Season 2 - Episode 84: The Empty Man Comes

## Synopsis

Sammie, Bjorn, Henry, and Oliver arrive at the Fort only to find that it is being overrun with zombies that are pulling themselves from the ground beneath the structure. Ditching any plans to try and form a circle to trap the Empty Man in, they contain Sammie in a soundproof barrier before she calls the Empty Man's name and summons him to the courtyard, trapping him in place. Bjorn mows down rows of zombies and Henry eliminates several as well while Sammie commands the Empty Man to undo the curse it's placed on Salem, Judson, and Gideon. The Empty Man does so. Sammie then commands the Empty Man to become corporeal. After the Empty Man manifests its mortal form, Henry cuts off its head. They gather themselves, realizing Salem and Judson really have returned to life and then rush down to the oubliette to check on Gideon. The undeath curse has also been lifted from him and he appears as a mix between a fish and a boy.

## Episode Description

It's the final showdown with the horrible monster that has cursed the Marlowe's for generations.

## Key Events

* Sammie summons and contains the Empty Man, commanding it to reverse the curse its placed on Gideon, Salem, and Judson and become corporeal.
* Henry cuts the head off the Empty Man, killing him, once it manifests in its mortal form.
* Salem and Judson have become alive again. Gideon is also returned to life, though he still appears as a mix of fish and boy.

## Summary

As they're flying back, Sammie realizes the Empty Man is aware she knows his name and that she used his power against him. Bjorn asks her if she can heal the scarab bite on his chest and Sammie does so. It's not long before they land in the courtyard and Bjorn begins to do first aid on the shark bite in Sammie's leg as they talk.

Bjorn asks what the deal with the scarabs was and Sammie confirms they're tied to the Empty Man. They quickly realize that Sammie is going to be the Empty Man's next target as she's the one that knows his name and holds power over him. They discuss what to do next and decide they need to do some research on how to contain the Empty Man, proposing a witch circle of sorts meant for fae. Henry says he needs to talk to Stanley about what's happened and heads inside while Bjorn continues to work on Sammie's leg.

Henry starts walking down the hall and suddenly hears shouting that he recognizes as Stanley coming from the kitchen. Ben and Salem's heads pop out of their bedroom doors. Henry starts to run down toward the kitchen. The door to the kitchen bursts opens and Stanley runs out, pursued by zombies. They don't look like the zombies they've faced before - they look like something else. Henry runs down the hall to Miguel's workshop to grab him and help push him out. Ben and Salem are running down to get to the ladder for the courtyard entrance. Henry hands Miguel off to Stanley and then turns to shoot at the zombies pursuing them. He shoots the closest one, lodging a bullet in his chest and neck. It falls over into the one beside it and they both topple to the ground. Henry turns to run toward the ladder.

Bjorn is trying to heal Sammie's leg but it just seems to be getting worse. The hatch to the courtyard bursts open and Ben tells Bjorn there are zombies in the Fort. Ben, with an invisible Masa, and Salem pull themselves out of the hatch before Bjorn goes to help Stanley pull Miguel up and out. Stanley sees Sammie's leg and asks what happened before Bjorn pushes past Stanley and starts down the ladder. Sammie hands the thermos with River's remains to Oliver and asks him to keep them safe before she crawls down the ladder as well.

In the Fort, Henry tells them they can handle the zombies if he wants but he's heading above ground. Bjorn and Sammie walk down the hall and Bjorn mows down a row of zombies with his assault rifle. They continue to walk down the hall and clear the rooms of zombies. Bjorn looks into an open room and realizes the stone floor is being broken open from underneath and the zombies are pulling themselves out from below ground. Bjorn tells Sammie that they need to get above ground where they're not as vulnerable to attack. They run toward the ladder and hear a screeching from the oubliette. They decide to check on Gideon before they leave. Bjorn opens the door to peak inside and sees bits of zombies shredded everywhere. He watches Gideon tear a zombie apart with his hands. Bjorn quickly shuts the door and tells Sammie Gideon's alright. They run back to the ladder and head to the courtyard.

Henry, in the courtyard with the others, asks how the zombies got there and Stanley says they burst through the ground. Henry starts to try and tell Stanley what happened but can't. Oliver adds that it's River. Together they tell Stanley and the others what happened. When they finish, Bjorn and Sammie come back up through the courtyard hatch. They try to figure out what to do, realizing they don't have time to create a circle. Henry asks Sammie if she can summon the Empty Man here and hold him there but Sammie isn't sure. Bjorn points out River told Sammie the Empty Man's true name for a reason. Oliver adds that Sammie is probably the best person to summon and try to contain the Empty Man. Sammie comments that River trusted her and looks down at her ash-covered hands.

Henry says that Sammie will need to summon the Empty Man here. Sammie says she'll try but she needs to have some kind of sound proof barrier around her so that no one else will hear his name. Miguel says he can do that for her. Miguel, Oliver, Ben, and Salem hide behind a nearby pile of rubble. Henry gives Stanley his gun so he has something to protect the group behind the rubble with. Bjorn clarifies what their plan is before they begin. He asks if they're summoning him, having him reverse the undeath curse on Gideon, Salem, and Judson, and then have him end himself. Henry says he's planning on killing the Empty Man himself. Sammie says he's not sure they'll be able to just 'hit him till he dies' and Bjorn agrees, saying they'll probably have to strike a deal of some kind.

