Fragments (season 2)

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Season Two
S2 POSTER edited-1.png
Background information
Original channel CBS, iTV.
Main characters Elle Winters, Emma Winters, Anna Handler, Trenton Eckles, India Wentworth
No. of episodes 10
Original run 3 October 2015 - 4 December 2015
Season chronology
Season 1


Fragments is an American action thriller show developed by CBS, starring singer-songwriter Ashley! in the main role as Elle Winters, who plays a school teacher devastated by an explosion at her place of work, which turns out to be a bigger plan to extract her from revealing potentially deadly information about a corporation cover-up that shrouds the disappearance of her parents when she was younger. She enters a game of cat and mouse where allegiances are constantly called into question and people lurk in the shadows.

The second series was announced following the ratings and critical success of the first series, which aired through CBS and Sky 1. Ashley and Tatiana Maslany confirmed they would be back for the second series, which began shooting in Winter 2014, after the release of Ashley's fourth studio album, Let The Light In and finished in June 2015. All cast members returned other than Idris Elba, who had other commitments, although Andrew Garfield's role was unknown due to his fate at the end of the first series. It was announced at the beginning of 2015 that Eoin O'Neill had signed on to the main cast to become a new character, although was shrouded in mystery during production. Rose Bryne

The second series premiered on October 3rd 2015 in the USA and on October 5th in the UK. CBS parted ways with Sky 1 as broadcaster and sold the rights to the second series to ITV, following disappointing viewership for the first series in the UK due to a lack of promotion. The show's second series saw an average overnight viewership of 9.39 million, a vast improvement over its previous season. A third season was confirmed following the broadcast of the second season finale, with Ashley, O'Neill, Maslany and Danes all confirmed to return.

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

The series follows Elle Winters, a school teacher, as she tries to piece together the circumstances surrounding her parents disappearance and supposed death when she was younger. Alongside her older sister, Emma, the pair attempt to trace and track down those that can help with their goal of reconnecting with their parents, but many enemies stand in their way of reuniting with them and they must work together to sort the good from the bad, the friends from the foes and the liars from the family.

Season two kicks off with Elle's lover, Alex Laurner, gunned down by a hitman believed to be ordered by supposed relative, India Wentworth, Anna Handler bundled into the back of a van, vanishing in to thin air, and her Emma unreachable. The series delves deeper into their parents disappearance, revealed to be speared under the TWP movement (The Winter Project), who have since lost contact with their parents, unknown whether they are dead or alive. India is revealed as the figurehead for the company, ordering the hit on Alex to mute his growing suspicions. They fake his death to push Elle away, when it infact does the opposite, revealing India once and for all. The remainder of the season follows Elle, Emma, Trenton and Anna trying to figure out India's interest of them and why she is going to such extreme lengths.

Cast[edit | edit source]

Main Cast[edit | edit source]

  • Elle Winters (Ashley Adams) - Youngest of the Winter siblings, Elle is thrust into the action as she watches her place of work go up in flames and men in suits come to take her away. The explosion leads her to uncover the secrecy surrounding her parents supposed disappearance and suspected death, learning that they may still be out there. Her resilience and determination drives her to attempt to put the pieces back together herself in a bid to undercover the deceit that has followed her for years.
  • Emma Winters (Tatiana Maslany) - Elle's older sister and her sister's best friends. Whilst she supports in the investigation, she seems less emotionally involved - questioning whether what has been hid from them should remain a secret. Although she is as much in the dark as Elle, she remembers more of the people her parents were and vows to help with the search. She is kidnapped by an unknown antagonist in the middle of the first series and disappears herself at the end of the first series.
  • Anna Handler (Claire Danes) - One of the leaders of an agency called 'T.W.P' who have been hired to overlook the Winters family situation. Anna appears to be the leader, but it is revealed she is working for a higher power she cannot control. The higher powers intended to pawn the Winter siblings, an idea Anna cannot stand, but uses her position in the agency as leverage for the Winter siblings, who she appears to take a genuine care with. She is taken hostage at the end of the first series, with her last appearing on a train station CCTV camera.
  • Trenton Eckles (Eoin O'Neill) - Posing as an Irish Catholic priest in his debut episode, he offers Elle solace following the events of the first season finale but the nature of his first contact with Elle calls into question whether she has placed her trust in the right people. Trenton reveals during the season that he is seeking out his birth parents, having been abandoned as a baby before finally getting adopted years later. He appears to be willing to ally himself with Elle, but his contact with a mysterious stranger suggests there is some bigger purpose to his involvement with the Winters sisters. The identity of this mystery contact is not revealed during the course of the season, however it is revealed at the end of the season that Trenton is in fact a long lost brother to Elle and her sister Emma.
  • India Wentworth (Bitsie Tulloch) - A supposed distant relative of the Winter family put in place by their parents days before their suspected death, although her true allegiance and motive is unknown and continually questioned. Introduced in the season premiere, she offers hiding for the pair who are desperately trying to flee capture, having been monitoring them for years. She is thought to have involvement with the F.B.I. At the end of the series one, it is implied that it is her that ordered the hit on Laurner, Elle's love interest and goes into hiding herself.

