Glitch, Season 2, Episode 6: The Letter

It’s the last episode and I want answers….

Which isn’t going to happen

Instead we have Phil in prison being questioned by James and he’s dancing around all kinds of answers: Phil makes a big slightly epic speech about there being rules to the universe and one of those big ones is that living things are born, live and die in that order. This is how things are, this is how things should be. And it is Phil’s job to enforce those laws

He doesn’t answer when James asks if he’s enforcing them for god but I am doubling down on my belief they’re angels. It’s all very ominous

He does say he is like Phil - he has Phil’s body and memories - but also admits to possession pretty much.

James then gets a call from Beau telling him that Paddy has been shot - James realises there’s another like Phil and Vic out there and he goes to Beau to help him

Beau is actually kind of sad about Paddy which I still think doesn’t have enough reinforcement - there’s still little reason for Beau to value this man. But it does give James and Beau chance to talk - revealing that Beau was there when the dead crawled from their graves (he visits the graveyard to think about his father - who isn’t buried there. But Paddy, a male ancestor, was). I think they cross the boundary though - because Paddy’s body turns to dust which all spookily blows away: Beau remembers Vic’s body doing the same thing after Phil messed with it. James is more distracted by a bullet left behind in the dust - a bullet like the ones the police use

Without a body to dispose of James can leave Beau and go check in with the others telling them Paddy’s dead and someone else is out to kill them - and they need a place of safety (Kate takes a brief time out to check in with Owen and say that she can’t be with him for reasons). The only place they can think of is Norgard - using Nichola Hysen’s security. Especially since the ever shrinking boundary is centred there.

There’s not a lot of trust but Kate is convinced enough for her and the others to join William while James goes off. Inside Nichola explains Elishia’s research: chemicals + sounds + stem cells = magic, basically. With a heavy emphasis on memories being what makes them people rather than copies, clones etc etc. And they think they can fix the Boundary - but it will also kind of involve bringing Elishia back again - or so they hope.

While everyone’s out and about, Sarah frees Phill and they have their own in depth discussion - he is doubting her resolve. He also doesn’t understand why she’s looking after Nia since the baby gives her nothing and it’s an entirely one way relationship. Sarah can’t exactly explain it, just saying it’s love and what you do because love is pretty hard to understand. She’s also torn up about killing Paddy - and killing him in front of Beau, likely traumatising him. I think we see Phill isn’t entirely a stranger to parental responsibility since he actually says that Beau has him now. There’s a definite sense of a connection there.

We get more ominous talk about how they’re basically stuck in these bodies until they die as well - as is right and proper - and some conflict over whether that’s punishment or reward. Phill is growing to like his humanity

Following research they realise the dead have fled to Norgard and Sarah leaves her baby with the awesome midwife. While James has put 2 and 2 together and realised that Sarah is his other killer

It’s less 2 and 2 to make 4 and more 2 and 2 to make 766567 but run with it, it’s a short show. He calls her and is full of rage and grief and horror that this monster has possessed his dead wife and now has their baby...while Sarah tearfully tries to convince him she’s still Sarah (and a killing angel person).

James naturally checks on his baby first before running to the rescue

At Norgard, Hysen’s security is non existent. We’ve seen this before when William first left. So Phil and Sarah have no problem breaking in (especially since Phil is in a relationship with Ellen, Beau’s mother, who works there) and Kate, Kirstie and Charlie all run to the cemetery where Nichola and William are already practicing some science woo-woo - in the process Charlie is shot but not killed.

Glitch, Season 2, Episode 5: Walking Wounded

So we ended on a tense moment last episode with James finding Phil’s bloody clothes in the washing hamper and demanding an explanation from Sarah - she fumbles and finally recounts how she was bleeding heavily from the vagina after her pregnancy and she used this t-shirt to stem the blood. Her heartbreaking recount naturally directs James to get her to the hospital where they focus on making sure Sarah is well and awesome midwife is there to look after her. And free James up to return to shenanigans when suitably reassured that she’s ok

Kirstie has finally tracked down her murderer - it’s policeman Chris’s brother. A man in a wheelchair and with a brain injury after rolling his car when he was 19. Chris insists his brother doesn’t remember anything which is not nearly enough for Kirstie. Chris won’t let her see him and Kirstie accuses him of letting his brother get away with rape and murder.

