From – Mouse Trap

By: Mariah Thomas

Jim (Eion Bailey) is on a phone call with his deceased son, Thomas. In actuality, he is being taunted by the dark powers of the town. In the call he is warned about Julie (Hannah Cheramy) and Ethan’s (Simon Webster) safety. Jim runs out of the house just as Boyd (Harold Perrineau) begins his nightly bell ringing routine to alert everyone to go inside. Boyd seems to pick up on Jim’s intense energy and follows him as he runs to the barn. Julie and Ethan are unharmed, and he ushers them home as Boyd gives him a knowing look and nod.

Back in the real world, Victor’s father, Henry (Robert Joy), and Tabitha continue their conversation. She explains more about the tower to him. He tells her about his wife’s bottle tree, and she is instantly reminded of the one from the forest Victor (Scott McCord) showed her. If the bottle tree is in the real world, is there a direct connection?

Boyd and his son argue through Boyd’s idea of capturing a creature. They let Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) in on the plan. She brings in the logic of how the creatures are impossible to kill and how harmful this could turn out.

Back at colony house, Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) still struggles with her new strange craving. Another house guest is cooking the remaining meat they have, and she declines. She grows nauseous and goes outside for fresh air. Fatima is drawn to the compost pile made from rotten vegetables and eats from it. She is seen by Tillie (Deborah Grover) who watches from a distance, so she runs away before she can be confronted.

Previously, Jim and Kenny (Ricky He) discovered a small village in the forest with plentiful crops and a lake. They take a group back to collect more supplies for everyone in town. The mysterious village is lined with protective symbols. Everyone is creeped out by the front protection pieces that are ancient masks held up by poles and wood.

Ethan is struggling with the idea of death and trying to understand the physical aspect of it. He asks, “Who is gunna bury mom?” He then gets descriptive with the decomposition stages. Jim, not wanting to think about that, blows up at Ethan. As Ethan runs off upset another phone call comes through. Jim slowly walks to the phone and hangs it up.

Henry and Tabitha discuss the origin of the bottle tree, a creation of Victor’s mother. Tabitha is disappointed the tree is different, but Henry quickly tells her it is not the original tree. The original tree is in a park a few towns over. Naturally, she wants to go but he is concerned with her lack of rest. She insists she is fine, and they head out.

Boyd is haunted by Father Khatri’s (Shaun Majumder) ghost. He was the town’s acting pastor and died in season one. Boyd is building what could be a trap to capture creatures. While alive, Father Khatri and Boyd had a complex friendship, but he is able to bring logic into this plan saying, “Those things said they wanted to break you. Change you.” He is pointing out that Boyd is essentially giving the monsters and dark entities of the town what is wanted. If the routine of everyone is shifted, it is easier for them to catch them slacking in ways.

Tillie tries to speak to Fatima, who is trying to avoid her. She comforts her by telling her when she was pregnant she loved eggshells. Fatima feels less alone in her strange food craving. She breaks down and says she’s afraid to tell anyone. She says Ellis (Corteon Moore) is the happiest she’s ever seen, and she is finding herself fearful of the pregnancy. In the outside world, she wasn’t able to carry a child so there are many layers for her to process. Tillie finds tarot cards and offers to read Fatima’s cards. She is offended and insults her character to think that is appropriate after their heart to heart. Tillie offers a rebuttal. She tells her “enough” and reasons with her how tarot helped her and she just wanted to share that with her. She tells the stories of the cards that were given to her by a woman in the same hospital as her husband right before he passed. The cards told her so much, she just didn’t know how to read. As the cards are about to be turned over for the reading to start, a bird runs into the window. She goes to flip once more afterwards and the crow comes crashing in through the house before dying.

Back in the village while packing up crops, Jade (David Alpay) gets into an argument with the others. He has been haunted by visions and trying to solve the logistics of the town. He wanders off alone to use the bathroom and discovers red rocks as well as a body nailed to a tree. Eventually the others come looking for him. When they do those things disappear and he discovers, it was yet another vision. Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) heavily monitors Kenny. He doesn’t want to dwell on his tragedy and focus on getting crops. As they bicker, Jade is heard yelling about wanting to return to town. Henry is quick to remind him, he will not make it in time. Despite this, Jade takes off and Kristi goes after him. In a snowy pass, she steps into an animal trap. Since it is older, the release breaks off when they try to remove it. Jade has a plan and runs off. He takes stakes that were placed in protection set up from the village front. They are able to get her foot out, but it is dislocated and needs to be reset. Jade sees another ghost they hustle to carry her back to camp.

As they prepare for the oncoming night, Boyd offers a switch with Randall (A.J. Simmons). Randall was shunned from many and sent to live alone in the bus for his rash behavior when first joining. Boyd wants to be able to see the creatures as they come out to work on his plan of capture.

Back in the real world, Henry and Tabitha head off to the original bottle tree. The song playing as the car turns back on holds a special place for both as it was ‘their song’ with their spouses. When they are getting closer to the tree, Tabitha finds Jim’s bracelet. It was something that they had lost years prior and she also found in the town once trapped. To her this signifies how this is just another ploy from the darkness of the town. She pleads with Henry to tell her the truth and asks what happens if she doesn’t play into the game and go to the tree. He reacts in anger which makes sense to both possibilities here. One being, he knows his son is alive and this woman is the only one who can possibly help bring him back. Two, he is just a pawn in the darkness and controlled to lead Tabitha into danger. As the pair argue, they lose sight of the road and are hit by a car. On the way to the hospital in the ambulance, Tabitha’s worst nightmare begins again. The ambulance stops because there is a tree in the road. As she gets out to look and see for herself, she sees the crows almost mock her. She is back in the loop.