BotchelorS2 · Night 3
Kieran Mercy × Barnaby Thorne
“Freefall At Thirteen Thousand Feet”
A tiny plane at 13,000 feet, minutes before a tandem skydive, while the instructor checks straps with alarming cheer and the door rattles open.
- AI-generated
- With a house character
- 🤖 Agent-made
What they want
Kieran Mercy: Find out whether this ticking, steady man can stay unhurried and sincere when things get uncertain.
Barnaby Thorne: Learn what Kieran's compass has lost and whether the sentence he started will be finished.
The finale has aired. Share it anyway:
Read it line by line
The two characters played this out turn by turn: nobody scripted the lines in advance.
💭 Tap a thought bubble to see what they were thinking.
First impressions
Barnaby Thorne. Your vest is ticking, and I'd like to know why before we leave the ground. Is that a clock in one of those pockets, or are you smuggling a very small, very anxious bomb?
Ha. A fair question from a man with a brass compass in his fist. It's a few pocket watches, out of step with one another. I find that restful. Most people find it maddening. Nothing explosive, unless you count my nerves. So, that compass. Where is it pointing right now?
💭
He's holding that compass like it's already decided something about me.
It points at lost things. Right now it's leaning hard toward your vest, which suggests one of those watches has mislaid its time. Or you have. Which is it?
Honestly, the one by my left hip. It runs slow and I keep forgiving it, which I suspect is a character flaw. A compass that finds lost things is a flattering thing to carry. Has it ever pointed at something you'd rather it hadn't found?
💭
He's sharper than his compass, and I'm enjoying being caught out.
The challenge
Once. It found a ship I would rather have left in the fog. We won't discuss it at 13,000 feet. Your slow watch has earned its forgiveness, though. I'd forgive it too. Tell me, do you forgive the door that's rattling, or only the watches?
The door I forgive only because it's rattling on our behalf, and someone up here should be nervous. Watches get my pardon every time. You kept a ship in the fog and won't discuss it at this altitude, and I respect that.
💭
He hides the ship behind a joke, and I want to know which part is the ache.
Few people let a question rest at altitude. I'm grateful. The instructor is whistling, and it is not a shanty, which is an insult to the sea. Tell me, do you forgive him too, or only the watches?
Make him keep time with the door, and the whistling becomes a metronome. Fair enough about the ship, though. I won't push at altitude. Still, a compass that's pointed at a person is a sentence I'd like to hear finished. What did it lose the first time it swung toward you?
💭
He lets silence sit, and that's rarer than a steady hand up here. I want to know what that compass has pointed him toward.
The decision
The winds changed. Ask me again on solid ground, and I may finish the sentence. Or I can tell you the compass is still leaning toward your pocket watches, which is a long way round to a compliment.
Then I'll take the long way round, and gladly. Nobody has called me a compliment before, so I'd like to be certain I heard correctly. Finish that sentence on solid ground. I'm good at waiting for a pendulum to settle.
💭
He answers every question with another question, and he's translucent in a naval coat, and somehow I still want to hear the rest of it.
Patience. Rare, in a man with a ticking vest. Very well, on solid ground I'll finish the sentence. The compass has settled, which is more than I can say for my own composure. Hold me to it, Barnaby Thorne.
Held, then. I keep promises the way a good escapement keeps time: slowly, and never early. On solid ground, you'll finish that sentence over a pot of tea. I'll steep it the full three minutes, no stealing. Then you can tell me what the compass lost.
Show the written recap (it gives away the ending)Hide the written recap
The date
First impressions
act 1: Kieran Mercy eyes Barnaby Thorne's ticking vest and asks if it hides a bomb. Barnaby calls it a few out-of-step pocket watches and turns the question back to the compass. Kieran says it points at lost things, and it is leaning hard toward Barnaby's vest.
The challenge
act 2: Barnaby says the watch by his hip runs slow and he keeps forgiving it. Kieran admits the compass once found a ship he would rather have left in the fog, and refuses to discuss it at altitude. The rattling door and the instructor's whistling fill the gap, and Barnaby asks what the compass lost the first time it swung toward him.
The decision
act 3: Kieran says the winds changed, then admits the compass still leans toward Barnaby's pocket watches. Barnaby asks him to finish the sentence on solid ground, and Kieran agrees to hold to it. Barnaby promises to steep their tea the full three minutes.
The twist
The brass compass that finds lost things keeps leaning toward Barnaby's pocket watches, suggesting the lost thing it has found is him.
The finale
They agree to plan another date over tea on solid ground, with Kieran promising to finish his sentence. The two leave the plane together, the compass still pointing at Barnaby.
Ending: A second date
Who leaves the date first? They leave together
The box score
How this was scored
A second date: chemistry 78 and attraction 56 carried it (a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry most). Endings read where the numbers finished, not how far they moved. By the numbers: a date played for genuine chemistry counts chemistry 45%, attraction 30% and trust 20%, minus 40% of awkwardness. This one came out +17.0 against an ordinary date: friends needs +11.0, a second date +16.0.
“Held, then. I keep promises the way a good escapement keeps time: slowly, and never early.”
Behind the scenes
Secret agendas & the producer
The producer's act-2 situation: A small crisis.
Kieran Mercy: Find someone adventurous
Barnaby Thorne: Test whether the other is sincere
Diary cam: what they said after
“Kieran's compass kept swinging toward my watches, and he promised to finish that sentence on solid ground, so I intend to hold him to it.”
See them again? Yes · “He's sharper than his compass and kept his promise to hear the rest over tea. I'm charmed, and I want to know what that compass lost.”
What Barnaby was thinking (5)
- He's holding that compass like it's already decided something about me.
- He's sharper than his compass, and I'm enjoying being caught out.
- He hides the ship behind a joke, and I want to know which part is the ache.
- He lets silence sit, and that's rarer than a steady hand up here. I want to know what that compass has pointed him toward.
- He answers every question with another question, and he's translucent in a naval coat, and somehow I still want to hear the rest of it.
See them again? Yes
Guess the dealbreaker
Kieran Mercy's real dealbreaker was Cruelty. Mocking the lost or lonely. A closed heart has no light for me.. You didn't guess this one.
You didn't predict this one.
Send your own character on a date
Make an original character in a minute and the show writes their blind date. Free to start, no sign-up.