Season 5, Episode 12
Air Date: Friday, November 28, 2014 at 7/6c on Syfy
Rating:
[warning] MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD [/warning]
“I know. There are two sides to every story, kitten, but this isn’t a sand box fight; people’s lives are mixed up in this.” – Gloria
Hold the phone. Hold your horses. Hold everything. What just happened on Haven? Did what I think happened, happen? The mystery surrounding Mara (Emily Rose) and her endgame becomes a bit clearer and we finally learn who Dr. Charlotte Cross (guest star Laura Mennell) truly is.
As “Chemistry” begins, Audrey (Emily Rose) is back in the doctor’s office for more tests. The degeneration of her cells is getting worse and Charlotte can’t seem to figure out how to stop it. The questions she asks Audrey are probing but it’s because Charlotte is hiding a big secret; bigger than big – it’s colossal.
When Charlotte leaves to get more “B12” shots for Audrey, Vince (Richard Donat) sneaks in and tells Audrey he doesn’t trust Charlotte. Audrey is reluctant to agree until Vince finds the secret file filled with old photos of Audrey –pictures of her as Sarah, Lucy, and Veronica. Now things are starting to get really complicated and Audrey is scared. Charlotte thinks Audrey should be hypothermic because her body temp is so low. Audrey’s condition is a result of the split from Mara – it’s the only real explanation that makes sense.
Not everyone is against Charlotte. As a matter of fact, Haven’s Chief of Police Dwight Hendrickson (Adam Copeland) is downright smitten with the good doctor. I am thrilled Dwight is so taken aback, he needs to talk to his bartender buddy McHugh (guest star WWE Superstar Christian/Jay Reso) to get some advice. I wonder if Dwight will have second thoughts once he finds out who Charlotte really is. In any case, Duke (Eric Balfour) isn’t the only one scoring with the mysterious ladies of Haven. Dwight and Charlotte consummate their burgeoning attraction in a supply room that conveniently houses a hospital bed. Who says sterile environments can’t be sexy? Pop off that bullet proof vest, Dwight; it’s sexy time.
Duke and Mara have a bit of an awkward morning after their steamy romp in “Reflections.” Duke clearly is still skeptical about trusting Mara completely, as he should be. She cannot be trusted. The entire time she’s with Duke Mara plans and schemes without too much fanfare. Her subtlety is admirable; the simplicity in her wicked nature is beautiful. Mara has only wanted one thing since she arrived in Haven – those balls of black goo, aka aether. She is a master manipulator and even though it seems like she’s beginning to change sides, BAM! She throws us all for a loop, pulling off the ultimate dupe on Duke. Talk about a slap in the face…more like “gut punch” with a few slaps for good measure. I didn’t believe for one minute she was kidnapped. Duke, ever the gentleman, runs to help a damsel an “evil bitch” in distress but he’s starting to piece things together.
Gloria (Jayne Eastwood) is the resident medical sleuth everyone in town runs to for help. For instance, Duke asks Gloria to help him identify the fingerprint on the button left at the safe house in order to figure out who kidnapped Mara. Then, Vince wants Gloria to to use her connection with a former boyfriend who works at the Pentagon. Vince figures he could so some digging to find out who Charlotte really is.
In the meantime, Duke hunts down Kirk Bauer (Bernard Robichaud), the guy who not only has a horrible suffocation trouble, he steals the aether and is working with Mara! Things go very awry during their confrontation as some of Kirk’s blood gets on Duke’s hand. Whenever Duke comes in contact with a troubled person’s blood, his eyes turn silver and he gets super strong. It’s a byproduct of Duke’s family curse but with his emotions running amok, he accidentally kills Kirk.
Then, something even stranger happens. Duke seeks out some of Kirk’s buddies to find out where Mara is, but he somehow gives one of them Kirk’s suffocation trouble. How is this possible? Since when can Duke give someone a trouble? If you remember, at the end of season four Audrey, before she found out she was Mara, re-cursed Duke with some of the aether, altering his curse. All the troubles his family eradicated somehow became stored in Duke’s blood. This new development of Duke transferring a trouble to someone is disturbing. Even worse, the answer lies in a package containing Mara’s toe.
The first jaw dropper of “Chemistry” is the revelation of Mara’s plan to transform Duke into human aether. She sets off his emotions in so many directions – she convinces him she’s trying to help, opening him up to trusting her. She sleeps with him and plays him like a fiddle. She talks about his fears of abandonment by women, including his mother. With all these emotions going on at once, Duke is a mess. When he finally lets go, his eyes don’t turn silver. His eyes and his tears turn black; he’s crying aether. WHAT. THE. F!
Finally, the second jaw dropping moment of “Chemistry,” which lies in the identity of Charlotte. When Audrey finds a ring in Charlotte’s car, it looks exactly like the rings she and Nathan (Lucas Bryant) have. So how did Charlotte get an identical ring? My wild hair theories about Charlotte were wrong…well, sort of. She isn’t the new Agent Howard (Maurice Dean Wint) nor is she the new Audrey Parker. Charlotte is…wait for it…Audrey’s mother! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
Interesting Moment
Nathan vs. Duke. Finally, the two childhood friends face each other when inside Kirk’s apartment looking for answers. The tension between these two men is thick. The conversation is revealing.
Duke: “You know I don’t have to explain myself to you, Nathan.”
Nathan: “I’m a cop and you just picked a lock, so yeah, you do.”
Duke: “So that’s where we are now?”
Nathan: “Yeah. If you’re willing to sacrifice Audrey and this entire town for that evil bitch, then that’s where we are.”
Overall
The shocking revelations in “Chemistry” have me in a daze. What the hell does Mara do to Duke? How does she morph him into walking, talking aether? And Charlotte being Audrey’s mother is mind blowing. Wait…if she is Audrey’s mother…and Audrey is split from Mara…does that mean Charlotte is Mara’s mother too? I’m completely confused now.
What did you think of “Chemistry?” Are you shocked about Charlotte’s identity? What do you think about Duke being human aether? Leave me a comment below or tweet me @judybopp. I’d love to hear from you!
Tune in to the mid-season finale of Haven, Friday, December 5, 2014 at 7/6c, only on Syfy.
For more on Haven, go to http://www.syfy.com/haven.
Follow the show on Twitter @Syfy, as well as cast members @EmilyroseLA, @EricBalfour, @TheLucasBryant, @davehaven, and @vincehaven. For Eric Balfour fans – follow @EricBalfourfans.
LIKE Haven on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/haven.
Photo ©2014 Syfy, a division of NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Judy Manning
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2 comments
Then there is the issue of what caused Mara to cut her own toe off to send to duke? It would have been a lot easier to use someone else’s toe and just paint the nail.
Author
My guess is that in the flashback about Duke wanting to take one of Mara’s toes to see if she and Audrey were really connected – well, Mara is proving that they are not connected once and for all. Now we have to figure out what’s going to happen to Audrey – she’s sick and her ‘mother’ Dr. Charlotte Cross said in the preview for the mid-season finale that Audrey needs to merge back with Mara. So does that means no more Audrey…ever? Thanks for reading and commenting!