As we move toward the darkest time of the year, it’s a dark time in Midnight, Texas, too. Multiple hearts get broken on episode 3, To Witch Hell and Back. Some are demon hearts, so we shouldn’t be too sad, because no one likes a demon, right? But some belong to our favorite Midnighters, who’ve survived many obstacles already to be together.
Fiji and Bobo continue to investigate the supernatural cause of Bobo’s accidents, now with Manfred’s help. Manfred has given up on his dream of reuniting with Creek, and placed all of his hope in keeping his friends happy and together. How much struggle and heartbreak will the three of them have to endure?
With a Hunter’s Moon on the horizon, Chuy spends the night on the couch pacifying his inner demon. Joe, still looking for fulfillment in his life, meets up with that hussy Walker, the demon hunter, to go kill some demons without telling Chuy. Call me crazy, but I just don’t see a relationship that starts with a lying angel ending well. Walker isn’t good for Joe.
The supernatural Midnighters are still taking in the revelation that Kai can remove their abilities. One Midnighter, the Rev, takes him up on the offer. Then Kai leaves town for the weekend, which turns into several days. In the Mexican Riviera. With Sequoia and Lyric, instead of Patience, as was originally planned. Patience’s heart breaks a little more, and Kai is revealed to be even sketchier than he first appears.
I disagree with removing healthy attributes that supernaturals were born with. (Vampires are reborn into their new lives with reconfigured DNA and bodies. They aren’t the quite same person who died in their old life.) Weretigers are rare and their lives are difficult. Is the answer to their problems to make them extinct? I realize that it’s not up to me to decide for the weretigers, but the Rev may think he’s the last of his kind, or he may not have thought the situation through. He may have only thought of removing his own pain, and not understood the significance this would have for the rest of his kind, and for other supernaturals that humans sometimes find problematic.
After all, if you can can convert the weres and the vamps, then why not do that? For scared humans, it solves the issue of inhumanely murdering undesirables or locking them up forever. Just turn your undesirables into something that’s easier to live with, or, better yet, get them to turn themselves into something that’s easier to be, and your problem is solved. Everyone is happy, until the weres and vamps realize that their entire species and cultures are being wiped out.
Kai is offering the opportunity to fully assimilate into mainstream human society, to pass as if you’ve never been anything but a “normal” human. With the Rev out in the world as a walking advertisement for his “cure”, how many supernaturals will decide to give up the struggle and become “normal”? He’s offering the heartbreaking possibility of genocide, and calling it a cure.
Episode 3 begins moments after the end of episode 2, with Patience tending to an unconscious Manfred on Kai’s office floor. Manfred was knocked out when he touched the demon head that Kai keeps hidden behind Patience’s painting of a veiled woman in a forest.
Manfred finishes waking up and jumps to his feet. Patience says, “I see you’ve found Kai’s ancestor.” She explains that the head is a powerful ancient relic that gives Kai his magical juju.
Then she asks why Manfred was in the office snooping around, so he tells her that Carolyn the ghost told him that “there are secrets behind the woods.” He assumed that by woods, she meant the painting. Patience understands that the Midnighters are having a hard time trusting the newcomers. She asks Manfred to talk to her the next time he’s curious about something.
Then she gives him a big hug, which lasts a little too long and looks a little too comfortable. Manfred’s bracelet gets caught in Patience’s hair. They maneuver around a bit before he can get loose, and come close to kissing. Manfred keeps the hair that is stuck in his bracelet.
From her bedroom, Fiji has an excellent view of Bobo in the shower, and she makes the most of it. Lucky us, she shares her fantasy with the viewers. But Mr Snuggly is a killjoy, so he interrupts Bobo’s concentration, causing him to spill shampoo, slip in the shower, crash through the glass shower door, and end up with a huge chunk of glass in his leg.
After a trip to the ER to get 32 stitches, Bobo is fine, but Fiji decides that they need to stay apart until she figures out what’s causing these accidents. This cut was very close to Bobo’s femoral artery, leaving Fiji even more spooked.
Madonna’s back in town! Madonna runs the Home Cookin’ Diner, the only restaurant in town. She’s serving breakfast at the counter to Joe, Chuy, the Rev and Olivia while they all discuss Kai’s ability to remove the supernatural from “monsters”. Chuy says that angels and demons can’t be cured, but he might take Kai up on it if they could. Madonna disagrees with him, saying that people should be who they are. Anything else is unnatural. Chuy says she has no idea what it’s like to be a freak and a total outsider. Madonna looks straight at him and says, “Really honey? I’m a black woman in Texas.” He scoffs at her quietly.
