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No. 55 - "Metamorphosis" 4/24/98Cast:
Guest Starring:
Executive Producer - Grant
Rosenberg Writer - Mike Berman Director - William Fruet Twelfth episode of the Third Season. We owe major thanks for this description to: Kris Kroner Rachel's office – Stormy evening Rachel sits at her desk while her patient, Elliot Black, paces in the office. A metronome on the table clicks back and forth. Suddenly, he becomes very agitated and grabs the metronome and stops it, exclaiming, "This thing is really annoying." She replies calmly that it's supposed to relax him. Very nervously, while pacing around the room, he tells her that it's not working and that his mother used to have one on the piano. Amidst the thunder, Rachel observes "You seem pretty tense today Elliot. Are you all right?" He snaps back, "What do you think?" Rachel coaxes him to talk about his mother but Elliot tells her that she's dead and there's nothing to talk about. Rachel persists and asks him to try to open up or they won't make any progress. He replies sharply that he doesn't feel like it. She asks him gently to please try and he agrees as he picks up a ballpoint pen and clicks it repeatedly and nervously. Rachel begins by asking if he's had any hallucinations lately. He looks off in the distance as he answers yes. Then he looks suspiciously at a large mirror on the wall and accuses Rachel of having people watching him. Rachel reminds him that "We've been through this before," and reminds him that the last time he was there, she took the mirror off the wall and showed him there was nothing there. Unconvinced, Elliot retorts that she may have switched things. Rachel calmly tells him he has to trust her. Elliot hears voices in his head telling him not to trust her. Unaware of this, Rachel continues talking and tells him she wants him to trust her because she's trying to help him. Increasingly agitated and suspicious, Elliot tells her he knows what she's trying to do and it's people like her that killed his mother. With that, he turns and runs out of the office. Rachel begins dictating her session notes into a tape recorder by saying that progress has been slow. Elliot exhibits worsening paranoia and also thinks she's culpable in whatever happened to his mother. Then, amidst the storm, she hears a door creaking inside the house. She moves to the office door, opens it and startles when she sees Elliot. He advances towards her menacingly, carrying an ice pick as he says, "I hope this doesn't violate the doctor-patient relationship." He continues advancing and stabs her arm. Rachel, terrified, screams and pleads, "You don't want to kill me." Suddenly, Elliot stops, looks at her, drops the ice pick and walks out of the room. The bloody ice pick rolls under a chair, hidden from view. Rachel, eyes wide, holds her arm tightly, unaware that a strange, ominous, pinkish - purple light shines from the wound. Legacy House – library - later Rachel shows Nick the wound and he suggests she see a doctor. She reminds them she's a doctor and says she's fine. Derek, surprised that her client stabbed her, tells her she's lucky because it could have been much worse. As she replaces the bandage on the wound, she tells them that the police arrested Elliot at his house but he didn't have the ice pick anymore and told the cops he didn't remember any of it. Surprised that Rachel has decided to press charges, Alex tells her that she wonders if prison is the best thing for the man. Rachel becomes very agitated at this conversation and tells them she knows what's best for her patient, "Alex, the kid tried to kill me." Nick, watching Rachel worriedly, tries to keep everyone calm, saying, "I think it's up to Rachel." Derek looks at Nick and agrees, "Yeah, you're right. If you want to press charges it's your decision." Alex then asks where Kat was during this. After replying sharply that she's staying with friends, Rachel gets very defensive and angrily demands, "What's going on here? Am I on trial?" She goes to leave in a huff and Nick again calms her down saying quietly but sharply, "Rachel." She stops at the door, turns, and apologizes, saying she didn't get any sleep at all the night before. Despite them trying to get her to stay at the Legacy house, she refuses and leaves. The others just look at each other, confused. Rachel's house – next morning Rachel sits on the table and sips juice. She talks to Kat on the phone and reassures her that if Mrs. Gintner decides the movie is OK for them to watch, she should "Go for it – and close your eyes if you get scared." Telling her she'll see her Sunday, she ends the conversation and hangs up. Suddenly, Rachel hears voices in her head calling her name and she drops the juice glass. It breaks when it hits the floor and Rachel bends down to pick up the pieces. She hears the voices calling her name again and sees the pink-purplish glow from under the chair. She reaches under the chair, pulls out the ice pick, and smiles. Legacy control room – that morning Alex sits at the computer and reviews the detailed accounts of her visions. Kristen enters and Alex tells her she's had the gift since she was a kid but she never knows when