Which he is. Though this can be described without disabled slurs.

She leaves and calls James who is bemused as to what exactly he can do - he can’t exactly arrest a man for murdering someone who is actually alive. He’s more concerned with whoever killed Elishia since he assumes that a man in a wheelchair isn’t a threat (this is a problematic assumption that infantilises disabled people - it doesn’t take the ability to walk to use a gun).

James briefly holds onto the idea that Owen is the one responsible for the murder of Elishia but finally admits this is way more to do with Kate’s relationship and his inability to get over her than anything else. Perhaps finally leaving that red herring alone he goes to collect Paddy because he wants them all together and safe. Oh James, don’t you know that working with the Risen is like herding cats? He speaks to Beau and learns what Paddy’s up to but also that his step-dad Phil is in town and had a near death experience

James makes a not-entirely-unreasonable-but-still-a-bit-of-a-reach conclusion and tells everyone that Phil is the killer. Because near-death = possession. He also gives Chris a talking to about hiding his rapist brother but with everything else going on he kind of puts a pin in that.

James’s whole demeanour this episode is “seriously?! Now what!”

Of course, everyone has scattered to the four winds. It started with a reasonable assumption that being in public was actually safer than being isolated in a cabin, but they quickly start splitting up

Kirstie tracks down her murderer and tries to confront him about his crimes - but he cannot remember them due to his head injury no matter how she threatens him she doesn’t get an admission or any satisfaction. It’s a moving and painful scene to see her pain and anger and having no real recourse for that - not even the empty satisfaction of screaming in her victimiser’s face.

Glitch, Season 2, Episode 4: A Duty of Care

Elishia is buried by James and William who is the saddest of sad pandas. James is also pouty because he starts praying then has a tantrum. And honestly I don’t know if anyone really showed that much care for her before.

William assumes that Nichola Hysen is the culprit which isn’t exactly poor reasoning - but he does disagree with the idea that Nichola is like old policeman Vic who tried to kill the Risen - because Nichola wanted William alive.

They do tell the other Risen who all despair and panic especially with the boundary shrinking and Elishia not being around to fix it - since she created it (more news from William). They decide they’re under threat and need to guard the place - so James tries to give Kate his gun. She refuses because… well because James and he could offer her water while she was dying of thirst and she’d still throw it back. But also because she says she doesn’t know how to use a gun. So James keeps his gun

Hey, remember Charlie was an actual soldier who fought in a war? Y’know it’s JUST POSSIBLE he might know how to use a gun!

Once James is gone, the under threat endangered risen promptly decide to scatter to the four winds. James would have better luck herding cats.

Kirstie is determined to find out who murdered her and Charlie - dispatched by Kate to stop her running off- becomes her willing servant in questioning her friend who is now an estate agent. Honestly everyone needs to stop treating Charlie as their personal sidekick.

It’s all awkward because Charlie is super inexperienced in the modern world and definitely not used to buying modern houses. But through questioning and Kirstie’s slow recovery of her memories they learn what happened: Vicky hasn’t abandoned her friend, she’s traumatised and trying to protect her son. Back before she was murdered, Kirstie saw Vicky being raped (fathering her son); Vicky tried to keep quiet and hide but Kirstie wasn’t going to let the popular football players get away with their crime and was a vocal criticism - leading to her being targeted and dying

The whole scene is painful, traumatic and dramatic and mixed up with Charlie’s fumbling feels unnecessary.

Glitch, Season 2, Episode 3: All Too Human

We add a little more belated angst to James as he remembers in his dreams that Vic, dead cop Vic, was the one who helped pull him out of a bottle when he succumbed to despair after Kate died. So he totally owed him and then he murdered him which was super super sad.

When he wakes up (and finds Sarah already awake with the baby) she is there to offer support and point out he clearly is keeping things for her. So he confesses to kill Vic… ok, I admit that was… surprising how quickly he just admitted to murdering a colleague… but ok. He talks this through with her and she is… even more surprisingly ok with this? I mean she’s not cheering but she’s not exactly shaken either. She decides he “did what he had to”. But he’s worried that Chris is going to find the truth so Sarah advises telling him as much as possible so he trusts James more. Which makes sense. Oh and he should exploit Chris’s desperate wish to keep Kate safe

Because Sarah is also kind of savagely ruthless… Sarah is slightly worrisome.

