Previously on Swamp Thing...
Maria Sunderland, I have received a court order
to place you in a secure holding facility
while awaiting a full psychiatric evaluation.
Alec's missing. I think someone's taken him.
Alec has to be in there. I'm going inside.
What are you doing to me?
The plants somehow absorbed
Alec Holland. It's consciousness.
I don't understand.
You're a plant that thinks it's a man.
- Sweetheart? - Remember... to take...
- Remeber to... - You took them all?
Caroline!
Go check it out.
Show yourselves.
- Alec! - Abby.
The light...
I have to go back to the cove. I have to know if it's true.
I am so sorry.
Alec Holland is dead.
I'm so sorry.
I was never Alec Holland.
That's not true.
I'm a thing born from his death.
A blurred copy of his consciousness.
No.
Everything inside of you
that made you Alec is still there,
his mind...
his memories.
Memories?
Memories stolen from a dead man.
You saved Susie.
Alec, you saved me.
All I wanted was to be human again.
And all I've wanted is to make that happen.
You have to believe me.
When I look into your eyes...
I see you.
I see...
the presence of the man that I once knew.
What?
Men...
They're coming back.
But different this time.
Different?
I hurt them.
So they're angry.
They want revenge.
At least give me a chance to fix this, Alec, please.
Why?
Because...
Because I don't want to see them hurt you again.
This time...
I won't let them.
I lost him.
I know what you're thinking.
They lost him.
But I should've known better than to depend on mercenaries
or corporate men, all of 'em barely competent.
Oh...
All my life, people who don't understand
interfere with my work...
but we will not be disturbed here, my love.
CREDITS
Did you find him?
He went to the cove like he said he was going to.
And?
He found his body in the water.
Oh, my God.
Not his... Not his own. It was Alec's body,
but it was not... It was, um... I...
Hey. Hey, hey, hey.
I, you know... I thought, Liz, that
I could help him,
that I could cure him.
And I can't.
I can't help in thinking that I've lost him.
I've lost him, I've lost him like everyone.
But it's not your fault.
You've done everything you could.
But, Liz, it is, it is.
It wasn't enough.
It was not enough.
I have to protect him.
Yeah. Of course.
Okay. So...
So we need to figure out who's behind Avery and Woodrue.
- Yes. - There's no way
Sunderland organized that shit on the cement plant
- on his own. - No.
And those men in Atlanta
had something to do with it. I know it.
What I don't understand
is why they would've chosen a building
that Maria Sunderland owned,
- that... - Well,
it looks like she...
got herself into something really messy and...
landed on somebody's bad side. You haven't heard.
What... what haven't I heard?
Maria's locked up on a psychiatric hold at the Barclay Institute.
Avery.
Oh, my God. That isn't... That is...
That's no coincidence, Liz. I have to talk to her.
She knows who those men are.
You think she's gonna talk to you?
I think she's going to have to.
Lizzy.
I'll catch you later, Pops. I got to... I got to go see a friend.
I know this must be, uh...
unsettling for you, my darling.
You're experiencing what's known as locked-in syndrome.
And it's brought on by a medication overdose.
You've lost muscle control and...
it's leaving your body frozen, but with...
with cognition intact.
Can you blink once if you understand?
I let you down, my love.
I wasn't there when you needed me, but...
I am going to...
fix all that today.
I am going to fix all that.
Now the creature may be gone, but, uh...
but, uh...
I still have him.
Um...
Or more precisely,
his organs.
Crude, plant approximations.
Liver.
There's lungs.
And...
The heart.
Their regenerative properties will
infuse your cells,
repair them and bring you back to me.
Just as I always promised, my love.
Creature's trail leads deep into the swamp.
Make no mistake, that's where it thrives.
Yeah, we all read the brief, Ellery.
The real question here is
what are the rules of engagement with this thing?
I'm letting you off the leash.
This thing's cost me too many good men.
Kill it. We'll harvest what we can from the thing's corpse.
Ellery.
Good to finally meet you.
- Sunderland. - That's right.
Listen, I think you better tell your men to take it easy, okay?
Because if you kill Holland,
my entire project could go down the drain.
Your project?
Yeah. My project.
I got my whole life wrapped up in seeing this through.
My instincts tell me that what he's gonna do...
What the fuck are you doing? Get the...
Last time we followed your goddamn instincts,
we took multiple casualties.
You and me...
got a deal, Ellery.
