i absolutely love how intertwined essek and caleb's stories are this season. these moments in particular capture the essence of their journeys thus far: accepting the death that they have brought upon their families. the broken expression on their faces, the shaking hands as they reach out to who is now lost forever; these men could not be any more similar.
essek, whose primary motivation for stealing the beacon was to find a cure for his mother, failed in his pursuit, was forced to kill her with his own hands, and has lost her soul forever. caleb, whose primary function was to brutally assassinate empire traitors, was so heavily indoctrinated that he believed that damning his family to a fire of his own making was an honor. while essek and caleb were both pushed to these circumstances by their nations, either through an oppressive religion or extremist propaganda, it was ultimately their decisions that caused their families' deaths, their hands that took their lives, and their eyes that watched them die.
essek and caleb are seemingly irredeemable, their truest sense of self now buried beneath their rage and suffering. if season one captured them at their lowest points, then season two will show us if they will choose to descend deeper into the pain caused by their own failures or if they will choose to claw their way out of it and remake themselves anew. their journeys moving forward will be fascinating to witness.