The Winchesters (2022) s01e07 Episode Script
Reflections
1
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DEAN WINCHESTER] Comes a time in
every hunt when the fightin' starts.
And the difference
between winning and losing
isn't whether you have the holy water,
the wooden stake, or the silver bullet.
It's whether you've got the
grit to get the job done.
- [WALKIE-TALKIE STATIC]
- [MARY OVER WALKIE-TALKIE] Nothing over here. You?
Uh, copy. Same thing here.
That tower doesn't look like much.
According to Carlos' research,
they've been bouncing
signals from radio towers
all over the country,
some outside of it even,
drawing in unicorn
monsters from everywhere.
[JOHN] To here in Lawrence.
We took out the monsters.
The Akrida took their essence.
You really think the
answers to what the Akrida
could be doing with that
essence are in there?
There's only one way to find out.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Any idea who crashed this party?
♪
It's my dad.
His bag. It's covered in blood.
[GRUNTS]
♪
[GROWLING]
[SIGHS]
Maybe we should try jumper cables.
Oh, I've tried that.
I've done everything I could think of.
Potions, blood magic, shock treatments,
God, you name it.
Nothing will get that
damn thing working.
Okay, well, something has to.
All right? This box is
literally the only thing we have
- that can kill the Akrida.
- Carlos,
I have looked through
every piece of lore we have.
I mean, clearly the
Men of Letters wanted
to keep their workings a secret.
Every secret comes to light eventually.
Ada, what did you find?
The Men of Letters mother lode.
I thought you were
helping Tony get settled
off the Akrida radar.
Yeah, I got him safe and sound.
Then we started looking
into how to help Tony
with his Djinn side,
which led into digging
into the Men of Letters
lore, which then led to this.
Turns out my son has
a nose for research.
I knew we were nerds of a feather.
Tony found a shell
company listed as the owner
of two of the offices
we've already investigated.
The company owns one
more up in Michigan.
I went to go check it out.
It too was left for dead
just like the others.
All of these abandoned offices.
And what do you think
happened to the Men of Letters?
Like, wiped out by monsters? Retirement?
I-I don't know.
However they left, they made sure
to carefully guard everything
they left behind in Ann Arbor.
They left a watchdog.
This time a werewolf.
I took care of it, grabbed everything,
and came straight back to Lawrence.
The rest of it the
rest of it is in my truck.
There has to be something in here
about out buggy little friends.
[KNOCKS ON TABLE] I'll got get the rest.
He can't be gone.
- We don't know.
- He can't be.
- Mary
- It's all my fault.
I told my dad I wanted to leave hunting,
and ever since he's
been out here on his own.
If I'd just kept my stupid mouth shut
[CAR TRUNK THUMPING]
Took you idiots long enough.
Hey!
Who the hell are you?
The body belongs to Hector Salazar,
but I'll give you three guesses
as to who the mind belongs to now.
Akrida.
Wow. Got it in one.
Guess you're the brains of the outfit.
Where's Samuel Campbell?
Oh, you mean Grumpy?
Sorry, the man who captured, tortured,
and was generally unpleasant
in both manner and odor
was not exactly
forthcoming with the name,
so I called him Grumpy.
Samuel works too, I guess.
What did you do with my dad?
I'm just a worker bee, hon.
They don't tell us everything.
I was left here to give
you a simple message.
Our work here at the tower is done.
We have everything we need.
All that sweet, sweet monster
essence is in our hands now.
What's all that for?
The queen, silly.
Stand down, go home, and enjoy
whatever life you have left to live.
Tell me what your plan is.
And tell me where my dad is right now.
[CHUCKLES] I'm starting
to see the resemblance.
I told you everything you need to know.
Nothing can stop what's coming.
We got a box that says different.
That's not gonna do a damn thing.
Yeah, we'll see.
Okay, you gave us the message.
- Let Hector go.
- No use now.
Me being in here has cooked through him.
You humans are so soft.
To be honest, given what's coming
for all of mankind, I'd say
ol' Hector here got off easy.
Long live the queen.
[DOOR SQUEAKS]
- Where are we?
- I'm still titrating the different essences,
trying to find the
optimal blend for each.
This magic is complex.
Hmm.
I thought we put you in this flesh sack
- because he was good at this.
- He is.
Now, I know this won't hurt you,
but I'm happy to go poke your real body
in all the right juicy places.
Move faster.
The dig has begun.
It'll be ready. I promise.
That's the spirit.
[GROWLING]
Well if you're here that means
our little friends found Hector.
[GROWLING]
Do they now? Good.
Time to make a little trade then.
If Dad is still alive,
he doesn't have much time.
There was a lot of blood,
Losi, and not just on this bag.
Mary, you act like he hasn't lost
a pint or two in his day.
I found something.
Our box has a name.
They call it the Ostium.
Oh. Latin for an opening in the body.
What, didn't any of you guys
ever go to Sunday School?
So is that thing organic?
Is it a mouth or [CHUCKLES]
any other kind of hole?
Let's just stick with a mouth, please.
So this box eats monsters?
I don't know.
