Being Human Recap: Bishop’s Back!

Previously on Being Human: Suren made her own pet police officer, Aidan found out being a father to a vampire required a skills set he didn’t have, Josh met a couple of freaky twins whose least off-putting quality was that they’re werewolves, and Nora took matters into her own hands, so to speak.

As Aidan walks down the street with a facial expression that can only be described as “confused Labrador who just got hit on the muzzle with a newspaper,” Sally’s voice over tells us that one of the worst things about dying was the split second before it was over and she realized no one would save her.

I like ‘em dead and stupid.

While Aidan walks into a cheap hotel that doubles as a blood den, Sally says that she hoped she could close her eyes and it would all be a dream but instead she woke up to this, and we see Aidan’s tracking shot through the seedy blood den. But I don’t think that’s the this Sally was talking about. Aidan stops at one of the vampires and pulls her off a blood hooker. She asks him if he’s slumming it with the orphans, so he still hasn’t figured out that it’s probably not the best idea to lie to Mother. Aidan just wants the orphan to get the word out that he’s looking for Henry.

Aidan tells the orphan to shut the blood den down by morning and Sally continues that you don’t realize what your parents did to protect you from the truth and Josh gets Nora’s voice mail. Seems she left after the Will incident, and they haven’t talked since, but Josh continues to talk…to her voice mail. Because he’s Josh.

Josh walks into a comatose woman’s hospital room while Sally tells us our parents read us fairy tales thinking they’ll never have to explain they’re not real. As Josh cleans up her room and stands next to her bed, Sally says our parents hope they’ll be dead and gone before reality hits and Josh looks at the photo on her bedside table. Sally tells us that blood is for forever and Josh sees that the dying woman is Sally’s mom. Sally finishes up her voice over telling us that 20, 30 even 300 years in the future, we still need a hand to reach for us in the dark.

Sniff…

Sally’s walking down a hospital corridor as Josh asks her when the last time she saw her mother was. Sally’s become more ghost than human at this point and says at her wake so Josh asks when the last time she actually spoke to her mother was. Sally just wants to know if her mother’s going to die. Josh shrugs and says, not unkindly, what’s the right answer, here?

Josh walks into Mrs. Malik’s room and tells Sally’s father that he’s taking the sheets and lets Sally in. Sally’s coping mechanism is to organize the situation, asking Josh to have someone change her mother’s clothes so that she doesn’t have to spend eternity in a hospital gown and to get her father some food because he obviously hasn’t eaten. Sally wants Josh to get her father some pudding and Josh tries to whisper that he can’t do that because her father will think he’s a crazy person. He already does as he asks Josh if he needs anything.

Josh is sweet and asks if Mr. Malik needs anything but when he says no, Sally reprimands Josh that he can’t ask because he wouldn’t say yes, anyway. She just wants Josh to get him some butterscotch pudding, but changes it to chocolate, and Josh leaves. While Mr. Malik reaches out to his wife, Rina, Sally gets sad saying she thought they’d all be so much older when this happened. And that really is tragic for Mr. Malik to lose his 23-year-old daughter and not even 50-year-old wife in the span of a year. Sniff.

Even ghosts have feelings.

Josh is in the cafeteria buying both chocolate and butterscotch pudding for Sally’s father, because he’s thorough, when  a man and a woman come up to him. The woman jokes about it being a pudding day and then asks if Josh is “Josh Levison.” Josh, who doesn’t handle surprises very well, gets tweaky but smiles and says she’s “two for two,” firmly establishing that I’m a crackhead and he was never Josh Radcliff.

The woman introduces herself as Det. Sherwood and the man is Det. Reems, but we don’t hear if his name is Harry or not. He does ask Josh if he has a minute and Josh, being Josh, says yes with about 142 qualifiers. Sherwood suggests they take a walk and Josh asks for the walk’s “mission statement.” Oh, Josh. Even when you’re 100% innocent, you act 100% guilty.

This is his forced “innocent” face.

Sherwood says that Josh’s name came up during an investigation and they’re at the hospital to clear the slate. Josh stutters and twitches about what kind of investigation, looking guiltier by the second, and Reems asks Josh where he was on the 26th. Josh briefly flashes back to being the wolf and demands to know what this is about, in as meek a way possible. Sherwood asks if Josh was with Nora and he gets more anxious, Sherwood continues that Will was found dead and mutilated at his worksite and obviouses that Will was Nora’s ex.

Sherwood and Reems are tag-teaming Josh reminding him that he “had a conversation with Will the day he died” and wondering if he was familiar with “their history” of abuse and restraining orders. Josh’s doe-eyes get terrified and Reems tells him not to pretend he didn’t know. Sherwood continues to gently press about where Nora is, but Josh, luckily, doesn’t have to lie when he says he doesn’t know. Despite practically sobbing, Sherwood’s still not sure about Josh so she hands him her card in case he remembers anything then Reems makes a joke that was dumb ten years ago (Maybe Robin Sparkles was right about Canada.) and they leave Josh to bug out his big doe eyes.

