Slasher Season 4, Episode 2 recap: The Sins of Our Father

Wow. Slasher Season 4 is NOT messing around. I have to say that my jaw hit the floor during the final chunk of this episode because it subverted so many typical slasher genre tropes and delivered a genuinely brutal kill to a character I thought would stick around until the end/one of the few likable Galloways in the bunch.

But before we get to that, let’s back up to the episode’s beginning. Slasher Season 4, Episode 2, “The Sins of Our Father,” doesn’t waste too much time dealing with the one-two punch of Vincent’s return and Spencer‘s early death. The family takes a few beats to reassess in the wake of Spencer’s death before it’s game on.

**SPOILER WARNING** The following article contains spoilers for Slasher Season 4, Episode 2.

One scene shows Vincent and Theo examining their old bedroom. We learn that Vincent only stayed with his kidnappers for a few weeks before a family bought him, I’m assuming through some shady black market deal.

But on the plus side, Vincent says he ended up with a good family and totally forgot about his old life. It wasn’t until a month before the reunion that Spencer found him out of the blue and invited him along. Yeah, Spencer kept that a secret from Florence. Too bad he dies before she can get mad at him for it.

I’d like to point out that Vincent makes an offhand comment about “where he comes from no one wants the bottom bunk,” which makes me wonder if maybe he spent some time in prison?

Slasher Season 4, Episode 2 recap: An endurance test

The first official challenge is an endurance test that involves the family dangling from ropes. And before it starts, yes, it is revealed that Liv is indeed a Galloway and her mother has kept it a secret all these years. But she is allowed to compete.

There are no rules in the game except that the first one to give out loses and is out of the running for the Galloway fortune. Oh, but there is a twist! Because Spencer was one sick f**k, he instructs Dr. Trinn to place mats containing sharp spikes beneath each person in case they need extra incentive to hold on tight.

MORE: Slasher Season 4, Episode 1 recap: Thicker Than Water

I’m going to pause here to mention that Christy and Seamus let their 13-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER compete in this game. WTF?! She’s just seen hanging off the rope like it doesn’t matter in the background of a few shots (it looked like the actress was fully enjoying herself) so I’m not sure if it’s an editing error or she just has really sh***y parents.

Anyway, it doesn’t take long for Seamus to start freaking out at Jayden since he hates him. And why does Seamus hate Jayden? Flashbacks reveal that they used to be super close. Jayden even offered to convince Spencer into giving Seamus and Christy the $50k they needed to adopt Afra. (An aside here, but Seamus notes Afra has the “brain of a 20-year-old,” it could be a throwaway line but that coupled with her behavior toward Christy makes me wonder if we’ve got an Orphan situation going on here.)

Spencer being Spencer didn’t want to give his son that money out of the kindness of his heart. Wanting to shape Jayden into a more ruthless businessman worthy of becoming the CEO of Gallaway shipping in the future, Spencer forced him to take something meaningful from Seamus. Grace convinces Jayden to go after Seamus’s seat on the board of directors, which he does.

Seamus agrees to the deal, but in return totally cuts Jayden out of his life. Honestly, Seamus didn’t care about the business at all at the time and it was literally because of Jayden that Seamus was able to become a father. His feelings toward Jayden are so over-the-top. Even worse, he manipulates Jayden while they’re dangling on the ropes, resulting in Jayden plummeting straight down onto the spikes.

Slasher Season 4, Episode 2 recap: Seamus plays dirty

At least Christy is shocked by her husband’s behavior and calls him out on it in the house. Christy and Grace help patch Jayden up, but soon realize there aren’t many adequate medical supplies in the house. They make a trip to Spencer’s secret saferoom across the grounds where Christy notices the slasher standing in the woods, staring right at her. Assuming he’s some random creep who wandered over or part of the next challenge, Jayden, Christy, and Grace go confront him.

This is the moment things take a sharp left turn. For starters, it’s rare we get a killer confrontation where it’s three on one, especially not in broad daylight. I thought that the slasher had set up a lookalike to spook them, but no, it was really him! He slashes Christy on the arm and sends them all scattering to the winds before pursuing Jayden all the way to the shed where he slaughtered Merle in the first episode.

Slasher Season 4, Episode 2 recap: Jayden meets a horrific demise

Poor Jayden. He was one of the few likable characters on the show and his death was pure Jigsaw brutality. The slasher ties each of Jayden’s limbs with steel wire and attaches them to wenches that slowly start to pull him apart. You can probably see where I’m going with this.

Jayden cries out for help and everyone rushes to his side, including Grace, Liv, and Seamus. But they can’t find a way to get Jayden out of the trap as the slasher has locked him in good with padlocks and cuffs. They’re all forced to watch as Jayden is literally ripped apart, limb by limb, and dies on the table.

I was shocked at how this episode ended and am now very excited to see what comes next. I never expected to see a kill that brutal on this show and the fact all these people were there trying to help him and none of them could do it (including his own mother!) is extra devastating and shocking!

It’s also worth noting that during a flashback, Spencer told Jayden that the business world “will pull at you in every direction.” Did someone overhear that conversation and use it to plan the kill?

The first two episodes of Slasher Season 4 are now streaming on Shudder, new episodes drop on Thursdays.