Swamp Thing: Loose Ends

This is the last episode of the current season, and we don’t know if we’ll have more. There are a lot of threads for future stories, so let’s get down to what ‘Loose Ends’ has to offer for SWAMP THING, shall we?

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Last episode, we saw Swamp Thing discover Alec Holland’s body. This episode it is confirmed with finality that Alec is indeed dead, and his memories are kept within the plant-like husk that is Swamp Thing. Unlike Alec, Caroline Woodrue and Matt Cable are very much alive. Caroline is suffering from ‘locked-in’ syndrome which allows her to perceive, but not move. Matt on the other hand survived the car crash and is recovering in the hospital.

Aside from these life and death scenarios, there are a lot of other plot lines progressing in the story. Daniel Cassidy admits to Liz that he is the Blue Devil, and he is now able to leave Marais without getting burned. Ellery cuts off Avery from the Swamp Thing discovery which doesn’t go well with Avery. However, everything goes south for Ellery when he leads a full on assault on the swamp and gets a thorough thrashing from Swamp Thing. Avery kills Lucilia Cable after an offer of reconciliation is denied. Maria Sunderland goes full wacko in the asylum as a way of escaping the dark that is engulfing her courtesy of Madame Xanadu who visits her. Jason tries to cure his wife Caroline with the plant organs he got last episode from Swamp Thing, but is stopped by Abby. Later, Jason gets arrested, but not before he ingests part of the organs he harvested. He feels ‘The Green’ and we’ll talk more about that later. The episode seemingly ends with the romance between Swamp Thing and Abby hitting ‘Beauty and the Beast’ levels with both of them promising to fight back the dark that is infesting the swamps of Marais. Then there’s more…

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….Back to Jason Woodrue in a end credit scene. We see the results of his eating the plant organs. He is transformed now in the police station to a figure that is familiar to Swamp Thing comic book fans. As I mentioned way back, Dr. Woodrue’s could herald the appearance of the Floronic Man, a staple of Swamp Thing mythos, some time later. That time has come sooner, and we get a glimpse of the Floronic Man albeit in the darkness of the police station. So now, we have an established supernatural persona to serve as a counter-balance to Swamp Thing. How will this all pan out? We’ll have to see if this ever happens since SWAMP THING is cancelled…for now.

‘Loose Ends’ does what it foreshadows to the SWAMP THING series. There are a lot of plot points that have ended, but others that have branched out. Though SWAMP THING is a show with heavy environmental advocacies, it is also a budding love story, and this comes into full display here. As the series ends its first season, one wonders if any of the continuing plot points will ever see the light of day. The mixture of macabre horror, science fiction and environmental awareness should be enough for SWAMP THING to branch out into something more in the future.

Swamp Thing: The Anatomy Lesson

The ninth episode of SWAMP THING, ‘The Anatomy Lesson’, ended with this particular revelation: Alec Holland is dead. If you’re familiar with Alan Moore’s work for DC in the comic book series, then you know that just by looking at the title that you’ll have an idea where this is all going.

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Last episode, we saw Swamp Thing captured in nitrogen by Dr. Jason Woodrue and Avery Sunderland. This episode, we see Jason analyze the specimen that is Alec Holland while he is conscious. Why doesn’t he escape? It appears that the green light negates Alec’s plant powers. Here now begins the anatomy lesson, the same title to the first arc of Alan Moore’s start as writer and seminal run on the Swamp Thing comic book. This is where Alan Moore’s rise to prominence began, and the SWAMP THING is tipping its hat to this beautiful story arc in the comics. Like the comics, we find out that the plant creature isn’t Alec. It’s a plant which somehow saved Alec’s memories, and used it as its own into this new mobile creature, a warrior of The Green. The plant even simulates human organs to make it appear like the body is human, but it’s not as Jason discovers. Alec hears all this, and can’t believe it. Later, when Abby and Liz rescue him from his confinement, he goes back to Skeeter Cove with Abby in tow to discover the human remains of Alec Holland in the swamp.