This is his “I won’t do well in prison” face.

Sally’s talking at her despondent father about driving up to a lake in Maine and how her mother hated the bugs. Her father tried to make the citronella candles romantic until “Robbie” kicked one over, setting fire to the campsite and getting the family booted by Smokey the Bear. Sally remembers how much fun the family had driving home and comforts herself by telling her father he made Rina happy and she had a good life.

A nurse comes over to take Mr. Malik to Rina’s room and as we get one last shot of her in her hospital bed, Sally looks down the crowded corridor. When the various nurses and doctors dissipate Sally sees her mom and they run toward each other to “embrace.” Rina wonders how it’s possible so Sally says, with a tinge of sadness, that they’re ghosts.

Oh, look how happy Sally is!

Rina’s rather gleeful as she points out that Sally’s in her “rainy day” sweater and that it always made her feel safe. AWKWARD! Sally’s happy to see that her mother’s not in a hospital gown and mentions asking Josh to have her changed but Rina doesn’t know who he is. Sally says it’s a long story and Rina says they have plenty of time to talk about it, but she’s been bed-ridden for months and wants to get out of the hospital. Sally wants to check on her father, first, and Rina drops a clue that maybe she wasn’t as happy as Sally thought because she’s all “What? Why? Okay, sure,” to accommodate her daughter. Then, proving she is most certainly Sally’s mother, she complains about being stuck in those pants because she really saw herself spending eternity in her red dress.

Hey, trashy music starts up, so we must be with Aidan. He’s in a blood den where all the blood hookers, including some men, are in their underwear? I guess the show wasn’t quite gay enough last season. Aidan’s shirtless in his jeans and feeding on everyone, working a pole in the middle of the room and spitting out mouthfuls of blood. Klassy, Aidan. I get that he’s high but does he always have to be so gross? He practically passes out in the lap of some semi-clad, buxom blonde and the camera pans over to SQUEE! MARK FREAKING PELLEGRINO!

Couldn’t you just hug me?

Sorry, I mean, Bishop. Who’s sitting there in a Mr. Rogers sweater vest looking…adorable? How is that possible? He has his head on his shoulder and asks if Aidan’s really going to quit now that he’s starting to be fun again. At first Aidan’s laughing but he’s deranged so it quickly devolves into him quivering and shrieking like he’s a newborn. Meanwhile? Bishop looks at his little baby boy with love. Because he’s fucked up. And not real.

Aidan runs the hell out of the room only to be stopped by Bishop’s high-pitched, whispery voice telling him he’s so “blood drunk” that he probably doesn’t think Bishop’s really there. Even as an hallucination, he’s still the smartest vampire in the room. Aidan’s all “This is a koan isn’t it?” and wishing he spent more time in the library instead of the gym. Aidan just looks at Bishop as Bishop reminds him of “Antietam” and how he fed like a fiend and had visions of his wife. This is all still confusing Aidan but he can still be beat by a good game of “Gotch’er nose,” so that’s not really saying much. Aidan turns away because Bishop’s still wearing that sweater vest but they sit so Aidan can try to unscramble what’s going on.

Aidan fears the sweater vest.

This leads to a shot of the swanky part of town and we hear Connor tell Brynn they have a guest as we see an abandoned set from Less Than Zero. Josh is there to ask where Nora is. He’s frantic because of the cops and wants to know if they came to visit the creepy twins at work, then remembers that, duh, they’re rich so they don’t work, they skulk. And live together. And creep out everyone within a 50-yard radius.

Connor’s a douche and jokes about Josh hearing about Will and suggests sending flowers. Josh refrains from punching him on principle, again, and just wants Connor to admit that he had something to do with Will’s death. He doesn’t hesitate just says yeah “the three of us” did, but Josh won’t believe Nora was involved. Now it’s Brynn’s turn to be aggressively rather than passively creepy as she asks if Josh even knows the woman he’s in love with. She rehashes everything Nora’s been through and says that Will deserved to die. Josh feels awful, but he still has his decency and humanity and doesn’t think anyone deserves to die “like that.”

The only way he could look more like a douchebag.

Brynn takes umbrage, because she considers decency and humanity a curse, but when Josh tries to make a point, Connor jumps in and says that Josh’s problem is that he thinks while they act, like a pack, and they’re cornering him like a pack, too. Connor thinks they neutralized Will’s threat, but Josh reminds him that the death is being investigated. Connor’s still not getting this, because he’s a useless douchebag, and says that the way Will looked, no “human” did that, but…the cops are already investigating so they clearly think someone was involved.

