Swamp Thing Episode 4 recap: Something is driving the citizens of Marais crazy

Something dark has crept into Marais from the swamp, causing citizens to go crazy. Abby and Alec must work together to stop it on the new Swamp Thing.

This episode of Swamp Thing opens on two loggers in the woods attempting to cut down trees lining the swamp’s perimeter. A corpse is dislodged and crushes one of them, Todd, leading to a serious bite.

Todd works at the local bar in town as a dishwasher along with Liz and her father. During his shift, he begins to hallucinate a snake is in the water, wrapped around his arm. In an effort to dislodge it, Todd begins to frantically stab himself with a knife and ultimately shoves his hand down a garbage disposal. In the scuffle, Liz’s father is scratched and the infection spreads.

Darkness on the Edge of Town

With Delroy infected, it doesn’t take long for him to begin his own hallucination. He nearly kills Abby and Liz in the process. The sheriff arrives and tackles him, getting a scratch on the neck in the process. Thus the infection continues to spread.

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A desperate Abby seeks out Alec in the swamp and he tells her that darkness was released from the swamp. The balance of light and dark is out of balance, that is what is infecting people in Marais.

Armed with this knowledge, Abby arrives just in time to stop the Sheriff after she pulls a gun in the middle of the Sunderland’s crawfish boil. But she too is scratched. Now aware of what’s happening, Abby retreats to the swamp while experiencing a horrific living nightmare of her father trying to drag her away from her mother.

She reaches Alec in time and he is able to reabsorb the darkness, letting it re-enter the swamp. For now, Marais is safe.

Swamp Thing — Ep. 104 — “Darkness on the Edge of Town” — Photo Credit: Fred Norris / 2019 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Sunderlands Adopt a Child

With the mysterious green flu finally beginning to clear up, the CDC is clearing out of Marais, all except Abby. There are loose ends she is attempting to tie up (Alec and Susie). Plus it’s clear this might just be the calm before the storm.

Susie is meant to be adopted by her uncle with her father deceased, but Avery takes notice of how well Maria bonds with the girl. They decide to foster her instead.

We learn of Avery’s ulterior motives later. He needs Maria’s money so he can continue funding Doctor Woodrue’s swamp experiments. Now that the strange flu is clearing up, Avery believes his path away is clear, all he needs is to keep Maria pacified and Susie is the way to do that since she clearly longs for a daughter.

And speaking of Doctor Woodrue, Abby gets a sample from Alec to figure out a way to help him. Woodrue offers to analyze the sample for her. Even though she doesn’t trust him, he helps her figure out that Alec’s plant cells operate like animal cells, a strange new discovery.

Odds & Ends

• I’m not entirely sure how Danny’s storyline is going to tie in. For now, he gets more assistance from Xanadu who tells him to wait for his calling. He winds up assisting Abby in saving the sheriff.
• Could Susie be in danger from Shawna’s ghost? Maria might find herself being swayed by her biological daughter’s spirit to get rid of Susie, her competition.

New episodes of Swamp Thing stream every Friday on DC Universe.

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