Swamp Thing – Worlds Apart

By starrymag | October 19, 2020

By: Atiya Irvin-Mitchell

 

 

The episode begins at the swamp with a creature (Derek Mears) crawling out of it. The creature is startled by a police siren, which brings us to Abby (Crystal Reed). She got away and there’s a mini search happening for Alec (Andy Bean). Abby is holding on hope that he might be alive; however Matt gently but firmly reminds her that the boat exploded. There is a boat in the water diving, but it’s clear this is more of a recovery than a rescue.

 

Sheriff Cade (Jennifer Beals), whose name is Lucilia and happens to also be Matt’s mother, makes an appearance. Abby and Matt (Henderson Wade) update her, but Abby is not convinced with the assessment that the explosion was an accident. She tells the sheriff that Alec was investigating illegal dumping in the swamp and it might’ve made someone angry enough to want to hurt him. The Sheriff appears unmoved and says that twenty years on the job has taught her that all sorts of awful things happen at the swamp. She pointedly tells Abby that she should know that better than anyone. That feels like it could be Shawna (Given Sharp) related.

 

With that, Sheriff Cade orders the search to end. Additionally, the police ignore Abby’s warning that there’s something in the water. Matt tells her it could just be a bear or a boar. It’s neither. We cut away and see the creature and Susie (Elle Graham). There seems to be some sort of psychic connection there because from her hospital bed she’s mirroring him and her vitals are going haywire.

 

Elsewhere Abby is decompressing with Liz (Maria Sten) over bourbon. She thanks Liz for giving her a place to stay and admits that being back in Marais has been harder than she thought. They talk about Alec and Abby says she really liked him.

 

At the hospital Harlan (Leonardo Nam) checks on Susie. He heard she’s been having nightmares, but the little girl explains they weren’t nightmares he was hurting himself. He, Susie says, doesn’t understand what’s happening to him. When Harlan asks who’s hurt she tells him it’s the man in the dark who is really afraid. She says she needs to go to him, but Harlan tells her it was only a dream and she should rest.

 

At the Sutherland residence Avery (Will Patton) wakes up to find Maria (Virginia Madsen) out of bed. He finds her in their daughter’s bed. Maria tells him that when Shawna was a little girl sometimes he’d lay down next to her to listen to her breathe. Apparently Avery was away a lot and because of that Maria says he didn’t know her like she did.  Avery responds that she was his daughter too and he lost her just as much as Maria did. He then leaves.

 

Harlan updates Abby on Susie’s case and informs her that there are two more cases. The virus is still spreading. After the grim news she goes to get coffee and meets Liz’s girlfriend Margaux (Kelly Walker). Margaux goes to work and Liz and Abby talk about Alec. Neither of them are convinced that the boat explosion was an accident. Abby tells Liz that Alec was tracking the disease and the illegal dumping in the swamp and that he thought he was onto something. Abby wants to go through Alec’s research, but Liz says it’s unlikely to happen due to his lab being an active crime scene. Abby thinks that maybe Avery could help, but Liz feels like going to him would be a bad idea. Avery, Liz says, is a master manipulator.

 

Abby does go to Avery and we get some background on Abby’s history with the Sutherlands. They took Abby in when she was eight and she and Shawna were inseparable. It’s been fourteen years since she died. Abby says she’s there in her official capacity, but Avery wants to apologize. He says he never blamed her for Shawna’s death the way Maria did. He knows he should’ve stepped in, but Maria was hanging on by a thread and needed his support. On the CDC front Abby asks Avery for access to Alec’s lab but he says there’s proprietary info he can’t have getting out. Abby says she could get a court order, but knows that by the time the paperwork goes through the research could be done away with. Avery tells her whatever she decides he’ll love her and she’ll be welcome in his home. Abby tearfully tells him he always could make a no sound like a favor.

 

Maria goes to a woman named Madame Xanadu (Jeryl Prescott). She’s blind and psychic and this isn’t the first time Maria has gone to her. Maria wants to talk to Shawna, but Madame Xanadu resists at first and then agrees. It doesn’t go well. Madame Xanadu has a vision of Shawna who looks distressed and waterlogged. Madame Xanadu screams and falls out of her chair. She tells Maria that something’s gone wrong in the swamp and advises her to let Shawna rest in peace.

 

Liz takes Abby to the restaurant where Alec was renting a room. The police took most of his belongings, but the restaurant’s owner Daniel (Ian Ziering) says Alec used his computer to make and edit his vlogs. He says Abby is welcome to take a look. She watches an entry where Alec speaks very fondly of her and he shared his hope that they could figure out what’s happening together.

 

Avery summons two university professors, a married couple Caroline (Selena Anduze) and Jason Woodrue (Kevin Durand). The Drs. Woodrue are the developers of the accelerant. It was supposed to make things grow faster and create more plants to monetize. The good news it’s working. The bad news it appears to be making people deathly ill. Jason says diseases emerge from swamps all the time because living near one is like living near a cesspool, but he’ll look into it. Avery says if he doesn’t fix it they’ll be dealing with lawsuits and arrests. Avery stresses that he’ll make sure the doctors get as much heat as he does if this doesn’t get better

 

It seems to be a bad day all around because Abby gets a panicked call from Harlan telling her that Susie’s gone missing. She and Matt search for her and there’s a lot of concern that she’ll spread the disease she has. They get a tip that Susie’s gone into the swamp.

 

Susie has stowed away onto a game warden’s boat. He stumbles upon two Sutherland employees, Landreux (Keith Arthur Bolden) and Munson (Micah Fitzgerald). Robie (Justin Miles) the game warden tells Landreux  he has to check him out. He inquires about what’s in the boxes and instead of answering Munson stabs him in the throat. Landreux is pretty freaked out, but Munson says if the law gets their hands on the boxes Avery will kill him. Poor Susie heard the whole thing. Munson wants to toss the body, but the commotion woke the creature.

 

Matt and Abby are on a boat looking for Susie. They talk about high school and unsurprisingly Matt had a crush on Abby. She didn’t have a clue. On the more urgent side of things, Munson is clearing out Robie’s boat and Susie is still hiding under the seat. While he’s distracted throwing the body in the water, she decides to make a run for it. Unfortunately, Munson heard the splash and goes after her into the woods. And the creature has decided to join the high stakes game of hide and seek.

 

With nowhere else to hide Susie goes back into the swamp. On the water Matt and Abby find Robie’s body. Or perhaps he’s not so dead because he gasps and his eyes open. Matt has to leave to respond to a noise and Abby stays behind. Munson is still hunting Susie and Matt isn’t close enough to help. Munson corners Susie, but lucky for her the creature intervenes and uses the swamp’s roots against him. Abby runs towards the screams and Susie doesn’t seem to be at all afraid of the creature. When Abby gets to Susie, the creature is standing at her side. Abby is alarmed at the sight of a creature with moss for skin and red eyes near the little girl so she grabs Susie and all but sprints through the swamp. The creature doesn’t try to follow them he just stays on the docks looking upset. They eventually get back to Matt on the boat.

 

Avery goes home and Maria is sleeping in Shawna’s bed again. But when he leaves we again see the waterlogged Shawna from Madame Xanadu’s vision in bed with her.

 

On the boat Susie and Abby talk about the creature. Susie says he’s afraid and he explains he doesn’t know what’s happening to him. Abby wants to know if he said anything else. Yes, Susie says. His name is Alec.