Since Anjalee had blown off all of the promotion, Noah’s arrival was the most anticipated. As AJ neared the theater’s entrance, she heard the crowd’s pitch geyser.
He was all in black now, and somehow looked both warm and like he couldn’t give two shits about this pageantry. Their eyes connected as he paused in front of a wall papered in the Fox logo, and he gave her asmall smile. Then AJ stepped into the theater.
She would soon learn that Noah famously avoided his own performances. But she didn’t know that then. She waited patiently for him to join the rest of the cast in the front row.
But he appeared only onscreen…in a bright, sand-swept, futuristic palace.
“Whatisthis?” whispered Dave on AJ’s left.
After, Ian explained that the network had opted to launch the show with “17,” the action-packed Rho backstory episode—the only one filmed traditionally, after the strike.
The only one filmed without the rest of the ensemble.
Fox, it seemed, had already lost faith inInto the Blue.
After the premiere, therewas some confusion over the show’s title—“Into the Bluesounds like a C-list movie about surfers”—but most of the internet agreed that forty-five minutes of Noah Drew marauding through space was good TV.
The second episode bombed.
Compared to high-octane “17,” “A Man, a Dog, and a Wormhole” crawled. It was badly lit and full of clanking, and such a drastic departure from the pilot, that over half of their viewers changed the channel and never changed it back. To add insult to injury, theAstronauticalsfan base loudly rejected the reboot online, denouncing its drama and lack of slapstick.
As the show’s ratings continued to plummet with each passing week, the network’s misgivings proved correct:Into the Bluewas a total bust.
This was when AJ took refuge in the message boards.
Contrary to the general audience, a core viewership latched on to the show with the ferocity of a suckling crale calf. They called themselves the Blue Coats, and they saw themselves as keepers of the show’s flame, lighting up the web with theories, trivia, and, of course, shipping.
The biggest ship by far was Ana and Rho: Arho.
INTO THE BLUE: Arho subreddit
BlueFlower96:I’M BREAKING SPACE AND TIME let’s go.
EarlGreyHot:I love the way she throws it back in his face.
$ailorJupit3R<3:So does he, he’s actually undressing her with his eyes LOLcats
The fans’ excitement was addictive and bottomless, and it gave AJ a place to hide as their ratings continued to crash and burn.
Unfortunately, nothing could block out the air-raid siren of Fox releasing the last three episodes in one night. They were officially washing their hands of the show.Into the Bluewas dead.
That Friday, AJ huddled on her couch with a tub of Cheetos and a handle of vodka. Toni was throwing a “funeral watch party” at a bar in an old casket factory; Ian was going, which AJ supposed meant he and Toni were still a thing. Xiaobo had flown in, presumably for a night of no-strings-attached-RIP-our-show sex with Dave.
But to AJ’s surprise, Dave plunked down beside her. “I’m good here,” he said simply. Whether he found it too difficult to see Xiaobo or he was quietly looking out for her, AJ couldn’t say. But as he poured them shots, she felt grateful.
They were both in a drunken morass by the time “Hot Water” aired. AJ hardly knew what she was watching as Ana and Rho knelt in a secluded spot, the camera tight on their faces.
Then it happened.
AJ arched into Noah, who bit down hard on his lower lip as if to keep from swearing. Her eyes widened as she felt him, her head dipping back in unmistakable pleasure as she sighed, “No.”
Dave sat bolt upright. “Whatthefuckwasthat?”
AJ was too dumbstruck to formulate a response.Thathad just been on TV. Herparentshad seen it.Oh. God.
She dialed Ian. No answer. Again. No answer. She threw her phone aside and took a shot.
Ian hadtoldher he would take care of it. This was a mistake. It had to be a mistake.