He takes this advice and when Chris confronts him about lying - because Sarah has already told him there are more Risen out there. Sarah is up to something. James wins Chris over by revealing that, yes, there are more Risen, Kate is under threat and sadly Vic was acting totally weird and he’s not saying he killed Vic but nor is he saying he didn’t either… Vic just vanished. Convenient.

This means Chris also gets introduced to the other Risen who collectively… don’t really care

See Phil visited them during the night looking for Elishia - but she’s gone. Something Kate discovers when she wakes up. She calls James who tells them to wait there for him and Kate being Kate she promptly stomps out because he can’t tell her what to do!!!!!! Seriously, this is the only reason she leaves. If he told her not to hug a shark she’d be heading to the coast right now.

That leaves Kirstie to recount that Elishia has escaped and be huffy because James is less interested in her remembering more details about her murder (her best friend Vicky was there but when the police interviewed her she even denied being her friend - so she drags her best friend/servant Charlie off to go confront her) than he is in the fact Kate has sloped off again.

Kate tries to drive off but ends up running into the Boundary so instead hangs around a bit and meets Sarah - who rather brutally asks her not to steal James from her now she has a baby; she firmly believes that James loves Kate and would leave her if Kate asks. Kate insists that she definitely would never do that (especially since she’s storming around so much lately hating his every breath) and offers to help babysit because they’re friends. Sarah says they aren’t. Which is… probably honest but also harsh. Normally I’d frown at such jealousy and woman-vs-woman but I think this works as a) woo-woo or b) part of the ongoing depiction of post natal depression that we’ve seen on Sarah with her insecurities running overdrive

And I include a because she meets Phil. So last episode I assumed she’d actually texted Vic and got Phil because he stole Vic’s phone. Nope, she was actually sending information to Phil… he wants to know where Elishia is and when she says she doesn’t know she agrees to both dig up more info - and he does the weird and super creepy mouth-to-mouth-information drain on her. Which also cures her persistent headache. Definitely some woo-woo going on. Things are getting damn confusing.

Phil now has a lead to Elishia - Nichola Hysen the evil scientist who works with Nogard. Elishia is also thinking of Nichola. She and William/John Doe are on the run and she’s not entirely happy that Nichola told William who he was. But they both remember each other and feel deeply connected. When pressed to explain this weirdness, Elishia insists she can’t explain it in words becauese that would be too easy. I bet by the end of this season I can.. But she does reveal she deliberately brought William back and the others were an accident.

She is concerned about his butchered hand and wants to take him to the clinic - except of that pesky boundary nearly kills him. Note again that despite being risen she isn’t bound by the same rules.

Glitch, Season 2, Episode 2: Two Truths

James returns to the Risen because gods forbid he spend 5 minutes with his wife and child. I’m choosing to think this is a terrible director decision to try and cram everything into this improbably short season and not because James is just an arsehole.

He takes Elisha to the other Risen while explaining about the whole Boundaries changing and their old hide out being ransacked and all - she claims ignorance but James is super suspicious of her now he knows she’s also one of the Risen, possibly caused the others to Rise and hasn’t told any of them.

All Elisha is interested in is finding John Doe - or William as we now know - she’s terrified that Norgard has him and insists that Norgard will kill him. Norgard is also the utter worst and she insists she was just a contractor there. She doesn’t know how she came back from the dead, she died of a seizure and Norgard was experimenting on her. Which seems… dubious to experiment on your own researcher. She insists she cares about the others and she came to Yoorana and the head of Norgard to try and find some answers - and protect them from Nicola the ultra big bad

James is similarly doubtful and intends to check with Norgard for himself. And because he doesn’t trust Elisha he’s going to handcuff her to the stove and leave her guarded by Kirstie

But first we have awkwardness with James and Kate - starting with him walking in on her having sex with super sexy neighbour Owen having sex (thank you for the far far too brief visual). So she’s pissed. Unfortunately she decides she’s also coming with him to Norgard. And when James objects (I mean she’s has no credentials or reasons to do so while he is a police officer) she stomps and growls that he can’t tell her what to do

She also decides to assume the identity of a detective. Despite having no qualifications. No badge. No credentials. No ID. She puts on a baseball cap which totally is a detective disguise. Oh and she’s also dressed as… as… honestly I can’t think of a job which would consider her clothes remotely professional.

