Through The Looking Glass – The story begins with a WABC-7 news report about a Queens train accident that claimed the life of a man.

Melody Pendras (Dina Shihabi) is at the hospital with Beatriz Reyes (Sol Miranda.) She walks down the corridor of the hospital to a coffee machine. She hears a strange noise coming from one end of the corridor. She grabs her coffee and turns around to see Dan Turner (Mamoudou Athie) standing in front of her. Startled, she spills her coffee. She wakes up in Beatriz’s hospital room. She walks over to her bed and asks about the man she saw in her dreams. Beatriz’s chest rises and falls. She asks if the man is dead. As Beatriz grabs her arm, warning her to not let it out.

Melody visits Dr. Steven Turner’s office. A lady tells her that Dr. Turner (Charlie Hudson III) is on leave. She drives to his house to plead with him to help her. He gives her a glass of water. She confesses about feeling haunted by dreams of an unknown man. She tells him about what happened during the séance. The man in her dreams is Dr. Turner’s son, Dan who warned her about the danger of remaining in the Visser. He tells her about the complaint that led to his temporary suspension. She denies reporting him to NYU. The complainant claims he violated NYU regulations by posting information online about a student.

A researcher was looking for people, “Baldung,” with unique sensitivity markets similar to hers. The researcher says the subjects felt as if they were being pulled somewhere and created scribbles. He spoke with the researcher who claimed her case was not a match. Anxious, she asks if her symptoms could be real. He believes it is anxiety. She grabs her camera to show the footage from the séance. When his family returns home, he gives her a referral. She stares intently at young Dan turner (Trayce Malachi) when he enters the house and promises to send him the tapes before leaving.

Melody meets Jessica “Jess” Lewis (Ariana Neal) in the library. She asks Jess about her jar. She says client confidentiality. She refuses to tell her if the jar is for Samuel. She enters her apartment to find it empty. She tries to call Anabelle (Julia Chan) but she doesn’t answer. She goes to Jess’ apartment to ask if she has seen Anabelle. Her mother, Erika Lewis (Gameela Wright) refuses to let her talk to Jess and closes the door in her face. She returns to her apartment to watch to séance footage. When Beatriz begins to repeat the conversation between Dan and Melody, the screen scrambles and an evil creature appears. She places the tape in an envelope to mail to Dr. Turner.

As she leaves her apartment, Jess is at the door to tell her about Anabelle. Melody visits Cassandra who tells her Anabelle is in an apartment on the 6^th floor. Cassandra suggests she stop smothering Anabelle. She escorts her to the elevator and utilizes a key to unlock the 6^th floor. She says 6C before leaving her alone in the elevator. She opens the door to find Anabelle painting. Anabelle describes the Visser building as “special” and assumes Melody’s mother was an artist. Melody warns her that they need to leave for home. Anabelle believes Eleanor created a passage to another world. Melody repeats what she previously said about going home. Anabelle says what about your mother. Cassandra joined partners with the East Village Art Collective to get her a show. She pushes Melody out the door while inviting her to her show tonight.

A locked door draws Melody’s attention. She unlocks the door and enters a poorly maintained apartment. People, swaying back and forth, gather around a table. As they turn to look at her, Chris Lee (Zach Villa) approaches from behind. He asks if Father Russo sent her and pleads with her for help. John Smith (Eden Marryshow) enters and demands Chris to leave her alone. He reminds her about staying away from the 6^th floor. She asks if the people in the apartment are cult members. Samuel put the people in the apartment to protect them because they are drug addicts. Samuel’s sister was a drug addict.

She rushes back to her apartment to pack her clothes when Dan briefly appears in the mirror. Chris knocks on her window and pleads with her to let him in. She tells him to leave. He says Anabelle told him they could trust her, and she was looking for her mother. Chris tells Melody, Samuel wants them to stay at the Visser because he needs them to open a door. Samuel supplies the addicts with stardust (mold). The mold is like a vein that runs through the entire building. One hit feels like another world has opened up. He denies knowing anyone named Julia but remembers a woman that looks like her. He asks if she can hear it calling as he places his head against the wall. His chanting causes her distress. She orders him to stop. He agrees to help her find her mother if she gets him a Golden Ticket to rehab. The ferrymen are going to pull him into Hell if he doesn’t get out of the Visser. She agrees and says let’s go now. He anxiously says, no I can’t leave, get me a ticket now or the deal is off.

