Previously: Jonesy was tarred, Ruthie was possessed, Eleanor was oar-ed, and Sofie prayed.
It's nighttime at the Carnivàle, and a naked man is crawling around on all fours. Sure, why not? He crawls up the steps to one of the trailers and enters. He crosses the floor and raises his head. It's Lodz, naturally. Or unnaturally. He looks over the edge of the bed at a sleeping Lila. And then Lila starts to ooh and aah and gasp and pant and make it rain, except without the rain. She wakes up happily, but her smile fades when she looks down the bed at the figure hidden under the covers. Lila nervously pulls the blanket up until at last, Ruthie's smiling face is revealed. Along with her whited-out eyes. Ruthie says, "There's my buttercup." Ruthie crawls up over Lila and they kiss enthusiastically.
Ben drives down the highway. Libby, sitting to him in the cab, looks at him raptly. Ben eventually tells her to stop staring at him because it's giving him "the creepin' willies." No, the creeping willy was in the last scene. Libby apologizes and faces the front for about two seconds before she starts peering at Ben again. Ben grumbles, "For Christ's sake." The truck is jolted by a pothole or something, and Jonesy asks why Ben's in such a rush. Ben says that he has to get them back to the Carnivàle. Jonesy asks, "Then what?" Ben says he's got stuff to do, and sighs, "Probably too late as it is." Jonesy asks if he and Libby messed up Ben's plans. Ben says, "Couldn't be helped."
A fully Lodz-ed Ruthie sits up in the bed, holding the opium pipe as Lila takes a puff. Ruthie says, "It was the boy. Ben Hawkins. He's the one who took me from you." Lila asks about Samson, and Ruthie sighs, "Covered it up." Lila's strangely unsurprised about Ben's role in this. Then Ruthie says that she (or "he," I suppose) has to go. When Lila protests, Ruthie calls her "my little clarinet," and says that it isn't practical to stay in Ruthie's body. Lila says that she doesn't care what people might say, but Ruthie says that the only thing that matters in this world is what other people think of you. She adds, "Besides, you'll be seeing me soon." Lila asks if Lodz intends to go body-snatching again. Ruthie says, "No, my dear. In the flesh." Ruthie's head nods abruptly and Lila shakes her, calling for Lodz. Ruthie opens her restored eyes and looks around, startled. After a moment she leaps out of bed, holding the blanket around her. Ruthie asks what she's doing in Lila's trailer. Lila calmly sniffs, "You were doing fine. Now you're just leaving," and tosses another blanket at her. I'm guessing this might be a sufficiently odd development for Lila to tell Samson about the message on her mirror.
Ben arrives at the Carnivàle. Libby and Jonesy hop out of the truck, and then Jonesy tells Ben to wait a second. Ben protests, but Jonesy insists, "I got something for you," and leads Libby away quickly. As they walk, Jonesy reminds Libby not to tell anyone what happened, and prompts her on the cover story they've prepared for Rita Sue. Libby recites, "You got liquored up, in a fight. You been pinched, and we spent the night in the tank." Meanwhile, Jonesy has stopped by another truck and started pulling fresh clothes out of it. Well, relatively fresh. He puts on an undershirt while Libby complains that her mother already thinks that Jonesy's a bum. Jonsey says, "Good. Let's keep it that way." Libby asks how Jonesy plans to hide his healed knee. Jonesy explains that he's going to go back with Ben, and pulls another wadded-up bundle out of the truck. That must be the laundry truck. He insists, "It's something I have to do," and heads back for Ben's truck. Libby protests, and when that doesn't work, she offers to go along. Oh, Ben would love that. Libby whines, "Mama's gonna make it hard. She's gonna tell everyone you left me cold." Jonesy calmly says that if she does, then Rita Sue will look silly when he comes back. Libby tearfully asks if Jonesy really will come back. He says he will, and they kiss quickly.
Jonesy gets into Ben's truck. Ben says, "I thought you said you had something for me." Jonesy says he's the something. Ben doesn't need company, but Jonesy says that Ben's got it whether he wants it or not, and asks, "Gonna sit here all night?" Ben sighs and drives off, leaving Libby standing all alone on the highway.