"Ostium" and a date are printed on it,
but the rest of the report is
filled with a bunch of files,
and I can't make out the handwriting.
These notes were either written
by a doctor or a five-year-old.
No, no, no, no. This can't be right.
- What is it?
- It's my dad's handwriting.
- Can you read it?
- I don't know. I mean
Hey. Figure out what you can.
My dad was staying at a motel nearby,
so I'm gonna head over there
and see what I can figure out.
Oh. I-I'll drive.
Let her go. She needs to kick that tire
and we need your eyes on these pages.
Okay, some of this I-I can make out,
but other parts, it's like
they're not even real words.
That's because they're not.
It's shorthand. Like
a court stenographer.
I read something about it
in a Men of Letters book
here at the clubhouse.
A ledger that had an abbreviation key.
Your dad was an initiate.
Part of paying his dues was
taking notes in meetings.
With your eyes and Lata having
the key to the shorthand,
maybe we can piece together
what your dad was trying to write about.
I think I might know someone who
can read this faster than I can.
I know what you're
thinking and you're wrong.
You always think I'm wrong.
And I'm usually right
about that, so listen to me.
It's not your fault.
I was gonna be a rock star, Mare.
My mom and dad told me so.
You see, I know you know
that ghouls killed my parents,
but I never told you why they
were in Phoenix to begin with.
I asked them for a new guitar.
I begged them for it for months.
And I was relentless.
I mean, you can imagine.
So they took a gig.
It was a corporate party,
and they hated them,
but the money was too good.
So I went back to the
motel, and I waited.
And I waited.
But I never saw them again.
[SIGHS]
Carlos, that isn't
Your fault.
Yeah. I know that now.
But it took me a little while to realize
that the only people
responsible for killing
my parents were those ghouls.
[GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC]
♪
So how did you let go of the guilt?
I didn't.
I'm sorry; I know I'm
supposed to rally you here,
but we both know that
I am a terrible liar.
How did you cope?
By getting revenge.
Tracked down the monsters
that killed my parents
and erased all but two of them.
I'll eventually find
them. But until then
We're gonna find the
Akrida and make them pay
for even laying a finger on your dad.
It's part stenographer
shorthand and part
Code.
Okay. This'll get us halfway there.
And we'll handle the other half.
[SIGHS] I'll be damned.
For a so-called Man of Letters,
Henry never met a consonant
or a vowel he couldn't butcher.
I could always read your dad's writing
because I knew the context
shopping lists, bills paid
Love letters.
I don't think we need to unpack
Hey. You asked me here.
If I'm gonna help you, I
need to know what's going on.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
♪
We're trying to save mankind.
What?
You're kidding, right?
♪
Your father's chicken scratch
is the key to saving the world?
If you can decipher it, then yes.
♪
[SIGHS] Great. No pressure.
♪
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
Well, that was the cleanest
motel Dad's ever left behind.
Probably wasn't there that long.
Thinking maybe we should
double back to the radio tower,
- see if there's an
- [SIREN WAILS]
Oh, damn it.
The cops.
[GROANS] Okay. I need
you to do me a favor.
I need you to reach under the seat
with an open mind and
take the little baggie
that's under there and hide it.
I don't care where.
[KNOCKING AT WINDOW]
[WHISPERING] Just do it.
Afternoon, Officer. Love the sunglasses.
What seems to be the problem?
Figured it was time we finally met.
Easy, Officer Mustache,
that's fine polyester
you're laying your dirty fingers on.
Don't worry.
Your friend is just gonna
have a little time-out
while us two girls have a chat.
Don't do anything stupid, kid.
What did you do to my father?
He's alive for now.
If you want to kill
the woman in this body,
knock yourself out.
I'll keep on rockin'
with or without Roxy.
Be a shame to ruin
such a beauty, though,
don't you think?
- What do you want?
- The Ostium.
You want a box that can kill you?
[CHUCKLES]
That box can't kill me.
Nothing of this Earth
can kill yours truly.
Then what do you want with it?
Not your concern.
Look, you're out of
moves, and we both know it.
So listen carefully.
There is a phone booth
on Halstead and Maple.
That phone is gonna ring
at 10:00 p.m. tonight on the dot.
You're gonna take that
call and get instructions
on where to go for the exchange.
Your dad for the box.
You really think I'm gonna trust you?
Honey, I don't care if you trust me.
But if you want your daddy
back in working order,
you're gonna do like I say.
I didn't mean what I
said about your glasses.
- Hey, you okay?
- Mm-hmm.
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
- What does she want?
- The box
in exchange for my dad
if he's even still alive.
Well, good thing I put a hex
bag in the back of that cruiser.
We just need the right
spell to track them.
You can cast that spell?
Of course not.
But our sweet little
Samantha Stevens, Ada, can.
I mean, look, this is
obviously some sort of trap.
But if we can trap them, we
can get the drop on Queen Roxy.
And get revenge.
Roxy has my dad.
But we have an insane idea
on how to get him back.
How insane are we talking?
Certifiable with a side of sassy.
Do you know how to track a hex bag?
