‘Slasher: Flesh & Blood’ Recap – ‘Family Ties’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Five of ‘Slasher: Flesh & Blood’.
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It is definitely safe to say, that the vast majority of us out there, believe ourselves to be infallible. For we genuinely maintain that our moral core is as pure as they come and if we were ever put in a situation where that was tested and pushed to the breaking point… we would pass that test and come out of the other side with our morals and dignity intact. But while that is a thought that gives us great comfort and strength, the fact of the matter is… we honestly don’t know how we will respond in a moment that tests us in that manner. Nor can we guarantee we will remain pure in doing so. Simply because those tests are far and few between in life, or nonexistent and we tend to not acknowledge the situations where we quickly and comfortably make morally dubious decisions based upon our emotions in the moment. Plus, the fact that good people cross the line and make the news in regard to their desperate actions… speaks volumes to the fact that we can in fact be corrupted.

So really, the bigger question at hand is what drives that corruption and how far one has to be pressed in order to embrace it and well, that’s relevant to our discussion today, simply because it served as the focal theme of this week’s episode of Slasher: Flesh & Blood. For ‘Family Ties’ wasted zero time in informing us, that being put under constant duress and being threatened with our lives can make the already morally corrupt dive deeper into the darkness and it can make good people change right before our eyes. As evidenced by Liv and Theo’s respective journeys in this tale. For Liv, who has shown herself to be morally sound and ready to do all the right things in order to survive, indulged in the darkness in this particular tale. Because the death of her mother was more than she could bear and the family’s flippant attitude to her passing was enough to simply push her over the edge.

To the point where she was eager and excited to take part in the competition in this tale, one that involved a little family on family hunting with paintball guns loaded with rubber bullets and boy did she indulge her dark side and toss her morals aside in order to make some of the family pay for their crimes. But that was merely a sampling of how easily it can be to corrupt a person and it was indeed Theo that helped to explore the rest of that in the most unique way imaginable. For there was also mention that those that are already corrupt enjoy digging deep and relishing in said corruption further and well… Florence did a lot of that in this story. Since she had no problem exacting revenge and scheming to win the contest and when her dark father added a twist to her victory, one she was enjoying with O’Keefe, she had no qualms with saving her own hide over her daughter’s.

Which is a revelation that finally pushed Theo into a point of corruption. Because years of taking the blame for his brother’s kidnapping and years of abuse from this mother, combined with learning that she chose to save her skin over her own daughter’s life, was more than he could bear. Which in turn motivated him to give into the darkness in one’s soul and teach dear old mom some fine lessons. The kind that involved tying her to her own disgusting art so that she could finally experience fear and helplessness for a change. And where she couldn’t talk her way out of a bad situation or figure out how to shift the balance of power into her favor and these were lessons that are likely going to end in death. For Theo’s intention was to leave her in this position overnight, where the Gentleman will likely find her and execute her, and that decision really does hammer home the fact that even the best of us can be corrupted.

That lesson made for one savage and sobering tale. One that also helped to demonstrate that the situation on the island is deteriorating quickly and as the bodies pile up and the fear continues to grow… there is a chance that the Gentleman might not have to do much more than sit back and watch as the Galloway family tears one another apart. Either way, this was definitely the darkest and most twisted episode of this story to date and it deserves a round of applause for reminding us of how hard it is to maintain the good within when the chips are down and our backs are against the wall and hopefully the lesson inherent in this tale, is that we have to and must be better if that situation arises… so that we don’t have to live with what the good people of the Galloway family, will, once they reach a point of calm. Until next time.

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