Recurring Cast[edit | edit source]

  • Alex Laurner (Andrew Garfield) - Elle's childhood sweetheart. Their parents were good friends until his father was forced to flee with him for unknown reasons. She reunites with him and becomes her romantic interest throughout the first series. He is kind, considerate and encourages Elle to do all she can to figure out the puzzle that has haunted her all this time. He is shot in the first series finale by a hit ordered by india Wentworth. His fate is unknown.
  • Beth Cartel (Rose Bryne) - Presumed dead in the first series premiere's explosion, she is a friend and colleague of Elle who reaches out for her in the second series and reveals to her the uneasy atmosphere in the days leading up to the explosion that began Elle's mission. She reveals that she was taken to a secret location following the explosion and remembers a 'Mr Winter' from the centre. She manages to escape undercover during a patient transfer and runs to Elle.
  • Danny Evans (Robert Clarke) - Initially introduced as a friend of Trenton, he is later revealed to instead be his boyfriend. He is also revealed to be an undercover spy for TWP and set up with Trenton to become closer to the Winter siblings, before developing true, romantic feelings for him. Guiltily, he hands details to India, but is threatened when he tries to defect from his role. In the second season's penultimate episode, he is shot dead by Elle in front of Trenton, in an attempt to free her sister.
  • Tamsin Eckles (Rachel Skarsten) - Trenton's adoptive sister and a detective with the police. She is Trenton's older sister, and the biological daughter of their parents. They have a close relationship, having bonded with each other after Trenton finally settled down with the Eckles family. Prior to being adopted by the Eckles and their daughter, Trenton had previously bounced around several foster homes. Tamsin helps launch the rescue mission to save Trenton in season two's finale.

Episodes[edit | edit source]