And this is why I’m increasingly disliking Kate. Because her asserting her independence and resisting James’s control would be good. Her being a little annoyed and put out by the whole ex-husband is now married with a kid is understandable. But her asserting her agency feels like, well, Spunky Agency. She isn’t making a lot of sense, is generally unpleasant and not making a whole lot of sense. She is expressing her agency but her agency isn’t making a lot of sense and is generally annoying

Just in case we had any questions as to who is actually evil, Nicola takes William to Norgard to reveal his history (including being flogged and executed as a murderer) - and that Elisha knew who he was. She also has ominous evidence that Elisha has been feeding her information - she has samples from all the Risen. It looks dubious but Elisha did mention she was trading information in the hope for answers

But if there was any evil doubt, Nicola decides the best way to experiment on the Risen is to tie John down and cut off his fingers to see if they can make them regrow

Yeah, definitely evil there.

Luckily for John he’s guarded by both a highly gullible scientist and this while highly secure facility is guarded by one person (when James and Kate visit they wonder what top secret research facility has a guard. I wonder what top secret research facility only has one guard).

Glitch, Season 2, Episode 1: A Rare Bird

We start with a flashback to remind us of the big reveal: Elisha, the doctor who has been our source of science and medicine in this show, is actually one of the Risen herself. She died 4 years ago - before the rest - and then faked her continued death before staggering out of her lab and her life all alone.

This news is passed on to James who is super distracted by it - which is probably a really bad thing because his wife Sarah has just had a baby and could use some support and he’s all distracted by the walking dead. Sarah has every right to be pissed to be honest - not only do they have a new born baby but Sarah nearly died during child birth so some support might be nice. James stop seeing dead people, you got a damn baby!

Another distraction is his colleague Chris who is not an entirely incompetent policeman and he’s noticed that Vic, the evil cop from last season, is missing (dead and buried) and he’s not falling for all the very basic red herrings.

See this is what comes of burying bodies rather than feeding them to crocodiles. Or koalas. Isn’t a body in Australia just eaten by the wildlife if you leave it unattended for 5 minutes?

James herds three of the other Risen off to a cabin he has to try and keep them out of trouble. Kirstie is snarky but obedient. Charlie is a doormat because… he always is and just about everyone challenges him on being a doormat this episode. Except it’s less “stop being a doormat” and more “damn it Charlie, be MY doormat”.

While Kate, James’s not-dead ex-wife has decided to move on a little from the whole Sarah/James/Kate love triangle which is something as a relief. But she’s decided to… act out like an angry teenager? I mean, I totally support her “James you don’t get to tell me what to do!” stance, but her “I’m gonna do this because James doesn’t want me to!” is not exactly something I’m running with and it all feels like she’s just being… petulant because Sarah has a baby? Anyway she falls in with neighbour Owen who is made of hotness and they both go swimming in a waterhole together (in Australia. This must be suicidal). But it’s ok because they’re both local and know where the big scary snake is (hey let’s go swimming and just swim round the… lethal snake. Australians are… odd people). They smoke cannabis and bond and discuss his dead parents and he is very very very very very hot

James is concerned because she’s telling someone she just met her name and possibly exposing herself.

Meanwhile Paddy is rampaging around being Paddy. He wants to prove his land was willed to the wrong people and has a copy of his will - except it’s several decades older than federal Australia and going to be difficult to prove. While he’s trantrumming and pouting his lawyer will do some research. In the meantime he recruits Charlie for shenanigans at the house he intends to “defend”. Charlie goes along because doormat+homophobic slurs

The Returned, Season 2, Episode 8: Les Revenants

It’s time for the concluding episode of The Returned which begins with just about everything falling apart.

