ARCHIVE 81 (2022) Explained

foreign everybody and welcome to found flicks on this explained vid we're looking at the recent hit Netflix series archive 81 following an archivist who takes a job restoring damaged videotapes but finds himself getting pulled into a mystery involving a young woman's disappearance and a strange cult that may be trying to destroy the world I ended up really enjoying this series it does a good job of balancing character along with the developing mystery but really it was how the story unfolded that really drew me in each episode adds more and more layers to the increasingly complicated story and takes us into many unexpected directions it's honestly a pretty huge change from where things start to where they end up it was kind of crazy to think about when the finale ended there is a ton of plot and various Mysteries to look into the pop-up over the course of the season and you know that's what I'm all about we're gonna leave no stone or mystery unturned really digging into every aspect of the show which is also why this video is like an hour long there's just a lot to cover while it is a fairly complex story it actually feels simple in the end and wraps up a lot of the bigger Mysteries that is except when it comes to the ending itself that I really feel like blows open the whole Show's world into an exciting New Direction it leaves us with a ton of questions and there is a bunch of stuff to look at with just the ending itself well there's no time to waste so let's get to the tapes in archive 81 breaking down the story and its many Mysteries just what the cult is all about and what they desire as well as explaining the ending and theorizing where things could go in season two it's a lot maybe grab a snack or something things begin simply enough with a static filled message from a young woman Melody who turns to the camera asking for help and the search for her becomes the backbone of our story as it develops in the Big Apple we meet Dan who has a peculiar interest in strange old tapes seemingly trying to find things forgotten or lost which he brings back to life via restoration the street vendor mentions that some someone called Jill stopped by recently and At The Mention of the name Dan looks Shake It Up the guy asking if they're still on friendly terms does it sound like it and Jill must be an ex of dance that had a big impact on him he works at the Museum of moving images it looks to be quite skilled at his craft a new Collection comes in from a woman called Evie Crest and the footage is in dire need of help its contents are a lost movie called The Circle starring an actor William Kress Evie's dad which features a kind of strange cult ritual Dan explaining it's a horror Anthology a pre-twilight Zone kind of thing it was Evie that discovered a box of old tapes buried at his estate both agreeing it is some pretty creepy [ __ ] the lady suggests that this could get him some real glory but Dan is only interested in giving Evie a piece of her father back very important to his character and what he's all about this speaks to the power that film and video can have it lives long past ourselves his boss gives him a new mysterious project the tape appearing smashed and burnt he kills the cassette and watches the footage seeing Melody the girl from the opening who is doing a dissertation on the Visser apartment building she jokes with her friend Annabelle saying that she's worried she'll find a new best friend but Mel promises that she won't and the tape Cuts Dan is already curious and does a googler onto the apartments learning about a fire back in 1994 that killed at least 11. yet strangely no bodies were ever found Dan's buddy Mark runs a podcast and while Mark is a firm believer in the Supernatural telling the story of a cursed wedding ring Dan doesn't believe in any of that kind of [ __ ] just about to leave Mark gets real with him telling him to let him know if he needs help to which Dan limply agrees so there is some kind of issues that Dan has gone through recently which his friend is worried about bubbling back up to the surface his boss is impressed with his work on the crispy tape and he's invited to meet the man who sent it who works at the mysterious lmg company housed in a looming large building there he meets Virgil who has an offer for him Dan first is confused just what this place does he couldn't find any info on them whatsoever and Virgil points out that it was the same for Dan both agreeing that they liked their privacy Virgil lays out the job offer to him the tape that He restored was recovered from the fire at the visitor and there are several other tapes that he wants him to restore it sounds enticing enough with a fee of 100K although due to the tape's fragile state the work must be done at a remote facility in the Catskills suspicions are only getting started Dan appears about to turn him down and Virgil proves that he knows more than he's letting on bringing up that he would have a special understanding of the situation as he lost his family in a fire and since then he's been spending his life trying to bring things back to people he's incensed that Virgil somehow knew about his private history and we flash briefly to him as a kid walking his Pooch and humming a creepy Melody his sister is there plucking at the piano and young Dan stares wide-eyed coming to his house engulfed in flames well this must be the past incident Virgil was referring to Dan awakes from The Nightmare and is compelled to return to Mel's footage and there's something catches his eye it looks like amongst the picks on her mirror what includes her and his childhood dog Cleo but how in the world can that be he shows off the strange connection to Mark who isn't so sure considering he's just seeing things that he wants to and believes that this is somehow All Tied back to Jill he's adamant this is not about her and besides he's the one that runs a podcast talking about all kinds of crazy stuff how is something like this out of the realm of possibility Mark also was unable to dig up anything on the company saying they could be into some Sinister stuff but Dan is confident this is a sign besides if he is seeing what he wants to maybe it's time for him to take a closer look he rides through the forest with Virgil who keeps bringing up more personal info about Dan smirking it off as merely a background check but still proves this guy isn't showing all of his cars already get used to that Dan the facility is a bit dated but quite stately and at least the technology is top of the line oddly there's no internet and the sell signal is spotty but they do have a trusty old landline right top of the line technology but no internet and you're in the middle of nowhere not suspicious at all Virgil takes him down to where the tapes are housed along with the camera used to shoot them all and the gig seems straightforward enough on the way out Virgil hands him an emergency signal wristband making sure to mention that includes not just Medical but mental professionals just in case he needs it you know he too seems aware of Dan's breakdown despite how he initially presented things Virgil is confident that's all in the past he has a clean bill of health but regardless they're available if he needs him it's almost like he's expecting him or hoping that he's going to lose his [ __ ] again for some reason he gets right to work on the first tape but is distracted by another door guarded by a lock he tries to get in but has refused access Dan scoffing curiosity killed the cat the next tape shows Mel on day one of her project on the Visser according to Archive she found it was built back in the 1930s but doesn't really stand out amongst the other buildings in the city though there is some strangeness to its history having been built over a mansion that burned down in the 20s and features some strange symbols carved into the outside facade the maintenance guy John takes her through the building and to her new digs Mel asks him about a Julia Bennett did she ever live here but John is kg refusing to answer for what he says are privacy reasons also strange when she asked for advice about meeting new people he only suggests for her to stay away from the sixth floor she's awoken later to the sound of faint chanting pinpointing that it is coming through the vents she shouts out hello to the opening and the silence is overtaken by loud static Mel trying to get herself together the next day she knocks on doors in hopes of interviewing the tenants but no one even bothers to answer she's given a break though when seeing a kid Jess there who does delivery for the tenants and she's at least a little more open than the others agreeing to help her get subjects in exchange for a little bit of cash her first interviewee is Tamara a musician working on an opera she plays her a clip from her latest work called Purgatory hearing a woman's voice vocalizing along with odd chanting Mel is confused thinking that this is exactly what she heard last night in the vents but before she can answer a phone call pulls Tamir away as the song continues it has a noticeable physical effect on Mel she gets to her feet only to collapse asking Jas if the music also makes her feel strange Dan finds himself humming the strange tune and calls Mark to get him to look into Tamara and the song He wanders around downstairs trying all the other doors and finds that every single one of them are locked Virgil calls in to check on him while he's fiddling with a box with another film in it that must be important to Dan scouring through the bookshelves he finds a notebook that looks like a daily log of some kind but stuffs it back in without much thought he is flooded with more flashes of memories his sister playing the same weird song from Tamara's and he wakes up having caught a rat he can't bring himself to get rid of it and rather decides to befriend it naming it ready well very clever he fixes another tape featuring Jess's interview with Mel revealing that she was born in the building right out in in the stairwell leaving you're wondering if it is perhaps bad luck to be born in this place Mel doesn't think so and is more curious about what led people to the building in the first place just considering that perhaps something pulled them here asking if Sam told her about the building but Mel doesn't know who that is just yet just suddenly looks out of sorts backing up in her chair with a blank gaze her breath quickens and she's lifted to her feet appearing to be choked and tumbles to the floor convulsing the tape slows and gets distorted the image changing to a white outline of a figure amongst the static and the creature starts to try to Step Beyond the screen it appears right in front of Dan freaking him out and fleeing from the room he gets through to Mark who was unable to track down anything on Tamira but he's already got more for him to look into namely the lmg company as well as Melody looking around the trees he sees someone nearby with a red hood but when turning back they vanished he has another memory flash of his sister playing the song saying she heard it on a tape and their dad comes in growling to stop playing it telling Dan it's time to take Cleo out for a walk this fateful walk is what prevented him from burning to death like the rest of his family which is you know pretty tragic you can see how much it still affects him now finding