Aahana Swrup
Following Guy’s surprising decision to align himself with Jasper, ‘Talamasca: The Secret Order’ continues to unravel in exciting and unexpected ways with episode 4, ‘Wet Work.’ As the mind reader and the vampire join forces, more of the latter’s motivations regarding his search for the Seven Five Two emerge. As a result, after weeks of Talamasca training, Guy gets a chance to glimpse at the more sordid details of the organization’s influence on the lives of the Immortals. Eventually, as a new lead is revealed, the young man finds himself walking into a den of lions, conducting a highly dangerous reconnaissance mission. While this brings him face-to-face with some familiar friends, he also has the displeasure of making a new foe or two. Meanwhile, an eerie detail on a visit to the graveyard compels Helen to investigate her own past. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Jasper Reveals the Real Reason Behind His Search For the Seven Five Two
After Guy is compelled to spend the night at the London Talamasca Mother House, his handler, Olive, naturally grows worried about his absence. On the other hand, the mind reader tries to gauge how much trust he can afford to put behind the vampire and the hospitality he insists upon. Likewise, the latter also remains suspicious about the younger man’s motives, wondering if the entire thing is one big sting operation. Still, he extends some level of trust by revealing the information he has up his sleeve about Archie’s murder. As it turns out, a vampire is behind the kill. In turn, Guy tries to learn more about the immortal and his motivations by demanding an explanation about his intentions with the Seven Five Two once the elusive book is found. Thus, the vampire delves into his backstory.
During the 1200s, a vampire named Fascille began entertaining a diet consisting only of chicken blood so that he wouldn’t have to feed on humans. However, since this practice was frowned upon by other vampires, he was expelled from his coven once someone revealed his tightly-kept secret. As the centuries passed, Fascille grew bitter. By the 1920s, he decided to seek out revenge on the fellow night-lurker who ratted him out. Naturally, this compelled him to seek help from the Talamasca, the secret organization that “sees all.” Bribing one of the agents proved to be easy enough, allowing the vengeful vampire to use his enemy’s name. As a result, he ended up attacking the other immortal, Mergu, and his coven. Between humans and vampires, 17 people died that night. The entire coven was wiped out save for one young kind: Jasper.
The Talamasca’s infinite power and its agents’ frequent willingness to abuse it for a quick buck cost Jasper his entire life, thrusting him into a new reality without an identity or a family. Worse yet, this was a common experience among the Immortals, where one move from the Intelligence agency could unravel their entire lives. Vampires and their like held onto grudges for centuries. Therefore, the Talamasca, who held information to escalate and weaponize these grudges and other secrets, have long exercised a dangerous control. For the same reason, Jasper wants to tip the scales in his species’ favor and fight fire with fire. Thus, he plans on using the Seven Five Two to bring down the organization for better or for worse. This presents Guy with an intriguing dilemma since the Talamasca’s fall can possibly be the final straw that brings his mother out of hiding, helping the two reunite.
Guy Goes on an Undercover Mission and Meets Raglan
Although Jasper doesn’t know who exactly killed Archie, he has a lurking suspicion that Harris, a local coven leader, is behind the entire debacle. The vampire runs a mortal hotel, The West Cross, which serves as a cover for him and his immortal deeds. Recently, Jasper has noticed some movement around the place, which suggests he might be holding onto the precious Seven Five Two, procured from the sight of Archie and Keves’ murder. Therefore, he wants Guy to infiltrate the place and use his mind-reading abilities to extract any relevant information. Furthermore, he provides him with some backup in the form of his new pet project, former agent Checkers, who has been turned into a uniquely rabid and singularly loyal vampire.
As such, Guy finds himself walking into the danger-filled place with Checkers and a driver waiting outside in a truck. From the get-go, any fine-tuned mind-reading proves to be difficult for the young man, who has spent much of his life trying to dampen his powers. Soon enough, a stranger approaches him, having apparently already spotted him as a Talamsca agent. As it turns out, the stranger, Raglan James, is a fellow agent who is at the hotel on business of his own. However, while he’s here on invitation, he can tell the same isn’t true for the other man. Therefore, threatens to blow Guy’s cover unless he leaves. Although the insurance throws the mind reader off, he’s quick to recover. After devising a plan, he confronts Raglan, spinning tales about how the Talamasca has discovered him for his sordid dealings with Harris. Consequently, under the guise of an agent on a mission, he convinces the other man to let him tag along for the meeting with the head vampire.
Helen Searches For Answers About Her Past
It seems Guy isn’t the only one on a quest to learn more about his family and origins, since Helen spends much of the episode doing the same. After her last visit to the former Talamasca facility, where she grew up alongside her mysterious twin sister, the senior agent pays a visit to the graveyard. The graves she visits, of the Stevens couple, seem to belong to her deceased parents. Strangely enough, there is an old bouquet at the tombstones, left behind by an unknown griever. Helen’s first instinct is to assume her long-lost twin sister must have been the one behind the flowers since she has no other family left. However, a quick interrogation of the groundskeeper proves he hasn’t seen anyone resembling Helen around the graveyard.
Eventually, the confusing events compel Helen to visit Abigail, who also grew up in the facility alongside the Stevens twins. However, the other woman seems happy to ignore the inexplicable chapters of her life, preferring to move forward with her new life as a wife and mother. Furthermore, as Abigail’s twin, Rose, who seems to be endowed with telekinetic powers, shows up, it becomes more than obvious that Helen’s presence at their house isn’t appreciated. Still, it seems the unpowered twin had taken some pity on the Talamasca agent, as she seems to have slipped a piece of paper into her coat. The note reads “Jameson = Melville,” opening up an entirely new mystery for the agent.
The West Cross Leads Proves to be a Bust
Although Guy manages to make it through the door and attend Raglan’s meeting with Harris in one of the hotel rooms, things quickly go south. The latter agent is all too eager to sell the former out, offering him to the vampires as payment for his end of the deal. All he needs to do is prove Guy’s mind-reading abilities to make him valuable to the immortals. Fortunately, for the mind reader, he has a guardian angel, or rather a witch, looking out for him. Earlier, Doris, Keves’ friend, had run into the mind-reader and tried to convince him that he’s in danger at the West Cross. Even though he doesn’t listen, Doris decides to look out for him by sending a message to the backup waiting for him inside. As a result, while Harris and his men corner Guy, Checkers scales the building, arriving as the cavalry to save the day.
Soon enough, bloodshed follows, and Guy finds himself in a roomful of vampire bodies with only Raglan for company. Furthermore, he also discovers that the deal that was going down, the same suspicious activity that attracted Jasper’s attention, is only regarding the sale of coveted ancient vampire blood. As Jasper arrives on the scene in the aftermath, he discovers the source of the blood, an old vampire being held hostage and bled dry for profit. This scene only strengthens the younger vampire’s grudge against the Talamasca since he believes it to be evidence of the organization’s conscious incompetence in protecting the Immortals. In the end, he and Guy return to the Mother House. However, unbeknownst to them, the trunk of their car is carrying a stowaway passenger, Doris, who has tagged along likely as a result of her concern for the mind reader’s safety.
Read More: Talamasca The Secret Order Episode 3 Recap: The Task at Hand
