Coming Back

**Coming Back** is the fourth episode of the first season of Syfy's *Van Helsing*.

## Synopsis

Vanessa and Mohamad head into the vampire-controlled streets in search of Vanessa's daughter; Cynthia is found dead at the hospital, and Doc thinks her apparent suicide is actually a deliberate murder; Vanessa is captured by vampires.

## Plot

Dozens of people can be seen both in and around some kind of warehouse, this is where the vampire keep the humans in order to feed on them. A woman, later identified as Sheema (Mohamad's sister), a member of the Portland Human Resistance manages to sneak past everyone and make her way through the ventilation system.

As Shemma does so, she stumbles upon Rebecca having sex with her human lover, after climaxing, he pleads to Rebecaa to keep him alive as he could still be of use, however, she sees him as nothing more than food supply, resulting in her devouring him. Rebecca can hear Shemma as she proceeds to crawl through the vents.

Doc showers, she's in disbelief that she's human again, even crying. She exits the showers to find Flesh waiting in the hallways, wondering if she's alright, Doc says that she never was and never will be, going on to say that she never asked for it, Flesh explains that he didn't either, and it doesn't get easier. Hoping to add some comfort, he explains that she was spared of never having to kill anyone, but Doc insists that she wasn't as she was stuck in a cage for months, alone, hungry, and craving something she couldn't have. Flesh agrees, but he elaborates, saying that at least she was inside, safe and taken care of, which is less than he can say for the vampire stuck out there, he had to face Julius, a powerful vampire that likes to torture and kill his victims slowly. He then says that there are others and that Julius isn't even the worst of them, but they are all brutal, reminding Doc once again that she was lucky to never have to face that.

Later that night, Doc struggles to sleep, while at the same time, Flesh continues to have nightmares, he wakes up next to the escalator screaming at what is revealed to be Cynthia's dead body hanging from a cord. The rest of the survivors find him as his screams were heard throughout the hospital.

Nicole tries to find reason as to why Cynthia would kill herself, despite being told that they were safe, John believes she was fragile, so she must have snapped, and no matter what Nicole does, she can't wish that away. As the group begins to fall apart, Mohamad reminds them that they need to stick together, in order to keep one another from falling apart.

Vanessa notices as the group is fractured, she believes that they'll either eventually turn on themselves or turn on Axel, Vanessa wants to leave, but Axel disagrees, ending the discussion and walking away.

Axel enters the exam room, watching Doc as she removes Cynthia's shoes, she wonders if Axel is going to throw her down the chute, it seems as if he is even though he'd rather give her a proper burial. Doc is surprised as she never thought of Axel as sentimental, he admits that he has sentimental side, and he believes that she has one too. Doc denies that as Axel doesn't know her as well as he thinks he does due to her being a vampire for several months, but he remembers Doc as the woman he knew for two and a half years before the incident where she was bitten in an attempt to save *Smitty*, however, unbeknownst to Axel, she was actually trying to save herself when she was bitten. Axel kept her alive that entire time because he thought between Doc and Vanessa, they can figure everything out, he only wants to help, but Doc doesn't seem interested, she then notices a scar on Cynthia's hand as she examines her.

Shemma regroups with the Resistance the next morning, Campbell, a member of the group discovers that the volcanic ash is decreasing and the new curfew issued by the vampires is proof that the sun is becoming a threat for them once more. They have two shifts of people at the power plant, the vampires are forcing them to create more cloud cover, Campbell suggests taking down the plant but Quaid feels differently, as it is too great a risk, this could result in the vampires taking action against them, Campbell believes that the risk is better than the alternative, which is working as slaves and being drained week after week.

He goes on to say "You know, I remember when people lived free, they fought for liberty, they fought for justice, our ancestors' spilled their blood to throw out their oppressors and to carve out a better future, we need to do the same thing". He'd rather die a patriot than to live another day as they have been, however, no one joins him, Quaid mentions that they don’t have any weapons, but the First National Bank is where they are kept, and Campbell wants to brake in to get them despite it being heavily guarded. She informs him that it's his choice to lead a suicide mission, but she won't join him, but Sheema does. He acknowledges that Quaid was right, he can't allow people to die for nothing.

