Avery seems to have won his battle against Maria, Matt appears to be headed in the same sad (and ultimately redemptive direction) as his comic book counterpart, and in one of the most gothic moments of a series that has been saturated in moody darkness, Swamp Thing finds the body of Alec Holland. The final minutes of the episode are one awful revelation after another. Ziering’s reaction to waking up after the battle is handled very well, with the actor appearing disgusted by his own actions and untrusting of his own body. The wait for Blue Devil’s entrance this season has been a long one, but boy, did it ever pay off. The brief shot we see of him is fantastic, giving us just enough of a peek to side with Liz when she asks what the f*** that was. This Blue Devil is a feral berzerker, all claws and flame, with an unearthly glow and a roar to match. It’s a wild and smartly shot sequence that keeps the Devil in the dark for the majority of it, showing the aftermath of his attacks as he rips and burns his way through them. In a sequence that is shot like something straight out of the Evil Dead franchise, Cassidy takes out all of the mercenaries in Sunderland’s employ. Again, Macon Blair’s take on the Stranger is brilliant, with a mix of devilish charm and a genuine world-weary sadness.Įven more pressing is the fact that we get to see the show’s version of the Blue Devil. The Stranger, who looks more and more like his comic book counterpart each time we see him, shows him a possible dark future and tells him that he has a destiny to fulfill. In the less tragic sections of the episode, we get some full-on comic book nonsense (in the best way) when we check back in on Ian Ziering as Daniel Cassidy, who finally gets to see the Phantom Stranger again after many years. The makeup effects are top-notch (of course), with the various “organs” rendered in ways that are both repulsive and oddly quaint, perfectly matching Woodrue’s bemused descriptions. This revelation is delivered straight to Swamp Thing’s face, and the reaction from the creature is heartbreaking. The show smartly adapts the concept of Swamp Thing having never been a man, but rather a plant-like growth with Alec Holland’s memories. The scientist he once was wants to understand what Woodrue is learning about him.

He desperately tries to look away from the carnage, but he can’t help himself.

Mears, on the other hand, makes Swamp Thing look more lost and desperate than ever before, struggling and gurgling his way through his conversation with Woodrue. Durand replaces much of Woodrue’s previous twitchiness with a kind of swaggering confidence, as he’s fully in his element in this medical facility.

The anatomy lesson swamp thing