Original Release Date (Netflix): Friday April 19, 2013
Welcome back to another episode of Hemlock Grove! This time, things start off with Olivia fussing over Roman in the coma. While she fixes his socks and straightens his bed around him, Shelley is sitting on the staircase, looking very miserable. Olivia tosses out a bouquet of flowers and tells Roman, “Flowers are for funerals.” She touches the Ganesh Peter gave Roman, looking at it and telling Roman how she had no use for their kind in years. “In the face of difficulty, large grievances become so minor.” She starts wiping his face down as she signs in a foreign tongue, her voice heart broken. This song though, makes Shelley take notice.
After that, we are brought back to Peter’s trailer, where he is yet again having sex with Letha. After they finish Letha talks about Roman. She worries that the longer he stays in it, the less likely it will be to wake him up. Peter tries to comfort her and dismisses what the doctors say. She gently caresses the G on his side and asks him to tell her a story about being a gypsy. Peter humors her and tells her about Nicolai capturing a real fairy. He even warns her that real fairies are vicious.
He also tells her that the poor thing died in the jar. “No one can fucking live like that.”
And…Credits Roll!
The next scene is Clementine drinking from the tap and looking a little ragged. We see pictures of Peter and events from hemlock Grove, gory snapshots of the dead girls. Clementine rubs her face as she contemplates it all, trying to find connections. She slaps herself and sighs as she paces around the room. She opens the side table drawer and there lies a bible and a handgun. She caresses both, but in the end picks up the gun and starts to disassemble it.
As she does so she gets a call from her brother Michael. She takes out the battery and starts to have flashbacks of being in the cell with the pregnant werewolf. She grabs a bottle of whiskey and starts drinking, as she remembers killing the girl.
“Welcome to the Order of the Dragon Dr. Chasseur.”
She gets out of the bed and looks at the photos on the wall. She rips off Peter’s face just as she has a flashback of her initiation again. We see her washing her hands in a large basin, the blood dripping off her fingertips as the bishop recites prayers. She then has a flashback of asking Peter if he walks in the skin of the wolf when the moon is full. We see her sitting on the floor now, looking down at Peter’s picture as she shuffles through her memories. She then remembers reciting words as she washed her hands before the bishop. She tells them that she chooses and agrees to wear and bear the sign or effigy of the dragon. “…curved into this form is a circle, its tail winding around its neck. Divided through the middle of its back with blood forming a red cross. But it remains untouched by that blood, just as all those who fight under the banner of the glorious martyr St. George remain untouched by the beast.” She’s reciting this as she remembers it, and she recalls the bishop telling her the beast is the devil. Appearing on earth as a radiant heavenly being, claiming to be God.
Hmm…perhaps Letha was impregnated by an angel…a FALLEN one. I kind of guessed that already, but it’s good to have conformation.
The bishop tells her that she will root him out. Clementine is now looking over at more pictures of Peter as she hears the bishop’s words in her head. “Let Him serve as your guide and from this day forward, let it be the only one you bear.” As he says this in her past, he places a medallion around her neck with a red cross on it.
Of course, she’s not wearing that mark now. In fact, she’s only wearing the necklace she took off the pregnant werewolf she killed.
Interesting…
“May you strike down God’s enemies and smite them from the earth in his name.”
After she gets up off the floor she says to herself, “It’s gotta be him.” As she looks at pictures of Peter. But she’s not convinced. She finds a photo of Destiny with Peter and asks herself who and what Destiny is.
The scene changes and we are at the hospital, were poor Christina is resting. She wakes up with a start, and looks panicked as she sees a vision of Francis at the end of her bed. He tells her, “You’re going to lose your soul.” She screams and wakes again, this time for real. Her friends the twins come in to visit her, asking her if she’s fine. They hand her a pile of DVDs and ask her what she’d like to do. They seem genuinely concerned for her, which is really sweet. Alyssa starts to cry, and apologizes, telling Christina she is her best friend.
