So, Coreen wants an advance (which Viki won’t give) which
results in lots of passive aggressive stomping for the episode.
And we have a woman in a pool describing how she wants to
be a mother until dark murky stuff is dropped in the water. Yes, it’s going to
be a creepy supernatural pregnancy episode – it’s a trope that rises over and
over again. This becomes Vicki’s case when the father turns up and describes
how his wife went from talking to the foetus to conversing with it. Which lead
to her being checked into the clinic full time – and he can no longer get in
touch with her. She’s there of her own free will, but he thinks she’s fallen
into the grip of a fertility clinic cult.
So Vicki needs to go undercover and she can’t take Henry
to pose as her husband because of his whole combusting in daylight thing. So
she goes to see Celluci, causing his colleague to choke on her coffee with her
novelly worded request. He also shows (it contains the word “holistic” this is
proof that they are devious. No-one honestly uses the words “holistic” or
“synergy” it’s known). Mike seems very disturbed at the idea of Vicki being
lovey and sweet – which amuses me immensely
Undercover they go and check Vicki into the clinic for a
month. Which is already suspicious considering how quickly and easily they took
them as patients. This involves lots of amusing awkwardness of course. Vicki
gets to meet one of her fellow cultists who is so perky I’m amazed Vicki
doesn’t just strangle her. She also learns that there are “Alpha Mommies” who
spend all their time alone! And isn’t that just perky and super! I can’t wait
for Vicki to strangle these people.
Meanwhile Coreen and Henry are interviewing previous
clients (and Coreen trying to get Henry to buy her blood) of the clinic who seem
fine to meet in the middle of the night. His wife has since died in an accident
and it’s just him and his demo- err, child (nah, let’s be honest here, it’s a
demon-child. This doesn’t like we’re going to have much of a twist here). Henry
leaves quickly because he can smell blood on the demon-child that is not his.
Pets are apparently missing all over the neighbourhood.
Coreen goes to check other people who went to the clinic
but many won’t talk to her. Re-interviewing the father of the demon-child and
finds a picture of another baby born in the clinic which looks identical to
Travis (the Demon-child) when he was born (I think, anyway. Babies don’t look
all that different to me anyway). And his father describes how cold and inhuman
the boy became.
Henry, meanwhile is following the kiddy on his nocturnal wanderings where he meets up with another boy – who he tries to stab. Awww, kids and their games. Henry intervenes, glamours the other kid to go home and disarms little Travis. He glamours Travis not to hurt more people or animals. Though, because he’s not completely human and he is controlled by an external force and ancient darkness) and the glamour will not last.
Doing some research, Coreen discovers the concept of
changelings where fae exchange their twisted children for humanity. In
particular the dark elves, the swartalfs, which are nasty naughty elves. We
also get some world building over vampire progeny.
Vicki gets to spend time with lots of perky people and
drink really horrible herb drinks that apparently gives strange nightmares. And
she puts her hand on a baby bump and sees a horrible alien-like thing moving
about. She quickly spills all to Marlisse Lafoy, the woman whose husband hired
her but she’s far too blissed out to listen. There is more perkiness.
Vicki reports everything to Celluci who tells her the
doctor has no black marks against him. Celluci urges her to leave rather than
drink more of the gunk (some of which she sends to Mohadevan to check) but she
is determined to say. In her wandering she finds a woman doing the spooky “I’m
ready to open my body to new life” ritual that involves her bath water turning
black with nurse Jonah giving them a shoulder rub, but she is chided for spying
on others and she is threatened with being kicked her off the programme for not
co-operating.
This doesn’t exactly scare Vicki who does some nocturnal
spying and finds how big these baths (hydrotherapy with nurse Jonah) are in the
treatment schedule. She faxes some information on to Celluci. Who is having an
early morning meeting with Mohadevan (who is awesome). The herbs are fertility
herbs and not harmful but the concoction would make someone happy and compliant
(hence the blissed outness of everyone in the place).
Vicki encourages Marlisse to stop taking the goop and,
once she comes down from her happy place she realises how wrong her baby is –
especially with the odd shapes moving in her belly. She wheels to Vicki and
asks her what’s happening and Vicki gets to ask her about the hydrotherapy.
Vicki says all the women who got pregnant had hydrotherapy and asks Marlisse if
she wants to leave – she does. But the Jonah the nurse intervenes and separates
them, pushing Vicki back (really Vicki? We’ve seen you go one on one with
windigos and one man manages to push you back?)
Meanwhile Celluci thinks he has found a record on the
doctor – which points to him as being a GP in the 40s – and no, he does not
look that old. And Coreen drops in with her swartalf research. And she shares
their weakness of iron. In return Celluci points out it’s not actually the
doctor who is the immortal bad guy, it’s Jonah, the creepy nurse (who has
creepy tattooed on his forehead)
Time for action – Henry meets up with Vicki in the clinic
to fill her in on Jonah the swartalf and needs killing with iron – but they
have to act now because Marlisse is going into labour. Henry wants to go get
some weapons but Vicki is determined to act now. Then someone turns on the dry
ice machine and they have to fight the swartalf in the smoke (so we can’t see
the shoddy costume) when Celluci arrives with a tire iron to smack it
The baby is born and Jonah tries to run off with it – but
Marlisse stabs him the back with Vicki’s discarded iron weapon (while Henry
holds the baby). There’s some debate on whether the baby will grow up and be
evil or not – but they’re leaving it to hope and we end with an ominous look at
Travis with his pointy ears. Definitely some loose ends left in this episode
So, it seems Celluci has been entirely forgiven
for betraying them and working with a vigilante. Gah, yes I’m not
impressed. Vicki has also rather forgotten her disability again.
I do think the whole “evil pregnancy” thing is an
overdone trope – especially given the paucity of mothers in Urban Fantasy in
general. It's like a special evil fate for women - the grimdark pregnancy
