Time for your session, Joni.
We're gonna do something else today. Are you okay with that, Joni?
I thought we might try something a little bit different.
I've been doing some reading on how seances work.
Could you show me how you did it?
Do you think it's safe?
-I think so. -Okay.
First, we have to…
invite a spirit.
Close your eyes.
Okay.
Now, we ask a question.
My name is Zarah, with a Z.
What's your name?
Hi, Levi.
Levi, can you play a game with us?
Okay.
Now, I wonder…
Will Levi still be able to move the glass?
How will we know what he's trying to tell us?
Shall we continue?
Okay.
Are you still there, Levi?
Okay.
Is there something you'd like to ask?
Levi…
Where's Gracie?
Okay.
What do you see, Joni? Does it make any sense?
-Have you slept? -No. Not really.
Bob said there was some excitement during the night.
-That's an understatement. -I slept like a baby.
Oh.
Well, I'm dying to hear Mina's version of events.
I'm sure you'll tell it better.
Well, you're coming with me to the Darlings.
And then I think you and me should sit down and have a bit of a chat.
Great. I love our chats.
-You know, sarcasm is the lowest-- -Lowest form of humor. Yeah, I know.
Lulu wet the bed.
-Oh, did she? I could do those. -No, I'll go. I said I've got it.
Okay.
Hey, babe. Are you all right?
-Did you have a hard night last night? -I had a bad dream.
Can you tell me about it?
There was something scary in the forest.
We're gonna go home really soon, okay? Promise.
Why do I have to do this?
Well, think about it as part of the consequences from last night.
Punitive justice is bullshit.
I don't even know James Darling. He's just some random old man.
He's not some random, okay? He meant a lot, growing up.
To you.
To the town, Mina.
He helped a lot of people through the church, getting jobs.
Then you do it.
Oh, you need to learn to care for your community, Mina.
-The world doesn't revolve around you. -I do care. This is not my community.
You need to stop pushing me, Mina.
-What? -I'm so close to losing it right now.
Fine.
But I'm only doing it this one time.
Yeah, and I'm not putting in any expression.
Dad…
Joni's here. And she brought her daughter, Mina, to read to you.
-Dad, I said it's Joni with Mi-- -Oh, don't shout, Moira.
I heard you the first time.
He's been reading this together with Frankie.
-Dad, do you enjoy this? -Yes, yes, yes.
Um…
"The trickling water had made a pool,
deep and beautiful,
and delicate ferns had crept tenderly to fringe its edge."
"The black swan built among the grass-like reeds."
"The wild duck made frequent dark zigzag lines against the sky."
"From the trees, the bell-bird, the coachwhip, the tewinga,
filled the air with sound, if not with music."
"And the black snake, the brown snake, the whip, the diamond,
and the death adder glided gently among the fallen leaves and grasses,
and held themselves in cheerful readiness for intruders."
I swear, Peter only mows the grass when you're here.
What? Why?
Duh. He's showing off for you.
Don't be stupid.
-He's hot, yeah? -Ew, he's your cousin.
Well, you admit it. He's hot though.
He always looks so sad. Tell me how his parents died again.
-Why don't you ask him yourself? -Gracie!
-Ask me what? -Go on, ask him. He doesn't mind.
-What don't I mind? -Nothing.
Just don't listen to her teasing.
-You took my locket. -Piss off, Ruth.
-Mum gave it to me. -Liar!
-Don't touch me! -Give it back!
-Ow! What the fuck! -Hey! Let her go.
Stop. Stop! Ruth. Stop it! Just stop.
-I'm fucking bleeding, bitch! -Hey!
-She started it. -No, I didn't!
You better go home, Joni.
All right. What happened?
-Well? -She kept stealing my locket!
Do your penance.
Forgive me, Lord, for my sins.
Forgive the sins of my soul and the sins of my body.
Our secrets and all our sins.
Sins we have done to please ourselves and sins we have done to please others.
Sins we…
I hate you.
Forgive me Lord for I have sinned.
I'm gonna fucking kill you.
Forgive the sins of my soul and the sins of my body.
The sins we have done to please ourselves and sins we have done to please others.