the tape has somehow gotten unspooled he reconstructs it and picks up right where he left off with Jess now looking more calmed down according to the doctors they always say that nothing is wrong it's just in Her Imagination but Mel knows what she saw she says that her mom takes her to Father Russo for a so-called spiritual guidance she changes the subject to church Mel used to go but not anymore and then asked if she believes if there's a world other than this one not heaven or hell a world like this one but different more than this world she starts talking about an even stranger concept if she's strong enough to hold a new world inside of her male encouraging sure you can do anything you want to tell the whole world inside of you sure just smiles and takes her hand telling her that she's happy she's here the tape suddenly cuts to Mel crying that they took Jess and she runs into Jon reminding her that sixth floor is off limits sending her are back downstairs where she runs into Samuel who she hasn't technically met yet she then encounters two other guys in uniforms and we're back at the opening message pleading for someone to find her and to help the guys grab her and shockingly Dan's dad enters trying to calm her down his mind blown he keeps mumbling that he doesn't understand what's happening and we pull out seeing the entire facility is covered in cameras from every angle all overseen by Virgil of course static crackles and we see a commercial for a DNA testing company called Wellspring all about how they can help you find your Community Connection as well as ourselves which we soon find out has a connection to the mysterious lmg Dan phones Mark with the news of seeing his dad back in 94 at the visitor and he accuses Virgil of being a liar he must have known his dad was on the tape and it was all a setup from the beginning yeah you think Mark lays out his two options here leave and never find out what it all means or keep us cool and keep digging deeper he knows that his aunt has all of his dad's old files and task mark to find out if he happens to have any on Melody on to the next tape we're back with Mel and Jess where they run into the aforementioned father Russo he immediately invites her to attend service Mel giving a half-hearted baby in response digging through some tapes in a storm she finds the secret of nim beaming that she loved the book as a kid and of course Jess has never heard of it she purchases an Infamous pixel vision camera designed for kids back in the 90s with absolutely awful video quality saying that she too like Mel is a filmmaker she hides it along with some comics and other Contraband to keep secret from her ever absent mother she meets another Resident Cassandra who seems more than a little off to me inviting her up for some tea this afternoon another lady Beatrice a proclaimed psychic also feels that the people here are a bit strange but well beyond what might be expected mentioning there's some kind of sex club that meets the community room in the middle of the night she can hear all the moaning all the way up here presumably the same weird chance Mel heard in the vents didn't really sound that sexy to me necessarily evil and sexy Beatrice gives her a tarot card reading that reveals more clues through history her past is filled with grief thinking that she must have suffered as a child in the present she feels something hidden has guided her here someone specifically Mel tells her about trying to track down Julia and Beatrice gives her a potential lead on a woman on the fourth floor who no one has seen in years the future is looking Bleak too pulling out the card of death but Beatrice Chuckles it does have many meanings well also still meaning death too Mel checks out the mailbox discovering a piece of mail sticking out from the Mystery Lady Sam catches her in the act and offers her a skeleton key that she can use if she's really not desperate to get inside he invites her to Tamara's one act show that she's doing hoping to Rally an audience as is not very good yeah sounds great tamira's one act Opera getting ready for the show she gets a surprise call from none other than Dr Turner Dan's dad confirming that she was indeed a patient of his feeling that they made good progress in the past he has to call him back but she is not interested in reconnecting immediately stop jumping over and deleting the message he calls Mark to inform him of what he learned and the red hooded stranger is back he chases after him but loses him at a barbed wire fence he then attempts to reach Virgil wanting to know if someone else is here with him at the facility and the lady on the phone immediately assumes that he must be mentally distressed he maintains his cool saying that it's just a question nothing more again it's like people want him to lose his marbles it's like every chance you need to shrink you good bro he talks over things with his pal ratty and he's shocked to find that secret of nim tape on the Shelf confident that his pal will like it after putting it on the man is back who turns out it's actually his dad he follows him downstairs around several winding corridors walking by another it appears that he's suddenly in a different location entirely somehow at the viscer himself he sees someone down the hall at their door he walks up after and knocks and shockingly it's Mal that opens up right as she does so though he wakes up back in the compound the next tape is at Tamara's show which of course Mel films the entire time the stage is kind covered in people wearing white masks dancing around to a weird thumping soundtrack it intensifies into that Eerie themed tune which again affects Mel the lights flash intensely hearing her heartbeat Quicken and Sam whisks her away we learned that he's a teacher at Columbia and he asks about her camera Mel telling him that it was a present from her mom wanting to follow in her footsteps especially after her somewhat recent passing she brings up the big rumor about the sex club and he can't help but laugh correcting that she must be referring to the Visser Historical Society he's not technically a member he alleges but does talks there on occasion the last one about Dodge witchcraft that existed until the 20th century in lower Manhattan I wonder if that has any relevance here uh yeah they walk back to the Visser and Sam hands over that skeleton key for her after all and she kind of randomly starts making out with him seems kind of sudden but you know whatever he runs off to get some booze as he takes a chance to open the mailbox but alas it's empty her romantic interlude is interrupted by Annabelle showing up already asking all kind kinds of questions about the hot guys he saw from the window gee she's kind of a lot huh Sam arrives and rather than stick around likes to do this another time Annabelle keeps filming chatting her friend for having so many Secrets she's gonna have to spill them all the next day ratty has made a real mess and when grabbing a broom he notices a spot in a wall that sounds Hollow so he busts a hole in it uncovering a tunnel that leads to another downstairs area there's even more locked doors awaiting him down there including one filled with binders marked Well Spring the same DNA testing company from the opening meaning that lmg must be connected he then strangely finds himself in an old chapel and spots initials carved into one of the pews Virgil appears there and Dan confronts him about the real reason that he hired him he knew his dad was on the tapes right Virgil maintains that he didn't know for sure and takes him to the Wellspring records room he calls their work here a gift letting people know who they really are but closed up shop when Sinister agencies wanted access to the data he pulls out a file on his dad and tells him that he understands if this is all a bit too much if he's afraid of what he might find according to reports Authority said that his father had a breakdown and he was responsible for the fire at the house Dan is adamant that it was an accident his father would never do that but well he can't know for sure right Virgil informing him that he was placed on leave from his job which Dan didn't know he offers him a chance to quit here but Dan refuses to give up and gets right back to the tapes their Mel here is more chanting in events and decides to track down the source it's coming from the community room seeing that it's full of various people including Sam and Cassandra all doing the rhythmic breathing in unison at the front of the room is a cabinet pulling a white statue they wrap up the chant and everyone hugs after they leave she investigates the Box saying it's the same symbol from outside the building emblazoned on it attempting to get it open Tamara and Sam return sending her hiding to the closet where she has to sit silently while a pork making weird animalistic growling sounds okay then she frantically later tells Annabelle about what she saw and upon hearing it things that they should just leave it's not that simple as Mel isn't really here for her project she reveals she's looking for her birth mother Julia Bennett she got a letter from her and the visitor was on the return address even if she wants nothing to do with her not knowing her mom has been eating at her whole life saying that she needs to know who she is Annabelle vows to stay with her no matter what and there's a knock at the door seeing his Dan tying back to his previous dream some kind of weird dream connection thing going on here when she opens the door no one is there Dan meets up with Mark in town revealing the increasingly complicated puzzle to him the song The Cult has been chanting is the same that his sister played on the piano when they were kids everything is somehow connected as for lmg Mark has found that it has his hands in many different Industries real estate defense and even synthetic gemstone manufacturing the iceberg is so huge that Wellspring didn't even show up so it must be an offshoot of an offshoot of an offshoot he was unable to find any of his dad's files but did cover a wealth of recordings of his sessions handing over a bag all marked with Mel's names well that's a good lead Dan struggles to figure out how the relationship soured but Mark has another surprise for him apparently Mel didn't die in the fire she's alive and well in Pittsburgh Whoa by blow listening to the tapes Mel fills his dad in on the specifics of her past her mom left her at St Joseph also leaving her a necklace with a ring attached she spent the next 10 years there and was always in trouble the Don's calling her damaged goods when writing something takes over her as she starts scribbling circle patterns on the page she doesn't know what they are but feels something pulling her having to describe it to keep her from falling inside of it she had these Visions frequently until she left the church but recently they have returned Stephen is confident they can at least pinpoint her issues and they're visited by a fluffy friend Cleo so they did meet and the connection he first picked up on wasn't so crazy after all as he wisely doesn't trust Virgil at this point Dan scours the house for more cameras and also found despite him saying there's no internet finds a mass of data cables he was actually able to tap into it and now has access to all the cameras in the house so he can figure out where exactly he has privacy