Swamp Thing S01 E06: The Price You Pay (review)

Blackmail, tricks, and half-cocked explained bargains. That’s what this Swamp Thing series is made up of. That doesn’t make it any less interesting.

Spoilers ahead

Do you remember the friendly stranger that helped Holland become one with the green last week?

I’m beginning to think he’s not so friendly after all. We meet him again this week in a flashback with Daniel Cassidy. Last week he was knocked over the head during an attack on Liz. This left him in a coma with little brain activity.

In the flashback, we’re finally somewhat exposed to his life as a stunt double in Hollywood. He’s in the middle of a gig when a “friendly stranger” that Daniel believes is a part of the directing crew starts to chat him up.

While talking to the stranger, Daniel says that he’d give anything to play Blue Devil.

Be careful how you word things, people!

The stranger takes him seriously and tells him he needs a person to make themselves available for a new job staying in Marai. He gives no specifics or time frame. They just shake hands and BOOM, “miraculously” Daniel is recast as the lead Blue Devil.

Be careful what you wish for, people!

Fast forward to now, Daniel is in a coma and a nurse walks in to administer some blue liquid into his IV line.

Apparently, Liz is a very heavy sleeper because she was right there in the room. Either she didn’t hear the nurse or she wasn’t curious enough to squint her eyes open and say, “What’s that?”

“What did they do?” – Daniel Cassidy

The blue liquid jump-starts Daniels brain activity, he wakes up, jumps up all frantic and starts burning up.

Turns out that Dr. Woodrue is behind the blue liquid with his human experimentation. That concoction was synthesized from Hollands swamp DNA and now Daniel is 3 seconds away from turning physically into Blue Devil.

Daniel runs away to find Woodrue, but he’s challenged by Avery who thinks Woodrue has figured out a brain healing cure. Not that Avery really cares. He just wants to please his investors.

The Conclave maybe?

Caroline Woodrue ends up stabbing Daniel with a tranquilizer to keep him from transforming. He ends up sedated back at the hospital where Ms. X tells him that she can’t relieve him from his destiny, but she can ease his pain.

So, him turning into a Blue Devil is inevitable. Poor guy.

“I’ll always care about you, but if you accuse me of something like this again, I won’t be so forgiving”. – Avery Sunderland

Liz ends up telling Abby about the intimidation tactics of Avery that caused Daniel to be in a coma in the first place. Abby straight up confronts Avery and tells him to stop trying to hurt people and to leave her friends alone.

That was very brave of her, but it won’t stop the wheels that are already in motion.

Abby goes to meet Holland in the woods at the same time that Matt Cable is investigating animal attacks. It’s actually not animal attacks, it’s Holland trying to ward off bounty hunters from Avery.

He’s attacked four hunters by this point which prompted Lucilia to send Matt to the sight.

Abby is too trusting! She’s suspicious of all of the right people, but still too trusting of the wrong people. We’ve seen that with her letting Woodrue see her research data and now she’s revealed Holland’s true identity to Matt! And poor Holland, he’s lost all of his important memories so all he knows is that Matt is a friend to Abby.

But honestly, Matt is being blackmailed by Avery and that blackmail is the reason that Matt attempted to kill Holland in episode one. But, the only reason he was able to be blackmailed in the first place is because of Lucilia.

YUP!

His mother is a dirty cop and even though she’s literally in bed with Avery, he threatened to out Lucilia of all of her wrongdoings if Matt didn’t do his bidding.

Yikes.

“I’m not going to give up on you. You’re still Alex Holland.” – Abby Arcane

Matt ends up leaving the woods because Abby asks him to keep Holland’s secret until she figures out how to cure him. However, I think he’s going to report back to Avery.

I really hope not. I’m rooting for you to not be a total scumbag, Matt!

This leaves Holland and Abby alone. I think pheromones surround them or something because a flower blooms in Hollands plant hand and then Abby can see Holland as his former human form.

Aww, love.

But seriously, I have some questions.

Will Matt tell Avery about Holland’s identity even though he’s technically working for him by force?

Will Lucilia stop sleeping and watching out for Avery now that he has blackmailed Matt?

Are the Conclave, Avery’s investors, and the swamp stranger related?

Previous Episode: Swamp Thing S01 E05: Drive All Night (review)