- Wednesday pays a visit to his wife, Shadow pays a visit to Bilquis, and Laura visits her past.
- As the search for the missing girl continues, Shadow dreams of Bilquis. Wednesday discovers the whereabouts of his old love, the Greek goddess Demeter, and resolves to free her from the grip of an unscrupulous antagonist.
- 1765, West Pennsylvania
Women are working, plowing a field. One of them collapses from effort, and the other two women with her run to her. The daughter goes for water, while the other one prays over the fallen woman.
That night, the woman who tended to the fallen one goes to the local pig pen, takes out a blade, and kills a pig. She then takes the pig's entrails out then lays them out on the ground and inscribes an ancient ritual. The goddess Demeter appears before her, touches the woman's head, and the crops in the field where she was plowing earlier grow.
Now
In a hotel room, Cordelia works on cleaning Wednesday's jacket and watches the news. The newscaster talks about the death of Blood Death in a hotel, and Wednesday listens and says that he'll have to deal with it later. He tells Cordelia that he's ready, and she brings his jacket over. Wednesday asks if Cordelia has the card with Demeter's address and she wonders if Demeter is someone special. The god assures her that Demeter is.
Laura finds herself in a transparent elevator, packed in with other people. They're all terrified, and the elevator shakes as Laura stares down at the void below. She grabs a strap and holds on as people scream, and a shrieking noise forces everyone to cover their ears. The elevator stops and the doors open, and a voice welcomes them and directs them out.
Laura leaves with the others, and the guide greets her and tells her to read the pamphlet he gives her. Making her way through the lines, Laura sees people from all times and ages. The pamphlet isn't helpful, nor is the man at the information desk. Angry, Laura storms off.
In Lakeview, the citizens meet to help search for Alison. Shadow is among them, having gotten a ride with Marguerite, and Chad says that Alison has been gone 48 hours. Ann-Marie interrupts, bringing cameras from her grocery store, and tells the searchers that they're going to want to document anything unusual. Chad tells her that he's got it, and Ann-Marie hands out the cameras and says that she's expedit4e developing the photos.
Cordelia drives Wednesday to a retreat, and Wednesday realizes that he needs a gift to discuss a reunion with such an extraordinary amazing woman. He goes with calla lilies and tells Cordelia to drive him to a florist.
Shadow finds fur and feathers, but Chad figures they belong to a fox and a squirrel mixed it up. Ann-Marie calls Chad over to check out something they found, and Chad goes over. There's a blue mitten on the floor, and Ann-Marie's grandson says that it's one of his and it fell out of his pocket.
Laura waits in a line, and when the loudspeaker mentions that those with orange cards are next, Laura steals an orange card from a woman. She goes through the doorway and finds herself in a long hallway of doors. When she goes back, she discovers that the door she came through is locked. Laura discovers that several of the other doors are locked, and a room number appears on the card. She finds the door, and a cupboard full of Git Gone beyond. The bottles fall on the floor, and the hall shakes and the lights flicker.
Laura runs down the hallway and goes through a door, and closes it behind her as the bottles of Git Gone that are chasing her arrive. Calling out, Laura asks if anyone is there. The only other door in the room leads into a black void.
Shadow waits at the cars, and Chad offers to give him a ride back to Lakeview because Marguerite is taking notes for the newspaper. Shadow says that he's good, and Chad apologizes for calling Shadow into his office the other day and suspecting him in Alison's disappearance. Chad says that Lakeview isn't the kind of place where a black man is automatic suspect, and Shadow asks if Lakeview is still in America. Francis calls Chad over the radio, reporting another reporter robbery. Chad drives into Lakeview.
Wednesday goes into the retreat bearing lilies, and tells the receptionist Janice that he's there to see Demeter. A janitor, Hank, passing by overhears Wednesday and knows who Demeter is, and offers to take Wednesday to their "in-house goddess". Janice signs Wednesday in
Hank takes Wednesday to Demeter, and explains that most of the people there are retreating from reality. In the observatory, Wednesday greets Demeter as "darling" and smiles. Demeter punches him and tells him to go away. When he doesn't, Demeter tells Hank that everything is fine and he can go. Wednesday suggests that they go somewhere and talk quietly, Hank gives Demeter some pills, and then she tells Wednesday that she's a patient there rather than the owner.
Going to Marguerite's house, Shadow gives Marguerite some security locks because of the break-ins that Chad keeps hearing about. Marguerite points out that she's already put some in, and Shadow says that he'll take them back to the grocery store. She makes some tea for Shadow, and he looks at her collection of books. He asks for something really boring, claiming insomnia, and Marguerite gives him a hefty book that's a collection of Lakeside Journal articles.
Marguerite's son Leon comes in, and Marguerite introduces Leon to Shadow as her youngest. She sends Leon to work on his homework until supper. Once the boy leaves, Shadow says that he should go. Marguerite gives him the book before he goes, and gets the door for him.
In her apartment, Bilquis remembers absorbing her worshippers. Her phone rings, and discovers that it's prayers being sent to her. There's a knock at the door, and then the knockers cuts through the lock.
When Wednesday asks Hank if he can release Demeter into his care, Hank explains that Demeter is under the care of a court-appointed conservator, Larry Hutchinson. He gives Wednesday Hutchinson's card and points out that Demeter wasn't happy to see Demeter. Wednesday claims that he surprised Demeter, and she always hated surprises.
