Friday the 13th: The Series S1E2
Now Episode 2 "The Poison Pen"
Cursed Object of the Week: Quill Pen
This episode opens up with 2 monks talking amongst themselves in a meeting whether or not to sell the monastery they currently reside in. Majority are against it but one brooding fellow passively aggressively makes his views known but reluctantly votes to ultimately not sell. Unanimous vote cool then!
It was indeed not cool.
The same brooding man is seen later that night writing with an ink pen accompanied with some avant-gard ASMR voice narrating an epitaph concerning the head dude. It was a poem about birds. He loves birds so much seeing them in flight however in this particular flight, he himself would find himself flying. To his death! Mwahaha!
Now, here we are back at Curious Goods where Ryan shows Micki an outrageous newspaper article headlined with a monk who claims to be able to predict people's deaths. While he is astounded by these claims, Micki doesn't share the same sentiment. Followed by the cackle of Mr. Jack Marshak asking her how to explain how Nostradamus was able to predicts his? Lolz. Micki just says people believe what they want to believe that this story of the monk is no more than a clever hoax.
Fun gets interrupted when Jack notices in the newspaper article that the monk is pictured using a quill ink pen that strikes a very familiar resemblance to one of the cursed items in the Manifest. He confirms the entry and luckily, the name of the buyer is attached.
You would think it would be so easy to just stroll on in and grab the cursed pen eh? Well no, Jack goes on to explain that this is a Eternal Brotherhood Monastery and is closed off to regular ass people. Except, he comes up with an idea to forge a letter "that would even fool the pope" which means, we're going undercover, bois!
Micki is a woman so she has to go even more undercover and present herself as a man as women are not welcomed because afterall, it is called a Brotherhood. Not Peoplehood.
Jack has some ancient parchment paper to write the letter on to make it the more legit and like a charm, it works and Ryan and Mickey are invited in. They now have to function under aliases so they will be referred to as a Brother Matthew and Simon with Simon taking a vow of silence. Seems legit.
After being accepted at the gate by brother Drake, they are on a brief tour even being told of the recent demise of their late abbott (abbot meaning the head of the monastery). Ryan chimes up and says they are interested in meeting Brother Curry as he is the one known for his predictions. Drake informs him that he is in seclusion and leaves it at that.
As they are being escorted to their sleeping quarters, they see off putting sights such as a man (unconvincingly) whipping himself and a darkly lit interior enroute.
Once Brother Drake takes his leave, Micki freaks out that she doesn't have her own room and there's no private showers. Ryan assures her that hopefully it shouldn't take long to worry about showers anyway.
There is some ceremony, I'm guessing it's the meditation that was being talked about earlier because there is a monk singing and of course "Brother Matthew" and "Simon" in attendance and sees the other monks that reside there.
As soon as they return, they get to work to try to reach Brother Curry. Unbeknownst to them, brother Drake is already suspicious and shadows their movements.
Ryan and Micki wait outside the dining hall (is that what you call it?) and notice someone coming out with a plate that the monk's name on it and try to nonchalantly follow. They come across a really haunting looking room during their follow and it freaks Micki out when she comes face to face with a skeleton, dead ass! Also something to remember is that everything is lit with candles. They don't operate by electricity which makes everything the more haunting.
Both duck just out of sight from the monk who sets down his food. After he leaves, Ryan impersonates the monks voice to alert him to the tray in order to beckon him out of his room. Just as he opens the door to retrieve his food, Ryan attempts to make chit chat.
Brother Drake ninjas his way out of the shadows and interrupts before Curry can respond and with such hostility he says Curry has taken a vow of silence and he will immediately escort these 2 back to their sleeping quarters. With no choice, they comply.
Ryan and Micki later in the day do some hard labor when a monk seems a little too excited. Upon asking, the monk says that Curry has made another prediction that Abbot will die. Ryan replies "Nah, abbot already died and a new one ain't appointed yet." Monk is like "Oh." then goes on with his life.
