Wellspring – The show begins with a Wellspring commercial about DNA kits. Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) calls Mark Higgins (Matt McGorry) to tell him about his father, Dr. Steven Turner (Charlie Hudson III) in 1994 footage from the Visser building apartment fire archive. Dr. Turner was an NYU psychologist. In the footage, Rockland workers removed Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) from the Visser building. Dan calls Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan) a “liar.” He believes Virgil knows what is in the archive tapes and meeting him was not by chance. Mark says he can continue working or leave. Dan tells Mark to go through his father’s medical files from NYU at his aunt’s house.

Dan repairs another tape. The footage shows Melody with Jessica “Jess” (Ariana Neal) on a run to pick up items for the Visser tenants. Their conversation is interrupted by Father Russo (Martin Sola) who invites Melody to a Sunday service. Melody finds a VHS tape called “The Secret of NIMH.”  She says it was her favorite childhood book. Jess picks up a camera and points it toward Melody. She is going to make poem movies like Melody. They meet the Visser tenant, Cassandra Wall (Kristin Griffith). Jess gives her a package. She places her cheeks against Melody’

They visit Beatriz Reyes (Sol Miranda) who says she is from San Juan. She moved to Visser to stay with Alicia, her cousin. She calls the residents “strange” because they belong to a sex club. She does a tarot reading, the first card represents pain, and the second card represents something hidden.

Melody tells Beatriz about Emma Bennet, a historian who was last seen at the Visser building. Beatriz tells her about a woman who residents in 4G on the 4^th floor. She hasn’t been seen in years, but someone empties her mailbox when it gets too full. The third card represents death.

As Melody tries to pull a letter out of the 4G mailbox, Samuel (Evan Jonigkeit) says it is a $2K fine. He admits to only joking and tells her about a skeleton key given to him by his nephew. He agrees to let her borrow it if she gets desperate. He invites her to The Sanctuary for Tamara Stefano’s (Kate Eastman) opera. She accepts his offer.

Melody picks out an outfit for her first visit to The Sanctuary when her answering machine plays a message from Dr. Turner. Her former roommate, Anabelle (Julie Chan) gave him her phone number. She mutters under her breath, “Fu**ing hell.” Their last meeting didn’t end well but he wants to know how she is faring.

While looking for a cellular signal, Dan discovers a concrete building in the woods. The front door is locked. He places a ladder against the building and climbs up to the top, where he gets a signal strong enough to call Mark. He leaves a message about Melody who was her father’s patient. He asks him to look for Melody’s file in his father’s stuff. He spots someone in a red coat watching from a short distance away. The individual gets away. He contacts LMG to ask if someone else is there with him. The operator refuses to answer his question and suggests a professional be sent over. He denies being mentally stressed. As he searches for a video, he talks to the rat about LMG and a potential serial killer in red. He finds a copy of “The Secret of NIMH.”

Dr. Turner appears in a red coat and muddles something that is not audible. Dan follows him through the hallway and watches him enter a room. He knocks on the door to find Melody standing there. He suddenly wakes up and takes his medicine.

Melody is at The Sanctuary to watch the “Purgatory” opera. She meets Tamara at the bar. When she tells her Samuel invited her, Tamara laughs and instantly walks away. Samuel approaches as she orders a beer. Melody begins to feel ill during the performance. Samuel escorts her to the bar for a drink. He teaches medieval and renaissance studies at Columbia University in NYC. She says that explains how you can afford the penthouse property on the 4^th floor. Her mother bought the camcorder, “Constance”, for a graduation gift. Her mother died several years ago. She tells him about the sex club rumors. He says Beatriz is talking about the Visser Historical Society. He promises to connect her with someone who may know about Julia Bennett. He escorts her back to the Visser and gives her a skeleton key. She kisses him before he goes for wine.

The 4G mailbox is empty. Jess startles her when she says no one lives in 4G. Mr. Smith may have tossed the mail in the trash. Melody is not happy about Anabelle showing up announced. Annabelle teases her about Samuel. She questions why she gave her phone number to Dr. Turner. Samuel arrives with a bottle of wine. He says they can do it another night and leaves. Melody angrily walks up to the camera and the screen gets snowy. Before the screen goes snowy, he hears someone say, “I gonna knock down your wall and let them all spill out.”

Dan finds a mess the rat made. He goes to retrieve a broom when he notices the wall sounds hollow. He taps and pushes on the wall. With the items out of the way, he hits the wall with a large pipe wrench. He utilizes a flashlight to make his way down a set of steps. He finds a room filled with tapes. An unlocked door leads to a room with pews and songbooks. He finds an etching, TB+AF, on the back of one of the pews when Virgil says, “I didn’t know you were religious.” He approaches Dan, with the pipe wrench in his hand. He tells Dan about being on the debate team. His last topic was “Jesus.” He refers to Jesus as a demon. Dan tells him about his father in the Visser tapes.

Virgil invites Dan to enter a room filled with file cabinets. He removes a file and says he wasn’t for sure Dr. Turner was involved. He gives him a picture of Melody and a dog. Melody was a patient of Dr. Turner’s at NYU. He denies knowing what is in the Visser archive. The fire department never determined the cause of the Turner family’s house fire. He suggests Dr. Turner was responsible for the fire. Dan doesn’t agree. NYC initiated an investigation into Dr. Turner before the fire. He was placed on temporary leave. Dan agrees to continue restoring the Archive file. He agrees to throw in a bonus. The room is off-limits from here on out. Before Virgil leaves, he recommends Dan ride to the nearest town 14 miles away.

Dan repairs another tape. A concerned Melody appears on the screen. A strange chanting noise is coming from the radiator. Annabel sleeps through the noise. Melody follows the chanting to a group of people, along with Samuel, Tamara, and Cassandra. They appear to be worshiping an evil idol inside a cabinet. The chanting stops and Samuel approaches the idol. Melody hides in a closet as the group leaves. The door to the cabinet is sealed. Tamara and Samuel are making strange noises as they have sex. Dan continues watching until the noise is too loud to handle. Samuel zips up his pants as Melody watches.

She returns to her room and ignores Annabel when she asks about Samuel. She tells her about the Visser tenants worshiping the idol. Annabel suggests they leave and asks why she is here. She came to Visser for her birth mother, Julia Bennett. Her mother left her with nothing, and it has been eating at her forever. She needs to know her true identity. Annabel encourages her when someone knocks on the door. No one is at the door.

Samuel rides a bike to meet Mark. The song his sister played on the piano is the same as in the Visser tapes. He gives Mark a paper with what he believes is the name of the song. The home is filled with surveillance cameras. LMG is linked to Russia that may be an offshoot of an offshoot. Mark gives Dan a bag of cassette tapes marked M. Pendras from his father’s medical files. Dan doesn’t know if Melody filed the complaint on his dad that led to his temporary suspension. Mark says Melody is living in Pittsburgh as the episode comes to an end.

 

Archive 81 Review

The episode adds to the mystery behind the Visser fire. The slowing pace may result in boredom if not very careful. At times, there is not enough going on to hold your attention. Eight episodes may be two or three too many.

Dina Shihabi is an aspiring actress, but her facial expression never changes. The scowl on her brow has been constant throughout two episodes.

Mamoudou Athie sounds as if he is reading his lines instead of performing them. Actors like Jamie Dornan, Andrew Lincoln, and Yael Stone hide their regional accents flawlessly. Athie appears to be struggling in this category.

I can’t describe the series as captivating, but I can say it will make you question good and evil.

The episode deserves a 6. Get more Archive 81 recaps here. If you like what the ReelMockery team does, click on the link to support our work.