If I know the ingredients of the bag,
then yeah, I can track it.
Well, can you do it
before 10:00 tonight?
That's when Roxy wants to
trade my dad for the box.
That's gotta be a trap, right?
Which is why we gotta
find Roxy before the drop
and get this Ostium
working before we leave.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I just needed a break from
that handwriting and those kids.
How do you put up with them?
I let them pretend to be in charge.
And I drink.
Henry never brought me for a tour.
I didn't even know this place existed.
Henry talked about you and John.
Anything good?
All of it good.
He did worry what his vocation
was doing to his marriage.
Oh, here I thought he didn't
worry about that at all.
It's the only reason
he wanted to separate.
Thought it'd be better for you and John.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
Would have been nice to
have heard that at the time.
I said as much.
I said, "If I had what you
had, I would never let it go."
- But, you know, Henry was
- Stubborn.
I was going to use a bit
more colorful wording.
Seeing John here, it's
like history repeating.
I can't lose him the way I did Henry.
John isn't closed off the way Henry was.
- Now, if he could just
- Let go of his anger.
Yes.
John told me about your son.
Tony.
- How's he doing?
- We're a work in progress.
I'm making up for mistakes,
and he is learning to
let go of his anger.
Boys.
[GLASSES CLINK]
I'm still new to all this.
So how does this locator spell work?
Plants break the earth
to reach for the Sun.
This one, though, will
reach for the hex bag
Carlos put in the cop car.
Excresco.
[WIND HOWLING]
[BLIND FAITH'S "CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME"]
♪
Fascinating.
According to what Millie deciphered,
the Ostium doesn't kill monsters.
- It transports them.
- Where?
I'm not sure yet.
But there's good news here.
The Akrida are an invading force
that act as one.
They infiltrate, wipe
out all signs of life,
and take over whole worlds as their own.
You and I have very different
ideas about good news.
The good news is that the Akrida all
share a connection to their queen.
It's similar to a colony of ants.
Using the box on the queen
will cut the connection to the colony.
They can't survive without their queen.
We take out the queen, we
take them all out in one shot?
So we use the Ostium
to boot the queen to God knows where.
The rest of the Akrida are toast.
Mary's dad and the day are saved.
Carlos, what's wrong? That's good news.
Y-yeah.
It's just that, you
know, once we do that,
uh, Mary's done with hunting
and our band is splitting up.
No more Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
♪
Come down on your own ♪
And leave your body alone ♪
I'm gonna miss us.
Hey, guys, you gotta come see this.
But I'm near the end ♪
And I just ain't got the time ♪
Oh and I'm wasted and I
can't find my way home ♪
Plant marks the spot.
- Wait, we were just there.
- That's where we found
the last person the
Akrida were targeting.
You know, where Mary got stung?
So what are the Akrida doing there?
♪
Ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
And I can't find my way home ♪
Ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
Still I can't find my way home ♪
And I ain't done nothing wrong ♪
No, no ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
If this is where the Akrida has my dad,
we can save him.
We just gotta get
this box working first.
- So where are we?
- Nowhere, I'm afraid.
And by the time we get through all this,
Tricky Dick will be in his second term.
[CARLOS] Well, when
you put it like that,
the Akrida taking over
doesn't seem half bad.
Unless Nixon's an Akrida.
Clock's ticking.
The meet with Roxy's in a couple hours.
Look, there is something useful here.
I know it. Okay? We
just need to find it.
I think maybe we already have.
- What do you mean?
- I came across this earlier.
I thought it was crazy.
But that was before I
watched Ada transform
a plant into a compass.
Here, see for yourself.
Okay.
It looks like instructions to
some kind of spirit session.
Sounds like some kind of séance.
What if we don't have to keep looking
through Henry's notes?
What if we can just ask him?
You want to talk to Dad?
I told you it was crazy.
Ada, Lata, do you actually
think this could work?
Yeah. According to Henry's notes,
we just need an object
with an emotional connection
between the living and the dead.
The stronger the connection,
the more likely the contact.
So we just need an object
connecting one of you to Henry.
Not to endorse an institution I abhor,
but have you thought about
maybe your old wedding ring?
That'd be great. If
only I hadn't sold it
to fix the hydraulic lift at the garage.
- Sorry.
- What about you?
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
♪
Well, that depends.
Does it say that you have to have
good feelings connected to the object?
No.
Only that the feelings
have to be strong.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have something.
I just need to go get it.
♪
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
♪
[BRICKS CLATTER]
♪
I'll get word to Roxy.
It won't be long now.
♪
Dad got it for me when I was a kid.
I used to listen to the song it played
every night before bed.
"As Time Goes By." It was our song.
I didn't even know you still had that.
After he left, I used to play the song.
I thought that if I kept playing it,
then maybe he'd come back.
And when I realized he wouldn't,
I, um I got angry, and I broke it.
It hasn't worked since.
John, I'm so sorry.
Don't be.
Okay? Not if it helps us find your dad.
So what do we do next?
Well, according to Henry's notes,
the object will act as a conduit
between you and him in the spirit realm.
