EPIX
Let’s Talk About ‘De Vermis Mysteriis’:
- The Book calls to Charles, and he finds it in a most unusual place, then Loa tries to coax it away from him.
- Charles opens the book and sees a horrifying, blood-soaked vision of the future if it falls in the hands of the vampires.
- Hundreds of bats flying over Jerusalem’s Lot alert Jacob that The Book has been found.
- Charles realizes the Boone curse is connected to The Book, and Rebecca reveals to Charles that her father brought Jacob to Maine and he owned The Book, and Steven and Phillip may have killed him to try to get it.
- Charles says if the vampires get The Book, God dies. He sends Able to town to fetch the Constable, who tells Able they also need Minister Burroughs, who is faced with the town’s scorn when the carriage with Faith Pringle’s body returns to Preacher’s Corner.
- The windows of Chapelwaite are boarded up to protect against the coming attack, and the children paint crosses on the exterior to ward off evil.
- The Book is getting the best of Charles and Rebecca tells him to burn it. He’s already tried, but Charles’ mental condition is making her and the children fearful for their own lives, especially after Charles sets the horses free so no one can leave.
- Rebecca is horrified by what Charles is doing in the basement and knocks him out. When he awakens, the book is gone.
- Mrs. Cloris finally pays for her sins.
- Charles, Constable Dennison and Minister Burroughs concoct a plan to defend Chapelwaite from whover or whatever is sure to come.
Chapelwaite has finally gathered some steam and the story is rolling quickly forward as the conclusion approaches, all thanks to Charles finally finding The Book the vampires are so hot to have in their possession. At the top of the episode, Charles seems to be dreaming about a series of odd things, including chasing a girl through the woods he thinks is Loa — it isn’t — falling into an open grave, seeing his father, being buried alive, and finding himself in the church cemetery, digging in another grave which is currently occupied by the bodies of Israel and Elizabeth Burroughs, the children of the minister. And inside the coffin, he finds The Book but then does the one thing he shouldn’t: opens it, forcing him to have a vision of an eclipsed sun, a blood red light bathing a beach littered with bodies, Jacob walking among them. He snaps back to reality but is disturbed by what he say and knew it was bad.
But Stephen and Phillip are using Loa to try to get the book from him, but she can’t enter the holy grounds. She just wants the book so they can all be a family again. Mother is waiting for them. She says The Book is a new beginning, but he tells her it’s the end of everything. Stephen approaches and tells Charles he’s seen ‘the first god, The Worm, and he can set it free, Jacob can do it, or someone in the future but it will be done. With The Book, the Boones can thrive and Charles can rule in darkness. The Book will win. Charles almost give it to him but fights not to. Opening The Book, however, was basically a psychic signal to Jacob, who now knows Charles has it and prepares for the journey to Chapelwaite.
Returning to Chapelwaite, Charles tells Rebecca about The Book, and she admits to him that it was her father who brought Jacob to Maine, and Jacob tried to buy The Book from her father. She also believes Stephen and Phillip killed her father for The Book. Charles says they have to keep the book from his family members … or God dies. Rebecca wants to hide the book for Charles but he won’t let anyone touch it but himself. Now they must prepare the house for an uncoming attack once the sun goes down. Charles is slipping deeper into madness, and the children are painting crosses on the exterior of the house. Rebecca is also inside putting up boards, but Charles comes to ask if she can hear the screaming. He thinks it’s the children.
EPIX
Concerned for their safety, Rebecca tries to talk to Honor about leaving, but she’s still mad at Rebecca for lying to them and using them for her book. Charles has a bit of an accident outside, so Rebecca follows him inside where he tells her of the screams and cries in his head. It’s The Book. Rebecca tells him to burn it, but he’s tried and he shows her how the flames don’t cause any damage. He says they’re all going to suffer and he’d rather his children die than face that fate. This concerns Rebecca more and she begs him to let her take the children into town, thinking it will be safer there. He tells her there is no escape, and he’ll decide what to do with the children. Rebecca again tries to talk some sense into Honor, who isn’t budging, so she goes to prepare the horses and will remove them forcible if necessary. But Charles has let the horses go, and when he passes Honor and Tane while whispering to himself, they have a sudden epiphany that Rebecca was right about him and want to leave. Except there are no horses, and Charles is calling them to the basement.
