This is an incredibly emotional issue of “Mind the Gap”; we’re getting a real grasp of the consequences of Jairus for everybody around Elle, and along the way, getting a firmer grasp on the history of the project. It wouldn’t be “Mind the Gap” if one or two fresh mysteries didn’t pop up along the way, but so far as revelatory issues go, this one’s giving the facts a bit more room to breathe. It’s a great opportunity to look over the knowledge we’ve managed to collect.
(And while it’s not necessarily relevant to the plot, McCann’s end note is a really lovely read, and a nice insight into the inspirations behind the story – particularly for those interested in the real-life science behind neonatal intensive care.)
The First Time
Erik’s flashbacks in this issue are (fairly) straightforward and informative, but take a fair amount of parsing out. What we learn in this first flashback is that Elle has been dying – temporarily – ever since her birth. These deaths are well and truly complete, lasting long enough to have Elle pronounced dead in more than one instance; and, as she develops, these episodes are getting longer.
It seems natural to assume that at some point in Elle’s development, these would get dangerously (or inconveniently) long. Maybe Elle stands to lose years and years from her life as the condition persists; maybe she stands to actually die if any particular episode goes on at length. At any rate, something about these episodes led to the inception of Jairus.
Hyaline Membrane Disease
At her birth, it’s tentatively suggested that Elle’s brush with death is the result of Hyaline Membrane disease – a condition known today as Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It’s both genetic and associated with babies who are born premature, and, as we learn in the closing note, it’s something Jim McCann himself was diagnosed with. However, IRDS tends to be a one-time deal; it’s not a condition that really persists throughout life, as Elle’s condition appears to be doing, and the doctor doesn’t seem terribly convinced of this diagnosis in the first place. Whatever Elle’s got, it’s definitely genetic, but it’s got to be more persistent than IRDS.
Fugue States
Now this bit is interesting. As Elle grows up, her deaths take on an additional aspect. Elle goes into a fugue state upon awakening, “verbalizing incoherent thoughts” and reacting to music in unexpected ways. The “incoherent” verbalizations sound like something along the lines of the enigmas Elle/Katie was quoting during their joint episode (and those turned out to be informative, and not really incoherent at all). Are these in fact the same phenomenon? And where are these “incoherent” phrases coming from, if not Elle as we know her?
The unexpected reactions to music seem to fit in with what we understand of Elle’s episodes so far. Music has clearly been an important part of this series; from the role “No Rain” played in the first issue, to Dane and Jo putting Elle’s consciousness back together by singing “A Way Back to Then”, there always seems to have been a musical aspect to Elle’s movement between life and death.
There’s evidently something extrasensory about Elle’s episodes, but whether this is an incidental symptom or an intrinsic part of their processes is hard to determine.
Min and Jairus
Here we see what looks like Min consenting to the very beginnings of Jairus – that is, allowing her father-in-law to conduct some kind of studies or experiments in regards to Elle’s condition, all without Edward knowing. But why the secrecy? If the condition is genetic, is Min trying to absolve Edward of any guilt he feels by keeping him at a distance from the investigation? Or would he interfere if he knew?
A Young Medical Student
As Jairus moves forward, we see Elle voluntarily participating in it, although she clearly resents her role. And the situation really does call for such resentment; Erik insisting that Elle is special, not out of any qualities in her personality, but due to a quirk of genetics, is pretty much the most epic (grand)parental troll ever. We’ve seen that Elle is excellent at throwing wrenches into the complicated machinery of Jairus, and clearly this tendency has a deep heritage.
Continued belowMeanwhile, the young medical student Erik refers to seems to be Dr. Geller – previous issues have made it sufficiently clear that Jairus was keeping an eye on her research from the start.
An Ultimate Transformation
Back in the present day, Elle is in the process of bringing about her own death, and it’s a weirdly beautiful moment. Last issue, when I was wondering what would make Jairus different from all of Elle’s previous deaths, I speculated as to whether Jairus would entail some kind of ultimate transformation for Elle. Her narration here would certainly seem to support this idea, with this final death – her real death? – reading like some kind of release. I’m not convinced this issue is the last time we’ll see Elle alive, but there’s certainly a different aspect to this (self-imposed) death than to all her other ones.