The soldiers pretty much give up trying to do anything about the Returned after the big escape last week – especially when the priest tells their leader everything and he, rather shellshocked, decides to side step the whole issue and let any further return they’ve gathered go (apart from anything else they’re creepy). Simply because he has no clue what’s happening or what to do. It’s actually pretty well done and not as simplistic as it sounds – he steps back from a situation that has pretty much shattered all he knows: he falls back on the words of a priest who simply tell him to help. And with the dead rising, a priest isn’t exactly an unreasonable person to talk to.

Helping Hand, Pierre’s cult, collapses – with Sandrine dead, Frederick dead in a firefight with Claire (he shoots Camille) and Audrey actually eating her mother (yes – zombie-like. Looks like the Returned do eat flesh – though this may be because Audrey was separated from the others. Camille explains she starts to rot and get marks when she is apart from the other zombies) absolutely no-one believes it’s still a safe place. I’m not sure whether a group under attack wouldn’t just hunker down, so I’m not entirely buying it but it’s not so far outside the realm of possibility – especially since Pierre kept bringing the threat to them which was pretty inclined to leave them alone otherwise

Pierre, all alone, is confronted by Berg, Etienne and Victor – and we learn that Pierre was the last man from the suicide Circle. He was the man who killed Milan but couldn’t bring himself to kill himself. He goes to Milan, who in turn has lost his faith (since Victor has said he basically didn’t want any of this to happen and he was Milan’s divine figure). Pierre shoots himself, following in the culty footsteps

We have lots more foreshadowing of Victor’s specialness: both Lucy looking for him 35 years ago when she first came to town (further adding her as one of the leaders of the mystery) and Victor returning to his dad after being murdered. Something of a shock for papa, but he hid the boy for all those years drawing the spooky spooky pictures that predicted just about everything that happened in the show to date. Victor didn’t age in those 35 years, but his dad did and, eventually died.

Victor begged him to come back… which seems to be what caused the Return to happen. Victor begging his dad to come back. Somehow I find Victor accidentally bringing everyone back rather more spooky than him having a diabolical purpose

The Returned, Season 2, Episode 7: Etienne

It’s all happening this episode – especially since the army has decided to stop just, well, being there and is actually doing something.

Of course we begin with a flashback to 35 years ago and we learn a bit more about Marin, everyone’s least favourite person. It turns out that Marin is was the head of a cult called the Circle – a suicide cult. After the first dam burst and so many died, the cult killed each other, including Etienne, the man who built the first dam which collapsed and had a whole lot of guilt

Of course Victor was there. He was also there years before when Etienne was building the dam – and told him not to because people will die. Did I mention that Victor was creepy? Because Victor is creepy.

In the present everything seems to be happening. Lucy tries to lead her army of the dead but even she is losing control – she can’t get Virgil to convince Camille to join them and Virgil himself loses faith in her. Even Morgane leaves her side. She seemed to be the last person in control

She also loses control over Etienne – now reborn and with no memories, he’s been found by Berg, his son, who takes him home.

The army, through various means, ends up with The Segeuret family, Adele, Chloe, baby Nathan, Milan and Victor all in custody (even if they’re not calling it custody). They have lots of questions which are awkward for everyone to answer –including the identity of Camille, what happened to the vanished Nathan (who has a mark on his arm – which may be the beginning of the marks some of the zombies get). Milan seems to be the only one who knows what is going on – and all he does is spout crypticness about his Circle cult.

Until he see Victor who is concerned because he keeps having dreams of Milan killing Julie. Milan is convinced everything is Victor’s choice and in his power. Victor chooses who comes back. Victor is behind everything and Milan is a loyal follower

The Returned, Season 2, Episode 6: Esther

The Esther this episode is named after is one of Serge’s victims (who have all converged on Serge’s house to be creepy and manikin like) – we get a flashback of Serge murdering her after she ignored creepy Victor’s warning. Yes that kid gets everywhere. Toni, still torn between love for his brother and horror for what his brother has done has grabbed onto this as a sign that Serge is being given a second chance (whether he wants it or not – and maybe Serge doesn’t want it, but Toni certainly does).

All of them are pretty much catatonic so Toni decides to take Esther to where she lived, since he recognises her. That doesn’t do a lot – she’s still unresponsive until she decides to set off walking until she arrives at the tunnel where she died. Here Toni screams at his brother to apologise (this whole scene is far more about Toni’s guilt than Serge’s) and, when Serge does, Esther is suddenly conscious – and asks about Victor.

