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 H O M  E legacyweb.com :: p:tl episode guide :: season one :: episode description

20. The Reckoning

Season: 1
First Air Date: 13 September 1996 (Showtime)
a "Friday the 13th!"
Alternate Title(s): Die Abrechnung (German)
Le pacte du Diable (French)
MGM/Showtime Photos: see Season One photos page
   
Follow-up episode to "The Inheritance" - Rachel's grandfather is back!
   
Actors  
Derek de Lint

"Dr. Derek Rayne, Ph D"

Helen Shaver "Dr. Rachel Corrigan, MD"
Alexandra Purvis "Katherine (Kat) Corrigan"
Martin Cummins "Nick Boyle"
Robbi Chong "Alexandra (Alex) Moreau"
Patrick Fitzgerald "Father Philip Callaghan"
   
Guest Actors

 

Zelda Rubinstein "Christina" (the Seer)
Andrew Johnston "Joshua Cantwell" (Rachel's Grandfather)
Alison Matthews "Miss McHugh" (teacher)
Shaina Unger "Marcy" (student)
Jim Smith "Museum Guard"
   
Co-Executive Producer -
Co-Executive Producer -
Producer -
Writer Garner Simmons
Director Michael Robison
   
This description by: Brad Ellis (1997)
   

 

Legacy House – Night

The second hand of the mantle clock reaches midnight and starts chiming. Piano music from the front parlor filters upstairs and into Derek's bedroom. He awakens and follows the music. As Derek approaches the grand piano, he sees that none of the black and white ivory keys are moving. However, the musical melody continues.

Derek turns to see a small woman standing in a white Druid robe. Derek asks her who she is and why she's there. The woman, speaking in cryptic rhymes, says she's Christina. She warns Derek that evil awaits the Legacy and something evil is coming back to seek and steal a little child's soul.

The Legacy House begins shaking. Christina further warns Derek to "Beware of the Wrath." Nick runs into the parlor and sees Christina. The shaking intensifies. Suddenly, the front window shatters, sending glass shards over everything. Wind and flashes of light blow into room shoving Derek and Nick to the floor. Christina disappears. As the piano lid collapses, the storm abruptly stops. Derek and Nick look around and find everything in its place as if nothing occurred. Nick asked Derek what just happened. Derek replied he didn't know but that someone or something evil is coming.

Next Morning

Alex, Rachel, and Nick are gathered around the conference table as Derek comes downstairs from the library. Derek tells that his father spoke about Christina and claimed that whenever he needed her, she was there. According to legend, Christina is a 300 hundred-year-old seer who can foretell the future and see the past. Rachel questions why Christina has come. Derek was told that something evil was coming back from the grave and he is determined to find out why. His first place to start is his father's journal: The Journal of a Ghosthunter by Winston Rayne.

Art Museum

Katherine (Kat), along with her teacher and fellow classmates, is talking about a big canvass painting containing a unicorn in the mist of a meadow. As the teacher and classmates move onto the next exhibit, they leave Kat behind. Kat looks up to see Christina. Christina has been waiting for her. She warns Kat about something bad happening and Kat is to beware. Christina then marks Kat behind her left ear. Christina says it's to protect her from evil while she sleeps until she is needed. Kat's teacher calls out for her to catch up. As Kat leaves, she notices a new figure in the painting which is in front of the unicorn. It's Christina.

Legacy House - Afternoon

Alex and Nick greet Philip Callaghan at the front door. Philip states that officially he's in San Francisco on church business but unofficially he's here to deliver something to Derek. In the office, Derek holds a cloth-wrapped package with a note. Philip recognized the handwriting as Derek's father. Philip came across the package in an old monastery in Ireland which was in the process of being restored. Unwrapping it, Derek finds a letter written in an ancient language and a seamless oblong metal container. Derek hands over the container to Nick and Alex to find out what it's made from. Derek also asks Philip to help decode the letter. Reluctantly, Philip agrees.