The connection itself, however,
has to be created by your emotions.
You need to reach out and share
them with him openly and honestly.
That's the only way the divide between
the two realms can be connected.
Will the rest of him be
able to talk to him too?
Once the connection is made.
But we don't know how
long it's going to last.
So you need to get as much information
about the Ostium as quickly as possible.
Hey, it's not like we have 15 years
we'd like to catch up on.
Are you ready?
No.
Let's do this.
BOTH: Amate spiritus
obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure
- What happened?
- Did everyone see the candles?
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer,
but I think it was just a draft.
I'm afraid it didn't work.
Why not? Hmm?
I thought about my dad
like you asked me to.
I'm so sorry. I-I don't know.
- [SIGHS]
- John
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
Guess I shouldn't be
surprised he didn't show up.
He never came to my
baseball games either.
John, I
I can't imagine how
hard it must have been,
you being so young when he left.
It's understandable that you're angry.
Truthfully?
I'm just surprised I didn't
break that music box sooner.
Why? What do you mean?
Well, before he left,
after he'd tuck me in,
I would hear him and my mom fight.
I could never
I could never hear
what about, but, um
I could hear them say my name.
So I would, uh, crank
the motor on that box
over and over and over just
trying to drown out the noise.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
Most of the time it worked, except
♪
I still knew they
were fighting about me.
You didn't just smash the music box
because you were angry at your dad.
You were also angry at yourself.
Maybe if I could have been, uh,
better or smarter, I don't know
maybe he wouldn't have left.
♪
You were just a kid.
Your dad leaving is not your fault.
Then tell me why it feels like it is?
You should listen to her, sport.
It wasn't your fault.
It was mine.
So the energy source is a rock?
Not just any rock.
Look at the density
and the strange pits.
I think this is where
the Akrida are from.
- Another world?
- Another universe.
I don't know. But it's
definitely not from around here.
Maybe that's how it directs
the portal like my dad said.
Tells it where to open.
[MYSTICAL WHIRRING]
Okay.
Let's save my dad.
I don't see any scuttling inside.
I mean, if this is really
the Akrida's new roach motel,
they're doing a really good
job of keeping it a secret.
They're in there somewhere.
We just have to find them.
So what's the plan?
Split up. Cover more ground.
We have to find my dad
and we have to find Roxy.
We take her out, the Akrida are toast.
Be careful not to use the
box before you find her.
We don't know how many
monsters that thing can handle
before it goes dead
like it did last time.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
This might be a stupid question,
but, um, how exactly
are we supposed to know
the queen when we see her?
Look for a crown, I guess.
Right.
Perfect.
Remember, these are innocent
people we're fighting,
so you have to use
demon possession rules.
I got this, Campbell.
[GRUNTS]
No.
[GRUNTS] Break 'em,
shake 'em, and move on.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[GRUNTING]
♪
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
[GRUNTS]
- Argh!
- Ahh!
[GROANS]
- Okay.
- [BOTH GROAN]
- Hey, you okay?
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Ahh!
[GRUNTS]
No sign of Samuel anywhere.
What is this place?
Looks like some kind of lab.
Carlos, look.
Now, I've never seen
monster essence before,
but if I had to guess, it
probably looks like that.
We need something to break the glass.
[DOOR OPENS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Lata. Come on.
Come on. Move, move, move, move, move.
Go.
[GROWLING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GROWLING]
That can't be good, right?
Tomorrow's problem.
We need to get out of
here and find Samuel.
Hello. Where's she going?
- And what's in that case?
- I don't know.
Maybe we should follow her.
We can't leave everyone.
I'm gonna need the two of you
to get out of the van, please.
I hope he has dental insurance.
Excuse me, officer, would
you mind repeating that?
I said oh!
Ahh!
[PANTING]
[AKRIDAS GROWLING]
I warned you.
Stray from the plan
and your father is dead.
And I always keep my promises.
So do I.
♪
[CHUCKLES]
[MYSTICAL WHIRRING]
[GASPING]
[HISSING]
Why didn't that one fall?
Maybe your dad's notes were wrong.
Or maybe Roxy wasn't the queen.
- [GROWLS]
- Okay. Time to go. Time to go.
Go, go, go, go!
[ALL GROWLING]
I don't think that door's gonna hold.
There's no way out.
[ALL GROWLING]
[THUMPING AT DOOR]
This a normal night for you?
Since I was a kid, yeah.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
♪
[ALL GROWLING]
[SCREECHES]
[ALL SCREECHING]
[PANTING]
Dad?
[GENTLE MUSIC]
[PANTING] Hey, kiddo.
♪
Dad.
[GROANING]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Let's not make her wait any longer.
♪
We're going to make you strong again.
And then you'll bring the others.
And we can make this world our own
My queen.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[WHISTLING]
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
[DEAN WINCHESTER] Comes a time in
every hunt when the fightin' starts.
And the difference
between winning and losing
isn't whether you have the holy water,
the wooden stake, or the silver bullet.
It's whether you've got the
grit to get the job done.
- [WALKIE-TALKIE STATIC]
- [MARY OVER WALKIE-TALKIE] Nothing over here. You?
