At the Sutherland manor, Marie talks to Avery on the phone. He's at a motel room, and says that he has a meeting in the morning and will be back after that. The chandelier at the manor vibrates, and Maria notices and hesitates. After a moment, she tells Avery that Susie might be awake and thanks her husband for his help arranging the girl coming into their home. Avery thanks Maria for funding Jason's researching, saying that with it he'll be able to keep Susie and many others healthy. The chandelier continues shaking, and Maria says that she's going to check on Susie.
Avery hangs up and notices that the room's other occupant has gotten a call from Liz, but ignores it. Lucilia comes out of the motel bathroom and lays on the bed, and invites Avery to join her.
Maria goes up to Susie's room and hears a female voice calling to her. Continuing to the bedroom, Maria goes in and sees Susie cowering under the covers. The girl says that someone was standing there, someone angry: the girl from the pictures that she drew earlier. Maria dismisses it as a nightmare, and Susie begs her to stay there. Leaving to get a blanket from the closet in the hallway, Maria comes back and discovers that Susie is gone and the bed is made up. She searches for the girl and finds water coming out from underneath a door down the hall. Maria opens the door and finds a bathtub with dirty water flowing over the edges. In the tub is Shawna, who opens her eyes and rises out of the water. Maria hugs her, and Shawna says that Maria is trying to replace her, first with Abby and then Susie. Her mother assures her that it was only ever Shawna and she loves her more than Shawna will ever know, and Shawna secretly smiles.
In the swamp, Swamp Thing finds a yellow marker on a tree that he left as Alec to indicate an active mutagenic site.
In the past, Alec figures that what is happening will be good for his career when he discovers the cause. He figures that everything is about to change.
Angry, Swamp Thing looks at his face in the reflection on the water, and watches as a body drifts to the surface. He backs away in shock, and vines grab his arms and leg. He sees more bodies surrounding him, and yells at the swamp to make it stop. The vines release him, and Swamp Thing hears a song coming from a radio on a boat with a Stranger in it. Swamp Thing moves back into the shadows, but the Stranger turns off the radio and beaches his boat, and casually asks Swamp Thing how the fishing is. The Stranger says that he loves it out there and he can hear the trees whispering their secrets. He invites Swamp Thing to join him, and Swamp Thing realizes that he's not afraid of him despite his appearance. The Stranger says that transitions are never easy, but nobody can take away what it's in someone's heart except for the person themselves. Swamp Thing wonders who the Stranger is.
Daniel closes his video store for the night, gets into his car, and speeds away. He mutters "Do it" and tries to drive out of Marais, but pulls over at the last minute. Daniel gets out and yells that he lived up to his end of the bargain, and asks if he can leave now. He extends his hand past the town boundary and it bursts into blue flame, and he screams in pain and manages to put the fire out. Yelling, Daniel says that Abby is there now and he saved her, and never would have made the deal if he'd known he was going to be trapped in Marais. He takes a first aid kit out of the trunk and curses the Blue Devil costume that he has there. Behind him, the eyes of the face mask glow blue.
The next day at the motel, Avery and Lucilia finish having sex. Avery wonders what's gotten into her, and Lucilia says that she needed whatever got into her at the party. She gets up and says that they both know it works best when they keep it short and sweet. Avery notices that she's still wearing the ring he gave her a long time ago, and asks if she ever thinks about what might have been before Maria arrived. Lucilia assures him that he's still calling the shots, and sees that Liz called her. Avery asks what it's all about, and Lucilia explains that Liz is asking about the evidence of gunshots that Abby found at Mosquito Cove. She tells Avery that she has to solve Alec's murder before Liz does.
At the hospital lab, Abby continues analyzing Swamp Thing's cell sample. As she makes a tape log and wonders if it's beyond science, Jason overhears her. Jason asks where the sample she showed came from, and Abby insists that it's a CDC professional matter. He points out that the sample's regenerative properties could revolutionize medicine, and Abby figures that he wants to get the credit for himself. Jason asks if her discover had anything to do with Alec, noting that Alec was the only scientist is the only other scientist in Marais and may have come across the cellular material. Abby gets a call from Susie and abruptly leaves without answering Jason's question, and tells the girl that she'll be right there.
