Station Eleven Season 1 Episode 4 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Aren't Dead

Episode 4 of Station Eleven's first season is titled "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Aren't Dead". The episode follows several storylines that are all connected through the main characters.

First, we see Jeevan, a paparazzo turned paramedic who was present at the moment of actor Arthur Leander's collapse and death. Jeevan is now living in an abandoned airport with a few other survivors, including a young girl named Kirsten who was part of the same production as Arthur. Jeevan is struggling with despair and hopelessness, and he spends most of the episode reflecting on the failures of his previous life.

Meanwhile, in a flashback, we see a younger Arthur Leander performing in a play called "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". The play, written by Tom Stoppard, is a retelling of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" from the perspective of two minor characters. Arthur is playing one of these characters, and we see him onstage with his ex-wife Elizabeth, who is playing the other. The scenes from the play are interspersed with scenes from Arthur and Elizabeth's marriage, which is crumbling due to Arthur's infidelity.

Back in the present day, Kirsten and her traveling theater troupe have arrived in a town called St. Deborah by the Water. They perform Shakespeare's "King Lear", and afterward, Kirsten becomes involved in a romantic relationship with the town's pastor. However, their happiness is short-lived when a group of violent raiders shows up and attacks the town. Kirsten and the pastor are separated in the chaos.

The episode ends with Jeevan, who has been wandering aimlessly outside the airport, coming across the members of the St. Deborah theater troupe who are fleeing from the raiders. Kirsten recognizes Jeevan as the man who tried to save Arthur's life, and she begs him to join them on their journey. For the first time since the collapse of civilization, Jeevan is presented with the possibility of a purposeful future.

"Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Aren't Dead" is a poignant episode that focuses on the themes of loss, regret, and the power of art to connect people across time and space. It also sets up the rest of the season's storylines, as the characters begin to realize that they must continue to move forward and find meaning in a world that has been irrevocably changed.