Uh, copy. Same thing here.
That tower doesn't look like much.
According to Carlos' research,
they've been bouncing
signals from radio towers
all over the country,
some outside of it even,
drawing in unicorn
monsters from everywhere.
[JOHN] To here in Lawrence.
We took out the monsters.
The Akrida took their essence.
You really think the
answers to what the Akrida
could be doing with that
essence are in there?
There's only one way to find out.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Any idea who crashed this party?
♪
It's my dad.
His bag. It's covered in blood.
[GRUNTS]
♪
[GROWLING]
[SIGHS]
Maybe we should try jumper cables.
Oh, I've tried that.
I've done everything I could think of.
Potions, blood magic, shock treatments,
God, you name it.
Nothing will get that
damn thing working.
Okay, well, something has to.
All right? This box is
literally the only thing we have
- that can kill the Akrida.
- Carlos,
I have looked through
every piece of lore we have.
I mean, clearly the
Men of Letters wanted
to keep their workings a secret.
Every secret comes to light eventually.
Ada, what did you find?
The Men of Letters mother lode.
I thought you were
helping Tony get settled
off the Akrida radar.
Yeah, I got him safe and sound.
Then we started looking
into how to help Tony
with his Djinn side,
which led into digging
into the Men of Letters
lore, which then led to this.
Turns out my son has
a nose for research.
I knew we were nerds of a feather.
Tony found a shell
company listed as the owner
of two of the offices
we've already investigated.
The company owns one
more up in Michigan.
I went to go check it out.
It too was left for dead
just like the others.
All of these abandoned offices.
And what do you think
happened to the Men of Letters?
Like, wiped out by monsters? Retirement?
I-I don't know.
However they left, they made sure
to carefully guard everything
they left behind in Ann Arbor.
They left a watchdog.
This time a werewolf.
I took care of it, grabbed everything,
and came straight back to Lawrence.
The rest of it the
rest of it is in my truck.
There has to be something in here
about out buggy little friends.
[KNOCKS ON TABLE] I'll got get the rest.
He can't be gone.
- We don't know.
- He can't be.
- Mary
- It's all my fault.
I told my dad I wanted to leave hunting,
and ever since he's
been out here on his own.
If I'd just kept my stupid mouth shut
[CAR TRUNK THUMPING]
Took you idiots long enough.
Hey!
Who the hell are you?
The body belongs to Hector Salazar,
but I'll give you three guesses
as to who the mind belongs to now.
Akrida.
Wow. Got it in one.
Guess you're the brains of the outfit.
Where's Samuel Campbell?
Oh, you mean Grumpy?
Sorry, the man who captured, tortured,
and was generally unpleasant
in both manner and odor
was not exactly
forthcoming with the name,
so I called him Grumpy.
Samuel works too, I guess.
What did you do with my dad?
I'm just a worker bee, hon.
They don't tell us everything.
I was left here to give
you a simple message.
Our work here at the tower is done.
We have everything we need.
All that sweet, sweet monster
essence is in our hands now.
What's all that for?
The queen, silly.
Stand down, go home, and enjoy
whatever life you have left to live.
Tell me what your plan is.
And tell me where my dad is right now.
[CHUCKLES] I'm starting
to see the resemblance.
I told you everything you need to know.
Nothing can stop what's coming.
We got a box that says different.
That's not gonna do a damn thing.
Yeah, we'll see.
Okay, you gave us the message.
- Let Hector go.
- No use now.
Me being in here has cooked through him.
You humans are so soft.
To be honest, given what's coming
for all of mankind, I'd say
ol' Hector here got off easy.
Long live the queen.
[DOOR SQUEAKS]
- Where are we?
- I'm still titrating the different essences,
trying to find the
optimal blend for each.
This magic is complex.
Hmm.
I thought we put you in this flesh sack
- because he was good at this.
- He is.
Now, I know this won't hurt you,
but I'm happy to go poke your real body
in all the right juicy places.
Move faster.
The dig has begun.
It'll be ready. I promise.
That's the spirit.
[GROWLING]
Well if you're here that means
our little friends found Hector.
[GROWLING]
Do they now? Good.
Time to make a little trade then.
If Dad is still alive,
he doesn't have much time.
There was a lot of blood,
Losi, and not just on this bag.
Mary, you act like he hasn't lost
a pint or two in his day.
I found something.
Our box has a name.
They call it the Ostium.
Oh. Latin for an opening in the body.
What, didn't any of you guys
ever go to Sunday School?
So is that thing organic?
Is it a mouth or [CHUCKLES]
any other kind of hole?
Let's just stick with a mouth, please.
So this box eats monsters?
I don't know.
"Ostium" and a date are printed on it,
but the rest of the report is
filled with a bunch of files,
and I can't make out the handwriting.
These notes were either written
by a doctor or a five-year-old.
No, no, no, no. This can't be right.
- What is it?
- It's my dad's handwriting.
- Can you read it?
- I don't know. I mean
Hey. Figure out what you can.