she's going to have a vision. The Legacy ran a battery of tests when she joined but nothing came of them so she's decided to delve a little deeper. Kristen is interested and asks if she wants some help. Therapist's office Rachel lies on a couch talking to Gerald, a middle-aged psychiatrist who sits behind his desk. She's alarmed and tells him that this stuff just doesn't happen to her. Gerald reassures her he's known dozens of psychiatrists that have suffered anxiety attacks. She begins to hear the voices calling to her and gets up, saying she's frustrated about losing control. He asks for her analysis and she tells him Elliot's attack triggered pre-existing stress in her life. The people she's working with contributed to it and made it worse. While she talks to him she gets increasingly agitated. She reaches on his desk and picks up a ballpoint pen and clicks it repeatedly as she tells him Derek is patronizing, threatened by strong women and treats her like a child. Gerald is concerned and asks about Nick and Alex. Rachel replies that Nick is OK, "At least he tries to understand me." With anger in her voice she tells him that Alex is starting to bug her. Gerald, surprised, tells her he thought she was a friend. Rachel replies that she did too but now "she's questioning the way I parent." Gerald asks Rachel if she thinks she's a good mother. Rachel looks aghast at this question replies that Kat is the most important thing in her whole world. "No one is going to threaten my relationship with my daughter." She clicks the pen repeatedly. Library - that day Alex tells Kristen the sight isn't ESP, it's triggered by touching something. Meanwhile, Kristen holds up a card only she can see and asks Alex what card she has. Alex tries to ‘see' it but shakes her head. She tries to answer and each time she's incorrect so she tells Kristen she isn't getting anything and that she's "more prescient when she's emotionally charged." Kristen tells her to get herself that way then and asks her to recall some highly emotional memory of a past friendship. Alex thinks, then tells her about first grade and her best friend Katie Mitchell. They used to play together all the time after school. Katie's dad came home from work early one day and picked her up at Alex's house. He looked at Alex with pure loathing and dragged Katie into his truck and drove away. Alex didn't understand what was happening so she got on her bike and went to Katie's house. By the time she got there she heard him in the house beating Katie telling her that he "never ever want to see you play with that dirty little nigger again." Alex stops talking and stares out the window. Kristen calmly asks what card she's holding. Without hesitation, Alex replies "Circle." Kristen turns the card for Alex to see and it is indeed a circle. Rachel's – evening Rachel comes in during another thunderstorm. The voices in her head continue to warn her, "They're watching." She turns on the light and listens to the messages on her answering machine. The first is from Derek checking to be sure that she's all right. This annoys her and she talks back to the machine, "Cut me some slack, Derek." The second message is from Detective Manners of the SFPD. He lets her know that Elliot Black was released on bail. He also tells her he doesn't anticipate any problems but if she wants to call, his direct number is 555-0197. She again hears her voices telling her that "they're watching you." Then she hears floorboards creak and glass breaking. The lights go out in the house. She hears footsteps coming into the room and Elliot appears carrying a straight razor. He ominously asks her how it feels to be "one of us." She gasps in fear and he asks her if she "feels the change begin." Then Elliot hears his own voices telling him, "Now Elliot, its time." He looks at Rachel threateningly. Terrified, Rachel runs out of the house, jumps in her car and drives off. Elliot follows her out of the house and hears his voices warning, "They're watching you. Always watching." Legacy house –foyer later Rachel drives up and runs to the front door. Derek opens the door for her and alarmed, asks, "My god Rachel, are you all right?" She tells him that Elliot tried to attack her again and she goes past him and heads for the kitchen. Kitchen Nick gets her a glass of water and asks her if she called the cops. She replies she just came straight there. Derek tells her he'll call and that Nick will go to her house to look around. Nick replies, "Got it" and turns to leave. Rachel announces she's going too because Elliot may have left something significant to only her. Derek doesn't think that's a good idea but Nick replies that it's "doubtful that he's going to be there." Derek agrees and decides he'll check out Elliot's place because they need some answers. Rachel's house After searching the entire house, Nick tells Rachel he checked everything and nothing is broken including windows. Rachel asks him if he's saying she imagined it. He simply replies that she's tired. Angry, she replies she knows that and doesn't need him telling her. She leaves the room and he follows. Elliot's house Alex and Derek walk up to the dark house carrying flashlights. Commenting that