Cheyenne Motor Court. That was fast. Jonesy has put on a button-down shirt, and it seems that he's also got a revolver in his bundle of stuff. Ben looks a little surprised, but he doesn't protest. I'm kind of wondering how Jonesy knew he'd want that. It seems a little odd: "I'm going with Miracle-Boy on an unspecified quest. Better take a gun." And given the rules of drama, and the fact that they really didn't need the gun in this episode, I think that someone's going to get shot in the week or two.
Jonesy rings the bell for the manager. While they wait, I have a question. Didn't Ben spend all that time last week astral-projecting himself through the motel? So, shouldn't he know which room Varlyn and Scudder are in? The manager finally wanders out in his robe, looking irritable. He asks if they want a room, showing off his German accent. Ben explains that they're looking for a pair of men who checked in in the past day: one with long white hair, and the other bald. The manager suspiciously asks if his visitors are cops or G-men. He's not a very observant guy if Ben and Jonesy look like cops. The manager says that he doesn't want trouble, and prepares to stomp off. Jonesy insists that they just want to talk to these guys. Ben slides a fifty-cent piece across the desk. The manager's eyes light up, and he takes the coin and says, "This is not the Ritz; it is fucking Cheyenne, Wyoming, do you understand me?" He says that three people checked in in the past day: "The first was a big, huge, fat woman, the size of a tank. Sweating all the time, disgusting. Full of donuts." There's a beat, and Jonesy says, "And...?" Heh. The manager seems a little sad that nobody's interested in the fat lady, and shrugs, "Two men, just like you say." Aw, just wanted to talk about the donut lady. He's lonely!
The lonely German manager leads Ben and Jonesy toward Varlyn's room, complaining about the weather as they walk. Jonesy pulls out his revolver and cocks it as they reach Varlyn's room. The manager finally notices the gun and asks, "You want you should kill somebody?" Okay, I guess I'll assume that Ben explained some of the situation to Justin on the drive up. Which seems terribly unlike Ben, but fine. Jonesy hushes the manager and gestures at the door. The manager knocks loudly and then opens it. It's room 13, by the way. How could Ben forget a room number like that?
The three men enter the room. Varlyn and Scudder are gone. The camera pans around, showing the general mess: unmade beds, sheets tied to the headboard and footboard on the second bed, and...wait, motel beds with footboards? Wow, this is a pretty fancy motel after all. The manager gripes, "Gott damn, I had a feeling about those two." Jonesy goes to the sink, where some blood has dripped into the basin. There are also some syringes sitting on the sink. The manager looks over the kipple and complains that his visitors were "fucking chronics." Ben and Jonesy trade a look while the manager grumbles his way out.
Varlyn's car pulls up outside Casa de Creepy.
Inside, Iris answers the door in her robe. Varlyn introduces himself and says, "I got business with Brother Justin." Iris hisses about how late it is, but is cut off when Justin says, "Iris..." She turns to see Justin, fully dressed in his cassock, standing to Wilfred. Iris stares at them both and accusingly asks, "What's he doing here?" Justin grunts, "Upstairs." He finally says Iris's name again, and she scampers upstairs like a kid caught trying to peek at the Christmas presents early. Varlyn slowly enters, removes his hat, and falls to his knees in front of Justin. As Varlyn kisses his hand, Justin strokes Varlyn's head tenderly. Aw. Varlyn finally looks up, and Justin asks, "Where is he?"
At the motel, an exasperated Jonesy says, "We've been all through this room. Might help if you told me what you're looking for!" Jonesy, considering that you forced your company on Ben so as to repay him for saving your life, maybe you should be a little more polite. Ben searches through the dresser as he says that he'll know it when he sees it. Jonesy huffily sits down in a chair and starts reading a newspaper aggressively. Which you wouldn't think was possible, but I assure you, it is. As soon as Jonesy starts reading the paper, it's obvious that the clue Ben's looking for is on the front page. Because Jonesy picks up the paper and opens it immediately, without even glancing at the front, which is not how you read a newspaper unless you're just holding it up so that someone else can notice the front-page headline. And that's what happens. Ben grabs the paper out of Jonesy's hand and allows us to see what's so interesting. There's a photo of Justin cradling Balthus, with a bold headline reading, "I Command Thee, Stop!" Jonesy asks who the guy in the photo is. Ben says, "Someone I gotta stop." Just like in the headline! Cute.