Rebecca send them to a bedroom with a rifle and orders them not to open the door or answer when their father calls. She goes in the basement and discovers Charles hanging nooses for them all. It won’t matter if they survive the night because the vampires will just keep coming. The new world belongs to them and he won’t let his children suffer. Charles now believes his own father knew what was coming and tried to save his son, so the abuse was the only way. Well that’s one way to rationalize a physically abusive parent. Rebecca uses some reverse psychology on Charles and tells him he’s right and she’ll bring the children. As he returns to the nooses, Rebecca sneaks up behind him and whacks him in the head with a shovel. When he awakens in bed, The Book is gone. He’s feeling better and he tells Rebecca the children must never know what he was doing in the basement. But where is The Book? Rebecca said the only way to free him from the curse was to return The Book to the undead. And that’s what she did.
With Able’s help, Constable Dennison and Minister Burroughs were convinced to come to Chapelwaite to help defend the house and the Boones. He also warned Dennison about Jacob and his people, and learns that the constable already knows a thing or two about the undead. And that is who has The Book — Mary Dennison, tied up in the basement with The Book secured to her. Dennison, however, still thinks Charles is a danger to them all, and Charles understands, grateful for their help. He tells them of the vampires’ plan to raise an old god in a world of eternal night where the undead rule and man is meat. Dennison asks how he came upon The Book, and Charles asks for the minister’s forgiveness when he tells him it was found in the Burroughs’ children’s coffin. Burroughs assumes Marcella Boone hid it there during the viewing. Now they just have to survive the night and figure out how to kill the vampires. The must not harm Loa though if she shows up too. Charles asks for his children’s forgiveness and tells them when the time is right he needs to tell them things about their family. Charles also thanks Rebecca for what she’s done for the family even after he told her to leave, putting her own life in danger. She says she loves the children and should have never broken their trust, or his. But that is behind them now, never to be spoken of again. And he’s sorry if his relatives hurt her father, but she says he brought that upon himself … and them. Her family is every bit as responsible for the evil upon them as Charles’, but neither of them deserve that burden. They hug tenderly.
Now they must prepare for what is to come. Dennison goes to see Mary and she tries to play some mind games with him, saying he hurt her and if he loved her he’d let her feed on him. He hesitates but then cuts his hand and lets her feed, briefly, before realizing that was a bad idea. But there’s no time to contemplate any of that as their visitors have arrived. Phillip, Stephen and Loa are outside. Phillip demands The Book. Loa takes a step back as if she senses something is about to happen. And it does as out of the darkness, Phillip finds himself impaled on a large pole. Stephen tries to free his father, but Charles, Dennison and Burroughs are pulling a rope from the inside of the upper floor, hoisting Phillip up to the window. They pull him in and Burroughs holds up a cross. Phillip shrieks for a moment then grabs the cross and stabs Dennison with it. Charles manages to nail Phillip to the wall with an iron rod, and decapitates his undead uncle, tossing the head out the window to Stephen’s feet. He screams in anguish but that emotion is cut short when he hears the weird bird calls that accompany Jacob’s followers. He tells Charles he will bleed them all dry before running off, and when Charles looks out the window again, he sees more visitors have arrived. And then he asks Able to get to town for more help. Really? How is Able going to get past Jacob’s people in the front yard?
I suppose we will find out next week.
What did you think of this episode? Tell us in the comments section below!
Chapelwaite airs new episodes Sunday at 10:00 PM on EPIX. Episodes are also available on EPIX Now. Subscribe through Apple TV channels using our Apple TV Plus affiliate link.
Share this post