Apparently, Chuy the immortal male demon has no idea what it’s like to be a fully human black woman in Texas.
Joe tells Chuy that he wouldn’t want him to change, even if he could. The Rev wonders out loud what to do with the opportunity. Should they throw their burden off or have faith that they can carry it with them?
Fiji holds a Wicca class in her shop, The Inquiring Mind, and has her students combine their powers to contact the spirit world, hoping it’ll help her figure out why Bobo keeps having accidents. Manfred comes in while they’re raising power and cautions Fiji to be careful.
Then he asks for her help with the Kai situation. Fiji uses Patience’s hair to perform an intention spell to see if she’s trustworthy. They burn the hair, which produces white smoke, indicating that Patience can be trusted.
The Wicca class members stop chanting, and all point straight at Fiji, indicating that she’s the one hurting Bobo. Fiji thinks it has to be a mistake, but Manfred joins the circle to figure out what’s going on. He sees Fiji’s Aunt Mildred, who only says one word to him: Hexennacht, which is German for Witch H-ll.
Aunt Mildred is in Hexennacht, but she has some information to share with Fiji about what’s happening to Bobo. Manfred can’t just summon her, because she’s already moved on. Fiji asks him to help her as a favor, because Bobo is the love of her life. Manfred decides that even though the evil in Midnight ruined his relationship with Creek, he won’t let it doom Fiji and Bobo. But he needs to do research on the proper summoning method and they need to find a place to do a ritual, since both of their houses are inhospitable to the dead.
Olivia drags a pile of chains into church in preparation for the Hunter’s moon and the Rev’s monthly turn into a tiger. A Hunter’s moon makes him an extra aggressive tiger, so she thought he might need extra heavy chains. The Rev agrees that it’s a good idea, then asks her to send Lem over to watch him tonight. He thanks Olivia for always being there for him.
The Rev remembers back to before he came to Midnight. It was night and he was in his tiger form. An older man was out in the isolated desert, changing a tire on his truck. The tiger caught him before the man could get into his vehicle.
In the morning, the Rev woke up naked next to the dying, but still conscious, man. He begged the man for forgiveness and cried that he was sorry. The older man put his hand on Rev and said, “God save you my son.” Then he died.
Joe gets Chuy settled in for his Hunter’s moon marathon of Queer Eye, then texts Walker to meet him at the Cartoon Saloon. When Joe gets into Walker’s car in the bar parking lot, Walker says he didn’t think Joe would show up. Joe says that Walker wore him down. Then Walker leans over and gives Joe a searing kiss.
It takes Joe a second to pull away and tell Walker he has the wrong idea. Walker claims that the kiss was just a diversion so the demons in the parking lot wouldn’t notice them. These demons are from the same nest as the ones Joe and Walker killed last week, and are looking for revenge.
Walker wants to follow them and attack first, but warns Joe that they’ll be more loco than usual, since it’s the Hunter’s moon. Joe shows off his demon blade so that Walker knows he’s ready for anything, and they take off in pursuit of the demons.
Bobo takes a break from tending bar to talk on the phone with Fiji, letting her know that he hasn’t had any more accidents. She thinks that’s good news, of a sort, since it means being apart is working. Bobo tells Fiji that, “Even if we never had sex again, I’d still love you ’til the day I die.” Fiji replies, “It’s a poor choice of words, but I love you, too.” 😍😍😭😭
Madonna sits at the bar texting with Philip Charity, Olivia’s father. He asks, Have you gotten it yet? Madonna texts that she’s, Working on it. Olivia walks into the bar, and Madonna quickly puts her phone away.
They’re having a girls night out, which includes lots of shots of mezcal with limes and salt. Bobo encourages them to remember to hydrate, but is told to butt out. Olivia has had enough of men telling her what to do. She tells Madonna, who’s been away for a while, all about her adventures with vampire psychic connections.
Olivia tells Madonna that she loves Lem the way he is, but maybe a relationship between a vampire and a human can never work. Madonna thinks that Olivia and Lem have true love, and that’s all that really matters.
Joe asks Walker why he hunts demons, and Walker says he’s lost a lot due to demons, so he’s looking to even the score. Joe thinks Walker is naive, but Walker thinks he knows enough, since he’s stayed alive this long.
