After sounding the alarm, Dennis goes to investigate the slaughter that he's seen on the prison monitors. The prisoners locked up in their cells yell, and Dennis turns and almost shoots Reeves. As the other guards arrive, Reeves tells Dennis to put the gun down and calm down. There's no sign of the dead guards, and Dennis apologizes.
In the infirmary, the Kid sits on the floor.
Dale talks about how most people think Castle Rock has fallen on hard times, but they know that it's a plan. He talks about all of the crimes that didn't make headlines, like how in 1961 Dale takes a hard h it during a tackle in a high school game. After a moment, the boy gets to his feet. A girl sees Dale's younger brother standing on top of the school in the mascot uniform. She waves to him and he waves back.. and then jumps to his death.
Every house in Castle Rock is stained with someone' sin, including Dale's.
Throughout town and throughout the years, people die in their homes, apparently killing themselves and others. Before they die, many of them say that it was the town, not them.
A young Dale goes to his car and yells to his wife Martha that the parole board meeting will probably run long and she shouldn't wait up. He goes to Shawshank and secretly builds the cage in the closed block.
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Henry goes to the Lacy house to call on the blind Martha. She answers the door and he introduces himself as a lawyer. Martha lets him in and says that private prisons should be outlawed, and Henry asks about Dale taking a special interest in a prisoner. She tells him that Dale believed in rehabilitation, and Henry says that Northeast Correctional can't find the prisoner's file. Martha explains that Dale kept all of his work material at work, and lets Henry check Dale's home office. There are paintings of birds on the wall that Dale painted. Martha goes to take a call, and Henry checks Dale's office. He finds a file filled with newspaper clippings of strange occurrences in Castle Rock. There are calendar pages for certain dates, each one with a Biblical verse about a jailer caring for prisoners on them.
Martha comes in and asks if Henry is black, and says that a neighbor saw Henry and called. The woman realizes who Henry is and says that they were members of Matthew's congregation. Martha accuses him of taking advantage of a blind woman and walks off, and Henry notices that the basement door is locked. When he asks what is there, Martha threatens to call the state police if he doesn't leave.
The new pastor meets with his parishioners, and Jackie Torrance volunteers to be a prayer partner with one violent prisoner. Henry comes in and the pastor welcomes him. After the service, Henry asks the pastor if Dale ever confided in him. The pastor explains that Dale was before his time and preferred to pray alone. He says that he's bumped into Ruth and she told him that he represents Death Row prisoners, and tells Henry that he finds it inspiring. The pastor mentions Henry's "history" in the town and says that it's good to see redemption in the flesh.
The next morning at Shawshank, Dennis checks on the Kid. He picks up the tray of the prisoner's untouched food, and then asks if he left the infirmary. The Kid doesn't respond, and Dennis wonders if he's getting sympathetic pains from being around the Kid before leaving.
Alan goes to a hotel bar and sits down next to Porter, who is drinking. He sees her prison badge on her jacket and says that not everyone is cut for corrections work. When Alan says that he used to be a lawman, Porter asks for the check and the former sheriff says that they're naming a badge after him. He talks about how he pulled Dale over for speeding one night, and he told Alan that he figured out what was wrong with Castle Rock. Porter sits back down, and Alan explains that Dale thought the Devil was a boy and Dale had caught him and locked him in a box. The warden asks how long it was, and Alan tells her not to let the Kid out before walking away.
Porter goes back to Shawshank, and she and Boyd look at the Kid's cage. She admits to her assistant that she doesn't know what happened there, and finds a box filled with fingernail clippings. Porter figures that Dale was a decent man so he must have had a good reason to keep the Kid there. Boyd asks if she wants it all to go away, and Porter considers his offer.
Boyd goes to the infirmary and takes the Kid to a cell. He locks him in with a skinhead prisoner, Garrett Coyne.
Dale says that only a few people knew of the terrible things that they did for their home, and hopes that they've forgotten.
Henry comes down and sees a piece of cake laid out for him for breakfast. Ruth says that it was the closest that she could find to Betty Crocker, puts a candle in the cake, and wishes him a happy birthday. Henry says that he's older than Matthew was, and Ruth wonders if that's why Henry is there. She figures that Henry doesn't remember his 7th birthday, and Henry admits that he doesn't.
Molly watches the Deaver house from behind closed drapes and remembers.
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A young Molly flashes a signal via flashlight to the Deaver house, and Henry responds back using his desk light. When Molly has his attention, she waves and he waves back. As she grows up, Molly writes Henry's name repeatedly in her notebook. One night she hears Matthew calling Henry out to the car, and watches through binoculars as they drive off.
