The Two Danas
Anya is met with skepticism by Ilonka, who tells her that she’s been through a lot of pain and has seen a lot of doctors. She insists that Anya see her specialist, who tells her that the only way to fix her problem is to have surgery. The cost is high, but Ilonka is willing to pay it if it will help Anya.
Anya is a very private person, until she unleashes her anger in a flurry of bitter words later in the episode. But we should back up first. ..
Dr Stanton tells Ilonka that she met Julia Jayne long ago and that she is still a patient of the clinic. She claims that Julia was misdiagnosed and that she was healed by the cult who were inhabiting Brightcliffe before her. Dr Stanton also claims that patient files are confidential and that she doesn’t know anything about the cult who were inhabiting Brightcliffe before her.
During group therapy, the kids open up about their issues. Dr Stanton reminds them that there is no such thing as a superficial or lame answer. There are tensions between Anya and Ilonka though, with the former pointing out that Ilonka is in therapy and needs to get with the program. Ilonka takes it on the chin until they head back to the room. ..
Ilonka tells Anya that she’s just trying to get to know her and didn’t mean for any animosity between them. She bags up her herbal remedies and heads off into the woods. Once there, she runs into a woman called Shasta, who knows a lot about names and Ancient Greeks too. “I hope to see you around, bright girl.” She says, and galivants off into the woods once more after their little chat. ..
Ilonka, a member of the group, notices a strange symbol carved into the tree that looks an awful lot like an hourglass. When she eventually heads back to the group, she’s just in time for mass origami. There are a number of paper cranes but as Spence begins quipping about their work, the guillotine he’s working with suddenly drops and cuts him badly.
Everyone is freaked out when Spencer, a student at the school, is diagnosed with AIDS. Ilonka, who is friends with Spencer, is taken aback and doesn’t know what to do. Anya, another friend of Spencer’s, immediately jumps on Ilonka’s wide-eyed face and reminds her of the outside world. “We don’t do that here.” She says and heads off in anger. ..
After Stanton leaves, there is a strange shadow in the corner of the room. It follows her out and forms into a figure that suddenly opens its eyes to reveal murderous red. It’s a flickering nightmarish image, but a reminder that there is something lurking inside Brightcliffe. ..
Dana’s family was poor, so she had to work hard to make ends meet. She was determined to show her family that she could do better than them. One day, Dana found a job at a local restaurant and started making more money than her parents ever did. She was happy and content. But then one night, Dana’s boss called her into his office and told her that he was going to fire her because she wasn’t meeting his standards. Dana felt devastated. She didn’t know what to do or where to go. But then Bill came into the restaurant and saw Dana working and he said thank you for giving him his daughter back! He told her that he would always love her and they went back home together. From then on, Dana started working at the restaurant full time and making more money than ever before. Her family finally got their lives together and they were able to send Dana to college so she could get an education that would help them get back on their feet.
Dana is conflicted between two different aspects of herself. The first wants her to gorge on delicious cheeseburgers and let loose and party. The other wants to try and be like the other girls and pursue being the best dancer ever.
That night, the Devil offered a doppelganger a solution to her problems. She could have her cake and eat it too, by having a doppelganger that she could control. The Devil warned the woman that this deal was permanent and couldn’t be reversed if she decided to go through with it. The woman agreed and shook the Devil’s hand, sealing the deal. ..
The Two Danas know exactly what each other are going to say, and since we’re on the subject of Midnight, it’s just like the episode of Doctor Who called Midnight as they talk in-sync. Dana 2 (the new one) takes a pager and they go their separate ways; one a partygoing, pill-taking maniac and the other studying and continuing with her dancing. The thing is though, as both Danas can feel exactly the other is, when Dana 2 ends up having sex with a musician, Dana Prime ends up feeling the exact same thing.
With the help of her new friend, a street-wise dealer, Dana Prime comes up with a plan to get back on track. She takes on the role of business woman and negotiates a better deal with her supplier. In the end, she makes it back on stage and is able to show everyone that she is still one of the biggest stars in the game.
With Dana 2 learning how to block out Dana Prime, the only way to end this nightmare is for Dana to kill her doppelganger. And in a tunnel and her dad’s gun in hand, the two Danas both fire at the same time.
Dana wakes up in a hospital bed, with a broken leg and reminder that she gave a car to express “This is the you that you chose.” The Devil mockingly watches her. Since then, Dana has wrestled with this: which Dana survived? Of course, as this Dana is actually Anya in the story, it’s hard to know whether this is genuinely her story or fiction.
That night, Ilonka broke into Stanton’s office with Kevin and managed to get hold of Julia’s file. However, the lights turned on, prompting Ilonka to hide around the corner while Kevin feigned having pain which was why he was out after curfew. When Ilonka walked forward, she somehow ended up in a surreal film-footage style vision. A picture broke open and from it, hundreds of spiders spilled out. ..
That strange old lady from before is back and is holding her arm, claiming she’s hungry. After screaming, Ilonka returns to the hallway of Brightcliffe in our present timeline. ..
The Episode Review
It seems like every episode is going to take on a new story off the back of this mystery in the 1994 timeline. However, unlike the meta story last chapter, we get a moral tale about not making a deal with the devil. It’s not particularly scary or horrifying, but it does break things up in a nice way. ..
Flanagan’s new show is definitely going to be divisive, but there’s definitely a lot to like with it. The characters in particular are all interesting and make you want to know more about their history and how they ended up in the house. Cheri seems like she could be a key part in all this, while the imagery – specifically the glowing red eyes in Anya’s room – works well to keep things tense.