Thank you.
Grandpa! What are you doing?
All aboard!
Hey. What's going on?
Bob's taking us for gelati via the scenic route.
Nan said I can get a double-scoop.
-Double? -Was it torture, darling?
It was fine. He was actually quite nice.
Well, well, well. The mysteries of dementia.
Though, some people say it makes people a little more--
-Careful, Pattie. -Tolerable.
You coming for gelati?
Well, Mina's supposed to be feeling the consequences.
Quality mother-daughter time, eh?
Well, I won't get in the way of your plans.
Go on.
You sit back there and hold on tight.
That's the way!
I'm gonna go out for a bit. So, I'll see ya later.
Good girl, Lu. Hold on.
-Okay. Off we go. -Bye, Mum.
Here we go. This is fun!
Can you tell me again what happened in the forest?
I already told you.
So the killer, Levi, he got out of the game and he possessed your friends.
You'd believe it if you saw it.
I believe you saw something truly frightening out there. I do.
But there's a perfectly rational explanation.
Explain it to me, then.
You can't, can you?
Because it wasn't just me. Mina saw it as well.
And what about Caitlyn and Sienna and the others who were actually playing?
-Talk to them, you'll see. -I'd like to. I will.
I really wanna understand what's going on.
Bye.
-Um, anything new? -No.
I promised her that I would speak with the other kids, and I would like to do that.
-Can you set that up for me? -That's gonna be a tough sell.
I mean, you know who Caitlyn's Mum is, right?
What--? Lucky you're not afraid of the Samanthas anymore.
Hm…
-Okay. Send me some contacts. -Yeah.
Stay there. Back, back, back.
-Hi, Samantha. Um… -Joni!
-Yes. -It's so nice to see you.
Yeah!
Jay has actually asked if I could just come and speak with the other kids
after the party last night.
Yeah, Caity said they were holding a vigil. Bless.
-How's she feeling today? -A bit of overexcitement, that's all.
Caitlyn doesn't do drugs.
Could I have a quick word with her?
Oh, hun. I… I don't know if that would be appropriate.
Oh…
I don't mean to be rude, but Caity's still upset since her dad left.
-I don't want anyone upsetting her more. -I didn't know that. I'm sorry.
It wasn't another woman, if that's what you were thinking. Pokies.
Ah.
-Hey, um, are you Lewis? -I'm not talking to any more cops.
I'm not a cop. Actually, I'm a friend of Frankie's.
Did you ever have a hallucination before?
I mean, yeah, once on liquid acid, I saw a dragon in some moss.
Pixies. Normal shit, you know.
But what happened at the party? That was different.
Really? What happened?
Well, we were all playing just for laughs, you know?
Right.
Then Caitlyn started, like, fitting.
I thought she was faking at first, but then it hit me, too.
You think there's a chance it was just a bad trip?
Maybe. But half the girls didn't take anything, so…
Any of you had anything traumatic happen in your lives recently?
Like a car accident or loss or--
More traumatic than our best friend going missing
and a burnt fucking skeleton showing up?
-Hey. -Hey.
-I'm grounded. -My Mum's more into guilt-tripping.
You know, like, "Do you feel like you've let yourself down?"
Could be worse, I guess.
Well, she's also making me read to the elderly.
-James Darling? -Yeah.
Frankie used to do that. He thought she was Gracie half the time. It's so creepy.
I don't know. He's kind of sweet and sad.
Your mom's been talking to Caitlyn and the others.
-She's freaking everyone out. -Sorry.
You know they were doing a seance the night Gracie disappeared?
What? But Mum doesn't believe in that stuff.
Caitlyn's Mum told her they had to lock your mum up in a lunatic asylum.
-God, what is Caitlyn's problem? -I told her it was bullshit, but…
Are you there, Jay?
Yeah. Go ahead.
Ruth Darling's been spotted out on the old fire trail.
Can you check if she's okay?
Uh, yeah. Copy that.
Hello?
-Hey. -Fuck!
-Christ. -Sorry.
You scared me. Are you gonna help?
Mum was so good. She never gave up hope Gracie was alive.
Never stopped looking, campaigning, telling anyone who'd listen.
