Bad Blood

At an interrogation facility, Sterling and Briggs question Mason Kyle while the Naturals watch. Mason refuses to speak until Cassie uses the intercom to ask about her mother, Lorelai. He replies that he’s a dead man and says the Pythia must condemn him to ensure her own survival. He details the Rite of Seven, which is seven days of torture by the seven Masters. Cassie enters the room, and Mason taunts her, saying he helped Laurel escape only to give the Pythia false hope. He predicts a bloody death when the Pythia passes judgment.

The Pythia—Lorelai, Cassie’s mother—recovers from a violent ritual after condemning Nightshade, aware of gaps in her memory. Master Five stabbed her during the ceremony. Laurel stands nearby and imitates the ritual, dipping her fingers in Lorelai’s blood. This shows how easily she echoes the group’s brutality.

The team learns that guards discovered Nightshade dead in his secure cell, proving the Masters’ reach. Cassie fixates on the evidence wall, noting that April 2 is the first of four upcoming Fibonacci dates, which the Masters use for their murders. Driven by guilt, she obsesses over the case. Dean pulls her away and helps ground her when she admits the weight she carries. Desperate to drown the guilt, she initiates a physical connection with him.

Cassie dreams of her mother’s disappearance. In the dream, she sees Laurel refer to the “game,” watches Lorelai dance along a roadside, and hears Nightshade speak of the Pythia choosing survival. She wakes to find Dean beside her and Celine at her door. Celine says goodbye and asks Cassie to look out for Michael and Sloane. Cassie’s dream has clarified a lead, and she says they must go to Gaither, Oklahoma (Mason Kyle’s hometown).

The Pythia is shown a photo of Nightshade’s corpse and accepts her role in his death without remorse. The Masters add another diamond to the Pythia’s necklace to mark the life ended with her sanction. She touches the image and smiles, embracing the power she holds.

On April 2, in Gaither, Oklahoma, the Naturals and their FBI handlers find an apothecary garden and museum that echoes Nightshade’s poison specialty. A hostile young man, Shane, confronts them before an elderly curator, Walter Thanes, steps out of the museum. Feeling an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, Cassie wanders to a blue house with a large oak tree and recognizes it as a childhood home.

The team realizes that the fact that Lorelai once lived in Nightshade’s hometown can’t be a coincidence. Sterling can’t reach Briggs, raising an alarm since it’s a Fibonacci date. Cassie and the Naturals refuse to leave. Sterling checks the group into a hotel, sets strict safety protocols, distributes tracking beacons, and arms Dean and Lia, making it clear that they’re there only to gather information.

The next morning, at a diner, the owner (Ree) recognizes Cassie. She says she was Lorelai and Cassie’s landlady and identifies Shane as her grandson. When Cassie asks about Mason Kyle, patrons mention that a local cult murdered his family. A group in white gathers outside. Shane confronts his sister, Melody (now called Echo), who has joined the cult. The cult’s leader, Holland Darby, intervenes and defuses the scene.

At the hotel, Sterling shares the file on the cult, which is called Serenity Ranch, and its tie to the Kyle family murders 33 years earlier. The file states that Mason’s parents were killed after refusing to sell land to Darby. The group debates whether a Master groomed Mason after the murders. The discussion triggers Lia, who returns in a psychic’s costume with a plan to con Marcela Waite, a wealthy town gossip, to obtain more information.

Lia, Cassie, and Sloane visit Marcela Waite’s home. Lia plays a psychic, while Sloane supplies data-driven “insights.” Their performance wins Marcela’s confidence. Lia fakes a possession and “channels” a spirit who speaks of a brutal murder and a missing son. When Cassie presses for a name, Lia identifies the spirit as Anna.

Marcela says the spirit is Anna Kyle, Mason Kyle’s mother. She shares a rumor that nine-year-old Mason witnessed the murders, knew the killer, and let the attack happen, which led his grandfather, Malcolm Lowell, to abandon him. Marcela says a local couple, Hannah and Walter Thanes, adopted Mason afterward. She adds that Walter runs the apothecary museum.

Master Five tells the Pythia that the FBI is in Gaither. Five mentions Cassie’s name to gauge the Pythia’s reaction. She remains impassive, denying him any hint of leverage.

The group returns to the apothecary museum to question Walter Thanes. He confirms that he and his late wife raised Mason. Dr. Kane Darby, Holland’s son, arrives, and seeing his face triggers Cassie’s memory of him with Lorelai. When Thanes mentions their interest in Mason, Kane says he was Mason’s childhood friend. The memory of Kane’s romantic connection to Lorelai overwhelms Cassie, and she flees the museum.

On the street, Cassie tells the team what she remembered. Michael profiles Kane and senses anger, guilt, and dread tied to Holland Darby. Lia notes that those emotions are common in people raised in cults. Cassie admits that Lorelai and Kane may have been in love, making Kane the only known link between Nightshade and Lorelai.

Master Five informs the Pythia that Cassie is in Gaither. The Pythia resolves to protect her daughter by fully embracing her role as a monster. When a young acolyte brings her his work for judgment, she binds him to her with promises of power for absolute obedience. She decides that Cassie needs the weapon, not the mother.

Cassie, Dean, and Sterling return to the blue house. Shane, who lives there, lets them in. In Lorelai’s old bedroom, Cassie flashes back to overhearing Lorelai telling Kane that she had a younger sister, whom she left behind with their abusive father. A crash from the kitchen breaks the memory. Shane has cut his hand, and the blood triggers another fragment for Cassie. Shane then relays a call: Lia has gone to Serenity Ranch.

Sterling drives Cassie and Dean to Serenity Ranch, ordering them to stay in the car. Dean prepares to force his way in and tells Cassie about Lia’s childhood in a religious commune, where she was abused and confined. Understanding Lia’s motivation, Cassie agrees that they can’t wait. As Holland Darby comes to the gate to meet Sterling, Cassie and Dean get out to back Lia up.