Connor says they’re taking care of Nora in ways Josh can’t but he just wants to talk to her and thinks they’re turning her head around to not take his calls. Brynn, tries to be “comforting” by saying Nora needs to be alone, but when Josh mocks her by questioning if Nora doesn’t need “her pack,” Brynn shows that she’s got her own brand of awful by saying “I’m sorry you’re acting this way” and that she hopes he’ll eventually come around. Again, Josh refrains from punching one of these assholes, opting to snot at her to ask if he doesn’t will they viciously maul him, too? Connor douches that they’re all wolves…they’ll give him a chance to run. Brynn says Connor was joking, but not very convincingly.

Cannot compute how much he hates the twins at that moment.

Back at the blood den and Bishop’s stating the obvious. Aidan’s drinking again and “boffing the princess.” Aidan says to leave Suren out of this, but Bishop still never listens to Aidan, even as a figment of Aidan’s imagination, and says “Mr. Holier Than Thou turned out the be the most ruthless of all.” Aidan refuses to believe he’s anything but emo, so Bishop reminds him that Aidan killed him, will probably kill Henry and is making a beeline straight to Suren’s door so he can rule alongside her, taking out anything in his way. Aidan starts crying like a little girl, whining that that’s not who he is or what he wants and Bishop’s just embarrassed for him.

Still doesn’t stop him from taunting Aidan saying in his sing-songy voice that “Yeah…I think it is,” then posits that maybe he’ll even kill Suren. Aidan’s calming down, so Bishop pokes him one more time, telling him that he always wanted the power more than Bishop. Aidan gets pissy about that, but Bishop tells him he’s not there to criticize just to salute him, because he’s closer than Bishop ever got, and it’s time to get down to business. This confuses Aidan because, well, he’s Aidan and still has no attention span.

I’m trying to concentrate, but is that sweater vest…argyle?

First order of business? Kill Henry. Aidan gets all stuttery that he can’t, that he doesn’t know where Henry is, and Bishop’s affronted that Aidan pulls such a bad lie out of his ass and reminds him that he’s Henry’s maker, he knows, so grab the shirt and cool leather jacket, it’s time to “stake this bitch.” And the glint off of Mark Pellegrino’s eye makes me sad that he’s not real.

Aidan’s not so much sad as he’s confused and blood drunk and gets thrown back to a flashback from 1918. He and Henry are returning soldiers and are met by Mickey Doyle. Wait, no. Right suit, wrong show. It’s Bishop. Aidan introduces him to Henry Durham, “finest medic who ever lived,” and Henry continues, in his outdoor voice, “or died,” and Bishop can’t believe that Aidan would turn such a bonehead but says “and then was born again.” Not picking up on Bishop’s disdain, Henry thanks Aidan…and Bishop…but Bishop just stares at Henry like a hawk, flattering him that Aidan told Bishop all about Henry in his letters. Henry takes the bait because he’s pretty dumb, but when Bishop says he hopes Aidan is choosing wisely, even a dim bulb like Henry finally picks up tone and says he’s “going to say goodbye to the fellas,” then runs off.

I don’t think Bishop likes Henry.

Aidan snides that at least Bishop hates him, but Bishop says, No he likes him, but that “We choose in our children what we think we see in ourselves,” and thinks he sees a rebellious nature in Henry. Aidan only sees the obvious and says that Henry practically bent over backwards to impress Bishop and “he’s a company man.” Bishop’s all “Yeah, so were you…” then obliques that he “doesn’t want to ruin the discoveries of fatherhood” for Aidan, pats him on the back and leaves. Because that won’t tweak Aidan out.

Back in the present, Aidan’s standing in an empty lot and Bishop’s hovering in the background, like the most sinister history professor, ever. Seriously, did he always dress like a dweeb? He wonders what Aidan expects to find, and Aidan says that Henry showed himself the other night and that the lot is where they used to go to feed. Aidan reminisces and Bishop looks ill. He points out that Aidan’s clinging to a memory, “trying to find some beauty in the wreckage of [his] son.” Aidan gets defensive that Bishop found it in him, but do mirrors count? Because there’s plenty of pretty between the two of you.

Look at my sweater vest, Aidan.

Bishop gets defensive and says that Aidan was worth it. Aidan weakly offers up that Henry’s a good man, so Bishop has to recap that Henry also stabbed Aidan in the back to sleep with Suren, drove her to ground, and sent them all into the shadows, but really, that was Suren’s fault. After 700 years, you’d think she’d learn how to dump a cheater instead of chasing his little tart down to a grand ballroom and then rip her throat open in front of the guests.

Anyway, Bishop says that Aidan needs to kill Henry. Aidan still doesn’t want to hear it and points out how young Henry was at the time and how many times Bishop metaphorically took a bullet for Aidan. Bishop points out that this is different because Henry’s also organizing the army of orphans Bishop left behind and Aidan cottons to what’s really going on (inside his own head). Bishop points out that they’re talking about Aidan’s freedom here, and Aidan’s all “the hell?” For centuries Bishop chased him around “with a butterfly net” but Bishop confuses Aidan by suggesting they get something to eat, and jokes about “kids.” Shot pans back to show Aidan, alone, but was that really a big reveal? Especially after Bishop already talked about how Aidan killed him by severing his head? Regardless, as Aidan paces the lot, Henry’s been lurking on a roof, watching.

