666 Park Avenue Recap: “Downward Spiral”

by Jessica Grafer:

666 Park Avenue Recap: “Downward Spiral”
Original Air Date (ABC): Sunday November 11, 2012
Season 1 Episode 7

It’s 1998.  A lovely young, pregnant woman named Melanie is riding the elevator up in the Drake with Gavin.  He asks her how her little girl is.  Melanie is surprised.  How did you know it’s a girl?  Lucky guess says Gavin.  Melanie is off to see her mother, Lottie.  Lottie doesn’t like the Dorans.  When Melanie tells her that she spoke to Gavin in the elevator, Lottie wants her to leave now.  Lottie tells her to not come back to the Drake until baby Nona is born.  Nona’s grandmother, Lottie says she can’t leave the Drake.  Melanie’s visit abruptly ends and she’s back in the elevator.  The elevator stops and the lights go on and off.  Melanie goes into labor with baby Nona at the Drake.

More fabulous things are happening for Henry.  Tonight he is going to receive a commendation from the Mayor for, in Henry’s words, “being a badass”.  Jane is pretty out of it still.  Indiana in her thoughts.  She’s made up her mind to go home.  With or without Henry.  Henry doesn’t understand because everything seems to be going great.  They ride with the Dorans to the party.

Olivia pulls Jane away and tells her about an architect consultant job.  One of her friends are redoing a brownstone and Olivia thought Jane would be perfect on the project.  Jane says thanks but, I’m going home.  Olivia tells her she’s running away.  Olivia puts it pretty bluntly.  Jane is feeling a lot of pressure to stay in New York and at the Drake.  Just wait Jane.  It’s not over yet.

Brian comes home to pick up a few things.  Apparently he’s been staying at a friends in Brooklyn.  He’s looking for Louise but who does he find?  Alexis.  Ugh.  She is just all up in his business.  Alexis says that Lou is on a business trip.  How convenient.  Alexis tries to move in on Brian again but he stays strong.  For now…

Gavin is having drinks with Henry up in the penthouse.  Jane is the topic.  Henry doesn’t want her to go to Indiana without him but he can’t leave with all these doors magically opening for him.  Gavin gives him some fatherly advice.  First he asks Henry if he loves Jane enough to walk away from his career in New York.  Before Henry can really answer Gavin says, the best part of us is the woman we love. Propose Henry, Gavin concludes, do whatever you can to keep Jane here with you.

Back at the hospital we see Doc Scott checking in on his prisoner patient, Kandinsky.  Three stab wounds to the abdomen stitched up nicely.  When the Doc leaves Kandinsky pushes at something inside his stomach area.  It begins to poke through his skin.  Yikes!!!  It’s a scaple!  Doc Scott put one in when he stitched him up.  It was crazy watching him push and then pull it out of his stomach.  Ewwww.  When he gets it out Kandinsky screams, the cop on guard comes in and Kandinsky kills him.

In the middle of the night at the Drake Nona hears a door open.  She goes to check on Grandma Lottie.  She’s not in her room.  She’s not in the apartment at all.  She finds her in the hallway.  Standing.  Grandma Lottie speaks in a shaky voice, “Don’t let Jane leave” she tells Nona.  Jane is in the lobby the next morning when Nona comes down to tell her this.  Jane has just sent her resignation letter up to Mr. Doran.  Nona begs her to stay, telling her that if she runs away (again with the running away) Nona will lose the one person she can trust.  Jane feels bad but is determined to leave.

Kandinsky apparently killed two people on his way out of the hospital.  Doc Scott is pissed.  Gavin tells him money is never free.  Now you are in my debt and you’ll be done when I say.

Olivia takes Henry to a jewelry shop to find an engagement ring.   While he marvels at the beautiful selection, he tells Olivia he’s sure he can’t afford any of these.  Olivia asks what kind of budget are we looking at.  $3,000.  Every ring Henry asks the price on is about $3,000.  Olivia says she’s just trying to help.  I wish I had friends like that!  Kinda.  Well, maybe not.  In the long run the price is way too high.  While Henry is off finalizing things Shaw shows up behind Olivia.  Shaw wants her to betray Gavin.  He seems to think that Olivia only stays with Gavin because she can’t leave, not because she wants too.  I really have thought the Olivia loves Gavin.  The only thing that has broken her heart in part because of Gavin, is the loss of her daughter.  Is that enough to have made her hate him for this long?

