Episode Report Card Jacob Clifton: A+ | 46 USERS: B YOU GRADE IT Don't Tell Mom, The Babysitter's Undead
By Jacob Clifton | Season 1 | Episode 8 | Aired on 01.21.2014
In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.After she went stabbing her dad it's kind of time for Remy to get some sleep clinic-type help. In the first consultation, the doctor reveals that Remy's been dreaming about the Preacher and the knife since she was seven, which unlocks some memories. With the support of Luke and her dad, she goes through the first round of sleep with just the hint of a demonic visitation -- but once the doctor introduces sleep drugs into the equation, she ends up sitting down for tea with the Preacher while her body falls apart.
Enter Miranda, who -- after Caleb trades threats with Uncle Collins, who pleads ignorance to the spirit jar situation -- is once again freed from the grounds. Although she's now contending with PTSD/hallucinations of her death, she's able to hack into Remy's dangerous dreams, saving her from the Preacher -- just as it was getting interesting -- and eventually getting all three of them back into the waking world. (Of course, the only one anybody can see is Remy, and Miranda loses track of the Preacher in the meantime).
What we learn from the very charismatic Preacher is that the Five are chosen for specific reasons, rather than at random, and the same forces in the waking world are responsible for the Mayor's death and the reappearance of the knife. He supplies a lot of the questions the Five should be asking -- the ones The Grunwald seems to think they'll never get to -- but in the end, he just gets real shitty on Remy and says a bunch of mean/demonic stuff, so it's not a huge loss that he's been taken momentarily off the board. Interestingly, the only thing he's not sure about is how Remy was able to time-travel to the Pact in the first place, which makes me wonder what/who else is involved in her dream powers: Odds are it's Esther, via the Mysterious Baby necklace -- it's hugely present again in this episode, and even provides Miranda with her way in.
Olivia starts the day still trying to track down the missing Dillon, but soon enough she and Tess are having a hospital shenanigan of their own, when they go to see if Springer has anything interesting to say. He doesn't, because he's in a coma, but his mother's freakout leads Remy's dad to explain Springer's secrets to Olivia: Mayor Matheson put his father in jail before he even knew him, a secret which may have led him to ally with Team Max in the beginning. After Uncle Collins arrives (and makes an apparent attempt on Springer's life) the boy finally wakes, telling Olivia he was forced to plant the knife at her house on Dillon's orders.
Running support for all of this drama are the stalwart Caleb and Luke, hacking phones like back in Rosewood and eventually following a Beatrice clue to the office of Mr. Ben Price, where we learn the backstory of H. A. Armitage: Town benefactor, high school namesake, spiritualist kook of some renown and author of the Lovecraftian tome Unseen Forces. Since Caleb's starting school next week, it seems we'll be following up with Mr. Price moving forward.
So what's up? I loved it. Caleb and Miranda's friendship, fraught though it may be, is the heart of the show -- as it should be -- and watching him sweetly help her through her feelings of displacement and dead-person FOMO was pretty soothing. Olivia and Tess make an adorable team of teen detectives, and it was nice to see Livvy so willing to be compassionate with both her former best frenemy and recent attacker at a moment's notice. (Her soft "hi" when Springer finally wakes up was probably my favorite moment of the entire episode.) Luke threw down not a once this week, nor did he burst into tears at all, but he still managed to be the strongest and most comforting presence on the show.
Collins made his few moments onscreen count (dracula) as usual, although in the Hot Old department I'm afraid he's got some unexpected competition in the raven-exploding form of Father Gabriel Abbadon. And of course you've got Remy, who makes sure to look fucking amazing before showing up for her psych eval, prepares herself for violent sleep with the dedication of a Dream Warrior, and has zero problem talking shit right to the devil's face, once she's tired of his BS. All in all, a very fun episode that maybe didn't answer too many questions, but asked just enough (finally and out loud) to feel almost weighty.
Next Week: Caleb's first day of school proves "awkward" when Miranda does some Miranda-type thing, and Mr. Price continues to provide guidance as Caleb explores Ravenswood's creepy-ass history. Collins pleads with somebody to let him help her, which I'm assuming is Mama Matheson but really could be anybody. Dillon finally shows up, putting Olivia through the wringer -- dare we hope for a double-agent situation? -- and eventually causing strife between the Mathesons when Remy also jumps aboard the Blame Dillon train. Just two episodes left!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!PREVIOUSLY
The same knife used in the Pact ritual was used to kill Mayor Matheson, and recently showed up back on his family's property. Remy saw this in a time-traveling, scarecrow-beset dream -- one she's possibly been having her whole life. Olivia reconnected with her old bestie Tess, and finally slept with Dillon before he disappeared. Uttering strange warnings, Springer got run over in a drunken state. Miranda made contact with The Grunwald's ghostly Teen Mom, who gave her back her soul jar so she'd leave well enough alone. Something tells me she will not.
CARRIAGE HOUSE
Caleb: "Hey, is that your hair-jar?"
Miranda: "Beatrice gave it to me! But not in a nice way."
Caleb, awesomely: "Last time you got out, you were tricked by literal demons into a literal haunted house, so."
Miranda: "I know a few more things now than I did back then. Like, fake ghost moms are fake, and glowing doorways are no good."
Caleb: "That is two things out of infinite things. Just be careful."
Miranda: "I hate being on this show but not being on this show! You guys get evil scarecrows and haunted barns and underground vaults, what do I get? Nothing, as usual. I like the Kelly Rowland of us. Destiny's Orphan."
Caleb: "Then what's the holdup?"
Miranda, inscrutably: "I'm not afraid of what's out there, I'm afraid of what's in here."
Caleb: "Is this about being in love with me some more, or...?"
Miranda: "What if Collins just keeps digging my dead ass up and putting more hair in this jar? I can't be bald for eternity, that would bite."
Caleb: "Oh yeah, I am definitely going to start some shit with him. BRB."
SLEEP CLINIC
Remy: "Remember earlier this evening when I stabbed my dad?"
Luke: "That's not exactly what happened. I mean, you barely got him."
Remy: "I know it was technically an accident, but what if it's only technical? Maybe when I fall asleep I become... Evil's puppet?"
Luke: "First of all, I love that you said that. Second of all, you did try to stab my eyeballs out of my head, so you might be onto something. Which is why we're here."
Remy: "Good thing I had the presence of mind to get myself looking flawless before we hopped in the car."
Luke: "It's true. Even for you, you look amazing. So anyway I'll just fill out this form for you... External factors which may be contributing to ongoing sleep disturbances."