My dad was staying at a motel nearby,
so I'm gonna head over there
and see what I can figure out.
Oh. I-I'll drive.
Let her go. She needs to kick that tire
and we need your eyes on these pages.
Okay, some of this I-I can make out,
but other parts, it's like
they're not even real words.
That's because they're not.
It's shorthand. Like
a court stenographer.
I read something about it
in a Men of Letters book
here at the clubhouse.
A ledger that had an abbreviation key.
Your dad was an initiate.
Part of paying his dues was
taking notes in meetings.
With your eyes and Lata having
the key to the shorthand,
maybe we can piece together
what your dad was trying to write about.
I think I might know someone who
can read this faster than I can.
I know what you're
thinking and you're wrong.
You always think I'm wrong.
And I'm usually right
about that, so listen to me.
It's not your fault.
I was gonna be a rock star, Mare.
My mom and dad told me so.
You see, I know you know
that ghouls killed my parents,
but I never told you why they
were in Phoenix to begin with.
I asked them for a new guitar.
I begged them for it for months.
And I was relentless.
I mean, you can imagine.
So they took a gig.
It was a corporate party,
and they hated them,
but the money was too good.
So I went back to the
motel, and I waited.
And I waited.
But I never saw them again.
[SIGHS]
Carlos, that isn't
Your fault.
Yeah. I know that now.
But it took me a little while to realize
that the only people
responsible for killing
my parents were those ghouls.
[GENTLE GUITAR MUSIC]
♪
So how did you let go of the guilt?
I didn't.
I'm sorry; I know I'm
supposed to rally you here,
but we both know that
I am a terrible liar.
How did you cope?
By getting revenge.
Tracked down the monsters
that killed my parents
and erased all but two of them.
I'll eventually find
them. But until then
We're gonna find the
Akrida and make them pay
for even laying a finger on your dad.
It's part stenographer
shorthand and part
Code.
Okay. This'll get us halfway there.
And we'll handle the other half.
[SIGHS] I'll be damned.
For a so-called Man of Letters,
Henry never met a consonant
or a vowel he couldn't butcher.
I could always read your dad's writing
because I knew the context
shopping lists, bills paid
Love letters.
I don't think we need to unpack
Hey. You asked me here.
If I'm gonna help you, I
need to know what's going on.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
♪
We're trying to save mankind.
What?
You're kidding, right?
♪
Your father's chicken scratch
is the key to saving the world?
If you can decipher it, then yes.
♪
[SIGHS] Great. No pressure.
♪
[ENGINE RUMBLING]
Well, that was the cleanest
motel Dad's ever left behind.
Probably wasn't there that long.
Thinking maybe we should
double back to the radio tower,
- see if there's an
- [SIREN WAILS]
Oh, damn it.
The cops.
[GROANS] Okay. I need
you to do me a favor.
I need you to reach under the seat
with an open mind and
take the little baggie
that's under there and hide it.
I don't care where.
[KNOCKING AT WINDOW]
[WHISPERING] Just do it.
Afternoon, Officer. Love the sunglasses.
What seems to be the problem?
Figured it was time we finally met.
Easy, Officer Mustache,
that's fine polyester
you're laying your dirty fingers on.
Don't worry.
Your friend is just gonna
have a little time-out
while us two girls have a chat.
Don't do anything stupid, kid.
What did you do to my father?
He's alive for now.
If you want to kill
the woman in this body,
knock yourself out.
I'll keep on rockin'
with or without Roxy.
Be a shame to ruin
such a beauty, though,
don't you think?
- What do you want?
- The Ostium.
You want a box that can kill you?
[CHUCKLES]
That box can't kill me.
Nothing of this Earth
can kill yours truly.
Then what do you want with it?
Not your concern.
Look, you're out of
moves, and we both know it.
So listen carefully.
There is a phone booth
on Halstead and Maple.
That phone is gonna ring
at 10:00 p.m. tonight on the dot.
You're gonna take that
call and get instructions
on where to go for the exchange.
Your dad for the box.
You really think I'm gonna trust you?
Honey, I don't care if you trust me.
But if you want your daddy
back in working order,
you're gonna do like I say.
I didn't mean what I
said about your glasses.
- Hey, you okay?
- Mm-hmm.
[ENGINE TURNING OVER]
- What does she want?
- The box
in exchange for my dad
if he's even still alive.
Well, good thing I put a hex
bag in the back of that cruiser.
We just need the right
spell to track them.
You can cast that spell?
Of course not.
But our sweet little
Samantha Stevens, Ada, can.
I mean, look, this is
obviously some sort of trap.
But if we can trap them, we
can get the drop on Queen Roxy.
And get revenge.
Roxy has my dad.
But we have an insane idea
on how to get him back.
How insane are we talking?
Certifiable with a side of sassy.
Do you know how to track a hex bag?
If I know the ingredients of the bag,
then yeah, I can track it.
Well, can you do it
before 10:00 tonight?
That's when Roxy wants to
trade my dad for the box.
That's gotta be a trap, right?
Which is why we gotta
find Roxy before the drop
and get this Ostium
working before we leave.
