The Ferryman
Episode 7 of Archive 81 begins with a teasing glimpse of the comet, Kharon. According to reports, it crashed down on Earth in the past, and was discovered back in 1774. In its wake, the comet left behind traces of a rare mineral called Kharonite, which could explain some of the weird phenomena we’ve been seeing across the season. Back in the house, Dan awakens and begins to question his reality. After a particularly gross dream involving the black mold, he heads back to the city and, specifically, LMG headquarters. He marches in to see Virgil, demanding answers. According to Virgil, his people found Dan at the house, collapsed from exhaustion. They brought in professionals to bring him back, claiming that everything he’s seen in the basement is a fabrication. Dan is adamant over what he’s seen but unfortunately, they’ve recorded everything Dan’s been up to – including the smashed monitors and damage he caused. With the threat of being sued hanging over him, Dan is forced to stay quiet and take the money – and not look further into this cult. With little other choice, he heads back to his apartment in defeat. However, Dan is smart and he happens to have the memory card from Bellows’ video log in his coat. When Mark shows up, the pair trade what they’ve found out. Dan shows Mark the video and reveals that Bellows may not have been crazy after all. Mark though has something to show of his own. And that comes from his “William Crest collection”. Since Evie Crest’s death, he’s been looking into the Vos Society and he’s dug up a fair amount of juicy details. The Society actually originated back in World War I and was founded by Jonah, Lukas and Iris Vos. Together, they used an instruction manual called the “Baldung Book of Shadows” for their work. They were trying to raise a supreme being from another dimension known as Kaelego – the demon we’ve seen from before in statue form. Interestingly, Iris Voss is actually the woman in Annabelle’s paintings too, which San realizes with shock. We then jump back to New York in 1924. That strange tune emanates from a music box that Iris holds in her room, as she interviews a new housemaid, Rose. Rose is an orphan, despairing over the loss of her parents. Iris promises that she’ll see them again. She also claims that Rose is capable of holding a whole world inside of her, which is absolutely not creepy at all. A package soon arrives in the hallway, bringing the three siblings out to open the wooden box. Inside holds that weird demon statue, Kaelego. Along with Jonas and Lukas, they marvel at how this statue is “everything they dreamed of”. Now, Iris’s necklace is the same one that Cassandra was wearing several episodes back and she tells Rose that night that it originated from the comet. There’s an attempt to try and bring this “god” into our reality soon after, but beyond a few pictures and an eerie atmosphere, not enough to say it’s been a success. There is, however, a good deal of black mold growing around the house. Rose does her best to clean this up but Iris urges her stop when she sees it for herself. The mold itself is in circular patterns, which Iris interprets as the other world pushing through and coming into ours. “Isn’t it beautiful?” Iris marvels in delight, encouraging her maid to let it fester across the house. Run Rose, run for your life! Now, we’ve seen the snuff film and know how it ends. Unfortunately for Rose, she doesn’t. That night, a woman named Emma grabs the demonic book and tries to convince Rose to leave with her. When the light flicks on, Iris reveals herself. She calls Emma a Baldung and listens as the woman urges Iris to see reason. She claims that they’ve made a grave error in judgment. The handful of Baldung left need to make sure they never unleash what’s in the other world, with the black mold an ominous sign, not an angelic symbol of good. Jonah, concerned that Emma is going to destroy the manual, shoots her dead. With Rose watching in shock, she’s encouraged to go to bed while Jonah is told to collect up as much blood as possible for the ritual. Unfortunately Rose is another sacrifice in this, and Iris comes to her that night. She’s praying and Iris isn’t happy. She disguises that disdain though and hands over the necklace she was holding earlier, encouraging Rose to get dressed and wear her new gift. With Emma’s blood collected up, the siblings prepare their sacrifice. Lukas though, refuses to be part of all this, turning away and deciding he can’t be a part of this. The rest of the group reconvene in the basement, which sees the reality of this video we’ve seen play out. The blood is run down the statue, Rose is sacrificed and this whole video is apparently a way to start a portal into the other world. “Two worlds as one!” Iris exclaims, as Rose is killed and a brilliant white light protrudes from the ceiling and covers them all in blinding smoke. This seems to have been the start of the big fire that consumed the Vos mansion. Back in the present, Dan decides they need to try and find witnesses that were at the apartment during Melody’s tapes. The name both he and Mark come up with is Annabelle. She’s been in Rockwell all this time, receiving treatment. The pair show up and Annabelle answers the door. “What took you so long?” She asks, as Dan is invited in. On her wall, happen to be numerous pictures of Melody, who is apparently waiting in the other world just like Iris was. Dan needs to get her out.
The Episode Review
More of the truth is spilled this episode, and its messier than the ritual in the basement. It turns out the Vox Society is behind all of this and it seems they want to bring a demon into our dimension, likening it to a spiritual symbol. It’s quite interesting actually as it feeds directly back into Virgil’s original statement about Jesus being a demon. While I’m not suggesting Kaelego is the son of God, that little foreshadowing nod is a great way of disguising what’s to come later on down the line. The show has been a little messy at times and not all the plot threads have meshed well together, but when this show has hit the right stride, it’s been a real powerhouse. Although perhaps a tad slow at times, the finale looks set to bring all these scattered puzzle pieces together to align into our final picture.