Christina tries to put on a brave face and tells them both she is going to be okay.
The girl’s father is looking over photos of the poor boy Christina flipped out on as the girls approach him. They try to convince him to get her out, that she hates it here. They want to bring her home, but being a Sheriff as well as a father, he can see right through them. He tells them gently that if Dr. Godfrey thinks she needs to stay, she needs to stay.
Next we see Olivia enjoying some…quality time with Norman. He tells her she’s as beautiful as the day he first saw her as they finish up. She seems, unsettled by that, and tells him she has to get home. Olivia asks him if he has to get home and he sighs telling her of course he does. The two of them tidy up as Olivia helps him with his tie. They do it looking contemplative, but they don’t say much to each other. Norman kisses her when she finishes.
The next scene is Norman’s wife cleaning. She cleans a mark off the counter that looks like the snake eating its own tail. Norman comes home to find her furiously cleaning it. She tells him angrily that Letha is fucking Peter Rumancek, and that she found out by snooping through Letha’s phone. Norman tells her she has no right to violate her privacy. She justifies her actions by saying Letha claims to be impregnated by an angel. “…And now she’s sleeping with a boy that half of Hemlock Grove thinks is a serial killer.” And he tells her they also think he’s a werewolf, and that is insane. This doesn’t comfort her. He even tells her one of his patients originated that rumor. “It’s character assassination by a traumatized 14-year-old girl.”
Mrs. Godfrey merely replies with, “I need you to be her father, not her friend.”
So Norman goes to talk to Letha, but not before he locks his own phone. He finds her in the living room and tells her that her mom got a hold of her cell and that they know. He asks her if it was her first time, and they have a very uncomfortable conversation about sex. He tries to make light of it but tells her lying is a problem. She confesses she’s in love with him. “People see someone like Peter as a blank piece of paper they can just put everything they’re afraid of on. I mean, what do you think people say about Shelley? Do you trust me?”
Norman smiles and holds her hand, just as the scene changes.
Now we see Shelley answering the door, greeting the girl who works at the General Store. Shelley tells her he’s upstairs, but she tells Shelley that she thought she might need a friend. She gives Shelley a big hug, something I think Shelley has needed for a long time.
The next scene is Letha walking through the school halls, as Ashley catches up with her. She hands Letha a card for Roman and gives her condolences. Letha goes to talk to Peter, showing the card Ashley made. She asks Roman to come to dinner at her house, and he makes a surprised face.
The scene changes briskly to Clementine now sitting with Destiny in her place. She tells Destiny not many people do what she does in the tri-state area. Destiny tells her that Clementine doesn’t seem like the type to come to a person like her and explains the types of clients she normally has. She tells Clementine that her problem doesn’t fall into the categories of her typical clients. “Your problem seems to me to be much more internal.” She tells her there are no judgments here, but does tell Clementine she can smell the booze off her. Destiny tells her she can talk to her about anything. Clementine says she wants to talk to her about her family and brings up Peter. Destiny says she knows what Clementine thinks she’s looking for, but she’s wrong. Clementine asks her, “Then why am I here?” Destiny then convinces her to open up, and Clementine confesses she feels she’s lost her path to God. The big G-God. Destiny is impressed as she hasn’t had many big G’s in her place.
Destiny tells her that it’s interesting that as a woman of faith she has such a problem with control. This startles Clementine. Destiny asks to see her hands, but Clementine fights her on it. Destiny tells Clementine that they should just trust each other for two seconds or they will get nowhere fast. She makes Clementine stand, then takes her hands. Clementine looks frightened, but trying to be tough. Destiny looks at her hands and inhales sharply, looking pained for Clementine. She tells her, “It’s in every part of you. You’re not lying. You have been searching.” Tears stream down Destiny’s face as she looks at Clementine who asks her what she saw and felt. Destiny undresses and places Clementine’s hand on her breast. Destiny asks her, “Let me restore you.” And undresses her. They kiss and Destiny says softly, “Would you like to hear God’s voice again?” And Clementine says yes as Destiny’s hand wanders.