Rachel Corrigan's House - Night

Rachel is brushing Kat's hair before she goes to bed. Kat is telling her mother about the museum field trip and mentions her conversation with a lady in a painting by the name of Christina. Rachel questions what Christina said and Kat relays her warning to be careful and about someone from the past coming back. Kat quickly gets very sleepy and is tucked into bed. Kat begins to dream. Kat walking down the hallway at Aunt Rebecca's house in Georgia. Images of Christina and Derek with a sword. A man in a photograph and then a man dressed in a black robe.

Legacy House – Night

Alex carefully takes her last measurements from the metal container. She places it into a glass box, puts down the lid, and electronically locks it. Alex turns off the lights and walks through the hologram to leave. The metal container glows bright and intensifies, cracking the metal casing with a thin beam of white light--from the inside out.

Legacy House - Morning

Derek approaches Philip in the library. Philip explains that the symbols are not from a recognizable language but he feels it's still strangely familiar. The phone rings. Derek picks it up to find Rachel is calling. Something has happened to Kat. Rachel can't wake her. She tells Derek of Kat's meeting with Christina. Rachel also tells Derek that she found a mark behind Kat's ear. He'll be right over.

Rachel's House - Morning

Derek sees the symbol. It's the Omega symbol, the last and most powerful letter in the Greek alphabet. Derek asks about Kat's conservation with Christina. Rachel said Kat was told that Christina can see the future, Kat should be careful, and that someone was coming back. Derek tells her to stay with Kat. He asked where in the museum Kat and Christina talked. Rachel says by a painting with a unicorn.

Legacy House - Gardens

Taking a break, Alex and Philip start talking. Alex notices Philip had changed and asks what happened. Philip tells of his brother, Michael, who died in an IRA car bombing in Manchester, Ireland. Michael, a good married Catholic with five children, was helping an injured girl after one bomb when a second bomb went off, killing them both. Philip started questioning his faith in God asking why this happen.

Art Museum

Derek finds the painting and is greeted by Christina. She tells Derek he is the "anointed" one.

"Like the Father, like the son, Derek Rayne; the Anointed One. Know yourself and you will find, that I cannot be far behind." - thanks to Kris K for the exact quote

Derek asked about Kat's mark. Christina says it's to protect Kat in sleep from someone who wants her soul. The ‘Day of Reckoning' has come and Christina was sent to protect Kat. She says the evil that Derek's father killed is alive and well and Derek will need to prepare for judgement day. Derek has a vision. Images of a black-robed man coming toward him. Kat being taken and Rachel screaming. It ends and Christina has materialized back into the painting.

Legacy House - Control Room

Nick notices the crack on the metal container. Alex says the metal must be deteriorating. Nick does an acid wash on it. Alex notices on the computer something odd happening to the container just as Nick begins to see Latin letters appearing. Alex comes over to Nick and translates--"Beware of the Source of Evil." Nick says they need to get Derek to look at the container in the morning. After the container is back in the locked glass case, they leave. The crack on the container opens wider. A black, shapeless form emerges and fills the entire case.

Alex walks into the foyer and says good night to Nick. As Nick climbs the stairs, he hears a faint evil laugh. Nick stops and looks around. Suddenly, he's thrown down the stairs, landing on the hard wood floor.

Rachel's House - Night

Derek is greeted by a worried Rachel who asked what Christina said. The Omega mark was put by her to induce a dream state to protect Kat. Rachel realizes it's happening all over again. Derek tells Rachel this evil did not come by chance. She has to be strong and face whatever is coming. But Rachel feels helpless with what is happening with Kat. "I what to know why!" Rachel angrily asks, "Why me?" Rachel wants her daughter and her life back from the evil force who has taken everyone else Rachel has ever loved. Derek says life isn't fair and God won't make things right without her help. "It's up to us to act and to act now!"

Legacy House - Night

Alex finds Nick unconscious and helps him up. Nick tells Alex that something is in the house with them. Nick begins to recheck security and Alex follows.