Dawn. It seems that there's a small empty house slightly down the hill from Casa de Creepy. I wonder if the former owners moved when they saw that the neighborhood was filling up with Shatyvillians, driving down the property value. Varlyn, Brother Justin, and Wilfred enter. Scudder's sitting inside the mostly empty building, tied to a chair, with a burlap sack over his head. Varlyn pulls the sack away, and Justin bends down to examine Scudder, who's nodding his head around in a dazed way. Hee. I think John Savage is having fun poking his tongue out at everyone. Justin pokes at Scudder a little and asks, "This is your prophet?" He slaps Scudder's cheek lightly and calls his name, but then gives up. He chuckles about fouling his hands with "the blood of this pathetic creature, to receive the boon of an idiot." But then again: "So be it." Justin mentions that he's never killed someone with his own hands. Varlyn casually says, "It's fun. You'll like it!" Hee. Justin pulls a small scythe off the wall as Varlyn observes that it's too bad Scudder's too drugged up to feel anything. Wilfred gasps, "Drugged up?"As Justin reaches back to slice off Scudder's neck with one swing, Wilfred grabs Justin's arm and shouts, "Don't!" Varlyn instantly hurries to pull Wilfred away, and Justin roars, "If he touches me again, kill him!" Justin turns back to his work as Wilfred moans that Justin won't get his boon this way. Wilfred gasps, "You didn't tell me this buffoon drugged him!" Justin snaps that Wilfred told him to keep Scudder restrained. Wilfred argues, "His mind must be clear during the passing! If he is impaired or delusional, it would be disastrous!" Justin says "Rarr!" and whirls around angrily to ask for more details. Wilfred says that "madness or even death" could result if Justin kills Scudder right now. Justin tells Varlyn to release Wilfred, and sighs that they'll have to wait for the drugs to wear off. Then he stands about two inches away from Wilfred and stares at him nastily, before going "Rarr" again and sticking the scythe in the wall. Exit Justin. Varlyn teases Wilfred for "shaking like a pussy willow in a hurricane," and follows. I was hoping that Wilfred and Varlyn would get along better. Like, they could sit down with a couple of beers and talk about the evil-minion business, and giggle at the way Justin says "Rarr" and stuff.
At the Carnivàle, Libby has just finished giving Rita Sue her cover story. Rita Sue is doing her nails while she scoffs, because she can multitask. Rita Sue cheerfully mentions how Stumpy once told her he was late because he was helping someone round up some goats. The highlight of all this is Rita Sue drily saying, "Can you imagine? The very idea of your daddy stopping to help somebody." Heh. She asks for the truth, and is full of false sympathy as she guesses that Jonesy abandoned Libby. Libby, who got a very nice tan from her day in the desert, insists that Jonesy will be back as soon as he makes bail. Scoffing leads to shouting, and Libby starts to storm out when Rita Sue snaps, "You can't even hold on to a cripple for more than a night or two!" Libby's mouth falls open for a second, and then she turns to face her mother.
Varlyn sings, "If You're Happy And You Know It," as he fastens the straps of a straitjacket around Scudder. Oo, is there going to be a magic trick? Scudder's still in a daze. Varlyn finishes with the straitjacket, puts the sack back over Scudder's head, and exits the Shack de Creepy. He puts a padlock on the door. At which point I say, "You went through all this effort and in the end you're going to leave the guy with magic powers unguarded for a few hours?" Sure enough, Varlyn drives away. Man, evil is dumb.
Carnivàle. A new day has dawned, and Lila and Rita Sue are laughing merrily in the chow tent. Rita Sue chuckles, "Like father, like daughter. Natural-born liars." Lila giggles as she asks if Jonesy's still supposed to be wandering around somewhere covered with tar and feathers. Rita Sue sarcastically explains that Ben "laid his hands on [Jonesy] and healed him up just like that, just like some kind of hillbilly witch doctor." Lila stops laughing and monotones, "Isn't that original. Hawkins a holy man. What a riot." Rita Sue, who is singularly oblivious to Lila's sudden mood change, goes on gossiping about how Libby can't hold on to a man. Lila tells Rita Sue that she's a good mother and hustles off. As she leaves, she passes a concerned Samson sitting at a table nearby.