Walker asks about Joe’s life, so Joe tells him a little about meeting Chuy and giving up demon hunting many years ago. He says that Chuy is a peacemaker who wouldn’t approve of Joe going on this hunt. Walker says, “Well then, I guess it’s a good thing I know how to keep a secret.”
Manfred uses the internet to research rituals for summoning a witch ghost back from Hexennacht, then gathers his supplies. As he’s leaving the house, he runs into Patience, who asks him out for a drink. Kai is in Tulum, Mexico, so she’s looking for some company. Manfred explains that he can’t because he has to help a friend.
Patience says that she admires how willing he is to help his friends. Just having him close by makes her feel safer. Patience notices that the RV is where Manfred conducts his business. He asks if he can leave a few business cards at the hotel front desk. Patience offers to let him rent a space in the hotel, so he’ll have someplace nicer to meet clients. Manfred agrees, mentioning that it would give him a chance to get to know Kai better, too.
When Joe and Walker arrive at the warehouse that the demons are using as a hideout, Joe removes his shirt before the fight. He wants to avoid getting demon blood on his shirt and tipping off Chuy. The demon fight is a free for all, but before long all of the demons are dead and the hunters are covered in demon blood.
They wash off in an outdoor shower, which leads to half-naked roughhousing and sexual tension. Joe backs off and flies home.
Even though the sun is setting, the Rev is digging a burial plot rather than making his monthly preparations in the basement. Lem wonders what’s going on, then he sees that the name on the gravestone is Rev’s name, Father Emilio Sheehan. Rev tells Lem, “I’m not the man you think I am.”
After the real Father Sheehan died, Rev found his bible in his truck. He assumed the reverend’s identity and took over the church in Midnight. Lem saw Father Sheehan’s name on the bible, and assumed it was Rev’s name.
Rev tells Lem that the real Father Sheehan was such a good man that his dying blessing allowed Rev to become a holy man. This allowed Rev to atone for his previous deeds, but he’s lied to the people of Midnight, who accepted him as family.
Lem tells Rev that he’s been the soul of the town, and he’s helped everyone. He’s truly been blessed and accepted by God, because he’s been able to bless weapons and create holy water, which has helped them fight demons and monsters. Only a true man of faith could do that.
Proving that you really can find anything on the internet, Manfred explains to Fiji that he’s found an ancient incantation that should open a doorway to Hexennacht. Manfred will have to trade places with Aunt Mildred, allowing her to return to the living world. That way the balance between the living and the dead will be maintained while Mildred and Fiji talk.
The catch is that if any of the witches in Hexennacht touches Manfred while he’s there, he can never leave. He asks Fiji to make the conversation as quick as possible. The witches in Hexennacht hate light, so Manfred will bring a flashlight with him as a weapon to repel them. He also has some flares.
Madonna and Olivia have had a lot to drink, but are still doing shots and making toasts. They make a toast to Bobo, then decide they need to cut up more limes. Madonna “accidentally” runs the knife across Olivia arm, scratching her deeply enough that she bleeds. Madonna grabs a towel and presses it onto the cut, then has Bobo replace it with a clean towel while she gets a first aid kit from her car. She slips the bloody towel into her purse. As she’s walking out of the bar, she texts Philip Charity: “I got what you wanted. I won’t do it again.”
Manfred’s incantation works, so he and Mildred switch places. As they pass each other, she tells him that he’s a good friend, and not to let the witches touch him. Once Manfred’s in Hexennacht, the witches gradually become aware of his presence and descend on him. His flashlight quickly dies, of course. He lights the flares, one by one, but they don’t last long, and the ghost witches become more emboldened.
Mildred tells Fiji that their family was cursed by dark witches 800 years ago, but she has no idea why they were cursed. Mildred was determined to break the curse and turned to black magic, but using the dark magic killed her. The curse will kill Bobo eventually.
Fiji doesn’t understand why Mildred and her man didn’t just stop having sex. Mildred explains that it’s not about sex. The only way she was able to save the man she loved was to turn him into a cat. Yep, Mr Snuggly is Mildred’s ex-boyfriend.
Fiji grabs Manfred out of Hexennacht just in the nick of time. She tells him that she got information from Mildred, but it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Mildred said that as long as Bobo loves Fiji, he’s going to die.
