"Spirit Receivers" is the seventh episode of Season One of the Archive 81 Netflix TV series and the seventh episode of the show overall. It first aired on January 14, 2022.
Summary[]
The veil drops from a cursed film's origins. At the Vos Mansion in 1924, Iris recruits Rose for a blood ritual. Dan knows he must find Anabelle.
Plot[]
Melody asks for help in her recordings as Dan wakes up startled. He feels his head, but feels fine. When he looks at his teeth, they are black and he throws up mold. He wakes up once again, startled hearing a car honk outside. He looks for something, and asks a man for his phone, calling LMG.
Dan asked Virgil why he was back in the city.
Dan heads towards LMG on by foot and wants to see Virgil, who he is told is not there yet. Virgil calls him from a television and he asks why he is in the city, to which he is told that he had pushed himself a little too hard and collapsed from exhaustion, so they had provided him with medical attention. However, Dan says that he was knocked out and drugged. Virgil says that he has his patient file there with him and had all sorts of observation, so Dan simply asks what the underground chamber that he found was, which he finds weird since it was identical to the basement at the Visser and it was where Virgil's brother was planning a human sacrifice. Virgil says that Dan was hallucinating when they found him, so Dan asks what he and Thomas Bellows were doing there. Virgil asks him if he is feeling okay and Dan realizes that he only wants to know what his brother was up to. Virgil asks him how he thinks he sounds accusing the owner of a Fortune 500 company of being an occultist, also mentioning that Dan had destroyed a lot of very expensive equipment at the compound, which they did get on camera. He tells Dan to take the money and go back to his life so he would not press charges against him.
Reunited, Mark told Dan about the Vos family.
Outside, Dan loses his temper and goes back to his apartment, which was open. There, he sees Mark, who walks up to him and hugs him. He tells him that he had to get something for him, but Dan asks if he had gotten his message because he has Thomas on video mentioning a face in the screen. Mark thinks he is strange, but Dan says that he saw it too and describes it as unhuman. Mark says that people used to believe cameras could capture demons and says that he wants to show him something as well. He shows him the William Crest collection, telling him that Evie Crest had died. Mark tells him about the Vos society, which did a lot of dark magic and had an instruction manual from witches called Baldung. He tells him that they were trying to raise Kaelego from an alternate dimension. He hands Dan the snuff film Samuel wanted, which William Crest dedicated his life to figure out. He shows him the Vos family ghost photos and asks if he had been seeing something similar, but Dan is not sure. However, he looks at one of the photos and recognizes a woman, who Mark says is Iris Vos, but Dan says that was the woman that Anabelle was painting.
Iris welcomed Rose as a new maid.
In the year 1924 in New York City, Rose hands a woman her coat and is told that Ms. Vos would now see her. Iris waits for her and they greet each other, asking if she had heard about the job. Rose says that she knows she is looking for a lady's maid; Iris says that she knows people find them odd, but America has been good to them. Rose tells her that she had come there with her parents and sisters, but they all died on the ship, so she was alone. Iris says that her last maid disappeared. She tells her that her father gave her a small music box when she was little and tells Rose to open it. When Rose opens it, the melody Dan's sister played sounds, which Iris says is an old folk song. Rose says that it is hard for her to believe in God when he let her family die like that, which Iris can understand, but she says that she would see them again. Iris asks if she likes babies and Rose says that she did not know she was married, so Iris says that she kept her husband's name even though he died in the war. Iris tells her that she thinks she is special and capable of holding a whole new world inside of her.
A man walks in, telling Iris that a package was there for them which she goes to see with Rose. Iris introduces Rose to her brothers Lukas and Jonah. They open the box, which has the Kaelego figure inside. When Rose asks what it is, Iris says it is everything she had ever dreamed of.
Iris told Rose about a comet that would be coming to Earth.
Later, Rose notices Iris' necklace, which Iris says is rumored to have come from a comet, which she says can reveal all the secrets of the universe. She invites Rose to sit and reads that the comet would come so close to the Earth that she would be able to see it, so they would host party. There would also be a thinning between what separated the worlds.
Iris goes downstairs to the party, while Rose serves champagne. Iris approaches Emma Trillay and introduces herself, saying Lukas had forgotten to mention her. Emma describes herself as a poet, confessing that she had wanted to be a part of their society for years and wants to be there for the return, which Iris says she shall be.
The guests move to another room, but Rose is taken away by another maid. Iris lights a candle and shows them all the Kaelego figure, which she says Lukas had dedicated himself to finding, which would make their father proud and hopes everyone is ready to bring forth a new world. Jonah calls forth their devotion to the other world by playing some tuning forks, as Iris begins reciting a prayer. Rose sneaks in to watch what is going on and pictures of Iris are taken next to the figure. Rose is taken away after that.
Iris's photograph is put in the darkroom, where both she and Lukas can see a face behind her so they say that it is working and he is among them, which makes Iris what they might see with a motion-picture camera.
Iris was very sad to have lost her child, wondering why Kaelego was not helping her.
Rose walks into Iris's bathroom and finds her bleeding, having lost a child. She is put in bed and the doctor goes away. Rose asks her if she wants brandy, but Iris simply says that the doctor told her that if she keeps trying, she will die. Rose asks her to take care of herself and Iris says that she believed that her devotion would grant her a child. She tells Rose that there is another world ruled by a being more powerful than any other being, able to grant eternal life, wealth and peace, also reuniting them with the people they have lost. She says that he could give her a child and that is the world she has devoted her life to. Rose says that it sounds like a dream and gets into bed with Iris, who hugs her, saying that she hopes when she arrives, she will be a daughter like her.
