At the Cortez, Tristan follows the sound of jazz music to James' room. He calls out to the owner, saying that gets him now and insists that he's a fan. Tristan recites James' history and acknowledges that he's the great serial killer who ever lived. James appears and shoves him to the bed, and Tristan says that killing is awesome. The owner says that Tristan can appreciate what he's built there and shows him the Black Closet. It has a panel in the back that swings aside, and drills mounted on the walls. James says that there are places in his murder palace that have been neglected too long, and tells Tristan to put them to good use.
As the two men talk, Will comes in with Lochlin and Claudia. Only Tristan is seated there, and he says that he's visiting a friend. Will accuses him of being a squatter, and Claudia finally recognizes Tristan from when he was a model. When the designer examines Tristan face for the cut, Tristan slaps his hand away and Will says that he will call the police if he sees him there instead. Once they leave, James and Mrs. Evers appear. James insists that Will can't be allowed to touch a single room, and Tristan assures the owner that he can handle it.
When Max gets pneumonia from his measles, Mrs. Ellison calls Alex to examine her son. Alex insists that Max has to go to the hospital. As the EMTs arrive, Mrs. Ellison says that she was reluctant to call Alex again after the doctor blamed her for Max's lack of vaccination. At the hospital, Alex looks at the nursery and thinks about how her life changed when Holden was born. She had found her soulmate, and she wondered if she loved John because her feelings for Holden were much stronger than him or Scarlett. And then her life changed again when Holden disappeared. Alex took pills to get by, and eventually she realized that her life would never be different and she'd never get over it. John found Alex trying to kill herself and saved he life.
In family counseling, the Lowes meet with Dr. Kohan and Alex says that the truth would just make them angry. She thinks Scarlett is trying to hurt them by talking about seeing Holden. Scarlett insists that she's telling the truth, and Jonathan has her repeat her story. The girl explains that there's a play room in the Cortez, and Holden sleeps in a glass coffin in an empty swimming pool. Scarlett says that her brother was different, and he smelled like lavender.
Claudia goes to her hotel room and calls his secretary, and the connection goes bad. The fashion reporter washes up in the bathroom and catches a glimpse of something moving past the door. The water in the toilet bubbles and Claudia assumes that's the source of the noise. She goes to bed and hands reach out of the mattress and choke her. Claudia manages to pull free and grabs a pair of scissors, and struggles with Gabriel as he crawls out of the mattress. He grabs the scissors and stabs Claudia to death, screaming.
John and Hahn are called to another crime scene at a newspaper office. They realize that it's a gossip site and the killer nailed their tongues to the nearest surface. The officers figure that the Ten Commandment Killer is responsible because the reporters trafficked in lies and bore false witness. As John returns to the Cortez, Gabriel staggers into his arms, begging for help before passing out.
Will is in his suite when Tristan sneaks in, picking the lock. The model apologizes for the show and insists that he's clean, and reminds Will that they used to get along. Tristan flirts with Will and notices that he's looking at the original plans for the hotel that are registered with the city. However, the designer says that they don't match how the hallway was actually built. Tristan sniffs Will and says that he smells good, takes off his glasses, and talks about his needs when he was in prison for robbery. He then kisses Will and takes out a knife, and prepares to kill him. the Countess is at the door and signals at him to stop. Tristan angrily shoves will away and walks out.
The EMTs take Gabriel to the hospital, and the nurse says that he's ODing. Gabriel wakes up and says that he thought he was killing Sally, and says that Sally lied to him. The junkie goes into convulsions and then flatlines. John goes to Claudia's room at the Cortez and finds Mrs. Evers making up the bed. Sally is there and says that Claudia couldn't stand it there with the darkness. John asks about Gabriel and Sally tells him to waste his time on junkies. She says that addiction isn't like breaking the Ten Commandments, and says that killing can be a righteous act. John slams her against the wall and accuses her of breaking into his room, and then handcuffs her when she denies it. As John takes Sally down, he says that she sent him the warning text and figures that she's starving for attention. Sally says that he's starving and unzips his pants, and tells him to show her right from wrong. After a moment, John shoves her away and asks her to let him help her. She wishes that he could and they kiss... and the Addiction Demon appears in the flickering light as Sally says that they were meant to be. The elevator arrives at the lobby, and John discovers that Sally has vanished.
Donovan arrives in the lobby and Iris goes over to offer help packing. She figures that they're moving out together, and Donovan says that he'd rather live everywhere else. Iris insists that the Countess was just using him until she got bored, and Donovan says that he's spent years trying to let her know how he despised her. His mother says that he kicked out Donovan's father because he wasn't man enough to raise a son, and says that he was a moron. Donovan says that his father made him promise to run away when he was old enough. Iris says that she gave him life and saved it, and Donovan tells her that he wanted to die just to get away from her. He says that a real mother would have let him die in peace, grieved, and moved on, and she brought him back for her. Donovan says that he's leaving that night, sand Iris wonders what she's supposed to do. Her son advises her to kill herself and leaves.
