Forest For The Trees – The episode opens with Kenny Liu (Ricky He) setting the table while  Tian Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy) puts the finishing touch on dinner when the phone rings. He answers the phone to hear static. In the background, what appears to be a recorded message says, “They touch, they break, they steal. No one is free.” The message advances with, “Here they come for three unless you stop the melody.” Distraught, he struggles to explain the message to Tian. A buzzing noise emits from a kettle of cicadas when a music box plays. A cicada hops out of the pot onto his arm. He unconsciously knocks it off when she shakes him. Seconds later, he wakes up. She leaves the room as he sees a burn on his arm where the cicada was in his dream.

RV Crash Site – Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) and Randall (AJ Simmons) implement Jim’s plan for Randall’s drone. Nearly ready to get the UAV off the ground, Randall asks what is the point of such a plan. Jim tells him how he learned from discovering people’s breaking point like Sara Myer’s (Avery Konrad). Randall asks if Sara tried to hurt Ethan Matthews (Simon Webster). Jim vows to never allow the town to transform him into something he isn’t. The drone fails to top the trees. A bit of chit-chat leads to Randall asking who was already there when he arrived in town. Jim says Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau), Donna (Elizabeth Saudner), and the late Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder). He explains Father Khatri’s death. Randall questions if any of the deaths were fake. Mentioning Brick (Seamus Patterson) and Tom (Reid Price), Jim admits the bodies weren’t assessed close enough to say for certain. Jim tells him about Sara’s brother, Nathan Myers (Pual Zinno) who she killed. He suggests she was pushed too far or she did it for show.

Police Station – Boyd hides the boat key when Sara bursts in to announce she wants to venture further into the woods. She tells him that he may be right about there being woods out there. He says they ventured far enough to end up back in town. She asks if they’re just to give up. He says people depend on him before reminding her of no one wants her there. He gives her something to do to keep her occupied.

Tunnel Exit In The Woods – Jade (David Alpy) and Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno) return to where she and Victor (Scot McCord) escaped the tunnel. She claims to have seen the symbol in the tunnel but has no interest in going back. He questions if the creatures utilize it as a sleeping area. Her confirmation makes him believe it is related to the “Chaos Theory.” He remembers Victor intentionally lied about the symbol.

Liu Residence – Julie Matthews (Hannah Cheramy) opens the door to see Victor. As they wait for Ethan, she thanks him for helping her at the Colony House. Ethan informs Victor of their plan to help Tian at the diner. Victor gifts him a backpack and the coat he wore as a child. He believes cold weather is around the corner. Ethan tries to give him a self-portrait which he readily refuses. He suggests the portrait could be helpful if something happens to him. Victor demands he not speak of such things. Ethan threatens to return the coat if he refuses to accept his sketch. Victor reluctantly keeps it.

Colony House – Boyd suggests Ellis (Corteon Moore) be in bed. Ells assures him that he feels good. Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) says he is recuperating quite nicely. Boyd questions his mood when Donna pulls him away. He asks if she would find things to keep Sara busy. Shocked, she reminds him of all their responsibilities which are more important than keeping Sara occupied. A madman, Dale is being held in a bedroom upstairs. She informs him of Elgin’s (Nathan D Simmons) near-drowning last night. He asks Elgin if he would like to talk about his experience. Elgin claims something pushed him down in the water. When he wakes up, he has water in his lungs. Boyd asks if he told anyone about what happened at the hospital. Elgin says no one before recommending the “silver bullet” method for injecting the creatures with the tainted fluid.

Town Diner – Ethan explains the Internet to Victor when Tian pulls Victor away. Julie asks Ethan if he going to take off Victor’s smelly coat. Ethan admits to liking it before uncovering a figure which he later asks Victor about. In a flashback, Miranda (Sarah Booth) gives her son, young Victor (Eli Arsenault) the figure. She tells him to be brave. Back to the present, Jade grabs Victor by the neck, reminding him of his playing the song sung he requested but he never held up to his end of the bargain. Julie intervenes before Victor flees with his backpack and lunch box. Tabitha and Jade catch up with Victor. He demands to know why Victor isn’t willing to help when it means they could go home. Victor escapes while they have their own dispute.

Town Church – Jim and Randall burst in to see Sara with the broken Christmas figurine. Jim asks if she and Nathan arrived in town at the same time. She claims they were headed to Boston. Jim says they’re working on working on arrival patterns. She tells them that she and Nathan departed from Pennsylvania. Jim reminds her of what happened at the barn. Randall suggests Nathan’s death was staged when Donna arrives with a basket of items for Sara to patch. He questions the timing of her visit before accusing her of being power-hungry. With Jim and Randall gone, Sara informs her that they were inquiring about Nathan’s death.

Randall warns they’ll never uncover the truth if Jim continues being too soft and friendly. Jim suggests Sara’s expression said enough but Donna isn’t helping matters. He says they should watch from a distance before telling him to return to the bus as nothing happened. They’ll meet up later at the RV to monitor the creatures in their habitat.

Town Diner – Jim learns about Tabitha’s visit to the Colony House and the Victor incident. He informs Julie of his plan to stay in the RV tonight. He assures her that he will take a talisman. Emerging from the diner, he encounters Donna with prying questions. He claims to only be searching for answers. She tells him that harassing Sara about Nathan won’t help. She questions his infatuation with the voice on the radio before warning that instilling a conspiracy in Randall’s could be dangerous. He says Randall isn’t aware of the voice. Randal can be seen spying from the bus.

