In Tokyo, 1951, an ama diver is collecting shells from under the water. As she climbs up onto the dock, the entire structure shakes. Ishiro Honda, the director of a film crew recording location footage, takes film of a giant octopus emerging from the water.
On Waverider, Sara and Ray discuss Nora as the only way to magically heal the dying Constantine. Ray admits that she could be anywhere or anywhen, and Sara figures that Nora is hiding in the Bureau's backyard. She has Gideon do a facial recognition scan of 2018 and the AI spots Nora in Reston, VA. Gideon report that there's a new fugitive spotted in Tokyo 1951 and Sara says that Ray finds Nora while she and the others deal with the fugitive.
Zari goes to Mick's cabin to tell him that Sara has summoned them to the bridge, and finds him working on his story.
On the bridge, Sara finds Charlie drinking her whiskey. Zari and Mick come in and Sara explains that a film crew shot footage of a monster in Tokyo and the city was destroyed two days later. They need to get the footage and capture the monster, and Sara tells Charlie that she either helps them or goes back into her cage. Charlie reluctantly agrees and walks off.
At the Time Bureau, Ava and Nate tell Hank that the Bureau is putting the government money to great use. Gary brings in Baba Yaga, and Ava shows Hank the temporary facilities where they're keeping the fugitives under sedation. Hank tells Ava that it looks like she has things under control, and says that he and Dorothy are looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with Nate. He invites Ava to join them, and Nate says that it will be fun. Once his father leaves, Nate tells Ava that his family will get loaded and fight, and then Hank will be called away on an "emergency". Ava points out that at least he has a real family.
Sara, Charlie, Zari, and Mick arrive in 1951 and go to the sound stage where Ishiro works. They go into the sound stage and Mick and Zari pose as producers from K&G Pictures there to see the footage of the monster. Ishiro says that they were out on location but saw a whale. Zari asks to see the footage anyway, and Ishiro claims that it was damaged in transit. Sara and Charlie are listening outside, and they go in to find the footage.
Zari spots the two women and distracts Ishiro by asking for a tour. Charlie and Sara go into Ishiro's office to find the footage.'
Ishiro shows Mick and Zari around his miniature city, and Zari tries to distract Ishiro when he hears noises from his office.
Charlie finds the film reel hidden under a bomb. They go out and Sara signals to Zari, and she quickly leaves. Back on Waverider, Gideon digitizes the footage and the team watches as the giant octopus' tentacle emerges from the water. Charlie says that it isn't a fugitive, and figure that it's a manmade mutant or something created by atom bombs. Zari points out that they got a magic alert, and Sara has Gideon scan Tokyo Bay.
In 2018, Ren goes to the renaissance fair in Reston and spots Nora. As he goes over, a woman demands more mead from Nora. A customer takes a photo of her cleavage on his pone, and Ray "accidentally" breaks it and draws the man's sword when he tries to make a scene. Once he leaves, Nora's hits ay on the chest and he says that he needs his help.
At the Heywood home, Nate's wife Patty is trying to rein in her children. Nate and Ava arrive and Nate waves to his grandmother Violet and his uncle Rich. Hank and Dorothy come over to greet them, and Dorothy notices that Rich is into the good stuff. She tells Nate to show Ava around, and then says that the turkey has to sit for another hour and a half. Nate warns Ava that dinner won't be for six hours and she should buckle up for the bumpy ride.
Mona arrives in the Time Bureau office and brings Gary a Thanksgiving meal. She wonders what the time Bureau does, and says that she's celebrating Thanksgiving alone with Ramen and Netflix. Gary invites her to join him for Thanksgiving, and has already ordered what she likes.
In the confinement area, one of the fugitives--a Kaupe--wakes up.
Ray takes Nora to the medbay, and Constantine says that she shouldn't be there before passing out again.