That night, Donovan kills a junkie girl and drains her. He then walks to the street and sees someone apparently having car trouble. It's a woman, Ramona Royale, who tasers Donovan unconscious, tosses him in the trunk of her car, and drives away.
In the hotel, Alex visits John. They go to the bar and Liz serves drinks. Alex notices that her husband is fidgety, and he says that he's preoccupied with a case. She suggests that he get a real drink and points out that he isn't in AA, and hands him an envelope. It contains divorce papers, and Alex insists that they have to do it for Scarlett. She thinks their daughter is telling stories because they're staying together, and admits that it's been great to have John out of the house. John insists that he loves her and begs her not to tear their family apart, and Alex angrily says that the person who took Holden is responsible. The detective breaks into tears and begs Alex to stay, and says that he's seeing things. Alex takes him to his room.
After they go out on the town, the Countess returns to Will's room and spills a drop of wine on his shirt. When he says that he's gay, the Countess says that their destined for something more intimate. She says that Will Drake has to die, and Will admits that he's lost his creative touch. The Countess assures him that he's a genius, but says that he needs to burn so he can rise from the ashes.As Will looks out the window, the Countess grabs him gently by the throne. She throws him on the couch and assures him that he won't be unfulfilled. They kiss just as Tristan storms in and demands to know what's going on. The Countess tells will that she'll call him later and walks out past Tristan.
Tristan follows the Countess to the restaurant and asks if they're through. She points out that Will has money, and admits that she's no longer rich. The Countess talks about how she met Bernie Madoff, and he took her for most of her money. Madoff went to prison and the Countess lost everything, and she insists that Will can't die until after she marries him and takes every penny he has.
Alex gets John to his room and looks at the board with all of the Ten Commandment clippings. She gives him sleeping pills and tells him to get some rest. John lies down and apologizes to Alex because he couldn't keep their family together or find Holden. Alex assures him that it isn't his fault, and John assures her that he didn't mind that she loved Holden more than him. They kiss and start to make love, but Alex withdraws when John suggests that they have another baby. Disgusted with herself, Alex tells him to sign the divorce papers and leaves.
In the hallway, Alex goes to the elevator but it doesn't come. She goes to the stairs and sees Claudia standing there, covered in blood. Alex goes back and sees Holden at the end of the next hallway. She goes to her son, and he greets her.
Sally goes to Iris' room and prepares to give her an OD at Iris' requests. The junkie tells Iris to talk about why she wants to die, and Iris can't think of a single reason why she should continue living. She admits that her son hates her and she's realized that she's the joke. Sally makes Iris swear that she wants to die and won't come back to haunt her. Iris swears and Sally prepares to give her an injection.
Donovan wakes up fastened to a chair. Pumps remove his blood, and Donovan realizes that he's in a manor. Ramona is manning the pump, and explains that she's going to pump out all of his taunted blood. Once he's cleaned up, Ramona will see if he's any use to her. When Donovan wonders who she is, Ramona says the important question is who she was.
Los Angeles, 1977
Ramona was a Blaxploitation actress in the 70s. She became a star in B movies but wanted more. The Countess approached her at a restaurant, dismissed Romana's producer with a hypnotic command, and tells Ramona that she was stopping her from making a mistake. The Countess promised Ramona that she could have a perfect world forever, and then turned her. The two women were together through 1991, and Ramona learned to be everything the Countess wanted... except hers forever. Prophet Moses was an early rapper in 1991 and hadn't broken through. His record company put him up at the Cortez, and Ramona was instantly drawn to Mo.
Later, Ramona made love to Mo and turned him. When they returned the recoding booth, they discovered that the Countess had killed the entire crew. Furious, she grabs Mo's gun and shoots him in the head rather than let Ramon became a new queen.
Now
Ramona plans to have her revenge by taking away the only thing that the Countess cares about. Donovan says that killing him won't get her revenge, and Ramona says that she needs someone on the inside to get access to the children that the Countess created. He says that the Countess dumped him, and Ramona tells him to go.
Donovan returns to the Cortez and Liz wonders why he's back. Donovan admits that he had nowhere to go. He admits that he was no actor and has nothing or no one for eternity. Liz tells him that he's the luckiest man at the Cortez, and says that he abused Iris. He admits that Iris is horrible, but tells Donovan that no one will love him as much as she does.
Iris is on her bed dying, and Sally complains that she's taking forever. She goes to Plan B and ties a plastic bag over Iris' head. Donovan pounds on the door and calls to his mother, and Sally answers the door. She says that Iris is resting, but Donovan storms in and discovers that Iris is dying. He removes the bag and insists that she can't be dead. Sally points out that he said she wanted her dead, and Donovan cuts himself and feeds the blood to Iris to turn her.
Written by Gadfly on Oct 22, 2015