Slowly Thickening Haze

A creeping fog effect pitched for the gas mask commercial, starting faint and building to obscure visibility around panicked figures donning masks. Shelby, Romano, and Chin describe its gradual intensification to evoke dread and isolation. Toby rejects the concept outright, slamming the door on fear-mongering visuals during the Roosevelt Room brainstorm.

2 appearances

Purpose

Creates ominous atmosphere in proposed fear-based TV ad by visually thickening to heighten tension around gas masks.

Significance

Sparks Toby's sharp rebuke of scare tactics, halting the session and redirecting the team to a crisis, underscoring the moral stakes in campaign messaging.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

2 moments

S4E21 · Life on Mars

Gas‑Mask Shock and the 'Clear Blue Sky' Pivot

The 'Slowly Thickening Haze' is the ad's atmospheric prop — described as building to obscure vision and forcing characters to don gas masks, it functions narratively to generate dread and justify the imagery of a threatened domestic space.

Before: An imagined visual effect offered as part of Shelby's pitch, conceptual and discussed verbally.

After: Left as a floating option in the brainstorm; its use is contested and unresolved when Toby interrupts and exits with Will.

View full event

S4E21 · Life on Mars

Toby's Moral Rebuke and the Abrupt Exit

The slowly thickening haze is the atmospheric prop the team imagines to create dread; it's described as building to obscure figures in gas masks and thus is central to the ad's fear effect.

Before: Imagined as the key mood device for the ad, described in detail by the brainstorm participants.

After: Remains a described visual motif but is effectively cancelled as the team is redirected away from fear-based tactics.

View full event