Jason returns home to pack his things, and apologizes to Caroline saying that he has to go. She wonders where he's been, and Jason tells her that she had to go to the swamp. Jason says that he found the specimen and realizes that she's trembling. Caroline tells him that she had a nightmare, and describes how she was out in the swamp looking for Jason.
The Conclave hunters take Swamp Thing to the abandoned Sutherland factory the Conclave has prepared with Jason's equipment.
Caroline tells Jason that he never answered her calls and she was afraid something happened to him. Then she saw a man, apparently dead, laying on the ground. Jason assures her that it was just a bad dream. He tells her not to worry about it and to take her medication in the morning when she wakes up.
The technicians take the freezer unit containing Swamp Thing into a lab.
Jason tells Caroline that soon he'll make her disease go away just like he promised. Caroline says that she thought the man in her dream was Jason, but she realized that the "man" was a monster.
The next morning, Abby goes to Delroy's and tells Liz that Alec is missing. She shows her friend the shotgun shells that she found near the lab, and explains that the tracks showed that something big was dragged away. Abby explains about what happened to her at the CDC, and figures that Jason is involved since she gave him a tissue sample before she left. She refuses to give up on Alec, and asks Liz for her help. Liz assures her that she will, promising that she'll always have her back.
At the lab, Avery arrives and hesitantly reaches for the immobile Swamp Thing. Jason comes in and tells Avery not to touch him because he might contaminate it. He figures that Swamp Thing won't wake up, and tells the hunters to leave. Jason says that it will take him less time to assess the specimen if he's alone, and Avery leaves to deal with a few things of his own. Once he leaves, Jason reduces the nitrogen to thaw out Swamp Thing enough for him to cut the specimen open.
In his hospital bed, Daniel wakes up when the Stranger comes in. Daniel recognizes him, and the Stranger apologizes for everything that's happened to Daniel. He says that there's something Daniel needs to see, and Daniel finds himself at the warehouse. Abby and Liv are there, but they can't perceive him. They continue on into an electrical room, and security guards arrive hunting for them. When they come out, Liz yells at Abby to run. Daniel can only watch as the guards gun her down and then Abby.
Back in the hospital room, the Stranger tells Daniel that he's seeing a possible future that only Daniel can change.
Abby and Liz go to the Woodrue house and Caroline greets them. They ask if Jason is there, and Caroline asks if Jason is all right. Caroline lets them in, and Abby sees her medication and realizes that she has Alzheimer's. Liz finds Jason's papers on the table, and Caroline says that she's been taking her medication every morning. There's a muddy footprint on the floor, and Abby asks if Jason went to the swamp. Caroline says that she hates what the swamp is doing to Jason, and Abby talks about Alec while Liz takes some of the papers. As Abby and Liz go, Caroline says that Jason is too brilliant for her own good. She asks Abby to understand that everything he's done and doing has been for her.
At the lab, Jason vivisects Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing wakes up and roars, and then asks Jason what he's doing to him.
Abby and Liz go to the hospital and confirm that Jason isn't there. Liz checks the real estate records and they learn that Maria is consolidating Sutherland holdings. There's an old cement plant among Jason's notes, and they figure that Jason is there.
Jason ties Swamp Thing up and says that he's completing Alec's study into the mutagen. The specimen says that he feels it all, and Jason tells him that he found no nerves or pain receptors. Swamp Thing begs Jason to stop, but Jason keeps cutting into his chest. He finds plantlike facilities of human organs and removes them, confirming that they're non-functional. Swamp Thing tells him that he's not making any sense, and Jason tells him that Alec's body mixed in with the mutagen. The plants that formed around it absorbed Alec's human consciousness: since he remembered having a heart and lungs, his new body had them as well. Jason tells Swamp Thing that he's not a man at all, but a plant that thinks he's a man.
The Stranger tells Daniel that there are infinite futures, and says that Daniel is going to do more than just play Blue Devil in a film. He insists that Blue Devil is much more than movie characters. Daniel says that he didn't ask for any of it, and Stranger releases him from his restraints and asks what he'll do. When Daniel tells him that he's going to leave Marais, the Stranger says that saving Abby and Liz isn't up to him and walks out. Daniel wonders what he's supposed to do, and Stranger tells him to do whatever he wants and he almost envies Daniel's future journey through life. Once he's alone, Daniel contemplates his Blue Devil mask. He tells it that he might finally get the character right, and the mask flares with blue flame. Daniel screams in agony as his body burns and he transforms into a devil.