Colony House – In a flashback, Victor’s mother tells him to be brave and stay in the cellar until morning. Giving him a figurine, she focuses on his pictures. Back to the present, Tabitha thanks him for Ethan’s coat. Picking up the figurine, she admits to having some memory of it. She asks why he never said anything about the insignia in the tunnel. He suggests people who look for answers never return. When she says it is the only way to get home, he assures her there is no way to leave there. He explains how his mother believed they were going home but it didn’t turn out well for her. He tells her that his pictures may reveal what was already forgotten. She reminds him of the pictures in the house when it collapsed. He admits to hiding his pictures to protect others from dying.

Liu’s Residence – Kenny explains to Boyd about the burn on his arm. Boyd says Elgin suggests they utilize the creature’s body fluids to develop “silver bullets” to kill the creatures.

Town Hospital – Mari (Kaelen Ohm) can no longer conceal her withdrawal. Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) works to calm her with breathing exercises. Mari tells her that they need to be away from the hospital when Boyd and Kenny arrive. Approaching the boiler room, they hear strange noises. Kenny questions Mari about her being in the boiler room. She asks, “Does it matter.” Boyd orders them to run if anything ascends the stairs. He and Kenny continue the rest of the way when they hear rustling behind the door. Arming himself, Boyd shoves the door open to see movement under the sheet where they left the creature. The area is infested with cicadas like in Kenny’s nightmare. They return to the reception area. Kenny reminds him of what he said about keeping the body before explaining his dream. Kristi recalls Elgin’s dream of drowning and waking with his lungs full of water. Kenny shows the burn on his arm. Donna demands to know what is happening.

Graveyard Of Vehicles – Victor escorts Tabitha to his family’s station wagon. She tells him to be brave. He claims his mother said the same thing when she put him in the root cellar.

Town Hospital – Boyd and Donna approach the boiler room door to hear nothing out of the ordinary. She accuses him of withholding information from her until she caught them. Apologizing, he promises to never do it again. She inquires about the creature’s body fluid. After a brief explanation, he says it’s worth trying. They open the door to find the cicadas gone. She suggests they scattered away. He assures her that they shut the door. She demands the creature’s body be burnt. Kenny and Body place the creature on a cart. She says they need to burn it far away from town so no one will see the smoke. Boyd tells them that they should take shifts sleeping before promising to take Sara with him to the Police Station. He warns Mari’s withdrawal is going to become more intense.

Not wanting to spend the night with Sara, Kristi asks Donna if she and Marie can stay at the Colony House. Donna agrees. Randall watches as the creature’s body is prepared for burning.

Graveyard Of Vehicles – Victor prevents Tabitha from opening the boot of Christopher’s (Thom Payne) vehicle. Upon lifting the hatch, he has a flashback of being a child with his mother in the cellar. Back to the prevent, he frantically searches through the drawings until he locates a sketch of himself and his sister, Eloise (Ellie Cluett). His mother orders him to take care of Eloise who begs her to not go. He claims they aren’t his sketches when a flashback reveals their mother telling Eloise to draw them. The artist appears to be Eloise, not Victor. His mother promises they will leave for home in the morning. Back to the present, Tabitha trying to calm him is futile. A flashback shows Eloise, refusing to stay in the cellar, following their mother.

Colony House – Randall apologizes to Donna before saying they’re in it together. He requests a civil conversation with her.

In The Woods – Boyd pours gas over the creature while Kenny creates a makeshift torch. Kenny sets the creature afire. As the creature burns, Kenny says he has become so accustomed to being afraid that it is beginning to feel normal.

Graveyard Of Vehicles – The sketches are spread out on the ground. Victor explains to Tabitha about the night in the cellar. Catching a glimpse of a sketch of a tower, she asks about it. He tells her that Eloise claimed her mother went there on the night of the disaster in town. Their mother supposedly went there to save the children locked inside the tower.

Town Diner –Tian compliments Ethan and Julie’s work. She tells them to return tomorrow. Boyd and Kenny are walking through town when they hear a loud buzzing noise and a call for help from a nearby house. Seconds later, a man burst from the front door, covered in blood and begging for help.

RV Crash Site – Jim is on his way to meet Randall when he sees a vehicle with the hatch open when he hears Donna. Following her voice, he discovers her tethered to a tree. Randall jabs a blade into a nearby tree. Jim asks what he is doing. Randall tells him that his plan has changed.

 

FROM Episode 8 Review

What a really strong finish to the episode. To me, it seemed like the episode wasn’t headed toward any major revelations, but the last 10 to 15 minutes completely changed everything. Season 2 has certainly been building toward an exciting and tumultuous finale. With 2 episodes left, there is still quite a bit that can happen. I really have to commend the series for not dragging out the drama, as a lot of others would have. Not only that, but the dream state, the ransom of Donna, Victor’s sister, and the guy covered in blood during the middle of the day.

This series continues to throw me for a loop. I can honestly say that I did not see a lot of this coming. It was clear that Donna and Randall would eventually be headed for a standoff, but the dangerous dreams, the bloody resident, and the discovery of Victor’s sibling. Add to all this the unique way the creative teams quickly bring conclusions or “semi-conclusions” to some of the storylines and this episode easily earns a 6.5 out of 10. Really looking forward to how this season wraps up.

Get more From recaps here. Support Reel Mockery click here. Our onsite advertising is scalable, learn more here.