A deal that didn't close
because you got yourself
half-killed in this filthy swamp.
What the hell are you talking about?
That you went out on the water
with your girlfriend sheriff,
and came out a day later
looking like ten miles of bad road.
Yeah. We've had eyes on you for days.
- Hey, you are not cutting me... - Hey.
Shit.
You are not cutting me out, Ellery!
Might not be up to me
the way your sheriff is coming after you.
You get your damn house in order, Sunderland.
Then, maybe we'll talk.
Doctor,
I just got a call about my son, Matt.
- He's been in an accident. - He's gonna be all right.
And he's got out of Radiology.
What the hell happened?
It looks like he went off the road sometime last night,
but his car wasn't spotted until this morning.
I'd like to keep him overnight as a precaution.
When can I see him?
As soon as he's brought down.
Lucilia...
you should know...
It was a one-car accident...
and the paramedics found opened bottles in his car.
He was drunk?
Well, lucky for Matt, there's no legal proof of that.
But it sure looks that way.
Daniel, are you here?
Daniel?
Hello?
_
Danny, is that you?
Daniel?
- Hey! - Hey!
What's with the music?
I can't stop hearing it.
It's this buzzing, it's inside my head.
This voice.
What do you mean? What voice?
His voice. The Blue Devil.
I thought the Blue Devil was a character in a movie.
He's inside my head. And he's been leaving me these images that are...
Liz,
am I going crazy?
I know you, Daniel.
And I know if it weren't for you,
I wouldn't be standing here.
Abby, too.
Well, your friend, she's special, you know, Dr. Arcane.
How? Why? I'm not sure,
but there's a reason she came back to Marais.
Just as there's a reason why I had to stay around all these years.
But now you've run out of reasons.
Yeah, well...
You know, it's funny.
All I ever wanted since landing here
was to blow this town,
get back to LA, lie on a beach.
Now, suddenly that dream seems awfully small.
Kind of like...
Kind of like I got a bigger destiny going on here.
I know the feeling.
But do you really think this is the way to figure it out?
I just know I need to hit the road. I got to get out of here.
I got to find my path.
Look, Liz,
look after the shop for me, okay?
Come here.
_
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
What are you giving me? I can't think.
What are you doing to me?
I shouldn't be the one locked up in here.
You should be the one in here, Avery!
No.
Listen.
Maria!
What's wrong?
What do you want from me?
Maria, open your eyes.
Nimue. How did you...
I heard your cries. I can tell you're in pain.
Can you make it stop?
I can't.
You tapped into a dark power
trying to see your daughter again,
trying to see Shawna.
Now those demons are coming out.
No.
They've corrupted you...
causing you to do terrible things.
But you're here now.
You can make it stop.
I can offer you some peace,
the grace you crave.
But I have to warn you,
it's a peace from which you may never return.
See this?
Tracks are fresh.
Ah, he's nearby. Stay alert.
We're losing light.
Tell me you have a plan to find this thing.
Yeah, I got a plan.
One man's gonna flush him out,
we'll surround him, come in on him.
Trust me, Ellery.
Your target's not making it out of here in one piece.
Team leader?
Yeah, Romero. Shaw. Come in.
If this thing's close, I'll drive him your way.
Well, all right then.
Copy.
Okay. Let's keep moving.
Follow me.
Shaw, something's close,
but I haven't got eyes on it yet.
I know you're out there.
Romero, report.
- Maria. - Abigail?
What are you doing here?
I'm here for Maria.
To free her from her pain.
Maria.
Isn't she so beautiful?
My beautiful daughter has finally come back to me.
Maria, there's no one there. There's no one there.
Avery Sunderland is the one who can help you now, child.
Let her be.
Oh.
Promise me that you'll stay with me.
I promise.
Forever and ever.
Delroy, another one.
What's the matter, my money's no good now?
Just haven't seen you here in a while is all.
I bet you've been all broke up about that, huh?
Ah...
Yeah, it seems like I'm about to run out of friends in this town.
Can't say I'm surprised.
I'll land on my feet.
I always have.
The people around here, they understand.
The people around here understand that
they know that I've always been here for them,
and I know that they will always be here for me,
that's just the way it goes. I know it's true.
I just... I just got to...
got to regroup is all, just gonna make a...
Figure out my next move, you know.
How about your next move is catching a cab and going home?
I still own this damn place.
And I'll sit here till I'm damn good and ready.
Who the...
Kind of jumpy there, Avery.
You expecting someone?
