A man is out hiking in the woods outside of Iron Hill and finds a children's corpse on the ground.
Katie is watching Candle Cove, and the ship Laughingstock sees Bravery Cave and says that they have to go inside. Katie is watching and the puppet tells her to look under her bed. It says that they miss her and want her to visit them in the cage.
Gary and Jessica are sleeping when they hear Katie screaming. They run to her room and discover that she stabbed Dane in her sleep with a gaffing hook. Jessica calls Mike at the motel and tells him what happened, and reminds him that he said Candle Cove could make people do things. She begs Mike to come back if he's connected to it at all, and soon he drives back to Marla's house. His mother greets him and insists that Katie wouldn't hurt anybody, and Mike says that someone made her. Marla realizes that it's starting again, and Mike says that he's going to try and stop it. His mother says that she'll try and help him.
The next day at the hospital, Jessica goes to Katie's room where Gary is watching over his sleeping daughter. He goes out to hug Jessica and she says that Dane is okay. Gary says that Katie is under observation until the DA figures out whether to charge her, and Jessica says that she asked Mike to talk to Katie. Her husband says that Jessica should have talked to him about it first, and is suspicious of the fact that Mike found her. Jessica insists that they should use the resource they have and Mike reluctantly agrees.
At the diner, Marla meets with Mrs. Booth and Mrs. Booth asks how she's doing, and Marla admits that it's strange having Mike back. She asks Mrs. Booth about Candle Cove, and the woman says that her son Jacob watched all kinds of things but she doesn't remember them all.
Mike takes the elevator up to Katie's hall, and runs into one of the deputies. He wonders what makes a nice girl try and disembowel her brother, and Mike suggests it was too much TV. Mike finds Jessica and she makes him promise that she'll talk to him after he talks to Katie. Mike goes into the children's ward and notices a child's drawing of the Laughingstock. The nurse doesn't know which child drew it, and Mike takes the drawing with him.
Marla talks to the local access station and the manager confirms that they don't show Candle Cove. He's heard of it, and is surprised when Marla says that she wants to see it. The manager takes her to a studio and shows her a recording of the episode where Laughingstock comes to Iron Hill. A cat walks across the set on the show, and the same cat is in the studio. Marla realizes that the manager made it, and he says that it's fan fic. He tells her that the real show was unrecordable because of something in the show, and they all saw it in 1988. It came in on dead channels at the end of the dial, and they had to find it.
Katie stares off into space as Gary watches over her. Mike comes in and Gary leaves without a word. The psychiatrist gives Katie her stuffed bird that Jessica brought, and then shows her the child's drawing. Mike asks if she drew it, and points out the cave in the drawing. Katie still doesn't say anything, and Mike asks her what happened when she saw Candle Cove. Katie asks how long jail is, and Mike assures her that she's not going to jail and nobody blames her. He says that he knows what she did wasn't her fault, and imagines Eddie lying on the bed. Mike asks his brother where he was, and Eddie says that he's been there as well.
Gary is watching Mike and Katie on the monitor.
Katie says that she was in the cave where they went. Mike asks who else was there, and she finally says, "the boy" who was underground for a long time and then somebody took him to the cave. When Mike leans over, Gary sees it and goes in. Katie tells Mike that she has to go inside, just as Gary comes in and calls him outside. The lights flicker and the Tooth Child comes into the room and leans over Katie.
In the hallway, Gary tells Mike that he shouldn't talk to Katie unless he or Jessica is with him. Mike asks if there have been other missing persons cases, and Gary tells him that there aren't. After a moment, Mike tells Gary that Katie is going to be fine and walks off. He walks past a room and sees someone drawing yellow leprous sheets across a patient.
Amy goes to the house of a friend who has reported that someone broke in and took her keepsake box. Alex's baby teeth were inside the box,
At Marla's house, Lily calls her father mike. As they talk, she looks at the darkened doorway and tells mike that he has to go inside. After a moment, she reverts to normal with no memory of what she said. Lily says that she has to go.