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So, the Swamp Thing we know is a plant creature with Alec’s memories. Swamp Thing reveals this in the presence of Abby who is left in shock. This means there is no way to turning Swamp Thing back because he was never human to start. I was actually waiting for this aspect of the Swamp Thing mythos to show up, and lo and behold they stuck to it. The show has taken liberties from both the Len Wein and Alan Moore runs. These concepts meld quite well into the show rather seamlessly. This is a knockout punch right there, but there are more comic book hits to come in ‘The Anatomy Lesson’.

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Here’s one that has been anticipated since it was teased: Blue Devil finally makes his appearance. The Phantom Stranger (I stand by this even though he has not been named) visits a restrained Daniel Cassidy in the hospital. He shows Dan a vision of the future that involves Liz and Abby getting killed unless he saves them. The Stranger releases Dan from his restraints and suggests that he go save Abby and Liz from getting killed. Of course, Dan has no idea how to do this until the Stranger tells him to become Blue Devil. And, he becomes just that to rescue Abby and Liz in his demonic (devilish?) persona. Abby and Liz see the Blue Devil but are oblivious to the fact that this is Daniel Cassidy.

The previous two revelations are the highlights, but there are a few more story points in ‘The Anatomy Lesson’ that are worth noting. One, Jason returns to his wife who appears to have died due to an overdose of her medication. Caroline is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, and took her assigned medication all at once. Second, Avery sends Maria to a mental institution taking back control of his assets. Avery also figured out that Maria and Lucilia Cable are in cahoots to kill him. I wonder how these two will react when they find out that their prized possession has escaped their research facility. Lastly, Matt crashes his police car while driving drunk, and appears to have been killed in the crash. How these plot lines wrap up as we head into the end of the series are things worth watching out.

‘The Anatomy Lesson’ is a fan service to many DC Comics readers. The title itself would probably give most an idea what it’s all about, particularly Alan Moore fans. You’ll also have a devil of a time with the appearance a familiar member of DC’s arcane stable of characters. SWAMP THING takes a page from its comic book roots and rightfully so. This is one of the best comic book series adaptations out there. ‘It helps that SWAMP THING branches out from its storied comic book lore.

Swamp Thing: The Price You Pay

Alright, so this episode all but confirms to me that the stranger from last episode is indeed Phantom Stranger. The guy brought out a fedora when we get a flashback meeting between him and Daniel Cassidy about that deal he made. He then disappears soon after. That’s classic Phantom Stranger right there, and it seals the deal for me. Aside from taking the starring role of the Blue Devil character as part of a deal with the stranger(which means that he WILL become the comic book Blue Devil), Dan has made his bed to watch over a girl who we now know is Abby Arcane.

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I’m feeling that mask will not be for show soon, considering that he appears to have been mutated by Dr. Jason Woodrue with some formula he placed in Dan’s intravenous fluid while Dan was comatose (Dan was mugged last episode resulting in his coma). Dr. Woodrue believes that Dan’s rebirth was due to his formula. I have a feeling though that the formula was only half the reason why Dan was revived. He started burning up with blue flame again. This is the same blue flame we saw last episode when he tried to escape Marais. So, get on with donning the costume and be Blue Devil already, Dan.

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Dan’s apparent resurrection is not the only surprise of the episode. We also find out that Matt Cable was the person who killed Alec Holland, and, tada…it was under the orders of Avery Sunderland. I mentioned in my review of the pilot that I suspected Avery to have some part in Alec’s death. Well, now it is confirmed. But, it’s not so cut and dry. Avery has a blackmail file on Matt’s mother, the sheriff of Marais (and Avery’s lover) which pushes Matt to do what Avery says. The situation gets more complicated when mother and son confront each other. To further complicate the situation, Matt finds out from Abby that the swamp creature that everyone is hunting is Alec Holland. Luckily for Matt, Alec doesn’t remember seeing Matt kill him. However, something tells me that as soon as Alec learns how to better use his powers, he will discover Matt’s secret murder of him through the trees just like what he did with Abby’s past. This will open a whole new can of worms.

