Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 9, “Revelations: Chapter One.”
Of Season 3, Episode 9, ‘Revelations: Chapter One’ sees the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease resurfacing and worsening for Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau). In season 1, Boyd feels tremors in his hands and believes he has Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s isn’t usually hereditary, but Boyd’s father had it, and his symptoms led him to believe he now had it, too. It hides this information from most Ofcharacters, but he shares this with Kenny Liu (Ricky He) as he wants Kenny to lead the residents in his absence and when he is no longer able to do so physically and mentally.
Boyd’s self-diagnosis also adds more urgency to his journey through the woods with Sara Myers (Avery Konrad) to find answers in season one, where they first encounter one of the Ofbottle trees. When dealing with OfWith Parkinson’s monsters, the lethal hallucinations triggered by the Music Box Monster, the scarcity of resources, and countless other problems in seasons 2 and 3, the Parkinson storyline was seemingly forgotten. However, that is no longer the case, with “Revelations: Chapter One” once again making Boyd’s Parkinson vital to the story.
Boyd’s Parkinson’s disease is becoming more severe as of season three
Your leg freezes
As Boyd and his son, Ellis (Corteon Moore), walk through the forest in search of pregnant Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori), Boyd begins to feel tremors in his hands again. He also experiences a new symptom, which he refers to as freezing of the legs. When it comes to Parkinson’s, freezing refers to a sudden, temporary inability to move. This happens to Boyd for the first time when he finds himself temporarily unable to move his leg and has to lean on Ellis to get out of the woods and back to the police station.
Because Boyd never told Ellis about his Parkinson’s self-diagnosis, Ellis is alarmed to see his father suddenly and briefly unable to walk, but Boyd rejects Ellis’ insistence on going to the medical clinic. Just like in season 1, Parkinson’s symptoms make Boyd feel like he has little time left. This adds another layer of urgency to the search for Fatima, while also providing a reason for Boyd to ask Kenny if he will become the new sheriff when Boyd can no longer do the job.
Why Boyd Didn’t Tell Ellis About Having Parkinson’s Disease
He didn’t want to worry Ellis
Although Parkinson’s is not usually hereditary, as both Boyd and his father have it, Boyd worries that this could be passed on to Ellis as well. In the first season, Boyd’s focus on Ellis is repairing their relationship due to the tension between them since Abby’s (Lisa Ryder) death. He didn’t want to worry Ellis in Season 1 and hasn’t seen any reason to worry about it since then, especially given the increasing number of problems they’ve faced.
It’s a difficult conversation to have, but it’s another important step for Boyd and Ellis towards fully repairing their relationship and being completely honest with each other.
Now that Ellis has seen these symptoms firsthand, Boyd explained the situation to his son. It’s a difficult conversation to have, but it’s another important step for Boyd and Ellis towards fully repairing their relationship and being completely honest with each other. As Of continues, Boyd’s Parkinson’s symptoms will likely continue to worsen, but at least Ellis now understands what’s going on and can better support him.