Liam, the king pedigree werewolf guy, is hunting the remnants of the vampires with a werewolf sidekick as an opener. Ominous.
And Sally’s eating breakfast with immense glee and playing and gossiping with Sam and Nora about her new job. Until Aidan comes in from his night shift in the hospital, tired (Sally is amused that the creature of the night has trouble being nocturnal) and hungry, which Nora asks about and he flees the question.
Aidan goes to bed and has a dream about a willing donor, free of disease who he then kills because he can’t control his hunger. What you expected Aidan to dream of flowers and fluffy kittens when there’s angst fodder around? Returning to sleep brings a dream of the girls he and Henry killed for food. He’s having a fully cycle of guiltmares.
Nora and Josh discuss and worry over the missing Erin Teen Wolf and Nora is concerned about Aidan being a ticking time bomb with his hunger. Later, at work they’re joined by Pedigree Liam! He’s still checking up on his children and wants to know why they wrote big cheque to Josh and he explains about his research that didn’t go anywhere. Which leads them to explain why Josh isn’t a werewolf anymore and Nora explains it was to save her life, which Pedigree Liam accepts since you have to “put your children first”. Uckies, don’t make calling Nora Josh’s child a thing, please don’t. Thankfully Josh challenges that and points out she’s his girlfriend, not his child.
Sally, meanwhile is at her job and facing the horrible things a mortician has to see – dead guy genitals! And then a more serious problem – she can see the ghost of the dead man and the ghost notices. Poor cute, awkward boss man Max thinks he’s done something wrong and tantamount to harassment by talking about massages as Sally flees the room.
The ghost catches up with her to tell her that his sons are fighting over his will, but he’s written a new one – and Sally hits him with a tire iron telling him “I’m sorry, this isn’t the ghost whisperer” and he disappears in a puff of smoke. Ooookay, harsh there Sally.
Later she stays back at the funeral home to clean up and she invites Max out on a not!date so she won’t be the third wheel with Zoe and Nick, which he’s cutely gleeful about. Then she runs into the ghost of Max’s mother (and nearly drives her off with an iron frying pan – apparently iron is the key to ghost disruption, which fits some legends). Max’s mother is worried about her son and his many relationship failures and wants Sally to be careful with him.
The evening is super awkward because while Max and Sally want to congratulate Zoe and Nick on their upcoming trip to India (and Max is dorky cute), Max’s mother is there putting a Debbie downer on everything (heard by everyone in the room BUT Max) and saying some really racist and xenophobic crap about India, which causes Sally to angrily inform her that she’s Indian, which is a somewhat random non-sequiter in the conversation from Max’s point of view. Sally gets yup and leaves the room, doing the eye-slide to get Max’s mother to come with her and receive her marching orders.
Zoe commiserates with Zoe having Max’s mum around but she isn’t impressed that Sally is dispersing ghosts – especially after what she went through when she died and the help she had from people. Including Zoe herself. But Sally doesn’t think she can help them – because every time she’s used any power she has hurt people.
The evening ends and Sally, to Max’s surprise, hugs him. But when she tries to kiss him when they seem to have a moment, he turns and flees, saying goodnight. The next day at work is very awkward but Max tells her he was kicking himself all the way home and asks for a second chance – which Sally agrees to. She leans towards him. He doesn’t move. She leans more. He doesn’t move. She actually says “Max I’m leaning in here” and then he kisses her. Which escalates
Switch them getting dressed afterwards. And Max freaking out because they did it in the viewing room in the funeral home and that’s so unprofessional. And how can he offer tissues for grieving loved ones looking at their bereaved when he’s going to be looking at the couch and thinking of “naked naughty Sally”. Sally starts out amused, but draws the line at “Naughty Sally” and isn’t happy when he takes his clothes and leaves.
Which is when Linda, Max’s mother comes in to slut shame Sally, literally. It seems Linda has been doing her best to keep Max single ever since she died (saying he’s a virgin) and attacking all the other “sluts” he tried to date and accusing Sally of “throwing it” at him. Sally responds that maybe next time she will throw it at him, she’ll “sling it”.
She goes to see Max polishing the car and tells him she quits. She mentions being assaulted with Max awkwardly protests at it being unprofessional but mutual and she tells him she was curious, now her curiosity is satisfied she’s leaving. She buttons his shirt where he missed a button – and leaves.
Seem out of character? Well as Sally wakes up she is informed of all this by Linda – who possessed Sally. Sally complains about this to Zoe who is quick to point out the karmic justice of it (since Sally used to love possession). But sally also points out how hard it is for Max to have his mother around sabotaging him – and Zoe gives her a Tibetan amulet that blocks possession.
Now so protected, it’s time for a return, a ring of salt – and an exorcism. But she stops when Linda collapses crying saying she just wants Max to be happy. Sally kneels next to her and points out that Max isn’t happy. He’s lonely.
Aidan, meanwhile is hallucinating (again) or possibly being haunted by the ghosts of the two women he and Henry killed. There to help him torture himself for all the harm he’s done. Which is when there’s a knock on the door – it’s Kat, the woman Nora is subletting too and the ghosts little inserts are already making it difficult for Aidan to hold a conversation – and tempting him to drink her blood.