Casa de Creepy. Wilfred shakily sips some tea in the dining room. Justin enters and stands behind Wilfred, then puts his hands on Wilfred's shoulders. Wilfred stiffens and after a moment gasps, "I'm sorry!" Justin removes his hands and strolls over to the window as he asks Wilfred to provide some exposition. Wilfred hesitantly explains that Justin will only receive "the full measure of the boon" if it's given freely. Justin doesn't think that Scudder is in a generous frame of mind. Wilfred says, "He would have no choice if you took him by surprise." So when Wilfred said "only," he really meant "one of two ways." Wilfred notes that Scudder's too paranoid to catch off-guard, and sighs that Justin will have to risk taking his boon by force. Justin fretfully reminds us, "At the risk of madness or death." Wilfred basically says them's the breaks, and that if Justin hesitates, Scudder may escape. After a moment, Wilfred reminds Justin about his promise to let Wilfred have a word with Scudder. Hey, he didn't promise! And that's what Justin says. Only without the "hey" part. Wilfred stands up and blusters, "But I insist!" Justin looks at him curiously, and this is pretty much where he forms this week's Evil Plan. Justin finally says in his extra-nice-and-therefore-scary voice, "He's dangerous. No, I could never allow you to take such a risk." Justin purrs that Wilfred is much too valuable to put in danger that way. A terrified Wilfred sits down as Justin prompts him to drink his tea.
In Jonesy's tent, Libby flips through a magazine. Samson pokes his head inside and says, "Come on, we need to talk."
Libby walks outside and over to Samson, who's standing by Management's trailer. Much to her surprise, he leads her inside and tells her to have a seat. After the obligatory staring, Samson mentions that he once saw someone get tarred in South Dakota. Libby grumbles, "She didn't waste no time blabbering about it, did she?" I like the way she said "blabbering." Samson grins, "Well, she thinks you're crazy!" Libby asks if Samson does, too, and he tells her that he knows about Ben. Libby moans that she promised not to say anything. They trade a little bit of exposition and then Samson yells at Libby for telling Rita Sue what happened. Libby bursts into tears and says that Jonesy will hate her when he finds out. Samson reassures her that it'll be their secret, but that she can't tell anyone else about Ben. Libby nods, and Samson asks where Ben and Jonesy are now. Libby explains that after Ben and Jonesy kicked her out, they headed off to a motel together. Helloooo, nurse. Maybe Rita Sue had a point. Samson insists that as soon as he knows exactly where they are, he'll take of everything. Yeah, I have no idea what he's talking about. Plus, he knows that Ben was headed for Cheyenne, and if he didn't know about the motel, he does now, so how much more information does he want? Samson adds, "You can set your watch by that." Samson, you already owe Ben fifty cents. You might want to be a little more careful about making hasty promises.
Jonesy drives the truck while Ben naps.
Outside Casa de Creepy, Sofie is beating some rugs. And standing upwind of them. Moron. Soon enough some dust blows into her eye, and she grumps, "Shit." Behind her, Justin chuckles, and Sofie turns and apologizes. Justin smilingly tells her, "Vulgarity is not a sin against God, but against polite society. And, between you and me, I don't give a shit about polite society." Sofie grins and admits that she doesn't have much use for it either. Justin adds that the society types are generous, though, "so we are tolerant." After a little bit of staring, Justin asks after Iris. Sofie says that she's with Balthus. Justin turns and walks away, and Sofie returns to her rugs. As she thwaps the rug, Justin stops like she just hit him, and smiles blissfully. Heh.
Balthus scribbles something on a notepad and hands it to Iris. She reads it and replies, "Yes, I've noticed that, too. Strange, isn't it?" He writes something else and Iris argues, "No, absolutely not! I almost lost you; I can't take that risk." Balthus makes some incoherent noises to argue his case. Iris reassures him that Justin won't be so lucky time, as long as they work together. Balthus looks up at something behind Iris. She turns to see Justin's shadow in the hall, and then Justin enters. As he apologizes for interrupting, Iris subtly shoves the notepad under the mattress. Justin kneels to Balthus's bed and asks if he's feeling better. Balthus nods rather vigorously. Justin politely greets Iris as well, and then says, "It's turning into a beautiful day." Iris makes affirmative noises. After a moment, Justin reminds Balthus to "be a good boy," kisses Iris on the cheek, and leaves.