# Title Original airdate US Ratings (in Millions)
01 Live and Let Die 3 October 2015 10.05
Elle is shaken by the shooting of childhood sweetheart Alex and joins his side as he lies in critical condition, in and out of surgery. With sister Emma unreachable and Anna Handler caught being shoved in to the back of a van, Elle visits the hospital church looking for a place of sanctuary and safety. Trenton Eckles, an Irish Catholic priest offers her solace and comfort, but his true intentions are potentially revealed when he makes a phone call informing an unknown assailant of Elle’s whereabouts. Emma meets Elle in a café and explains she was part of a team who were needed to set up a ruse – ‘kidnapping’ Anna in order for her to continue the investigation underground, away from the figureheads of TWP who disapproved of her emotion towards the Winter sisters, but needed Elle to be as unaware as possible. The sisters make contact with Anna, where she has discovered that the assassin hit on Alex was originally ordered on the day of the explosion, but cancelled when his whereabouts could not be traced. She divulges suspicion that it must have been a source close to the Winters who since knew of his whereabouts shortly after reconnecting with Elle following the explosion. They intially suspect, and pin blame on, Olivier Tate, who has since fled the country. As Anna is about to inform them of her underground location, the webcam begins flashing, thought to be hijacked by operatives of TWP.
02 Dying In The Light 10 October 2015 9.48
Fearing detection of her location, Anna Handler relocates and promises to make contact with the Winter siblings as soon as everyone's safety is ensured. Whilst collecting supplies, Elle bumps into Trenton Eckles again, who takes a strong interest in her troubles, revealing that he’d “pray for a happy ending for everyone". He admits that shortly after she left the church, two men posing as FBI agents began questioning him about their meeting but he refused to say anything other than that she came to ‘release her worries’. As they are about to part ways, he brings her attention to the same men, who appear to be pursuing her. She manages to evade them by switching taxis at the last minute, returning home to Emma, who has received Intel that the crime scene and school explosion search has been abandoned, with clean up due to resume in the following days. This allows them an opportunity to survey the wreckage, looking for any clues to the mastermind behind the attack. Their search is fruitless, other than discovering a pendant in the wreckage, attached to which is a key. They continue to search as it is revealed that India Wentworth, who hired the assassination of Elle’s sweetheart Alex is watching them through CCTV footage in a swanky apartment with her own personal bodyguards. The final words of the episode are, “I knew they would come running back to the battleground the fight began on. Let's watch them dying in the light”.
03 Parallel Troubles 17 October 2015 9.22
With the girls still unaware of India’s guilt, helicopters appear over their heads as they stand in the wreckage of the school. Anna Handler comes to their rescue; taking them to her underground facility where she continues to build up her version of the puzzle. She reveals the discovery of three plane ticket purchased in the Winter’s name, two days after their disappearance, although they never boarded the plane to Ireland the following day, leading them to question the owner of the third ticket. Emma visits India again, unaware that she led the helicopter interception, who is surprised to see her, believing their termination was underway. Emma senses her unease and questions how much of the conspiracy she knows. Sensing a connection to the Ireland plane tickets, Elle arranges to see Trenton again, who reveals that he met her father before his disappearance as he had made him a promised to track down his parents after being bounced around orphanages, looking for a home. The episode ends with Trenton showing Elle a picture – the only connection to his own parents - of the Trenton, Elle and Emma together as babies, proving their parents were once familiar with each other. With Alex slipping in and out of consciousness still, his fight for life is nowhere near over
04 Big Brother's Watching 24 October 2015 9.17
Trenton asks Elle to drive to the airport to pick up a passenger, but refuses to tell her who it is. Beginning the journey and enlisting Emma’s help in doing so, they make their way to pick up their mystery passenger, whilst admitting their worries to each other. Meanwhile, Anna goes above ground to a hospital who admitted a patient on the night of the Winter’s disappearance under an alias. Despite initial hesitance from hospital staff, she is provided an address for a delivery of medication less than six months ago, which leads Anna to an abandoned warehouse. There, she uncovers surveillance equipment set up at India Wentworth’s house, who is seemingly unaware of it when Anna makes the revelation over the phone. However, it is revealed that the surveillance set-up was to distract blame and suspicion from India and people are closing in to catch Anna red-handed after her location is broadcasted to police and the hospital staff, revealed to be working for Anna, lead them to her location. She manages to evade capture and rings an unknown number to ‘make her disappear’. Elle and Emma passenger’s flight is diverted, although it is revealed she was the only passenger on the plane. Elle receives a phone call to say Alex has died in hospital.
05 Stolen Moments 31 October 2015 8.90