Delroy comes into the restaurant kitchen and finds Avery slicing open a dead turtle. Avery explains that he's making turtle soup and used his key to let himself in, and reminds Delroy that he owns the property so it's his kitchen. Avery talks about how he's always worked for Marais and wonders if people appreciate that. He says that Liz is digging up dirt on him and he needs her to ease up a bit for the good of the town. Avery hopes that Delroy could talk to her and convince her to stop her investigation. He insists that Delroy try his turtle soup.
Delroy refuses, and when Avery insists, Liz comes in and tells Avery to taste it himself. She sends him out to talk to a contractor, and then tells Avery that his bullying Delroy won't work. Liz asks where Gordon is, and Avery claims that he was told the banker went on a vacation. The reporter says that Gordon was going to talk to her about some loans he made to Avery a few days after Alec was killed. Avery angrily says that if he had done what she's accusing him of, he wouldn't let her get in his way. He figures that she doesn't have anything else and advises her to do everyone a favor by leaving him alone. Liz tells him that the time when the Sutherlands controlled Marais are gone, and advises him to stay away from Delroy.
A local, Mike, takes Jason out to the Alec's lab. Jason sees footprints on the floor and takes a sample of plant matter from them. He uses a microscope to confirm the plant matter is the same as what Abby showed him, and figures that he's been thinking too small.
The Stranger goes to the shore of the river to fish, and Swamp Thing wonders why the Stranger brought him there. His new associate suggests that the place may have called Swamp Thing there. The Stranger says that he might just be a phantom from a dream, trying to help Swamp Thing understand the things that he already knows. He figures that Swamp Thing has seen some things in the swamp. When Swamp Thing says that he's seen ghosts, the Stranger touches a tree and it "whispers". The Stranger says that the Green connects all of the trees together, and what Swamp Thing has seen is things that the tree have seen over the centuries. He says that the Green is warning Swamp Thing that there's danger there for someone he knows: danger from the past returning.
Swamp Thing touches the tree and the vines on it wrap around his arm. He "sees" a memory of Abby swimming in the river near the bridge, apparently drowning and calling to Shawna. The Stranger and his boat disappear without a trace.
Abby arrives at the manor and Maria opens the door before he can knock. She realizes that Susie called Abby, and says that she can never deny her. Maria insists that Susie is fine and has been a real blessing for her, and they hear Susie singing. Abby recognizes the song as the one that was playing on the radio when she and Shawna went to the bridge as teens, and Maria says that "she" is waiting for Abby.
Abby goes upstairs to Susie's room and enters. "Susie" says that she's surprised that Abby came, because when people really need Abby she's never there. Abby examines the girl and says that everything looks great. She asks about the song, and "Susie" says that it was their favorite when they driving around. "Susie" calls Abby "Y-Bee", and Abby asks if Maria put her up to it. The girl says that Susie isn't there anymore and she won't let Maria replace her with the little nothing.
The doctor asks the girl why she's there if she's Shawna. The bedroom door shuts on its own, and Shawna's corpse form replaces Susie. Shawna screams and the light bulbs explode, and water fills the space beyond the window and a corpse knocks on the glass. The corpse tells Abby that she wants to see her in the swamp, drowning like Abby let her drown. Shawna coughs up black goo and an eel, and Abby says that she can't be Shawna because Shawna is dead. As she goes to the dawn, Shawna turns back into Susie and tells Abby that she's dead because of her.
Going back downstairs, Abby angrily asks Maria if she's been filling Susie's head with stories. Maria says that the girl knew, and Xanadu brought her Shawna back to her. Abby insists that she didn't want Shawna to dead, and Maria tells her to get out before she calls the police. Once Abby leaves, Susie comes to the top of the stairs and Maria goes to her and says that everything will be all right. Shawna says that the water is calling her back, and asks Maria to come with her to the swamp so they can be together forever.