Rose scrubs the bathroom floor, cleaning the blood. Iris approaches her and asks what she was doing. Rose answers that she found a lot of mold growing through the tiles, basement and pantry, all in strange patterns. Iris tells her to stop scrubbing and tells her that it proves that it is not a dream, but a demonstration of their devotion. She tells Rose that the mold was his body and blood and was pushing through the veil that separates them.
In the middle of the night, Rose wakes up coughing and hears a glass shatter. She walks towards the sound and sees Emma taking a book. She tells her that it is Iris's book, but Emma says it is not, wondering what she had been told about their society. She asks if Iris had promised her she could hold a new world inside of her and tells her to go with her before it was too late.
Iris turns the light on and sees Emma was taking the book, saying the book does not belong to her either and recognizes her as a Baldung, since her kind had thrown it away like a piece of garbage. Emma says that they had done that to keep humanity safe, but Iris says that it was to keep them small and servile. Emma wonders if she really understands what she is about to do and Iris says that she would save humanity from itself, but Emma says that that is not a god or savior, but a source of destruction for everyone, including those faithful. Emma says that they made the mistake of setting it free and nearly destroyed everything and now they had to make sure nobody made that mistake again.
Jonah killed the Baldung witch because she threatened to burn the book.
Jonah shows up and points a gun toward Emma, telling her to put the book down. Emma threatens to burn the book, so Jonah shoots her, which makes shocks Iris, asking him what he had done, since the book does not burn and they needed her. Lukas joins them and they wonder if Rose should go get the doctor, but they realize that Emma was already dead. Iris tells them that they should collect as much blood as they could. Iris asks Rose if she is okay and wonders what Emma had said, but she does not remember, so she sends her to bed and tells her to forget what she saw.
At the comet Kharon party, Iris walks into Rose praying. She asks what she is doing and if she needs protection from a false god, having thought that Rose wanted what she did as well. Rose says that she does and she does because she wants to see her family again, so Iris gives her the music box with the black necklace inside, saying that they should put her in a dress.
Iris asked Lukas to stay, but he could not go through with what she wanted to do.
Rose walks down into the party with Iris and looks around. They make their way to the telescopes, where Rose is able to see the comet. Iris sees Lukas heading somewhere, so she goes after him. He tells her that he knows he cannot convince her to not go through with it, but he would walk away, since he did not want to sacrifice all those people who thought they were at a party. Iris slaps him and apologizes, wanting him to stay, but he says that she cannot be doing all that for a child. She says that she is doing that for their father, but Lukas tells her that their father is dead, which was natural. Iris asks him to stay, but he leaves.
Rose walks out behind Iris, asking if she is alright and they walk back into the party. She looks at Jonah and walks to the stage, thanking everyone for being there. Everybody toasts to the comet and the band starts playing again. Rose follows Iris into the basement, where she is asked if she is ready. Rose says she is and people wait for them at the basement.
As part of her ritual, Iris slit Rose's throat.
Jonah begins recording as Iris stands next to the Kaelego figure and begins chanting a prayer, calling Kaelego. She grabs a knife and hits twice. before unwrapping a cloth which covered her book. She says that a ferryman now shows them the path through the veil and everyone puts a mask on except for her and Rose. They begin humming the prayer as Iris is handed a glass with blood. She pours it on Kaelego's figure, saying to let them nourish the ground in his name. She declares a new passage into the afterworld and picks up a knife, asking Rose, to walk to her. Rose walks towards her, saying that her body was now his. She picks up the knife and slits Rose's throat, asking Kaelego to come forth. A light begins shining above her and the film ends.
Mark tells Dan that the Vos mansion was destroyed in a fire as well as the Visser, so they realize that Iris had done the same ritual trying to bring the demon to their world, which means that Samuel must have done the same thing at some point. Dan says that Melody's tapes just ended, so he has no idea what happened to her after his father took her to Rockland. Dan says that Samuel could not have killed Melody since he needed her, so Dan wonders if there is someone left who could help them. Dan asks about Anabelle, who would be 50, but Mark wonders if they should leave it. Dan needs to know what happened since his father was a part of that and they stole her life. Mark asks what Anabelle's last name is and Dan gives it to him, so they start looking for her.
Dan and Mark went to visit Anabelle, who told them that Melody was in the Otherworld.
Walking into Rockland, Dan and Mark are taken to Anabelle. She asks if he is Dan and he asks if she knows him. She asks what took him so long and opens the door for him. Inside, Anabelle tells him that "she" had been waiting for him, which he does not understand until she mentions Melody, who was painted all over her wall. Dan wonders where she is and Anabelle tells him that in the Otherworld just like Iris was and tells him that he needs to get her out.
Cast[]
Main cast[]
- Dan Turner - Mamoudou Athie
- Melody Pendras - Dina Shihabi
- Samuel - Evan Jonigkeit
- Anabelle - Julia Chan
- Jess - Ariana Neal
- Mark Higgins - Matt McGorry
- Virgil Davenport - Martin Donovan
- Iris Vos - Georgina Haig
- Rose - Meg Hennessy
- Jonah Vos - Nick Podany
- Lukas Vos - Gilles Geary
- Emma Trillay - Ellen Adair
- Callie - Shay Guthrie
- Dan's Neighbor - Curtis Caldwell
- Nurse - Angela Nicole Hunt
- Party Guest - Ethan Saks
- Housekepper - Juliette Regnier
Additional cast[]
- Patient - Leon Gray III
- Paul - David H. Holmes
- Visser Tenant - Daniel Johnson
- VOS member - Ellen Kotzin
- Pedestrian - Hilda Ivette Rodriguez
- Nicolas - Cotter Smith