staring at a map he suddenly appears in the community room with Mel noticing little particles floating in the air they can definitely see each other and formally introduce themselves she Whispers that the building is pretty weird right and of course he agrees she then invites him out for a casual drink like a Fanta or something and there's a knock at the door that brings him back to the bathroom looks like there's some kind of in-between dream world that Mel is reaching out to Dan through there's a woman at the door saying her name is Bobby and that she works for Virgil she excuses that she was supposed to put him in a different room as there's mold in this one he's confused as there is no mold and dismisses her saying he needs his privacy Mel then returns to the community room with Annabelle detailing what she saw the last night Cassandra inters acting weird as always sniffing Annabelle and calling her lovely on the subject of last night she fibs that she wasn't there despite us clearly seeing otherwise something shady is definitely going on up in here she visits Jess who appears troubled and speaks about more vague and ominous things such as not wanting to wait anymore Mel asks if she should call her mom but just doesn't want that she'll just send her to Russo again who always blames her for not trying hard enough at her face Mel sighs that she knows all about how churches try to help but offers that she did find someone that really did help her she tells Annabelle about her plan to reach out to Stephen after all for Jess and she's annoyed and Mel always bringing in Strays this sends Dan to the audio tapes where he finds their joint meeting just isn't so sure how long she's been having these episodes when trying to describe how her thing feels she says it's like being pulled somewhere and she comes right back Mel and Steven talk after him thinking that it could be a number of things but won't know for sure without a full medical workup bomb storms in and obviously Jess didn't actually ask her permission to come here even though she told Mel that she did Mel attempts to apologize but she tells you to stay out of her business and leaves in a huff well that didn't go well it also shows how much distance there is in Jess in her mom's relationship I mean she's never around what is she supposed to do you know she needs help Mark makes it to Melody's house and she's willing to answer some questions but honestly doesn't really remember anything of note about what happened or was Steven or anything the interview really doesn't go anywhere as Mark pieces together later this isn't actually Mel at all working on another tape he cracks it sending him downstairs and again finds himself teleported into the apartment stairwell the particles are back along with Mel she smiles about waiting for him thinking that they were supposed to get sodas she gets upset thinking that she probably got it wrong and blames herself that she keeps messing things up he tells her resolutely that she does not and he definitely feels that he knows her saying that she's a good person who cares about people it's a feature not a bug he smiles you he wakes up and is right onto the next tape where Mel seeks out more info on Father Russo they set up an interview where they express differing views on religion for him the church offered answers to his internal darkness which Mel calls a nice sentiment but not exactly the experience she had they're drawn away by screaming outside finding Jess having another seizure Russo is able to calm her down assuring her that she is in God's hands and curtly turns down an ambulance choosing to pray over her instead back with Annabelle she spots a stuffed animal and picks it out for the girl Anna again scolding her about taking in Strays she shoots back that it's a gift not a bug just as Dan told her at her place they hear her calling for help and Furniture scratching Tamara nearby knows that Russo must be over as they always turn up the TV when he's there and thanks to her extra key they are able to get inside it's just in time to see Russo basically trying to perform an exorcism pouring water down the girl's throat he tries to argue that he's helping her and Sam steps in to save the day growling that we're done here Sam talks directly to Erica calling that man a fraud who can't actually help her she needs real help she's smart enough to finally agree taking her daughter in her arms both sobbing emotionally she confronts Russo calling him no different than the rest but he defends that she doesn't know what's going on here there's a terrible Darkness at play and she should leave while she still can Dan was at least able to convince Bobby to unlock their private church for him and has a plan to explore the basement using a loop of footage of the empty Halls now he just needs the code Mark informs him about Mel that it wasn't really her in fact she bought her identity it seems that fomel could get her life together and so she stole one but as he reluctantly tells Dan the only way that this could have worked is if the real Mel is dead he insists that it's fine and hangs up but it's clear that this has a big impact on him back in the storm L turns right to the lens and pulls up a Fanta taking a drink cheers he weekly replies she goes on that she's been thinking about what he said and then it really meant a lot to her he asks in disbelief is this really happening and she shrugs casually asking yeah why wouldn't it Mel is forced to tend with Annabelle outside leaving the frame completely empty that is until Cassandra enters going right up to the lens stay out she groans and reaches for him through the monitor Dan shrieking awake our next vintage video features an important estate auction from 1988 all belonging to a woman Eleanor who was part of a group called The Spirit receiver movement there were a bunch of abstract artists who believe that their art acted as mediums for Supernatural messages from the spirit realm and Beyond in 74 her and her sister Cassandra moved to New York and set up a gallery to show off their group's work now that she's passed her collection is up for grabs featuring all kinds of spiritual pieces including photographs of spirits from the 1800s a tuning for from the 14th century and a ladies Comet pin made from something called karenite and naturally also amongst the collection is that darn cabinet and statue Dan returns to the archives and fably tries random numbers as well as bashing at the glass to know effect he phones Mark to find someone to hack it and runs into Melody Out of the Woods neither know exactly how she got here and Bobby calls his name bringing him back to reality seeing that it's somehow nighttime though even though it was just daylight as we saw he gets a ring from Virgil annoyed that he didn't upload anything today and Dan promises he'll get right back to it with Jess she seems to be doing better and amongst her books finds one that is a catalog of comets she's writing about one in particular Karen that used to be extremely popular with songs about it and everything but over time all comets break down and eventually disappear Karen is supposed to be passing by again sometime soon good old Sam got her telescope and they're gonna watch it together the girls go over to Cassandra's for an interview and she has surprisingly forthcoming about her and her sister's spiritual activities when Eleanor passed she wanted her to auction off the collection but she decided to keep it instead Mel goes right for the cabinet and she excuses that she misplaced the key sure you did she starts pressing her about the building and their cult cast divulging that they belong to the spirit receivers group that was mentioned in the openings admitting some did refer to them as a cult she's wearing the same pendant from the earlier painting of her informing him it's made of karenite just like the pen and of course referring to the comet Mel stares into the surface and a reflection becomes oddly distorted she retrieves a special gift for Annabelle a jar of paint mixed by Eleanor her excited about what she might conjure up they run into Sam and thank him for getting Jess to a real doctor and she brooches the subject of their weird cold thing and he deflects that what she saw was just another run-through of Tamara's Opera but with new material sure dude about to switch tapes Dan catches Mel in the dark screen but of course nobody is there when he turns back he's back to his childhood home seeing his sister reading notes she asks if he wants to hear a ghost story but even as a kid he doesn't believe she tells him well Daddy does that they're all around us asking hasn't he seen some she assures him there is nothing to be afraid of though they're just lost and don't know where to go Dan wakes up to wrestling in another room coming to Melody sitting on the bed flipping through that notebook that he found earlier she has this fancy box too which is confusing to him as he's never brought it into this room he tells her it was from his dad that he used to collect old films of flea markets which might be Dan's own inspiration for his hunts she sees that it's all busted up and Dan tells her that he smashed it after he died as he discovered that his dad wasn't who he thought he was as it was all that he had left of his dad he ultimately decided to keep the paces Mel can relate fingering the ring on her necklace left by her mom she's thrown it away countless times but can't ever bear to let it go for good but both still haven't been able to forgive them just yet he brings up that she actually knows his dad to her shock especially as the day and she knows is only a kid how could that be hearing this the lights go haywire and explode plunging them into darkness she's gone but the belongings still remain he flips to the last page seeing it's marked T Bellows and discovers a pile of other journals in the closet all with the same name inside one has pages and pages of random numbers and then he comes to the last one that's circled he tries it out on the basement door and huzzah it works he rifles through the drawers finding something that his dad wrote regarding night terrors as well as paranormal perception in adults he figures that this must have been what got him in trouble with NYU writing about parapsychology and even he didn't know how much he believed in this kind of stuff well we'll find out why there's also some belongings from the viscer including the teeth ball we saw along with more tapes and pictures and finally Mel's own burnt Journal he explains to Mark how he found the code which must have been from someone that worked there before but don't know what a guy was doing up here watching old soap opera tapes virtual surprises Mark at his studio and already knows him as Dan's BFF showing he knows more than he's letting on as usual he also too knows that Mark has been in contact the whole time with his bud and he even knows that Mark footed the bill for his stay at a facility after Dan's breakdown Mark clarifies Jill didn't cause the breakdown itself but that it triggered old family [ __ ] certainly again referring to the fire and losing his family when he found Dan not doing well he agreed to get him some help let me just being a good friend Virgil insists that he is truly concerned and wants to help him out he doesn't want to be his spy but Virgil believes that they're on the same side he