Elliot is probably far from here by now, Derek knocks on the door. When he gets no answer he takes the flashlight and breaks the glass in the door and breaks in. Then they enter the house and begin searching by flashlight because the lights don't work. Alex comments that the house looks pretty normal. Derek reminds her that looks can be deceiving. On a desk there are some framed photographs. One shows Elliot with an older woman who they assume is his mother. Another shows Elliot sitting in a chair. A diamond shaped irregular red tattoo type mark is visible on his arm. They continue walking through the house until they get to the basement door. Derek asks, "Are you game?" Alex replies that "We've gone this far." They go down the steps by flashlight. Alex looks around and sees a bed, bureau and bookshelves. Surprised, she says, "His bedroom is down here? Creepy." She tries the light at the foot of the steps and it comes on, "The lights do work." Suddenly, Elliot jumps out from under the steps and grabs Alex from behind, holding the straight razor to her neck. She tells him they're there to help him but he shouts, "No one can help." Derek worriedly approaches slowly and Elliot nervously yells, "Get back or she dies." Derek stops and tells him they're friends of Rachel's. This aggravates Elliot and he asks them "why won't that bitch leave me alone?" Derek asks him why he went to her house if he wants her to leave him alone. Shocked and distracted by Derek's question, Elliot asks, "I was there?" Oh my god, I thought I could stop it but I can't." Taking advantage of his lapse of concentration, Alex breaks away and goes to Derek's side. They both face Elliot and tell him it's all right. He replies desperately that it's not going to be all right unless he makes it that way. He puts the razor up to his neck and slices it open from ear to ear. Derek rushes to him, grabs a towel, holds pressure to his neck. Alex calls 911 on her cell phone. Elliot dies in Derek's arms. Legacy kitchen Nick and Alex sit at the table when Derek when comes in dressed in a different suit and vest. Nick sympathetically says, "Alex told me what happened, pretty hairy." Derek tells them that "I've seen some frightening things but this I'll never forget." Rachel, who has been standing off by herself, chides Derek for taking Alex with him and accuses him of grandstanding. He replies softly, "Sometimes we take risks to help the people we love." Rachel angrily tells him to use the police the next time. Nick ignores this and asks Alex if Elliot said anything. Alex relates that he said that no one could help him and he thought he could stop it, but now this is the only way. She asks Rachel if she knows what he meant. Rachel replies that Elliot was very disturbed. Derek agrees, "He was a wreck." Rachel says she tried to get through to him but couldn't. Since he's dead she announces she sees no point in analyzing him and that it's safe for her to go home. Derek tries to convince her to stay and to go back in the morning by saying, "I'll sleep better." Rachel replies sarcastically, "Oh all right. After all, it's all about you, isn't it Derek?" Nick, frowning, says, "I don't think he meant it that way, Rachel." She nods and sarcastically replies that she'll "be a good girl and go to my room." She turns and leaves the room. They stare after her. Rachel's room She begins getting ready for bed and hears the voices saying "Rachel, they're watching you." The bandaged wound glows pinkish-purple and the veins are around it are now glowing also. Rachel takes off the bandage and sees a circular diamond tattoo type mark. Smiling, she takes the glowing ice pick from her purse. Legacy house Kristen is looking through a box when Alex enters and asks the significance of the objects. Kristen replies she's been looking through artifacts and has found there are lots of things they know nothing about. Alex smiles and says, "You thought this would be a good way to start phase 2 of our testing?" Kristen returns the smile replying, "You are gifted. You read my mind." She begins to show her the individual artifacts. One is from a dig site in China. Alex tells her she can't force a vision to happen. Kristen then takes a silver necklace with a cross from her neck and hands it to Alex. She tells Alex that its origin is unknown. Alex puts it in her hand and immediately has a vision of a young girl on a park bench smiling as a man comes up and hands her the necklace. Meanwhile- kitchen Nick has looked into the background of Elliot. He tells Derek the kid was only 17 and had no police record and not a lot of history to explore. He came up with virtually nothing. Rachel enters, looking totally bedraggled and carrying an overnight bag. Derek asks if she's leaving and she replies sarcastically, "very observant." She asks them what they're doing and they tell her they're trying to find out more about Elliot. She dismisses their efforts and snaps that "The kid is dead. Let him rot in peace." She turns and begins walking out. Nick gently asks if she wants some company. She refuses and Derek asks if she's sure and tells her that they're worried about her. She snaps, "Well, don't be," as she leaves. Library Alex finds Kristen