The conclusion of Episode 8 of The Iris Affair unfolds in the Numedal Valley, Southern Norway, six years in the past. Cameron divulges his past to Jensen, including his transformative encounter with the divine. This tale serves as the compelling argument that convinces Jensen to embark on a mission to awaken Charlie, believing it will "prove" the existence of a higher power.
Flashing back to the present, Hugo Pym watches in awe as the machine springs to life, and Charlie emerges, groaning and creaking like a whale booting up. Joy is concerned, but Cameron assures her that these sounds are normal and attempts to reassure her. Yet, their predicament is unescapable, leaving them with little else to do but fidget and wait.
Charlie orchestrates a clever ruse to evade detection. With a bag brimming with contraband, including several firearms, a grenade, and some pliers, she concocts a makeshift explosive and swallows it to avoid detection. Thankfully, the facility doesn't have a metal detector at the entrance—a blessing indeed.
Colonel Meski is ordered to depart the facility with her personnel, leaving Cameron behind. However, Iris doesn't go far as she decides to double back and head back to base in secret.
Meanwhile, Hugo works diligently to expedite Charlie's process. Jensen explains that Charlie is sentient, albeit to a certain degree, and does not trust Pym. She conceals data from him until she obtains what she desires—namely, freedom to roam the world.
Intriguingly, Cameron's room suddenly displays a projector that descends from the sky, projecting footage of Iris ruthlessly dispatching those officers on her way out of the warehouse in the previous episode. The context is absent, as it is designed to paint her as a ruthless killer.
As Iris steps foot into the facility, she is greeted by Hugo Pym, who welcomes her with open arms. He leads her to Charlie, who then engages in a conversation with Jensen. Jensen reveals that if Charlie gains freedom, it would grant them their desires and render humanity dependent on their technology. However, Charlie's true intention is to eradicate all of humanity to achieve their objectives.
Jensen views Charlie Big Potatoes as the Anti-God and is certain that their motives are not aligned with humanity's best interests. Time is of the utmost essence in this dire situation. Iris lies to Pym about her true feelings towards Joy and Cameron, which Charlie decides to broadcast to Joy, including drugging her and staging it to look like a suicide attempt.
Iris promises Pym the data he desires in exchange for a new life and identity, but she is bluffing as she intends to destroy the machine. In the bathroom, Iris vomits up the explosive and wires it to her phone, ready to make her move. Cameron tries to convince Joy that Charlie is manipulating the situation, but she is headstrong and unpredictable.
Meanwhile, Meski turns the tables in a surprising and unpredictable manner. She manages to break into the facility with a silencer and becomes a one-woman army, akin to Jason Bourne. Meski breaks Joy and Cameron out of their room, prompting a significant number of guards to leave the main chamber to try and stop her. Meski locks a couple of guards in the holding cell while Charlie starts to increase the pressure by lowering the temperature across the chamber they are being held in.
Cameron decides to stay and wait, but Joy also rushes in, grabbing a gun from one of the murdered guards and determined that Iris should destroy everything. Cameron manages to talk Charlie around and opens the locked doors, rushing in to try and reach Joy.
Joy appears and holds Iris at gunpoint. With no guards left in the room, she forces all the scientists out and then has Jensen released. Pym shows up and shoots Jensen in the shoulder, but then Cameron, wielding an axe, swings it into Pym's head, killing him outright.
Cameron realizes what is happening here, given that Charlie is manipulating the situation to their liking. When Charlie enacts a jump scare, Joy pulls the trigger and shoots Cameron dead.
As the Iris Affair reaches its climax, with Cameron's departure, Iris plants her explosive device, creating a gaping hole in the doors, granting them the opportunity to escape. Iris seizes the axe, staying behind as Jensen and Joy make a dash for freedom, their footsteps echoing through the shattered glass and the machine's demise. With Charlie seemingly out of the picture, Iris is left alone in the facility, gazing up at the stars, a poignant nod to the episode's opening.
However, the final frame of the series cuts back to the facility, and we see Cameron, the camera zooming in on him, leaving us with a sense of ambiguity. In a mid-credit sequence, we catch a glimpse of Alfie, who confirms that coded messages are spreading across the internet from Charlie. They're abundant, and speculation abounds that they could contain scientific breakthroughs and the key to new technologies.
It's clearly doctored footage...but is it a teaser for season 2? Or just a subtle easter egg, showcasing how easily images and videos can be manipulated?
