At the Heart board meeting, Stacey insists that their new proposal is what Blood Drive needs. Old Man Heart tells the board that the race is more than entertainment and testing the blood engines: Blood Drive is the greatest sacrifice in human history, a sacrifice for Heart Enterprises. He then tells the Gentleman that they're offering a chance to be worshipped as Master of Ceremonies. The Gentleman agrees to claim the role.
Race Night 8: Mayhem Party
Arthur works on the Camaro and blood drops onto his face. Cursing, Arthur wipes off his face and sees his journal on the floor. Looking through it, he finds an entry he made when he was working with Chris.
Arthur and Chris are on patrol and Chris insists that they go to a nearby drive-thru because the woman he likes is manning the intercom. Arthur wonders what's to like about the girl, and Chris says that he comes there three times a week and she's always nice. He realizes that Arthur has been holding down the intercom button and the woman heard everything he said. The woman hands over their food at the next window without comment, and Chris complains that Arthur screwed it up. Her phone number is on one of the cup lids, and Chris writes it down on a page of Arthur's journal.
At the Mayhem Party, Grace sees rasher and asks where Julian is. He tells her to fuck off, and Grace punches him and tells him to try again. All Rasher will say is that Heart called him in. She knees him in the groin and walks over to where Julian is apparently demanding... and discovers that it's the Gentleman. The Gentleman tells her that he's in charge now and activates the implant, driving Grace to her knees. He tells her that once the race is over, there will be a direction for it. Grace warns that they love Julian, and the Gentleman says that he's tired of hearing about Julian.
The last three racers come in, and the Gentleman blows up the heads of all three drivers. Their cars go out of control and crash, and the Gentleman says that he can do whatever he wants. He tells Grace that she and Arthur subverted Julian to fin Karma and that's why he's on his way out grace punches him and two men hold her back. He throws the switch on the remote to blow up Grace's brain, but nothing happens. The Gentleman calls over the Scholar and demands an explanation, and Grace says that the Gentleman can't blow up anything inside the party walls. The Scholar admits that she's right, and the device is designed to stopping people from doing what the Gentleman is. As Grace walks off, the Gentleman warns her that if she breaks the rules outside of the walls, he'll blow her up.
Grace goes to the garage and finds Arthur bleeding into the blood engine. He tells her that he's leaving and didn't want to leave her with an empty tank. He's got evidence against Heart but nothing but his own testimony to tie it together. Grace says that she's with him because there's nothing for her to race for, and Arthur risked his life for Karma without even knowing her. She cuts her arm and feeds the blood engine, and figures the best way to avenge Karma is to stick it to Heart. Arthur agrees to let her tag along, and figures that need a way to stop Julian from blowing their heads off. Grace explains that the Gentleman is the new MC.
In the Heart cafeteria, Julian, now a janitor rehearses his speech about taking the Blood drive into the Scar. Stacey tells him that it's no longer his life's work. He figures that they'll come begging for him when Blood drive goes off-track. They turn on the race and Julian discovers that the Gentleman is the new MC. Stacey tells Julian what happened, and Julian stabs her in the stomach with his broom handle. As Julian considers what to do next, Chris and Aki come in to eat and Julian sees Chris' access card.
The Gentleman dines with the drivers and says that they need to spend civil time together. One driver kills her partner, and the Gentleman yells at her to sit down and stop interrupting. Another driver says that he doesn't want to be a pussy, and the Gentleman throws a knife into his throat. He asks if there are any further distractions.
Arthur and Grace approach the Scholar and ask if he can pop the implants out of his heads. The Scholar warns that they can't be removed, and hits himself in the head as he complains that he's not smart enough. Grave figures that they need to steal the controller from the Gentleman, and they need to hide in plain sight. She unbuttons Arthur's shirt and he finally realizes that she wants him to seduce the Gentleman. Grace shoves Arthur into the tent where the dinner is occurring, and the Gentleman agrees to slip him in.
Julian goes to the Hall of Secrets, and Chris approaches him. He suggests that they can help each other and tells Chris that he just needs to crack Aki's code. If Chris opens the door then he'll help tap into Aki's visual feed. Chris agrees and Julian leads him to a concealed panel. They go inside and Julian says that Aki has done a number on Chris. They come to a door marked "Do not open" and Julian gestures Chris ahead... and is careful to avoid the video camera on the wall. He then tells Chris that inside is one of Heart's mistakes: a prisoner just like Chris. Chris opens the door and Julian adjusts Chris' implant and tells him what channel to access. Before Chris can do so, the door opens and Julian tells Chris to run, and then yells at the prisoner to follow him. When he sees what's coming, Chris runs.
The drivers at the dinner keep fighting, while the Gentleman flirts with Arthur. Grace sneaks in and searches for the control, while Arthur tells the Gentleman that as far as he and Grace, that's not how he swings. The control is next to Rasher, and Grace distracts him while sliding the satchel with the control over using her foot. The Gentleman reaches into Arthur's pants, and then asks Arthur how stupid he thinks that he is. Grace opens the box and discovers that it's empty, and the Gentleman triggers the brain frying circuit.
A blood gate opens in the floor of the next room and the Gentleman switches off the control to focus on it. A large humanoid crawls through the gate and strides into the dining room, and rips one driver in half. The others try to sneak out and the Creature rips off one racer's arm and rips it off. The Gentleman figures that Heart is testing him, and tells the Scholar to fix the damaged control to torture Arthur and Grace. The Scholar admits that they saved his life at the diner, and the Gentleman says that they did it to save themselves. He insists that he's honest and sees the value of the Scholar's technical expertise. The Gentleman tells the Scholar that he's repulsive and the Scholar can help him and share in his spoils, or be alone. After a moment, the Scholar goes back to work.
