Alight – As the fifth episode of Devil In Ohio begins, a man, Caleb, is surrounded by graves in the Edenville Settlement in West Virginia in Autumn 1922. He drops his Bible on the ground before a crow lands behind him. They stare at each other briefly until the man walks away and the crow flies away. A woman closes The Book of Covenants which contains a picture of the crow flying away. After the intro, Mae (Madeleine Arthur) makes soul cakes for the family. Dani (Naomi Tan) is busy carving a pumpkin while Helen (Alisha Newton) heads to a study session for AP Bio. Suzanne (Emily Deschanel) reminds Dani not to forget her EpiPen since it will fit in the pocket of her costume jacket. Mae tells them that there is a bean in each cake. If you guess which half the bean is in, you get to make a wish. Dani gets a bean. Jules asks Mae about going to the mall with Victoria Benenati. Mae admits they went together when Jules was a volleyball because they wanted to look at Harvest Dance dresses.

Jules still insists she doesn’t care about the dance. While doing the laundry, Suzanne finds a gown hidden between the washer and dryer. Jules does not get a bean. Suzanne confronts them about the white gown. Mae says it is hers, but it got wet when she left the garage door open. She thought she put it in the hamper and agrees to launder it right away. Gina Brooks (Eva Bourne) catches up with Detective Alex Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) at work to say she widened the search for the two-month Taurids meteor shower period. Alex will have to look through a large stack of files to see if he can find anything about Enoch. Gina offers to help before warning him that the Captain asked her why he had her pull the whole phone book. She told him she didn’t know. Gina asks if he can get any more details from Dr. Mathis. Nine years ago, West Haverford General didn’t have a trauma unit so they could’ve only taken Enoch to Remmingham Memorial.

They agree they need to get those hospital records. Suzanne agrees to fix Dani’s costume before asking Jules about the column. Jules knows she is only there because she wants to know about Mae. When Suzanne asks about the nightgown, Jules says she saw Mae outside in some kind of trance holding a white rose. She told Jules that she was special and needed to go home. Suzanne says Mae was taught that symbols have power so she is triggered when she encounters certain ones. Jules told her she’d wash the nightgown, but hid it in the laundry room and forgot. Suzanne insists that doesn’t make her a bad friend. When asked if Mae really believes this stuff, Suzanne admits she doesn’t know. Dani tries to get help from Peter (Sam Jaeger) who says he’ll get the glue gun. He gets a call from Cheryl Thurmond (Laura Soltis) about a possible offer on the house. Mae lights a candle outside in front of a picture of Isaac and Jules.

She asks the Granter of Wishes to accept her offering. When Suzanne calls her name, Mae hides the shrine and tells her it is an offering to have wishes granted. Mae claims she was wishing to stay here with them. If she goes back, she is worried she’ll experience the same thing Mary did. Suzanne asks about Mary. Many years ago, Caleb and Seamus Dodd were the most devout brothers in Connemara, Ireland. Ireland was dying with no end to the famine. Caleb, Seamus, and their followers worshipped Yahweh and that led them to America. Despite their prayers, famine followed them. Caleb’s whole family died along with many other children. While Seamus clung to the word of jealous Yahweh, his brother Caleb heard a new gospel from a new messenger which was a crow. It spoke to Caleb revealing that the path from darkness is lit by the light of Lucifer, Granter of Wishes. Lucifer demands offerings. If sated, he hears their prayers. When Caleb brought this covenant to all, everyone followed except Seamus’s now-widowed wife Mary Dodd.

Caleb offered to take her as his wife. She did not accept since she was devastated by the loss of her husband. It was foretold to Caleb that Mary was special. Mary made herself a willing offering to remain pure. She was marked and made her vow to marry The First Prophet. She commuted her life in service of the flock that Caleb called Sliocht an Diabhail or The Devil’s Own. Mary helped save her people by binding her life to Lucifer and became the first link in the chain that shall never be broken. The crow led Baleb and his followers to a new land called Amontown where the crops were abundant. The Devil’s Own has lived there ever since. Mae insists it is happening again. There is a plague on their crops and they can’t feed their livestock. Like Mary, someone special has to be married to The First Prophet to save Sliocht an Diabhail. They told Mae she was special, but she broke the chain. She believes it is her fault that they’re suffering.

Suzanne argues it isn’t her fault that her family is broken. She tells Mae that she deserves to be loved. Sebastian (Evan Ellison) catches up with Jules to say her column on Isaac was epic. She admits Isaac is barely talking to her now that she is working with Victoria. Sebastian offers to pick her up and take her to the bonfire tonight. He says Mae and Isaac can come too. Suzanne catches up with Alex Lopez to tell him everything Mae said. She believes it is their version of becoming a nun, but it seems a bit farfetched to her. Alex says it would explain the huitlacoche or corn fungus. He saw it in the field out there. Usually, they will burn it down, but they were saving some of it. Suzanne worries they’ll push the right button and send Mae back. Enoch seems like their best shot. If she can see that he is still alive, she’ll realize that they lied to her about his death and everything else. He’d also be another witness to whatever is going on out there. Alex asks Suzanne to talk to Mae and get more information so he can narrow his search.

He also mentions that her trauma center was the only one in Haverford County back then. There could be a record for him and she can get it. Suzanne admits she can’t get the record because HIPAA limits access to the primary care team and she could lose her job. Jules tells Isaac (Jason Sakaki) about Sebastian inviting them to the bonfire, but he isn’t interested in going. He wants to enjoy the Halloween tradition that they’ve had since the 3rd grade. Isaac insists Mae is her new best friend. Even though it is Halloween, the hospital wants Suzanne to come in because Dr. Lee is sick. She gets into an argument with Peter because both have something important to do. Suzanne is just saying that someone needs to take Dani to Melissa Green’s house. Peter says Sebastian can drop her off since he is taking Jules and Mae to the bonfire. Suzanne is surprised Jules called Peter to ask permission to go to the bonfire. She offers to call Melissa’s mom to see if she’ll pick her up.