What they didn't know is that a certain monk actually did recently get named abbot in a form of a note. At bedtime, he got crushed to death by his bed. Could have been a hallucination because the bed frame is in perfect shape but the man is dead. Of course, these 2 are first on the scene as they heard his cries but comes too little too late to rescue to poor man.
The next morning, one of the superiors sits both of them down in his chambers and while he thanks them for at least trying to save him, he brings them here to ask just WHO DA FUCK ARE THEY?
Ryan stammers a bit and concocts a bogus life story but this doesn't deter him as it's been reported by you-know-who that they were seen sneaking around which is totally sus. He warns them that his gift to predict is a also a burden so like...step off bro. What ever curiousity he has, keep it to yaself.
Micki is starting to crack. She rants to Ryan while they are doing more yard labor that all she wanted was to live a simple life with her soon to be husband. Afterall, she was originally supposed to sell the antique shop and get married and look to where she is now. Ryan tries to assure her that they have to be the ones to get that pen and it is their duty to retrieve this cursed object in order to save people.
Jack is holding down the fort at Curious Goods shown to be fiddling with a random ink pen. Why? idk. He's probably bored or sum.
Ryan gets introduced to another transfer named Brother Jack. Lolz because maybe Jack Marshak WAS bored so he decided to join in on the fun. Ryan taken aback as he didn't exactly see this coming. He informs that that he did a little research and made a duplicate pen to make their plan easier to switch it out and smuggle the cursed object out of there with ease. Jack is so smart.
Once again, they are being watched unbeknownst to them by not only Brother Drake but the superior that reprimanded them earlier. They are both staring at them from afar and notice how all 3 are now congregating. SUS-PIC-OUS.
Adding to more research is that Jack found out that the listed customer in the Manifest is Rupert Seldon who disappeared after being wanted for the murder of his business partner.
Panning back to Brother Curry's room, his door swings open to Curry referring to that snooping superior as *gasp* RUPERT. Everyone knows him as Brother Le Croix but I will keep referring as Rupert for the remainder of this episode. He tells Rupert that Matthew and Simon know about the pen! He's freaking out, man! Rupert suggests writing a new epitaph but Curry is against this. Rupert reminds him that he is the reason why he isn't in jail. Curry rants how terrible it is to be in seclusion. Constantly locked away and no human interaction. It's balls.
So it looks like Rupert is now coined the new abbott and says that they can pocket even more moolah if they continue to work together. Curry doesn't want to continue and says "The oracle of death has made his last decision."
Rupert takes the liberty of stealing the pen for himself and writes an epitaph of his own. Return of the ASMR narration.
With that, Curry is dead. Sadz.
Ryan and Micki make the discovery too late and see Curry beheaded himself via guillotine. I totally imagine Rupert was literally waiting by the door so he can feign horror when they walked in. Terrible actor, that Rupert!
This mothafucka framed him and claims that making all these predictions got the best of him and he couldn't take his "gifts" no longer and offed himself. He even showed him the book that he allegedly wrote that death prediction.
Upon returning to their rooms, Micki believes the story and is convinced that closes the chapter. Regardless if he initially believed it or not, Ryan's still adamant that they retrieve the pen.
Meanwhile, Rupert wastes no time and writes ANOTHER epitaph but this time it is towards these 2! But he calls them Matthew and Simon, their aliases so I am not sure how accurate it will be. It was just tarantula that crawled up on Micki so she squeals like a girl until Ryan swats it off her shoulder. Jack comes storming in the room telling Micki to STFU. The tarantula is at his foot and he so gingerly picks it up like he's one of the bros. Plus, he says it's not poisonous anyway.
The next morning Rupert is chatting with brother monk about Curry's demise. He confidently says not to worry as he is "so sure' that he left more predictions in his book that will come to fruition pretty darn soon. Much to his surprise, he sees the trio eating together. A little shooketh they are still alive, he tries to fake as if he didn't try to kill Ryan and Micki. In fact, he tries to ask if they noticed any OTHER disturbance last night?
"Nah."
