My Love And I – As the sixth episode of Devil In Ohio begins, Rhoda Morrison (Samantha Ferris) tries to convince Suzanne (Emily Deschanel) to get therapy because she is accused of a HIPAA violation. Suzanne agrees to do the session to ensure they don’t bring it up to the board. When she takes Dani (Naomi Tan) something to drink, Dani tells her that she didn’t go home with Melissa because she went to hang out with 8th graders. Helen (Alisha Newton) hasn’t heard anything from Jules or Mae. Peter (Sam Jaeger) arrives to check on his daughter. Mae (Madeleine Arthur) arrives and says Sebastian was giving people rides home. Peter tells them about the fire before Mae says Sebastian offered Jules a ride but she didn’t accept it. Suzanne becomes concerned. Jules (Xaria Dotson) rides with the college student while telling him about Sebastian and Mae. He offers to go with her even though she’ll have to teach him how to dance.

Noah slams on the brakes before telling her to get out. He makes her get out of the car so he can show her the Taurids meteor shower. Noah tells her that she is beautiful. He asks her to meet him at Jefferson Park after dark tomorrow. He draws something on her arm so she’ll have something to remember him by. Detective Alex Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) complains to Gina Brooks (Eva Bourne) that he can’t find anything on Malachi. He wonders what they were doing with the vat by the fire. Gina suggests they were making lard or glycerin. They could be making candles or soap. Gina searches online and finds that glycerin can be mixed with potassium permanganate to create an exothermic chemical reaction resulting in a flame. Alex believes they’re making an accelerant. He came across an arson case that went cold. It was a fire near the Amon County line involving multiple fatalities. There were a couple of John Does and the owner was a small-time poppy grower named Michael Calvo.

The report doesn’t say anything about animal accelerants, but there was a survivor named James Dressler. At home, Peter and Suzanne argue about Jules who is still missing. Peter decides to go search for their daughter. He is adamant that someone should’ve been around tonight. He recommends putting the family first, but Suzanne doesn’t think that is far. She has been working overtime for the past two years to pay for everything while he risked their life savings and the girls’ college fund on a property that went up in flames. Peter claims she only had that job because he supported her for six years while she got her degree. The argument only stops when Jules enters the house and says she got a ride with some kids. In a flashback, teenage Suzanne (Lilah Fitzgerald) remembers coming home late and being questioned by her mother. When Dennis gets home, her mom pretends that nothing is going on. Suzanne goes to her room and listens to music while her parents argue and fight.

During the counseling session, Suzanne says that was her stepfather. Everyone thought he was a charming, good guy on the outside, but he was a monster at home. He verbally and physically abused her mother. She tells Dr. Beverly Daniels (Theresa Wong) that she tolerated it for as long as she could before leaving. Suzanne explains why she looked at the paitent’s file and tried to find someone who could offer Mae peer guidance. Jules comes downstairs where she finds Mae making dinner for everyone. As Jules retrieves her film, Mae apologizes again for last night. She will tell Sebastian she won’t go to the dance with him. Jules says she doesn’t care now that she is talking to someone who goes to OSU. Mae sees the mark on Jules’s arm and demands to know his name. Eventually, Jules reveals that his name is Noah. In a flashback, Noah (Keenan Tracey) tells Mae that she is the one. Mae wants him to talk to their father because it can’t be her.

When she tells Jules that she can’t go out with him, Jules refuses to listen to her. Peter meets with Detective Anne Beechum (Luvia Petersen) at the burned house. He did the wiring but consulted with an electrician to ensure everything was permitted and to code. Peter agrees to send over his contractor’s license. She wants a copy of his financial records for the purchase because she is with the Financial Fraud Unit. Whether it’ll impact his insurance claim will depend on what they find. Suzanne is asked how her mom felt about the abuse. She says her stepfather gaslit her mom into thinking it was her fault. In a flashback, Suzanne yells to tell her mother that Grandma Helen sent them tickets for the bus so they can go live with her, but her mother refuses to go. She always thought her mom would go. She never did though. Lopez goes to confessional and says it is inhumane how some people’s lives are more valuable than others. When they begin talking about addicts, Lopez asks if he is referred to when he lived in Michael Calvo’s squat house.

He wonders if Father James Dressler (Max Montesi) has a few minutes to talk. Mae goes outside to pick some plants. As she goes back in, she is stopped by Peter who wants to know if she likes it here and if they’ve been good to her. After she says yes to both questions, Peter suggests she was scared when he told Suzanne about the fire at the hospital. He asks if she heard something at the bonfire, if her people did it, or if she burned his property. Mae freaks out and gets on her knees. She begins chanting and saying they must rely upon. Peter steps away from her. Dr. Daniels asks Suzanne about the scar. Suzanne explains that she felt trapped so she started acting out by picking fights and staying out later. One night, a cop picked her up wandering around the quarry and Dennis was furious. He wanted to teach her a lesson. He handcuffed her to the heater which started getting hot until it scarred her wrist. Although she let it happen, her mother tries to help after the incident.