inquires what's so important about the tapes but he only tells him that it's confidential handing him a business card just in case Annabelle is already hard at work utilizing Eleanor's paint feeling that it's like a portal into her soul she likes to stay behind for now leaving Mel on her own at Cassandra's dinner party Jess answers the door now her wearing the carrotite necklace she immediately goes for the cabinet but is distracted by another lady Patricia who was happy to be interviewed she's been here the longest so far it seems since way back in 1962. she used to work as a nurse but is now retired and just records things mainly soap up operas hmm she strangely says that she feels they have a message for her but refuses to elaborate further she then meets another lady Helen who designs masks including those used for Tamara's performance when the conversation turns to the cult she starts acting Shifty and excuses herself to go mingle man these people don't even hide it very well do they Sam arrives with a special guest in tow Evie Crest who we remember in present day hired Dan with the footage from her dad the guy who made the circle movie we saw they bring up her father's work and these circles specifically Cassandra heard rumors that it was inspired by a real snuff film which Evie tells her is true her dad went to a bachelor party at an old occult Lodge in the Hollywood Hills as La used to be a major hub for the occult after dinner they brought the gas underground to watch a film her mom was certain that it was a hoax featuring some kind of gruesome sacrifice true or not this was the real inspiration behind William's film Cassandra seems particularly interested in getting a copy for herself but Evie doesn't have any as far as she knows she does still have unresolved feelings regarding William's death and they mentioned that they could try and contact him with Beatrice's assistance Evie is down and the group goes to mingle in another room as Mel returns immediately to the cabinet she's caught in the act by Sam who offers up his skeleton key she opens it and the sculpture inside has definitely changed Cass calling it a self-portrait I mean everyone is in on this thing right it's pretty obvious at this point Beatrice does your thing calling forth to the spirits to move through her and reaches out to William it appears to work we're calling an Emily Dickinson book that he gifted her as a child and Cassandra returns to her own line of questioning regarding that snuff film the party it turns out was at her Godfather's house which shocks Evie and Beatrice voice turns demonic bellowing to stay away from and she loses the connection and they then turn to Melody is there someone that she wants to contact she says no as she still believes her mother isn't dead but they don't know for sure that she's still alive either this time I'm calling out for Julia everyone waits for a sign but Beatrice doesn't feel any kind of presence from the realm of the Dead she then groans that there's someone else here Dan spins back to Mel there with him explaining that he's restoring her own tapes she stares intently at Beatrice's face thinking that she recognizes her but can't remember anything specifically he asks if she remembers his name Dan she smiles saying that he lives in the building with her he corrects that he's never actually been there wait didn't they meet in the community room well not technically they were in that in between thing and Mel spots her journal nearby he says that he found it that way and also pulls out her necklace leaving her even more confused how he's got all of her stuff he remembers what his sister told him about ghost being lost and now believes that correlates with Mal he lays it out to her blankly that she died in the fire 24 years ago and she doesn't believe him calling him crazy he tells her the whole purpose of his work is to find out what happened to her as well as what caused the fire Mel loses it on him adamant she's not dead her getting upset again causes the lights to click off and she's gone the tape starting itself back up Beatrice's eyes glaze over to White and she starts to recite word for word everything Dan and Mel have talked about up to this point they're both baffled across time especially when she includes the convo that they literally just had a few moments ago Dan finally starts understanding this can't be a dream it's all real and some crazy time-hopping Supernatural Shenanigans afoot he tells Mark the good news as this means that there is still a chance for him to save her he rants to him about his plan wish to Mark is sounding pretty nuts by now Beatrice keeps rambling repeating to go she suddenly screams and begins to tear out her own face everyone's screaming to stop demanding to call an ambulance Mel tries to ask her how she knew about all that stuff with Dan but she's in no state for answering questions getting carted off to the hospital yeah she doesn't have a face at the moment she comes home to more complications Annabelle has been on a painting Rampage the whole place covered in dark random patterns and circles she claims that there is someone in there within the walls that is communicating with her okay static garbles in and the creature appears momentarily interrupting the noise waiting with Beatrice at the hospital she goes to fetch some coffee and finds herself back in the in-between particle Zone Dan appears causing her to spill her drink and this time she wakes up just as he does after each of their encounters they are definitely communicating in an in-between space between their two times occurring independently or at the same time you know like all time at once that kind of whole thing she tries again two hours Beatrice for some questions and she can at least tell her that the other person that she was feeling isn't dead well obviously Dan she grabs her hand and growls in a demonic voice don't let it out yeah whatever it is let's not good idea she seeks out Steven's help but finds that he's already been placed on leave so she goes to his house and explains about the dream conversations yet she couldn't remember any specifics that is until the Seance suddenly she remembered everything about him all at once and explains that it was actually his son that she's seeing remembering Steven got put on leave he actually thought Mel was the one who filed the complaint against him as payback for something that he did six months ago a researcher put out a call looking for people with certain sensitivities calling them ball dung Mel's profile seemed to fit exactly what they were seeking including a genetic predisposition for psychic perception well there you go that at least explains some of what's been going on here being able to reach out to Dan through time and all that stuff she's got psychic powers she asked if it could be real and he doesn't rule out that it isn't but it is still almost likely in her head she knows that it's all real and can prove it thanks to her tapes and tells him she's gonna send some over back at the building she runs into Jess clutching HR of something odd but will not tell her who it's for Mel suspects it's for Samuel saying she's going to the top floor we know he lives there at the apartment there's no sign of Annabelle and goes to ask Jess about it but Mom doesn't even want her around anymore she goes back and re-watches the Seance footage and the tape gets distorted hearing strange voices a demonic starl rings out and it appears to her briefly she packs up the tape and ships it to Steve and it is definitely not all in her mind that is for sure by now Jess does come by and tells her she knows where Annabelle is at Cassandra's understandably worried Cassandra turns the blame on her always smothering her friend here she can have the freedom to find herself in need of more space to work she also set her up with an apartment on the sixth floor that one place Smith warnered her to avoid at all costs jeez wonder what's going on up there time to find out she finds Annabelle completely consumed in her work and she seems kind of changed in a way beeming that the building is special it speaks to me and really feels connected with something here Mel on the other hand thinks that it is time to leave finding Julia or not this place has become way too unsafe Annabelle's too far gone gushing doer that Cassandra got her a spot in a local art show go and pushes her out of the door so she can get back to painting she hears that distinct chanting coming from behind another door which we see oddly locks on the outside trying to keep something in you know what I mean the place is a rundown hobble they're also noticing a strange black shimmering substance growing on the walls she is startled by a group of people all hunched over appearing strung out and another group is in a circle chanting together in the kitchen they all stop and stare at her menacingly and another dude pops up asking if Russo sent her Smith enters reminding her of what he said scooping the man away Mel tries to get more info from him but he's characteristically tight-lipped he does at least explain what's up with the hovel people they're all addicts in a kind of penance for losing his sister to drugs Sam leases out the floor to keep them warm and safe see he's doing a good thing definitely not a bad guy at all new wait back in a room that same junkie guy Chris appears on the fire escape and when she mentions Julia he tells her that he can help as long as she helps him too he sits down to be taped and he can't exactly remember how long he's been here he calls the drugs they take Stardust that's what brought them here and what keeps them here as well it's actually made from that shimmering mold that she saw upstairs saying that it runs through the building like dark veins you take one hit and it's like a whole nother World opens up when she tries to ask what he knows about Julia he is not much help whatsoever and even if she had been here he would have remembered her because all the drugs thanks for the help swiss cheese brain he is distracted by a sound coming from the wall and hums along with our favorite song it starts affecting her and she tries to get back to the point but he will not tell her more unless she can get him a bed down at the church he does want to get clean he claims and get out of here once and for all he worries that if he doesn't get out of here soon the ferryman's gonna come drag him and everyone else here to Hell ferryman Karen Karen Knight more on that later no time with the present and Mel heads down to the church where she's shocked to see a vigil for Russo a lady telling him that he fell in front of a train late last night well that doesn't sound suspicious she burst into his office to poke around and when finding his keys it's right to that secret log cabinet we discover that Russo was a lot more aware of all the Stranges at the visitor and its history there's a blueprint of the building along with a timeline the Vos Mansion completed in 1920 then the vast Society in 1924 along with the comet Karen and gas explosion also in 1924. then as Mel mentioned when first coming to the visitor the apartment was actually built right on top of the Vos Mansion sounds like weird religious cult stuff has been going on on these grounds for a long time she also finds a book there on occult and demonology and when flipping through the pages finds the exact statue