With another swamp-born evil contained, Swamp Thing continued delving into Alec and Abby’s struggles. Despite growing accustomed to his new powers, the swamp continued infiltrating Alec’s mind. Nature seemingly poisoned his mind with images of its battle against humanity, but a new friend offered him clarity. The trees want to speak to him. Oddly enough, this newfound desire linked in Abby. Her pursuit of a Maria and Susie, both tainted by the spirit of Shawna, brings new revelations about that traumatic day on the bridge. The two’s front grew more united, but their nemesis remained out of sight. Maybe Avery and Jason can help out in that category.
The Green
Some stray biotags bring back Alec’s memories of working in the swamp, but his new home has other things to show him. Specifically a slew of bodies, victims of nature’s fight. Secured by a slew of vines, Alec is forced to look at the ghosts until a boat approaches housing a mysteriously calm bearded man. He shows no fear in speaking to Alec, opining about the stories the trees tell. The stranger reminds Alec that he is still himself inside despite his plant-like transformation. He’s here to help Alec understand the power he’s been gifted. Alec touches a tree and is shown the events around Shawna’s death. The stranger points to it as a warning. A past danger is returning.
Elsewhere, Abby continues researching the regenerative nature of Alec’s cells. Jason pops in, spooking her, asking about the source of the tissue sample. He believes Alec is somehow connected to it, but Abby doesn’t confirm his suspicions. She’s thankfully pulled away by a concerned call from Susie, whisking her away to the Sunderland compound.
Whispers Of The Past
That might be the worst possible place for Abby to be at the moment though. Maria continues to be haunted by visions of Shawna, stoking her guilt over taking Susie in. Shawna views Susie as her mother’s attempt to replace her, so her spirit takes hold of Susie and beckons Abby to the house. Abby slowly comes to realize the nature of the situation. Maria is acting strange, Susie is humming a tune linked to Abby’s memory of the bridge and the young girl refers to Abby by her nickname, Y-Bee. Shawna is in control and she wants Abby in the swamp with her. Abby screams an apology for inadvertently killing Shawna before rushing out of the house. Maria remains under her daughter’s influence, and she wants Maria in the swamp with her as well. The two leave for the water with Abby and Xanadu in pursuit.
Abby arrives to find a dispossessed Susie running away from the shore. Shawna is luring Maria into the depths. Abby rushes in to save her, but Maria attacks Abby, attempting to drown her. Nothing will keep her from being with her daughter. Shawna pulls Maria under, but Alec emerges from the water with Maria. Abby resuscitates her, but answers remain out of reach.
Daniel has his own brush with his past near Marais’ city limits. Believing his mission is done after saving Abby at the crawfish boil, Daniel tries to leave town. He quickly realizes his time in Marais isn’t over when his arm bursts into blue flames when crossing the city line. His anger equals his pain as he curses a blue demon suit in his trunk. He can’t wait to sell that thing when he gets back to Hollywood.
Silencing The Devil
There’s some hard-boiled issues playing out alongside the supernatural. Avery’s eliminated one potential whistleblower, but Liz’s investigation still threatens to expose his shady activities to the town. He learns about her knowledge of the bullet hole riddled debris from Alec’s boat during a romantic rendezvous with Lucilia. His answer is to intimidate Liz’s father, Delroy, by invoking his financial control of Delroy’s bar. Liz arrives and stands up to Avery, pointing out that Marais doesn’t jump when he snaps anymore. Avery counters by calling Liz “bar trash” and promising to not let her stand in his way.
That promise starts to play out in a violent manner. Lucilia ends up killing a witness that claims her son, Matt, was contracted by Avery to kill Alec. Liz finds her tires slashed outside the bar before two masked men threaten her on behalf of Avery. She holds her own, disarming and smacking one of them easily. Daniel rushes into the fracas, believing Liz to be in trouble, and catches a crowbar to the back of the head. The two men flee believing Daniel to be dead as Liz tends to her friend.
His dirty work being done elsewhere, Avery arrives at the hospital to tend to a recovering Maria. But an obsessed Jason intercepts him. With Maria watching through a window, Jason relays his belief that the source of Abby’s sample is an organic organism. He needs help capturing it alive. Avery gives him the name of a hunter and sends him on his way.
The Jump
The moments after Maria’s rescue at the hands of Alec bear a bevy of revelations about Abby’s past. He tells her about viewing the swamp’s memory of the bridge incident before placing his hand on her shoulder. The touch transports Abby into the memory. She is forced to watch as her former self tries to talk Shawna out of jumping off the bridge, a supposed right of passage among Marais’ youth. Her act of jokingly pushing Shawna off the bridge is also shown, highlighting her guilt.
But that guilt might have blocked off a key part of the day’s events. Abby watches her younger self jump in after Shawna, freaking out at her absence. But Shawna resurfaces laughing and joking with Abby before being pulled under by an unknown force. Abby didn’t kill Shawna. She tried to rescue her, but couldn’t keep her from being taken. Present day Abby realizes the truth, but Alec identifies Shawna’s death as a warning.
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