Victor himself is still lurking with Madame Costa when Frédéric and Luccio (followers of Pierre) find them. Madame Costa argues with them, not impressed by the brandishing of weapons… and Luccio shoots her. Since she’s returned I shouldn’t think it will stick though

Of course he shot her in front of Victor – which means his subsequent suicide could be driven by guilt – or by the very angry and spooky Victor. Frédéric probably isn’t long for this world.

The death does distract Pierre enough for Sandrine to finally reach Audrey, imprisoned in the “Helping hands” and see how much they’re cruelly tormenting her. No matter how much Pierre tells her that Audrey isn’t her daughter I don’t think Sandrine will be able to hold on to that.

Camille’s family drama continues to be dramatic – with Claire trying to attack Virgil with scissors because she hallucinates him holding a knife. Camille, in her less than pleasant way, tells Léna this isn’t the first time – in fact her whole story about being attacked by the zombies was fabricated and Claire just lost her mind and started attacking herself. By the way Camille says it, this is true and not just Camille sticking the knife in.

Léna seems to call Camille’s bluff – determined to go and get help. After all if the zombies didn’t attack Claire then there’s no threat… she goes out being well and truly terrified by the creepy zombies and runs into… Jerome (and the guy who has been hanging around with him. I actually don’t’ know who this is since I thought it was Pierre for a while). Anyway this apparently counts as help so she brings him home for a family reunion

The Returned, Season 1, Episode 10: Peter

Flashback to 29 years ago and some exposition about Peter’s death and we see a much younger Peter and his murderous friend (wait, if Peter died 29 years ago who come he’s aged so much?). Peter’s friend is completely indifferent about killing Henry (Victor) and his mother. Peter is done and decides to leave – which means murderous friend pulls a gun and, in the ensuing struggle, accidentally kills Peter

In the present Peter is packing – he has been asked to leave and isn’t happy about it. Fellow murderer Tommy decides to arrest Peter – he has charges, but let’s be honest, Tommy cares about grudges, not the law and he hates all things Returned

In prison Claire visits him wanting answers – and Peter lies some more, claiming to have died during the dam flood. Claire is pissed – not so much about the lying but because Peter threw Camille to the wolves to try and buy acceptance for himself. She calls him a coward who used her daughter – and rightly so.

At the Winship house some friends of Lena show up showing that not everyone agrees with the insults against Camille and invite them both to come swimming, though Lena is wary. At the swimming hole the guys who attacked her on facebook are there – and apologise. It seems to go well with Lena making up with generic cute boy whose name I don’t remember and then they break out the magic mushrooms because nothing can go well – Lena is pissed because while Camille may have been born at the same time of them, she’s still 16.

But they don’t actually do anything – perk of being undead. Unlike to her friends, including Hunter with a knife – he announces Camille isn’t human and cuts her to prove she doesn’t bleed. She does. Everyone thinks this is out of line and, after pushing him to the ground, chase after Camille who has run off (unsurprisingly). They look for her well into the night before Cute Guy finds her; he’s all concerned but still steps back from her attempt to kiss him – she asks why, why Lena and not Camille. He’s stark in his answer – Lena wanted sex, Camille didn’t which is all that mattered to him, but he has changed since then, especially after the bus crash. She decides to go for sex, rather ignoring everything he’d just said, but then, so does he. Of course Lena sees all. And Adam sees her.

Cute guy Ben dies either during or after sex. Wow Camille now has the worst losing-her-virginity story ever.

A new woman comes to town asking questions about the weird black outs and the Winships. Yet MORE Ominous. She tracks down Claire – she is Clara and she does a podcast; she’s a journalist who wants to do a story about zombie Camille. Claire shuts that down

Forever, Season 1, Episode 22: The Last Death of Henry Morgan

I’m not loving this episode title. Not loving it at all. Don’t do this Forever.

