Pilot is the first and premiere episode of Season 1 of Upside Down. It aired on March 1, 2015, garnering a total of 9.82 million US viewers. The episode was made available to Fanfic Channel On Demand on February 22, 2015, which has been watched by 4.67 million US viewers on its release day, for a total of 14.49 million US viewers.
Plot[]
Blake tries to adjust to his new life as the son of the President of the United States. Meanwhile, an incident in school may cause his freedom to be much more limited.
Summary[]
Blake Blackwell heads to his new school in Washington, as three secret service agents follow his car. He requests to be dropped away from the school’s front foyer to avoid all the attention. He tells the agents to stay outside the school as it is very safe and secure. As he walks into the gates of the school, he is welcomed by the staff and the school’s Headmaster. Being in college was a new thing for Blake, but being the son of the newly elected President of the United States, Theodore Blackwell, was a different level of new.
He was greeted with looks as he first attended his classes, with students asking him what it was like in the white house. One of students, Austin Krause, gives him a look as if he was telling him to back off when he sat on his chair in class. During his free time, he was approached by a guy who sat beside him in the cafeteria lounge. The guy introduced himself as Clay Seok, not knowing that Blake was the the son of the president. Blake befriended Clay, and kept his last name a secret from him. The two got along on the first day, and Clay introduced him to his friends, Grace Kendrick and Jordan Paskin, both of which do not know Blake’s identity. Blake got to know them really fast, and felt glad that he found new friends that acts normally around him.
Clay, Grace and Jordan then finds out about Blake when one of the professors greets him. At first, the three were shocked but eventually, they were cool about it. They did not change their behaviour and treated Blake like a normal guy. Clay invites Blake to his place after school, in which Blake agrees to. Then he sees a girl, Janelle Finnick, walk by him, and he becomes starstruck. Noticing that Blake was staring, Grace introduced him to Janelle. Blake discovered that Janelle was a fan of art, and he invites Janelle to a tour at the White house to see some of the art on the walls of the white house, in which she gladly agrees to.
Just as they were all talking about their day, a nearby window breaks. A brick lays on the floor with a photo of Blake marked with an X. The agents come running to his aid after the commotion and the Headmaster calls for a security sweep across the campus, starting an investigation. The agents brings him home, without letting him see his friends. Clay, Grace, Jordan and Janelle explain what happened before the incident to the headmaster.
Back in the White House, Blake is in the oval office with the president and the first lady, Emerald Blackwell. Blake then tells them about his day at school, telling them that he’d rather not talk about the brick with his photo. Theodore then tells him that he should refrain from going to friends’ houses as it might be dangerous, causing an argument between them and Blake. Blake then storms off to his room. That night, he tries to sneak out of the house through the underground train system but is caught by Lewis, where he is brought to Theodore.
Theodore then agrees to give him freedom in one condition, that he would always be guarded by one agent. Emerald then suggest that a younger agent will suit him best so that he would not feel like a prisoner. The next day, he is introduced to Asher Cruz, a few years older than him, who enrolled to Washington Wells Academy, to keep an eye of him. They got along well with their similarities in hobbies and likes. In school, he meets up with Clay, Janelle, Grace and Jordan, where he introduces them to Asher.
In the distance, a man in a car answers his phone in which he states that their plan should now be ready to be put into place, as he looks at photos of Blake, Clay, Janelle, Grace, Jordan and Asher, revealing that someone is after the president and that they are getting through Blake to succeed in their plans.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Jimmy Deshler as Blake Blackwell
- Sofia Black D'Elia as Janelle Finnick
- Ki Hong Lee as Clay Seok
- Kathryn Prescott as Grace Kendrick
- Ryan Sill as Austin Krause
Guest Stars[]
- Mark Luz as Asher Cruz
- Lee Tergesen as Theodore Blackwell
- Laura Linney as Emerald Blackwell
- Justin Kelly as Jordan Paskin
- Brandon Barash as Lewis