*fans self* This show is full of sexy.
The next scene is Olivia at the mechanics. She demands Roman’s car to be fixed by now. Marie, Norman’s wife, drives up to have her car fixed too, and the pair talk. Marie asks how Roman is, and Olivia tells her Norman and Letha have been stopping by to see him a lot. Olivia says it’s a pleasure to see her, but of course she’s just saying that. The unspoken secret between them claims they are uncomfortable with each other.
Back at Norman’s house Peter is having dinner with Letha’s family. It’s a rather uncomfortable dinner too. Letha even plays footsies with Peter under the table. Norman tries to break up the silence with small talk. Letha brings up a picture she saw in the paper of a guy walking down Liberty Ave. with a leopard on his back. Of course no one has, so Letha tries to describe it. Norman changes the subject to school stuff. He brings up the topic of College and Peter almost seems to laugh at that. Norman says Letha has already written her personal essay, and Letha tells him she might have to defer that for a year. Being pregnant does put things on hold after all. Peter tries to get Mrs. Godfrey to talk about how she met Mr. Godfrey. She tries to tell the story but Norman finishes for her, saying her father was a steel worker in the mill. He claims her father was a good man, very prideful. Norman laughs at how Mr. Newport didn’t want Norman anywhere near his daughter. When Letha asks how Norman won her over Marie replies with, “Godfrey’s get what they want.”
Marie suddenly gets real upset and starts to cry, then leaves the table. Norman asks Peter if he wants a drink, and pours him a glass of whiskey as they drink to Roman. After the dinner, Norman cleans up in the kitchen and smiles to himself.
The next scene is of Destiny watching Clementine get dressed. She tells her that Peter is not who she’s looking for. Clementine says she doesn’t know that and Destiny tells her maybe she hasn’t learned a thing. Clementine asks, “How is it so easy for you?” And Destiny replies with, “It’s not about knowing. It’s all right here.” And as she says that, she grabs Clementine by the chest. Clementine tosses some money down and leaves, as Destiny watches her go with an intense stare.
The scene changes to Lynda knocking on the door of the Godfrey manor. She pushes her way past the maid and goes upstairs to where Olivia and Roman are. Olivia sees her and Lynda says sorry, handing her the “medicine” Olivia asked for. Lynda tells her she knows she’s good for it and let’s Olivia use it right away. After putting it in her eye Olivia falls backwards on the couch and lounges as Lynda talks about Peter and how hard his birth was. She has a moment of bonding with Olivia, sharing how hard it is to be a single mom raising a little man. Olivia tells her it’s not up to him, as she looks over at Roman. “It’s not up to Roman when he dies. It’s not his decision, it’s mine.” Lynda listens but isn’t sure what Olivia is getting at.
The following scene is of a group of a couple kids tormenting Peter about the full moon. They bug him about Roman and Peter tries to ignore it, until they bring up his mom. He kicks one and tries to get away but they gang up on him, dragging him off the bus and beating him up. Letha stops them.
Olivia drives Peter home, with Letha in the backseat. She hands Peter a hankie she had in her purse and tells him it’s okay. She tells Letha she should really take her home and Letha touches Peter’s shoulder. Olivia asks her to at least give her mother a call, and gets a look from Letha. Olivia drops them off at the trailer, where Lynda is waiting. Lynda asks who could do such a thing, and Peter tells her it’s no one. Lynda asks everyone to sit and gives Peter some pills for the swelling. She crushes them up into a tea and gives Letha a piece of steak for the swelling. Then she gives Peter a joint as she sends Letha off with Peter to take care of him. Letha helps him light the joint in his room and Peter asks her to tell him a story about being a gypsy. Letha hits him playfully.
The two moms however are sitting on the cough together smoking a joint. Olivia offers for Peter to stay at her place for a bit. “The full moon does bring it out in people.”
