Original Airdate (NBC): November 29, 2013
Mina awakens to find Grayson in her room. She orders him to leave, but he says he must tell her something. Marrying Jonathan will be the biggest mistake of her life. She disagrees and tells him to leave, but he pounces on her and kisses her. Mina reciprocates, and she moans as he trails his hand along her leg. She’s caught up in the sensations, so much so that she doesn’t awaken as Lucy comes in to wake her up. It was all a dream. Lucy reminds her of all the things they need to do before tonight’s engagement party. Unless she’s changed her mind about the engagement, of course. Mina shakes her head and gets up.
Van Helsing and Grayson are in the engine room of the geomagnetic device. The men are setting up a new machine. Grayson brings Van Helsing down to the cellar underneath the room to introduce him to their newest test subject, the vampire that had been held captive in Lady Jayne’s prison. Grayson asks about Renfield, and Van Helsing informs him that Renfield is nowhere to be found.
Renfield is nowhere to be found because Davenport’s henchmen captured him and have him tied to a chair in a large room. Ms. Clapps appears and provides Renfield with the rules of the game. While he might feel like he’s bound and helpless, his acquiescence to her questioning will make the process easier or harder depending on what he chooses. Her tray full of torture implements is wheeled over. She plays with the different tools while she prepares. Renfield warns her that there will be repercussions for her actions. She dons a set of brass knuckles and backhands him. This is her game, and she wants to know who Grayson loves. When Renfield doesn’t respond, she slides a knife under his fingernail. He screams.
Vera provides Jonathan with information about General Shaw. She gives him evidence that Shaw is taking bribes. When she sees that he understands what is happening, she wants to know what he plans to do with the information. He remains silent.
Mina and Lucy watch from above as a crew puts the final preparations on the party. Mina can’t understand why certain people are on the guest list, given that Jonathan doesn’t even know them. Grayson walks in and begs forgiveness for inviting those people, but they had to be included. Mina is uncomfortable at the idea of putting Grayson out given everything that he’s doing for the party, but he insists that it’s merely a space to be filled and he’s happy to do it. He pays Lucy a compliment about her vision for the party, and Lucy appreciates being appreciated. Jonathan rushes in and asks to speak with Grayson. Lucy and Mina are left alone, and Mina tells Lucy about her disturbing dream. At first Lucy mistakes it to be a sex dream about Jonathan, and she makes a joke about “circumference.” But Mina blurts out that it wasn’t Jonathan in the dream at all. Lucy looks on in a very calculating way.
As soon as they’re alone, Jonathan tells Grayson that he knows that Shaw is taking bribes. Grayson isn’t interested in that, though. Not now, at least. Renfield is missing after not showing up for an appointment the night before. He has been gone nine hours. Grayson doesn’t want the police involved, and he demands that Jonathan use discretion. Jonathan is on it. As he leaves, Mina catches him to ask about the guest list. He says he needed to add a few business associates, and he tells her he must leave. But she wasn’t worried about the additions to the guest list; rather she was concerned about the people who had been removed. His acquaintances from the paper, for one, and his friend and roommate Szabo, for another. Jonathan reminds Mina about what happens when Szabo gets drunk. That’s why he isn’t invited. And then he leaves. Again, Lucy watches all of this with interest.
Browning listens as Davenport discusses the guest list for Jonathan’s engagement party. Browning hopes there won’t be another show from Grayson there. He speaks of the need to keep Americans on a leash.
Mina has returned home before the party. She’s sitting on the floor in front of her bed, and her party dress is hanging in the background. Her father comes in and tells her how proud her mother would be. He thinks she would be proud of Mina’s choice. Mina says that it might have been true a month ago, but now she’s not so sure. Jonathan has changed; now that he has a new job, he has new friends and business associates and has cast aside his old friends. Dr. Murray senses that his daughter is worried about becoming expendable some day. While this is true, there is still the matter of the unresolved tension with Grayson on her mind.
Renfield is bloodied but still unbroken. Ms. Clapps rubs salt in his wounds and praises his strength. She picks up a set of clippers and grabs a chunk of his skin. She asks her question again. “Who does Alexander Grayson love?” When she’s met with silence once again, she makes the cut. Renfield chokes on his scream.
Van Helsing is working in his lab when Grayson enters. Grayson tells him that Renfield has been abducted and Grayson is powerless to do anything until the sun goes down. When Grayson says that Renfield will never speak against him, Van Helsing declares the problem solved and explains that they will move forward with the plan to try to shock their test vampire’s heart into beating. Once that’s done, he will inject the serum into its veins and see what happens. If it works, Grayson says, and then he wants to go forward with it as well.
Jonathan is at the metallurgy building looking for clues about Renfield’s disappearance. He comes across a little book in the gutter.
Grayson toys with a playing card, moving it in and out of the light. He flashes back to a time twelve years in the past. He enters a train car where men are playing cards. He’s looking for Mr. Havershaw, and he wants to buy Havershaw’s companies. He’s prepared to pay handsomely for them. Havershaw isn’t willing to sell, though, and his men surround Grayson with their guns drawn. That’s when a man steps out from behind the bar and tells Havershaw about the taxes and fees associated with his operation, thus saving Grayson from attack. He introduces himself as R.M. Renfield, Esquire. Grayson’s reverie is interrupted when Jonathan comes in with news of Renfield’s abduction. The newsman saw the whole thing and thought it was the police, so it wasn’t reported. He presents the little journal to Grayson, who has what he needs.
