We cut to the next day, with a shell-shocked Branson sheepishly pulling away in his carriage, and Mina weeping into her mother’s arms. Vanessa, now in control of her own mind, begins to run from her house to Mina’s, in hopes of somehow making things right. Her baffled mother tries to stop her, but Vanessa calls her out on her own sins, sending her reeling backwards. Then, Sir Malcolm is in her way. “I always thought my travelling would kill my family, being away so much,” he says, “My thoughtlessness. I never imagined it would be a cruel little girl.” With that, he slams the iron gate between their properties shut forever.
Vanessa stumbles back through the woods, but her eyes roll back up into her head and she collapses. A terrible sickness has taken her, we learn, complete with terrible seizures and lethargy. In many ways, she appears possessed. Doctors are baffled, eventually concluding that her brain is the problem. “Something inside you,” says her mother. Unfortunately, they don’t consider that what’s plaguing Vanessa might actually be just that – an demonic force hiding inside.
While at Vanessa’s bedside, her mother also brings news of the Murrays. Mina has left the area, and there’s no longer any contact between the Murrays and the Ives. Soon, Vanessa will be leaving too – to see a specialist in London. Vanessa guesses correctly that her parents are about to institutionalize her. “I am not unhappy – you should let me die,” she tells her mother, who collapses into shocked tears.
Reluctant to abandon their daughter, the Ives enlist the help of Dr. Banning (Frank McCusker). He’s none too helpful, diagnosing Vanessa with “hysteria of a psychosexual nature” and recommending cruel methods like hydrotherapy (essentially water torture). When he brings up “surgical options,” aka lobotomy, Vanessa murmurs, “Yes, let’s do that.” It’s the first time she’s said anything and, excited, Banning orders her parents from the room.
When they’re alone, however, Banning soon realizes his mistake. She stands and quickly walks to the window, talking about how she loves the ocean. “Have you ever seen a man drown?” She growls, smiling. Vanessa, clearly possessed, recounts the last moments of prisoners on a sinking slave ship, damned to go from a tortured life to an even more torturous afterlife. Eva Green’s frantic delivery is terrifically unnerving. You can see the panic on Banning’s face as he trips the silent alarm under his desk.
“Vanessa, it’s very important to me that you sit down now,” he says sternly, trying to regain some control. She lurches over to stand before him, her eyes menacing. “Who’s Vanessa?” She asks, an evil smile playing around her lips. Banning’s eyes grow wide as she grabs him by the head and leans in to take a bite. Luckily, the help moves in to restrain her before she can sink her teeth into his skull. Needless to say, that little display doesn’t go down too well with Banning or the Ives, so Vanessa is admitted.