In an archive, a woman is checking a delivery, an ancient Roman Gladius (the weapon that killed Adam?). She cuts herself on it… and then we cut to her dead body being found by Jo and Hanson

And Lucas desperately trying to fill Henry’s shoes. Badly. Henry isn’t there because he’s at Abigail’s funeral - something Jo didn’t know

To that deeply touching funeral and Henry doing his best not to fall apart and declaring vengeance against Adam. Eternal vengeance. Literally. We also launch this week’s flashbacks to 1945, Henry and Abigail all happy - and Henry learning that Abigail had an abusive past before meeting them

So to the case and Henry does his Sherlock thing and they identify Blair Dryden who worked in an antiquities museum. To the museum and Diane Clarke, the head curator. Of course Henry goes as well, do we even have to pretend to be surprised by this point?

Henry does his investigating thing and discovers an old roman knife is missing - and of course he thinks of Adam. Hopes for revenge raises its ugly head. Henry runs to see Abe while Adam watches from a distance looking all ominous

Abe hears Adam’s theory about the weapon that can kill them - and quickly locks up Henry’s antique gun which fired the bullet that killed him. He’s also not that happy that Henry decided to keep that gun around - realising that when he is dead there’s a good chance that Henry would also kill himself. Coupled with Henry saying Abigail saved him, Abe repeats what he’s said before - Henry needs someone.

Hanson is all kind of geeky about ancient weapons calling himself practically an expert - though Reece would prefer a real one. And the real one would be Henry, of course. So it’s off to see a Mr. Griffin, an expert in ancient weapons who Blair spoke to. Also played by John Noble so everything just got 56% more creepy and 24% more sinister.

He reveals the knife that Blair found was one of the daggers that killed Caesar. And that it’s supposed to be cursed. Next step is Blair’s fiance, Duane, who they just learn about. Interviewing him they learn about a fake mugging (well… actual mugging) that Duane’s friend Xander pulled on Blair to steal the dagger (in that he actually did steal from her with violence it really is an ACTUAL mugging. Oh Blair, this guy was not a keeper).

The Returned, Season 1, Episode 9: Helen

Opening flashback - 29 years ago and Helen being upset reading about Victor and his mother’s murder. She’s sure that the murder is just a harbinger of terrible things to come - and that some mysterious “they” have taken her clothes and perfume.

They would be the mental institution she’s been locked in for trying to burn down the town hall. She’s not encouraging when she tells her husband how she’d do it again and burn it all down. As he leaves she sadly says “you used to say you loved the way my mind worked.” The burst dam washes away the mental hospital and destroys Helen’s escape attempt

In the present day Helen is involved with booze, a guy in a truck and heading towards explosives - after asking previously how to bring the dam down again. She has sex with the man to get a guide of the explosives in the run down mine. She kills him and takes the map to the explodey stuff which she then stocks up on.

Julie is a little concerned that Victor, the world’s creepiest kid, killed Tony. Victor responds with a creepy smile. Because creepy.

Nikki researches Victor - finding a string of women who took in a silent, nameless boy who looked like Victor before they all died. She tries to warn Julie about the creepy murder child but only gets Victor on the phone.

She hurries to Julie’s to find Victor and creepy, flickering lights. Julie is there - but suddenly very hostile for Nikki, blaming her for not being with her when she was attacked. Does this seem bizarre? Yes because Julie is actually in the shower, this Julie is a hallucination Victor is conjured because CREEPY. Hallucination Julie makes Nikki fall down the stairs. Which is what Julie finds - Victor at the top of the stairs and unconscious Nikki at the bottom

Camille discovers the joys of social media and that her “friends” have now spread the word she’s an evil murdering zombie complete with photos of her empty coffin. Lena is still on her side though.

The town is also setting up their new memorial - and the grieving parents want the Winships to stay away because they’re all commemorating the kids they’ve lost and the Winships kind of found there’s again. They’re also blaming Camille for the Kratski’s suicide (when they should be blaming Peter).

The Returned, Season 1, Episode 8: Claire

Opening flashback – Claire photographing Peter then swimming with Peter, then kissing Peter then apparently having sex with him while she discusses how her life changed course when she met Jack, giving up her career as a photographer. She talks about her dreams becoming dreams for her children.

So Claire and Peter were having an affair before Camille died and she and Jack separated.

Despite her talk of her dreams changing, when she returns home she seems to visibly steel herself before going in.

