Episode 3 of Rabbit Hole commences in 2018, kicking off with John's father outlining the intricate rules of their shadowy game. The enemy lurks unseen, everywhere and anywhere, cloaked in the shadows. They are both intelligent and resourceful, making each encounter a battle of wits and cunning. To emerge victorious, absolute trust in one's compatriots and absolute skepticism of all others is paramount. Present during this clandestine conversation are John Weir, his father, and Miles Valence, a figure who would soon become a pivotal ally.
Flashing back to earlier years, we witness John being sent to a boarding school by his mother, where he unexpectedly crosses paths with Miles Valence. Miles, an intellectual equal to John, confides in him about his past, revealing a trove of books and intricate details about code-breaking that he discovered before being orphaned. Intrigued and determined, John enlists Miles's help to sneak out and break into the family safe, eager to unlock its mysterious contents.
The reason for John's orphanage roots lies in a tragic fire that ravaged his home off-screen. As John and Miles return to the smoldering ruins, they find the safe, a tantalizing clue to the past that might hold the key to their future.
Fast-forwarding to 2013, John Weir and Miles embark on a mission to manipulate the minds of others, leveraging the power of science to usurp the competition for clients and tamper with test groups. This marks the genesis of their algorithmic model and the birth of Arda Analytics. John pitches the idea of harnessing Big Data to drive companies and predict customer behavior, a vision that Miles eagerly embraces.
As we jump to 2017, Miles and John Weir work side by side to build Arda Analytics into a thriving enterprise. Back home, however, John is in for a shocking revelation when his father, Ben, unexpectedly appears. The memories of that bloody office room flood back, leaving John dazed and disoriented.
Ben pleads for John's help, revealing that he has run out of options and is on the run. Shockingly, John learns that his mother was also aware of Ben's fake death. Ben rambles about a plane exploding out of the sky (a news report that we have earlier witnessed) and claims that a shadowy figure named Crowley, intent on ushering in a New World Order, has escaped justice. The evidence, it turns out, is in the possession of a passenger on that fateful flight.
John forces his father out, but the encounter leaves him deeply unsettled. He confides in Miles about the turn of events, revealing how their lives have been shaped by the contents of the safe. John also shares Crowley's sinister plans, including the Russians' covert orchestration of a terrorist attack on the Panama and Suez Canals, aimed at seizing control of the only viable trade route for selling oil to Europe and North America.
A year later, the terrorist attack materializes, and John, after much deliberation, decides to hear out his father. In a bustling café, Ben reveals his obsessive hunt for Crowley and his ambition to establish his own regime. He points to the chilling parallels between their situation and the current global landscape, where people are being marginalized, faith in the media is eroded, and charismatic leaders are being elected who are puppets of higher powers.
Back in the present tense, John Weir remains a fugitive, wanted for murder, and his mind is torn between whether to eliminate Haley outright. She sits calmly at the table, unaware of the storm brewing inside Weir's head as he confesses his doubts about her innocence. Amidst the tense atmosphere, a thread of humor unexpectedly threads through their conversation, with insults and subtle revelations traded back and forth.
Afterwards, John Weir attempts to hack into Miles' computer, but after two fruitless attempts, an alert pings across to a control center at Arda Analytics. Two operatives, realizing his intentions, are now aware of his actions. Weir places his trust in Haley, a decision that seems questionable given her subsequent actions of taking a burner phone before stepping out to grab some food.
Meanwhile, Ben heads to confront Edward Homm, who remains silent under questioning. Ben reveals that they have saved his life, hinting at the gravity of the secret he was pursuing, enough to make "they" want him dead. The mysterious "they" seems to refer to Crowley.
Flashbacks reveal that Ben has actually orchestrated their entire operation, including orchestrating a breakup between John and Miles, taking Arda Analytics public, and convincing Crowley to get involved by leveraging their data for electoral gain. "I like being the bad guy," Miles remarks, once the deed is done.
Outside, Ben confronts Haley and poses two questions to her - who are you and who are you working for? The first question leaves Haley unfazed, but the second causes her to blink incessantly. Despite the apparent nervousness, Ben seems to believe her and asks what's in her hand. She quickly drops the mobile she was holding (the screen reveals she was looking at cryptocurrency) and reluctantly returns inside with Ben.
Inside, John manages to crack the code and break into the laptop, eagerly scouring through the messages. However, Xander Arnaz, the man determined to stop John and keep tabs on his every move, closes in on his location. Given their strict internet limit of less than 15 minutes, John is violating his own rule.
Before the team can pinpoint their exact whereabouts, Xander is interrupted by the arrival of Special Agent Madi waiting in the hallway. He instructs his staff to hold their ground until he returns, as he is currently serving as the acting CEO and doesn't want to deal with Madi at the moment. That is, until he realizes she has received an email summoning her to a meeting at 10:15.
A realization suddenly dawns on Xander - the entire scenario was a ruse to give John extra time to download sensitive information from the server. It works, and they quickly wrap up their affairs and prepare to leave. Phones are discarded, and the house is vacated in haste.
Flashing back to earlier scenes, we see what lies within the safe - a trove of documents pertaining to big data and the manipulation of human behavior. John is initially exasperated, until he discovers that the code to unlock the safe is actually a numerical representation of his name.
As the episode draws to a close, we cut back to Xander once more. He phones his boss (presumably Crowley) to deliver the bad news. Unfortunately, he receives instructions that echo Miles' fate. He approaches the window and jumps out, landing harshly on the ground floor, right behind Madi who is on the phone, voicing her suspicions that something much larger is afoot at Arda Analytics and that they need to investigate. Well, it seems the investigation will now be fast-tracked indeed!
