Damnation Episode 5
It has been 16 long days since Creeley left Seth, splattered in Wendell’s blood, with the parting words “people change.” Damnation has finally returned with it’s latest action packed episode on it’s new night, Thursdays, at 10/9c on USA Network. I have been suffering severe “Damnation Withdrawal” these past couple weeks and Episode 5: Den of Lost Souls – made it all worth it!
Creeley Turner (Logan Marshall-Green) turns up in Des Moines, Iowa to meet with Martin Eggers Hyde. We discover that Hyde had secured Creeley’s release from a Wyoming prison. While we are not told at this point why he was in prison, knowing how violent he can be I’m not surprised to discover he was there. Hyde also reveals that he has sent a “professional” to kill Preacher Seth and his wife Amelia (Killian Scott and Sarah Jones). I can see concern on Creeley’s face when he learns this news, but I’m not sure why. I don’t know if he is actually worried about his brother being killed, or he’s upset because he wants to be the one to kill him.
The Carnival Comes to Town!
We then find Seth presiding over Wendell’s funeral. He uses this opportunity to try to unite the farmers as one again. The mourners are distracted as a carnival drives past on its way into Holden. Not far past the cemetery a man with a gun jumps off one of the carnival trucks and slips into the fields. Could this be the man Hyde sent to kill Seth?
Upon returning to Holden, Creeley discovers the Carnival has come to town. He heads out to talk to the Carnies because he suspects the hitman may have rode in with them. Creeley “marks out” when he talks to Pitchfork Perry (WWE Superstar Luke Harper). He excitedly tells him about the time, when he was a boy, that he saw him wrestle. I think Creeley is genuinely excited sharing this childhood memory with Perry and not just “buttering him up” for info. Either way it works and Perry lets Creeley know they picked up a stranger outside of Des Moines and dropped him off near the church.
Is He or Isn’t He?
While outside Seth notices someone moving around in his house. He creeps up to the window and pulls his gun on a man. As the man turns around Seth immediately recognizes him. As Seth stares in disbelief Lew Nez (Juan Javier Cardenas) asks if he is happy to see him. I was sure this was the hit man sent by Hyde, but now I’m not so certain. I don’t think Hyde would send someone Seth knows to kill him, but then again, it would be a perfect way to get Seth to let his guard down.
Creeley approaches Amelia in town and warns her there is a hit man after Seth and herself. Not surprisingly though she does not believe him. She returns home and discovers Lew is there. Seth explains that he grew up with him and Creeley. Lew’s mother worked for the family, and he was practically a brother to them. Amelia asks Seth if he trusts him and he says he wouldn’t go that far. Seth refuses to tell Amelia why, only saying there are things in his past he doesn’t want her to know. I find myself disliking Seth more and more every week. What ever he’s hiding I’m sure it’s going to end up being really bad and will devastate Amelia.
Suspicions Arise
Amelia tells Seth about the warning Creeley gave her. He becomes immediately suspicious of Lew and confronts him with a gun. The two end up in a scuffle. Seth tells Lew he does not trust him, that they sent his brother after him, so how does he know they have not sent him too. Lew ends up telling him “you don’t”. I’m still not sure at this point what to think of Lew. We discovered earlier he is wanted for bank robbery, but does that mean he’s capable of also being a hit man? I’m not convinced either way.
After a commercial break we find Seth and Lew taking target practice together. I guess Seth has decided he can trust him after all. Lew is surprised that Creeley, who they use to call “squealy”, is capable of killing Seth because of how close the brothers use to be. As the two reminisce Lew convinces to Seth start drinking again. I’m not sure Seth should trust him and I wonder if he is getting him drunk to make it easier to kill him.
A Bad Day for Calvin
A drunk Seth explains to Lew that banker Calvin Rimple (Dan Donohue) is causing trouble for the farmers. The duo decide to kidnap Calvin. They strap him, blindfolded, to the front of a car and drive him out to the train tracks. They tell Calvin he needs to end the price fixing and stop auctioning the farms. When he says he can’t do that they remove his blindfold. He sees he is on the tracks with a train barreling down on him. I never imagined I would care about Calvin’s well being, but here I am genuinely worried that he is about to crushed by a train. The scene then changes to Seth and Lew back at the Davenport’s house. Seth tells Lew “the banker got what he deserved”. We are left, for the moment, without an answer of what happened to Calvin.
While Seth, Amelia and Lew, who is disguised as a fellow preacher, are visiting the carnival Creeley discovers the bodies of the men Seth killed in the first episode. As he drives the bodies to town he comes across Calvin walking down the road barefoot and in his pajamas. I am very relieved to discover that he was not crushed by the train after all. Creeley doesn’t react kindly when Calvin says he is leaving the state and proceeds to torture him a bit. I’m really beginning to have a soft spot in my heart for Calvin. This poor guy is getting hell from all sides.
The Hit Man Makes His Move
Back at the carnival we discover who the hit man is, and it’s not Lew! A man posing as a huckster selling vacuums pulls out a gun with a silencer and heads after Seth and Amelia. The tension is extremely high as he follows them onto the ride “Den of Lost Souls.” I’m on pins and needles the whole time he stalks them through the dark. When he finally discovers the cart they were riding in it’s empty. It turns out Seth and Amelia are saved, for the moment, by their overwhelming desire for “carnal knowledge”.
Later as Seth and Amelia leave the fortune teller’s tent the hit man takes aim on them. I hold my breath as I wait for him to pull the trigger. Suddenly, a little girl screams seeing the dead body that Creeley put on the Ferris Wheel. This causes the hit man’s shot to go awry and it grazes Lew. As Seth and Lew start chasing the hit man, Creeley whispers to Amelia “I know where the bodies are buried, you sure you don’t wanna leave town?”
Seth and Lew are chasing the hit man through the crops and it is giving me a creepy “Children of the Corn” feeling. The suspense has my heart racing as Seth finds the man hiding in a barn. As the two struggle with each other, the hitman finally gets the upper hand. I am literally on the edge of my seat as he is about to shoot Seth. Out of nowhere Creeley hits the man, knocking him out, which saves Seth.
Did he save him because he cares? Or was it because he wants to kill him himself? It seems to be the latter as Creeley towers over Seth with his gun pointed at him. As much as I hate Seth I don’t want Creeley to kill him. Just when I think Damnation can’t shock me any more, they throw me another curve. The episode ends as Creeley tells Seth he needs to confess to the murders that he framed him for in Wyoming. This show has so many twists and turns, you never know what will happen next, and I love it!
