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Part 1 by Chris |
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I'll do this in two parts AGain - there are lots of little things worth mentioning in this ep! (Plus I didn't rewatch the whole ep yet... but don't tell anyone, okay?) We see Ben and Doc Crower drive to a farm on the outskirts of Trinity. Ben is uneasy because of "this outbreak". They drive past a small graveyard, where Matt notices a woman with two children standing on an open grave. Very strange scene. When they arrive at the farm, Matt asks if Mrs. Watson (?) described her husband's symptoms. Ben answers she only said to come out here asap. "But then of course, she also said the same when her first husband shot himself accidentally in the woods. She claimed he mistook himself for a six point buck." Matt frowns at the story, then gets out to go see what's the matter. Ben stays in the car, mumbling something about staying with the radio in case something happens, but then he follows Matt anyway. When they enter the house it's quiet, and the phone is off the hook. There's blood in the sink. Matt goes upstairs and knocks at the first door, calling for Mrs. Watson. He tries to open the door, but it only opens a crack, and he can see Mrs. Watson lying on the bed, dried blood on her face that came from her eyes. Ben forces the door open, and they find Mr. Watson hanged *g* himself behind the door, he has the same blood marks on his face as his wife. On his chest is a note: Repent. We see a couple in town get out of their car, fighting. The husband pushes his wife so she falls down. He wants to slap her, but suddenly hears a piercing sound. He falls down, bleeding from his eyes and ears. The wife is horrified. Two men rush to them. When they see the blood, one of them says, "O my God, it's another one!" E.A. Tippett is at Lucas' office, saying he is having visions of blood. He sees it in the milk, in the leaftovers, and that morning he cracked an egg and there was a bloody chick inside. Lucas' reaction "I'd say someone's tryin' to send you a message: Cut out the cholesterol." E.A. insists that he is serious, he is losing his mind. He'd do aynthing if Lucas makes it stop. He starts crying. Lucas thinks a bit, then says alright, he'll help him if he'll sell his brother out, who run over a kid in front of E.A.'s store. E.A. says he can't do this to his brother. Lucas shrugs. "Well, okay. Then I guess you'll be seein' a lot more bloody chicks. Buck buck buck." The media have gathered in front of the hospital and demand to know what's going on. Gail mentions that there are unconfirmed reports of victims bleeding through their eyes. Lucas says he's sorry that some of their friends are ill, but he gives her/them his word that their recovery is well in hand. Wallace accuses him of lying, his cousin started bleeding out of his eyes and ears. Lucas mentions he'd talked to the cousin about the spirit he brews/distills (not sure which is right). He warns them that in a small town rumours spread like cancer, but a reporter says this isn't cancer, this is something else. At that moment Ben and Matt drive up with an ambulance following. Lucas asks Matt to help him calm down the people, since coming from a Doctor it would be more convincing. Matt is uneasy but says that Lucas is right, they should take ordinary precautions and they'll be alright. Wallace asks if they have another bleeder, and Matt lies and says it's an elderly woman with a broken hip. When Lucas asks the people to go home, he looks away and closes his eyes, ashamed at his lie. When they drive on, suddenly a girl steps out in the street, and Ben has to stop. When Matt looks up he recognizes it's Merlyn who's looking directly at him. He has a flashback to when her corpse was brought to the hospital. Then she walks away. The hospital looks like a beehive. A nurse tells Matt that they are low on blood and they won't get help because everybody is afraid to com here. Matt's reaction is a very loud, "Son of a BITCH!" (First time I can remember hearing him swear.) At that moment Billy Peele walks up to him, offering his help and introducing himself. They didn't find anything in the samples Matt sent to the Center for Disease Control. Since none of the staff are sick, they can exclude airborne contagion. He tells Matt he should give him two days and they'll find an explanation. Then he starts looking at patients. He calls for plasma for an old man and goes on. When the nurse brings the blood, Lucas appears and tells her he'll hook him up, she's needed elsewhere. She goes, and he tells the old man he'd had his chance, that last Christmas he'd offered him a new lease on something and he practically spit in his face. He wants to walk away with the plasma when Billy comes over and asks him what the hell he is doing. Lucas says a friend of his down the hall was more critical, and that this man's a goner anyway. Billy says, "And they accuse us Doctors of playing God." When Lucas wants to walk away with the plasma, he puts a syringe against his neck: "Methandextrophine. Ten cc's in a major artery and your heart's froze up like an old 283 with a blown head gasket." (Oh he started off so promising...) Lucas tells him he doesn't want to do that, and Billy concurs: "I'm here to find out what's causing this epidemic, and I don't know who the hell you are --" Lucas: "Lucas Buck. Sheriff of Trinity." Billy: "Billy Peale, Centers for Disease Control, United States Government." He takes the syringe away and says, "You touch another ounce of my blood supply -- you're givin' up a quart of your own...Buck." Lucas doesn't look pleased at all when Billy walks away. Matt and Billy are in Matt's office. Matt says except lung cancer the about 