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“The Returned” recap (1.4): Think Of Something Nice

The episode opens 35 years in the past; Victor and his brother are playing under a blanket with flashlights telling scary stories. Their Mom tells them it is time for bed and Victor shares that he is afraid to go to sleep because of nightmares. His Mom assures him that everything will be fine (famous last words) and leaves to go to bed herself. Suddenly Victor is awakened by gunshots and his brother screaming. He runs to the closet to hide. As he tries to stifle his breathing, a mask intruder enters and sees the puddle of urine leaking from the closet. He comes closer and says, “Don’t let him see you. Stay there I will come back for you later. Calm down. And think of something nice. Why don’t you sing a song in your head? A song from school?” Just then another masked man enters and asks his partner in crime who he is talking to. He pleads for them to just leave, it is just a boy and he won’t talk. The second intruder callously fires his gun through the closet door and we hear the sound of Victor’s body as it slumps to the ground.

Now present day, Victor awakens from a nightmare and Julie asks if he is alright. She then hears a scream from out in the hall. When she investigates, she finds another neighbor looking at the corpse of Ms. Payet sans cats. Forget looking for her murderer and round up those cats. They are on the loose with the taste for human flesh.

Jerome and Claire are having coffee in the kitchen. She has decided moving is a good idea after all, but she is on the fence about getting back together with him. Laure and another officer come to the door. They ask Jerome to come down to the station to answer a few questions about Lucy. Claire is confused and realizes her apprehension to get back together may be a good thing. He tells her it is no big deal and heads out the door. Meanwhile, Thomas watches Adele as she dresses via surveillance camera. Now that I know poor Victor’s story, the title of “Creepiest Character” now goes to this voyeur. An officer enters to inform him of Ms. Payet’s murder and Thomas asks if their have been any leads on Simon.

Speaking of Simon, I have a feeling I know where he is hiding out. As Adele’s daughter leaves for school she asks her if there are mice in the attic again. Adele promises her she will take care of it on her day off of work and sends her out the door. She heads up the stairs with a tray full of food and opens the locked door to the attic. Simon comes out of the shadows and tries to put the moves on her. She sort of resists then ends up slapping him. He sits and ravenously eats the food she prepared while sharing his plans with her. He wants to get a job in another town and then they can all move away. Adele resists the idea. She doesn’t want to move Chloe away from her life and fears Simon may leave again.

Lena wakes and feels her scar. She runs to mirror and shrieks. Downstairs Claire talks to Camille about moving. Camille insists she doesn’t need to hide as long as she continues to say she is Alice. Because that will fool everyone forever. She accuses Jerome of only wanting to move to keep Claire away from Pierre. Just then, Lena runs down the stairs and collapses. Claire pulls back her clothes to reveal a large wound down her back then calls for an ambulance.

Thomas, Laure and other officers interview neighbors of Ms. Payet. Laure approaches Julie’s door and knocks. Julie tells Victor to quickly hide and he runs to the bathroom. Laure enters her apartment and asks her if she heard anything last night. Julie says she slept like a log and asks how she died. Laure tells her she was stabbed a dozen times in the abdomen, but there is no evidence it was the same man that attacked Julie yet. She offers her police protection and Julie refuses. Just then the lights go out in the bathroom and Victor knocks something to the floor. Confused, Laure says, “Aren’t you alone?” Julie in an attempt to make Laure jealous answers “Nope” with a smirk. In the darkness of the bathroom, Victor hears the words of the masked intruder from his past. A hand touches his shoulder and he bolts out of the bathroom. Laure asks who he is, then chastises her when she finds out she has been looking after him for several days. Before Laure leaves, Julie begs her not to tell anyone.

Pierre loads his car up with gas cans and heads down the road. He is stopped at a police checkpoint and exits his vehicle. An officer he knows, Michael, tells him they are looking for Simon. His phone rings. It is Claire asking him to come to the hospital. She tells him Lena is hurt and that Jerome is currently being questioned at the police station. When he hangs up, he asks Michael why Jerome would be a person of interest in Lucy’s case. Michael promises to find out as a favor. Several utility trucks drive past them and Pierre wonders aloud what could be going on.

Adele shows Simon his daughter’s room. They look at all her drawings and Simon sees one of him. They start to kiss then bring the party to the bedroom. All the while, Thomas is watching from his desk and he is not pleased. Bruno interrupts to tell him Jerome has arrived for questioning. He angrily tells him to handle it and goes back to watching Adele and Simon’s romp in the hay. As he stares at his monitor, Simon suddenly changes into him then back to Simon. I was not expecting that.

Pierre arrives at the hospital and asks how Lena is doing and how long she has had her wound. Camille tells him it has been there since she has returned and it is her fault. Pierre insists that it couldn’t be her fault and if it was her whole family would have wounds. Lena chimes in from her painkiller fog and says no one else is hurt…yet. Camille runs out of the room and Pierre follows to speak with her. He tells her that she wouldn’t have been brought back to hurt her family again. And Lena will come around, she is just afraid Camille may leave again so she is lashing out. Camille sarcastically says, “Hallelujah” and walks off. Nice try, Pierre.

Meanwhile, Thomas speaks to the Pastor about Simon. He assures Thomas that Adele loves him now, otherwise why would she be marrying him. This does not interest Thomas. He wants the Pastor’s thoughts on resurrection and if Jesus actually came back as flesh and blood. The Pastor tries to shift the subject which angers Thomas and he storms out.