from the cabinet listed it represents kalego both a God and Demon according to the legend and is definitely the white guy that pops up in the screens and everything yep in another books pages she stumbles across another surprise there are various Pages showing different identities for Samuel telling us he's been lying about himself from the very beginning digging deeper into the witchcraft book there's another familiar term the ball done cult as Steven mentioned she sees a symbol and realizes it's the exact same one from her brother's Necklace meaning she must have been somehow involved in this baldong cult the massive Revelations all piling up quickly she has to run and hide when Sam comes in probably looking for what she just took at least he does rip off the last note about the train meeting from Russo's calendar implying he's covering his own tracks that's a train joke she rushes to a payphone to tell Stephen everything about her mom and the ball dung when handing up Dan appears there briefly in the reflection her pager starts buzzing and it's Annabelle Mel totally forgot all about her big art show arriving at the gallery she gratefully gulps down the free wine to calmer nerves Annabelle gives her grief for being late but she's got her mind still on the viscer telling her that we are leaving tonight Annabelle is kind of off on her own planet now and drags her over to check out her many pieces there are all dark portraits of what seems to be this same woman Annabelle doesn't even know who the woman is but again knows that she's in there and she is the one communicating with her Mel is still not getting it Annabelle scoffing you know the other plays the paint lets you see it she boasts that she's a real life Spirit receiver herself now Mel goes to touch the paint and now knows that it is too made from the viscers special mold mix across the way Annabelle gets into an argument Yelling to the dealer that her paintings are for sale you'd think she'd be happy they sold but not so much she starts ripping them off the walls and grows aggravated even shoving Mel to the ground groaning Cassandra is right she's always smothering her we seems like something in that mold stuff kind of changed her quite a bit she runs into Sam and tries to get to the bottom of all of his Mysteries the junkies the fake names along with the possibility that he killed Russo because he figured him out he plays it all off completely accusing her that she must be on drugs or something out of nowhere Chris's body plummets to the Earth passerby start gathering around and next to Sam there's another surprise Rising visitor Virgil stepping out to join the onlookers Dan is perplexed once more and addresses Virgil directly through the camera calling him a liar and screams to know who he really is Virgil does show up later and divulges at least another layer to his ever deepening plan he's never going to tell you the truth completely Dan Sam was his brother lamenting that he had potential but channeled it into all the wrong places it's Virgil's belief that Melody actually killed Sam and that the proof is somewhere in the footage as for the whole supposed cult thing he dismisses it all as harmless some knickknacks and a bunch of gullible people and it was Mal that got in her head about Julia living there and when she couldn't find her it says that she turned her rage on to Samuel even that she's the one that set the fire that killed him and the others Dan refuses to believe she'd ever do that again truly feeling that he knows her after watching so many hours of footage but Virgil maintains his own feelings even entertaining the notion that Bell also set the fire at his house I mean I could be I guess right there was something weird going on with her and Stephen he doesn't know for sure the only way as Virgil tells him is to finish the tapes maybe that way they can both get closure our next vintage video is the opening scene of William Cress lost Circle movie it does feel right out of the Twilight Zone concerning the idea of a world other than our own if that world exists it's believed at the center of it is the circle the title fading on screen so we know his film was based on a real film and so this definitely is a situation we've got Brewing on our hands here trying to reach another dimension Dan finally confronts the pass via repairing the tape that his dad left him is Steven wishing him a happy birthday before launching into a Showcase of classic flicks so he can watch all the hits on his own he gets a call from Mark who has made his way to the facility worried as he hasn't heard from him recently Dan lets him down that he can't let him in and about to walk off Mark tells him that he found Thomas Bellows he did work here a few years back and his job was to go through a bunch of old soap opera tapes obviously Patricia is aforementioned substantial collection apparently he suffered from paranoid delusions ever since and some time later wound up in a fatal car wreck now Mark is worrying the same thing is happening to him he insists as always that he's fine and proceeds to take out every camera in the house Virgil watching it all not look into pleased but come on you know this guy he's got secret cameras too right looks like he's only got one last tape to get through which starts on the floor then panning up to Mel asleep in bed meaning someone else is filming her she wakes up looking confused by her surroundings and after seeing the fresh tape plays back the alarming footage she finds a package now knowing that she's at Sam's Place and I bet he was the one taping her too we know you're actually a weirdo dude just a minute the cops want to ask her some questions about Chris's death and she takes the opportunity to blame Sam for everything but the proof that she has is somehow no longer in her bag that crafty bastard must have stolen it she keeps rambling and sounds not exactly credible again being asked if she's the one on drugs she gets a call learning that Annabelle has been taken to a mental health facility apparently during her freak out she broke the gallery owner's jaw and style with a nail heesh lady in a day she says that she has a message that she's here but doesn't reveal who exactly it is but doc knows she was hallucinating but according to the toxicology reports it's not because of drugs this leaves Mel wondering if somehow the mold could be behind it and he says it is possible a neurotoxin could cause similar episodes well there you go psychedelic mold she storms over to Cassandra is blaming her for what happened as she gave her the pain in the first place it was also her that purchased the paintings proudly saying that her friend has become a true Spirit receiver and opened a door Jess steps in looking worried at the tent scene and Mel tries to get her to leave with her she doesn't budge saying that according to Samuel she shouldn't see her anymore she dubs him a liar and feebly tries to convince her Cass and Sam are actually good people she gets closer scaring Jess and causing her to drop her tea Mel then realizes Cask must have been dosing just the mold in the tea she knows at least that that jar she saw earlier must have Bend The Bold and even after the weirdness Jess still agrees to help her get a sample she descends down into the basement and sees that the mold has covered the entire walls down here and inlaid are an abundance of circle patterns again as Kress said the circle must be the origin of the door she removes some from the wall hearing that same Wheezy chanting kick in there's another door there sounding like where the noises are emanating from she spins back to Samuel then the tape gets eaten he pulls it out and somehow the mold has completely infected it the same goes for the tape deck now covered in the black shimmering Mass he calls Virgil and is sounding even crazier than ever him turning this into a potential mental emergency Dan is Resolute that he's fine and Virgil then calmly reminds him that he requested a backup deck he finds it along with an old digital camera learning that it belonged to Terry he too kept a video log for his girlfriend detailing his time at the facility he also doesn't understand the importance of digitizing these shitty old soap operas but was his duty anyway no it doesn't matter much it was his along with his girlfriend's initials carved into the pews so he must have also started exploring like Dan and found the chapel he also soon starts going nuts and complains the job is sucking the life out of him but stays strong thanks to the promise of all that cash at the end as we also know he found the code to the Wellspring room and after driving into the info there determines that it's actually all just a front for collecting personal data and believes that Virgil was actually looking for someone specifically even more alarmingly he finds a massive fridge full of blood containers wondering what the hell that's for he breaks down further later sobbing about a face that he saw on the screen thinking that it was watching him he groans [ __ ] you Patricia and your tapes what did you do sounds like just like with Mel's tapes Patricia's were kind of cursed in a way as they also originated in the visitor Dan brings up her old interview that confirms this notion her saying again that she felt there was a message for her in them sick of all the secrets dance crashes his way into the other room and pulls out one tape marked lmg he removes a label seeing the original underneath now knowing for sure that these are all Patricia's tapes he catches mark up on Thomas's unraveling as well as the connection with the tapes but the call suddenly cuts off and Bobby as usual rolls out of nowhere he brings up Thomas and she warns him not to make the same mistake he did finish the job and walk away at an Arty looking Indie bookstore Mark is there waiting for none other than jail AKA Dan's ax he's heard rumored that Evie Crest suffered a stroke and since passing they're going to sell off all of William's sought after collection he somehow knows that she got them and implies the only reason she knows about any of this is due to Dan's obsession with the circle movie she calls Crest a real Nutter into all kinds of strange things but this stuff is different the papers are all about an obscure cult in New York any guesses as to the name yep the boss Society although they didn't seem to make much of a long-term impact she shows off a picture of the Boss family led by Iris who came over from Europe after World War one and it was their house that burned down on top of which the viscer was built then there is his other inspiration the supposed snuff film and she doesn't have the original but does at least have a copy they can get a look at we can make out a group in a room and someone pours blood onto the kaligo statue it seems that word of it being cursed is well known as three other archive places turned down the collection Mark smirks well it's your lucky day as he's gonna take it all off her hands Dan motivates himself to just finish this thing and picks up right at the breaking point as for showing up in his apartment Sam says that she find it and without a key to her place simply carried her to his he landly apologizes if this scared her but didn't want to leave her out on the street you know she asked him about the mold everywhere down here any unbelievably keeps playing dumb guessing it must