You seen the sheriff around today?
I imagine she's at the hospital.
Matty was in some kind of accident last night.
Matt was in an accident last night?
What kind of an accident? Car thing?
Jesus Christ.
That poor kid is...
Delroy...
Nothing.
Thanks for the drink.
I know this sounds strange, but, uh,
this reminds me a little of our first date.
I, uh, I made you dinner, remember?
I had never made dinner for anyone before.
I just wanted everything to be just perfect.
Given time, I would test each of these organs in isolation,
but under the circumstances, I think we should just
hit you up with all the artillery at once,
releasing your body from imprisonment and...
eradicating all traces of Alzheimer's.
It smells surprisingly good, doesn't it?
It's his heart, he said.
Preliminary tests showed that it carries
the highest concentration of mutagenic activity.
Hmm.
It's quite good.
Oh, please, you don't think that I would...
I would subject you to an untested treatment.
No. Not before I tried it myself.
From what I could see
from examining the creature, the...
regenerative process began quite...
Romero!
Where the hell did he go?
It's Romero's scarf.
Oh, my God!
Up there. Look!
Is that Romero?
This is bad.
I think we should leave.
I think we should leave right now.
Hey, where's the path? This where we came in, right?
What the...
The creature... he's using Romero
- as bait. - Bait?
It's a fucking trap and we walked right into it.
We're not hunting it...
It's hunting us.
Shit!
Right there! Right there!
Oh! Oh, my God, what is this?
- Watch out! - Watch behind you!
Goddamn plants!
I can feel it, it's amazing.
Avery?
I didn't mean to frighten you, my love.
I've never felt like this before.
I know it sounds strange, but I feel like I'm...
somehow a part of nature and...
plants around us.
Dr. Arcane.
Oh, my God. Caroline, are you okay?
- Caroline... - I'm having a private conversation
with my wife, so I'd appreciate it if you'd...
Did she take all of these?
It's none of your business.
'Cause she could've overdosed.
She needs to go the hospital, she needs to be treated.
Caroline, look at me. Look at me.
I am about to treat her
with something that actually works,
but I really need you to go now, okay?
Your...
Your wife needs medical attention, Dr. Woodrue.
Hi, yes. I need...
- What? Jason! What... - Hello? Hello? Are you there?
- What are you doing? - Leave it. It's all right.
It's all right. It's okay. Just sit down.
What are you doing?
Trying to help my wife.
I won't allow you or anyone else
to keep me from saving her.
Matty...
I'm so, so sorry, honey.
Matt's a fighter.
How did you crawl back?
Lucilia, I come in peace.
Get the hell out of this room.
What kind of angle are you working here, Avery?
- Angle? - After everything that's happened,
Matt tried to kill you, you expect me to believe
that you crawled out of the swamp
and now you're gonna forgive him?
You tell me a son that hadn't dreamt of killing his father
at one point or another.
A son can hate his father
and it's the father's job to forgive.
I've been thinking...
I'm seeing something here.
Craziest you've seen, kid.
Though normal may seem crazy, anyway.
There's a silver lining
behind all this mess.
If you knew I was back,
you also heard.
Maria's been having some serious mental issues
and I'm afraid the prognosis is not good.
And I imagine...
we'll be divorced soon.
What are you saying?
I'm saying...
we can finally be together...
We can make...
a fresh start.
You, me...
our son.
You stabbed our son, you evil son of a bitch.
You turned our son
into a murderer, and you are gonna rot in hell for that, Avery.
And with any kind of luck, I'm gonna be the one who sends you there.
You stay away from Matt,
and you stay away from me.
Can you please at least try to explain to me
what it is that you're trying to do with these plans?
The material that I harvested is completely unique.
It doesn't appear anywhere else in the entire world.
Except for the swamps of Marais.
That... That you harvested?
That I saved, to complete my work.
Those parts are from Alec?
Abby, there...
there is no Alec.
I don't care what you think you saw,
he is still alive in there somewhere,
and you ignored that.
You ripped him from the swamp and tore him open
like he was some kind of science experiment, Doctor.
There is no him.
It's a plant with regenerative properties
that I'm going to use to help save my wife.
- This is insane. - No.
- This is insane. - No, it isn't. No.
It's...
It's a miracle.
Hmm.
All right, my love.
Regrow your cells.
Rewrite the neural pathways of your brain.
Stop! Stop, stop, stop, stop!
911 traced the call back to your phone's GPS.
