The Passage Will Show How Project Noah Got Started in Episode 2

The fast-paced series premiere of Fox's sci-fi drama The Passage showed us many things: the bite that turned Dr. Tim Fanning (Jamie McShane) into patient zero for the vampire virus that may either save or destroy humanity; the unethical experiments at the top-secret government facility where Project Noah scientists, including Dr. Major Nichole Sykes (Caroline Chikezie) and Dr. Jonas Lear (Henry Ian Cusick), are infecting death row prisoners with the virus to study its effects; and the rebellion of Amy Bellafonte (Saniyya Sidney), the orphan girl chosen by Project Noah to be the next test subject, and her handler Agent Brad Wolgast (Mark-Paul Gosselaar), who would rather go on the lam than turn Amy over to become a lab rat. Episode 2 will slow down a little bit and flash back to show us more of how we got here.

"You Owe Me a Unicorn" will dig deep into the story of Dr. Jonas Lear, who never wanted to do any of what's being done at Project Noah. He just wanted to help his sick wife, we'll discover, and asked Fanning for help in getting funding to study the virus' healing properties, which put him on a path that led him to the very bad situation where he now finds himself. He's trying to do the right thing within his morally compromised circumstances.

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"His intentions are good, and then he gets slightly sidetracked," Henry Ian Cusick tells TV Guide.

Flashbacks will be an important part of how the story is told as The Passage's 10-episode first season unfurls. Cusick compares it to his old show, Lost, in how every character gets a showcase that fills in their backstory. "The more you know about these characters, the more you invest in them," he says. "You get to know their backstory so that they're not just criminals. They're not just virals. You get to know how they got there."

The Passage airs Mondays at 9/8c on Fox.