be water damage or something Mel knows better calling his bluff he's been scraping the stuff off the walls and using it to poison people and asks again what it is he finally lets the nice guy facade drop chuckling that it's proof of their devotion a manifestation of the Divine the body and blood he calls her over with something to show her knowing that she's been searching for answers her whole life and claims he has them if she's willing to listen at the tease of that he brings her into another room the room is the same one from that Old footage with Iris hearing that ever-present tune start up he tells her that it's not a song but rather a prayer and he's well aware that it is painful to her and he reveals that he was looking for her this whole time it was due to her reaction that night at the Opera that's how he knew for sure that she was who he was looking for Sam scoffs at the word cult giving them the hottier title of pioneers of the imagination voyagers and Sears then it's time for the big question regarding her mom and he does have the answer but it's not one that she'll like he never actually knew her mom ever and she never lived here it was him that sent the letter to the convent knowing that her mother would be enough to lure her here and it was all thanks to Steven's tip in the research thing that he was able to find her in the first place him being the researcher that he discussed previously he also does know the history of her name and who she is a ball dung and there's not many left of them out there he's confident this time that they'll succeed and all time will be as one he continues that he is merely a link in the chain a keeper of the flame and flips on the projector to the same ritual with Iris she slits a lady's throat and lifts her arms beginning to chant Mel is terrified thinking this means they're going to kill her but Sam clarifies they can't they need her for the ritual besides a vessel has already been chosen and it's capable of holding an entire new world inside of them offering that she'll even be reunited with her mother there Mel is on edge growling for him to [ __ ] off Dan watches as she flees back to her apartment and breaks down on the bed can't really blame her there are a lot going on around here but it is her mom that hits her the most thinking that her entire Journey and search was for nothing she decides now is finally the time to leave but Sam's words give her paws the birth of the new world thing being exactly what Jazz told her always back and she figures out that she must have been selected to be the group's vessel well so much for leaving because she is definitely not going to leave Jess behind at their apartment only Tamara is there but it definitely looks emptied of all their belongings she runs back into the Hall bringing us back to the beginning with full context this time she cries that they took her and runs into Smith the other way Sam is there blocking her calmly telling her that Jess is gone and suggests to go talk someplace quiet she's not falling for it anymore but is stopped in her tracks by the attendance coming for her she records her plea for help and tries to run as Steven enters promising everything is gonna be fine the guy grabs her and she drops the camera Steven giving Sam a knowing look on the way out Dan rewinds and static takes over revealing kalego once more he pushes his face through the screen and Dan retrieves his trusty wrench to smash it the entity simply moves to another and then another starting to step out into the real world but Dan manages to smash it every time before he can he next unleashes his destruction on the entire collection of tapes on a swing back he cracks into another Hollow spot in the wall seeing these sparkling mold on the other side he pushes over the shelves uncovering a door underneath and climbs down seeing that he's at the same stairs we just saw Sam and melat meaning the boss ritual room is now under the facility or is perhaps an exact Recreation entering the area monitors are there looping a bunch of clips of Melody noticing some strange high-tech equipment on the wall and the tape start looping into one moment Melody's initial cry for hell that led Dan down this whole crazy Journey all to try and prevent her death or at least find out what happened about to bash the screen he turns back and is knocked out by an unknown assailant before we see what happens we shift gears to another lingering question of things the care uncommon an old film reel tells us that it comes every 70 years it's briefly visible from Earth before it disappears again into space it was named Karen after the fairy man of Hades who carries Souls into the Afterlife was first discovered in the 1700s and evidence suggests that it was actually once part of a cosmic pair and that its twin Comet at some point crashed on Earth leaving karenite here which is a rare precious gemstone but now we know where cass's necklace came from along with that Comet pin we saw in their collection it's actually made from this gemstone and tied directly to the Karen Comet Dan gas awake in his old bed and when checking his head there's strangely no sign of injury he flashes his teeth seeing they're all black covered in the viscer's mold he starts vomiting up a bunch of black stuff and wakes up again oh no the dreaded double dream he digs through his stuff but can't find his phone asking a neighbor to borrow his a call to lmge goes straight to voicemail so he decides to visit in person Virgil appears on a screen thanking him for his excellent work but Dan demands to know how he wound up back here Virgil continues the he went nuts narrative saying that he must have been pushed too far and was simply exhausted everything is all backed up by the doctor's paperwork that he has he fires off a list of questions the underground chamber why is he digitizing the tapes and Virgil continues to maintain the crazy angle bringing up that he has footage of him destroying all of his equipment telling him to take the money and go back to his life see I told you he has secret cameras secret Seekers Virgil well not much you can do there definitely got [ __ ] over by Virgil it's important to note here that it must have been Virgil or someone that works for him that drugged him and brought him home as Dan got too close to something that he didn't want him to and presumably it was also Virgil that built the ritual room himself it doesn't make any sense for anyone else who have meaning that he was lying also the entire time and knew exactly what the tapes and Colts were all about from the beginning I mean how the hell else would we even known about the room in the first place he's playing dumb he's not dumb Dan returns home and reunites with Mark happy to see him still with the SD card in his pocket he plays in Thomas's footage and brings up again that they both saw something which he can only describe as not human kalego yes please mark knows that it is possible as people believe film can capture things that we don't see like ghosts or demons and he's got something to show him showing off the freshly acquired William Cress collection he found out that Evie died after sending him that first tape and she was apparently obsessed with the boss Society just like her dad he knows that they were into human sacrifice and used an instruction manual from the ball dung line of witches all with the intent of resurrecting kalego according to him most are looking to see lost family but boss wanted something else he shows a photo of Iris wearing Cassandra's Comet necklace and Dan now recognizes her too realizing that's who Annabelle has been painting the woman reaching out to her from within the walls as she describes within flashback to 19 ticket E4 getting to see Iris and the boss Society in action we pretty much know things aren't going to turn our so well so when they meet the young naive Rose to come work for the family we already suspect that she's going to be acting as their vessel she comes along with her own tragic backstory having lost her whole family on The Voyage to America and just as with Sam Iris promises that she can see them again it's an even more direct connection when Iris encourages that she is capable of holding a whole world inside of her yep you have [ __ ] girl as for Iris it's a child that she's after as her husband died in the war her brother enters with another necessary piece to the ritual the kaligo statue there's a lot of stuff to keep track of here including the Karen comet passing by them knowing that it will be soon close enough to see again as she's holding a big party to celebrate all the good luck and Fortune supposedly it will bring winking along with the thinning of the Bale Between Worlds this seems to be the comet's main function in the ritual actually bringing our worlds closer together for a brief moment for them to see the Palm she shuffles the guests in to take in the Statue knowing their father would be proud so this thing must have originally started with him back in the old world and the kids kept going they chime on tuning forks and she starts to call out to kaligo all being photographed by a dude which of course becomes the spirit photos that Mark is now in possession of When developing them iris is now confident that they have proof their ritual is working he must be with us Iris spells it out for a rose about the other world there their God can grant all kinds of stuff and see everything too Rose realizing it's not just another world but a whole other God yep later the girl is seen tending to black mold growing in the ground telling Iris of its strange patterns again this as Ira says is their God's body and blood pushing through the veil that separates us kaligo is reaching out to him she wakes up later hacking up black stuff and is most likely being fed the mold too she comes to a cloaked woman taking a book and we find out the woman is Bal dung she goes on they mistakenly release the god once and it nearly destroyed everything so they now work to make sure it never happens again Kaliko is no savior but a force of complete and total Destruction Jonah steps out with a gun at the ready and when she goes to like the book he fires a fatal shot upon her iris is upset as we know they need one of her kind but now it is too late to find another well that could be one reason your ritual gets screwed up just as Sam needs Mel Rose is worried about what they're doing but iris is able to easily manipulate her into believing that they are both Sears she shows her the comet via telescope and the girl is beaming with excitement it's funny just how similar the relationship here is between them and their equivalent between Sam and Jess then there's another problem her turn code brother who's had enough of all the Bloodshed and death even the people she's using as so-called human batteries for her jailbreak they don't know they're gonna die they think it's just a party asking if it's all worth it for a child she maintains this is what their father would have wanted for all of us apparently also spending his life on the subject he interjects that the reality is he's dead her desire to be with him again goes against nature itself it's not up to a god save us but Humanity has to figure out their own problems along with that Iris composes herself and gives a toast to the great comment and all the heavens and night skies she then cues the band