After they walk off, Jack immediately pieces it together that Rupert was "fishing" for information and comes to conclusion that he tried to kill them but since he didn't use their real names, they didn't actually die. What a nice loophole, huh?
Ryan is starting to think maybe they got the wrong guy here but either way, they still need to search more but holy hell it's kinda hard to do so when Drake is on their ass pretty much since the moment they got there.
"Not I." says Jack and he volunteers to be the one to go searching since Drake is not on high alert on him. Sounds like a plan.
Drake is immediately met with reporters just outside the gate trying to calm down the crazy circus of the reported deaths and stuff. He doesn't look like he was made for PR so he freaks the fuck out at these vultures. He reads a prepared statement concerning the late Curry's death.
Jack decides to rummage through the quarters as he is clearly occupied at the moment. He comes across a book with a receipt of the pen (who the fuck keeps receipts in books? Bookmarks I guess but c'mon!) The writing in the latest prediction matches the receipt and finally figures out that Le Croix is indeed Rupert. Couldn't find the pen though. Brother Drake was eavesdropping on their conversation in the bushes. Can't get any more TV trope than that.
Meanwhile Micki is taking a shower in which Drake ALSO sees through a peephole (why the fuck is that there? fucking ICK) and this is when he discovers the real genitals Brother Simon has.
Drake runs up to Rupert and tells him that after reaching out to the place Brother Matthew and Simon claimed to transfer from did not in fact transfer. More chilling news? The REAL Brother Matthew and Simon died last night after being bitten by a poisonous tarantula. Mothafuka.
"God works in mysterious ways." Rupert replies. Jesus fucking christ that man is diabolical.
Jack tries to continue to search but gets interrupted by Rupert who was supposed to be meditating but nah. He has Jack cornered by a gun and leads him away to get locked up in a guilloteen with a candle by the rope. And he walks away.
Micki's senses be tingling so she yeets herself out of meditation and decides she needs to go looking for the pen. Ryan follows suit but to instead look for Jack.
With Rupert as the new abbot, he finally gets what he wants and is proceeding with the process to finally sell the monastery once and for all. Drake also eavesdrops on this conversation and skatters off.
Micki sneaks in the room just as he leaves to start her relentless quest for that stupid pen causing all this grief. At long last, she finally finds it and successfully switches it out.
Just in the nick of time, she escapes detection and Rupert comes back in the room after escorting the agent out.
Ryan finally reaches Jack and is able to free him. Micki quickly joins them to tell them the delightful news. The joy comes to an abrupt halt when Rupert appears from the shadows and heard every word. Holding them at gunpoint, he commands to get the pen back.
His creative juices are now flowing and decides to write yet another epitaph. But he's so big mad that he doesn't even do the ASMR voice anymore! Eternal cry.
Now that he knows their names, he starts talking out loud while writing their deaths. Almost.
Turns out Drake was also in the shadows and comes swinging with his ax calling Rupert a traitor for selling for monastery.
Rupert continues writing. It's a long epitaph. One thing he didn't pay attention to. The paper he decided to write on. His receipt that he wrote! lolz He was too busy writing about an imposter that intruded in the building that will suffer a most gnarly death but the thing is, his real name and signature is also listed.
Oooh boy so that means this dumbass wrote an epitaph to murda his damn self. Sometimes the jokes writes themselves. Literally.
With the pen successfully retrieved and circling back at Curious Goods, they are more than happy to cross their 2nd item off the list. Just one less cursed item off the streets. Jack also makes an interesting comment that this particular pen can only make the bad wishes come true, so nah, you literally can not make the world a better place with this particular pen. (I wonder if this episode was a possible inspiration behind Death Note?)
Micki asks why the pen isn't in the vault yet? Oh, but it is. Jack said that he wants to keep his duplicate out in the open just because. She asks how does he know that it isn't the cursed object? Ryan snatches the pen and says out loud that he should put it to the test and order some "sinful" lunch. Micki and Jack don't want to take that chance. Would you?
Special Guests Featured in This Episode:
Colin Fox as Brother Le Croix/Rupert
Episode 3 is next.