Summary
Episode 5 delves deeper into the Code and Sheldon’s struggle in maintaining morality amongst his loved ones and acquaintance — the Netflix series hammers home the question of principles, and it really works.
This recap of Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, episode 5, “What’s the Use?” contains major spoilers.
The series would have had us believe that Sheldon and Grace had a warming marriage, with few issues; however, episode 5 delves further into their relationship and proves that passing their wisdom on to the next generation is not as easy as it appears.
Episode 5 opens with Sheldon stating that he thinks he’s at odds with the whole world — he cites that marriage with Grace is strained, Chloe is out of control, and Brandon killed someone (and 78% of the country agrees with it). The therapist asks him when the notion of “doing good” became important in his life. Sheldon talks about a few days before his father’s funeral. He sat there with his father’s whiskey and read every paragraph that Grace wrote in that damning article — he decided then that he was going to reverse every sin of his father.
In 1929, the Millar farm is still haunting Sheldon — the visions of his father, and everything in between, still taunts him. He’s trying to handle it for Jane’s sake. However, he is struggling with it. He visits his father’s coffin, sees the maggots eating away at the deceased man, and takes out his father’s watch.
Present-day — Sheldon and Grace are at odds / further autopsy of Blackstar
And the cracks in Sheldon’s marriage with Grace show almost immediately in episode 5 as they have a disagreement over Brandon.
On the farm, Grace wants to show her husband Sheldon some photos from her latest venture. There’s plenty of tension between them. Sheldon reveals that he has sent Brandon to the autopsy of Blackstar’s clone as he needs to see it. His wife is annoyed that he’s made that decision without him, but Sheldon wants Brandon to see the consequences of his actions. Grace feels he is punishing their son and reminds him that Brandon is also human.
Meanwhile, Brandon tells Walter that every time he replays the battle with Blackstar, it becomes unclearer in his head. Walter tells him that he made a decision, and nothing can change that. Mr. Wolfe visits to analyze the Blackstar corpse. He uses his powers to pull the body apart so that they can analyze the body further. Deeply embedded inside the corpse is a device — Mr. Wolfe opens up the device, and there’s a watch.
The corpse, and its reasons for being there, is now a plot device for the audience to muse over.
1929 — Sheldon speaks to George about the Millar farm
Episode 5 flits to 1929, and Sheldon is fiddling with the same watch — his father’s watch. He speaks to George about the Millar farm, claiming he was right that there is more to his findings. Sheldon reckons something is calling to all of them — a puzzle, or a test, for all of them. He feels something is out there in the middle of the ocean that will change the world. Sheldon asks for George’s help.
Present-day — Sheldon tracks down Hutch
Walter shows Sheldon and Grace the watch and that it looks absolutely identical to his father’s watch — he believes that George sent the device with the clone of Blackstar, but they are not sure why he would do so. Sheldon visits Hutch (George’s son) and tells him that they need to talk. Hutch tries to teleport and flee, but Sheldon keeps on finding him.
They sit down in a cafe, and Hutch explains he hasn’t seen his father since he was 12-year-old. Sheldon asks him to humor him and use his device to teleport to his father. When they use it, they end up at a strip club, and George is not there.
But we must wonder when Skyfox will make an appearance, and surely Hutch will be why the others find him. Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, episode 5 teases how impactful and useful Hutch will be to the story.
1929 — Sheldon offers Grace and Mike an opportunity
Episode 5 begins to tie up the characters in the past together so that the audience understands how they ended up as a group in the present.
Sheldon and George visit Grace at work — she’s quitting her job at the newspaper company. Sheldon wants to talk to her about an opportunity they have for her. George asks Sheldon if he’s sure about bringing in Grace for help, but Sheldon is sure, claiming she was in the cellar in his visions. Sheldon tells Grace that he’s mounting an expedition, and he wants her to chronicle it.
They then ask Mike Wade if he wants to join the expedition; Sheldon says that once they get back, they can hire back everyone at the mill, including his father. Mike is against the idea, but his father asks him to think about the opportunity, so he changes his mind; he asks Sheldon and George for payment upfront in case something happens to him.
1929 — trying to convince Walter
But then there’s Walter, and it’s pretty clear so far that the father’s death in the family has caused ruptures between the brothers.
When George and Sheldon meet Walter, he tells them that the company is being shut down. Sheldon tells Walter that it doesn’t matter and explains another episode he had that gave him coordinates. He believes something is out there that is going to change their lives. He wants Walter to come with him. Walter is upset, saying he needed his brother at the board meeting, but he didn’t show up.
Later on, Walter tells George that he’s feeding Sheldon’s delusional. George implies that he believes Sheldon’s visions and that he needs this journey to heal. Sheldon comes across problems with Jane as he reveals that she is not in his visions — upset, Jane leaves behind the ring and walks out.
Present-day — recovering from an overdose
We almost forget about Chloe after her disastrous chapter of drugs and partying, but we do find out what happens to her after her near-death experience.
After her overdose, Chloe wakes up in the hospital — Hutch tells her she took something that doesn’t belong to her. Chloe asks what he’s going to do about it. Later scenes show both characters having sex. It didn’t take them long. Hutch reveals that her father visited him and that he’s looking for his father. Hutch then reveals that Sheldon doesn’t scare him. Chloe enjoys those words, and they hook up again.
The ending
In the present day, Sheldon believes Jane punished him for not being good enough — he then talks about the Code, and how the world never used to be so intentionally cruel, and that it used to be that if you gave your children everything they needed, they’d be okay — “That you protect your country, they call you a hero.” The therapist tells Sheldon that he’s created a construct to protect himself from reality, but that reality always wins and that the world does not work with a “black and white” mindset.
Sheldon thanks Jack for all his help and advice, stating that he feels he’s the only one he can talk to. Jack states that it’s interesting that the one person he comes to for advice is the man who tried to kill him for 20 years; up on the wall is a frame with a front-page newspaper headline — “Criminal Genius Jack Hobbs Locked Up In Supermax.”
As the episode ends, Sheldon leaves Jack in prison. What a strange arrangement!
Jupiter’s Legacy season 1, episode 5 delves deeper into the Code and Sheldon’s struggle in maintaining morality amongst his loved ones and acquaintance — the Netflix series hammers home the question of principles, and it really works.
Additional points
- Sheldon’s therapist tells Sheldon that they should analyze his connection to the Code and that eventually, his adversaries will rob his life. The conversation talks about the self-defense of a normal military person — he believes the Code keeps him connected to the people he loves.
