In the 3rd episode of Hell Motel, Ruby was initially apprehended because she was found next to Portia’s dead body and locked in her room along with the corpse. When she escaped into the basement, she was cornered by Floyd, Shirley, Crow, Blake, and Adriana and stabbed to death. Since Paige, Andy, and Kawayan didn’t join them in that fun little activity, they were afraid that they’d be killed as well, because the murderers wouldn’t want anyone to testify against them once the police arrived. That said, the one who did end up getting hurt was Crow. Of course the identity of the assailant wasn’t revealed, and they injured Crow in such a way that he was alive enough to spread the fear that the mythical entity known as Baphomet himself was involved in the murders. The claim that something supernatural was going on wasn’t exactly far-fetched because, 10 years ago, Crow had apparently talked to the ghost of Caitlyn. Also, when Renee, an occult enthusiast, was accused of Satanism, he saw Baphomet moments before he killed himself. Did the 4th episode of the show provide any more evidence that pointed to the fact that something truly evil was walking in the midst of all those true crime fanatics? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Crow Is Finally Dead
Episode 4 of Hell Motel opens with Paige, Andy, Blake, Adriana, Kawayan, Floyd, and Shirley going back and forth about who could have killed Crow and what they should do with his body (after he was pronounced dead by Kawayan, that is). Eventually, Kawayan and Floyd take on the responsibility of storing Crow in the cold storage, while Andy checks on Paige to see if she is doing alright. Yeah, Kawayan’s ability to check for a pulse is flawed, which is why Floyd gets the pleasure of squeezing whatever life is left out of Crow’s body when nobody’s looking. Then he returns to his room and has a really redundant conversation about the identity of this 3rd killer. Shirley is very convinced that Kawayan is their guy, and that they should convince him to join their side before he makes them his victims.
So, Shirley goes over to Kawayan’s room and tries her best to get him to admit that he is the one behind the death of Hemmingway, Portia, and now Crow. But their conversation shifts to Kawayan’s artwork and how he uses his own blood to honor those who have died, or something along those lines. Impressed by Kawayan’s methods, and probably his physique as well, Shirley decides to donate her blood so that there’s a part of her in his art installation. Just to be clear, Shirley is doing all this because she is under the impression that Kawayan is a murderer, even though Kawayan has said nothing that proves he has homicidal tendencies. He has a penchant for the macabre, but so do many fans of gothic culture; it doesn’t mean that they’re all capable of taking a life. This means that Shirley is either stupid or desperate.
Taking a Hike
Floyd, Shirley, Kawayan, Paige, Blake, Adriana, and Andy get together in the dining room to discuss a plan to make the 25-mile-long hike to the nearest town because it’s not in anyone’s best interest to stay put in a place where a killer is on the loose. Floyd obviously is against that idea, because he and his wife want to sacrifice all of them for a chat with Baphomet, but he makes it sound like he is concerned for everyone’s chances of surviving whatever’s out there in the wild. Kawayan says that he is willing to take that risk instead of sitting and wondering when the “resident psychopath” is going to choose him as their next victim. Andy agrees to join Kawayan on this journey, and so does Blake. Paige is against the idea. Adriana is probably unsure but is willing to go wherever the herd goes. Floyd and Shirley realize that they’re about to lose their chances of summoning the mythical entity, and they need to stop this “nonsense” immediately.
When Andy and Kawayan exit through the front door, firstly, they see Crow’s severed head on a pike, and secondly, they are attacked by the masked killer. They both put up a fight, but since Andy gets heavily injured, Kawayan has no option but to take Andy and retreat back into the motel and shut the door before the masked killer can get in. Adriana sees all this from afar but is unable to move a muscle. Yeah, she has no qualms taking part in a mob lynching, but when it comes to actually killing a serial killer for the greater good, then she can’t do anything; typical. Who is the person behind the mask? Well, it’s insinuated that Floyd is the guilty party, but there’s a good chance that he was only preparing to go after those two, but the 3rd killer got to them first before he could don the costume.
