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Swamp Thing Episode 7 recap: Alec makes a tough decision about his future with Abby

By Mads Lennon

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When we last saw Abby and Alec together on Swamp Thing, Alec resumed his human form – to Abby, anyway, due to hallucinogenic spores.

As a follow-up to the spores, the Green manifests fresh fruits for her to eat. Being able to control gifts from the Green will become integral to Alec’s abilities as his Swamp Thing persona takes shape, particularly in this episode where his power allows him to save Abby’s life.

In the aftermath of Alec showing off his newfound abilities, he begrudgingly agrees to guide Abby back to the swamp where she hopes to get a sample of the “darkness,” because it could aid her in solving the biological anomalies plaguing Marais.

This visit to the swamp is the most colorful we’ve seen yet, a side effect of Alec’s increasingly strong tether to the Green. Alec explains how, generally in the Green, elements of life and death work together in harmony to maintain balance. But sometimes, darker things creep through and create pockets of unnatural death and rot.

Obviously, there is a direct comparison to the real-world and human impact on our ecosystems.

But the pleasant stroll through the flowers doesn’t last long. “The darkness, it knows we’re here,” Alec warns just before Abby is attacked and bit by something in a dead tree trunk.

Infected with rot, Abby writhes in pain as Alec panics trying to save her. She requests he get her Chinese lanterns, a medicinal herb, Alec summons them through the Green. A pretty cool ability if you ask me.

Swamp Thing – Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros

Sadly, it doesn’t work. Things begin to look bleak for Abby until Alec gets his chance to use his special senses once again. He forces the many types of flora growing inside of Abby to heal her and slowly restores her health.

They share a tender moment in the wake of her brush with death. Before the spores wear off, Abby kisses him. Their individual takeaways from this latest battle don’t play out the way Abby anticipated.

Related Story. Swamp Thing: E6 recap: Abby sees a new side of Alec. light

Alec realizes he wouldn’t have been able to save Abby if he wasn’t in his current condition. He also knows a battle is coming and he doesn’t want Abby anywhere near it.

For now, Abby takes his advice – sort of. She does leave Marais, something she explains to Liz on her drive out of town. Abby intends to go back to Atlanta. There, she’ll have the CDC resources she needs to analyze her samples. She can’t just give up on saving Alec, despite what he claims to want. Clearly, we haven’t seen the last of her.

Swamp Thing – Photo Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Nathan Ellery Arrives in Marais

Maria is suspiciously chipper when we first see her in this episode. She is the picture of the perfect Southern Belle, fawning over canapes, beaming at her husband, all in preparation for his important business meeting with Nathan Ellery (Michael Beach) of the powerful Conclave Group.

Gaining the support of Ellery will go miles towards the continued funding of Dr. Woodrue’s project, a project the Sunderland’s are obviously keen on continuing.

Unfortunately for Avery, he never makes it to dinner.

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In a shocking betrayal, Lucilia cons Avery into following her out into a shady spot in the woods. Avery isn’t an idiot (and he’s a murderer himself), so he picks up on the sleight of hand.

Before he can shoot Lucilia with his shotgun, Matt comes in from behind knocks him out. The mother-son duo takes Avery out on the lake to dump his body.

I find it odd Lucilia would make a heel-face turn on the man she’d been sleeping within the span of an episode, but the reveal Avery roped Matt into his scheme to murder Alec appears to have soured any and all of her good will towards the man.

Avery can’t go down without a fight. He may not be much in physicality, but he makes up for it with his serpent tongue. He drops a bombshell about Matt’s paternity – Avery Sunderland is his biological father.

The shock of this revelation is enough to knock Matt off his guard. Avery gets a near-fatal stab in before Lucilia dispatches him. It looks like maybe, we’ve seen the last of Avery.

Lucilia takes Matt to Maria Sunderland’s house to patch him up. An odd choice, considering Maria is Avery’s wife and Lucilia is Avery’s long-time mistress. Well, not as strange as you may think! The two women were in on the scheme to kill Avery together.

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While Lucilia and Matt were out doing the grunt work, Maria was wining and dining Nathan Ellery over a gourmet dinner. They were joined by Jason Woodrue and his wife.

Ellery is initially displeased by Avery’s failure to show, but Maria sweet-talks him with phrases like “living tissue with the ability to mutate thousands of times faster than anything known to man or nature,” and talking about a level-seven comatose patient regaining full consciousness.

Suddenly, Ellery is inclined to talk about dessert. “You made this yourself?” He inquires with a sultry lick of his lips. “Local pecans, that’s the secret.” Just like that, Maria is the one with her signature on the dotted line. Marais is officially in bed with the mysterious Conclave Group.

Not a moment too soon, as Jason realizes once home again. His wife doesn’t remember who Maria is and thinks she’s the wife of Nathan, another man she doesn’t recall meeting. Her illness is rapidly progressing.

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The thing is, as we’ve learned, things that are dead in Marais don’t stay that way for long. Avery resurfaces from the swamp and crawls to shore. By the time he makes it there and passes out, it looks like he could be undergoing a monstrous transformation akin to Alec’s.

New episodes of Swamp Thing stream Fridays on DC Universe.

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