Happy? Now I’m blind from the argyle.

Sally’s mother’s funeral. Sally’s next to her father at the gravesite as other mourners begin to leave. She hears a woman’s giggle not too far off and walks over to see her mother “bumping energies” with some dude. Wow, I don’t know how to process a ghost mom fooling around with another ghost at her own funeral, especially when she knows her daughter’s there. Sally agrees and just says “Mom?!? Mr…Patterson???!?” to which he anemically says “Sally? You’re all grown up.” Sally has to point out that she’s dead and her mother barely slows down, so Sally has to tell her to get out of Mr. Patterson because she’s at her own funeral. I’d make a joke there, somewhere, but…how. This is veering into Whedonesque levels of parential issues.

So we just head back to the house. Aidan’s getting back as Josh is getting ready to leave. Bishop slides in behind Aidan and comments on the changes to the living room. Josh notices immediately that Aidan’s acting twitchier than normal and asks if he’s okay. Aidan’ manages to grunt out a “Never better,” as Bishop notices they have a statue of a cat wearing a catcher’s mask next to the fireplace. He finds that “cute” and taunts that Aidan’s “cute.” Josh asks where Aidan was the night before. Aidan says “Waiting for a friend,” and Josh says, plain as day, that Aidan doesn’t have any “friends.” At least not in the conventional meaning, then wonders if he means Princess SYOO-ren.” Bishop wonders if Aidan’s wife was always such a nag and he’s making Aidan twitchier by the second, so Aidan tries to blow Josh off by saying it was an “old” friend because he’s “old.”

Cat in a catcher’s mask…wearing a crown, thank you.

Josh isn’t exactly buying anything Aidan’s saying but he decides to move on because he needs a favor from Aidan, and brings up Cecilia, the aggressive cop that Suren turned when Aidan punked out. Bishop’s ears prick up at Aidan turning cops so Aidan snaps that he didn’t turn her. Aidan’s not that interested and asks Josh what he wants with the police. Josh is still not picking up on all of Aidan’s weirdness so he reminds Aidan that it’s not just “the police” he needs and tells him that the cops are after Nora. Aidan’s still not really giving a rat’s ass about Josh’s problem, he’s just monitoring Bishop, until Josh tells Aidan that Nora’s wolf killed Will, even though he still blames the twins more than Nora, and he needs Cecilia to make it go away, the way Aidan had Bishop make all his transgressions go away.

Finally Aidan remembers that Josh is the only actual friend he has and gets concerned. Josh says he just needs help making this one thing go away. Bishop jokes that he knows a way to make it go away and pretends to shoot Josh which amuses Aidan, but Aidan decides he’s going to turn it around on Josh, so he can exposit to Bishop, about how Josh was going to kill Bishop and Nora killed Heggeman, and by the way, there are purebred werewolves running around Boston. Since Bishop’s still just an hallucination Josh tells Aidan he’s being “cute” so Aidan can yell at Bishop that it’s because he is cute. Josh realizes that he may not be the twitchiest roommate anymore so Aidan jumps up, at first still talking to Bishop, but eventually turning his attention back to Josh to tell him this isn’t who he is.

Just going to sit here, in my sweater vest, whistling a jaunty tune.

Josh thanks Aidan for having that faith in him, but he’s not so sure. Then he tells Aidan that he has Heggeman’s rifle under his bed, which tweaks Aidan some more, and thinks the cops will find all this when they come for him. Bishop could not be more bored by Josh, but Josh continues to reenact what his conversations with the cops will be like when he has to explain he was turning into a werewolf in a storage unit on the 26th. Aidan’s still more fixated on Bishop, who tells Aidan he really needs to kill Josh, and Josh has finally had enough of Aidan’s distractions, saying he’ll see Aidan at work, barring his imminent arrest, and by the way, Sally’s mother died, but she’s fine, too.

Speaking of, here she is trying to make heads and tails of her mother’s utter lack of decorum at her own funeral. She’s talking about how Mr. Patterson died when she was ten and wonders if they had a pact to get back together in the afterlife. Sally’s mother, showing that she is every inch Sally’s mother, doesn’t pick up tone and says she never dreamed it would actually happen. Oh, those Malik women. They really do think the world is their oyster. Sally reminds her mother that her husband is mourning her ten feet away but her mother isn’t grasping this whole delayed gratification because you have eternity thing and tells Sally that she doesn’t get it because “life is long.” Sally’s still coming to grips with her mother’s imperfections and snots back that, “Um, not really.” Thinking he’ll smooth things over, Mr. Patterson says he gets that it’s all “heavy” for Sally. Sally can’t believe her mother would have an affair with such a dink and mocks him that it’s really “far out there.”