Thank you.
Oh.
Don't take her, don't take her. Don't take her. Please.
Don't...
Shaw, this isn't working!
Hell it is.
All right.
You got us where you want us.
Why don't you show yourself?
What do we do?
Shaw, hold on, okay? Hold on.
That son of a bitch killed Romero!
It's coming from over there! Fire!
Reload!
Ah! Ah!
Heard the call go out over the police scanner.
What the hell happened?
It's Jason Woodrue, he just, uh...
I don't know, he lost his mind.
Seems to be a lot of that going around lately.
Where is my wife?
Where's my wife?
Abby! Abby.
You can't do this. You can't do this.
Caroline! Caroline, I'll find you.
I'll find you, don't be afraid.
I'll find you.
Hey.
Bad dream?
No, actually it was a good one.
I was a kid again at the old house.
Running around in the backyard with you and Dad.
Hmm.
The nurse said I had a visitor earlier.
So Avery survived.
He was here.
You know the sick thing? I'm glad.
I'd rather have him alive
than have to live with the guilt of killing another man.
No. Now, do not take this on.
- No, this is on me... - No, this is on me.
I've been keeping Avery a secret from you
for all these years when I should've just trusted you
to be the man I always knew you could be.
I just, I feel so ashamed of so many things that I've done.
You're all I have.
You know, you are everything to me.
And the love I have for you,
that is never a lie.
Ma, you don't have to tell me that.
I promise you...
we are gonna see our way through this to the other side.
I'm guessing that you should go home.
Okay.
I'll get you some fresh clothes for the morning.
Jansen,
no stepping out.
While I'm gone, doctors only, no visitors.
Okay? You stay close.
Do you understand?
I love you, Matthew Leroy.
God, I loved you.
Avery.
I'm sorry I could never be with you like you always wanted.
One of us has to die.
Oh, my God.
Help! Help!
Help me!
Help!
Help me!
What the fuck?
Oh!
No, wait. Wait, wait.
I can help you.
I can help you. Okay?
And with these regenerative abilities,
you could do so much for so many people.
People captured me.
People made me watch while they pulled out my heart.
Holland, I have a plan.
I am not Alec Holland!
You showed me this.
Okay.
You could do so much for all of humanity.
Why would I help you?
Tell the others what you saw here today.
Tell them what I am capable of.
Tell them...
to leave me alone!
Feel better now?
Go away.
You're dead.
"Go away. You're dead."
Physically, yes, but...
up here, I'm still hanging around.
I can't keep going on like this.
I know.
Maybe I belong away from people.
Out there in the green.
Is that our plan?
Hmm? Because we're a monster, right?
They don't see me as a human.
Just as a thing.
Yeah, most do.
Except one.
Abby.
If we leave her,
we lose the only human connection we ever had.
And then, we really are just this thing.
And if we stay for her, what then?
I don't know.
There's no guarantees.
But then there never were.
Yeah, you've been trying so hard to become me again, but it's...
it's not about me anymore, we both know that.
Alec Holland is gone.
But the question is...
who do you want to be?
Why did you come back?
I...
I had to see you, I had to know that you're all right.
Alec Holland is gone.
There's nothing you can do to change that.
I'm not here to try.
Then why?
Because I care...
about you.
And not just the way you were before, but now.
I understand how hard this must've been for you,
but suddenly you're open to worlds that I never knew existed.
Dangerous worlds.
Yes.
Yes, there is darkness out there,
we've both seen it. But through you,
I've also seen the beauty in this place.
You've touched the green.
Yeah, but only through you.
I...
I want to feel more, I... I want to see more.
I was gonna leave.
Lose myself in the swamp forever.
What stopped you?
The thought of never seeing you again.
Well, I guess, um...
that's another thing we have in common.
And I'd hide so much.
Is there something out there?
The darkness...
it's still raging.
Fighting to break free.
Fighting to come out.
Well,
I'm not going anywhere, so we'll face it together.
How's that sound?
I would like that very much.
Is anyone here?
Look, I'm just grabbing my stuff, all right?
All right, Tyler, stop fucking around.
What's going on?
Anyone?
Mom, where are you?
Ma?
What the fuck happened here?
What the hell?
What is all this?
Jesus.
Tyler?
Is someone there?
Show yourself!
Why Alec Holland
so desperately wanted to be human again?
When the alternative is infinitely more intriguing.
What are you?
Well,
I was Jason Woodrue.
CREDITS