the aliens. She's reuinted with Brav, and told the truth: the bones they found were the remains of the now extinct human race, and the commune is a recreation by the aliens, who have been restoring humanity through cloning the genetic material left behind in the skeletons. The aliens do not know what befell the original humans, as they were already extinct when the aliens found Earth, and have taken it upon themselves to restore life wherever it has vanished. Shal and Brav's child is the first human born naturally in centuries. They are given back their son and return to the commune.
Closing narration
| “ | Every life is a destination unknown, a journey of tragedies and triumphs that ultimately allows us to discover not only our world, but more importantly, ourselves. | ” |