This is who Sally’s mother would rather spend eternity with.

Then she reverts to a child and points out that Patterson was their neighbor and helped her dad build her treehouse. She thinks back to the times her mother and Patterson “made iced tea” and shudders at the thought, but Patterson’s been a ghost for so long that he has no clue how not to be an ass and says she “gets” how they’re finally freed of their earthly bonds. Seriously, the affair was bad enough, but with this tool? THAT’S unforgiveable.

Sally’s not as angry, just resigned, and says she finally gets why her mother sat in the dark for a week after Patterson died. Again, showing that Malik family trait of not picking up tone if it questions your own behavior, Rina thinks Sally understands that what she had with Patterson was real, but Sally refuses to accept it. Using the familiar discussion tactic of whining that she just died (?), Rina wonders if they can’t just take a moment. Sally’s fed up with these middle-aged ghosts acting even younger than she does, and she says she wanted to have “many moments” with her mother, but the first chance she got she was rubbing up against a douchebag like Patterson. Rina could not give less of a shit about Sally’s disappointment and plays with her fingers before patronizing Sally that she’d “love to see her place” and they can curl up and have “girl time. Sally cringes but finally buckles and gives in, defeatedly asking if they should go check out the wake.

The Disillusionment of Sally: The Beginning

Cecilia the cop, who’s a lieutenant so at least Suren did some research, gets out of her car at some underpass and notices something strange. She turns around to see Josh. She wonders if she knows him but he just asks her to kill Nora’s investigation. He thinks Aidan’s already talked to Cecilia, but he hasn’t so Josh obliques that Nora didn’t do anything wrong and that Aidan knows that and will tell Cecilia when he gets around to it. Josh is not being his normal, twitchy, anxious self, by the way. Cecilia tells him he’s not doing Aidan any favors by asking her to help out a werewolf and walks off, but Josh calls her back.

Josh will not be happy when he finds out she can smell him.

Cecilia still hasn’t figured out Josh’s angle so she tells him she’s new but she isn’t stupid and Josh tries one last plea. He offers up the twins in exchange for her dropping the investigation. He tells her they’re purebreds and were the ones responsible for killing Heggeman. She gets a spark of interest, so he appeals to her aggression and ambition by pointing out what a feather it would be in her cap to bring down two powerful wolves. Cecilia asks for Nora’s last name and Josh tells her “Sargent.” Cecilia admits that the case wasn’t even on her radar before, but now she’ll give it her full attention. She thanks Josh as she walks off and I couldn’t figure out if she was going after the twins, or Josh, or Nora…and clearly, by his big, scared, doe eyes, neither could Josh.

So he goes home and cooks a family meal? Josh is setting the table when Aidan comes home. Sally tries to talk to him about the “dinner” they’re having with her mother, but all these Bishop visions have made him rather overtly dickish instead of just snide, so she’s not really interested in dealing with him when her mother rings the bell. Josh wonders, among other things, why her mother is ringing the bell since she’s a ghost, but Sally is finally grasping how insufferably obtuse the Malik women can be and just says she’s new at being a ghost. Aidan makes a move toward the door, but Sally stops him and asks Josh, who’s already doing everything else for Sally’s mom’s visit, to answer the door.

He agrees with maximal peeve but when Sally asks him not to tell her mother he’s a wolf, he’s had enough of her and snits out a thanks because he always leads with that. Aidan finds someone else acting like a dick funny, so he chuckles his way into the kitchen. Josh takes a moment to ponder Aidan’s behavior, but Sally stops him to let him know that her mother was never really happy she was with Danny and that she hasn’t really had nice, sit-down, family time with her mother in a long time and really wants it, so Josh lightens up.

Hahaha. I’m a dick.

Which is a good thing because Rina decided the best way to have “family time” with her daughter is to bring Patterson along. Because Sally really liked having him around at the cemetery. They’re making out as Josh and Sally look on, nauseated, and I get that Rina’s happy to be reunited with the man she loved, but really? They can’t not act like love-crazed teens, ever? Rina doesn’t even register any embarrassment or regret, she just make a LOLcat face, and I can’t believe that someone this self-absorbed and disinterested in Sally in death was ever a concerned or involved parent when they were both alive.

Everyone’s awkwardly sitting at the table as Josh downs a glass of wine in one gulp and NOW Rina decides to get “involved” by judging Josh and Aidan and asking if they’re Sally’s “friends.” Sally monotones that they’re perfectly normal humans who can see ghosts and Patterson asks Aidan if he isn’t a vampire. Aidan snorts out a “Yes,” which…yes you are or yes you aren’t a vampire? Doesn’t matter, Rina’s here to polish Patterson’s knob about how much he knows about the “beyond” while Josh excuses himself to check on the lasagna.

