‘Slasher: Flesh & Blood’ Recap – ‘In Trust’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Slasher: Flesh & Blood’.
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It is definitely safe to say our understanding of evil and its origins is the best it’s ever been. For now, we know that evil is something that simply isn’t born into this world or created through a force of nature. No instead, we now know that evil is something that mankind forges itself, often times through tough childhoods filled with abuse and/or tough moments in an individual’s life that motivates them to turn their back on humanity and punish the rest of us accordingly. But while these discoveries have helped us to better understand evil and help us to root it out, our grand exploration into its origins is also beginning to turn up another interesting way in which it is created. Specifically, by way of manipulation.
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Because there are some individuals out there, who are already evil in nature… that thoroughly enjoy corrupting souls through gaslighting and threats and carefully crafted words that engenders guilt and a desire from their target to placate their emotional master, and this is one of the scariest ways that evil is born. Because through the right words, bad deeds can be performed in the name of trust and that can corrupt a soul without them even knowing. If anything, this particularly diabolical origin of evil is top of mind today, simply because it served as the focal exploration of the next episode of Slasher: Flesh & Blood. For ‘In Trust’ saw the family reeling from Jayden’s death and the supremely difficult reality that they weren’t escaping the island with the boats gone. And that problem, combined with the fact that a killer was on the loose as well, forced Seamus to take inventory of his life.

For he simply could not believe that this is where his life had brought him and the more, he pondered upon the moment, the more he began to ponder upon the past and in doing so… he came to realize that he was not a good guy in the slightest. Mainly because he came to realize that Spencer found a way to push him toward darkness, since he was indeed a master manipulator. One that was so skilled at pushing the right buttons that he motivated Seamus to ignore properly exploring who he is sexually to live a life that his father wanted, and Spencer’s evil machinations didn’t end there. After all, he used the power of guilt to ensure that Liv was buried in the shadows and shamed long after she was born by Seamus himself, since Spencer couldn’t handle the fact that Seamus was her father and speaking of fatherhood… it took Seamus’ desire to adopt Aphra to bring his corruption around full circle. Since more maneuvering on Spencer’s part allowed for Seamus to lose his seat on the board to Jayden. Giving him reason to indulge in the darkness that resides within all men and exact the revenge he did upon Jayden during the first competition. 

If anything, this made for a fascinating exploration on how evil can be born in a more subtle manner and it made Seamus’ journey quite tragic in nature. In large part because it was obvious that he might finally have regrets about the path he’s taken and also because of how this episode ended. But we’ll leave that part out for the moment in case you haven’t watched it, so we don’t spoil that part of the story. Instead, it’s best we take a quick moment and pivot and discuss the wondrous horror and slasher aspects of this story as well. Because once again, the kills in this tale are simply unrivaled and magnificent since they continue to hold nothing back regarding the gore or the savagery. Plus, this episode deserves serious credit for also taking the time to show how the pressure of this weekend is starting to break the family and bring out their worst instincts, as evidenced by the pair of sequences involving the ultra-weird and always twisted Florence. 

In the end however, this was simply another brilliant episode through and through. One that made it inherently clear that this new season of Slasher is going to be its most cerebral and celebrated to date. Simply because this series really is doing a phenomenal job of exploring the darkest corners of our souls and how we bring evil to the surface of our minds, and the celebration will come about from the fact that this is also a solid horror story as well. One full of dynamic scares and gore and the mystery here keeps you coming back for more. Because we simply must know exactly who is behind the mask and why they are so eager to cause harm to a family that is slowly ripping themselves to pieces from within and of course, we are equally as curious to see who will survive the worst family weekend getaway on record. And well… now that this fascinating and twisted chapter in this dark adventure has ended, we’re back to counting down the minutes to next week’s tale… to see what other dark corners of the human condition this unsettling and compelling story is going to explore next. Until then.     

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