The team goes to the docks after Gideon picks up disappearing fish and seismic tremors. Charlie and Zari continue sniping at each other, and Sara says that they' need to summon the monster and then use Ray's shrink ray to shrink it down. Mick points out that Ishiro is throwing a book into the water and the team goes over. Before he can explain, something throws a folder out of the water. Ishiro says that the creature is evil, and Charlie warns that it's something worse as the book glows in her hands.
The group goes to Ishiro's office and Charlie tells the others that the book is an agent of Brigid, the Celtic goddess of art and healing. It has the power to make imagination a reality, and Ishiro realizes that they're not film producers. Ishiro explains that he found the book out scouting for a film, and once he opened it he was flooded with inspiration. The monster from his nightmares came to life on the pages of the book, and then in real life. Charlie says that Brigid created it as a gift and Ishiro turned it into a weapon. Ishiro explains that the creature is Tagumo, a giant land octopus capable of destroying entire cities. He tried to destroy the book but it keeps coming back, and Charlie says that it's linked to him and won't be released until the story of his creation is played out in full. In the story, Tagumo wins and Tokyo is destroyed.
Rich gets drunken, and Patty calls her sons Chris and Tyson. They hear Nate's old air rifle go off and a scream, and Hank and Ava drink a lot of wine.
Sara tells Ishiro to draw a new ending where no one dies. He goes to work but the ink disappears as he draws. Charlie says that Ishiro can't write a happy ending if he doesn't have a happy life, and Ishiro says that he dreamed of the ruins of Hiroshima and the people being reduced to ash. Drawing Tagumo turned the nightmares into something he could understand, but now he is the monster. Sara tells him that they all deal with pain in different ways and he chose art, and it's beautiful. She assures Ishiro that it isn't his fault.
Nora tells Ray that Constantine has run out of his life force charge. Constantine says that it's best that they keep Nora clean. Ray asks if she can recharge him, and Nora says that her power comes from her father and she can't give in.
Gary shows Mona around the Time Bureau and sees that the three prisoners have escaped. He quickly locks Mona into a closet before she sees the fugitives. He calls Nate and says that the prisoners are loose. Nate warns Ava that they can't let Hank know that something is gone, tells Ava to stall, and couriers to the Time Bureau. Mona gets out of the closet and spots the Kaupe, and recognizes it. Nate quickly muzzles her and gets her hidden.
Ray finds Nora in the cargo hold, and she explains that she doesn't want to ruin the second chance that her father gave her by backsliding. Ray figures that life force is essentially energy and gets an idea.
Hank brings out the turkey and asks Nate to do the honor. Ava says that Hank is in the bathroom, and Hank goes to check on him. Stalling, Ava says that they should list all the things that she's thankful for and starts.
Mona says that it's the coolest place ever, as they find the fugitives tearing up the kitchen. Nate realizes that they're starving to death, and Mona tells him that they eat babies but veal will do. She runs off to get the ingredients before Nate and Gary can stop her.
Charlie suggest that they get the book to bond to another artist. Sara points out that there isn't an artist there, and Mick walks off. Zari goes after him and Mick says that he's a writer. She tells him that he's talented and Mick explains that he has writer's block. The sensor goes off in her purse and the building shakes. Zari warns the others that Tagumo is in the sewers and heading toward them. Ishiro realizes that it's coming for him, and Sara tells Mick and Zari to keep Ishiro safe while she and Charlie deal with the monster. They run outside and Sara tells Charlie to act as bait. Charlie refuses and runs off, and Tagumo rises up over the studio.
Tagumo knocks Sara away with a tentacle before she can get a clear shot with the shrink ray. It grabs her and squeezes, but Charlie comes back and throws a brick at it. Tagumo drops Sara and goes after Charlie, who lures it into hitting an electrical line. Sara gets a shot and hits Tagumo, shrinking it down. It disappears into the sewers and Sara calls the others to say that she has no idea where Tagumo is.
