Sunday, September 16, 2012

Hex: Season 2, Episode 12: 7 Deadly Sins



 Alex is enjoying being the new Queen Bee of Malachi’s succubus club and the whole school is now full of them. One even breaks a bottle and tries to glass Ella (Ella, what happened to your telekinesis? Or your combat skills? Or anything that really should have you beating down high school students with your little finger while laughing derisively). She does get beheaded for her trouble. How Awesome Headmaster David will deal of that – a decapitated student in the canteen will be interesting. Though it seems he thinks that she’s just disappeared – my gods Ella can do a quick and efficient clean up. Decapitations are messy.

Leon is dealing with the whole having to murder his friends thing. He can’t stop thinking of them as human – and Ella encourages him to bow out of the decapitating. Leon, of course, feels pushed out because he wants in on the whole murdering and mayhem – he just wants to help, bless. It’s not helped by Malachi continuing to taunt Leon many many many many times.

Leon complains to Tom about how he’s always hanging out with Malachi – but Tom points out that Leon’s always with Ella. Leon thinks it’s unreasonable that Tom dislikes her – and Tom points out a laundry list of the ways Ella has treated Leon – cheating on him, flirting with Tom, etc which has given Tom considerable reason to dislike Ella. Leon goes back to Ella for relationship angst. Oh Leon, stop being so wet.

Ella goes to talk to Thelma who is not happy about Mia’s death. And a not happy Thelma can really twist the knife – about how Ella has used her friends, about the string of bodies Ella has left in her quest to kill Malachi – and still hasn’t actually killed him. Thelma goes from Ella to see Malachi saying that Ella’s quest is getting too many people killed – and she’d rather switch sides and help Cassie’s son than the woman who killed Mia.

Job no.1 is Tom. Malachi has been unable to ferret out Tom’s deepest desire and convert him to Team Incubus – so time to use Thelma’s dream invading ability to drag it out. So that night she dips into his dream and finds Tom’s deepest desire is… making out with Leon. Yes Tom’s gay. “Blimey” Thelma exclaims in shock. Because the Lesbian is shocked by the Gay man. And, what, Malachi was utterly stumped because he didn’t for a second consider the possibility?

Thelma decides to fill in Malachi – with a whole lot of lies about PVC masks and tails and corporal punishment with Alex. Which Thelma then tells to Ella (complete with gingerbread men visual aids because Thelma is hungry) also letting Ella know that Malachi is set on Tom. Thelma is a double agent but she does ensure she has a subtle dig at Ella about why Thelma is believable as a double agent – she has an extremely good reason to be angry with Ella. Ella also decides not to bring Leon into the loop because he’s not a fighter. Which would work if he didn’t overhear the whole “don’t tell Leon” thing and feel more inadequate and wet and pathetic. Which we get more scenes of each as riveting as before.

Teacher Jo is sneaking around the school, searching the school accounts, searching under Ella’s bed, searching in random draws and generally snooping while Ella is spying on her and making it clear she’s watching. But this leads to a police visit because Jo has emptied the school accounts. While Awesome Headmaster David is taken away to explain things, Jo is now in charge.


Malachi’s also still trying to snare the new, even more annoying Roxanne, but he doesn’t seem to be making any headway into her bastion of purity and Tai Chi (what is it with this school and Martial arts? I suspect one of the writers might be a weeabo). Throwing Alex at tom also seems to be rather ineffective. But he has a different plan – getting him massively, falling down drunk, helping him back to his room – and when Tom’s asleep, he draws his mark on his neck with a marker pen. He returns to his room with Jo, confident in his plotting – he knows Thelma is a double agent (even seems to know Tom is gay), he knows Ella is worried about Tom and even Jo – but not Leon, whose heart’s desire is to impress and please Ella.

The sad sad, kicked puppy Leon returns to his room to find Tom, passed out, with Malachi’s mark on his neck. Resolve and, of course, wanting to prove to Ella that he can be a murderer, honest, he goes to her room, gets a big sword – and beheads Tom. You’ll never get that blood out of the bed linens. He goes to shower to clean up – and now he has his own little mark of Malachi on his neck, becoming one of his Incubi. And Malachi already has a job for him

Making breakfast in bed for Ella and making nice with her – how he understand she was just trying to protect him and he promises to do whatever she wants. Before going out and spiking her drink with St. John’s Wart. Back in her room she collapses and Leon tells her what he’s done. He ties her to the bed and talks about how he was her dogsbody – she protests that it was love – and he points out that she cheated on him. The scene would have been a lot better in pointing out the ways Ella mistreats her friends if it didn’t have so many rape overtones which is unnecessary – even if it’s brief. Leon does some research in the book of Orichia on how to kill an Annointed One – bleed them to death. Thelma comes in to tell them that Tom’s dead and quickly leaves when she realises what has happened – to find the Volter (the blasty-stick).

Thelma searches Malachi’s room, she’s interrupted by Alex and has to hide under the bed – with the body of the dead cleaning woman (who found Tom’s body), she continues searching while Leon cuts Ella’s wrist. Ella uses her telekinesis (she does remember!) to free on wrist. And Malachi walks in on Thelma just as she finds the volter – so she shocks him, which causes all his Succubi and Incubi to feel the same injury and jerk back, allowing Ella to grab a vase and smack Leon with it.

Thelma returns to find an unconscious  Leon and she and Ella reflect they’re the only ones left.



Ok, I could be pedantic and point out that since Leon killed an innocent, not an Incubus, he hasn’t actually fulfilled his heart’s desire of impressing/pleasing Ella – unless she finds random decapitation pleasing. Apparently killing Tom made Leon Ella's equal, his heart's desire. Because murdering an innocent boy is totally on par with being an Annoited One demon Slayer

But I think it’s better to spend my time not screaming over the show’s death count with gay people. Thelma, Mia, Tom – dead, dead (twice), dead (and not even a ghost – just after it was revealed he was gay). Really unimpressed.

And Ella was bound and helpless again. I swear, this woman has spent this entire season lying on her back, sweating and suffering. It may be the only facial expression she’s ever had to show.