...And the Benefits of Bondage is the sixth episode of season 1 of The CW television series Tom Swift. It aired on Tuesday, July 5, 2022 on The CW.
Synopsis[]
Official synopsis of ...And the Benefits of Bondage from The CW:
TROUBLE – Tom finds himself stuck between a rock and a hard place. Meanwhile, Zenzi is startled when a worried Isaac surprises her while she’s in her car applying lipstick and triple checking her already flawless makeup in the mirror after a visit to the gym. Lastly, Rowan issues a strong warning to Isaac.
Plot summary[]
PROLOGUE
Isaac finds Tom’s smartwatch on the ground and then sees the Corvette has a broken side mirror and hand print on the window. He finds Zenzi who is hyping herself up in her car after the gym. He shares what he found and his worries that something bad happened to Tom. She is exasperated but agrees to help him search. Back in Swift Manor, Zenzi and Isaac power up Barclay, who informs them Tom missed his 8:00 am cycling class. He initially refuses to follow Isaac’s requests as he’s been released from his security duties. The handprint belongs to Tom. Barclay reveals he took an EMP nap and shows them security footage of a van skidding to a hat next to Tom, grabbing him, and then the cameras went black. They engage in side-ho protocol and then agree to wait on finding the fourth capsule piece. Tom’s cell phone is pinging in 82 different locations. Isaac and Zenzi confront Rowan about Tom’s kidnapping. He denies it as he's meant to observe Tom for The Road Back; losing track of him would cost more than they know. He inserts himself into the search, much to Isaac's chagrin. Tom wakes up in a warehouse with a table in front of him. He reads the note - invent the power your freedom requires. He asks what happens if he doesn’t and his wrist device beeps, triggering electricity to spark through the room in waves from the walls. He realizes the answer to his question is death.
ACT ONE
Isaac privately asks Barclay about the last capsule piece. He finds Zenzi at Swift Enterprises and tells her that Claire destroyed the capsule piece, though Tom retrieved the information that was on it. Whoever sent the piece knew Tom wanted it. Rowan arrives and asks to see the ransom note, but there isn’t one. Rowan finds that odd as if the kidnappers don’t want anything their plan might be to kill Tom. Zenzi and Rowan return to Swift Manor to look for the note. Meanwhile, Tom has to make a working cell phone battery out of impossible parts. He asks if they want money and they respond by lowering the timer on his watch. He doesn’t have access to his tech but can use theirs. The camera is in front of him so he uses it to charge the battery. The doors and he runs outside where he sees a man waiting for him. The man, named Garret, shows Tom a live feed of a woman strapped to a medical table. Her life is now in Tom’s hands - he can choose to leave but she will die. If he stays to complete his trials he can save her life. They play an audio recording of a woman screaming for help. The game has now begun.
ACT TWO
Tom stands at an obstacle course where he must obtain the flag without getting a drop of paint on his clothes or going outside the perimeter. Tom tries to pass the course but gets hit with paint and must retreat to change his clothes. Meanwhile, Zenzi and Rowan arrive at a ransacked Swift Manor. Isaac arrives just as Rowan identifies a shoeprint in the debris on the ground, asking if Barclay can run the print and analyze the dust. Because it’s from a rare mineral, they can find the warehouse easily. Tom still has his power-down ring which can weaken the electronics of his kidnappers. However, he knows cheating will result in both their deaths. He gets ready for his eighth attempt. He has an idea to fold the new clothes and use them to trigger the paint while he’s at a safe distance. He wins the challenge and celebrates until a needle hits his chest, knocking him out. Zenzi, Isaac, and Rowan arrive at the warehouse. They find an unconscious Tom in a room. Zenzi injects him with a nearby epi-pen to counteract his tranquilizer.
ACT THREE
Tom wakes up as Isaac asks how she knew the injection was safe. She got a five in AP Chem and knew the compound for epinephrine. As Tom hugs his squad, Isaac apologizes to Tom for not being there, but he’s here now and that’s what matters. He asks if Rowan is there to kill him or kiss him. Rowan remarks that he isn't dead yet, so Tom promises to pucker up later. Tom then reveals that his captors, whoever they are, are holding a woman in a room with limited oxygen. Tom shakes off the tranqs easily, citing he and Zenzi’s Vegas trip. Zenzi suggests he go to Utah to find the capsule piece but he refuses. He has a countdown of how much time she has left and needs to save her. They use the flickering coordinates on Tom's countdown watch to find her hostage space. In the van, Tom uses his GO-BAGG to change then puts on Prying Eyes which will identify anyone he looks at. He activates Barclay as they arrive at their location. While Zenzi and Tom head down the hatch, Isaac receives confirmation from Barclay that Rowan sent the capsule piece during the cotillion. He keeps that a secret for now. The squad rushes into the bunker until they come across an OBYN procedure room. A voice over the P.A. tells them to comply with a weapons check. Tom has to save her before she suffocates and barges into the adjoining room. The door snaps shut and seals Tom off from everyone else. Dr. Garret’s voice warns that he has 10 seconds to choose which room is filled with oxygen and which is filled with nitrogen - his friends or the woman’s.
