In the beginning of the episode we find Tandy in a motel room as Andre explains the gravity of the situation.  As Tandy discovers more about what’s going on and pushes the other captives to fight back, she finds it increasingly difficult to escape.  Meanwhile, Tyrone knows that something is wrong and desperately tries to locate his lost friend.

Once Tandy wakes up, Andre initially tries to make her believe that the illusion from the end of the last episode is real.  However, Tandy quickly sees through that and knows that he’s lying.  This makes the previous episode a bit pointless since Tandy instantly realizes that everything she saw was fake.  But now that Tandy is Andre’s prisoner, he explains to her more clearly what he wants and what he can do.  Andre tells her his reasons saying, “This is so I can survive.  The world saddled me with so much pain, the only way I can keep on is to share it from time to time.”  Tandy argues with him and tries to create a dagger but is unable to do it.  Andre explains that he took the hope she needs in order to use her powers.

Tandy is then introduced to a girl named Del who’s also being held captive.  Lia makes it seem like Del is staying with them willingly, but it’s clear there’s a lot of coercion and brainwashing going on.  This scene also seems to go against all of the arguments Andre used to ty and convince Tandy that he’s not a bad guy.  He talks about how he’s trying to help people and only uses the girls’ emotions to ease his migraines.  But that doesn’t explain why he has them doing chores and why he only abducts women.  So far he’s been portrayed as a misunderstood guy who believes what he’s doing is helping people, but it’s so blatantly hypocritical because we haven’t seen him actually do any of that.  Andre keeps telling us that he’s a complex character, but we never actually see it.

While all this is going on, Tyrone’s mother Adina is trying to figure out what to do with Connors.  She tells him that she hasn’t decided if his use in clearing Tyrone’s name outweighs her own drive for revenge.  Adina asks Connors to tell her the full story about what happened the night he shot Billy.  So far, Connors has ben very compliant with what Tyrone and Adina want.  However, when Otis drops by and he and Adina talk about Connors alone, we learn that there might be more going on than we first thought.  Connors maneuvers his way to a knife seemingly trying to cut himself free.  Since Connors volunteered to atone for his sins, his attempt to escape hints that he might have ulterior motives.

But regardless, he tells Adina about the night Billy was shot and doesn’t try to diminish his involvement.  Connors also tells her about his uncle’s involvement in the coverup.  At one point during their conversation Adina threatens him with a knife which does seem slightly out of character.  So far in the series Adina has been portrayed as a very normal mother which makes it a bit weird that she’s contemplating murder.  I understand that she wants justice for her son, but we haven’t seen her display any violent tendencies before.

Throughout the episode Andre has a confrontation with Tyrone and Evita’s Auntie Chantelle.  Tyrone innocently asks Andre about Tandy hoping he might be able to point him in the right direction.  But Tyrone quickly realizes that something is wrong and starts to get suspicious.  Andre then uses his abilities to find a record with memories/emotions that compel Tyrone to leave.  We see it has a big effect on Tyrone because Andre is able to compel him to stop looking for Tandy.  But the effect is reversed when Mayhem smashes up the record store.  We then learn a bit more about what Andre’s after in his confrontation with Auntie Chantelle.

Andre goes to Auntie Chantelle and asks about the veve he sees in the record store.  She tells him that he has the potential to become a Loa which would make his pain go away and unlock other abilities.  Andre gets pretty excited by this, but Auntie Chantelle warns him that it’s not a good idea and accuses Andre of misusing the powers he already has by playing with people’s pain.  Andre refutes this saying, “I don’t play with it…. I put on a record, bring back a memory, find a feeling from the past and bring it forward.”  So clearly Andre has self-delusions and that he’s going to pursue these abilities to try and get more powerful.  However, he may be a bit crippled since Mayhem destroys a lot of the records and it’s still unclear what effect this will have going forward, if any.

By the end of the episode Tandy and Tyrone are reunited after Tyrone leads the police to the motel and Tandy manages to escape.  Tandy accesses every ounce of hope she has left and uses it to manifest daggers to aid in her escape.  She then tears through the motel trying to release the captured girls.  But after she and Tyrone reunite, Tyrone collapses on the floor as he cloak extends outward and appears to be pouring out of him.

VERDICT

3 creepy cult dresses out of 5.  

This episode was a bit mixed for me.  It definitely had some great moments, like the conversation between Auntie Chantelle and Andre as well as some of the moments between Adina and Connors.  But I wasn’t a huge fan of Tandy conveniently being unable to use her powers until just the last minute or how inconsistent Andre is being portrayed.  It would be much more compelling if we saw him actually doing things to help people rather than just talking about being a good guy.  His powers are also a bit unclear since we don’t really know what the record store actually is, how it works, what it represents, and where these powers came from.  This doesn’t necessarily need to be answered and I’m fine with it being mysterious, but it would be nice to know the extent of Andre’s powers and what he’s actually able to do.  Right now it’s all a bit vague and more style over substance.  So far this season has been stronger than the first, but I did like some of the earlier episodes a bit better.

ONE-SHOTS

  • Tandy’s reaction to seeing that Tyrone came to rescue her was really powerful and a definite highlight of the episode.  Especially after she was being told that nobody cared enough to try and find her.
  • I wonder if the motel is complicit in Andre’s illegal activities.  It definitely has a “shady motel” vibe going on.
  • The forced drugs scene with Tandy was pretty brutal, especially with her history of drug addiction.  Hopefully this doesn’t cause a relapse.
  • I’m guessing that Otis and Adina split up in the 8 month gap between seasons since this is the first time they’ve been together on screen.