Downstairs, Van Helsing prepares the vampire for the experiment. Grayson joins him and shares the news about Renfield. He then goes to the levers that start the machine and awaits Van Helsing’s instructions. They start with 1000 volts of electricity, but it isn’t enough. They move to 3000 and the vampire writhes in agony on the table. But it is enough to start her heart. Van Helsing injects the serum and opens a skylight. She stares in wonder up at the sun, but then her feet start burning and eventually her whole body catches fire as Grayson looks on in disappointment.
Once the sun sets, Grayson prepares to leave when Van Helsing tries to stop him. There is no stopping him, of course. Grayson stops the car and works to pick up a scent. He finds one and runs off.
In the meantime, the engagement party is in full swing at Grayson’s house. Szabo shows up with Jonathan and promises not to do any dancing. After Dr. Murray greets the happy couple, Jonathan tells Mina that he agrees that he forgot what was important. They laugh as Szabo pretends to dance, and she promises not to let him forget the important things.
Several men kick Renfield as he writhes on the ground in agony. Ms. Clapps continues her interrogation, which sends us back to the scene on the train twelve years earlier. Renfield saw the men take their guns out, and so he interrupts them with enough time to warn Grayson that they plan to kill him. Renfield is rewarded by being jumped by Havershaw and his men, and once he’s on the ground, Grayson attacks. All Renfield can see are bodies being thrown all over, and eventually he sees Grayson walk by with Havershaw’s head in his hand. Then Grayson bends down into Renfield’s line of sight and promises that he is safe now. Back in the present, Ms. Clapps keeps asking her question. Renfield looks above her to see that Grayson is standing above her, and he starts laughing. His laughter puzzles her, but it doesn’t matter. Grayson jumps down and kills her henchmen as Renfield continues to laugh, and when Grayson approaches her, Ms. Clapps screams.
Browning and Davenport discuss Grayson’s absence. Lucy and Alistair laugh at Lady Jayne, who is searching the room for Grayson. Suddenly Grayson appears on the balcony. He greets Jonathan and Mina and apologizes for his tardiness. He pulls Jonathan away and thanks him for providing the lead that led to Renfield’s return. Lady Jayne notices how much Lucy dotes on Mina. He assures Jonathan that Renfield is all right, and then listens to the information about General Shaw. Grayson had only wanted to embarrass the man, not drag him through the mud. This catches Jonathan off guard, as he expected Grayson to be equally appalled by Shaw’s hypocrisy. Lady Jayne interrupts them, telling Grayson that she missed him. He tells her about Renfield and uses his super senses to ascertain whether or not she was involved. She wasn’t. From there, they go together to “meet” Jonathan’s friends, Lords Browning and Davenport. Grayson shakes their hands and then takes his leave with Jayne. He pauses to smell his hand; Renfield’s scent is on Davenport’s hand. Mina calls Grayson out to the balcony, which gives Jayne time to confront Davenport about Renfield’s abduction. It wasn’t something done on behalf of the Order, Davenport tells her.
Outside on the balcony, Mina introduces her friend and mentor, Van Helsing. Grayson shakes Van Helsing’s hand and the pretend not to know each other. Van Helsing gazes across the room and sees Browning and Davenport, recognizing Browning as the man who killed his family. “Excuse me,” he says, taking his leave.
Dr. Murray gets up to offer a toast to the happy couple. He praises the woman Mina has become. Jonathan gets up to make a speech and he offers the first dance with Mina to Grayson as a means to repay him for the lavish party. Mina looks sick as she meets Grayson on the dance floor. They begin a slow dance while Jayne and Lucy and the others look on. Grayson’s hand presses Mina’s back, which makes Jayne’s eyes widen and Lucy’s mouth open in surprise at the passion between them. Grayson envisions Ilona as he dances, and the dance takes on even more emotion. Jonathan approaches in concern, seeing that his fiancée is looking all too comfortable with Grayson. When he taps Grayson’s shoulder, blood pours from his newly opened throat wound. Grayson shakes his head to clear the daydream from his mind. Jonathan asks if he can cut in, and Grayson stalks off. Lucy and Jayne watch in shock. Mina asks for some air.
Later, Browning tells Jayne that Grayson has a secret. Grayson’s associates frequently end up dead, which Jayne says happens to Browning’s associates as well. But Browning also points out that the arrival of the ancient vampires coincides with Grayson’s arrival in London. Jayne thinks he’s being ridiculous, but Browning isn’t laughing.
Lucy returns home and sinks down on the stairs, crying. Jayne is pensive. Jonathan is emotional while Mina lies in bed and touches her empty pillow.
Grayson tends to Renfield’s wounds as he reminisces about the day that he fitted Renfield with a new suit and listened to him tell the tale of how he became a lawyer and then lost everything because of the color of his skin. Grayson tells him that he needs a lawyer and an associate. Renfield says he could only work for a man who trusts him, which leads Grayson to promise to let him know all of his secrets. They shake, and Grayson promises that Renfield’s life will never be the same.
Tonight’s episode was packed with revelations. It looks like Van Helsing is moving closer and closer to finding a cure for Grayson’s light sensitivity. And it also looks like Lucy is secretly crushing on Mina. Hmm.
The plot thickens…and it looks like next week’s episode is hot. Literally.
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