ACT FOUR
Tom chooses to save the woman and earns intercom privileges. He warns his friends that the room is filling with poison. The five-minute countdown is for them, not the woman. As they search the room for tools, Rowan tries to cover the air vent but is blasted down by an electromagnetic pulse. One of the walls is weaker and connected to the woman’s room. Tom talks them through inventing a drill with a swivel chair, a speculum, a T-shaped screw, and medical-grade tape. As they drill, Rowan collapses and stops breathing. Isaac performs chest compressions while Zenzi takes oxygen from the drilled hole. Rowan is successfully resuscitated and the squad is safe. Three people enter and tranquilize the trio while Tom watches in horror. He shouts out in protest - Barclay adds that the Utah capsule has gone dark. They’ve lost it. He sits in shock as people arrive and cover his head with a bag.
ACT FIVE
Tom wakes up alone in Swift Manor with only Garrett in front of him. He explains that after Tulsa, they tried to protect themselves. From Garvey and his pan-Africanists to the Leaders of the Black Freedom Movement, the SCLC, SNCC, to the Panthers, they tried. In doing so, they went through trials of their own. They picked themselves up and built something new. They weren't as public as others, but they funded movements, mutual aid, bail, and scholarships. Tom walks through a hallway of projected images of Black protests and movements throughout history. Garrett continues; they learned hard lessons but everything they did led to Tom. Tom looks to Garret who, according to the Prying Eyes, is dead. Garrett assures him that they are getting his friend’s help. Garrett flickers electronically to reveal Lorraine, who needs his help right now.
FINAL ACT
Lorraine is pleased with Tom and his squad. She assures him that his friends are getting medical attention as they speak. The company he keeps will matter now more than ever, which is why she pushed Justin toward him. She’s happy he already has worthy confidantes. Tom notes that she was testing them too. They pounced on the soil sample in the observatory, raced into danger to save him, and Zenzi especially kept her head while others didn’t. He knows the Tubman group for its cotillions, but there’s a sub-group within it that is kept a secret. Since Tulsa, a select group of Black Americans, including Tom’s grandfather, worked to amass concentrated and undetected wealth. They aimed to form a society untainted by white supremacy. They are thinking of a safe space in outer space - a planet of their own. 27 years ago, while Barton was at a conference, Lorraine was six months pregnant with Tom’s older sister, Alexandra, who triggered premature labor. She called 911 but was in so much pain. The recording plays and it’s the same one Garrett played before - it was Lorraine all along. When she finally saw a doctor she trusted him completely - he was named Dr. Garrett. He dismissed her symptoms of gestational diabetes that should have been diagnosed; symptoms she told him about. Because he ignored her, Alexandra never opened her eyes and died of hypoxia - running out of air in a confined space. She didn’t know how many other Black women had similar stories about their doctors, or how this system hurts all of them. This is why Barton dreamt of a new home for Black people, called the Mountaintop Station. She wants Tom to build it with Swift Enterprises funding. She was impressed with how he handled Violet, looked out for Quinn, and owned up to his mistakes. Their timetable is accelerated as people are looking into them. The trial was to communicate Tubman's principles to see which candidates embodied them. The first trial took after their mantra; invent the power your freedom requires. The second was integrity and he didn’t cheat with his ring. The third was helping the collective even at the risk of personal cost. The woman on the gurney is a member of the Tubman Group and is okay, while his friends were safely monitored, down to the laser intensity and diluted nitrogen. She wants to have a private talk with Isaac, but he can tell his other friends about Tubman Group now. He’s reaching his full potential, but there can’t be secrets between them anymore. Tom reveals that his dad is alive and he needs her help to save him. He calls Zenzi who wakes up in her car. He knows she deserves answers now and is giving them some. Meanwhile, Isaac Rowan wakes up in his car to a harsh tapping from Isaac, who reveals that Tom and everyone else is safe. Rowan wonders why Isaac is bothering him. Isaac gets in the car and reveals that he knows Rowan sent the capsule piece but doesn't know why he didn't just tell them. Rowan was trying not to get killed by The Road Back, but Isaac just couldn't stop digging. Zenzi heads to Swift Manor where she finds an unconscious Isaac on the ground.
Cast and characters[]
Starring:
- Tian Richards as Tom Swift
- Ashleigh Murray as Zenzi Fullerton
- Marquise Vilsón as Isaac Vega
- Albert Mwangi as Rowan
- April Parker Jones as Lorraine Swift
Guest-starring:
- LeVar Burton as the voice of Barclay
Co-starring:
- Jordan M. Cox as Dr. Garrett/Lorraine Swift
- Taneisha Fletcher as Mysterious Woman
Additional:
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- While investigating a ransacked Swift Manor, a novelty mug from The Claw is seen on the floor.
- The lore of the episode was planned from the very beginning, despite episodes of holding back on the information.[1]
Gallery[]
Images[]
Video[]
Behind the Scenes[]
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External links[]
search on The Internet Movie Database