Miguel says a few phrases in Latin and makes a symbol in the air. A golden bubble forms around Sammie's head that doesn't allow any sound to escape. Sammie focuses on the tether she can feel in her gut to the Empty Man. She pulls on that tether and calls his name, trying to summon him here. The air in the center of the courtyard begins to ripple like a heat wave. Streaks of purple energy pop out and disappear. Then a 15' tall, dark creature that looks like a black hole appears in front of them in the courtyard. The Empty Man puts its hand into the ground and pulls dead creatures out with it to attack them.

Bjorn immediately raises his assault rifle and opens fire on the zombies, knocking down three of the zombies. Henry slashes at a nearby zombie with his sword, but the blade gets stuck in the bones of its shoulder. The zombie reaches out and slashes at Henry's back. Sammie pours all of her magical power into exerting her will over the Empty Man. She connects with the tether she can feel in her gut and forces the Empty Man down to his knees. The entity is vibrating with rage but unable to move. The Empty Man pushes back against Sammie's control and Sammie begins to feel her organs decaying inside of her. She screams in pain but nothing escapes the barrier of the bubble around her.

Bjorn sees Sammie is in pain and shouts at her to ask if it's working but Sammie can't hear him. Two zombies approach Bjorn while he's distracted. One bites down on his arm but Bjorn is able to shoot it off of him while the other one advances toward him. Henry tries to force his sword through the zombie's body but the zombie pulls back and yanks his sword out of his hands and slashes him across the face.

Sammie is speaking aloud, but channels the force of her magic through a mental connection with the Empty Man that she is very familiar with from her time sharing a body with Jadis. She commands the Empty Man to reverse the curse he's placed on Gideon, Salem, Judson, and anyone else he's corrupted. The Empty Man looks up at Sammie with rage. A booming voice rings out through the courtyard and through Sammie's head that says, "As you command." The entity curls in on itself, trying to contain the magic within itself, before a pulse of purple energy bathes the area.

As Bjorn is distracted by the Empty Man's voice, the other zombie grabs onto his arm and shreds through his skin with its teeth. Bjorn shoots it in the head and it falls to the ground. Henry manifests his claws and rips the zombies head off. He pulls his sword out of the zombie's body and turns to another one behind him just in time to see Stanley blow its head off with his gun. Henry begins to walk toward the Empty Man, seeing that its bound in place. He tries to communicate with Sammie but Sammie isn't able to respond, only coughing up blood. As Henry walks up to try and slash at the Empty Man with his sword, the Empty Man vies for control over Sammie. Sammie pushes back and is able to hold it in place while Henry swipes his blade through its body. Henry feels like he's slashed through nothing and realizes his blade hasn't done any damage.

Sammie watches the blade swipe uselessly through the Empty Man's body and realizes she needs to command the Empty Man to manifest - to become corporeal. She commands the Empty Man to become mortal. Dust billows out from around the entity as he gains a physical form. Henry, who is already at its side, pulls his sword back above his head and brings it down, execution style, on the Empty Man's neck. Its head is immediately severed from its neck and falls to the ground, body collapsing with it. Sammie feels the tether to the Empty Man is severed and immediately collapses. Henry tells the dead body of the Empty Man that this all was for his mother. The Empty Man's body begins to fill with cracks of purple light and then flake away into black ash.

Bjorn sees that Sammie is obviously hurt and runs to grab Miguel to get him to her to heal her. As Bjorn rounds the corner, he can see that Ben and Miguel are bent over Salem. Salem is on the ground curled up on his side, holding onto his stomach. Bjorn realizes that even though he's in pain, color has returned to his skin. Miguel asks Bjorn if it's over and Bjorn tells him its dead before saying Sammie is hurt and needs his help. Bjorn picks Miguel up and takes him over to Sammie, where Oliver is already crouched at her side. Miguel begins to heal Sammie and Oliver keeps her pinned in place.

Henry remarks to Stanley that he thinks this is actually over. Realization washes over Stanley's face and he bolts for the hatch. Miguel calls for Henry to come to him so he can heal him as well. Sammie asks if it worked and Oliver helps her stand and takes her over to see Salem, who looks very much alive. He tells Sammie that he's okay. Sammie tells Oliver they need to check on Gideon and he starts to help her down the ladder and toward the oubliette. Bjorn realizes he needs to call Judson. As he's pulling out his phone, he gets a call from Holland. Holland asks why her 'dead' medical examiner is throwing up all over the floor and Bjorn explains that Judson is alive now, they killed the entity that cursed him. Holland hangs up on him.

Sammie and Oliver make it to the oubliette. They push the door open and see Stanley and Gideon in the middle of the room. Stanley is on his knees, holding Gideon in a tight hug against himself, crying. Gideon still appears to be a mix of fish and boy, but is not undead anymore. Sammie starts to cry in relief and Oliver wraps her in a hug, sniffling himself. Henry approaches Stanley and gently puts a hand on his shoulder. Stanley turns to him, tears still streaming down his face. Henry gets a good look at Gideon for the first time - he sees the face of a young boy covered in scales like a fish with fins at the sides of his head and a shock of black hair that runs down the middle of his head. He seems to be around 12 or 13 years old. Stanley tells Gideon that Henry is his cousin, that he helped to save him. Henry crouches down and extends a hand for Gideon to shake. Gideon cautiously reaches out and grabs Henry's hand with his webbed and clawed one. He shakes it and gives Henry a smile, showing his rows of razor-sharp teeth. Gideon tells Henry thank you. Henry tells Gideon that they have a lot to catch him up on.

## List of Appearances

* Bjorn Olafson
* Henry Marlowe
* Sammie Overbrook
* Oliver Allen Evans
* Stanley Marlowe
* Ben Lasky
* Salem Pierce
* Miguel Rodriguez
* Masa
* The Empty Man
* Jolene Holland
* Gideon Marlowe