Doc calls Axel back to the lab to show him that Cynthia is missing a finger, not only that but it was cut off after she died, she also points out the ligature marks on her neck, the rope left friction burn, instead of bruising, meaning that someone in the hospital killed Cynthia.

The survivors regroup in the cafeteria, John refuses to eat the food that Flesh has prepared as he believes that it is poisoned, moments later the fire alarm sounds as smoke breaches from underneath a door. The fire was set by Vanessa as a decoy in order to escape, Mohamad demands to join her, but she refuses as it's dangerous and he could slow him down, however, Mohamad explains that they can help each other out, Vanessa is looking for her daughter Dylan as Mohamad is looking for his sister, Sheema. Once Vanessa agrees to allow Mohamad to join her, he opens the front door as he knows about the codes that Axel keeps in his journal.

Axel is too late as he makes it to the door to discover that they're already gone. He then suits up and prepares to hunt Vanessa down and bring her back. Doc explains that he doesn't have to go as his mission is over, leaving could result in all of them being killed as they still aren't aware of Cynthia's killer, she pleads with him to stay, as he does.

He begins his interrogation with Sam in the greenhouse, questioning him about his relationship with Mohamad, but he doesn't offer much. Axel hands Sam a piece of paper that he had found on Mohamad's bed, Sam reads it and sobs, thanking Axel, who then realizes that Sam is clueless to what is taking place, but they both admit that they're scared.

Vanessa and Mohamad make their way to *Del Mar Inn*, Vanessa former place of residence, before they enter, he reminds her that what the find might not be what they're looking for. Once inside the apartment, Mohamad points out the room has been destroyed and blood is on the floor, he fears that it could be Dylan's but it's actually Vanessa's, from the night she died. Mohamad digs through the cabinets hoping to find something of use, he finds a cabinet full of food, Vanessa sits in Dylan's room crying as he does this.

After the crying is over with, the two of them sit at the table eating cans of peaches while he explains to her the difference between real life vampire mythology and the Hollywood bullshit, such as garlic, wooden stakes and shape-shifting into bats. He tells her that the last movie he saw starred Adam Sandler, she then notices a brand on his neck, Mohamad explains that the vampires gave it to him as he was once their property.

Behind a table stand is a secret compartment where Vanessa keeps a large sawed off 12-gauge shotgun, she explains that her ex-husband was all for the 2nd amendment (right to bear arms). Vanessa then notices small bloody footprints beneath the dust leading out the apartment, meaning that Dylan made it out alive.

At the hospital, Nicole is in disbelief that Cynthia was murdered, John accuses Doc of killing Cynthia herself, Axel explains that it was staged to look like a suicide. Nicole then points her finger at Flesh, as he is the one that discovered Cynthia, but he denies the accusation, claiming that he was only sleep walking. John also believes it could be Mohamad, who according to him has conveniently disappear shortly after the murder, Doc then accusing him of being racist due to the fact that his only suspects are the two black people. As Sam tries to sign to John, presumably explaining Mohamad's innocence, he loses it, yelling that he has no idea what Sam is attempting to explain. He is not the only one that is angered as Sam aggressively grabs him and pushes John against the table, resulting in John apologizing. Axel refuses to pin it on Mohamad as it could be any of them in that room.

Vanessa and Mohamad discover humans under attack as they head towards the police station in search for Dylan, Mohamad reminds her that they're suppose to be searching for his sister as well. He suggests that they don't engage in the confrontation as only more vampires will arrive, but Vanessa does so regardless, killing one vampire as the other escapes, she approaches those who are under attack, a fellow group of survivors, a man named Brendan, a woman named Catherine, a little girl named Callie, and multiple others, Vanessa offers to help them, Callie begs Vanessa not to leave her, she informs them of the hospital not too far away, and they’ll take the survivors there.

