The Doorway

**The Doorway** is the ninth episode of fifth season of Syfy's *Van Helsing* and the sixty-first episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

Vanessa wills Axel into the Dark Realm where they both discover secrets of their past that may help them in the future.

## Plot

Axel and Violet set up camp in an open field. Axel encourages Violet to sleep, as she hasn’t for the past couple nights, but she insists that she will take watch, as she has been unable to sleep since Julius’ death, which she blames herself for. Amazed by her stubbornness, "You’re just like your mother," Axel remarks.

While sleeping near the fire, Axel is pulled into the Dark Realm, where he makes contact with a demonic shadow creature. It stares at him before fleeing behind a door sitting in the middle of the field. Axel then finds Vanessa bleeding out on the ground from having had her throat slashed.

Axel carries Vanessa into a nearby farm house and places her on the couch. As she heals, she asks him how did he get into the Dark Realm, but Axel isn't sure, asking where is here exactly. Vanessa suspects that the Dark One reconstructed this place from her past to torment her. The creature Axel saw was just some kind of guard dog to keep her from escaping through the door. She’s been trying for the door, as she keeps getting pulled to it, but everytime she tries, the creature comes out to stop here. For Vanessa, it's been hard to keep track of how long she's been there. Axel asks why they are at a farm house. Vanessa explains that it’s the same house where Sam killed Susan, and where she should’ve killed Sam.

Flashback to the day of Susan’s death; Vanessa finds her body in the woods and cries out in frustration. She then returns to the farm house and holds Sam at gunpoint before leading him into the woods with Mohamad. She tells Sam to close his eyes, but he refuses, and Sam and Mohamad begin talking in sign language. Sam explains that Susan was weak and then proceeds to tell Mohamad to tell Vanessa the truth. When he threatens to do it for Mohamad, Mohamad attacks Sam, tackling him to the ground and pummeling him. Instead of killing him immediately, Vanessa slices the back of Sam’s legs and leaves him in the woods to have a slow death. Vanessa and Mohamad return to the house and bury Susan in the yard. They then hear Sam scream from the woods, under the impression that he was killed, but rather he is bit. As a vampire, Sam begins to hunt Vanessa and Mohamad.

Axel is still questioning how he arrived in the Dark Realm, but neither he nor Vanessa have the answers. Axel then begins to worry about Violet, who is on her own now since Jack is with Ivory and Julius is dead. Axel reveals that the Dark One is held up in the White House and that they’re supposed to meet up in DC. Vanessa fears that Violet and Jack will be killed if they go up against her alone, and she can’t let that happen again. Vanessa then recalls the night she was killed by a vampire in her home and Dylan was left to fend for herself as Vanessa bled out on the floor. She then recalls when she stormed the Citadel years later and discovered that Dylan was one of Rebecca’s vampires. After escaping the Citadel with Dylan, Vanessa was forced to hurt innocent people in order to feed her. She eventually bit Dylan to turn her back. Unfortunately, her first time in the sun, Dylan turned to ashes from the experimentation that was done on her.

Vanessa is eager to try and escape through the door again, as Jack and Violet need their help, but Axel urges her to think of a plan first. Given that this is Vanessa’s mental prison, he surmises that Vanessa is the reason he’s in the Dark Realm. When the creature was attacking her, she recalls wishing Axel was there, and just like that, he appeared. It would seem that they’re always drawn to each other one way or another. Eventually, that tether got corrupted and turned into hate following Scarlett’s death, when Axel tried to kill Vanessa, but ultimately decided against it, as killing Vanessa would be killing what Scarlett sacrificed herself for. Assuming Vanessa did in fact bring Axel into the Dark Realm, she must have some control over it. Vanessa begins to think that maybe she created this place as an escape from the Dark Realm.

Assuming Vanessa did create this dreamland within the Dark Realm, Axel suspects that maybe she called him there in order to realize that she has more control than she realizes. Axel proposes that they take on the monster, but Vanessa is hesitant, even though she’s been fighting darkness since she was a child. Vanessa remembers the night she was in a car crash. Young Vanessa exited the car and was approached by a dark figure. However, she was never scared of it. It felt familiar, like a missing piece. She would see the darkness again many years later. Vanessa then remembers when Bathory tricked her into killing Scarlett as Axel watched. As much as she wanted to be, Vanessa believes that she must not be destined to be the light. Vanessa now realizes that the darkness guarding the door is herself.

Axel is hesitant but follows Vanessa out to the door nonetheless. As they approach, the darkness appears. Rather than fighting the darkness, Vanessa confronts it and tells it to get rid of the disguise. She is right, and the darkness appears to her as herself. The darkness explains that Vanessa will never defeat it. Vanessa thought that she had to defeat the darkness to become the light, but she now realizes that there is no light without darkness and that’s it’s always been apart of her. Rather than fight it, she needs to own what she is. Vanessa declares that it’s time to take control of her darkness. The darkness rushes for Axel, but Vanessa grabs it and merges with it. The blast from the merge sends Axel falling to the ground, but he makes it back to his feet. The door then opens leading to a portal. Vanessa agrees to meet Axel in DC before sending him back to his body.

Axel awakens to find Violet shaking him hectically, as she explains that she wouldn't wake up. He reveals to Violet that Vanessa is back. Violet questions why Vanessa didn’t come back with Axel, so they could go together, but Axel isn’t sure of her plan. Violet worries that the darkness may take control of her and questions Vanessa's plan, but Axel simply urges Violet to trust her mother.

Vanessa arrives in DC from the Dark Realm. She has some how developed the ability to shape shift and turns into another woman.

## Cast

* Jonathan Scarfe as Axel Miller
* Christopher Heyerdahl as Sam
* Aleks Paunovic as Julius
* Rukiya Bernard as Doc
* Keeya King as Violet
* Jesse Stanley as Bathory
* Laura Mennell as Rebecca
* Hilary Jardine as Susan Jackson

Guest Star* Trezzo Mahoro as Mohamad

Supporting* Hannah Cheramy as Dylan
* Alexa Grace Arlitt as Young Vanessa
* Patricia Cullen as Valerie Seward
* Michael Patrick Denis as Ted Seward
* Sandy Robson as Daniel
* Rob 'Sluggo' Boyce as Balthazar

## Gallery

### Videos

Van Helsing 5x09 Promo "The Doorway"Vanessa Faces the Darkness in Herself - Van Helsing - SYFYVanessa’s Flashbacks Reveal More About The Darkness - Van Helsing - SYFY