In the kitchen, Josh asks himself the very germane question of why is he, once again, cooking a full meal for people who don’t eat, but continues to prep the meal when he hears something outside. He goes to the back door when the cops, Sherwood and Reems, bust in to arrest him. Reems slams Josh on the kitchen table then asks if Josh thought they wouldn’t find “it.” Josh asks what “it” is and Reems says his “stack of dead,” while Sherwood shoves her gun in Josh’s temple, making him cry and plead for her not to shoot her. Sad!

You just know Josh has actually had this dream many times.

Also, an hallucination because Sally comes in, asking if Josh is coming back. Josh won’t look at her and she asks, not entirely bitchily, if he’s crying. Josh chokes out that it was a hot oven, and even he gets how goofy he sounds, so they just move on to him taking the tray of lasagna to the table. Josh says he’s just going to dial back the crazy and serve himself and Rina makes small talk that the place looks great. Aidan’s still in dick-mode (I’m guessing we’re getting Bishop’s take) and with a big forkful of lasagna jokes that burning the place helped with the redecorating.

Rina ignores Aidan and says that Danny always stifled Sally’s “aesthetic.” Patterson, still not picking up on the huge waves of disgust coming off Sally, says that it rocks that she’s free from Danny, so Sally makes sure he gets it by saying “Yeah, it’s awesome,” because dude, he KILLED her. Sally pointedly parallels her situation with Danny to her mother’s situation at home. Real Aidan pops up his head to tell Sally she doesn’t want to do this, but Sally does, she really does.

The Disillusionment of Sally: The Quickening

She wonders when it was so awful with her father. When he was busy rubbing Rina’s feet or writing her love poems. Bishop pops up, again, as Aidan smirks that Sally’s making that up and Rina corrects that it was just one poem. Sally thinks the number of poems is beside the point and asks if he’d written two would that have stopped her from “boffing” the neighbor? Josh appears to be moving onto his second bottle of wine as Rina gets haughty that she doesn’t expect Sally to understand. Well, smell her.

Sally’s back in angry teen mode and says “Oh, good,” while Patterson condescends that “She’s still young,” and I wish Sally knew how to do that disappearing thing Stevie did to Dylan, because this guy really needs to die again. Rina continues on her bitch train that she thinks Sally doesn’t understand that her parents were people with their own lives, and Sally snaps that she gets that and having your own life is fine, but an extra marital affair that leaks into your death, that’s not fine.

Then, finally, Sally gets to what’s been bothering her and what Rina should have picked up on back in the hospital, or at the cemetery, or when Sally looked repulsed at them making out on the porch. And it’s that Rina has been so wrapped up in her schoolgirl romance with a douchebag that she hasn’t even once asked about Sally. Her own daughter died, and Sally’s needed her mom ever since but all Rina wanted was to reunite with Patterson, and that’s terrible.

Don’t mind me, I’m just getting piss drunk.

But Rina isn’t finished exposing her awful. With no sympathy whatsoever , she tells Sally she “loves” her and that she “loved” her father, too, but she’s been mourning Patterson for more than a decade and, it was a vital relationship to her and that’s what she wants to spend her time exploring. Great, do that…but with eternity on your hands, you can’t carve out a day or two to sit with your own kid? Really? Even Aidan and Bishop think that’s cold and have nothing to say. Sally ruefully says she “appreciates the honesty,” but the doorbell rings, again.

Aidan jumps to answer the door and get away from this Edward Albee tableau but Josh asks him not to. Aidan ignores him so Josh yells out not to invite whoever it is in, then goes on a Josh wobble about the vampires and how they’ll kill them all before he remembers he’s the only one who’s still alive and excuses himself as awkwardly as possible, not even pretending that meeting Rina and Patterson was anything but a horror show. Meanwhile, Henry’s at the front door acknowledging that he’s not getting invited in so he asks Aidan to go for a walk. This should end well.

Josh is down at the storage unit with an industrial grade vacuum and cleaning supplies, trying to remove all forensic evidence of the wolf. Once he’s cleaned the ante-room he looks back at his little research cell, with the big, caged video camera, and frantically starts boxing the materials. Rather than close the door to the unit, Josh leaves it open and turns his back to it so that Sherwood and Reems can sneak up behind him, asking to have a look at the tapes.

This isn’t looking good.

Henry and Aidan are walking down the street as Henry tells Aidan he’s been spending most of his pretending he was a Cullen until he decided to come back to Boston after he heard about Aidan killing Bishop. He came back to support Aidan. Aidan finds that amusing since Henry fell in with the orphans. Henry says he hasn’t fallen in with them, just taught them some things they needed to survive. Aidan wonders if blood dens out in the open was one of those things, but Henry points out they were left with nothing and he wanted to give them a fighting chance. But he’s in Boston to get back in with the family, not to be with Suren.