Management's trailer. Samson answers a knock at the door to find the motel manager from Cheyenne standing in front of him. The manager hands Samson the rolled-up newspaper. Samson takes it with some bewilderment and cheerily says, "Much obliged, Fritz." He starts to close the door again, but the manager protests, "The boy said you would give me ten dollars when I put that fish-wrap in your hands." Samson, slow on the uptake, scoffs. The manager snatches the newspaper back and stomps back toward his car. I don't like how dumb they both are in this scene. The manager should have argued more. I mean, he's invested several hours of driving in this already; what's another minute of explaining? And even if he's too dumb to do that, Samson should have said, "Which boy?" immediately. But instead, the manager is halfway back to his car before Samson calls, "Hey, Fritz!" The manager snaps, "My name is not Fritz; it is Klaus." Heh. So Samson confirms that "the boy" is Ben, and calls Klaus back as he pulls out some money. Was that so hard? Klaus hands over the paper and takes his payment. Samson says, "Pleasure doing business with you...Fritz," and slams the door on the irritated manager. I bet Klaus goes back and tells the donut lady all about this.
Back inside, Samson opens the paper. There's now a circle around Justin in the photo, and also some writing. I think it says "Found him!" And something else. And I'm sure someone else can decipher it, but once again, if I've got it frozen on a 35-inch screen and can't make it out, I'm going to assume that it's not worth fussing over.
Samson strides through camp, commanding that the dust be shaken. He trades significant glances with Libby, and she smiles.
Off go the trucks. Wow, they packed up in no time at all without Jonesy. Maybe he was holding them back.
Tent of Jericho. Iris is stopping to smell the flowers, and singing "What A Friend We Have In Jesus." She starts collecting the prayer-book pamphlets spread on the pews, and we see that Sofie is also there collecting pamphlets. Sofie interrupts Iris's joyful noise to thank Iris for taking her in. Iris says that it's their pleasure. After a moment, Iris suddenly comments on what an unusual name "Sofie" is, and asks if it's Jewish. Sofie explains that her mother was a gypsy, and that she didn't know her father. Iris, intrigued, asks where Sofie grew up. Sofie says, "Around." Iris muses, "Around. I hear it's nice there." Not really. Instead, she asks where Sofie was born, and the answer is: "St. Paul." Iris, oddly, says that she and Justin loved St. Paul. Which is where they lived. At some point. Apparently. The dialogue is almost drowned out by the sound of gears grinding together, but Iris asks Sofie to tell her more. Sofie ducks the question, and Iris takes a step closer as she says, "Everyone in New Canaan has something in common." Sofie guesses that the common element is Brother Justin. Iris nervously admits, "That's part of it," and pulls Sofie down to sit on a pew to her. Iris says that they're all bound together because "every one of [them], at some point, has been discarded." She holds Sofie's head in her hands and insists that Sofie is with God's people. Scary! Iris adds that the past is like a bad dream now. Sofie makes that smile you make when you're trying not to cry, and Iris gently holds her arm. Sofie says, "My mother was a fortune-teller, and we traveled with a carnival for most of my life." Iris nods encouragingly.
Flashback-ish vision or whatever. A young Sofie sits at a table in a house. Apollonia is just barely visible through a doorway in the background as Sofie reads the cards for a woman we only see in silhouette. Sofie voice-overs, "Before that, we had a proper home. A little walkup near Lexington. We did readings there." Young Sofie is telling the woman, "The Tower: ruin." In voice-over, Iris asks if Sofie's father was a gypsy. In the flashback, we zoom in as young Sofie looks into the camera and says, "No." And then Present-Day Iris is standing in the room, looking a little tense as Apollonia gasps off-screen, "I know you're a good person -- don't, don't do this!" Justin growls, "I gave you a chance. Hold still, you gypsy bitch!" And then we hear Justin grunting and Apollonia screaming. The camera slowly pans around Iris until we see that she's staring in horror as a younger Justin rapes Apollonia on the dining-room table. Justin looks up and says: "Iris?" Well that's one question settled. Felt kind of anticlimactic for some reason. Maybe it's the what-the-fuck-ness of it all.
We return to the present, and Iris is gripping Sofie's arm tensely and shaking. Sofie asks if Iris is okay, and apologizes for upsetting her. I don't know if Sofie thinks Iris is horrified by the mention of apartments, or what. Iris tries to recover and insists that it's just the heat. She stands up, fanning herself, and says that she has to get up to the house.
Casa de Creepy. Brother Justin stares out the window at some guys with rifles standing in the driveway. Varlyn explains, "Just since I've been here, I've seen a few fellas I recognize. I reckon there's more." He explains that he's recruited men to post as guards all over, and suggests that they should have "some kind of fancy name." Justin curtly asks how much longer he has to wait. Varlyn figures Scudder will have recovered by that night. Justin tells Varlyn to check on Scudder after sunset, and asks if he'll need help. Varlyn sniffs, "When have I ever needed help?"
