Jeremiah and Kurdy come across a group of pilgrims, who believe they will be taken from this world "in a great white ship" as a sign that miracles are returning to the world. Jeremiah is cynical, but Kurdy finds himself being drawn into their spell.

The pilgrimage began a year ago and has been heading from east to west.

The monks joined the pilgrimage three or four weeks before the events of this episode. They consider themselves "pallbearers for the old world - here to bear witness to the end". By the sound of things they suspect the Big Death is not gone for good. They wear hoods and have taken a vow of silence. It's not clear whether they "disappeared" in the same manner as the rest of the pilgrims; if not, they may be intending to spread the word that the pilgrims were taken aboard the great white ship - whether or not that's what actually happened.

Constance describes Kurdy as a protector, unable to deal with his own pain and so trying to ease that of others. There's some truth in this. He also admits he's looking for somewhere to belong - he isn't motivated by a desire to discover something about his past as Jeremiah is. He's also very private about what he writes, having apparently written before at Thunder Mountain but never showing Jeremiah.

David leads the pilgrimage and insists that everyone in the group takes a vow of non-violence. He also professes to believe that the rise of technology and the decline of belief in the miraculous are linked - that miracles may begin happening now that the world is "quiet enough to pay attention".

When asked about his belief in God, Jeremiah is cagey. "I don't bother him, he doesn't bother me, works out fine for both of us." This develops from episode 3 where it was clear that he does believe in God, but resents what he sees as his indifference or malice. David responds with "To go to war with God - from what I've heard that never ends well for anyone."

Jeremiah to Kurdy: "People aren't supposed to have conversations like this unless they're married."

"I don't ever remember my mom saying 'shit'. I feel kind of deprived about the whole thing, now that I think about it." - Jeremiah

Kurdy's speech: "I wear hope around my neck like a noose. It's loose enough for me to breathe what I need to get me through the day; and with each swagger and sway comes a new belief that there's a new relief just around the way. So I keep going. Halfway knowing it's just a trick my mind likes to play so I don't quit. Where is it? Maybe I'll never know. Maybe I'll never go past the dreaming that there's more; the scheming that what I'm searching for is seemingly reminiscent to the folklore that there's a garden paradise where I can settle, and never have to leave. Where I can breathe deep breaths and exhale with abandon; maybe that paradise is wherever I'm standing. Tall. Believing in myself. That I can conquer all the sadness and all the madness and have a ball wherever I go. Could that be the paradise I'm looking for? Maybe. Maybe I'll never know."

The bible quotation Jeremiah refers to is from Matthew, Chapter 16, Verse 26: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Authorized Version).

Additional - added 4 March 2006: The title is a line from a song sung by Feste in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act 2, scene 3. The scene can be read here.

This is another episode that takes place, partly, on the west coast, though it's not specific as to where. Jeremiah and Kurdy seem to cover a lot of the United States in their Rover given Thunder Mountain's centralish position.

Jeremiah and Kurdy are following their new mission from Markus - forming allegiances with sympathetic groups. They're still not revealing the position and name of their group, though, so it's questionable how many of the groups they contact will be interested in an alliance. They have, however, stopped trying to conceal the Rover.

Presumably deliberately, it's left an open question at the end whether the pilgrims committed mass suicide or really were miraculously transfigured.

What kind of testament can the monks make if they never remove their hoods or speak?

"You can walk all the way to China if you want to." Er, how?

Going to meet people who know Jeremiah wearing his boots was asking for trouble.

You won't forget the excellent final sequence in a hurry, but it's a bit of a slog getting there. Perhaps the local thugs could have got involved a little sooner. Dodgy title, too. And I'm undecided about the prospect of more of Kurdy's poetry readings.