Oh.
I'm sorry.
I just needed a break from
that handwriting and those kids.
How do you put up with them?
I let them pretend to be in charge.
And I drink.
Henry never brought me for a tour.
I didn't even know this place existed.
Henry talked about you and John.
Anything good?
All of it good.
He did worry what his vocation
was doing to his marriage.
Oh, here I thought he didn't
worry about that at all.
It's the only reason
he wanted to separate.
Thought it'd be better for you and John.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
Would have been nice to
have heard that at the time.
I said as much.
I said, "If I had what you
had, I would never let it go."
- But, you know, Henry was
- Stubborn.
I was going to use a bit
more colorful wording.
Seeing John here, it's
like history repeating.
I can't lose him the way I did Henry.
John isn't closed off the way Henry was.
- Now, if he could just
- Let go of his anger.
Yes.
John told me about your son.
Tony.
- How's he doing?
- We're a work in progress.
I'm making up for mistakes,
and he is learning to
let go of his anger.
Boys.
[GLASSES CLINK]
I'm still new to all this.
So how does this locator spell work?
Plants break the earth
to reach for the Sun.
This one, though, will
reach for the hex bag
Carlos put in the cop car.
Excresco.
[WIND HOWLING]
[BLIND FAITH'S "CAN'T FIND MY WAY HOME"]
♪
Fascinating.
According to what Millie deciphered,
the Ostium doesn't kill monsters.
- It transports them.
- Where?
I'm not sure yet.
But there's good news here.
The Akrida are an invading force
that act as one.
They infiltrate, wipe
out all signs of life,
and take over whole worlds as their own.
You and I have very different
ideas about good news.
The good news is that the Akrida all
share a connection to their queen.
It's similar to a colony of ants.
Using the box on the queen
will cut the connection to the colony.
They can't survive without their queen.
We take out the queen, we
take them all out in one shot?
So we use the Ostium
to boot the queen to God knows where.
The rest of the Akrida are toast.
Mary's dad and the day are saved.
Carlos, what's wrong? That's good news.
Y-yeah.
It's just that, you
know, once we do that,
uh, Mary's done with hunting
and our band is splitting up.
No more Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.
♪
Come down on your own ♪
And leave your body alone ♪
I'm gonna miss us.
Hey, guys, you gotta come see this.
But I'm near the end ♪
And I just ain't got the time ♪
Oh and I'm wasted and I
can't find my way home ♪
Plant marks the spot.
- Wait, we were just there.
- That's where we found
the last person the
Akrida were targeting.
You know, where Mary got stung?
So what are the Akrida doing there?
♪
Ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
And I can't find my way home ♪
Ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh-ohh ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
Still I can't find my way home ♪
And I ain't done nothing wrong ♪
No, no ♪
But I can't find my way home ♪
If this is where the Akrida has my dad,
we can save him.
We just gotta get
this box working first.
- So where are we?
- Nowhere, I'm afraid.
And by the time we get through all this,
Tricky Dick will be in his second term.
[CARLOS] Well, when
you put it like that,
the Akrida taking over
doesn't seem half bad.
Unless Nixon's an Akrida.
Clock's ticking.
The meet with Roxy's in a couple hours.
Look, there is something useful here.
I know it. Okay? We
just need to find it.
I think maybe we already have.
- What do you mean?
- I came across this earlier.
I thought it was crazy.
But that was before I
watched Ada transform
a plant into a compass.
Here, see for yourself.
Okay.
It looks like instructions to
some kind of spirit session.
Sounds like some kind of séance.
What if we don't have to keep looking
through Henry's notes?
What if we can just ask him?
You want to talk to Dad?
I told you it was crazy.
Ada, Lata, do you actually
think this could work?
Yeah. According to Henry's notes,
we just need an object
with an emotional connection
between the living and the dead.
The stronger the connection,
the more likely the contact.
So we just need an object
connecting one of you to Henry.
Not to endorse an institution I abhor,
but have you thought about
maybe your old wedding ring?
That'd be great. If
only I hadn't sold it
to fix the hydraulic lift at the garage.
- Sorry.
- What about you?
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
♪
Well, that depends.
Does it say that you have to have
good feelings connected to the object?
No.
Only that the feelings
have to be strong.
Yeah.
Yeah, I have something.
I just need to go get it.
♪
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTS]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTING]
♪
[BRICKS CLATTER]
♪
I'll get word to Roxy.
It won't be long now.
♪
Dad got it for me when I was a kid.
I used to listen to the song it played
every night before bed.
"As Time Goes By." It was our song.
I didn't even know you still had that.
After he left, I used to play the song.
I thought that if I kept playing it,
then maybe he'd come back.
And when I realized he wouldn't,
I, um I got angry, and I broke it.
It hasn't worked since.
John, I'm so sorry.
Don't be.
Okay? Not if it helps us find your dad.
So what do we do next?
Well, according to Henry's notes,
the object will act as a conduit
between you and him in the spirit realm.
The connection itself, however,
has to be created by your emotions.
You need to reach out and share
them with him openly and honestly.
That's the only way the divide between
the two realms can be connected.