Rachel's House - Kat's Bedroom - Night

Christina comes beside Kat's bed. She tells Kat it's time to wake from her sleep. Rachel and Derek enter as Kat awakens. Rachel tells Kat that Derek wants them to come back to stay at the Legacy House for a little while.

Library - Next Morning

Philip looks up from his papers and is greeted by Kat. Kat asked what Philip is doing. He replies helping Derek to solve a puzzle but he is not doing a very good job. Kat tells Philip when things are bad, just look in a mirror. She finds a hand mirror and places it to her face, "Because a mirror turns everything around." Philip takes the mirror and places it on the table. As Kat leaves, Philip notices that the ancient characters on the paper are reversed in the reflection of the mirror. "Out of the mouth of babes," Philip says as he starts to translate the letter.

Control Room

Alex walks into the room and asked how Nick is feeling. Nick tells her the metal container is missing. Nick and Alex try to figure out how this container could disappear from a "locked" case. Alex tells Nick to find Derek and she will start searching. As Alex looks around, a low-lying fog covers the floor. Dense black smoke encompasses the earth hologram and forms into the shape of a man in a black robe. Alex sees the figure and begins to dash out the room but the figure restraints her with an unseeable force field. She resists but the figure tightens his grip and forcibly yanks her back into the room. The figure devilishly smiles.

Derek and Nick walk into the control room. Alex is no where to be found. Derek walks over to the empty case and questions Nick if he was certain he left the container there. Nick points out that the case is still locked and in a secured area of the Legacy House. No one could have taken it without tripping an alarm. When Derek hears the translation of the Latin words, he has another vision. A black-robed man looking up at him. A hand grabbing a sword. Christina. The front parlor windows shattering. Derek realizes this is what Christina warned him about. Derek tells Nick to find Alex and search the entire house for the metal container. Derek needs to talk to Philip.

Library

Philip tells Derek he has decoded the whole text. Philip tells him that the characters were ancient Aramaic. Derek's father wrote the characters backwards using a mirror because he wanted to make sure this text didn't fall in the wrong hands. Philip hands Derek the translation. Derek reads, "This is my confession so that I may atone for the unpardonable sins I have committed...."

Front Parlor

Derek holds up a photo of a man with two girls (see Inheritance Episode). Rachel enters. Derek tells Rachel there is something she needs to know that might come between them. Before Winston Rayne died, he killed a man. Someone who made a bargain with the dark side. This man had two daughters. One, skilled in the black arts and the other, an innocent with a little girl. This man's name was Joshua Cantwell. Rachel's shocked. "My grandfather?"

Derek shows Rachel the photo of Joshua Cantwell with Rachel's mother, Ruth, and her sister, Rebecca. Derek also hands Rachel faxed copies of photos that Derek received from Nick when he went down to help Rachel settle her aunt's estate. Rachel gets angry. Derek goes on that after Joshua Cantwell was killed, Derek's father reduced Joshua's body into a fine ash because he feared the source of evil that dominated his body might find a way to rise again. So he claims that he sealed it into a metal vessel and left it at a monastery with his confession.

Derek tells Rachel there's more. Besides Joshua Cantwell, Derek's father killed one more person, his daughter Ruth by mistake. Rachel can't believe it. "This can't be happening," she yells. Derek forces her to look at him. It's impossible for both of them to believe. Rachel tells him angrily, "What makes you ‘spect that I can ever forgive you, or your father, or this Legacy for what happen?" Derek tells her that the death of her husband and son and her joining the Legacy can no longer be treated as an accident. "You're meant to find your way to the Legacy. You are part of us."

Control Room

Nick continues to look for Alex and the metal container. He sees an earring on the floor across the room. He rushes over and takes a closer look. As he picks it up, he sees Alex, unconscious.

Bedroom

Kat is reading in bed. A noise scares her and she calls out "Who's there?" Joshua Cantwell steps in from the shadows.