to play v-tune which is appropriately called other worlds but along the nose there huh as everyone cuts a rug Iris leads Rose down to the ritual room and they're asked to consecrate this moment this night sky with the great Comet so the fairy man can show us a path through the veil everyone puts on their masks adorned with the baldong symbol also like Tamara's Opera thing they began chanting and call out to the God we are your true receivers she drips a blood goblet onto the statue nourishing the ground in his name and asked him to forge a passage into the other world now it's Rose's turn to fulfill her purpose asking to empty this vessel to make way for him this body is yours now she slits her throat Rose immediately collapsing Iris continues unite Our Two Worlds as one and bring forth his dominion over Earth now a glowing kind of electrical tunnel descends on on the circle and envelops her Dan and Mark are well aware that Sam is trying to recreate the same ritual but still don't know what happened to Melody and think of one last name that they haven't looked into Annabelle Mark thinks that it's maybe best to just leave this whole thing alone at this point kind of gotten out of hand here but Dan is insistent he needs to know what happened they stole Melody's life and he is here to give it meaning that's enough to convince Mark and they are shocked to find she's been in the same facility all these years she opens the door and appears to have been expecting them asking what took so long melody 2 has been waiting seeing that her latest subjects are now her friend's face over and over and tells him that she's in the other world just like Iris was and they need to get her out we pick up from an even lower res camera than we're used to coming from Jess's toy camera she tells her that when she grows up she wants to fly away and be a bird but when turning the question on Mel she hesitates to answer implying that her Fate has yet to be sealed Mala is still being held at Rockport and Steven comes in apologizing saying this is the old only way to keep them safe he watched the tapes and recognized the man as the researcher but going by Alex Davenport he still doesn't want to be locked up she explains about how he basically groomed Jess for years and they have to help her he seems to relent to letter leave but has someone to show her first bringing her to Annabelle's room still scribbling away on pictures of Iris they appear to have gotten tricked Steven locking them in the room but again he actually thinks he's helping them by forcing her to not be able to go back to the visitor Mel can recognize Iris now and when finding out about her Annabelle starts frantically scratching out her face again confirming that she's not dead but in the other world and wants to come home tonight she knows because Cassandra told her the Karen comet is looming high in the sky Mel tells her sorry for [ __ ] things up but will not give up on Jess Dan asked again about his dad was he really trying to help and he was at least according to Mel she also knows that she didn't die either now just like Iris wants to come home and needs Dan to find her she meant mentions another Survivor Jess who changed her name and is now a nun in Haiti she left behind a bag of tapes before she left they had first tried to play them as audio cassettes but Dan realizes it's not audio but video used by that specific pixel vision camera he luckily has one in his collection and the footage picks up with a question to Mel tentatively saying that she just wants to be happy on another we see its Mel having found Jess's camera them realizing that she must have gone back after all she declares herself of sound mind and blames Sam for all of his various wrongdoings if something happens he's responsible she uses a key to access the sixth floor and here's Jess in a locked apartment she passes through the druggie Lair and climbs out to the neighboring apartment just insists that she doesn't want to go they need her but Mel shoots straight with her whatever they said was a lie and they are going to kill her she naively thinks that they wouldn't do that no knowing that's exactly why they chose you you're naive as for her mom she doesn't know but according to the others she'll be waiting for her and I'm all uh-huh yeah they killed her already right she convinces Jess to get out of here and wait at the nearby police station just as Smith comes busting in surprises here figuring out what she did he gets violent and knocks her out she comes to in the ritual room Sam happy to see that she made her way home they already know about Jess leaving but it's okay they have a new vessel already in Tamara and it's time to get the party started they clang on the tuning forks and everyone starts humming our favorite song Sam starts reading from the book as everyone Dons their masks a guy drags her to the Statue malfuriously trying to fight back Sam cuts her Palm bleeding onto the statue which fills in its various orifices he calls forth Tamra thanking her for being a vessel and stuff right before slitting her throat a loud whooshing rushes in accompanied by a blue glow and the tunnel returns Iris manifests inside to Sam's confusion and Jeff screams out for Mel watching from the stairs she tells her to run and Sam grabs her arm the three sucked into the portal before it vanishes away Justice camera is a haze of cosmic energy as you flees overtaken by white noise after this Mark does a very helpful recap of our major events Iris says ritual something went wrong Mansion collapses everyone dies Flash Forward to 94 and Sam tries the same thing including Mal as the unwilling balls on witch still resulting in the same disaster according to them they are getting a glimpse into kaligo's Homeworld and the door that they open is where are the two Dimensions intersect perhaps the visions and waking dreams are a way of her reaching out through this Veil Dan thinks that she must be trapped in the other world and for some reason things that Verger will help him execute his rescue plan he of course has no interest in even talking to him until Dan brings up they found another tape and entices him that it features the end of his brother's story he shows him a little bit but before spilling all of his beans Dan's got some burning questions for him starting with it he must have known what was on the taste right he still says that it isn't true only knowing that Mel was shooting footage of Sam and his cult he knew that he was searching for the Voss not film in order to open a door and even told Virgil all about his intention but he thought he was crazy he takes in the power of film being able to capture moments for eternity that we were never meant to have and wonders what else can we scoop up that can't be seen a glimpse into another world he considers he only recently procured the tapes after popping up at an auction in Jersey last year and it was Stephen that put them there probably due to their dangerous nature trying to get him away from everybody either way Virgil says this was her mistake because this is what caused their house to get burned down see again the dude's like the biggest liar on the planet couple episodes ago he's like maybe Mel's out your house on fire and now he's like oh yeah it's this other stuff Virgil does reveal that there are two opposing forces at play those who will do anything to bring the demon into the world and others who want to prevent this from happening as we saw back in 24 his family paid the price they were basically caught in the middle and as for Dan's Escape it was entirely accidental he brings up his belief that Mel is trapped in the other world but thinks it's impossible as humans can't survive there no one can for any length of time he reveals a bit more about his Ambitions that he spent 20 years trying to access these Powers Dan interjects that his brother is in there too showing the rest of the footage with everyone Vanishing we can save them both he Gravely States Virgil sniffs that his brother was an egomaniac and sees no reason to free him from the tomb that he trapped himself within Dan loses it and attacks him but Virgil UPS the ante with a big old gun he tells him that he did really like him and about to shoot is felled by a surprise attack for Mark good timing dude Dan knows they have everything here already they need to do the ritual first taking some blood and he appears confident that he knows what he's doing there's also a lot of other important things to check out the list to make sure it works and as for the room Dan thinks they must have installed karenite panels to replace the die in common well that way you could do the ritual all the time wouldn't have to wait 70 years Mark reminds him that things have ended twice so far in total failure and there is no way he's going to let him slit his throat but Dan clarifies that he's not trying to bring back kalego but merely to open a door just about to get started they encounter another roadblock when Bobby appears also holding a gun on Mark she accuses him of wanting to hijack this thing and he tells her that he's just trying to help someone who is trapped he wants to know why he's willing to risk his life for a stranger but as always he truly feels that he knows Mel by now and the two did even manage to find each other across time and everything so it's got you know it's kind of a bond Bobby reveals that the others thought that they had everything but they were wrong producing a different tuning fork and they put together that she must be a ball done and even more revelatory is actually Julia Mal's mom she's been right under his nose the entire time she thought that by giving her up as a kid that she'd be safe and wouldn't have to bear the burden of their bloodline admitting that she had no idea they would come looking for her she hasn't been so absent after all either and has spent the last 25 years trying to bring her back now seems to have been reaching out to Julia too saying that she dreamed of her daughter every night similar to the stuff with Dan I imagine however she doesn't have her magic anymore so she needed Virgil to be able to make this possible to make the veil thin enough to crack inside apparently that's what playing the footage like Dan did causes unraveling the spell that holds the door shut man there are a lot of steps to keep track of with this thing I'll tell you what he was just going to come out of the TV earlier and now it's like no no no at least only the comet and the [ __ ] blood and the guy and the ball dugs and then you know don't forget the ice cream after every world has its own frequency and you have to find the right one to be able to open the correct door Dan mentions what Virgil said about surviving there and she spits back he doesn't know what he's talking about there is still Kaleo to Tin with he will try to keep you there via trickery and she can only hold the tunnel open for five minutes instructing him to follow the fork sound to find his way back here the tunnel emerges and Dan steps inside appearing back in the compound and seeing that the time on his watch starts to slow coming all the way to a Full Stop in between time like I told you and The Telltale particles have reappeared the metronome clicks and he appears back in his childhood home his sister is still there playing that dang song followed by Stephen entering saying he likes that song