Racing back from the airport after being told the heartbreaking news regarding Alex’s death, Elle and Emma rush to the hospital to say their final goodbyes but his body has already been removed before they can do so, with the circumstances surrounding his final moments shrouded in mystery. Anna Handler and her team manage to crack into the hospital’s CCTV footage, which shows Alex begin wheeled out his room, although still hooked up to an oxygen machine. When they cross reference the two men who removed him with the hospital’s staff list, no one can identify them. Realising it was an elaborate plan and he may not be dead at all, Anna begins to locate the getaway vehicle, pinpointing the vehicle’s last location to the abandoned warehouse she previously visited. Meanwhile, Elle’s anger and upset leads her to suspect Trenton Eckles of trying to distract them, questioning whether he tried to force them away to allow the plan to get underway, which he denies and takes offence at. He tells them they were picking up a friend of his and would explain everything when they were together, but they had been re-routed at the last minute. While still questioning his motive, Elle hesitantly accepts his explanation and the two share a moment of genuine fondness. This is broken by Anna ringing to inform Elle that the vehicle carrying Alex was swapped at the warehouse. Elle visits the warehouse for herself, Emma and Trenton in tow and begins searching through the dark. The final moments reveal that Alex was recaptured by India Wentworth, who is keeping him in a medically-induced coma.
06 Chaos On The Battlefield 7 November 2015 9.29
Elle accesses the CCTV in the abandoned warehouse and downloads the information stored on the laptops for Anna to retrieve. Emma relays India’s suspicious behavior to Elle and between them they piece together her suspicious movements and actions. Intercepting her emails and phone, matched with information recovered from the laptop data, India is tracked to an office building. Trenton goes in, undercover, with Beth Cartel (a friend of Elle) to recover a map of the building and also locate where they believe Alex is being held. The building is bustling, although areas are under construction, despite no signs of workers. He attempts to enter the area, maintenance and work tools but is forced to flea when his footsteps are heard. Later in the evening, and under the cover of nightfall, Elle, Emma, Trenton, Anna and the most trusted operative storm the building, entering through a fire escape, monitored by Beth. They take out communications from the build, inadvertently removing communication with Beth too, losing their sight and forcing them to go in bind. The further they go in to the building, the intensity increases and they begin to realise they’ve walked into a trap. India’s assailants spring from both sides and the others make a run for it. Chased back up through the stairwell, Elle drops back to allow the others to make a clean getaway and she is carried and bundled away by the assailants, as the others watch on in disbelief from a distance.
07 A Sister's Pain 14 November 2015 9.18
Elle is held by India Wentworth, alongside Alex, whose medically induced coma was interrupted during the chaos of the siege. Unbeknownst of the next step in saving Elle from TWP, Emma, Anna, Trenton and Beth receive a surprise visit from Danny (Robert Clark), a friend of Trenton whose plane was diverted earlier in the season. Baffled by how their plan failed, Anna realises Trenton couldn’t have be unknown to TWP all along and facial recognition picked him up when he scooped out the building earlier the same day, allowing them to create a trap and knock out all incoming and outgoing communications. Frustrated at being no closer to saving Elle, Emma storms out and heads for India’s house, breaking in through the backdoor and evading the security that waits out the front to track down more information about her. Trenton catches up with Danny, who has been in India on business, where it is revealed their relationship is closer than once expected, sharing a passionate embrace before Danny rushes off after receiving a phone call. Trapped inside a cell, India reveals that she was tasked in monitoring the Winter siblings, although took a specific interest in Elle, for undisclosed reasons. She then leaves the building with Elle, transferring her to a new location. At the same time, Emma makes the discovery that India was best friends with their mother, making the assumption that India sold them to TWP, who organised her parents’ disappearance to continue scrutinizing them. India makes a stop in a car park to meet an operative – revealed to be Danny – who reveals that he has again made contact with Trenton, handing her a folder of information about him. India returns to the car to transport Elle, reviewing the folder that reveals Trenton is searching for his real parents. As the camera begins to pan over the folder, the car is hit and spins out of control, endangering Elle and India.
08 Trail To The Innocent 21 November 2015 9.24
Having organised to siege the transport car, Anna manages to extract Elle and return her to the others, collecting the file on Trenton given to India in the process, who remains alive but unconscious. Back in safety, Elle refuses to lay low and encourages the others to come up with a new plan that puts TWP to an end. They are all given guns as protection. Elle and Emma take a trip to the Campus at which her father used to work in, in an attempt to discover records about him. With her suspicions towards Trenton intensifying following the discovery of a file (which she assumes to be of his recruitment) Anna orders a track on him and his phone, believing him to be the traitor within their ranks that caused them to fall into the trap that had Elle caught. Trenton’s relationship with Danny is explored and both experience genuine feelings for each other, despite Danny initially meeting Trenton as a mole for India. Danny’s guilt towards Trenton begins to play on his mind, and contacts India through Trenton’s mobile to put his work as an insider to rest. She organises to meet him in a hotel room, which he agrees to. In the process, this has sent a signal to Anna, who believes it to be Trenton, and she mobilizes vehicles to stop him meeting her. Elle and Emma race to the hotel after being informed by Anna to do so, managing to get there before the mobilized team. In the hotel room, Danny is tied up by India - defecting would be too dangerous for TWP and not a risk they are willing to take, fearing his loyalty to Trenton may cause him to spill too many secrets. Danny continues to probe India about her next tactics, as she reveals shocking plans to him, but not the audience. India leaves the hotel, unknowingly passing Elle and Emma on the way in. Managing to get to the phone, Danny rings Trenton asking to meet so he can tell him everything; at the same time, he spots a countdown timer, set to blow the hotel up.