And so…Peter and Letha go to the Godfrey manor for the night. While there, they play board games with Shelley, who’s really good at them. Shelley asks him if it hurts and Peter tells her it’s not so bad. Letha asks if anyone else is hungry, and sends Peter to get food in the kitchen. Peter doesn’t realize right away Olivia is in the kitchen until he turns around. She says to him, “Did you find what you are looking for?”
Peter asks her why she would want to help him and she replies with, “Roman needs all the friends he can get right now. Besides, someone had to step in before things go too…hairy.”
The next scene is Letha sleeping with Peter. Peter wakes up and gently moves Letha off him. He then looks out at the full moon and hears Clementine’s voice in his head, “When the moon is full do you walk in the skin of a wolf?” he takes his coat and goes out, Shelley watching him leave. He tells her he will be careful.
He then shows up at Clementine’s hotel room. She answers and lets him in. He tells her he needs to talk her to her and that he’s spoken to Destiny. She puts her gun beside her on the bed and Peter tells her that he knows why she is here. That she’s trying to stop the killings. He tells her he needs her help. She brings up the full moon and he tells her that he has a bad feeling about it. She asks him what he wants her to do and he yells, “What you came here for!” He tells her about Letha and asks her to protect her, because he cannot. Clementine seems very curious by this request. She picks up the gun and tucks it in her pants, and tells him, “No more girls are gonna die. I promise. ”
The next scene is back at the mental health hospital, Hemlock Acres. Christina is walking with Norman, as Norman tells her that Tyler wants her to know that they are “cool.” He tells her that Tyler knows she didn’t mean it. Christina says it’s really pretty at Hemlock Acres, for a mental institution. Norman asks her if she’d rather go inside, noticing how twitchy she is. He asks her if she feels safe here. She tells him, “It feels like nothing can get its hands on you here.” She tells Norman that she knew Francis. She asks if he was also Norman’s patient. Norman says yes, and is startled she knows so much. She tells Norman that Francis watched Peter eat the girl. Norman asks her why she thinks that, and asks if Pullman told her this, but she doesn’t reply.
The scene changes back to Clementine, as she says to the walls, “I mean, that was your idea of a joke right? Dropping the little bastard on my doorstep. It’s not a sign, it’s a goddamn billboard! But the rules are the rules, right? You don’t take them down until they turn and when they do you show no mercy.”
She explains to the walls that she still believes Peter didn’t do it. But that it’s not about that. She tells the heavens she will do this one last thing for them. “And then you and me, we’re through. Cheers.” She raises her bottle of whiskey and drinks.
The next scene is Letha at Roman’s beside as Peter comes back. He finds her there and looks over Roman. She asks him where he was, but doesn’t see the tears threatening the edges of his eyes. He tells her it doesn’t matter, but she’s clearly upset. She asks him, “If you were gonna run away, would you tell me?” and he responds with, “I am not fast enough to outrun this.”
He asks her to promise to be home before dark, before sundown and that someone is with her the whole night, until the sun comes up. She asks him what he is going to do, and he looks over at Roman and says, “I’m going to kill it.” Letha tells him, “You know you’re just a person right? That’s what we all are. We’re all just people.”
Peter freaks out and yells at her, “An hour before sundown, under no circumstances do you leave the house! Under no circumstances do you let anyone in!”
She replies angrily, “Then what? The next time I see you, you’re in jail? At your funeral? Do I even see you again after that?” The then tells him, “I think you’re both fucking full of shit.”
They fight some more about the situation, about how she thinks Peter needs more protecting than her. And Roman. In the end, Peter flips out, breaks a lamp and tell her to do as he says or he will never see her again. Norman honks the horn outside and Letha leaves, giving Peter a very dirty look. Peter stands there beside Roman’s bed, looking terrified as he swears at the sky.
And so ends another episode of Hemlock Grove! I love how weird and complex the characters are. I don’t really see anyone as a good guy or a bad guy. Just complicated people in weird situations. How are you liking the show? Is there a character you find the most interesting?
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