You're a good mum.
-There's still every chance. -Mum prayed every day.
Wore the carpet bare. Begging God to bring Gracie home.
Every day for 27 years.
Her body was less than five K's away the whole time.
What kind of a God?
-Can we play truth or dare? -Dare.
Truth.
Is it true that…
Mum and Gracie used to do seances?
Oh. I see.
It's what everyone's saying.
It was a tragedy what happened to Gracie. A horrible crime.
There's rumors that they were messing with spirits.
You believe in that stuff, right?
I believe there are forces out there.
Things that we don't totally understand.
So, you do?
Spirits didn't take Gracie away. No. A man did that.
-How do you know it was a man? -Statistics.
So, did Mum go to an insane asylum?
That's an unkind way of putting it. Who told you that?
Caitlyn's Mum told Caitlyn, and then she told Raffy.
Your mother was traumatized.
I tried to help her,
but in this town, the gossip, the reminders,
she didn't stand a chance.
-The-- Your first one-- -Hello.
-Um, where is Pattie? -Out the back.
-Have you eaten? -Yeah.
Okay. Well, dishwasher and teeth. Now.
Teeth now, please. Excuse me.
Wait. How you feeling?
What?
I know you don't now, but…
Did you used to believe in all that stuff? Like spirits and…
No. I mean…
Don't believe everything that Pattie says, okay?
You remember what her cure for warts was?
Yeah. Put a sixpence on a crossroad at midnight?
Yeah, exactly. Bedtime for Lulu. Bedtime, please.
Okay.
-Good girl. Thank you. -Go on.
Go brush your teeth and I'll see you in a second.
-Okay, Mama. -I love you.
The night Gracie disappeared, you ran from the shack
leaving the girls there?
Yeah. I-- I left them there.
-And then where did you go? -To Anita's.
And she'll verify that?
Speak up.
Yeah. She'll verify that.
Joni.
I need to tell you something.
Oh, fuck off!
Come on, Billy, stop fucking around.
Joni. Jay. Please, please, please, tell them.
I didn't do anything to Gracie. Please.
Please, please, please, please! Fuck off!
-Get the fuck off me! God! Oh, God! -Get in the back, keep moving.
Please. Please! Guys!
So what are the kids saying happened?
They think during the game
that they released an evil spirit, Gracie's killer,
who possessed them all and showed them visions of Gracie's death.
-And the professional opinion? -Well, most of them have recent trauma.
Right? Deaths. Parental breakups. Which makes sense on an individual level.
Mm-hm.
But it also makes them vulnerable for a thing called Mass Sociogenic Illness.
Right. Okay. So, what's that in layman's terms?
Have you ever heard of Girlstown?
So, Girlstown was a boarding school in Mexico.
Hundreds of girls start showing signs of possession. Right?
You've got, uh, pain in their legs, paralysis, uh, visions of dead babies.
They send in a doctor, but there's nothing medically wrong with them.
They send in a psychiatrist who does some digging,
and of course, they've all got recent trauma.
Uh, broken homes, abuse, uh…
And right at this time, they were all playing with seances and black magic.
Yeah, so the psych basically puts all the pieces together
and realizes it's a case of MSI.
You know, it's basically maladaptive empathy.
You know, we start to mirror somebody else's physical experience. Right?
-Right. -You yawn, which makes me yawn.
I say that I'm sick, and all of a sudden, you feel unwell.
Yeah. All right, so profile fits. What's the treatment?
I mean, cases like this usually resolve on their own
when the heat comes out of it, but…
-Watch and wait? -Mm.
My professional recommendation is we keep the kids separated.
No communication. Basically until Frankie turns up.
Wow.
-Misspent youth. -Ha.
Probably better spent than mine.
Anita swept me along on all of her mad craziness.
Really? Really, like what?
Mushroom growing. Composting toilets. Tantric sex.
Ooh, I had no idea you're into that sort of thing.
I wasn't. Well, maybe the sex, but-- You?
-Uh, just normal sex for me. -No!
I meant relationships.
Well, yeah. I may have made some bad choices.
Mina's dad turned out to have a real nasty streak, actually.
