The Dawning – As the finale of Devil In Ohio begins, Malachi (Tahmoh Penikett) tells the crow that it is time to prepare. Mae (Madeleine Arthur) is cleaned as Abigail Dodd (Caroline Cave) says he who withstands the long night shall see the Dawning. Once they’re alone, Abigail admits she told them that Mae would return because her faith is strong. She has always had fortitude. Tonight their people will be saved if Mae is truly willing this time. Her mother tells her there is no better way to show you love your family than by making yourself a willing sacrifice. Malachi asks Sheriff Wilkins (Bradley Stryker) if everything went as planned with the Mathis woman. He explains that Noah hit her car and was unseen. Wilkins believes Noah (Keenan Tracey) will make a worthy successor. Malachi is adamant that the ceremony must go according to plan or people will lose hope. Wilkins goes outside to contact the Remmingham dispatch. He learns about Suzanne refusing treatment after the hit and run.

Suzanne (Emily Deschanel) approaches the cult compound and leaves a footprint on the ground. Peter (Sam Jaeger) picks up Jules (Xaria Dotson) and Helen (Alisha Newton) as he learns about everything. Alex Lopez (Gerardo Celasco) tells Gina Brooks (Eva Bourne) that he was encouraged to drop Mae’s case. They discuss whether Captain Peck could be on the cult’s payroll. He admits he didn’t tell her about having an eyewitness who can implicate Wilkins in the fire. Alex gets the message from Suzanne and learns about the cult taking Mae. Suzanne continues sneaking around the compound. Sheriff Wilkins finds her footprint in the mud. Suzanne looks through the window to see what is going on. Malachi reaches the stage just before Mae enters and walks towards him. Moments later, Malachi begins reading from the Book of Covenants. He talks about Lucifer demanding suffering. No sacrifice could wound him more than sacrificing his own flesh and blood.

Suzanne watches through the window as the cult chants “the chain shall not be broken”. Mae follows Malachi outside. When Wilkins confronts Suzanne, she sprays him in the face with mace. He throws her to the ground and grabs his handcuffs. Suzanne begins fighting with him to avoid being handcuffed. They accidentally start a fire before Suzanne breaks free and runs. Peter drops the girls off at home and tells them they have five minutes to grab what they need for the night. Before they can get out, he decides to change the plans so he speeds away from the house. The family’s front door has been marked. Suzanne tries to disguise herself so she can join the cult members as they prepare for the ritual. Mae is paraded in front of the cult members and given a white rose. Abigail tells her that Father will write about her in the Book of Covenants so her sacrifice will live on. Malachi asks if she sacrifices herself willing to be married by flame to the first prophet.

They have to halt the sacrifice when they notice that the church is on fire. Abigail thinks they should complete the ritual since Lucifer is waiting, but Malachi says they must save his temple and the book. Malachi runs into Noah who wants to help put out the right. Malachi tells him it is too dangerous since their future relies on him. He is ordered to mind his sister instead. Wilkins tells Malachi about Suzanne being here somewhere. Peter takes the girls to the model apartment at the complex he has been managing. Suzanne approaches Mae and tells Abigail that she isn’t going to leave without her. As Suzanne tries to climb the ladder to reach them, she nearly slips and gets dizzy before continuing. Suzanne tries to convince Mae to leave so she can be free while her mother claims she belongs here. Mae wonders if Lucifer wants her to go since Suzanne came for her. Her mother gets mad that she is presuming what he wants, but Mae shouts she doesn’t want to die.

When Mae asks her mother to go, Abigail suggests she’d be corrupted by their insidious world. Noah knocks down the ladder before Suzanne notices that the platform is on fire. Abigail continues trying to convince her daughter to be the willing sacrifice. Mae jumps from the platform and yells for the others to do the same. Once Suzanne jumps down, Noah drags her around. He admits he was told to put her in the hospital although he thinks this is going to be better. Mae hits him with a shovel from behind and tells him that he should’ve protected her. He thinks she deserved to be picked because she never played her part and was always looking out for herself. She claims he betrayed her while Noah says she betrayed everything. He tells her she broke the chain for the last time. After Mae knocks him out with the shovel, she yells for her mother to jump from the platform. Abigail picks up the white rose and says she is willing so the chain shall not be broken. Suzanne tells Mae they have to go as her mother prepares to burn alive on the platform.

