Howard Gordon

In one reality, Michael sits in a holding cell hoping that Bird can clear his name, while in the other the police force hunts the wounded detective down. But in the final confrontation, Michael may face his greatest enemy: reality.

Michael learns of the conspiracy behind the accident that killed his family and goes after Detective Hawkins in both realities. The Birds in both reality have to choose who to believe as well, and one of them will pay the price.

In one reality, Michael investigates a gang-related shooting but indicators in the other reality suggest everything isn't what it seems. In the other reality, Hannah helps Emma, Vega plans Michael's going-away party to Oregon, and Captain Harper realizes that the situation with Michael isn't going away as neatly as she hoped.

Michael experiences two different versions of the same football game and deals with murders that resulted from the altered outcomes. Meanwhile, Vega plans a going-away party for Michael, and in the other reality Rex has his heart broken.

Michael returns to a case that he was working on prior to the accident, giving Captain Harper cause for concern. Meanwhile, Michael and Vega work an old homicide case and Dr. Lee provides an assist while Hannah prepares for the move to Oregon. And in the other reality, Michael and Bird investigate a suicide and Evans gives Michael some advice about whether he should go with Hannah.

In one reality, Michael finds himself collaborating with Dr. Lee to help a man with schizophrenia who has taken a hospital hostage. The key to helping him is a ring in the other reality that disappears. Meanwhile, Michael starts hallucinating and sees a penguin everywhere, while Rex tells his father about his new girlfriend Emma.

A FBI agent questions Michael's new method of solving cases via "hunches" when the detective tracks down a serial killer long believed to be dead, based on what he sees in the other reality. Meanwhile, Hannah wants to move back to Oregon and both of Michael's psychiatrists warn that if he leaves Los Angeles, his dreams could disappear.

Detective Michael Britten encounters his son's former babysitter while investigating an apparent suicide at an exclusive party on a yacht. He then meets the babysitter again in his other reality, but this time she's a suspect in a case.

Rex is kidnapped by an escaped convict Michael arrested 10 years ago and the investigation gets gets in the way of an event honoring his deceased son in the other reality; clues from both realities lead to Michael's sanity being questioned.

Following a horrific car accident, Det. Michael Britten regains consciousness to learn that his wife, Hannah, had died and his teenaged son, Rex, had survived the accident. As he tries to piece his life back together, he awakens again in a world in which his wife is alive, but his son is dead. Because he wants to keep both Hannah and Rex alive, he begins living in two realities and turns to solving crimes in both worlds with the help of two different partners, Det. Isaiah "Bird" Freeman and Det. Efrem Vega. He is assigned therapists in both realities, Dr. Laura Evans and Dr. John Lee, who help Michael learn to deal with his new existence.

In the penultimate episode of the first season, the truth about Brody's plans are revealed, and the stage is set for the final episode, where Brody will be revealed either as a war hero/politician/devoted family man, or a terrorist. Carrie is close to figuring out the truth, but her plans are derailed when she must deal with her own medical condition and career path.

The relationship between Carrie and Brody becomes more complicated when they head into the countryside for the weekend, while Mike and Jessica face the fallout of the truth about their relationship, and Saul catches Aileen on the run to Mexico.