Meanwhile, Caliban has fled back to Victor’s laboratory, claiming that he has nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. Victor doesn’t have any sympathy for his creation after the murder of Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. Caliban admits that his demand for a mate was “futile,” having been forced to face his own monstrous self by Maud’s ultimate rejection. Quietly, behind him, Victor raises the pistol that Ethan taught him to use. “This shattered visage simply reflects the abomination that is my heart,” Caliban says, looking off into the distance. Tearing up, he asks Victor, “Why did you allow me to feel?” Despite his crimes, Caliban is ultimately a victim of Victor’s thoughtlessness, and even Victor is forced to confront that fact as the creature kneels before him, saying things like, “I would rather be the corpse I was than the man I am.” Victor is the real monster for having thrust Caliban into the world without a chance at love. Caliban, aware of the gun in Victor’s hand, begs his creator to put him out of his misery, but Victor eventually lowers the gun, instead placing a hand on Caliban’s shoulder.
That’s when Ethan knocks at Victor’s door, desperate for help for Brona. Victor wipes the tears away and goes to work. In her bedroom, Victor prepares to give her a sedative. She tells him, “I hated that fucker God, you see? Cruel, he really was.” Now that her death is near, however, Brona is afraid – “I’ve not been good,” she rasps. Victor assures her that she’s simply stepping through a door, but she’s scared about what’s waiting for her on the other side. Victor asks Ethan to go fetch a pail of water and then kneels by Brona’s bedside. “I believe in a place between Heaven and hell, between the living and the dead,” he whispers to her. “A place of glorious rebirth, perhaps even salvation.” She nods when he asks her if she believes in such a place.
“There is a price to pay for such a passage,” he tells her, his face shadowy, but he notes that “I know that you will pay it easily.” Victor has been on a dark path all season long, but his actions in this scene take him past what many viewers will likely call the point of no return. As Ethan fetches the water, he smothers Brona where she lies. After a few seconds, Brona is no more. No sooner than has Victor replaced the pillow than does Ethan walk back in. “Her passing was a thing of grace, I promise you,” he lies through his teeth, watching his friend’s face fall. He moves to her side, sobbing. Victor is grave, but for a different reason altogether. Now, he cannot claim to be pure, a virgin, as the other members of the group have repeatedly noted him to be – he has given in to his demons (and into one external demon in particular). He has become the true monster. “Spend your time with her,” he says, adding with great solemnity, “And don’t worry, I’ll take care of the body.” Oh, I bet you will, Victor. I bet you will.
Heartbroken, Ethan returns to the bar where he first met Brona. His two pursuers sidle up to the bar and introduce themselves. “Your father’s eager to see you,” one says. He identifies them as federal marshals, but they laugh at that and tell him they’re in the private sector. One pulls chains out and lays them on the bar. They tell him to come calmly or else they’ll have to use force. Clearly, Ethan’s pursuers haven’t been keeping a close eye on what he’s been getting up to this season. Otherwise, they’d have probably been a little more subtle. Calmly, he smiles at them and rises, saying of the chains, “You won’t be needing those.” In that same moment, he smashes a glass against one of their heads and chokes the other with the chains, throwing them both to one side and striding out. As they catch their breath, one growls to the other, “We’ve underestimated our prey.”