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‘The Price You Pay’ ends with probably the best cliffhanger of the series to date. As Abby and Alec return to Alec’s lab in the swamp to search for more clues about his death and transformation, Alec miraculously transforms into his full human self. Alec isn’t aware of it, but this happens before Abby’s eyes. I can’t tell you how much I’m eagerly waiting on the next episode.

In ‘The Price You Pay’, SWAMP THING shows us the motivations of one of the main characters of the story. In so doing, it sheds some light on the identity of a mysterious stranger that appears to be lurking around Marais. The story takes an unexpected turn with a cliffhanger that will leave you wanting more. SWAMP THING is taking the anticipation up a notch, and it’s all worth waiting on this beautifully crafted horror series. Mysteries are getting unraveled in Marais, and SWAMP THING is at the center of the intrigue.

Swamp Thing: Darkness on the Edge of Town

SWAMP THING goes full environmental horror in ‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ when a mysterious illness starts to go spreading around by scratch contact. It all started when Todd goes exploring in Ochee Forks in search of new ground to exploit in the swamp. A corpse falls on him when he tries to cut down a tree. The corpse accidentally bites him, and upon his return to Marais, he starts seeing his greatest fear. In his case, it’s snakes. Todd ends up dead with his self-inflicted wounds to kill the snake around his arm, but not before he scratches Delroy, Lizzy’s father, thus transferring the ‘darkness’ (as Swamp Thing calls it) to him. Fortunately, Swamp Thing gives a solution to this new virus, and suggests to Abby that it has to be returned to the swamp. How does Abby return it to the swamp? She gets scratched by Lucilia Cable who was the latest victim of the transfer. Abby rushes back to Ochee Forks in the swamp to return the ‘darkness’ to its original host. Though, she experiences her own darkest fear first before Swamp Thing steps in to finally get rid of the virus.

One other thing occurs with Abby’s interaction with Swamp Thing this episode. She is able to get a sample of Alec’s body tissue for examination. Abby takes it back to Marais to examine and possibly explain in order to cure Alec’s current state. With the help of Dr. Jason Woodrue, Abby finds out that the tissue sample is plant tissue, but it’s organized like animal tissue. Dr. Woodrue swears to make a further analysis without informing his employer, Avery Sunderland.

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There is another continuing mystery of SWAMP THING explored in this episode, and it revolves around Daniel Cassidy‘s presence in Marais. In his conversation with Madame Xanadu, we find out that Danny has been in Marais for eight years because of some bargain he made. He now believes that part of the bargain involves Abby Arcane’s safety. That bargain of Danny’s is bugging me a bit. Could this have something to do with an eventual appearance of the Blue Devil we know and love in the comics? In the comics, Danny is connected to demonic forces that result in his alter ego, Blue Devil. Could this be a variation of his origin that would result in the coming of Blue Devil? I’m getting goose bumps just thinking about it.

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Finally, we have Avery plotting something nefarious while he is manipulating Maria’s emotions. Maria appears to have gotten attached to Susie Coyle, patient zero of the initial virus that was spreading. At episode’s end, Avery has paid Lee Coyle, Susie’s uncle, for Susie to stay at the Sunderland home. Maria doesn’t know anything about this. And, it appears that Avery is using both of them for his own ends. Of course, Avery doesn’t know that Maria is also in contact with their daughter-in-creepy-form, so this is shaping to be a very interesting plot point of the series.

‘Darkness on the Edge of Town’ is reminiscent of those environmental stories that show us what happens when we invade nature’s sanctuary. We inevitably release unknown threats because of the invasion. This episode is just an extreme interpretation of that moral, and it’s a scary one to behold. There are many downsides to continued exploitation of our natural resources, and here SWAMP THING shows us the horrific consequences. In the end, going back to nature is the cure, and this episode emphasizes the importance of doing so.†