At work he talks to Kenny in his sealed room (the kid who has a damaged immune system and, of course, his living in a sealed room means he can’t have caught the flu) and the ghost girls in lingerie (because they died in their underwear, this is all they ever wear. And blood) are back. They point out he has an empty blood vial in his pocket that he must have put there. He almost leaves – but at the last minute takes blood from him. But the next day another nurse comes to take his blood and he complains about the “double dipping”. The nurse points out there’s no record of blood having been taken.
As he walks home he is stalked by 2 werewolves. But these werewolves are too used to starving and sick vampires and Aidan viciously beats them into unconsciousness – watched by Pedigree Liam.
Back to the house, Nora and Josh are playing in an extremely cute manner – when Aidan walks in and gives Nora the cheque Kat gave her. Nora is worried that Kat was there, with Aidan, alone. Aidan talks to them about that and they notice he’s not hungry and he tells them about how his desperation he has fed off Kenny (who Nora calls “the bubble boy” despite knowing better). Aidan points out that the longer he holds out, the more you have to worry about people like Kat and his control. He says he doesn’t expect them to understand and Nora says he’s right, she doesn’t.
Back at work and Kenny clearly has a clue on what Aidan is (based on a blood vial? Bit of a stretch even for a horror movie buff) and using the camera as a ploy he makes Aidan stand in sunlight. He notices Aidan flinching (sunlight hurts his eyes) but Aidan puts it down to being exhausted working a double shift. The next step is making him stand in front of a mirror – yes he casts a reflection too.
But out on the street Nora and Josh looking for Erin Teen Wolf run into Pedigree Liam. He’s trying to exterminate the last vampires and is disturbed by Aidan being neither starving nor sick (a healthy vampire is too much for a werewolf to take) and tracked him back to their house. Josh won’t have anything to do with it – but Pedigree Liam gives his contact details to Nora (who flashbacks to Aidan killing Pedigree Liam’s son). Either they take care of him or Pedigree Liam will take care of them (or they give the contact info to Aidan and he puts the wolfy down?)
At home, they discuss this – and Josh is furious that they are discussing this, discussing killing Aidan as Nora protests who scary Liam is and discusses how Aidan killed Connor and how many people Aidan could have killed. Josh refuses to have the conversation, refuses to talk about it, and leaves.
Aidan takes Kenny’s blood again – and he brandishes a crucifix. It does nothing. As Aidan leaves, Kenny says “bottoms up” and Aidan finally questions his behaviour. Kenny finally outright asks “are you a vampire?” Aidan laughs it off and denies it and mocks Kenny.
The next day Aidan visits Kenny and Kenny talks about how isolated he is, how he doesn’t meet people or have friends and he worries about being “crazy” for having built such a fantasy world that he accused Aidan of being a vampire – Aidan reassures him and they watch television together.
Josh visits Pedigree Liam and holds him at gun point, saying what Aidan did for him and how he won’t let anyone hurt Nora or Aidan. He’s not there to kill Pedigree Liam, just threaten him. Pedigree Liam tells him to go. And he does. I don’t think you achieved a lot there Josh.
Except Liam goes to visit them interrupting Nora and Josh’s argument about how foolish Josh was, how Nora shouldn’t have let him handle it and Josh getting touchy about being the only “normal” (as in helpless) one in the house. He has Teen Wolf Erin with him and returns her too them (and has her apologise). He calls Josh both foolish AND brave – and says he has a full family now and needs to do a better job protecting them than he did his. Whole I like the complexity of Pedigree Liam, I don’t like the assumption that Josh should be the one protecting the family – like Nora can’t protect herself, shouldn’t be co-protector or, given she’s the werewolf, main protector.
Sally meets Max and apologises for what she said while possessed. She asks Max if they can start again. After a little back and forth he agrees – so long as they don’t have sex in the funeral home. She says “no promises”. Linda watches on from a distance, happily.
Aidan is woken where he is sat with Kenny by another nurse – who asks him about the blood he has been taking. She says she’s going to report him and he runs to catch her. He tries to compel her but it doesn’t work. He breaks her neck. Then freaks out afterwards and then, completely losing it, drinks her blood. Then he wakes up – yes another dream. Except he wakes up with black eyes and fangs – and Kenny is still awake. Aidan runs out the room and the 2 ghosts laugh.
I’m interested to see where they go with Sally’s “I can’t help people, I just hurt them” issue. Because it makes sense given how many things have blown up in her face and I’m always glad when major things that happen in a series aren’t treated like they have no long term effect, so I want to see where this goes. But it also emphasises a problem I’ve had with Sally’s storylines so far – nearly all of them have been self-inflicted. Far more so than Josh and Aidan, Sally is the architect of her own misfortune.
I was really loving Max and Sally together until the “Naked Naughty Sally” moment. And slut shaming Linda. It’s all kinds of wrong, sexually shaming and misogynist but one thing I’m clinging to is the show does seem to realise this and are presenting Max as silly at least and Linda as pure wrong.
If Aidan is going to hallucinate, can we have Bishop back? At least then the angst can be amusing. I’m just very very very tired of Aidan being sad all the time. Yes he has reason, but he’s had 3 solid seasons of moping now, change the channel. Also, not impressed with the ghosts being an excuse to have a female character walk around in her underwear all the time.
I’m hoping that we see Kenny’s issues developed more, I liked how they touched on his isolation and loneliness and how painful that can be.
They’ve got very separate storylines again – especially Sally who is, yet again, the outsider of the three, even with a body. She even has her own small Sally gang.