Frederic leaves school to find Camille waiting for him outside. He asks about Lena and she tells him she is still in the hospital for testing. Camille asks where he is headed and Frederic tells her he’s going to The Lake Pub. I think the teens in this town have a major drinking problem.

At the dam, trucks are lined up pumping away out of fear that there is a breach in the dam. The workers worry the town and the power station could possibly flood, yet still have not told authorities. Back at the hospital, a doctor tells Lena’s family that he thinks her wound is a spontaneous keloid from a former injury not healing properly. He asks if she knows what that could be and she says she fell on a chair when someone pushed her at The Lake Pub. That excuse is lamer than “I walked into a door” and Claire knows it. She tells Lena she is here to help, and Lena retorts that she never asked for any.

At the police station, Jerome is told that he is mentioned in Lucy’s diary and that they know he visited her at least once a week for the past year. He insists it was just to talk, and that is not illegal. They tell him that it is not, but beating women is, even if it is your own daughter. They have a hospital report of him bringing Lena in with a back wound. They then try and give him an out by asking if he accidently hurt Lucy as well and tried to cover it up. Maybe he requested a service that she wouldn’t perform. Jerome angrily insists he did nothing and that Lucy is not a prostitute.

Back at Adele’s, she answers the door in her robe. Chloe enters and asks why the door was locked and if she took care of the mouse problem. Jeez, kid, so many questions. Give mommy a break. She is just trying to have an affair with your zombie dad. Chloe runs upstairs and looks up at the corner of her room. She slides a chair over and climbs up. Thomas watches as she stares directly into the camera and calls her Mother up to see. Uh oh. You’re busted, Thomas.

 

Laure is back at Julie’s apartment. She tells her she cannot allow her to keep Victor. Julie feels betrayed while Laure begins to pack up Victor to take him to Pierre’s shelter, Helping Hands. As they leave, Julie stares at Victor’s drawings. One is of Ms. Payet, dead on the floor with her cats. Just when I was starting to feel bad for this kid…

Chloe goes up into the attic to find her mother and Simon talking about someone that may hurt them. She asks who they are speaking about and who this man is. Adele tells her that this is her dad and that he stopped being dead. Guess he got bored with it. She asks him if he is an angel and what Heaven is like. He lies to her and answers all of her questions about the afterlife. They tell her Simon has to go but she will see him again and to keep her mouth shut about the whole thing, especially when around Thomas.

Pierre answers a call from Laure and agrees to take in Victor. He then receives a call from Michael about Jerome. He was being questioned about Lucy but had nothing to do with it. But Michael tells him about the incident with Lena and the hospital report. Pierre calls and tells Claire and after she hangs up she breaks down in tears. Jerome shows up and asks what’s wrong. Claire asks, “How could you do it? How could you hit her?” He asks if Pierre has said something to her. She asks him again if he hit Lena and he stares at her. She says she wants him out and that they are over.

Later that night, Michael sees Simon and begins tailing him with his car. Simon realizes he is being followed and takes off. Police surveillance tracks him when suddenly all the cameras go offline. The town has lost power once again. Frederic and Camille sit in candlelight at The Lake Pub. She asks him if he has been sleeping with Lena, because Lena denies it. He says if Lena told her they weren’t then it must be true. She asks how the first time was and says she knows it happened during the bus accident. Frederic leans forward and touches Camille’s arm. At the same time Lena wakes suddenly and grabs her own arm. She gets out of bed and leaves the hospital.

Thomas arrives home and is confronted by Adele. He tells her the cameras have been there for two years and he only used them when she didn’t answer the phone. He wanted to make sure she didn’t hurt herself again. She calls him sick and he retorts by saying Simon’s death wasn’t an accident. The Pastor asked for it to be listed as one and the police department did him a solid. She repeatedly asks what his death really was as she begins to cry. Simon shows up at Helping Hand and asks for help. Pierre invites him inside.

Lena shows up at The Lake Pub and sees Camille canoodling with Frederic. She passively aggressively asks if they’re having fun. She loudly tells the entire place that Camille is not her cousin then shows her nasty wound to everyone and declares it is her fault. Camille apologizes for her and says she should return to the hospital because she obviously is not well. Lena wants Camille to fess up and when she won’t she tells everyone that she is not Alice, she is undead Camille. Of course everyone thinks she is off her nut which sends her running from the bar in tears. This seems to be par for the course with Lena.

Laure returns to the police station and asks for the whereabouts of Simon. They lost him during the power outage, but they have new information about Lucy’s case. Apparently she isn’t a prostitute after all. She is a clairvoyant and the town has been visiting her to talk to their dead loved ones. Another officer approaches with one of Victor’s drawings of dead Ms. Payet. Julie’s phone rings. It is Laure and she has good news. Julie’s attacker is not responsible for her neighbor’s death. Ms. Payet had taken her own life and it has been ruled a suicide. Laure asks if she needs company and Julie tells her no. She hangs up the phone with a perplexed look on her face.

At the close of this episode, Pierre shows Victor where he can sleep. They pass Madame Costa who gives a half hearted smile. Sadrine is there and tells Victor she will be looking after him. Pierre asks if he is going to cry then gives him the following advice, “Think of something nice. Why don’t you sing a song in your head? A song from school?” As Victor stares in fear, we realize Pierre isn’t the sweet guy we all thought he was. Thomas puts Chloe to bed then gives Adele a glass of water and some pills in their bedroom. Chloe wakes back up and finishes a drawing of Simon shooting himself in the head. Lena stumbles into the underpass and collapses. How many people have to be stabbed before women in this town take a new route home? Serge approaches and slowly begins to kneel down towards Lena as the screen fades to black.

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