'Channel Zero' Recap: 'Welcome Home'

Written by Scott Edwards

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

After his long talk with Francis Booth, Mike has finally discovered that Eddie has been behind Candle Cove the entire time and needs to find a way to get through to him. But time is not on his side as he discovers that Eddie has taken Lily away from him once again, but this time she is in the show and has no way of getting out. Knowing that he is the only one that can save his daughter, Mike is ready to give up everything to bring her back safely, and even though he knows that he has to go at it alone, he will have help from his mother and wife if needed. Giving Marla specific instructions on what to do in the event of something terrible happening, Mike heads out into the woods to find out how to enter Candle Cove and silence his ailing brother once and for all.

With children going missing left and right in Iron Hills, Officer Amy has recruited her Sheriff to come along with her on the hunt. Even though Gary is there to help, he admits that his past life must be left in the past since now he is the only parent that his children will have. Roaming through the woods, Amy spots a child out of the corner of her eye, but Gary sees his prize as Katie and Dane move out of the trees. Pleading with his kids to let him be the best parent he can be to them, he is able to break through the killer voices the kids are hearing and take his prized possessions back home where they are safe. Amy is still on the hunt for Francis Booth and spotting her once, she makes her way deeper into the children’s Candle Cove territory not knowing who or what she will find.

Finding Lily passed out in an open field, Mike knows that he must trust that the tooth monster that is hidden away will take him to the place he needs to be. Knowing that it is his brother, Mike allows himself to be taken to another reality, but this one is much more sinister than his own. Walking through the halls of Eddie’s reality, Mike encounters many characters from his dreams, he even finds the kids that Eddie killed when he was still alive. Making his way to Eddie’s bedroom, Mike sees that his brother is alive and well and that a trade is on the table for the life of Lily. Even though Mike is not ready to give up just yet, he is able to agree to his brother’s terms to free his daughter and give her one last message.

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Trying to get Eddie’s mind off of going back to the land of the living, Mike challenges him to the card game of War, that never ended when they were both still alive. Knowing that this is a tactic to keep him from being free, Eddie agrees and the two finish their unfinished game. Needing to keep his brother occupied until his mother can complete what he has asked of her, Mike continues to talk to Eddie who is hell bent on returning to the world and carrying on his work. Knowing that there is nothing he can do to stop him, especially with the Skin Taker roaming around the room, Mike has one final play that will ensure that the two are reunited for all eternity...

Seeing Lily making it home without a scratch, Marla is surprised to hear that Mike wants her to finish the job to end the cycle between him and his brother. Rushing out to the woods, Marla sees Francis Booth and is forced to confront her former friend. Wanting to bring Eddie back from the dead to continue his work, Francis will do anything to keep Marla away and pulls out her killing hook and tries to finish her off. But little does Francis know that Amy is hot on her trail and when the slashes are seen, Amy opens fire and keeps Francis from delivering the killing blow. Marla however is quick to the draw and finishes the job that Amy started and puts Francis in her final resting place and has to move on before the police or paramedics are able to stop her. The one last request that Mike had was to keep his brother from coming back to the world of the living and the only way to keep Eddie from doing so is to kill Mike while his body sleeps. With one last look at her son, Marla does what needs to be done to free her boy, the children in Iron Hills and end the Candle Cove curse that has been spreading for over thirty years.

Well, season one has finally come to an end and this finale has left a void inside my heart. I wish there could have been a couple more episodes for some more build up, yet, they did a great job in bringing it to an end. The hatred that Eddie had towards the world made him more powerful than anyone really knew and the killing of four children was only a stepping stone for him. Seeing the hate in his brother’s eyes, even when he was about to be alive again, Mike knows that Eddie’s evil can never be released in his world for the sake of saving innocent lives. I really liked the scenes between Mike and Eddie in this episode, from grown up to pissed off kid, it really showed how Mike’s training as a child psychologist ended up being quite handy when it came to saving the world from certain doom. So, it’s over, but there will be another season coming up with a different story and cast to keep us glued to our seats once again, I just hope it is as magical as this season turned out to be. Stay Scared.

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