Marla returns home and discovers that Mike has taped the drawing to the TV. Mike comes in and says that he found it at the hospital, and thinks Katie drew it. Marla says that it's the cement plant up by the old railyard where Mike and Eddie played as children. Mike figures that whoever made Candle Cove took Katie somewhere before he left her at the Crow's Nest, and maybe the boy she saw is still there. He insists on not calling Gary and goes to his car, and Marla insists on going with him.
Mike and Marla hike to the deserted cement plant, and Mike wonders how Marla has managed to forget what happened to Eddie. She points out that he left home and wonders if he got over it, and Mike reminds her that she sent him away. Marla insists that it wasn't that simple and she tried to protect him. Mike says that they could have helped each other, and Marla admits that she thought one day Eddie would knock on her door. He sees someone at the plant and says that he wants to talk to whoever it is.
Mike tells Marla to stay there and enters the plant. He climbs the stairs to the uppermost floor
Mike and Eddie go to the uppermost floor and play tic-tac-toe in the dust.
Mike hears someone moving and continues on to a work room. He sees the person ahead of him briefly before they disappear into the shadows, and Mike follows them into the darkness. Beyond is a room filled with lit candles, and Eddie's long-dead corpse is on the floor. Mike remembers seeing Eddie on the ground, a hook in his chest.
Once Gary and his men arrive, Amy tells Gary that the coroner think that it was Eddie. She point out that the body was positioned and preserved in an almost religious manner, and notes that Mike and Marla are still there. Gary goes over and tells Marla that she doesn't have to be there. She says that there's a roaring in her ears and she can't sleep, and says that the roaring is like rushing water. Meanwhile, Mike watches officers bring Eddie's corpse out.
Marla asks Eddie how he hurt his hand, and Eddie claims that he fell. She says that Gary's mother told her something different and tells her sons to look out for each other. Marla tells them that when she talked to James' mother, the woman laughed and warns that she can't be there for them all the time.
Back at home, Mike hears Marla in the next room, crying. Later, Mrs. Booth comes over and talks about when they found her son Jacob, dead. She assures Marla that she'll be all right and tells her that Mike still needs her. Mike is in his room, listening through the vent. He remember watching Candle Cove, and then stabbing Eddie and burying him in the forest. A voice tells him to come inside, and Mike looks over to see a life-size version of the puppet, telling him that his secrets will be safe in Candle Cove.
Mike goes downstairs to his mother and tells her that when they searched the woods, they never found anything and it was strange. He then points out that some mothers have trouble bonding with their sons, and asks Marla if she loves him. Marla assures him that she does, and Mike says that he killed Eddie and buried him in the woods. However, someone must have taken the body away because they searched the spot where Mike buried it and it wasn't there. Marla abruptly tells Mike to get out and when he doesn't, she grabs a knife on the table, slashes his hand, and walks out.
A man puts children's teeth into a jar.
Jessica reads to Katie until he dozes off, then goes to Dane and starts reading to her.
Mike walks through the woods and remembers leading Eddie there as a child. He sees a man standing ahead and walks to him, and then falls...
... and wakes up as Gary knocks at the door. Gary says that Mike has to come with him to the station and answers some questions about what Marla told him. He orders Mike into the back of his SUV and Mike reluctantly gets in.
Mike watches Candle Cove and Eddie sits down next to hm. He puts his head on Mike's shoulder.
Gary drives to the sheriff's station, and reminds Mike that Eddie wanted to be mayor. Mike remembers his brother saying that they could take turns and no one would know the difference, then points out that Gary missed the turn. Gary doesn't answer him, and Mike asks where he's taking him.
In a cave, Mrs. Booth holds out a handful of teeth. The Tooth Child approaches her and eats them from her hand, and Mrs. Booth smiles in satisfaction.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 19, 2016