As Abby goes to her car, Xanadu arrives and figures that Shawna has come back… and warns that the girl is in danger. Maria drives by with Susie in the front seat of her car.
Lucilia goes to talk to Remy DuBois, who was working the docks the night that Alec was murdered. Remy knew from the harbormaster that Lucilia was going to come by, and Lucilia points out that he was the only person on duty the night that Alec died. As he cooks a rat, Remy says that it doesn't look good for Matt. When Lucilia asks if anyone else knows what Remy saw, Remy grabs a shotgun, aims it at her, and says that it's going to cost her for him to keep his information secret. Lucilia says that he can put the gun down so they can talk about it, and asks how much he wants. Remy demands $50,000, and says that Matt had dynamite and was in Avery's boat. Lucilia draws her gun and shoots Remy repeatedly, and tells the dying man that no one threatens her son. She then picks up a newspaper and uses it as a shield to shoot Remy dead without blood getting on her Lucilia then calls it in, asking for a CSI team and a coroner.
As they drive through the night, Xanadu tells Abby that she did what was asked of her even though she knew it was wrong. Abby insists that she knew Shawna and the ghost she confronted wasn't Shawna, and that she isn't 8 watching her mother Anise live and die by Xanadu's advice. Xanadu insists that she was trying to help Anise, and Abby tells her that her mother needed real help.
The possessed Susie takes Maria to the water, where Shawna reaches out her hand to her mother. Maria says that she's afraid, and "Susie" asks if she wants to be with her. The older woman says that she does and walks out into the water, and Susie collapses.
Abby and Xanadu arrive on the bridge above, and Susie runs up and says that the dead girl has Maria. Abby tells Xanadu to get Matt and runs to the river, calling Maria's name. She goes out into the water and tells Maria that she's sorry that she killed Shawna, Maria turns and says that Abby should be dead, grabs her by the throat, and shoves her under the water. Abby manages to break free and swims away, and Shawna's body emerges from the water and shoves Maria under. Abby swims down and tries to find Maria, and when she comes back to the surface, Swamp Thing emerges from the river holding an unconscious Maria.
Swamp Thing sets Maria on the shore and Abby manages to resuscitate her. She tells Swamp Thing that Maria came there to be with Shawna, and Swamp Thing says that he saw her in the water and she was in pain. When Abby points out that happened 14 years ago, Swamp Thing touches a nearby tree and bonds with it. He touches Abby's shoulder, and she finds herself at the bridge, watching as her teenage self and Shawna drove up at 5:30 in the morning. Shawna wants to jump into the river below despite Young Abby's objections, Young Abby jokingly pushes Shawna off the edge of the bridge, and Shawna sinks below the water. Abby's younger self jumps into the water to rescue Shawna, and Shawna comes up laughing. Something pulls Shawna under the water, and Young Abby swims down to see her friend being pulled into the depths.
When Swamp Thing removes his hand, Abby realizes that something took Shawna. Police cars arrive on the bridge, and Swamp Thing figures that the whole thing was a warning. Matt calls to Abby, and Swamp Thing disappears into the shadows. He watches as Matt arrives and tends to Maria, and then offers his jacket to Abby.
At Delroy's, Liz is drinking at the bar. Delroy insists that he can look out for himself. Daniel is at the bar drinking and says that he's not going anywhere, and Liz notices his burned hand. Be asks if Liz likes it in Malais, and Liz talks about how she went to NYC after graduation. She became an editor rather than a reporter, quit, and came back to Marais. Liz admits that she likes it there, and goes out to her car. The tires are slashed, and two thugs grab her and tell her to stay out of other people's business. Liz takes down one man, and Daniel runs up. The other thug hits him over the head with a crowbar. The first thug recovers and the two men run off.
Avery arrives at the hospital and demands to see Maria, and a nurse tells him that Maria is stable. Jason approaches Avery and tells him that the sample Abby recovered is from a living creature. Avery says that they'll talk about it in the morning, and Jason tells him that he needs the source of the sample on a table so he can dissect it. Reconsidering, Avery gives Jason the name of the best hunter in the business to track down the source.
Written by Gadfly on Jun 29, 2019