what is it it looks like he's being presented with what he wants his family back his mom even caught him over for a nice family dinner he of course has to ask about the fire and Steven says there was no fire being assured that he's safe here offering that they can have the life that he wants Dan takes the moment in and a small smile crosses his face but flashes of Melody remind him of his purpose also knowing that this isn't real he can't have them back it does not work like that this is clearly the kind of stuff Julia was warning about with regards to colego he's trying to trick Dan into staying in this world he steps out into a hallway that looks like the visitors and navigates his way through never-ending stretching corridors and mirrored room layouts he hears the sound of a Joy Division song that Mel listened to and passes through a curtain entering into the main Chapel of Saint Joseph's he finds her nestled amongst the pews she appears surprised to see him he is able to convince her to come along after some initial hesitation of this being a trick he grabs her hand and the church Bell Tolls as the room starts to shake the lights all explode and they run from the area as it crumbles away right behind them they are back to the never-ending hallway and he doesn't get how they ended up here they were supposed to be back at the compound he sees the security cameras displayed on the TV and flips to the channel seeing the mini cameras around the house Mel is lured Away by that chanting sound and hears it coming from the vent just like the beginning of this whole thing she opens a little door and it instantly stops kaligo himself appears in the mirror and she screams insanely Dan dragging her back out into the Halls they find themselves in the mail area listening intently for the fork sound to follow everything goes completely awry when out of nowhere Samuel appears and Yanks Mel away dragging her into a portal it dissipates leaving Dan alone in the hall at least Mel finally makes it back to our world her long search for mom as there to lend a hand oml doesn't recognize her after you know 25 five years as for Dan she says she doesn't know what happened he was right next to her and then Samuel was there too she stammers Dan Rouses in a strange Hospital confused once more a nurse explains that he was the only survivor of the fire at visitor and has been out for a few days and yeah as he sees on the TV he has been shot back to 1994. and even more abundantly clear when he notices the reflections of the Twin Towers in the distance oh boy okay I get how that ending feels very confusing and leaves us with a pile of questions let's start with what we know for sure happened Mel was transported to present day while Dan somehow was sent back to 1994. but how it happened is odd since Samuel appears and grabs her into the tunnel yet he doesn't show up in the present with Mel we also don't see Iris at all either the only reason his actions make sense is if this is what Samuel wanted to happen as though there is another unknown plan that we're seeing in action here and I did think it's interesting that earlier he told Mouse he would be reunited with her mom and well look what happened he did live up to at least one of his promises after all although we have no idea of his motivation it does seem at least a big intent was to separate Mel and Dan once more across time they don't want them to be together again not sure why but their connection is obviously very strong especially at this point all of this made me really start realizing how little we actually do know about a ton of things in the show's world over the course of the Season we learn all about the Voss cult and their whole deal along with solving the mystery of Mel and what happened to her at the visitor it's also important to point out the parallel personal Journeys that Mel and Dan go through each you're kind of trying to find themselves as well as deal with lingering familial issues by the end they both have come to terms with these holes in their past Mal reunites where their mom finds out her lineage as a ball done and Dan learns that his dad was indeed a good person just trying to help but he also has to learn in the other world to finally let go of his family they can't come back despite what iris and the others are are trying to do that flies in the face of this concept again not natural like her brother said these character arcs are completed and Main Mysteries are solved but it honestly feels like there's even more unknown than known at this point all kind of emanating from the outer edges of what has been developed that was my big takeaway from the ending we don't know exactly how that went down because we simply don't have enough information we're just scratching the surface of this world as just one example that kept kind of rolling around in my head who built the viscer in the first place obviously the Vos family built their mansion but after the failed ritual presumably they're all gone at least their leader is so who with ties to the cult was still alive and built the apartment building it implies that there's a whole other group out there beyond what we've seen that has been keeping the evoss society's ideals alive maybe her brother that bailed that night had a change of heart about what his sister was doing or something like that and of course somebody had to burn Dan's family's house down so somebody's out there regardless someone that knew about the cult had to have Bill the visitor knowing of its power and of course including the symbol on the exterior but who again just one little underdeveloped aspect that unravels a much bigger mystery with huge potential implications probably the biggest questions surround the animatic Virgil I mean this guy is so full of beans you never know if he's telling you the whole truth at any point I mean he pretends that he doesn't know anything about what's going on but by the end says he's been trying to harness the power here for two decades quite a shift you know he also must have been the one who rated the remains of the visitor and collected all the various artifacts needed for the ritual like the statue and the witchcraft book then of course he must also be the one who recreated the Vos ritual room under the facility no one else could have been behind it even as Dan points out the walls in the new room are made of karenite to stand in place for the Karen Comet remember one of the things Mark mentioned lmg was into yep synthetic gemstone manufacturing and the blood fridge was already there when Thomas was at the facility prior to Dan and so far Virgil had to have known about the ritual specifics and was trying to recreate it for some time again this means he's been aware of the real deal about the cult and kaligo and everything we don't know the though because well he's lying all the time this is why I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Virgil has actually been working with his brother despite him writing him off previously it leads me to believe that the outcome in the end is exactly what Virgil and potentially Sam have been planning for from the beginning everything had to happen the way that we saw because it's only now that they are able to successfully complete the ritual thanks to Julia's special ball dung tuning fork you wouldn't have known about this without her also getting involved so again he got exactly what he wanted he finally successfully traversed through the veil between our worlds all with that same goal of somehow harnessing that power for his own means Julia also casually mentions that each world has its own frequency that must be specifically tuned into this opens up the possibility of traveling to any time or place not just to the other world something we haven't seen explored in any capacity at this point although there is this strange moment where Virgil shows up up in 1994 with his brother but he looks like he does in the present he should appear 25 years younger you know this sent me down another Rabbit Hole as maybe Virgil is actually traveling back to the past to work with his brother sometime after what we've seen so far and they figure out how to do the time traveling thing correctly there's another even wackier possibility as amongst Sam's fake identities was Virgil Samuelson seems odd that he would use his brother's name which led me to consider that maybe Virgil and Sam are actually the same person Sam being his younger self there's no real evidence beyond that one little clue to back any of this up but that would be quite a surprising development as at some point Virgil had to have founded the massive lmg company and develop it to where it is now and it makes sense in a way that they took advantage of time itself to be able to grow into the mega company we see in present day kind of like Biff and Back to the Future too or something yeah it is a lot there's perhaps less mystery as to what comes next for our leading dynamic duo as things end up a kind of flip from the original setup with Mel now having to find a way to help her pal trapped in the past but things are quite different than how they started with Mel and Dan already able to communicate directly in the dream particle realm that should make it a lot easier to help him out and I also imagine that Julia will train her daughter further to hone her baldong powers and who knows what that will make her capable of I mean it's magic for goodness sakes as for Dan while he is definitely stuck for now at 94 there is one big potential thanks to his displacement can he actually prevent the fire that took out his family we don't know the timeline of when the blister burned down and then when his house did but the possibility is certainly intriguing would he be able to prevent the fire and unleash a ripple effect through the timeline now I'm not sure how this show actually treats time travel at this point can the past change things or is this how it was always meant to be that whole competing concept and saving his fam might undermine Dan man's difficult decision to let them go after years of suffering from that trauma anyway wow so yeah there is a lot to still develop in season two and Beyond I'm honestly kind of surprised that the show hasn't been officially renewed at this point considering it topped the charts on Netflix since its debut hopefully that official announcement will come soon and we can see how the world and story will continue to develop that brings us to the conclusion of this extremely in-depth explaining video on archive 81. and don't forget before we go you can send me a requests for any movies or TV shows you'd like to see me explain by sending them my way on any of my social media Accounts at foundflix what did you guys think of archive 81 and as ending where do you see things going in season two let me know your thoughts down in the comments below make sure to like subscribe and follow thanks for watching fanflix see you next time I'm gonna go drink about three gallons of water

Channel: FoundFlix

Views: 2,965,338

Keywords: archive 81, archive 81 ending explained, ending explained, ending, explained, explanation, meaning, creature, trailer, clip, final scene, end scene, season 2, netflix, kaelego, breakdown, review, kharon, foundflix ending explained, foundflix

Id: OADE_5fErgo

Length: 81min 16sec (4876 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 01 2022