While Alex goes to work, Peter meets with Cheryl to deal with the property. She tells him that she is the buyer because people didn’t love the price and it is over-customized a bit. Cheryl gives him an offer while saying he can pay off his loans and avoid foreclosure. Peter accuses her of lowballing him, but Cheryl says it is worth what someone is willing to pay. Lopez goes into the woods to set up a trail camera so he can collect evidence. He pours something out nearby too. At home, Jules learns that Mae is going to the bonfire as Carrie too. Mae says she is the Carrie from the old movie and she is the Carrie from the new movie. When Jules leaves to finish her costume, Suzanne asks if Mae can tell her anything else about the boy who tried to leave. Mae says she was outside and was scared when she learned about Enoch trying to run away. She was scared because they put his parents in the stocks. Since the moon was full, you could see them as bright as day.

Suzanne thanks her and asks her to stick with Jules tonight. Mae tells her that they rely-upon. Peter goes looking for Patti Myers only to learn she no longer works there. Larry Gillium (Ash Lee) calls himself the loan manager. Peter explains that he wants to get another extension on the loan. Larry finds that the balance of his loan is due in six days and he should’ve never gotten an extension in the first place. If he can’t pay, the property will be foreclosed. Sheriff Wilkins (Bradley Stryker) goes to the spot where Alex placed the camera. He sends his dog to hunt. Alex watches the camera feed as the Sheriff finds the camera and takes it down.

Then, he uses his tablet to track the trail camera in hopes of finding the leader. Dani goes trick-or-treating with her friends. They learn that 8th-grade boys are going to egg houses nearby so they want to join them. Dani doesn’t want to go though. Jules and Mae meet with Sebastian who is dressed as Dr. Who. A boy shows up at the hospital yelling that he is melting. Suzanne learns about an overdose in 230. At the bonfire, Jules talks to Sebastian about the upcoming Harvest Dance. He’d love to go with her, but he just asked Mae to go. He offers to give her a ride instead. Alex follows the Sheriff back to a big house. A group of people wearing masks and robes are seen outside. One of them says they endure until the dawning of the morning star. They prepare to sacrifice a pig. Dani continues collecting candy. Jules asks Helen for a ride because Mae is busy being more popular and stealing her crush. Helen says Teddy has an after-party he wants to attend.

She recommends calling Isaac. Jules steps away to text Isaac to see if he’ll come and get her. He responds saying she must mistake him for a Lyft just before her battery reaches 10%. Peter goes to the pub to get a drink. He shares a drink with the woman behind the bar. At the hospital, Rhoda (Samantha Ferris) tells Suzanne that Billy is back because his dad said he fell down the stairs. Suzanne can’t believe a judge would reverse the order after everything they did to get him into a group home. She learns that Billy went back to his dad on his own. While Helen and Teddy make out, Jules is approached by a man in a mask. Teddy tells Helen he won’t judge her if she doesn’t want to wait until Harvest. She gets sick and throws up on his boots. The guy gives Jules a drink before saying he graduated last year and is going to OSU now. He tells her he’ll see her around. Victoria sits down with Helen and gives her a bottle of water.

They talk about partying previously. Helen tries to kiss her, but Victoria quickly stops her. There is a code blue at the hospital. While Suzanne is alone, she tries to quickly print off information about Enoch. Adele (Marci House) nearly catches her. The Sheriff watches the ritualistic sacrifice. Alex takes pictures as a man is told he’ll be transformed before blood is placed on his forehead. The man is sent away while the others begin chanting, “the chain shall not be broken”. Alex gets a picture of the Sheriff showing the trail camera to the leader who removes his mask. Jules confronts Mae to find out why she is doing this to her. Mae insists she didn’t mean to upset her. She promises not to go to the dance with Sebastian because he isn’t important to her. They learn that someone called the cops so they have to get out of here. Jules sends Mae with Sebastian while she claims she’ll get a ride with someone else.

Dani begins struggling to breathe only to find that she doesn’t have her EpiPen with her. She tries to rush home. When she gets there, she gets her EpiPen and drops it in front of her. The guy in the mask from earlier offers to give Jules a ride. Helen tells Victoria that she was offered a coding job from that company. They begin talking about Helen’s boyfriend and their intention to go to OSU together. Victoria claims to have an interest in knowing if she’ll ever date a girl again. They agree to talk about it later. Helen finds it odd that her front door is open. The bartender tries to get Peter to take a shot with her until he gets a call and has to leave. Suzanne is told about Dani being at the hospital so she runs to her room to check on her. Alex puts Malachi Dodd at the top of his chart. Peter’s house burns.

Jules tells the driver where to take her, but he doesn’t listen to her. He tells her that he’ll get her where she needs to be.

 

Devil In Ohio Review

Devil In Ohio is morphing into a teen horror series with drama at every turn. It is pretty obvious at this point that the show is going on for too long and could’ve been cut by two episodes or more. The series doesn’t accurately portray a small Ohio town close to West Virginia and that really removes the creepy factor.

There is too much going on at once, yet nothing is interesting enough to hold the viewer’s attention. The many side stories include Helen’s relationships, Peter’s real estate failure, and all the drama at the school with Jules and Mae. The performances aren’t always stellar although Madeleine Arthur is probably doing the best out of the whole cast at this point.

I am already getting the feeling that this is going to end with a big nothing burger before it disappears into obscurity. The story likely could’ve been entertaining if the show hadn’t tried to do too much. The episode scores a 4.5 out of 10. Recaps of Devil in Ohio can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support our work at this link.