Iris knocks on the dining-room doors and enters. Varlyn stands and removes his hat, and Justin introduces them formally. Varlyn's all smitten with Iris, which seems peculiar. Nothing against Iris, mind you. Justin explains that,"in light of the recent attempt on [Justin's] life," Varlyn's been putting some security in place. Oh boy, they're creating a compound! Varlyn explains about his volunteer force, and Justin dubs them "The Knights of Jericho." Iris snarks, "Isn't that catchy?" I don't really buy Iris being this uppity so suddenly. She asks about Varlyn's qualifications, and whether he has a résumé. Justin assures her that Varlyn has lots of experience in "matters of physical security." Iris sniffs, "In other words, he's a thug. A first-class goon." Varlyn smiles, "First-class -- that's me, all the way." Heh. Iris huffs off. I would think she'd at least appreciate Varlyn's cheery attitude. He'd brighten up the usual gloomy attitude in Casa de Creepy. Come to think of it, Varlyn would fit in really well in Mayberry. At least till he killed Aunt Bea.
Dinner time. Sofie serves a silent Iris, Balthus, and Justin. Justin watches as Iris wipes Balthus's mouth, and then hands her untouched plate to Sofie, who takes it back to the kitchen. Justin tells Iris that she should eat: "Waste is a sin." Iris harrumphs, "So is gluttony." Balthus watches nervously. With Sofie out of the room, Justin sneers, "Did you really think a dried-up old spinster and a pathetic, delusional cripple could harm me?" Iris glares at Justin, and throws her silverware on the table with a clatter. Sofie returns and offers everyone lemonade. Justin grins hugely and says, "I think we'd both like some. Wouldn't we, Iris?" Sofie tops off the glasses while Iris sulks. Justin compliments Sofie on all her hard work, and Sofie beams. Justin continues, "I want you to take over the care of Reverend Balthus." Sofie is surprised, and Justin explains that taking care of Balthus has "become a bit too taxing for Iris." Iris sits back in her chair, resigned. Sofie nods and starts to leave, but Justin invites her to sit down and eat with them. Sofie takes a plate and sits down, thanking Justin happily. Iris stands and excuses herself.
Iris finds Varlyn sitting in the upstairs hallway. Iris asks what he's doing there, and Varlyn says, "I guess you're not taking care of Balthus anymore." Iris accuses him of eavesdropping, and Varlyn continues, "If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with that old boy that a pillow couldn't fix." Iris snaps that Varlyn's very sensitive, and heads for her room. Varlyn jumps in front of her and says that Iris smells nice: "I like the smell of a woman. You know, the one she has no matter how many baths she takes?" Iris tries to shove past Varlyn, saying that he disgusts her. Varlyn shoves Iris against the wall and presses against her as he says, "Good. We got something in common." As he holds her, he grunts, "You need to get rammed. Hard." I guess maybe Varlyn wouldn't kill Aunt Bea, after all. At least, not at first. Yes, I know: straight to hell. Iris struggles and squeals as Varlyn kisses her. She twists and shoves him away, then dashes into her room and slams the door. Varlyn smirks, "Well, now Varlyn, that wasn't very Christian of you, was it?"
Someone carries a lantern to the Shack de Creepy, and smashes the padlock. It's Wilfred, who enters and asks Scudder, "Remember me?" He pulls the sack off of Scudder's head. Scudder stares into space like he's still doped up. Wilfred says, "I spoke with Bennington. He says you have the Sauniere manuscript." Ah. I was wondering what Wilfred's motivation was, and it turns out to be manuscript ex machina. He asks Scudder where the manuscript is, and shakes him angrily. Scudder's eyes snap into focus and he answers that the manuscript doesn't exist. Wilfred sighs, "We both know that's a lie." Scudder agrees. Wilfred expositions that the Usher will tear Scudder's soul apart, whatever that means: "All those years, running and hiding. All those years, you could have killed yourself. But didn't quite have the guts to do it." Wilfred makes Scudder an offer: "Tell me where the manuscript is, and I'll smash your fucking brains in right now. That way, you beat the Usher and keep your soul." Scudder finally says that the manuscript is hidden in a priory in Rennes-le-Chateau. Wilfred laughs gleefully and thanks Scudder, then heads for the door. Scudder calls Wilfred back to fulfill their deal. Wilfred says, "Sorry, old chum. But we all have to give the devil his due." Which, funny, but now I'm back to not understanding Wilfred's motives. Whatever. Wilfred drops the hammer and turns for the door. Scudder screams Wilfred's name, and his eyes go black. The door slams shut, and Scudder stands up to use his superpowers to bring on the cheese.