Will the rest of him be
able to talk to him too?
Once the connection is made.
But we don't know how
long it's going to last.
So you need to get as much information
about the Ostium as quickly as possible.
Hey, it's not like we have 15 years
we'd like to catch up on.
Are you ready?
No.
Let's do this.
BOTH: Amate spiritus
obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure, te quaerimus.
Te oramus, nobiscum colloquere,
apud nos circita.
Amate spiritus obscure
- What happened?
- Did everyone see the candles?
I don't want to be a Debbie Downer,
but I think it was just a draft.
I'm afraid it didn't work.
Why not? Hmm?
I thought about my dad
like you asked me to.
I'm so sorry. I-I don't know.
- [SIGHS]
- John
[MELANCHOLY MUSIC]
♪
Hey.
Guess I shouldn't be
surprised he didn't show up.
He never came to my
baseball games either.
John, I
I can't imagine how
hard it must have been,
you being so young when he left.
It's understandable that you're angry.
Truthfully?
I'm just surprised I didn't
break that music box sooner.
Why? What do you mean?
Well, before he left,
after he'd tuck me in,
I would hear him and my mom fight.
I could never
I could never hear
what about, but, um
I could hear them say my name.
So I would, uh, crank
the motor on that box
over and over and over just
trying to drown out the noise.
[GENTLE PIANO MUSIC]
Most of the time it worked, except
♪
I still knew they
were fighting about me.
You didn't just smash the music box
because you were angry at your dad.
You were also angry at yourself.
Maybe if I could have been, uh,
better or smarter, I don't know
maybe he wouldn't have left.
♪
You were just a kid.
Your dad leaving is not your fault.
Then tell me why it feels like it is?
You should listen to her, sport.
It wasn't your fault.
It was mine.
So the energy source is a rock?
Not just any rock.
Look at the density
and the strange pits.
I think this is where
the Akrida are from.
- Another world?
- Another universe.
I don't know. But it's
definitely not from around here.
Maybe that's how it directs
the portal like my dad said.
Tells it where to open.
[MYSTICAL WHIRRING]
Okay.
Let's save my dad.
I don't see any scuttling inside.
I mean, if this is really
the Akrida's new roach motel,
they're doing a really good
job of keeping it a secret.
They're in there somewhere.
We just have to find them.
So what's the plan?
Split up. Cover more ground.
We have to find my dad
and we have to find Roxy.
We take her out, the Akrida are toast.
Be careful not to use the
box before you find her.
We don't know how many
monsters that thing can handle
before it goes dead
like it did last time.
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
This might be a stupid question,
but, um, how exactly
are we supposed to know
the queen when we see her?
Look for a crown, I guess.
Right.
Perfect.
Remember, these are innocent
people we're fighting,
so you have to use
demon possession rules.
I got this, Campbell.
[GRUNTS]
No.
[GRUNTS] Break 'em,
shake 'em, and move on.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[GRUNTING]
♪
[BOTH GRUNTING]
♪
[GRUNTS]
- Argh!
- Ahh!
[GROANS]
- Okay.
- [BOTH GROAN]
- Hey, you okay?
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Ahh!
[GRUNTS]
No sign of Samuel anywhere.
What is this place?
Looks like some kind of lab.
Carlos, look.
Now, I've never seen
monster essence before,
but if I had to guess, it
probably looks like that.
We need something to break the glass.
[DOOR OPENS]
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACH]
Lata. Come on.
Come on. Move, move, move, move, move.
Go.
[GROWLING]
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
[GROWLING]
That can't be good, right?
Tomorrow's problem.
We need to get out of
here and find Samuel.
Hello. Where's she going?
- And what's in that case?
- I don't know.
Maybe we should follow her.
We can't leave everyone.
I'm gonna need the two of you
to get out of the van, please.
I hope he has dental insurance.
Excuse me, officer, would
you mind repeating that?
I said oh!
Ahh!
[PANTING]
[AKRIDAS GROWLING]
I warned you.
Stray from the plan
and your father is dead.
And I always keep my promises.
So do I.
♪
[CHUCKLES]
[MYSTICAL WHIRRING]
[GASPING]
[HISSING]
Why didn't that one fall?
Maybe your dad's notes were wrong.
Or maybe Roxy wasn't the queen.
- [GROWLS]
- Okay. Time to go. Time to go.
Go, go, go, go!
[ALL GROWLING]
I don't think that door's gonna hold.
There's no way out.
[ALL GROWLING]
[THUMPING AT DOOR]
This a normal night for you?
Since I was a kid, yeah.
[GENTLE MUSIC]
♪
[ALL GROWLING]
[SCREECHES]
[ALL SCREECHING]
[PANTING]
Dad?
[GENTLE MUSIC]
[PANTING] Hey, kiddo.
♪
Dad.
[GROANING]
♪
[TENSE MUSIC]
♪
Let's not make her wait any longer.
♪
We're going to make you strong again.
And then you'll bring the others.
And we can make this world our own
My queen.
[DRAMATIC MUSIC]
[WHISTLING]