This episode we’re
focusing again on Sam and Mohammed and, perhaps, finally drawing them back into
the actual plot line rather than have them on one side
We get lots of
flashbacks this episode to Sam’s appalling childhood - we’ve seen before how
his father tortured him over and over and how Sam lashed out and stabbed the
man in the eye. After this his evil dad has him taken to prison mocking and
taunting him as he is taken away, telling the police to never let him out - and
Sam bites off his hectoring finger. A habit he’s continued in his serial killer
days.
In prison, as a small
boy who is also deaf he is targeted by bullies who savagely beat him
repeatedly. On kind guard tries to protect him and advocate for him, but the
system doesn’t care. He tries to teach young Sam metal welding as a trade to
help him for the future.
And Sam uses a metal
bare to brutally beat in the heads of his attacks and then his new welding
skills to turn their teeth into an ornament. Nice guard is somewhat troubled by
this, so Sam slits his throat
I’m not sure what
they’re going with here - Sam was always inherently evil or that the abuse has
turned him evil? Or maybe they’re not even going that far and are just running
with EVVVVVILLLL
A shadowy, veiled
female figure that kind of reminds me of the B’ah… she encourages him to look
after the toothy decoration.
In the present that
same spooky spooky shadowy lady encourages Sam to be ready - and to have the
one with him be worthy. For Sam this means teaching Mohammed self-control.
Mohammed isn’t feral - but he is hungry and desperate and wants blood and
doesn’t understand Sam’s demand he doesn’t feed. I suppose in some ways it can
be seen as Sam demanding Mohammed be more human and less driven by his hunger
and urges. Except what Sam wants from him is probably worse than some evil
snacking
We also have a return
of bit characters Mike and Chad and the gang of kids they’re looking after.
Don’t get excited, this does not end well. Mike decides to teach Felix - who
once was captured by Sam to turn him into a replacement Mohammed - how to hunt.
Felix is obviously quite traumatised by his experiences and Mike wants to give
him purpose a connection to nature and chance to provide for the group and feel
better and we have a whole scene of him hunting a deer
Juxtaposed with Sam
teaching Mohammed to hunt. The difference is that Mike is teaching Felix
respect and killing for food circle of life etc etc while Sam is almost pulling
Mohammed back from this natural predator, kill-to-eat mindset as he encourages
Mohammed to ignore his hunger.
The shadowy figure
keeps telling Sam that his companion needs to be worthy and Sam becomes more
despairing of Mohammed becoming that
Inevitably he and
Mohammed attack Mike and Chad’s group and people flee for the hills except
Felix trapped in an underground bunker. Mohammed hunts him - but holds back,
not attacking per Sam’s instructions. Until Felix manages to get out of the
bunker and shut the door - and Sam leaves him there. And Sam turns Felix
So is Sam going to
set Felix and Mohammed against each other? Has he given up on Mohammed as being
“unworthy”? At least he finally acknowledges Felix’s name rather than calling
him Mohammed. But it still feels like he’s treating black sidekicks as
indistinguishable.
And then they hunt
and eat Mike - bringing back your bit part gay characters to kill them oh yay.
Look don’t bother bringing back your bit gay characters if it’s
just so your corpse has a name attached. Don’t pretend they’re actual
characters rather than walking bodies. The flower duet does not make this
better
Sam also discards his
treasured severed fingers in favour of the tooth ornament he made as a child… I
can’t help but think of the Totems all the elders carry, especially since the
shadowy maybe-B’ah is fixed on it too.
I may be reading too
much into the whole B’ah connection but I’m trying to see how Sam and Mohammed
actually fit with the larger plot
Speaking of - we have
Ivory and Scab cowering during the day (with humans treating them like… a pesky
racoon? This is an odd way to act about vampires around your agricultural
machinery). Those humans are killed by some of the day walking vampires who
Ivory then attacks and slaughters them in the seconds she can stay out in the
sun slowly smoldering
Or would if you could
actually slaughter them - but their super healing means even when their heads
are impaled and spikes are shoved in their eyes they still heal.
Ivory is pinned,
slowly burning and the head day walker bites her telling her he’s the future
This passes on his
day walkingness which she passes on to Scab and they hatch a new plan to take
over the Sisterhood and lead. I also note that Scab’s whole demeanour changes
completely. Now he’s a different kind of vampire he’s far less animalistic.
He also wants to
scrap all the Sisterhood traditions and rule - but she won’t have that. She is
one of the sisters, she values them, she owes them and intends to keep their
traditions. Scab backs down but he still tries to pull the “kneel before your
lord” on the surviving sisters. Because the sisterhood has been all but
destroyed… while Scab is reaching for a crown no-one’s giving him, Ivory talks
to her sisters, turns them and vows to help them back on top and ruling
Which is nice and all
but is this relevant to anything in the main plot? And if not, did I miss the moment these two extremely side characters became important enough for their own storyline?