Scudder stands up and the straitjacket kind of flies off him. Which is when someone slips a sepia-tinted gel over the camera. And things are in blurry slow-motion. Lordy. Wilfred tries to open the door, and we get a POV shot of the camera zooming toward him while Scudder yells, "Yaaah!" Wilfred runs and starts trying to pull the scythe out of the wall. Scudder looms into the camera making booga-booga gestures. This is deeply embarrassing to watch. Then Wilfred's on the floor, and Scudder makes some pawing motions, and there's blood, and then Scudder pulls Wilfred's heart out. Herschell Gordon Lewis has nothing to worry about. Really, guys, you can do some impressive things with sausage and fake blood; there was no need to go for the sepia and slo-mo. Scudder paws around some more, and the camera lens is covered with blood. Oooh, scary.
Varlyn returns to Shack de Creepy, still singing "If You're Happy And You Know It." He finds the smashed lock on the porch. Well, yeah, if you're going to post guards all over except around the prisoner, that's what you get. Varlyn draws his gun and enters, using his lighter as a torch. He sees the straitjacketed, hooded figure in the chair. Gee, I wonder who it is. Varlyn pulls the sack off, revealing Wilfred's bloody head. It looks like Scudder might have grabbed the hammer at some point. Varlyn chuckles and examines the wounds in Wilfred's face with some technical admiration. I can't help it, I still like him. Then there's a distant vrooom, and Varlyn rushes out onto the porch and fires a few shots at his car, which is being driven away.
Scudder drives Varlyn's car down the long driveway to the gate. At the gate, one of the Knights of Jericho is asking when they'll get paid. Another one answers, "We're volunteers. We don't get paid, jackass." They look up and see Varlyn's car pulling to a stop. The slightly smarter guard walks over to the car, and then pulls his rifle up as he realizes that the driver isn't Varlyn. Scudder, his eyes still black, raises his hand and uses the old Jedi mind trick. The guard has put one hand on the car door. Scudder puts his own hand just over the guard's and finally says, "Open the gate." The guard gasps, "Yes sir, right away." He rushes back , shouting at the others to open the gate. They swing it open and the car drives through.
Scudder continues down the road, and then looks in the rearview mirror. Brother Justin looms up out of the back seat, holding the scythe. He loops the scythe around Scudder's neck and pulls, and then instead of bothering with sepia, we get an all-red screen as Scudder screams.
Vision-vert. The sky is red as Justin stands near the spooky tree, holding the scythe and Scudder's severed head.
Rain pours down. Varlyn's car has gone off the road and stopped. The horn sounds until Justin steps out of the back seat and pulls Scudder's headless body back off the steering wheel. "I can't have my moment of epic triumph with all this noise," he grumbles. That taken care of, Justin stands in the rain with his arms stretched up to the sky. Well, good for him.
And poof, it's the day. Ben's driving again as he and Jonesy travel a curvy road through the hills. Ben stops the car and explains that he's thirsty. Which is faintly disturbing, since we do see a lot of cattle standing around, and it's not clear where Ben's planning to quench his thirst. Ben and Jonesy hop out of the car, and Ben walks over to the trough that a cow is slurping at. Ben pumps out some fresh water and then stares at the trough. Which is pretty gross all by itself, with the cow's snout stuck in it, and the floating flecks of ick and the general brackish quality. Oh, and plus there's Scudder's severed head, sitting there at the end. His mouth is still open like he's screaming, and then we cut in closer to his mouth while there's a metallic scream on the soundtrack, because this hasn't been goofy enough already. Ben races back to the truck and jumps in. Jonesy joins him as Ben starts the truck, and they move on. I wonder if Ben's all, "Psst, don't look, but I think that one of those cows killed my dad!"
The truck goes around a bend in the road and arrives at Shantyville, and we fade out.
time: wardrobe changes abound when Justin wears a blue shirt, Ben wears a hat, and Sofie contemplates a mask. It looks like there's going to be a whole lot of skulking.