Melody arrives at St. Joseph’s to discover Father Russo (Martin Sola) has died. The secretary (Karen Baum) tells her, Father Russo was hit by a train last night. Stunned, Melody breaks into Father Russo’s study, where she finds a copy of the Golden Peak Recovery document. She finds a key in the desk drawer to a cabinet, with a blueprint of the VOS mansion founded in 1920. An explosion occurred in 1924. Visser APT = VOS Mansion is documented on the bottom of the blueprint. She finds a book “Occult Works” in one of the cabinets. The book contains an image of the 14^th-century demon from the Beatriz video. She opens another book “COMPENDIVM of Witchcraft & Dark Magick” to find a copy of Samuel Grant’s photo ID card. There is also a mugshot of Samuelson Virgil and Alistair Spare, both with Samuel’s photo. She finds information about the Baldung Coven, with an emblem that matches her mother’s necklace. She crams the book into her back and hides underneath the desk.

Samuel and the church secretary enter the room. Samuel claims to be looking for a book, Father Russo borrowed from him. Samuel is left in the room alone. He searches through Father Russo’s things and removes a page from his calendar. Melody caps her hand over her mouth when Samuel gets too close. The secretary returns to alert Samuel of the commencement of Father Russo’s vigil. He claims to have found the book and exists the room. Melody leaves and heads to a public phone booth. She calls Dr. Turner to alert him of the Baldung Coven and her mother’s ring. As she hangs up the receiver, she sees Dan’s face but turns around to nothing. She receives a page from Anabelle who is questioning why she hasn’t arrived at her art show.

Melody enters the art gallery and grabs a glass of wine. Anabelle gives her a bear hug and introduces her to Gabby (Daina Griffith), the show curator. Melody aggressively recommends she not return to the Visser. Anabelle doesn’t take her seriously, pulling her over to her art display. The photos are of a young woman who Anabelle denies knowing. She refers to herself as a Spirit Receiver like Eleanor. Gabby pulls Anabelle away from Melody. She is recording the pieces when she says, “It’s the mold.” Tamara Stefano (Kate Eastman) approaches from behind and asks about the identity of the woman. Tamara says the woman is from Eleanor’s spirit visions. Jess arrives with Cassandra. When she walks away, Melody and Cassandra argue about her wellbeing.

Melody spots Samuel from across the room when Anabelle is having a tantrum about her paintings. She is angry at Gabby for selling her art. Melody tries to calm her as she pulls her paintings down from the wall. She shoves Melody to the ground, accusing her of smothering her. Shocked, she leaves the art gallery to find Samuel standing in front of the Visser. She records Samuel while asking if he is the buyer of Anabelle’s paintings. He claims to know nothing. She says I know everything about the 6^th-floor junkies, stardust, and aliases. He accuses her of being high and orders her to turn off the camera. Chris falls from the top of the Visser to his death. She screams for someone to call 911. Virgil Davenport (Martin Donovan) joins Samuel on the sidewalk.

Dan rewinds the tape to find Virgil approaching Samuel. He calls Virgil a liar while looking at the surveillance camera. He screams, “You were there,” demanding to know who he is as Virgil walks in. Virgil tells Dan, Samuel was his brother. Dan demands to know why he is being paid to restore the Visser archive. He believes Melody murdered Samuel. Dan refuses to believe it. Samuel got mixed up with a cult in the Visser. Virgil refuses to believe the cult was real. He believes Melody lost it when Melody couldn’t find her mother. She burnt the Visser to kill Samuel for her mother. Virgil says Melody may have been responsible for his family house fire, not Dr. Turner. Dan refuses to believe Melody killed anyone. Virgil tells him to finish restoring the Visser tapes, so they know what really happened as the episode comes to an end.

 

Archive 81 Review

The episode provides several very important revelations. We now know Virgil is Samuel’s brother and Julia belonged to a cult. What do these revelations tell viewers about the Visser fire?

Visibility is nonexistent in some of the scenes, thanks to poor lighting. Even with my computer brightness level at maximum, it was impossible to see important details in some of the dark scenes. These have not been an issue in the previous episodes.

One more episode closer to the finale, my anxiety is growing by the minute. The episode deserves a 7.5. Get more Archive 81 recaps here. Support the ReelMockery team by clicking here.