upstairs in the library. She tells her she's been thinking about her vision and has decided that "The little girl was you, wasn't it?" Kristen apologizes for not telling her and explains that her father gave her the cross when she was 7 years old. She tells Alex she's been frustrated trying to find out what happened to him and she's at a dead end. She didn't ask Alex to help because she was afraid Alex would say no. Alex calmly asks what else she has of his. Kristen smiles. Morgue Dr. Francis Carlin takes Derek and Nick to see Elliot's body. She uncovers the corpse revealing the long deep gash in the neck. Nick looks at it and comments, "Bummer." He then looks at the arm and asks Francis what she makes of the "tattoo." She tells them that it's not a tattoo but a bruise. It's a hematoma, clotted blood, and not ink. Derek asks if it's strange to see such a defined shape on a bruise. Francis tells them matter-of-factly that they see things like that all the time. "We had a corpse in here with a bruise on its hip that looked like George Washington or Barbara Bush. The staff couldn't agree which." Nick and Derek stare at her, aghast. Seeing their faces, she says simply, "Sorry, just a little morgue humor." Nick suppresses a smile and they look at the corpse again. They ask if she's seen anything else recently that resembles the bruise. She remembers one from a couple weeks prior, a woman. She goes out to get the file. Derek asks Nick if the bruise mark looks like what he saw on Rachel's arm. Nick tells him that it's close, but hers didn't have the same discoloration. Derek replies, "At least not yet." He then notices a puncture in the center of the bruise on Elliot's arm. Francis then comes in with a picture of the woman she remembered. She tells them the name was Carla Simpson. Derek recognizes it as Elliot's mother. Therapist's office Rachel says that Derek always intrudes in her life. Gerald tells her that maybe it's Derek's way of being protective. She hears her voices again and rubs her head. She disagrees with Gerald and argues it's about control. She believes that Derek tries harder to control her because she doesn't live in the house. Gerald asks if Derek keeps a close eye on Nick and Alex. She replies, "they can't spit without him knowing about it." Rachel, increasingly paranoid, tells him that Derek has cameras all over the house and keeps his own personal library of compromising videos so he can keep the staff in order. Gerald asks if she's being paranoid. Rachel angrily accuses him of being on Derek's side and on his payroll. He tells her that she's being ridiculous. Furious, Rachel replies, "Ridiculous! Is that what you think I am?" Telling him she thought they had some professional respect, she demands he leave her alone. He tries to calm her and reassures her he does want to help her. Suddenly, Rachel sees a mirror and asks what's behind it. He tells her nothing is there but she hears her voices and picks up a paperweight and breaks the mirror. He comes near her to calm her and she strikes him on the side of the head with the paperweight, knocking him out. Living room Kristen shows Alex a box that has everything she has that was her fathers. It was sent to her from Istanbul where he was when he disappeared. Alex looks at the items. One is a shirt that Kristen had given him once. There's also a knife that Kristen has no idea of its origins. All she knows is that it came with the rest if the stuff. Alex picks up the knife and reacts strongly and moves away while holding it. Alarmed, Kristen begs Alex to tell her what she saw. Alex relates that she saw someone being stabbed and killed, but the images were too vague to make anyone out. Kristen realizes that if her vision is accurate, her father is either dead or he's a murderer. Alex reminds her the vision could be wrong. Kristen presses this issue and Alex admits she doesn't think she's wrong on this one. Elliot's basement Nick and Derek search the basement. Nick looks at Elliot's collection of books and records and comments that he seemed like a normal kid. They open a closet door. A hanging fake skull swings towards them, prompting Nick to comment, "Wonderful sense of humor." Advancing farther into the large closet room, they see candles and skulls and masks. Nick comments, "The secret life of Elliot Black. Wally Cleaver by day, Marilyn Manson by night." On a table is an intricately carved small wooden box. The box is shaped like a coffin and is meant as a container for an ice pick. Nick finds a receipt tucked in the corner of the box and comments, "Amazing what $57.00 can buy at a pawnshop." Derek takes his pocketknife and cuts open the lining of the case. Inside, he finds several small pieces of yellowed paper with a picture and one line of Latin under each picture. Nick asks if he can read it and Derek begins to decipher the words under the pictures. The first shows a man with the ice pick cutting another man. The words say, "Passing along an infection." The second paper depicts and says, "The infection feeds your inner demons, twisting your fears until they feed on you and destroy you." Nick wryly comments, "Great. A chain letter from hell." Derek continues translating, and says the last