09 Bang Goes The Gun 28 November 2015 9.42
With the bomb timer heading quickly to detonation, Danny tells Trenton to meet him outside of town so they can meet and runaway together, a plan that Trenton refuses, knowing that he is growing closer and closer to the truth. From the window, Danny sees operatives storming the building, assuming them to be in allegiance with India and TWP, unaware they were instead taken to extract him. He panics and flees the room; passing Elle and Emma, and assuming that people are behind to ensure his death, he grabs Emma and holds a gun to her head. With operatives surrounding him in the hotel room, in his panic, he pulls the gun closer to Emma, causing Elle to shoot him in the back. He falls to his knee as Trenton enters the lobby, seeing Elle holding the gun. Distraught and hysterical, Trenton blames Elle for the death of his boyfriend and vows to cut himself off from her completely, calling her poisonous and responsible for all the death and destruction they have witnessed, unaware of Danny’s own deceit. Elle, fragile and angry, is collected by Anna and taken to a safe house to protect her and Elle, as Anna discovered India has been tracking them for days, ready for an attack. Unaware of Trenton’s mental state and his whereabouts, and left to their own devices, Elle and Emma explore their new home to determine where they actually are. Trenton is seen returning to the hospital chapel, meeting the same security from the beginning of the series, revealing information about Elle and Emma that he had discovered over his time with them, thinking that they are TWP to avenge them for the death of his lover. Moments after they leave, India enters and demands information. He explains that he has revealed everything he knows, which she knows nothing about. Realising he has been double bluffed, he rushes outside to phone adoptive sister Tasmin (Rachel Skarsten) so they can escape together, knowing the trouble he will had caused, only to be drugged and taken off by the ‘security guards’. Elle and Emma continue to search the house, discovering a picture of themselves as babies on the wall, as it dawns on them that they have a brother.
10 Dark Was The Night 4 December 2015 9.97
Tasmin, fearing for her brother’s life, rushes to Anna’s underground facility, as instructed by Trenton in case either of them ever run into trouble. Although Anna initially reacts with skepticism of her identity, Elle corroborates it, having seen her in Trenton’s pictures and possessions before. Thanks to Tasmin’s role as a police officer, she begins to orchestrate an attack on TWP – the location Trenton is being held - with stronger resources than ever before by combining their efforts and maximizing success, taking India out and leading them to the figures behind the whole operation, believing it to run far deeper than they once believed. Trenton, held inside the building, is taunted by India by her extensive knowledge of the Winter siblings, also revealing that she is aware of his ulterior motives and can provide information on his birth parents by defecting to their cause. Faced with this moral dilemma, India takes him to the roof of the building where she tells him that she is playing the city like a game - with moves and countermoves, adding that her next move is to reveal herself. Hijacking their software, India invites Elle’s side to join them to witness her next plan, essentially offering them a free pass to Trenton and into TWP Headquarters, insisting that only Elle comes alone. Despite initial fears that it is a trap and Emma’s instance to send Elle in alone, they conclude that they would be foolish to turn down the answers they have been searching for, also suggesting India wouldn’t pull the same trick twice by having them walk into a trap. Going in alone, Elle expects to be greeted by Trenton and India, but instead India is sat alone. She finally admits her position and plays her hand – she was placed in their lives to monitor their activity as part of a worldwide scheme, with the Winter’s one of the only remaining cases after the creator decided to call off the experiment as subjects became aware and started ‘erasing them one by one’. India reveals that she initially attempted to conceal the Winter siblings, having felt some level of compassion towards them, placing a new ‘factor’ in their life that the ‘supervisors’ felt could savior the entire scheme from being deemed a failure. It is at this point India reveals her overall plan – knowing that Elle’s people would be waiting to imprison her – she needed an escape route, fearing the ‘supervisors’ would need to wipe her out too. Admitting she had a contact that would allow her to escape, she needed to distract the others, informing Elle that she had a decision for her to make; Trenton and Alex are held and bound at different locations, with a timer set to detonate in twenty minutes, although only one could be saved. India remarks, “your lover, or your brother”, dropping the revelation that Trenton, Elle and Emma are biological siblings. A race begins to save either of the men, with Tasmin leading the operation to save her brother and Anna mobilizing a team to save Alex. Watching from the rooftops as the timers tick, she witnesses the two explosions engulf the areas in flames, moments later receiving a phonecall from Emma telling her that they couldn’t save Alex but Trenton is alive and well. Breaking down into tears, Elle is inconsolably ushered out by people she presumes to be sent by Anna, but quickly realises the ambush when she’s strapped into the back of the car, moments before Anna arrives with Trenton and Emma. A car chase ensues throughout the streets. Freeing herself, Elle begins to attack the driver and passenger in an attempt to escape. This, matched with Anna’s attempt to stop the car, causes the car to spin into a lake. Underwater, Elle attempts to escape the car but struggles – she begins to float to the surface and enter a dream-like state; she remembers herself, Emma and Trenton playing as kids with their father. Their mother joins playing them, revealed to have been pregnant with a fourth sibling. Elle floats still on the surface of the water.

