So we have Audrey preparing for a wedding – this is the
dream she’s having after being Sandmaned and now in a coma. Nathan finds her
and confronts the Sandman (the guy with the coma-causing trouble) and he says “she’s
gone.”
Nathan predictably freaks out and Charlotte tries to calm
Nathan down from just beating Sandman down just randomly. Dwight interviews
Sandman who isn’t that co-operative, refusing to release Audrey, saying “he’s
keeping her.” – he transports himself into Audrey’s dream where he is playing the
role of her fiancé.
In the real world Sandman criticises Dwight for not even
knowing his name, how he turned to the Guard for help and he was just used as a
tool by them. He’s fixated on Audrey because she’s the only one who cared about
him. And apparently he can keep her forever if she commits to him.
Sandman shows off his power – killing one of the people
he has in a coma to prove himself to Dwight and to make Dwight back off,
threatening Audrey
In the dream world, Grayson is cast as Sandman’s best man
(and he can hear in the dream world). Sandman kills off another random cast
member as well.
Charlotte decides the best way to get to Audrey is to
convince the Sandman to put her in stasis as well, she tries to seduce him and
it all goes kind of wrong – he puts her in his fantasy world but on his terms, changing
her memory to turn her into Audrey’s Maid of Honour. Though he doesn’t seem to
have as easy a time to control her and she keeps noticing weird things. Grayson
also continues to question the strange world he’s in and all the patchy
memories.
Grayson has been pulled into an extra in Audrey’s world
but he doesn’t have the memories that fit the role he’s being forced to play.
Especially since Sandman set him up to hire the band and Grayson realises how
odd it is to hear music – or hear at all. Sandman tries to demand he be grateful
and as he talks Grayson also uses sign language.
Sandman’s control is slipping because of the number of
people he’s holding. He drives Grayson out, killing him.
Audrey and Charlotte witness this and run and hide – Charlotte’s own memories are restored and she tries to get through to Audrey, invoking her flawed memories and her own motherhood. The magic mother thing gets through.
Dwight also confronts Sandman about his tragic childhood
which triggered his Troubles and Nathan talks about it to Audrey’s body – he hears
her and manages to get a full newspaper with details of the car accident that
killed Sandman’s parents and left him scarred. The paper also comes with Nathan’s
pictures
Cue lots of images of her twu lub. Yes, it’s Nathan that
cracks the whole image. Audrey tries to get through to Nathan, to convince him
to take her home while he tries to appeal to her love. She says she doesn’t
feel love – only pity.
She continues to push and his world frays – he has a choice, let everyone go or let everyone, including himself, die. He releases them for many reunions (including Audrey embracing Charlotte as her mother).
Outside of Haven
we’re now having to not only endure Duke’s angst laden soul searching, but now Seth,
the paranormal investigator, has turned up after Hayley was seen walking
through a shipping container wall. He opens it and releases Duke and like everyone
else he doesn’t remember Duke, Haven
or anything else from the town – not even taking down the Rougarou.
Duke stalks Seth to convince him to help, of course he succeeds.
They go through his old footage and Duke sees Seth in Haven – but all Seth sees
on the tape is snow, more of Haven being hidden. But as Seth rants he keeps referencing
Haven without even realising what he’s talking about.
So he knocks Seth’s memories loose – but then doesn’t
want to go back to Haven because he hates it and has run away. Seth,
reasonably, asks why Duke has been forcing him to remember if he didn’t want to
go back or fix anything
Seth has found someone who claims to be able to remove
the “black tar of evil” from someone which they decide is Aethur and maybe a
chance to cure Duke. But as soon as Seth steps away from Duke, his memories are
erased again
So Duke has to go stalk him all over again and manage to
convince Seth to take him to the tar-cure woman.
Gah, the Sandman could have been a good storyline.
Someone with a “useful” Trouble being exploited and treated as a tool, never
regarded as a person, no-one ever checking to see if he was ok or if his
Trouble was hurting him – that would be a good storyline. Especially in the
last few weeks when “useful” Troubles have been used to try and deal with the
chaos and problems of Haven. That would have been a good storyline, a reminder
that these brief people appearing with helpful saviour Troubles to deal with
this week’s drama aren’t just things to be used
But instead it was turned into a creepy, rape-tastic
obsession. One that has no deeper messages than obsessed stalker men doing
whatever they want to grab the woman they want. Instead it’s just evil obsessed
Sandman capturing the woman he wants. While the good obsessed man Nathan
manages to break through to Audrey.
What I did like was how the image began to break –
Charlotte and Grayson not having all the memories to go with the image he’s
created. I really liked that Grayson broke it more and more because he knew it
was off for him to be able to hear – and that he wasn’t fawning or grateful for
the “favour” or being able to hear. Of course this all goes south when Grayson
is sacrificed.