one means baptism - cleansing the body. "Leaving the demons nowhere to go." They figure that Elliot got a hold of the ice pick and stuck himself and his mom. She killed herself and Elliot went after Rachel. He heard the demons and stuck her. Rachel now sees the demons and they decide it's only a matter time before Rachel snaps and takes a few people with her. They leave the basement. Legacy-stormy night Alex hears a noise. She opens the door and sees Rachel in her room. Surprised, she tells her she didn't know she was back and asks if she wants to talk. Rachel smiles and reaches up towards Alex and straightens her hair slowly as she says, "You always like to talk. Let's talk." Confused, Alex asks if she's all right. Rachel responds by suddenly slapping Alex and accusing her of always trying to get inside her head. She grabs Alex's throat and chokes her as she hears her voices telling her "You must infect her." Alex loses consciousness and Rachel picks up the ice pick. It glows pinkish purple as she talks to Alex saying that it's time for her to join the club. She's just about to stick her when she hears Kristen calling for Alex. Rachel stops, and telling the unconscious Alex that she'll be back, heads for the stairs. Car – stormy night Derek drives and they head back towards the house. Nick tells Derek he can't get a signal in the storm from the cell phone. Derek urges him to keep trying. Legacy Kristen, wearing silk pajamas, is downstairs calling for Alex. Thunder and lightening crash outside. The phone rings and she answers it. Nick asks her if Rachel is there and tells her she's infected and may be dangerous. Just then Rachel attacks Kristen from behind. Kristen yells and drops the phone. In the car, Nick tells Derek there's trouble and he thinks Rachel may be there with them. Kristen runs and Rachel's voices tell her she must infect her. Rachel searches and calls Kristen's name. As she walks, she drags the ice pick along the table. She calls out sweetly that she didn't mean to scare her. Meanwhile, Kristen hides in a closet in the kitchen. Rachel continues searching, calling, "Are you hiding?" As she searches she tells Kristen that she just hopes to spend some time with her. Finally, Rachel finds her in the kitchen. Kristen comes out of the closet with a frying pan and throws it at Rachel before running upstairs. Rachel snorts, "Bitch!" Then she follows her. Rachel stalks up the dark steps with her ice pick. Kristen runs frantically and finds the unconscious Alex and tries to wake her. Just then, Rachel enters the room and is silhouetted by lightening in the window. Kristen faces her asking if she's going to kill both of them. Rachel tells her sarcastically that she's both pretty and smart and she should "Go to the head of the class, little girl." Then she attacks her, intending on stabbing her with the ice pick. They fight desperately. Alex regains consciousness and joins in, trying to hold Rachel off. Suddenly Nick and Derek rush in. Nick grabs Rachel from behind and disarms her. Derek tells Alex to fill the tub, "We need to submerse her." He tells the team he needs a cross. Kristen pulls off her necklace and asks if it will do. Derek replies, "yeah I hope so," as he helps Nick move the struggling Rachel to the bathroom. She begs them to let her go but they lower her into the filled tub. Nick pushes her under and Alex and Kristen help hold her down under the water. As Derek holds the cross out, Rachel forces her face back from under the water and begs Nick not to do it. He forces her back underwater. Bubbles of air escape her mouth and go to the surface. Derek intones, "Rachel Corrigan, I baptize thee in the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Receive this cross and keep thy baptism so as to be without blame." He drops the cross into the tub. Rachel fights until she exhales all her air and stops breathing. When this happens, a pinkish- purple mist comes out of her body and the water and rises to the ceiling of the room. There it forms the diamond shaped sign on the ceiling in glowing light, then disappears. The others released their hold on Rachel and she floats to the surface. Suddenly, she sits up and gasps. She's terrified and they all reassure her that it's going to be all right. She collapses back on them as they comfort her and wrap her in towels. Morning Rachel sits in her pajamas and carefully holds and studies the ice pick. Her voice-over says: "I really wish I could take back the things I did and said. But those events are in the past. At least I can find comfort in the fact that I confronted my demons and put them to rest." The ice pick glows slightly as Rachel carefully places it in the box and closes the lid. Copyright on my web page design, original graphics and these descriptions. © 1996, 1997, 1998 Clarianna Demonbreun, LegacyWeb. All rights reserved. The information provided here and all the episode descriptions are for your personal use, not for posting or translating onto other webpages. Thank you! "Poltergeist: The Legacy" was created by Trilogy Entertainment (executive produced by Trilogy partners: Richard B. Lewis, Pen Densham and John Watson) with Showtime and MGM/UA (soon to be SciFi Channel, too.) |