Lem realizes that the moon is high in the sky and Rev hasn’t changed into a tiger. Rev confesses that earlier, he went to Kai and was cured. Now that he’s free and doesn’t have to worry about hurting anyone, he wants to leave Midnight and travel the world. He asks Lem to say goodbye to the others for him. Lem asks what his real name is. He replies, “Just call me Rev.”
When Manfred stops in at the hotel to check on Patience, he finds her gathering supplies for his new office. She’s already checked with Kai and he agrees that they should have their very own ghost whisperer. Patience tells Manfred that she knew as soon as they met that he was special and they’re lucky to have him.
Manfred asks if Kai can remove a witch’s curse. Patience says that his powers don’t work like that. Then Kai calls to say that he’s staying in Tulum for another 2 days with Lyric and Sequoia. Manfred decides they should go out for drinks after all.
Lem stops at the apartment to check on Olivia, who’s resting. He felt her minor distress when Madonna cut her, but he’s trying to give her space, so he stayed away. She tells him that true love is all that matters. They’ll figure the rest out.
Lem calls everyone to church for a goodbye candle lighting for the Rev. Joe has shaved the sides of his head and now has a new warrior’s haircut, which shocked Chuy, but it looks like he’s gotten used to it already. Fiji and Bobo go last.
Bobo asks what Aunt Mildred said. Fiji tells him that the accidents keep happening because he isn’t the right one for her. She says the relationship is over, then turns around and walks away. Bobo wants to stop her or say something, but doesn’t.
😭😭😭😭💔💔💔
The blossoming sis&bromance between Fiji and Manfred is awesome. They are honest with each other, take care of each other, and work well together, but are totally platonic, with no pining involved. This is one of my favorite friendships on any TV show right now, and they are two of my favorite characters.
What does Olivia’s father want her blood for? Is he going to do medical tests, to find out if she’s a vampire, or does he have a witch who’s going to use it to cast a spell?
Hunter’s Moon= The Hunter’s Moon is the full moon after the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. In the Northern Hemisphere, the 2018 autumnal equinox came on September 22-23. The Harvest Moon was around September 24-25. So the full moon on the night of October 24, 2018 was the Northern Hemisphere’s Hunter’s Moon. From EarthSky.org
Bravo to the show for having Joe and Rev change their hair to mark their changes in lifestyle, a trick usually reserved for women. Joe’s haircut was obvious, but Rev’s was more subtle. Before this week, Rev always had a scruff of facial hair in a pattern that simulated the stripes he had on his face as a weretiger. His tiger was always with him, even when he was human. This week, he was completely clean-shaven, all day and night, showing that the tiger was gone.
But is the tiger really gone forever? Dawnette was turned into a vampire, and it hadn’t even been 24 hours when she was turned back. The changes hadn’t even had time to gel. The Rev was a genetic tiger, born from a long line of tigers, at least if they’re following the rules of the other properties in this universe. I don’t understand why Chuy, who is half human and half demon, can’t be changed, but Rev, who was full weretiger and not at all human, could be changed.
It’s hard to tell where they’ll take this storyline. Was the cure a one-off, so they could write the Rev out? Or will more supernaturals pour into Midnight hoping to be cured? Will the writers focus on the severed head and other suspicious aspects of Kai’s practice?
I’m suspicious that the Rev will eventually revert back to being a weretiger, or that what Kai is actually doing is cursing the people he supposedly cures, and eventually something terrible will happen to them when the curse comes to fulfillment. If it’s a slow curse, no one would connect it to Kai’s cure. Will ghosts show up to complain to Manfred about what Kai did to them?
The episode switches directly Manfred and Patience and the issue of Ghost Carolyn’s last words: “There are secrets behind the woods,” to Fiji watching Bobo shower behind a glass door. Fiji is looking at a real person through what’s essentially a window in the distance. Carolyn may be trapped in the hotel, but she also has the opportunity to look through windows. What might she have seen in the distance from a second story window? Could she have meant that the secrets are behind the real woods that she can see from her window?
Could there be a connection between Kai’s dead ancestor and the curse on Fiji’s family? Did one of Fiji’s ancestors kill the demon, causing the demon to curse their entire family line for all eternity? The curse is 800 years old, and the metal work on the cage looks medieval, as does the sleeve and jewelry the arm is wearing in the flashback. Plus, Patience said that Kai doesn’t take away curses. Does that mean he uses the negative energy he collects to make curses?
Images courtesy of NBC.
Metawitches 
You must be logged in to post a comment.