Maria is going into a restaurant and tries to reach Nathan. She leaves a message saying that Avery was plagued by limitations and she isn't so predisposed, and she expects to hear from Nathan. Avery approaches Maria with Dr. Barclay, a psychiatrist. He introduces himself and says that he's with a psychiatric institute. When Maria refuses to go with her, Barclay informs her that he's received a court order to commit her. Orderlies step out and take Maria away, and Avery promises that she'll get the help that she needs as they load her into a van and drive away.
That night at Delroy's, Delroy sees Matt drinking and goes over to talk to him. The owner says that Lucilia was there earlier, and Matt tells him that he doesn't know how he feels about his job. Delroy tells Matt that Lucilia is always looking after him, but Matt isn't convinced. Matt asks for another beer and Delroy walks off.
Abby and Liz drive to the factory and discover that people are inside. They slip in a side door and find plants growing out of the concrete floor, creating a trail. Abby figures they lead to Swamp Thing, and hear guards as they enter a shower room. The two women hide in the adjoining electrical room, and the guards hear them and come in. Abby cuts the power as they order the women to come out.
Jason continues cutting Swamp Thing open.
The guards spin around as they hear something behind them. Their comms go out and a bubble of blue flame flies in and sets one of the guards on fire. Blue Devil comes out of the darkness, burning and ripping apart one of the others. The remaining two open fire but the bullets have no effect.
Jason hears the gunshots and the head hunter arrives and tells him to go as Jason packs the organs in a cooler. The hunter says that they're relocating the specimen to a lab in northern Maryland, and Jason goes to get his wife.
The last guard, injured, opens the electrical room door and mutters about "the devil". When he prepares to shoot the woman, Blue Devil grabs him from the side and drags him out of sight. He steps back into the doorway for a moment, then turns and runs off. Abby and Liz go out past the dead guards and arrive at the lab, finding the vivisected Swamp Thing. Swamp Thing is apparently dead, but then touches Abby's hand and mutters her name. Abby breaks his restraints and turns off the lights to keep Swamp Thing from regenerating at full strength, and his organs heal themselves and the incisions grow closed.
Swamp Thing sits up and says that he's surprised Abby came for him, and that to the Sutherlands he was just a specimen. He tells Abby that he has to go back to Skeeter Cove and know if it's true, and walks off as Abby wonders what he means. The women follow him out past the guards, and Daniel is lying on the floor, unconscious and naked. He wakes up, sees the guards that he killed, and runs off.
Outside, Abby tells Liz that he has to be with Swamp Thing. Liz goes to determine who the guards were working for, but first tells Abby to be careful.
Matt drives down the highway, drinking. He swerves into the path of an oncoming truck and manages to swerve at the last moment. Matt tunes the radio, and looks up as he slams into an abutment.
Jason returns home and calls to Caroline, saying that he's found an organic process capable of curing her Alzheimer's. There's no response, and Jason finds Caroline in the bedroom, staring off into space. He realizes that his wife took all of her medication, and Caroline collapses into his arms.
Avery visits Maria in her room and talks to her privately. She wonders what judge he bribed, and Avery explains that a judge owed him a favor. Avery says that Nathan won't help her, and he told Avery that she tried to cut him out. He figures that Maria made a deal with Lucilia, and says that he wants to know why Maria betrayed him. Maria talks about the nights Avery spent with Lucilia, and he tells her that she could have been at her side when he succeeded and leaves. Maria says that it isn't over, and Avery tells her that it is.
Abby finds Swamp Thing looking out at the cove. He tells her that he has to know for sure and walks out into the water, ignoring Abby's pleas. Swamp Thing rises out of the water a minute later... holding the body of Alec Holland. He tells Abby that he's sorry, and that the body is Alec and Swamp Thing is what he is.
Written by Gadfly on Jul 27, 2019