Shadow sits in his house and eats, and reads through the Journal articles. There are articles on other children who have gone missing in the past, apparently running away. Dozing off, Shadow dreams of being in the store where was as a child. Bilquis appears on the magazine covers like she did when he was a boy, and the lights flicker. A freezer window ices over, and Shadow goes to and wipes away the frost. Three women are dancing on the other side, motioning to Shadow to join them. Shadow opens the freezer door and the doors blast past him as a breeze blows out. After a moment, shadow finds himself in a blizzard.
Laura sits in an empty theater. An usherette comes in with the AV Guy, and the janitor wonders why Laura is already there. The two of them ignore Laura's questions, and the janitor says that the usher calling "upstairs" won't get any answers, and that's why they call it Purgatory. Laura gets their attention, and the AV Guy says that he's the AV Guy and the usher is a 1940s Usherette. The Usherette explains that they're Laura's "facilitators", and they can't get Laura out until she acknowledges reality.
The projector turns on, showing the VHS tape the AV Guy has, and Laura says that there's nothing to rehash. They ignore her complaints, and the video shows Laura's father trying to get a hotel room for him and Laura cheap for the state fair, claiming that Laura has allergies. Laura isn't impressed, and the Usherette tells her to just watch. Unimpressed, Laura walks into the screen, and says that he should help a nearby woman with her bags. She did it to get revenge on her mother, who didn't go with them.
The woman had her room near them, and the woman didn't want to come swimming with them when Laura suggested she should. Laura "changed her mind", and he should go with her while she stayed in the room and watched cartoons. Her father did, and when they come back he ended up going to the woman's room. Young Laura came out and listened at the door,
Laura emerges from the screen and says that it was all downhill from there. The Usherette tells her that she should just watch.
Cordelia drive back with Wednesday to the retreat the next day, having made a facsimile of Wednesday and Demeter's wedding certificate from 1779. He assures Cordelia that Demeter is really his wife, and he met her on a farm. Shadow calls the phone number that Cordelia gave him, but Wednesday doesn't want to talk to his son even though Shadow wants to talk to him.
Wednesday takes the phone, and Shadow asks him where he can find Bilquis. Wednesday says that Bilquis is with Technical Boy, and figures it's about Shadow's dreams. He gives Shadow Bilquis' NYC address , and complains when Shadow hangs up on him.
When Wednesday shows Hutchinson the certificate, Hutchinson is surprised that Demeter never mentioned she had a husband. He points out that Demeter prances around naked in public, and the judge appointed Hutchinson her conservator because there was apparently no family. Hutchinson assures Wednesday that Demeter has a robust portfolio.
Shadow is leaving Marguerite's house, and runs into Marguerite. He says that he's going to NYC to meet a friend, and Marguerite admits that she's worried about Alison. She hugs Shadow, much to his surprise, and he touches a newspaper photo of Alison in the newspaper that Marguerite dropped on the table. Nothing happens and he leaves.
Laura and the Usherette sit in the theater, bored. The AV Guy comes back with batteries for the remote, and Laura plays the film. It shows her husband cheating on her mother, and Laura says that her mother did the same. Laura followed on her father's footsteps, then got married, screwed that up, died, and ended up in Purgatory.
Irritated, Laura says that they've learned nothing and she's okay with the fact that she's the architect of everything bad in her life. The AV Guy and the Usherette stare at her, and Laura tells them that what they showed her is not just redundant but obviously redundant. The Usherette asks what Laura is so angry about if she knows the anger, and Laura says that she's angry at "sanctimonious fuckheads" like them.
Laura walks out the door and plunges into water. She sinks down and swims up to a light. The hole the light is shining through starts to call, and the AV Guy grabs her hand and pulls up her.
Wednesday brings Demeter some new clothing, and says that they're for her when they go to court to get the judge to appoint Wednesday Demeter's conservator. He says that Hutchinson admitted to him that he's the conservator for a dozen of the residents there, and Hutchinson owns half the retreat. Wednesday admires Hutchinson's conmanship. Demeter doesn't care, saying that people accept her as a goddess there.
Irritated, Wednesday tells Demeter that what's going on is sacrilege and the sooner they get Demeter off her meds, the sooner she'll realize that. Demeter figures that Wednesday came there to get money for his war, and asks him for a straight answer. Wednesday figures she won't believe him if he says that he's there out of love for her, and will turn on him if he says that he's there for the answer. Demeter tells Wednesday that he's grown old and desperate, and wonders what he's desperate for.
Back in the theater, the Usherette tells Laura to say nothing and watch. The video plays, showing Young Laura and her father meeting with the woman. Her father convinces her to stay in the room, and later Young Laura sneaks over to the woman's room and listens at the door. The Usherette freezes the video and tells Laura that she didn't ruin her parents' marriage: they should have protected her and there was nothing wrong with Laura. Laura wishes she had known that before she messed up her own life, and the AV Guy tells her that now she knows.
Laura figures that they're done there and walks out. She's back in the main room with the others, and walks past them as the door behind her disappears.
Back on Earth in NYC, Shadow arrives at Bilquis' apartment. A peacock is drawn on the hallway wall next to the door. The door is open, and Shadow goes in and finds peacock feathers on the floor. Technology Boy is sitting on the floor, his hands covered in blood.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content