Aftermath
Paige tends to Andy’s wounds and is in an awfully cheerful mood because Andy looks “badass” with those scars. Sometimes she is put off at the sight of blood; other times she is turned on by it. Pick a lane, lady. Elsewhere, Blake and Adriana have a conversation about the aforementioned attack on Andy and Kawayan before Blake goes out to grab some cards so that they can kill some time. FYI, both of them just partook in the mob lynching of Ruby. Am I supposed to sympathize with them because they’re feeling vulnerable now? I don’t know. Meanwhile, Blake becomes absolutely paranoid as he forces everyone to show him their shoes because, with the exception of Kawayan and Andy, there should be one more person with wet and muddy footwear. Technically, Blake could be the killer as well, and he could be putting on an elaborate and hysterical act in order to avoid suspicion. Before we get to know that, Floyd puts an end to his tirade, and he also uses this recent attack as an excuse to convince everyone to not leave the motel. Shirley shows Floyd’s boots and her own to the gang to prove that they are not guilty of attacking Andy and Kawayan.
I don’t know why nobody asks why Shirley is showing the gang a fresh pair of boots to prove Floyd’s innocence instead of letting them inspect the ones he is probably already wearing. I guess everyone is too shocked to think about logical stuff like that, and that allows Shirley and Floyd to continue moving around the motel without raising any suspicions. By the way, we still don’t know if Floyd was the one outside, terrorizing Kawayan and Andy. Yes, we saw him taking off his costume, but he could’ve been in the middle of pulling it on when the 3rd killer attacked those two. Before we can see any further discussion on this topic, Shirley again goes to Kawayan’s room to coax him into admitting that he is the 3rd killer, or just a killer. Kawayan sees through that and refuses to entertain her nonsense anymore.
30 Years Ago
The previous episode of Hell Motel kept oscillating between the 2010s and the present day to let us know that Crow had communed with Caitlyn’s spirit, and he was responsible for the death of Renee, an innocent man who had nothing to do with Caitlyn and Joey’s murder. This episode does something similar by going even further into the past, 30 years to be specific, to shed light on the genesis of Floyd and Shirley’s relationship. It’s just one long conversation scene in a room, which is spliced into the narrative in a very awkward way. Instead of following the rhythm of the show, I’m going to present it in a linear fashion. So, apparently, a young Shirley found a young Floyd’s address because it was printed on the latter’s album; yeah, he used to be a musician.
She didn’t say “hello” or introduced herself properly. She just barged into his flat and began rambling about God, goodness, Satan, and evil. She kept yapping about free will and defying the divine because life had been unfair to her until Floyd agreed to partake in a summoning ritual. I just want to say that even if I was a Satanist, I wouldn’t have let an unknown girl barge into my room and talk me into setting up a meeting with the Devil. It seems like the show is so poorly conceived that they don’t want to spend a logical amount of time on Floyd and Shirley’s relationship, and they think that if they speed-run through it, nobody will notice. Well, I did, and this is some bad storytelling. Anyway, we get some more scenes of Shirley and Floyd coming up with the procedure to “free” Baphomet by going to the place where the Cold River Motel is located (because apparently there’s an energy cluster there) and asking him some questions about life and death.
Kawayan Is Dead
At the end of Hell Motel episode 4, Floyd and Shirley decide to start “culling the herd.” They go to Kawayan’s room and gut him like a fish. Despite that, Kawayan isn’t entirely dead. He is alive enough to see someone in the Baphomet costume, or Baphomet himself, walk into his room and turn him into a Hannibal-esque art installation with his innards and fake flowers. Right after this scene ends, the episode cuts to Blake reentering his room with a deck of cards so that he and Adriana can pass the time and keep each other company. Andy pretty randomly finds Kawayan’s body. It’s so convenient that someone decides to walk into the room after Kawayan has been killed and nobody cared to do the same when “Baphomet” was toying with the corpse. What’s the reason behind that?
If everybody decided to not enter each other’s rooms, then this would’ve made sense. However, if you are entering a room because the plot needs you to, then that’s an example of bad writing. The way this show continues to butcher its own premise is baffling. It had so much potential, and it’s painful to see it get squandered so foolishly. Anyway, I guess the question that’s looming over the head of this episode is whether or not Blake is the killer. Yeah, the editing makes it seem like he stepped out of his room under the guise of getting a deck of cards. Once Floyd and Shirley were done killing Kawayan, he entered the picture to complete the process. And then he returned to his room. I’m really confused about the procedure of the sacrifices. Technically, Crow was a sacrifice too, but Floyd wasn’t as elaborate with him. That said, in Kawayan’s case, they act so brutally, leave him on the brink of death, and then Baphomet arrives to finish the job? This is just confusing. I guess we’ll know more about it in next week’s episode.
