The House Within the House

**"The House Within the House"** is an episode of the series *Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency*, the fourth episode of season 2.

## Synopsis

As the team's investigation leads to a startling discovery in the long-abandoned Cardenas homestead, Bart and Panto forge an unlikely and unusual relationship. In Wendimoor, Amanda takes steps towards understanding the powers that are hidden within her.

## Plot

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Amanda Brotzman and the injured Vogel emerge from a lake and, seeing the giant half moon with a face in the daylight sky, discover that they are "somewhere else".

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Amanda and Vogel have been captured by a band of Kellum Knights, who drag them into their forest encampment and lock them in a cage wagon, which is already occupied by a boy, Farson Dengdamor, and a half-wild creature, the Beast.

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In Wendimoor, an overwhelmed and done Amanda smokes and struggles to listen to Farson explain about their circumstances, the rivalry between the Dengdamor and Trost families, and the danger posed by the Mage Kellum and his Kellum Army, and the hoped-for aid that may be provided by the witch Wakti Wapnasi and her prophecy. Interspersed in parallel, Panto Trost explains similar to his cell neighbour Bart in the Bergsberg County Sheriff's Department.

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In Wendimoor, Vogel's condition worsens and Amanda begs for help from the Kellum Knights, but they do not care and leave the encampment. Amanda has a small pararibulitis attack, electricity running through her hands and fingers. The Beast reaches out, touches her shoulder, and is thrown back. A weak Vogel feeds on Amanda, and she experiences a vision: She sees Todd at the Cardenas house in Bergsberg and calls out to him, and he in turn sees her and walks towards her. The attack ends then, and a surprised Amanda learns that the others could see the electricity too; her imaginary attack was somehow present in reality.

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At night in Wendimoor, the Knights' superior Lord Triangle Badevil arrives at the forest encampment to collect Farson. Badevil orders the other three captives killed, and prepares to carry the execution out himself by scissor sword. Vogel is the first slated to die, and Amanda apologizes for not being able to save him; Vogel gives her a weak smile and thumbs-up. Ordered to make her shut up, a Knight grabs Amanda, causing another pararibulitis attack, again manifesting electricity visible for all present, who call her a witch. Amanda weaponises this new development in her illness to attack her captors, hitting all the Knights with streams of electricity and letting Vogel feed on her, incapaciting the Knights and restoring Vogel to health. Overjoyed at their victory, Amanda and Vogel quickly look for the keys and free Farson from the cage. The three take off into the forest together, but not before Farson set free the Beast to go her own way.

Dirk, Todd, and Hobbs take Panto to a windowless room in the Cardenas house which Panto identifies as the room he first arrived in this world. Dirk pulls down a murph bed from the wall, which Panto had landed on during his arrival but which had flipped shut afterwards; Todd notes that aside from water damage the wall is solid and shows no sign of how Panto came through. Meanwhile Dirk notices the wallpaper and starts pulling it down, asking the others to help him: The bare walls reveal a long mural of childlike drawings, which Panto identifies as "Home" as Dirk smiles, vindicated.

In her home, the Mage explains his story and mission to Suzie. He has come to this world to thwart the prophecy that foretells his defeat, and has created the apprentice wand for a partner to help him with that. After first purporting to not want to harm anyone and to possess no ambitions beside leaving Bergsberg, the Mage offers her the wand back and goads her into admitting the truth: Suzie does not want to go back to a normal life, and asks the mage for her first task as his apprentice. He tells her to kill Dirk Gently.

## Behind the scenes

* The episode title refers to the "**House Within the House**" reality/pocket dimension in the Cardenas house.
* This fourth episode mirrors episode 1.04 Watkin: both feature a kind of maze, respectively the underground Springsborough maze and the other house in the Cardenas house (--Max Landis' Video Blog on Episode 2.07).

### Cast

**Starring**

* Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently
* Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman
* Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman
* Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish
* Jade Eshete as Farah Black
* Mpho Koaho as Ken
* Dustin Milligan as Hugo Friedkin
* Osric Chau as Vogel

**Guest Starring**

* Tyler Labine as Sherlock Hobbs
* Amanda Walsh as Suzie Boreton
* Christopher Russell as Panto Trost
* Izzie Steele as Tina Tevetino
* and John Hannah as The Mage

**Co-Starring**

* Ajay Friese as Farson Dengdamor
* Emily Tennant as The Beast
* Robert Lawrenson, Reese Alexander, Sean Tyson as Kellum Knights
* Jared Ager-Foster as Scott Boreton
* Christian Sloan as Lord Triangle Badevil
* Chris Eastman as Jasper
* John Stewart as Bob Boreton

**Uncredited**

* Bentley as Rapunzel the Corgi