In the present we have another reminder with Camille that the Returned are always hungry and Lena comes home. After a tense moment, the sisters hug and Lena cries. Claire watches and seems relieved

The next day, Lena tells Peter, Jack and Claire about Tony trying to hold her prisoner when she found Lucy’s necklace- implying that Tony kidnapped her in the first place. Jack storms off seeking revenge and certainly doesn’t listen to Peter when he tries to stop him (though he does have a territory-marking “that’s not your daughter, not your family” line.) Peter keeps following him

At the cabin Tony and Adam hear the cars coming and Tony tells his returned brother to leave. Jack attacks Tony and only stops when Peter smacks him with a branch – Peter seems rather bored by the whole thing

Back at the Winship house, Camille examines Lena’s wound and it’s reduced to a small, faded scar. Lena puts it down to a physical representation of her survivor’s guilt and it’s all gone because they’re reconciled and together. It’s a good moment to see the sisters together again

Over to Tommy and Rowan’s house as the emergency services cart out the body of Simon who Tommy just murdered. Together Tommy and Rowan lie about what happened to cover up Tommy’s murder.

Tommy decides the best way to commemorate murder cover up is with flowers, while Rowan has thrown out the carpet Simon bled all over. He has a brief moment of panic where he thinks Rowan has hurt herself – but she’s just resting and listening to music. Rowan helps Tommy justify murdering Simon – because Simon was suicidal it’s totally ok to murder him, apparently (and can we add how much worse this is since Rowan herself has tried to kill herself?). Now time for post-murder wedding planning and sex.

At the police station Nikki is doing her own digging – and finds the case in 1986 when Victor and his mother were murdered. With photographs clearly showing Victor. She hurries to Julie’s in the middle of the night to tell her about the zombie child she’s hosting. But Julie doesn’t want to know, she says whatever terrible thing happened to Victor is in the past (and yes we have a whole shed load of projecting here). She’s also decided she has been chosen by fate to take care of Victor.

The Returned, Season 1, Episode 7: Rowan

Opening flashback! This time to a year ago.

It’s a flashback to Rowan’s life (which seems to involve a lot of cleaning) with Chloe and Tommy –but still hallucinating Simon (this is before Simon returned so it’s an actual hallucination this time).

Hallucination Simon is quite vicious in his put downs. Ominously, Rowan tearfully writes letters (looking like she’s ready to emulate Simon’s suicide) but Tommy gets worried and checks up on herm, getting her medical help for the pills she took

In the present day things are still these but more because of the murders Tommy is investigating. (Or not murders since Lucy came back).

Simon hasn’t given up and tells Chloe to tell Rowan he’s coming to pick them both up – because he hasn’t taken the hint of them not showing up the first time

Chloe and Victor meet in the playground while Julie and Nikki are all cute and couply in the distance – Chloe asks Victor if Julie and Nikki are his mothers and reveals her dad is dead and returned; Victor tells her he’s also in the dead club. But definitely not an angel.

Rowan goes the therapy and she’s had something of a breakthrough – she’s furious. She’s furious that she’s spent so much time and money wallowing in Simon when he left her (through suicide). She refuses to do it any more and hands over all of her pills. Which isn’t medically sound.

Which is why she’s scared and angry when she hears that Simon spoke to Chloe – and told her he was coming for them.

In the Winship house, Camille tells Claire that telling her wannabe-boyfriend Ben that she’s a zombie is apparently not a great romantic strategy.

Camille’s friends decide to dig up Camille’s body. There is no body in the coffin – but it is full of water. They’re also caught grave robbing which adds to the stuff Tommy has to worry about. He questions them and doesn’t entirely buy that the body wasn’t in the coffin. When he threatens to charge them, Ben tells Tommy that Camille is back.

So Tommy goes to the Winships and demands they take Camille (or “Alice”) to the station with her ID (uh… based on what?)

Claire and Peter warn Jack before deciding on their next plan – a revelation to the whole group of grieving parents who lost kids in the bus disaster. They trot out Camille and reveal who she really is. Unsurprisingly, Chris, one of the parents wants to know why Camille and not her daughter – even lashing out at how mean she was. Camille flees the room.