Aidan’s emo-ing out so Henry goes in for the kill, metaphorically speaking, of course. Henry says he’s tired of hiding and wants to know if Aidan can say, in all honesty, that he’s the same vampire he was 80 years ago. The Bishop hallucination must be napping because Aidan’s getting antsy and Henry says he’s heard that Suren’s the same vampire who exposed them all 80 years ago, so at least someone thinks it was actually her fault. Well, someone other than Mother because you just know she’s an unforgiving, never-forgetting bitch. Henry finishes Aidan off by saying “With any God-given grace, time heals. Time matures. I think it was you who tried to teach me that.” and damn if I’m not thinking Henry’s changed.

But look at how meaningfully the light catches my cheekbones.

Reems and Sherwood are looking around the storage unit and Reems points out that most people don’t set up cages and desks in theirs. Josh asks how they knew where he was so Sherwood says, they followed him, adding “genius” just for that dash of asshole we expect from cops. She continues that they expected him to lead them to Nora, then wonders about all the scratches in the unit wall. Josh tweaks that they were there when he rented the unit, but Cecilia pipes up from the hallway that they can always ask the rental manager if he heard or saw anything strange.

Sherwood notices that the marks are similar to the ones from the scene and Reems points out that they have enough to at least arrest Josh, but Cecilia comes in to compel the cops, letting Sherwood know Josh isn’t their guy and that Reems will give her the tape and forget Josh’s “dopey little face.” Reems hands over the tape as the two cops leave and Cecilia tells a dumbstruck Josh that this is where he thanks her. Suren may be batshit crazy, but she can spot talent, drive and ambition. Cecilia’s a real go getter.

I’m sorry, forgot who I was for a second. Don’t kill me.

Josh says he wasn’t sure about their arrangement so Cecilia tells him she thought he was making the purebred thing up. Josh is at the Rubicon and sasses Cecilia that she’s new but he hasn’t crossed over yet, so when she comes at him about smarting off, he backs down. She gives him back the video and wants the twins in exchange. Josh gets squirrelly, saying he can’t be any more involved, but he’s about a day late for that. Cecilia’s points out that whatever he’s got going at the storage facility says he’s already pretty deep and that she wants the purebreds. Yikes.

Back at the house and Patterson’s finally picking up on Sally’s overt clues that she doesn’t want him there, and says he’ll see Rina at their place before he disappears. Sally’s over the whole dead mom thing and just hopes “their place” isn’t the cemetery. Still thinking it’s all about her, Rina starts to tell Sally that it’s a tree, but Sally doesn’t care and cuts her mother off.

Self-absorption doesn’t grow in a vacuum, Sally. It’s nurtured.

Rina joins Sally on the sofa and starts explaining why she’s been so horrible to her dead daughter. See, it’s not Sally, it’s her. She wanted to go alone and catch up with Sally, but, she couldn’t handle seeing her “amazing daughter” still in that house where she lived with Danny and being there is Rina’s idea of hell. Well, we can’t put Rina out. I’m sorry, I know I’m supposed to feel her pain, but she just shunted her daughter off to the side and told her she wanted to spend eternity exploring a relationship with a guy who died in the 90s but still used words like heavy and rocks.

Sally’s disillusionment is complete and she quietly asks if it was just easier to be with Patterson. Rina whines that she failed Sally in life and doesn’t know what she can do, now, so Sally just wants to know why she won’t even try. Rina asks how much time they have but Sally’s over her mother and suggests that if her door shows up to just walk through because she’s done with this dimension.

The Disillusionment of Sally: A Bitter New Dawn

Henry and Aidan have settled on some rooftop and Henry admits he hasn’t had a moment’s peace since leaving Aidan and wants to know how he can get back in. Aidan is sensitive to Henry’s pain but says there is no coming back. Henry gets angry and says that Aidan killed his maker, he’s flouting the very principles he’s now standing on. Aidan turns away so Bishop can say that “It was never about principles. It was about love…you ant.” Heh. Guess he never really did like Henry. I know I’m surprised.

While Aidan sulks, Henry asks him about Suren. Aidan warns Henry to choose his words carefully, pretty much answering the question, and Henry’s getting angrier when he realizes that his banishment had a lot more to do with Aidan’s jealousy than Henry overstepping his bounds. Meanwhile, Bishop’s back in Aidan’s ear, asking if Aidan’s going to just listen to Henry then tells him to grow a pair.

And to think, you were the favorite son.

Henry wants to know if Aidan’s in love with Suren, and with Bishop truly out of his system, weaselly, whiny, emo Aidan’s back getting nervous and saying he’s not sure, maybe. Henry’s way more assured of himself and wonders where this leaves him. Bishop thinks dead but Aidan’s biting his nail so Bishop continues that Aidan would never choose his wayward son over a royal he scorned. That Aidan’s his blood and his name will be on that throne of power…and he’ll use Henry’s head as a footstool. Then he tells Aidan to take him because, he’s still the coolest vampire, ever.

