Do you know what this season of Hemlock Grove needs? Another completely unconnected storyline! So we
have Christina, the vargulf, the big bad of season 1, raising from the grave. A
wolf that looks like Christian chases a girl through the woods – but when she
leaps at her she falls with a yelp. It’s only temporary before she gets up and
starts chasing again – and we see under the girl’s hood. It’s Shelley.
Peter goes to scout the Caravan Park Andreus told him
about and finds it very quiet – except for an angry woman with a gun (she’s not
a fan of the park’s old reputation as a hook up spot for sex). And Roman. Why
is Roman there?
Seems he’s having the same dreams, just as in season 1. Well,
different versions of the same dreams. And the guy and his son who died in the
gorge who Peter was so transfixed by last episode was also a premonition from
his dreams, just in case there’s any doubt about true dreaming (or about
Destiny being right that they should just leave this alone). Roman refuses to
listen though because he’s Roman.
Peter leaves only to see emergency vehicles going back
the way he came. He goes back and a resident tells him it was a murder suicide –
the woman who challenged him and her daughter. More headache visions strike. He
goes home to have Destiny warn him again about how bad it is to turn on a
non-full moon day and he must must must not do it.
Meanwhile the Vargulf catches Shelly and she beats it’s head in, rips its head into pieces and the damn thing’s still twitching. She goes into an abandoned house and meets a small child who gives her an apple. This is likely an artistic comment on something.
Olivia sees Norman and Marie (Norman’s ex-wife) together
and gets all passive aggressive and jealous. Norman wants to get her out of
Johann’s care because he thinks she’s being manipulated. He also drops in on
Roman to encourage him to make up with his mother. That doesn’t work.
Roman goes on to eat his meet increasingly rare and even
videos of surgery make his hunger bite. He decides to distract himself by going
to Johann’s super creepy lab and gets confused when Johann and Russian doctor
disappear without him seeing where they went
Miranda and Peter go to get parts for her car, she so she
can avoid the creepy butler and he so he can avoid creepy Andreus who gives impromptu
massages in his underwear). Miranda picks up the tension between Peter and Roman
but Peter won’t explain it even after bringing it up. He also gets a call from
Lynda – who he calls Lynda – so Miranda gets entirely the wrong idea about their
relationship. Rather than let it fester, she asks him who Lynda is and he tells
her – that helps.
We need MOOOOAR characters! To a priest who wants Roman
dead, and Michael Chasseur (Dr. Clementine Chasseur, the dead hunter’s brother) who
wants more evidence that Roman needs to die and is responsible for his sister’s
death than the old priest declaring Roman a psychopath. Especially since the
priest’s order are trying to buy a huge chunk of the White Tower genetics
company. Michael is going to do things his way – the priest warns Michael if he
leaves he will lose all of his support. Michael doesn’t even hesitate in
leaving
More complications – Peter conned two guys last episode,
they take the product to their boss (who is a pig farmer. Hey everyone needs to
make ends meet – but mainly so we can see him kill a pig for ATMOSPHERE) and he
is very not happy. I really don’t see how Peter expected to get away with this,
especially since he used Destiny’s house to do the deal.
Marie’s lawsuit is served on Johann while Marie herself
goes to Olivia to, basically, give her blessing to any relationship between Olivia
and Norman. Yeah this doesn’t go nearly as well as expected, when Marie
forgives Olivia, she rejects she did anything wrong or any blame for breaking
up Marie and Norman’s marriage (adding that, had she wanted Norman to leave
Marie, he’d have done it much earlier). So Marie lets loose both barrels on the
state of Olivia’s family
Johann and Roman continue to snarl at each other – it’s another round of “you expose my secrets
I expose yours”. For more complexity, Johann then calls the priest, yes the
hunter priest, about how uncooperative Roman is. The priest is happy with a “pact”
he made with Olivia but he talks about their insatiable appetites (Olivia
nearly killed Johann during treatment) and “leashing” then. With an implication
that Roman needs to be put down
So Johann goes to see evil Russian doctor and asks her to
create a substance that will cause acute haemophilia – and remind her she’s
there for results, not to ask questions.
Miranda and Peter go back to Destiny’s for card reading
(yeah, that’s what we’ll call it. Though Peter insists he’s being honest even
though Destiny isn’t there). But that’s fine because Miranda wasn’t interested
in Peter’s… cards anyway. Television sex
follows (and
this is a perfect example – I think the camera tried to film this sex scene
without Peter being in shot at ALL). During sex her eyes water, but she
dismisses it. They have a post sex ex-talk which is really depressing since she’s
clearly sad about hers and he is really cut up about his dead ex
To a random woman and child coming home and meeting a
policeman – who has a silver mask and a cohort in his car – these killers seem
to be targeting families or at least a parent and child.
To the actual police station where the police are
suspicious of their new sheriff who apparently works late. Given everything
else going on in Hemlock Grove, this is what they get suspicious about? The
sheriff is Michael Chasseur and he’s definitely investigating Roman and Olivia
and the deaths from season 1.
Peter and Roman have another psychic dream and Roman
checks on his crying daughter. How goes quiet and points seconds before Peter
rings the doorbell. Before.
KILL IT WITH FIRE! Creepy babies are high on the NO! list.
Peter has made a connection between the dreams and deaths
and thinks the latest predicts another death made to look like an accident like
all the others. Peter also apologises for abandoning Roman. Roman thaws a little
and tells Peter his part of the dream so he can track it down.
Shelley continues to bond with the odd kid who brings her supplies. He has a deformed toe which he shows her to reassure her he’s not put off by her appearance. He unwraps her hands which have many sores on them and long, sharp nails.
Olivia texts Norman and he arrives to find her in tears and she kisses him. They have sex. Tearful sex seems to be a thing this episode. His post sex talk is very very boring and mundane so Olivia very pointedly ignores him. When he doesn’t take the hint she goes to the bathroom – where Marie is dead, face down in the bathtub. Actually, body down, her neck has been twisted so she’s face up. Let it be known that one does not let loose both barrels at Olivia.
We have a lot going on now, with the hunters and
Christina and Shelley – I would say too much but these storylines are also
likely more interesting than the main ones, they certainly have characters I
care more about (which isn’t saying a lot).
My complaint about the last episode needs repeating.
Waaay too much attempt to ram atmosphere – not establish atmosphere – RAM it.
Lots of tiny mini-scenes (like Shelley finding the house and a child giving her
an apple) which don’t seem to add an awful lot. We’re creeping along with lots
of atmosphere and ten bajillion storylines all of which are sloooowly inching
forwards. Since this is only a 10 episode seasons I rather think that each
storyline can’t be meaty.
For that matter, stylistically, these tiny 2 minute
scenes, cut to the next, 30 second scene, cut to the next is annoying.
In the police station was either a trans woman or a man
in woman’s clothing - it wasn’t made clear, the clothing suggests that they’re
a sexy worker arrested for taking a dump in the street – they’re there for “background
colour” in the police station and clearly just to be mocked or some sign of the
things the police have to deal with. It hardly counts as LGBT representation. It
also reminds me of the two women kissing while Roman looked on, not because
that was nearly as offensive as this scene, but because again LGBT people are
being used as… background characterisation. Not only background
characterisation but characterisation in some very tropey and offensive ways
