Stan’s The Gloaming
1×06: “Heathen Dogs”
Directed by Sian Davies
Written by Peter McKenna

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Beyond the Veil” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “The Mark of the Witch” – click here
Alex has a nightmare about the day Jenny was murdered.
Then he wakes to a crow slamming into his window, killing itself. That morning he has to take Molly the kitty to the vet. The cat’s anxious and unhappy, restless at home. The doc prescribes some cat Diazepam. It’s actually for him. He’s got himself a nasty addiction.

A little later Alex goes to speak with Mr. Fian, his old rowing coach. The two catch up quickly. Afterwards, the detective starts to gently ask William about the Star of the Forest Church. He doesn’t dig too hard. The old man knows more than he lets on. At the station, there’s news: a woman with the same type of blood disorder as Dorothy gave birth 38 years ago, named Marianne Gowdie. This potentially links up with the girl Valerie Gowdie, murdered by Ricky Jones.

Curiouser and curiouser, Gareth drops by Grace’s place after she calls him for an urgent chat. He’s surprised to find William there when he’s invited inside. They’re a bit worried about Jacinta’s death. They “don‘t have time” for any of their plans to be derailed. Gareth’s been using church money to fund his business ventures. There are many as of yet unknown links going on between these three. Obviously Grace and Gareth’s mother were close. Much mystery.
The investigation’s not going quite how everyone expected. Molly’s personal business is turning things upside down. Plus, Lewis is pushing Freddie as the only suspect considering all they already know about him. There’s so much more happening, yet the police simply want to be able to clue up an investigation that’s making Hobart uneasy. When Alex gets a chance he asks Freddie about the message supposedly from Jenny. The young man tells him: “Out of the smoke came locusts upon the Earth.” Again, repeating Revelation 9:3. On his way into the elevator leaving, Alex briefly sees a vision of Jenny standing there quietly.

Ironically enough that while Gareth is being asked by his shadowy pals to keep an eye on Dt. O’Connell, he gets a knock on his door one afternoon by Alex himself. They have a glass of wine together and chat. Gareth asks him about the case, looking to see what’s going on. Then, inevitably, the detectives tries to get his old friend to drop all the stuff with Molly. This leads to Gareth telling his version of the story about Molly’s friend, Elizabeth, who died. He says she “had issues“— the age old excuse many men use. But did he actually kill her? Or, was it merely “death by misadventure“?
The two men keep talking of family and past, sharing unseen parts of themselves with the another. After some time they get real into it with Gareth some supposedly herbal drops into their tequila. Might get sketchy.

Molly keeps on looking at the photograph of Daisy, staring into it in hopes she’ll notice something new. She sees people in the background, though they’re blurry, and there may be another interesting point in the trees: a device that looks strikingly like a strappado. Then her ex shows up, arguing about Lily. He’s angry she told their daughter about Freddie being arrested. Eventually they calm down and Molly suggests therapy, thinking it’d be good for Lily. Meanwhile, Molly’s narrowing in on an unsettling aspect to the church and their camps, which is where Daisy may just be in that photo. She wants to keep her daughter away from the Door of Salvation.

“Death follows you everywhere”

Poor ole Alex is having a trip. It’s as if there’s a party at Gareth’s and the place is packed. Across the room, Alex sees a vision of Jenny again. He keeps following her through the crowd desperate to see her again, maybe talk to her. He starts to see strange wicker masks in the darkness. Then his hands are tied. He’s suddenly not at the party, he’s walking through a corridor towards a blue door, like the one from his nightmare. He opens it but something inside terrifies him, so he turns and tries to run, falling to the floor.
And it was all a trip. All a dream.

Alex goes to Eileen’s place, rambling about the day her daughter died. He wants the truth and he wonders if she knows there’s more to it than a bullshit robbery. He remembers the “blue door” and keeps asking about where their family used to live. She refuses to give him any answers, sending him off into the night. William isn’t far off, either. He’s there watching, waiting, and now following. Alex isn’t a dummy, he knows he’s being followed. He goes right to Molly’s place and tells her he’s remembering things about when Jenny was killed up at the old house. He’s been blocking things out for years, like the symbol Jenny had as a tattoo— the exact symbol Molly found on her mirror, and possibly what Daisy was drawing in the shed the night she killed herself.
Oh, and in Alex’s state he further reveals to Molly that he’s named his cat after her.

Well, Alex isn’t the only one tripping. Garth has a vision of Valerie running around his house. THEORY TIME: Father Gore wonders if, perhaps, Gareth is actually Ricky Jones. That’d explain him seeing the ghost of Valerie. Then we see Grace is hearing Valerie, as well. She hears her daughter calling outside but can’t seem to find her.
The next day, Alex is up around Grace’s property. He feels like he’s remembering, so he starts to walk. He comes to a field and a circle of rocks. He pulls out a rock to find a bone buried not far underneath. In the sky, birds flock together, similar to the day Jenny died, and it also brings to mind the crofters the priest talked about, too.

Big info comes to Molly: Valerie’s not Dorothy Moxley’s daughter (duh), but there was a “familial match” because of the blood found at Jacinta’s crime scene— y’know, the blood Gareth left from his pinched hand. Not only that, the church has claimed Dorothy’s body, and we now know Lewis is one of the big, happy group trying to help cover things up.

“In her female line
do we follow you now
and leave the dead
to bury the dead.”

Utterly fantastic stuff. Beautiful imagery throughout the series so far. Lots of Gothic going on, and a stellar murder mystery at the same time. Again, the actors really are selling this while the writing keeps bobbing and weaving in a spectacular way.

“The Mark of the Witch” is next.