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Molly goes to the bowling alley and puts a pill in an envelope. Her sister arrives and says that her son has pink-eye, and says that she's heard rumors that Henry is back in time. The sister knows about how Molly watched Henry as a teenager, and admits that she figured Molly is doing better. Molly says that she's sold two houses, and her sister removes her sunglasses and talks about Molly's "undiagnosed psychic affliction." Her sister says that she takes prescription painkillers to muffle the noise in her head, and says that she's going to be on the TV show Local Color next week to talk about the downtown renovation. She needs $40,000 from the equity on their parents' mill for a five-year commercial lease. Her sister refuses, saying that it's the only security that Molly has and she'll freeze up on live TV. She refuses to let Molly mortgage the house, pointing out that half of it belongs to her and Molly might have to move back in. Molly says that she signed the papers in her sister's name and filed them, thanks her sister for lunch, and walks out.
At Shawshank, the Kid sits in his new cell and stares at Garrett. Garrett tells him to shut up, and then asks what kind of criminal he is. The skinhead walks over and the Kid says that he doesn't want to be touched.
Henry goes to the Mellow Tiger Bar and asks the bartender if any Shawshank guards drink there. Jackie comes in and says that Nan's Lucheonette was running a fuck club in the back and Nan tried to blackmail one of the clients but it backfired and she went bankrupt. She explains that the town voted to unincorporate a few years ago and no longer exists, and asks to see Henry's feet. Jackie has heard that he lost three toes to frostbite, and Henry refuses to show her his feet. The woman says that people used to dress up as Henry for Halloween, and Henry asks what the story is about him. Jackie relates about how Matthew opened up his home to an orphan, and then Henry lured him out to Castle Lake and killed him. Then he wandered out of the forest 11 days later and pretended he couldn't remember what happened.
Dennis comes in with three other guards and Henry tells Jackie that Matthew died at home, not the lake. He writes down his name on a napkin and has the bartender hand it to Dennis, then glances over at him. Henry goes home and hears Alan digging in the backyard. He goes back and Alan explains that he's digging up a dead dog. The older man explains that Ruth left out food for the neighborhood dog, Truck, and it died on New Year's Day. They buried it, but Ruth thinks that it's back and wanted Alan to make sure it's still dead. Alan explains that nights are hard for Ruth because of her Alzheimer's, and explains that their next appointment is in November. He sarcastically asks if Henry is available in November, and finds the case with the dog. Alan opens it up, revealing the dog twisted up to fit inside, and takes a photo of it. Henry reminds Alan that the court made him Ruth's conservator so they needed his permission to move Matthew's grave, and he also says who comes in and out of the house. With that, Henry walks away and Alan looks down at the dead dog.
Molly looks out the window and remembers the past.
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Molly's mother brings in Deputy Ridgewood, who tells Molly that they found Matthew barely alive and people are looking for Henry. Ridgewood asks if Henry ever said anything about running away, or wanting to hurt his father. Molly mutters that Matthew isn't Henry's father, and Ridgewood insists that they're just trying to find Henry. He says that it's getting colder and they need to find Henry, and Molly says that she doesn't know anything. Ridgewood leaves with Molly's mother, and Molly watches her breath condense in the air.
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Henry goes into the house, and Dennis calls from outside the house. When Henry meets with him, Dennis says that he hasn't seen the Kid since Boyd took him out of the infirmary. The CO refuses to testify in court, and Henry asks for proof that the Kid exists. Dennis warns him that he's on every list and it would take an act of God to get him into Shawshank.
The next day, Henry joins the prayer partners going into Shawshank. They take a school bus into the prison.
Reeves goes to the cell and stares in shock at what's inside.
Henry enters the prison with the others.
The COs take Garrett's body out of the cell. Another CO puts the Kid back in his cell once it's clear.
Dennis watches Henry and the others in the chapel on the monitor. He then watches the Kid in his cell.
The prison doctor autopsies Garrett's body for Porter and Boyd. She reports that Garrett's body is riddled with cancer and she's surprised that he walked into the cell.
Henry and the others leave the prison chapel. Dennis shoves the Kid out in the sunlight where Henry can see him. The Kid goes to one of the two fences separating him from Henry, and Henry yells that he can be the Kid's lawyer if the Kid says it. The Kid mutters Henry's name, and Henry takes photos as the guards take the Kid back inside.
That night, a dog digs up Dale's severed skull.
Alan sits in his car outside Shawshank reading a note from Dale, who admits that he's afraid of what's to come. Dale says that Castle Rock still has a defender. Alan burns up the note.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 29, 2018