The Jairus Timeline
As Elle dies, the Jairus team is left baffled. As they confirm, this death was supposed to happen seven hours from now; at this juncture, they can’t tell whether this is one of Elle’s “episodes” or Jairus itself moving too quickly. This is really interesting for two reasons: first, that Elle’s death state and the one Jairus was supposed to bring her to are indistinguishable; second, that Jairus is nonetheless something special, something the team has been working toward for a long time.
The crucial element here appears to be control. Jairus is a controlled descent into death with a specific timeline; Elle’s episodes seem to occur at random, with the only consistent element being that they’re getting longer as she ages. We also shouldn’t forget that, last issue, Elle referred to her grandfather as the man who’s killed her over and over. Not watched as she died over and over as a result of her condition; actually, actively brought about her death. These must have been controlled deaths; attempts to bring about Elle’s episodes artificially, and so understand the mechanisms behind them.
We know that Jairus was kept a secret from Edward and from the public at large; maybe this ethically ambiguous aspect is the reason why. Research usually benefits by dialogue with other research; that’s what a scientific community is. The fact that Erik is actually killing Elle must be the shaky element; it certainly sounds risky, and with a whole pharmaceutical company to run, that’s not exactly something Edward would want on his resume. And of course, it wouldn’t be be easy to watch your father kill your daughter, over and over, no matter how clinical and controlled the circumstances.
Jairus – or at least, the time sensitive project that is currently at hand – must represent the culmination of this secret research, some kind of conclusion and plan of action that the team has happened on over the course of their studies. It does all seem very meticulously planned; all the setbacks seem to have been the result of the human, unpredictable element, Elle herself.
Speaking of which…
Holy Shit
How intense is this moment?
Dr. Geller’s Plan
Dr. Geller had a plan to get Elle’s body out of the hospital all lined up last issue, and here we see it coming to fruition. The last page verifies that it was a success, although a much more emotionally traumatic one for everybody than I think anyone expected. How they’re going to revive Elle is another question entirely, and I don’t think even Dr. Geller has a solid plan of action.
A Great Escape
Meanwhile, Elle is again quoting “No Rain”, the infamous 90s tune that made the Bee Girl famous, and which is adding up to something of a personal anthem for Elle. More than a metamorphosis, Elle sees her death as a “great escape”. From what, though? Certainly growing up with the Jairus Project must have been suffocating – making this escape from it something of a relief – but it also seems like Elle has a lot to live for, not to mention a lot of people that love her. Is she escaping from something in addition to all that, something we don’t know about?
Continued belowWhat Eddie Doesn’t Understand
Min was none too happy with Eddie’s actions last issue – he stole Elle’s chart without asking Min’s permission – and here she’s even more severe. What is she referring to, when she says that some things are impossible for him to understand? He clearly understands the emotional magnitude of his sister’s death; there’s something else at hand here.
The flashbacks of the issue imply that Eddie didn’t inherit any genetic problems from his father. But maybe the matter is more complex than that; maybe Eddie’s own survival is caught up in this as well. The Peterssen family really excels at secrecy, and I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that something had been kept from Eddie with the same completeness that the whole of Jairus was kept from Edward Sr. But for the moment, it’s hard to ascertain what the consequences of Jairus are for Eddie.
Recap
We’ve learned:
-that Elle has died as a result of her condition many times since birth;
-that these deaths have been replicated and studied as part of Jairus;
-that Elle personally sees her death as a transformation and/or escape.
That doesn’t actually look like much on paper, but these are some facts with massive consequences. Meanwhile, the mystery I’m most hung up is the nature of Elle’s condition. Is it extra-sensory/paranormal? Psychological? Or purely biological, but of a kind nobody else has ever experienced before?
We’ve got an eight-week wait between issues, and so lots of time to hash this one out. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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