The previous episode of Revival ended on a cliffhanger, and the mystery behind Em’s death continues to be a crucial plot point of the show. Although Em was going through a tough time, she was confident that she didn’t kill herself. But the question remained: who murdered her and why? Dana was desperate to find an answer, and she was startled when Kay, Em’s best friend, stated that Em stole drugs the night she was murdered. They’d been to the Check house the last time they were together before Revival Day; the Check family sold country art and drugs all at the same time! Em needed to use the washroom, and when she went upstairs, she grabbed a plastic bag full of pills and made a run for it. Messing with the Checks came at a price, and Kay strongly believed that they followed Em and killed her that night. Dana didn’t expect Em to steal drugs from a dealer, and it was almost as if she was learning a little more about her sister every passing day.
Spoiler Alert
Is the water in the suburb contaminated?
Even after conducting a thorough study, Ibrahim couldn’t really figure out what triggered Revival Day, and he was clueless as to the reason behind Arlene’s aggression. He thought that the only way to find out was by collecting samples from Arlene’s house. Bob Dittman, Arlene’s son-in-law, was not happy to have Ibrahim prying in his house. Thankfully, Wayne managed to convince him to let the scientist do his job. On his way to collect a sample from the bathroom, he walked past Arlene’s room, and he noticed the shackles that Bob and Terry had used to hold Arlene captive. He walked into her room out of curiosity, and he noticed a bottle of mercuric chloride on the side table. Bob made it very clear that he wanted Ibrahim and Warren to leave immediately. And while Ibrahim didn’t resist, he managed to steal the bottle of pills.
When the governor stopped by the station, she figured that Mayor Dillisch and Sheriff Warren were not on the same page. Warren believed that a complete lockdown was the only way to ensure things didn’t get out of hand, but the mayor didn’t wish to limit the freedom of common people.
Ibrahim entered the room and expressed his disagreement with Warren’s plan. He stated that he’d initially assumed that maybe the water at the Dittman house was contaminated after he discovered traces of mercury in Arlene’s brain matter. But he had come to the conclusion that Bob Dittman had poisoned his mother-in-law with mercuric chloride because he was tired of Terry prioritizing her mother over him. Ibrahim was convinced that the poison had triggered her psychosis, and that it was a one-off case. He made it very clear that he didn’t believe locking people up was the solution to the problem they were dealing with. Also, given that he had no proof suggesting that the Revivers were a danger to society, he didn’t think there was much to worry about. The governor didn’t completely disagree with Warren’s concerns; she stated that they first needed an exhaustive list of all the Revivers in the town, even if it meant going door to door to ensure that they had every name on record. Her solution was to tag and track the Revivers, since that was the only way to monitor their movement and closely study their pattern. If they didn’t show any oddities, then the lockdown would be completely lifted. Ibrahim was not happy with the decision, but he had no choice but to live with it. The ending of Revival episode 3 suggests that Ibrahim’s assumption was possibly wrong—the Moore Creek water was contaminated, and it was possibly the reason behind the Revival. Brace yourself for a scientific explanation in the next episode!
What happened to Arlene?
Everyone at the church was terrified when they saw Arlene walk up to her daughter’s casket. Bob tried to stop her, but she snapped his neck, resulting in his immediate death. Warren shot her, but it was not enough to stop her. Arlene climbed into the casket, and she caressed her daughter’s face, almost apologetically. All of a sudden, Blaine Abel entered the church, and he started to walk towards Arlene. He chanted holy verses, sprinkled gasoline on Arlene, and flung a candle in her direction. Blaine explained that burning her was the only way to bring the situation under control, and Warren couldn’t completely disagree with him. It’s still not confirmed if Arlene died in the fire; considering how fast the Revivers heal, it will not be surprising if she comes back to life again!
Was Blaine Abel Involved In Em’s Murder?
Blaine Abel is turning out to be an important character in the show, and the fact that we know so little about him makes him all the more mysterious. Blaine showing up at crucial moments cannot be a coincidence. He’s clearly up to something, and we are yet to find out what that could be. While Dana tried to make sense of Em’s mysterious death in her own way, Em, too, was trying her best to remember the events from the night of her possible murder. After spending time with Rhodey, she had learned that the scars from wounds inflicted before a reviver’s death never healed, and that was quite an important clue for Em. She concluded that if she’d jumped from the bridge under the influence of drugs, she would have had broken bones or at least scars from the injury, but there were no visible marks on her body to suggest that she’d fallen from a great height. Given this theory, it is also unlikely that Em was shot, because she would have had a bullet wound or scar on her body.
Em had made sketches of the fragmented memories she had from the night of her death, but none of the images hinted at anything concrete. She believed that she’d met someone at the bridge before her death, but she had no recollection about the man’s identity. Even though the mystery continued to haunt Em, she found comfort in Rhodey. Unlike Aaron, he was more attentive to her needs, and he genuinely took an interest in her. Rhodey was sympathetic when he learned about Em’s disease and the very lonely life she had lived because of it. They felt deeply attracted to each other and shared a kiss. As they discussed their new lives as Revivers, Em added that she felt most alive only after her death, and she could finally live without constant fear and aching pain. Rhoney suggested doing something spontaneous; now that they were Revivers, they no longer had to be afraid of the things that once consumed them.
Since they were already on the bridge, Rhoney decided to jump into the river. Em was briefly petrified, but when Rhoney responded, stating that the jump felt immensely liberating, Em decided to take the plunge. The second she started to fall from the bridge, she remembered crucial details from the night of her death. At the end of Revival episode 3, we discover that the last person Em had seen before her death was Blaine Abel. Did Blaine instigate Em to jump off the bridge? Was he already aware of the revival phenomenon? Was the phenomenon a result of something evil and sinister? The ending of the episode also suggests that Blaine Abel had started to gather a following in town. He showed more confidence in dealing with the rogue reviver than the cops, so naturally he was seen to be reliable. Abel will possibly start his own cult, considering he already has a fair share of followers seeking his wisdom, but we’re yet to learn if he had any role to play in the strange phenomenon that shook the world.
