WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapelwaite Season 1, Episode 4, “The Promised,” available now on EPIX.
The first three episodes of Chapelwaite are more of a slow-burn build up to the horror. While episode four, “The Promised,” at first seems to be continuing this slow-burn, the end of the episode ramps up the tension with its reveal: Phillip and Stephen Boone are vampires. With the true face of the supernatural horror now evident, the Boone family and the people of Preacher’s Corners can finally begin to fight back against this undead threat.
The vampire reveal intersects two storylines. Early in the episode, Tane Boone discovers a secret passage in the barn that leads to Chapelwaite. When Charles Boone investigates the passage, he discovers that there are other passages in the walls of his home, complete with holes that could be used to spy on his family. He also discovers a secret room, walled off from the rest of the house. With these discoveries, Charles realizes that the “rats” he’s been hearing are actually people. Still, Charles works under the assumption that his cousin, Stephen Boone, faked his death, and does not yet realize that Stephen is in fact undead. Upon his realization that Stephen Boone has been living in his walls, Charles sends Rebecca Morgan to get help from Able Stewart.
In a side plotline, Mary Dennison, the constable’s wife, has come down with the “illness” that killed Susan Mallory, becoming confused and distracted. The onset of her illness occurred after a gnarled hand was shown grabbing her in episode two, but her husband and the doctor believe that the illness has a natural origin. In “Legacy of Madness,” the doctor even prescribes leeches to attempt to drain the illness out of her. With the vampire reveal, this already questionable medical practice turns even more dangerous, considering that the illness is caused by vampires draining the blood from their victims. Mary also later tells her husband that she believes that she is being visited by God, but he finds the bite marks that indicate Phillip’s true vampiric nature.
As Rebecca travels back to Preacher’s Corners to get Able, she also tries to alert the constable to the reveal of Stephen Boone’s passageways at Chapelwaite. Instead, she witnesses Phillip Boone’s attack on Mary. Rebecca chases him off, but she is able to see his face. Rebecca concludes that Phillip is the actual culprit, not Stephen, which is a more reasonable assumption, considering what she knows. Rebecca attended the viewing for Stephen and Marcella Boone, after all, but Phillip Boone’s body was never recovered. Even though the audience knows now that both father and son are vampires, Rebecca still works under the assumption that Phillip faked his death, similar to Charles’ assumption about Stephen.
Meanwhile, Stephen reveals himself to the Boones, specifically to Loa Boone. While Phillip was shown actively attacking Mary, Stephen’s reveal is actually more chilling, because he engages in psychological warfare. Stephen has already become fixated on Loa, and he confirms that he was the one to repair her mother’s shell necklace. He tries to get Loa on his side, first by acknowledging Loa’s grief and unhappiness. He also validates her concerns about Charles’ health that Honor brushed off earlier, even though Charles almost accidentally struck Loa with an axe the night before. Then, Stephen lays his bait: he claims that Loa’s mother, Maya Boone, is alive. He offers to take Loa to her. This doesn’t go anywhere, at least not yet, as Charles chases Stephen off. He manages to shoot Stephen in the process, but he and Able Stewart learn that bullets are not effective against vampires.
The reveal of Phillip and Stephen Boone’s vampirism signals that the show is beginning to ramp up the action. While the supernatural horror they represent is dangerous, Stephen poses more of a threat to the family because of his fixation on and manipulation of Loa. Stephen’s words clearly have affected Loa, expanding the wedge between her and her family. Thus, the Boone family may actually be torn apart not by their actual undead relatives, but their machinations, all while Charles, Honor, Loa and Tane attempt to unravel the truth behind the family curse.
To see how the vampiric Stephen Boone continues to manipulate his relatives, new episodes of Chapelwaite air each Sunday at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on EPIX.
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