10'000 inhabitants of Trinity and surrounding tobacco farms are in pretty good health. Billy mentions 5 cases of exsanguination in 2 days. Matt asks from what, and looks at a long-haired man (Jesus type) in a wheelchair out in the hall. Billy says he checked for Ebola etc. but nothing. Matt says it's like something out of the Old Testament. Billy rules out bacteria, they have to check for viruses now. Matt looks out intot he hall again and says distractedly, "Sometimes God works in mysterious ways." Suddenly the long-haired man jumps out of his wheelchair and runs to the window, pounding his fists at it, smearing it with blood from his bleeding ears. He starts writing something into it with his finger. Matt just stares, while Billy runs out and grabs the man, and manages to get him into the wheelchair. The man points to the window repeatedly, so Matt goes out and reads: repent. Suddenly he hears a piercing sound and has to squat down on the floor, but no blood. Since everybody concentrates on the long-haired man, no one notices this. At the Boarding House Caleb is eating breakfast when suddenly Lucas appears. Caleb tells him Gail isn't here. Lucas asks, "What in the world makes you think I'm looking for that old cousin of yours?" Caleb answers, "Cause I seen you lookin' at her, that's why." Lucas decides to let the subject go and puts a pair of plastic gloves and a mask on the table. Caleb says it ain't Halloween and he doesn't intend to rob a bank. Lucas: "You better not, or I'd have to run you in, young Buck." Caleb chooses to ignore the last words, and Lucas goes on that he actually robbed them from the hospital in case Caleb runs into someone who's sick. He wants him to take these with him, then turns to leave. Caleb grins and asks, "Talkin' as the head of the civil defense?" Lucas turns back around and says, "I'm talkin' as your father," then leaves. Caleb stays behind brooding. Billy goes around Goat Town asking questions. At one point he notices Lucas coming out of E.A. Tippett's house and goes over. Inside, we see Tippett brush his teeth. Merly is there begging him not to listen to Lucas. Suddenly Tippett sees blood in the toothpaste in his mouth. Billy knock on the door and enters, calling for Tippett. He hears a scream from upstairs and runs up. He finds Tippett in a state of shock. E.A. spits/vomits(?), and we can see blood and teeth in the sink. Caleb sits at the kitchen Table in the Boarding House, taking a sip out of the cup, and immediately chokes. Matt is sitting opposite him, unshaven and uncombed, with a highlighter and a book (we see later that it's the Bible). Caleb asks him what's in the cup, and Matt answers ???? tea with anis. We see him mark a passage in the Bible, and others are already marked. Caleb says it smells like wet dog fur, but Matt wants him to drink it anyway, because it's good for the immune system and medicine won't help against whatever's around. Caleb mentions Jamie Watsons daddy hung himself at the farm. Matt corrects him: "Hanged, not hung!" He gets up and when halfway out of the room turns back: "Drink!" Caleb frowns and shoves the cup away. Gail is at Lucas' office, complaining about a newspaper article about the plague. She says it goes against the integrity of her profession. Lucas says, "The profession of journalism has about as much integrity as the world's oldest profession; maybe less. At least whores don't kid themselves about their motives." Gail asks if he doesn't give a damn about anything. He walks towards the door and says yes, but not journalism or integrity. As he closes the door, he adds, "Certainly not the truth." Gail asks, "Then what?", and he says, "You" and walks towards her. Gail says, "Don't. Don't even think..." He interrupts her: "But I do think. I think about what it would be like with you. Don't you?" Gail hesitates, and he repeats, "Don't you?" then touches her face. "Yes you do." Finally she admits, "Yes I do." At that moment Ben enters, "Oh God Lucas I'm sorry, but..." Gail leaves in a hurry, and Lucas is clearly very unpleased with Ben, who continues "But there's something goin' on at the Boarding House." Back to the Boarding House, where Matt has Caleb cornered and is shouting Bible passages at him. Lucas storms in just as he turns away from Caleb and whispers, "I should have known it would come to this," over and over. Lucas leads Caleb out the door. "What's the matter with him?", Caleb asks, looking down at Matt who is kneeling on the floor now. Clearly he's worried about his friend, even though he scared him a few moments ago. Caleb says everything's gonna be alright and touches Matt's shoulder, but jumps back when he whirls around. Lucas sends Caleb out when Matt gets up, reciting the Bible again. Lucas looks actually taken aback. When Matt turns away from him, we can see his is bleeding out of his ears. Lucas takes up the bible that is still lying on the floor and gives it to Matt, then leads him out. I didn't manage to catch what Matt was whispering, but the last word was "Lucas". Lucas - almost gently - leads him out to the ambulance that has arrived along with some police cars. Caleb stays behind, looking after them with a worried expression on his face. Next we see Caleb on his bike. Lucas drives up to him in his Crown Vic and asks has he talked to his sister lately? Caleb says no, then frowns and adds, "Why would I talk to her, she's dead!" Lucas says, "Good point. Take care," then drives off. Caleb doesn't see Merly stand on the other side of the street when he looks after him. When he looks down he sees the water in the gutter is red, and a white bird in the tree above him is covered with blood. Part 2 will follow as soon as possible! |
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