Suzanne took all the comfort she could get. James tells Lopez that his life was dark when he was under the influence. He believes he was living at the squat house for a few weeks before it burned down. Michael and his nephews grew and processed the poppies. He doesn’t know who started the fire. When he survived it, he knew that God had given him a chance to start over. When James says he forgives whoever it was, Lopez reveals that is why he didn’t become a priest because some mistakes can’t be fixed. James doesn’t remember anything about the occult or satanic worship at the house. After Lopez asks where the poppy field was, James only remembers some of the guys saying it was over the line. Around there, it meant Amon County. Suzanne admits she knew she had to save herself after that night. A few weeks later, she waited until Dennis had consumed too many drinks. After climbing out of her window and riding away on her bike, she came to Remmingham to live with her deceased father’s mother, Grandma Helen.

At Remmingham High, she met Peter. Her mother would never come and ended up dying of cancer a few years later. Dr. Daniels questions if she ever forgave her mother. Suzanne believes she has survivor’s guilt. Since she couldn’t save her mother from an abusive man, she just tries to rescue people now. Daniels believes there is some resentment because her mother enabled Dennis. She goes on to say there is a little girl inside Suzanne longing to be saved. Dr. Daniels believes she is projecting that onto Mae. There is a problem where when is a gap between who you are and who you think you are. Unless she looks at the unconscious trauma, it could trigger unwanted choices. Suzanne appreciates her opinion, but she just lost sight of her family. She must refocus on her husband and kids. Suzanne knows she got caught up wanting to help Mae, but he won’t let it happen again. Dr. Daniels offers to give her more sessions to discuss it further, but Suzanne doesn’t seem interested.

Jules meets with Isaac and gives him a drink. She tries to smooth things over with Isaac. Jules blames it on Mae who does things that make everything weird. Isaac thinks she is a narcissist. When Isaac learns about Sebastian asking Mae to the Harvest dance, he tells Jules that she is better than that guy. Jules asks if she can come back as his official campaign photographer. He agrees. Mae continues cooking. Jules has ignored many of her text messages. She pulls the plant apart and places pieces of it in a bowl. Moments later, Mae yells for everyone to come down for dinner with Peter coming down first. Mae wants to say grace, but the others say no. Suzanne joins the family. When Mae tries to give Jules a bowl, Jules admits she already ate at Isaac’s house. Jules tells her mother that she is going to meet some kids at Jefferson Park tonight. Her parents agree to let her go, but she has to come back before curfew. After Mae mentions the report they have, Jules decides to get started on it immediately.

Alex Lopez shows Gina a picture of the land so she can spot where the acreage was cleared. He explains it was an illegal poppy field. Gina doesn’t think Malachi and Wilkins would want drugs being grown on their land. Mae follows Jules to the park, scares her, and tells her that she can’t meet Noah. She tells her that the sign he wrote on her arm is a warning. Mae says he is trying to get her to go back. After Jules suggests she should, Mae admits they hurt her. She complains that her own brother, Noah, didn’t even protect her. Her father isn’t well so they need her. Once Noah arrives, he begins looking around for Jules but it looks like she is gone. At home, Peter brings firewood inside as Suzanne apologizes for last night. Peter apologizes as well. Suzanne learns about the fraud investigator who asked for loan papers. Peter tells her about Cheryl’s offer and how it would’ve barely covered his costs. He is worried about what they might dig up.

Peter confesses that he thinks Mae had something to do with it because of what happened when he confronted her about it. He no longer feels comfortable with her around here. It is hard enough around here without her so he thinks she needs to leave now. Mae has been listening to their conversation. Suzanne agrees to find someplace for Mae to go. Mae gets visibly upset. Alex finds the trail camera in his mailbox. Noah returns home and hears preaching inside the house. After Malachi finishes with the young girl, Noah tells him that Mae must’ve gotten to Jules first. He apologizes for failing his father who says he did well. Malachi is hooked to a machine that may be for dialysis. He says Mae refused to heed the call because she always had a mind of her own. Malachi claims Lucifer choose her because he wants them to show strength to their flock. He goes on to say it is Mae’s failure instead of his. She has exposed her attachment and her weakness.

Later that night, Suzanne thinks about what happened to her when she was younger. Her mother enters her room while she is handcuffed to the heater only to leave without helping.

 

Devil In Ohio Review

This episode of Devil In Ohio focused on Suzanne’s past and Malachi trying to find a way to lure Mae back into the cult. The performances are disappointing sometimes and the execution of the story could be a lot better. With so many side stories being juggled simultaneously, it is getting hard to care about anything or any of the characters. The series is likely two or three episodes too long because some of these things could’ve been wrapped up in a few minutes instead of covering them over multiple episodes.

The core of the story could’ve been interesting, but it is getting to the point where I am wondering why I should care. If it had stuck to Mae’s story and the cult, Devil In Ohio could’ve been a creepy drama capable of holding the viewer’s attention for six episodes or so. Instead, the show has its moments but not enough to make it anything other than mediocre.

This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Devil in Ohio can be found on Reel Mockery here. Visitors who wish to support our independent entertainment website can click here to find out how to do so.