Jane and Nona are in an elevator.  The elevator doors open to an older version of the Drake.  A little girl is skipping around.  Nona tells Jane that she is a child of the Drake.  Just like Nona and just like Jane.  No way, says Jane.  I’m no child of the Drake.  Nona says you’re special, how else could I get into your dreams?  Crazy!!!!  Jane wakes up and it was just a dream.  In the morning Jane goes to Nona’s apartment to discuss last night.  When Jane meets Lottie she goes all adult on Nona.  I should report this to Social Services.  You shouldn’t be taking care of her by yourself.  Blah blah blah.  Nona is worried but when she shows Jane what she and her grandma have been working on Jane forgets about all that.  In a large closet there are articles and pictures everywhere about happenings at the Drake.  Lottie has been searching for answers.  Nona shows Jane a pic of a little girl, (the one from the dream).  It’s Jane from 1992.  When she was 8 years old she was at the Drake.  How can this be?  Jane remembers none of this.

Brian stops Doc Scott in the lobby.  Doc is in a hurry but he tells Brian he never slept with Louise.  Brian says, hey man, I read the text message.  Doc says, I lost my phone last night and Alexis gave it to me after we hooked up.  A light goes on in Brian’s eyes.  He totally figures it out.  Unfortunately he figures it out after Alexis has tricked him into sleeping with her.  Whoops.

Gavin is none too happy with Doctor Scotts attitude.  When the numbers bleed through on his chest this time, they read $60,000.  I’d keep my mouth shut if I were you Doc.  Scott is getting ready for the symphony tonight.  He packs a gun underneath his suit coat.  I guess he’s not ready to shut up and repay his debt.

Gavin is shaving with a straight razor as he gets ready for the symphony.  Olivia is helping him.  She tells him about how she saw Shaw again.  How Shaw wants her to betray him.  Olivia tells Gavin that she would never betray him.  Oops.  At that moment she cuts him a little under the chin.  I know you won’t betray me Gavin tells her.  Kinda scary.

Everybody is at the symphony.  Jane and Henry don’t stay long.  Jane tells Henry how much she loves him and knows she can’t ask him to leave with her.  She doesn’t know if she can leave without him.  They seem really happy together and this whole time I’m like, “do it Henry! Propose already!!!!”  Alas, he does not.  They leave before the symphony starts.  They have somethings to um, talk about.

Shaw shows up.  Gavin tells Olivia to freshen her lipstick and take him a drink.  We don’t want to be rude to our guest.  Shaw is uncertain about the drink.  He tells her she should give it to her husband.  Olivia tells Shaw she may be ready to go against Gavin.  Shaw needs some convincing.  Olivia kisses him.  As she turns and walks away Shaw drops to the floor in convulsions.  This could not have happened at a better time.  Across the room Dr. Scott has a gun in Gavin’s back.  He wants out of the debt.  When Shaw drops people start yelling for a doctor.  Gavin tells him, you weren’t made to take lives you were made to save ’em.  Time’s running out, get in there!  It’s like a pep talk before the big game.  Get in there little buddy!  You can do it.  Scott goes to help Shaw.

The ambulance is headed to the hospital.  Scott is in the back trying to keep Shaw alive.  The driver suddenly turns off the sirens.  What’s going on, Scott asks.  The driver is Kandinsky!  They are taking Shaw back to the Drake and Scott is to keep him alive.  Back at the Drake Brian runs in to Alexis in the elevator.  She wants some more lovin’ but Brian says I know what you did.  He tells her to back off.  He’s going to try and fix this thing with Louise.  The elevator stops and Alexis says, let go of me.  This is my floor.  Oh snap.  Alexis lives in the Drake now.  Fandamntastic.

As Henry and Jane return home Nona is in the lobby.  She needs Jane’s help.  I’ll just be a minute Jane says.  Henry goes up to wait in the apartment.  Olivia has it all decked out in candlelight and rose petals.  Perfect to propose.  Henry waits.  Nona and Jane are looking for Lottie.  She’s run off again.  They find her in the basement.  Lottie grabs at Janes’ necklace and puts it up to her eye.  Jane realizes that her necklace is the eye in the mosaic on the floor.  She puts the necklace in place and the floor starts moving.  Little blocks start falling here and there.  Jane and Nona jump back so as not to fall in.  A beautiful, spiral staircase appears winding down out of sight.  Jane starts down the stairs.  She tells Nona she thinks this is what she’s supposed to do.  Jane gets a few feet down and the floor above her starts to close up.  She didn’t want to be stuck down there.  Now she is.  Stuck somewhere in the Drake.  As the floors final pieces move back in place a great wind blows through the whole building.  Up in the apartment Henry is still waiting.  The wind rushes through and blows every candle in the apartment out.

Jessica Grafer has loved the “darker” things since she was old enough to pick her own books. She is a contributor for DarkMedia who will be covering Revenge and 666 Park Avenue. She loves to walk the book store shelves and pick up whatever catches her eye. She is a movie lover with a great range in her tastes, and appreciation for all genres. Jessica is a writer and has several things in the works. You can follow her quirky Twitter posts at @scarletbe and check out her blog.