A post-credit seen reveals India arriving in London and climbing into the back of a black cab. She turns to her right and says, “I’m glad to finally meet you, Miss Winter”. The screen reveals that Fragments will return in 2016 with ‘Another Winter’.

Reception[edit | edit source]

Critical Reception[edit | edit source]

The show's second season was considered an improvement of the first season in many aspects; the storyline, acting and twists and turns were all commended for being sharp and engaging. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 97% approval rating from critics, with a rating average of 8.5 out of 10. The critical consensus reads: "Anchored by terrific performances from the central cast, Fragments improves on its predecessors successes, crafting a taut and intense storyline that is both enjoyable and thrilling". Many noted Ashley and O'Neill performances, singling them out and recommending them for Emmy nominations for 2016, after Ashley missed out for her work in the first season. Cosima Rushley of UrapsDaily described the second season finale as a "masterclass in suspense, intensity and excitement that potently grips the audience and refuses to let them go during an hour of terrifying twists and thrilling turns". Jonathan Green of Uraps 24/7 added that whilst the "storyline engages, it is truly the sensational cast's seamless performances that well and truly make for compelling viewing and keep you profoundly interested".

Rating Performance[edit | edit source]

Every episode of the second season beat those of the first season, with the season's debut episode reaching a series high of 10.05 million, which was very nearly overcome by the show's finale 9.97 million viewers. It achieved a season average 9.39 million, considered astounding for what was considered one of the lowest television rated seasons of all time, making Fragments an anomaly by bucking the decreasing viewer trends. The show also performed well in Live +7 ratings, with the first episode of the second season reaching 14.95 million viewers once additional viewers and streamers were factored in. It was the highest rated CBS season of the television calendar year.

Renewal[edit | edit source]

At the end of 'Dark Was The Night', the season finale, a black screen confirmed that the show had been commissioned for a third run of ten episodes to be broadcast in Fall 2016, with the first episode of season three confirmed to be titled 'Another Winter'. The next day, it was confirmed that Ashley, O'Neill, Maslany and Danes were returning for the third season, with shooting set to begin in January 2016. Giacomo Gianniotti and Garrett Clayton were both announced in January as two new addition to the cast in season three, in unspecified recurring roles.