Alex Lopez approaches Sheriff Wilkins and tells him that Enoch told him everything. Wilkins can go down for it alone or cut a deal and give up Malachi. When Wilkins decides to go for his gun, Lopez shoots him. Mae and Suzanne catch up with him. The cult members return to find Noah getting up and Abigail on the burning platform. Malachi decides to tell the cult members that they’re saved. They believe it as they begin saying it too. Jules talks to Peter about the photos she took at the dance. Peter admits Mae screwed things up, but there is more to it. He tells her about Suzanne’s troubled childhood. Peter blames himself for letting it happen. When asked, he admits he doesn’t know if everything is okay. Lopez drives Suzanne and Mae away while Suzanne remembers pieces of her childhood. Mae thanks Suzanne for saving her. After that, Jules takes pictures of Isaac (Jason Sakaki) who was named Minister of Ecological Affairs by Victoria.

Sebastian approaches Jules to tell her how dope her column was. He wants to do Fraser Hagen for the next column, but she has other ideas. Then, she tells Isaac to go ahead and sign her up for the early shift. Helen is surprised to see that the robot she and Tatiana made is actually working. She offers Jules a ride after school. Suzanne meets with Dr. Daniels (Theresa Wong) and admits that she had kept a part of herself hidden. She was afraid to admit that things were more complicated. Suzanne thinks she had to lose a lot to see what was hiding behind it. When she mentions her family, she says they’re okay considering everything that has happened. Plus, everyone knows it is a temporary situation. The change has given her the opportunity to take a break from her job and spend time working on herself. It is hard doing the work to bridge the gap that you talked about. Since she didn’t deal with her childhood issues, she projected them onto Mae.

She is ready to work and make progress. Daniels asks if she thinks everyone who puts the work in is capable of change. Suzanne thinks Mae can do it if she can. Peter checks on Alex who reveals he got promoted to Lieutenant. A few of the senior officers opted for early retirement, but he thinks they go off easy since they didn’t solve the arson cases. With Sheriff Wilkins dead, they’ll likely never know if they were getting paid off by the cult. Peter thanks him now that he got the check from the insurance company. Before Peter leaves, Alex tells him he hopes his family situation works out. Alex asks Gina how the newest officer would like to serve her first search warrant. He gives her the warrant to search all of Malachi Dodd’s property in connection to Wilkins. At home, Mae cooks with Suzanne while Peter cooks for the girls. While working, Alex agrees to go to Gina’s house for Thanksgiving. They reach the compound and find it empty after the judge drug his feet on the warrant.

They left one of their dogs though. Peter and the girls sit down for dinner when they hear someone at the door. It is Suzanne. They begin arguing about letting Mae near the girls. They talk about the girls before Suzanne confirms she had a good session with Dr. Daniels. She says Mae is making progress. She is going to nail this GED and try to get a job. They also want to find her a permanent place to live. Peter insists this isn’t about Mae. Suzanne tells him she loves him and will not give up. Peter says he won’t give up either. Once Peter goes back inside, Jules asks Dani to sing for them so she does. Meanwhile, Suzanne sits with Mae and agrees to let her say a blessing. Mae says thanks for Suzanne whose patience and generosity saved her life. Alex calls Suzanne to tell her she doesn’t have to worry about the cult anymore. He asks if she knows Theodore Harrington the Third. She confirms it is Teddy or Helen’s ex-boyfriend. They just found his SUV abandoned in the woods near Amontown.

He reported his car stolen two weeks ago on the same night as the dance. Alex knows she might not want to hear it, but the cult didn’t set those white roses at the dance. Security footage showed that Mae had hidden a bouquet of white roses behind a dumpster at the school. She bought them and took them inside to make it look like the cult triggered her. She lifted Teddy’s keys and drove herself out to Amontown. Alex thought she should know that Mae set the whole thing up. After the call ends, Mae tells Suzanne to come and sit down because the food is getting cold. We see Mae’s shrine outside with a picture of herself next to a picture of Suzanne.

 

Devil In Ohio Review

The finale of Devil in Ohio started off well only to quickly transform into a purposeless episode. The ending made it seem like the creators were hoping to get another season, yet it is hard to imagine that’ll ever happen. Aspects of the episode were good, especially near the beginning, but too many doors were left open. Mae’s escape from the cult with help from Suzanne was actually fun with a few intense moments for Mae and Suzanne.

The last few minutes of the episode threw everything away and attempted to turn Mae into a villainous character. The episode could’ve ended shortly after Mae escaped the cult and nothing would’ve been missed. In fact, it would’ve provided a more satisfying ending without a pointless twist at the very end. A lot of questions remain although it doesn’t look like they’re going to be answered since another reason is unlikely.

As long as viewers don’t take Devil in Ohio too seriously, they may enjoy it for what it is. Truthfully, it is just another forgettable Netflix drama that can kill time on the weekend before it is immediately forgotten. The finale scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of Devil In Ohio can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our work at this link.