Alex's Bedroom

Rachel tells Derek and Nick that Alex's pulse is weak and breathing is shallow. Nick tells Rachel that something physically knocked him down the stairs the night before. Rachel realizes her grandfather, Joshua Cantwell, has come back. When Nick states the sealed container that Alex was working on was disintegrating, Rachel tells Derek that Joshua's spirit has broken out by first attacking Nick and then Alex. Now Kat is next. They run down the hall to Kat's bedroom only to find her missing.

After searching upstairs, Rachel, Derek, and Nick meet on the landing. Kat can't be found anywhere. Christina appears telling them it's time to face their fears. They find Christina sitting by a round table with the room filled with lighted candles. Christina tells them there is more information they need to know. Christina commences a seance. She calls out for the spirits to contact her and speak through her. An elderly woman's voice answers. It's Ruth. Ruth tells Rachel Kat is in grave danger. Rachel's grandfather, Joshua, traded the innocent souls of his female heirs for immortality. Rebecca went willingly but Ruth ran away and gave up everything to save Rachel from him. Now Joshua wants to restore his bargain with the dark side by trading Kat's soul for it. He has to do it soon before he returns to hell forever. Rachel states time is running out for Joshua. Christina comes out of the trace and tells Derek to find the child and set her free.

Two minutes til midnight. Nick and Rachel run by the control room and notice the hologram weakening. Behind it, they see Joshua Cantwell standing over Kat on a table with his hands outstretched. Rachel yells at him to let Kat go. Joshua answers her saying, "Never. She's mine. Just as you should have been." She tells him he can't have Kat and starts to go through the hologram but Nick stops her. However, Nick makes a run at it only to get caught in its electrical current. Rachel throws herself into Nick's back and they are knocked through the hologram. They land on the floor, dazed.

The second hands are ticking. Christina appears to tell Kat to awake from her trace just as Derek and Philip rush by the room and see Joshua. Kat calls out for her mother. Philip tries to go through the hologram but is stopped by Derek. Derek tells him to cut the power in the library. Derek runs to the fireplace mantle and grabs a sword. Derek tells Rachel to call out to Kat and have her come to Rachel. Derek yells to Joshua to let her go. Joshua says no. "You cannot sell what you do not own!" Derek recants. Philip cuts the power to the hologram. Derek yells to Kat to go to her mother. Derek raises the sword and throws it at Joshua. But Joshua catches it in his bare hand, turns it around, and tosses it back at Derek. It impales Derek's shoulder, pinning him to the wooden column behind. Joshua tells Derek its time to do things to their ultimate conclusion.

Christina tells Derek to fight the pain and drive Joshua out. But the sword has embedded itself through Derek, through the wooden column, and out the other side. Joshua starts walking toward Derek but is momentarily stopped by Philip. Joshua tosses him across the room against a bookcase, knocking Philip unconscious. Joshua meets Derek and removes the sword--very slowly. Derek screams in pain. He suddenly pushes Joshua back knocking the sword from his hand. They struggle on the floor.

Thirty seconds to midnight. Joshua struggles to get Derek off his back and crawls toward Rachel and Kat. They start scooting backwards.

Fifteen seconds to midnight. Derek sees the sword and grabs it while struggling to stand up. Joshua gets closer to Kat but instead gets a kick in the face from Rachel (Good one!).

Midnight. The clock chimes. Joshua tells Kat to come but she tells him to leave her alone. His hands grab Kat's foot. Just then, Derek raises the sword over his head and plunges it deep into Joshua's back, pinning him to the floor. Joshua screams and lets go of Kat. The sword vibrates with bolts of lightening which dance over the metal blade and handle. Suddenly, Joshua's body dissolves and disappears. The sword is left stuck to the wood floor right in the exact middle of a star pattern. Christina smiles and disappears. A relieved Rachel smiles at Derek and holds Kat closely. Derek came up against Joshua Cantwell's spirit and WON.

Description last revised: 15 November 1997

 
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