And Lulu's dad just-- Just wasn't really interested in being a dad.
Harsh.
I never would have imagined that you and Anita would have ended up together.
Well, we haven't ended up together, have we?
Right.
-Who did you imagine I'd end up with? -I don't know.
Oh, yeah. It's not like you ever would have gone out with me.
Wouldn't I have? It's not like you've ever asked me.
God, no. How stupid would that have been?
Yeah. So stupid.
Um…
-I didn't mean-- -Hello.
-Hi, Anita. -Joni.
Jay.
Heard you were doing the rounds today.
Yeah. I thought I'd better check in, and…
Yeah, look, I'm sure you're doing your own research,
but if you need any additional resources, I can point you in the right direction.
YouTube.
We're bringing a civil suit against the Darlings.
Symptoms living close to turbines: dizziness, vertigo, hallucinations.
-Sound familiar? -Yeah, that's really interesting.
I'll have to look it up. Maybe you can send me some links.
Yes. Yeah, I will. I mean, I can show you some now, if you like.
Oh, no, no. You know what? I should actually get back to the kids.
So, I'm gonna go. Bye, Anita.
This town is sick.
I was just thinking how little this town has changed.
Fuck.
-You all right, Ruth? -Yeah. Can't find my damn keys.
I'll give you a lift. You can find them in the morning.
It's left up here.
Yep. I know the way to your place, Ruth.
What are you doing here?
Well, I just thought if I-- You know, if I could help you and your Mum,
then I, I should.
You know, you and Gracie were always…
I never thought Frankie would turn out like that.
Like, um-- Like what?
Wild.
As soon as she turned 13, she turned into a little monster.
Mm.
Teenagers. Who'd have them? Sorry.
They say teenage girls are their mothers' punishments.
Fucking thing.
Mr. Darling.
-Mr. Darling, James? -…that I can remember…
It's Joni.
Is it enough?
Okay.
Let's get you back up and inside the house, okay?
Are you okay? Can you stand?
Grandpa?
-Joni. -Hi. I--
I gave Ruth a ride home, and I saw that he was-- I'm so sorry.
-I just-- Oh, no. -Come on.
-It's all right. -You're all right. It's okay.
Come on, granddad. Let's get you home. Watch your step.
Oh, you all right? I got it. You're good.
-Yes, yes, all right. -Get in.
-Just let me get-- -No!
-I'm not a child, you know! -I know-- I know you're not.
-Can you get in the back with him? -Yeah.
-There it is. -Yeah, yeah, sure.
-Thanks, Joni. -All right.
It's all right. It's all right.
-I'm all right. I'm all right. -Okay. See you tomorrow.
-Don't worry about it… -I'll get you into bed.
-All good? -Yeah.
-Thank you, Joni. -It's fine. It's not-- Not a problem.
So, are you gonna stay around for the funeral?
The funeral? The… The funeral. Yes, of course.
Moira's been having me digitize all these old photos.
Oh…
-There's a bunch of you in there. -Really?
I scanned them all. You should have them.
Oh, no. You should keep them. They're yours.
I'd love you to have them.
Oh…
Yeah, okay. Sure. Thanks.
-I'll run you up and back. -Yeah.
Welcome. So…
Here they are.
-Are you sure? -Yeah. Yeah. No, I want you to have them.
Thanks.
Drink?
Um… Sure.
-Whiskey okay? -Mm-hm.
Take a seat.
So, what was he doing?
Your grandfather in the shed, do you think?
Well… Penance.
We used to have to kneel on chicken grits.
-Are you serious? -Yeah. It's family tradition.
Mm.
Hm. That was probably Ruth. God, they used to fight.
I remember.
Gracie was just so fearless.
No matter what punishment they doled out, just…
Just bounced off her.
Yeah, why not?
Why not, indeed. At this point…
How come you never moved away?
I thought about it.
-Someone has to look after the farm. -Mm.
And you, who, who looks after you?
This okay?
-Is this you doing your penance? -Yeah. Yeah, maybe.
Morning.
Wanna stay for breakfast?
I-- I better get back to the kids.
Okay. better get back to the kids.