While at the compound, Julius is approached by Gustov as he is feeding from what appears to be a bleeding heart, Gustov informs him that Vanessa was spotted nearby and that she took out a feral, now she's off with a group of survivors. Julius demands that she they kill everyone with the exception of her, however, Gustov is hesitant to do so as Vanessa is strong, Julius confronts him, asking if Gustov fears Vanessa more than he does his own master, Gustov does not as he abruptly leaves. Julius' mother enters from the darkness, she's disappointed as Julius is following orders, she believes that they should keep Vanessa instead of handing her over to Dmitri, this would supposedly allow Julies to regain his place.

The survivors have gathered at the chute to say their goodbyes to Cynthia before they send her down, Nicole offers some comforting words, saying *"Sweetheart, better up to heaven than another day in this hell"*, then Sam and John throw her body down. Flesh separates Sam away from the group, explaining that they have to trust each other since no one else does.

Brendan informs Vanessa how they ended up there, he says... "we made our way from Idaho, thought it would be safer to the west, started out a group of 50, and this is all that's left." Vanessa wonders why in Seattle, he tells her about the boats and the rumors of their being a safe haven down the coast, he believes that there's a way out of it all. The vampires then begin to signal each other, in an attempt to box them all in, Mohamad says that the feeders are smart that way, much worse than ferals. Vanessa decides that they should split up as its only her they want, Mohamad is against this initially, but decides to go along with the plan.

In the kitchen, Flesh meets up with Sam for dish duty, Sam asks about the glasses that Flesh recently started wearing, he says he found them, he hasn't needed glasses since becoming a vampire, apparently that is one of the perks, illnesses being cured. He then goes go on to tell Sam what it's like to be a vampire, Flesh explains that "it happens so fast, everything that makes you human just disappears into this place of hunger, all consuming. And then the changes, strength, skin thinning, and all your sense heightened, sight, smell, taste…… yeah, hearing too. Old injures heal, I had a bad shoulder, I can feel it again now, it's good, it reminds me of who I am, what I am." Sam then asks if he misses, to which Flesh nods yes.

While under the bridge, awaiting the vampires' arrival, Vanessa is on guard, she notices Scab on top of a car, she says "You want me, here I am", then several more vampires appear out of nowhere, he informs his comrades to not fear her, Vanessa proceeds to take down several feeders, however, the odds are too much for her as the vampires eventually over come Vanessa.

Mohamad makes his way back to the hospital with the new group of survivors. As Axel comes down to the door, he is shocked to learn that Mohamad let them in, but he tells Axel to deal with it as he was forced to leave Vanessa out there by herself. Doc comes down as Brendan insists that they see someone as one of their own is injured. Sam angrily hugs Mohamad as he's furious that he left but happy that he returned.

Vanessa has been strapped down to a metal grading and muzzle her as she is carried away.

## Cast

### Starring

* Kelly Overton as Vanessa Van Helsing
* Jonathan Scarfe as Axel Miller
* Christopher Heyerdahl as Sam
* David Cubitt as John
* Vincent Gale as Flesh
* Rukiya Bernard as Doc
* Trezzo Mahoro as Mohamad

* Avery Konrad as Cynthia
* Aleks Paunovic as Julius
* Laura Mennell as Rebecca
* Terry Chen as Brendan
* Sarah Desjardins as Catherine
* Naika Toussaint as Sheema
* Jennifer Copping as Quaid
* Ben Cotton as Campbell
* Macie Juiles as Callie
* Christina Jastrzembska Mama
* Rowland Pidlubny as Scab
* John DeSantis as Gustov
* Duncan Ollerenshaw as Dr. Sholomenko

## Gallery

### Videos

Van Helsing 1x04 Promo "Coming Back" (HD)VAN HELSING Inside Season 1 Episode 4 SyfyVAN HELSING Season 1, Episode 4 'Kill Them, Capture Her' SyfyVAN HELSING Season 1, Episode 4 'Good Night, Cynthia' Syfy

## References

1. ↑ Van Helsing - Episode 1.04 - Coming Back - Promotional Photos & Synopsis