Back in the medbay, Constantine tells Nora that she's either all-in or she's not and they both know it never leads to a happy ending. Nora sees an image of a man as she links with Constantine, and Constantine tells her to do it for herself because it's no choice.
Ava continues rattling off things that she's thankful. Hank finally has enough and goes to check on Nate.
Ishiro wonders why he didn't tell sober and grounded stories instead of indulging in silly monsters. Mick tells him that sober and grounded is boring, and figures that Ishiro is proud of his work. They realize that Ishiro's story is complete and he doesn't have to fear what's inside his head. Mick starts writing and the ink doesn't disappear.
Ray brings a power cable over and asks Nora if she's ready. She says that she is and she wants to do it, and Ray feeds power into her. She feeds the energy into Constantine and he's healed.
The three fugitives are tearing up the kitchen when Mona returns with the food. They charge at her and Nate and Gary prepare to shoot.
Hank knocks on the bathroom door and opens it. Ava is with Hank and they see that the bathroom is empty. She admits that Hank the fugitives got loose, and Hank insists on going to the Time Bureau to help Nate. They courier to the Time Bureau and find the three fugitives eating in the kitchen. Nate and Gary are looking on, and explains that they let the fugitives fill up and then they'll sedate them. Mona arrives with Sriacha and Nate give her the thumbs up
Mick continues writing as Sara and Charlie return. Zari explains that the book bonded with him, and the miniaturized Tagumo grabs him. A three-breasted warrior, Garima, Queen of Thanzanon, arrives and cuts through the tentacle and then goes to fight the creature in Ishiro's miniature city set. Ishiro films it as they fight, and Garima finally manages to kill the monster. It disappears and the women cheer as Mick smiles in satisfaction. Garima walks over to Mick and kisses him, while Zari reads Zari reads the end of Mick's story about Garima and her hero making love in the ruins of the city. The others quickly leave.
Once he's done, Mick walks out of the studio and Ishiro tells him that his teammates got tired of waiting. He says that he's going to take the book with him, and Ishiro says that his creation was magnificent. Mick tells him to focus on King lizards, not octopi, and Ishiro gets an idea as Mick walks off.
Back on Waverider, Sara is cleaning up Charlie's empties when she comes with a replacement for the bottle of Sara's whiskey that she took. She admits that it's a comfort to know that Sara has a heart when she's hunting down fugitives, and they share a toast.
As the Bureau agents take the three sedated creatures back to holding, Hank tells Mona is great. Nate says that she'll fit right in, and admits that he thought he could have dealt with things before Hank found out. Hank admits that when he ducked out on "emergencies", he was looking for a way out of the Thanksgiving dinners. Ava comes over and Hank tells her that he's going to green-light additional funding for the containment facility. Ava offers that they time-travel back to a second after they left so Dorothy never realizes that they were gone.
Constantine tells Nora that he feels great and asks how she's feeling. Nora says that her whole life she believed her power was evil and she feared using it, but she saved Constantine and for the first time her magic doesn't scare her. She asks about the man she saw in Constantine's mind, and Constantine says that it's someone from his past. Ray comes in and Constantine congratulates him and then goes to have a smoke. Nora figures that Ray always wants to see the best in people, even her. After a moment she says that she should be on her way, and Ray tells her to run as far as she can and stay hidden. He doesn't care that his team knows about it and says that he wants Nora to be free, and she teleports with Ray to the Time Bureau. She tells Ray that she can't keep running, and repentance is her path to freedom. Nora gives Ray the time stone as the Time Bureau agents arrest her.
Constantine locks the book up.
Mick works on his book and about how his hero, Buck, vanquished his fear. He finishes the story and smiles.
Nate, Hank, and Ava return to the Heywood home and Hank has Nate carve the turkey. hank's cell phone ring and Nate tells him to take it. In the next room, Hank says that the creatures are controllable and Project Hades is go.
Written by Gadfly on Nov 20, 2018