The creature flips over one driver's car and continues rampaging through the base.
Chris finds Aki's video feed and sees her having sex with Gower. Gower talks about how she likes watching Aki seducing Chris, and figures that he really loves Aki. Aki doesn't understand and Gower tells her that she wouldn't understand because it's a human thing. Furious, Chris slams his fist into the wall... and realizes that he left a dent.
Arthur finds a crowbar to use as a weapon, and tells Grace that their best bet is to go back to LA to take down Heart. Grace wonders what they'll do then, and Arthur says that he's not fighting or going on missions. The Gentleman comes in and Grace punches him to the ground. She asks where the controller is, and the Gentleman admits that they're his best fighters. If they kill the Creature then he'll let them go free. They don't trust him, and the Gentleman points out that he has a race to get on with.
In the conference room, old Man Heart smashes in one member's head when he speaks up. He tells Garrett to figure out who the Creature is, and Garrett says that they have a theory.
Heart experiments on a test subject, feeding him a combination of their most potent drugs. The scientist accidentally throws it in the subjects face, and he goes berserk.
Julian enters the board room and says that he thought Old Man Heart wanted Carnage. Old Man Heart points out that he can't test the engines without a race, and Julian points out that that it can't be fault because he's a prisoner. He plays a video showing Chris letting the Creature out, and says that Old Man Heart would have to ask Aki what Chris is doing there. Julian asks why the Gentleman isn't fighting the Creature, and assures Old Man Heart that it'd be a smear on the ground if he was there. Old Man Heart gives Julian one more chance to get Blood Drive back on track or Julian will be executed. He then demands to know more about Chris.
Arthur attacks the Creature, which shrugs off the crowbar attack and then knocks Arthur away. Grace attacks it as well as Arthur comes back, running him through the gut with a metal rebar. It grabs her by the throat and tosses her away, and Arthur says invites it to come squash him. When it charges at him, Arthur kicks the rebar further in. as Grace and Arthur start to kiss, the Creature pulls the rebar out and the couple realize that the fight isn't over.
Chris breaks into the bedroom where Aki is with Gower. Aki invites him to join them, and Gower says that Chris can watch but he has to get naked. Chris warns that Heart brainwashes their prisoners, and Gower insists that she's no prisoner. When he wonders what they've done to him, Gower says that Aki is a sex toy and Gower did it to him. She tells him that everything Chris did was for Heart. The cops spread chaos, but when the partners got too close to the truth, they led them to the race. Chris goes berserk and breaks Gower's neck, and Aki points out that according to her algorithms there are some modifications left before Chris can murder. Chris says that love doesn't obey algorithms, and Aki lifts the security restraints and tells Chris that he's free to go. Chris walks out without a word.
Arthur pounds on the Creature, while the Gentleman tells the Scholar that he could kill them all in one click if the control was working. The Scholar tells him to shut up, saying that the Gentleman can't rush genius, and the Gentleman warns him that he's forgotten his place. He turns around and discovers that the scholar has left... and left the implant on the table.
Grace looks for weapons and finds a bottle of hot sauce. Meanwhile, the Creature throws Arthur across the room and into a car. Grace runs over and confirms that he's alive... and the Scholar rams the Creature. It shoves the car back against the engine's power, and Grace yells at the Scholar to pop the hood. When he does, Grace sprays the Creature with hot sauce. Blinded, he falls into the engine and it chews his arm off. It gets back to its feet and chokes Grace, but Julian arrives, cuts off its head, and yells that Daddy's home.
Julian says that they've all been very naughty and gives his knife to Rasher to clean up. The Gentleman comes in, furious that Julian is bad, and insists that the race is his. He swings his sword at Julian, who easily avoids the attacks and says that the Gentleman failed because what Julian does is an art form. He's been a hundred steps ahead of everyone and manipulated them all into joining Blood Drive. Julian admits that he drugged Karma to get Grace to join the race, and the Gentleman grabs the control box and says that if he can't be in charge, he'll kill every racer. The Gentleman says that he let the Scholar do things to his beautiful penis just to keep winning, and throws the trigger switch. His head blows up, and the Scholar picks up the control box and hands it to Julian. Julian fist-bumps him in congratulations.
Grace is tending to Arthur, and walks over to Julian. He triggers the brain-frying circuit, but she keeps coming and promises that Julian is going to die. Arthur tells her to stop, and grace screams in agony and collapses. Arthur walks over and confirms that Grave is alive, and Julian tells him that she'll live. He orders Arthur to get back in the car, and Rasher will send coordinates.
Julian asks if Arthur wants to test his limits, and Arthur gets Grace in the Camaro and says that he'll drive for a while. The Scholar joins them and Arthur asks if he wants a ride. They get in the car together, while Julian tells Rasher to apologize for helping the Gentleman. Rasher refuses, and Julian smiles and tells him to send Arthur and Grave through Red River. When Rasher warns that will take them to the edge of the Scar and they weren't supposed to kill Grace, Julian says that what Heart doesn't know won't hurt them. He then addresses one of the car cameras, telling Old Man Heart that from now on Blood Drive will continue as he sees fit.
A film crew arrives for Julian's on-tape interview. When he hears that it's for marketing, Julian complains that they can come up with something more creative than a disembodied voice asking question. The interviewer wonders what he means, and Julian films himself talking about how he has time for himself. He says that he likes walking through coffins, posing for the semi-annual Blood Drive charity fire calendar, and making coffins. Julian proceeds to show what he does on his day off, which involves dancing with his groupies on the Suck Bus. The interview thinks that it's great, but wants to incorporate a few of the network's ideas... and ends up in one of Julian's coffins.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 27, 2017