Aidan’s still vacillating so Henry asks one more time where that leaves him. When Aidan says he doesn’t know, Henry thinks he does and that’s when Aidan sees the stake. Oops. Aidan comes at Henry and gets the stake away from him pretty easily, but Henry won’t let it go. Aidan charges but can’t kill him but when he turns away, Henry gets the stake back…not for long as the two vampires continue to beat the crap out of each other with whatever they can find on the roof, including a brick and a hook and why is there a hook on the roof?

Whatever, Aidan doesn’t take too long to get the upper hand. He has Henry at his mercy and the stake at Henry’s heart when Henry gets a little too close to Rebecca territory as he tells Aidan that he’s spent the last 80 years fearing that moment and maybe it will be a relief. Aidan softens as Bishop tells him to do it, reminding him that he’s a killer and always has been.

Nothing gay to see here.

Aidan cries that he’s spent the last 80 years wondering about Henry. Both missing him and wishing he’d killed him then, but he can’t do this anymore, and drops the stake. Henry wants to know what this means for him because he won’t go back to the shadows, but Aidan promises he will take care of Henry and make things right. Henry points out Aidan promised the orphans the same thing, but they weren’t Aidan’s responsibility, Henry is. Henry hopes Aidan gives him a reason to believe that, then walks off like he really doesn’t.

With one pesky, ambiguously gay vampire gone, it’s time to deal with Bishop. Aidan sobs that he couldn’t kill Henry and Bishop, his sweater vest, and corduroys (why????) comes to sit next to Aidan, commiserating that of course he couldn’t. Aidan’s all bleary-eyed so Bishop can get the closest to sincere that he can muster.

Those aren’t wrinkles, his face is cracking.

Josh sees Sally on the porch so he asks where Rina is. Sally tells him she’s commingling in some tree and Josh smartly chooses not to ask her to expound on that. She thanks him for being such a great friend, but it comes out as a thanks for cooking the most awkward dinner, ever, and Josh tells her he’d do anything for her, but actually says he has the market cornered on that.

Sally opens up that when she was a kid she never really thought about what her parents did, she just assumed they sat around waiting for her to come back in the room. Josh adorably tells her that’s what he and Aidan do. Awww…good boy. Sally’s accepting her mother’s flaws and doesn’t know what it would feel like to want to protect your child and fail, but Josh has moved on to his own situation, telling Sally that he doesn’t think it has to be your child. That if you love anyone (Nora) that much (Nora) that you can surprise yourself (Nora) by what you’ll do. With that he walks off in the middle of the night with a gym bag, but I won’t clock Sally for not wondering about that. She’s had a shitty enough day as it is.

Yeah, if the cops come back, we never had this conversation.

He heads over to the twins’ place and tells them that he doesn’t know what they did to Nora to make her want to kill Will and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t want her back. (WHAT?) He just wants them to tell her that she doesn’t have to worry about the cops anymore. Connor douches that he didn’t think Josh had that in him and Brynn smarms that she always knew Josh was loyal. Josh looks at her and says “Yeah,” in a way that less arrogant people would have picked up as a big tell that he’s cooking something up, but these are the twins, so he just puts up his hood to walk off in the rain and they watch him go. Fools.

Don’t see it coming.

We see the back of a police cruiser as Josh walks up. He hands off the gym bag to Cecilia. As she opens the bag showing the werewolf gun and a note, Josh says the twins’ address is in there as well. Josh tells her he’s done and Cecilia seems to accept it, but wonders about wolves running in packs. Josh says he’s not one of them.

Cecilia drives off as Josh leaves and we switch over to Aidan and Bishop. Aidan’s being his emo self, but Bishop tells him that the father can never kill the son. Why work so hard to create something only to destroy it. Aidan’s all “The hell? You’ve been telling me to kill him ALL NIGHT.” Bishop says “Would that you could, but the son always kills the father,” and says he’s never been so scared for Aidan. That this is Aidan’s proudest moment, protecting his own, but it’s a moment that will haunt him forever. Aidan’s still all weepy, but Bishop actually does manage what looks like sincere concern for Aidan…until the scene cuts to show Aidan alone on the roof top. Damn, forgot he was an hallucination.

Wait, isn’t this how the episode started?

So, big, eventful episode. Season’s half over so it’s time to start building to the resolution. Josh’s story is the most compelling because he’s sacrificing his humanity to save Nora’s but we don’t even know if Nora wants to be saved. And who knows what Cecilia’s up to. Aidan’s story is about the cycle of addiction so he seems to restart every few episodes but Sally having all her illusions shattered is kind of sad. I like her being bubbly, and kind of dumb and self-involved.

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