History Webcomic / MelvinasTherapy

** Margret in "Chairs" was in a loving relationship with Annie before her death and had previously been in a loveless and [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] relationship with her ex husband. While the story never touches on whether she actually ever had any interest in men, by the time of the story she is uninterested in men because of her violent {{Misandry}}.

* AmbiguouslyHuman: Melvina physically appears to a regular woman in her sixties or seventies and aside from her surprising foreknowledge of what her patients are dealing with she displays no supernatural powers at first. But as the series goes on and her backstory is revealed it becomes more and more clear she is something else.
* ArtifactOfDeath: The titular wheelchair in the second story results in the eventual death of anyone who sits in it. [[spoiler:{{Downplayed}} when it's eventually revealed that the chair only appears to those who are nearing an end to their life, literal or symbolic, and it's less that the chair kills you than its that sitting down in the chair represents accepting that that your life is at its end.]]
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Melvina refers to this as [[ArcWords going beyond the fishbowl]] and encourages Aldrin to escape reality by doing this. [[spoiler: This is also her ultimate goal.]]

** [[spoiler: Emily and Sarah Dunne in "Opposite Therapies" are exceptionally cruel bullies.]]

* TheAtoner:[[spoiler: Annie in "Chairs" wanted to leave to reconnect with her long abandoned son when she realized she was dying. She never gets the chance but her warnings and the money she left him end up saving his life.]]

* BedlamHouse: The care home in "Antique" fits the trope despite officially being an assisted living facility not a psychiatric ward. Mutilated patients wander the halls or are locked up tight in rooms decorating the walls in horrific art. The staff are abusive at best full on [[MadScientist mad scientists]] at worst.
* BigBad: Melvina is the VillainProtagonist of the comic and most of the supernatural threats in the series are either a result of her actions or are at least being taken advantage of by her for her own ends.
* BittersweetEnding: When the patients don't have straight up [[DownerEnding Downer Endings]] this is usually the best they can hope for.

* BrokenRecord: The infected in "Back to Mornau" can only repeat whatever they were doing when they were infected over and over again. If they where speaking this means that they repeat the same phrase over and over again.

* ChekhovsGunman: The patient [[spoiler: Beatriz in "Opposite Therapies"]] initially gets less focus than most of the series [[PatientOfTheWeek Patients Of The Week]] as the story focuses more or Melvina's backstory rather than the patients issues. At the end of the story it is revealed that the patient is plotting to take down Melvina's and she becomes the protagonist going forward.

* ContinuityCavalcade: "The End Of..." Has Beatriz encountering elements from almost every previous story, fitting for a GrandFinale.

* DecoyProtagonist: Melvina starts out as the VillainProtagonist of the comic until [[spoiler: "Opposite Therapies" introduces Beatriz]] who quickly takes over as the protagonist going forward.

* {{Determinator}}: Beatriz's ability to withstand manipulation and abuse is the reason her OriginsEpisode is called "Resilience". Whether it's Gur's cult or Melvina's therapy she manages to keep working towards her goals no matter what horrors she finds herself up against.

** "Opposite Therapies" refers to how this story is the opposite of the normal therapy sessions that make up the comic, as we are focusing on Melvina not her patient. It also refers to [[spoiler: the fact that the patient Beatriz is attempting to psychoanalyze Melvina.]]
** "Filling Gaps" is a reference to how the story is filling in the gaps of Melvina backstory by showing what happened after the events of "Opposite Therapies". The ending gives it a BodyHorror infused meaning as [[spoiler: Beatriz unintentionally masturbates using an open wound on her stomach, suggesting that the lies about her mental health she was using justify seeing Melvina are coming true.]]
* DownerEnding: It is a horror comic so it should be now surprise that many stories end with all or most of the sympathetic characters dead or experiencing [[FateWorseThanDeath Fates Worse Than Death.]] [[spoiler: This happens in "Hare's Arms" "Back to Mornau" "The Overview Effect" and "Antique."]]

** In "Chairs" Annie is locked up in her house forced to die alone and in pain.
** [[spoiler:In the finale Melvina begs Beatriz to stay by her side as she dies in the hospital. Beatriz refuses and [[KilledOffScreen Melvina's final death happens offscreen.]]]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: The cruel bully Sarah Dunne is legitimately heartbroken at the disappearance of her twin. Also Margret in "Chairs" legitimately loved Annie [[spoiler: until jealousy and trauma caused her to lash out and imprisoner when she wanted to go be with her son at the end of her life.]]

* FanDisservice: A lot of scenes featuring sexuality or nakedness are followed up by some very serious body horror. A prime example is during "Resilience" where we see the attractive Emma fully naked from the back, including [[BodyHorror the cancerous tumors all over her back.]] Then we get a panel of her fully naked from the front as Gur starts {{Gaslighting}} her and physically contorts her face into a terrifying SlasherSmile while she cries.
* FateWorseThanDeath: The Grandma in "Antique" explicitly does not fear death but is horrified at the thought of [[spoiler: watching her grandchildren tortured to death in front of her. [[KickTheDog Melvina is]] [[UncertainDoom heavily implied]] [[KickTheDog to do just that at the end of the chapter.]]]]

* GroundhogDayLoop: [[spoiler: "Back to Mornau"]].

* HairRaisingHare: Gina in "Hare's Arms" has a horrible fear of rabbits after encountering something in the woods with her friends on a school trip. Her boyfriend convinces her to return to the scene and try to get to the bottom of her RepressedMemories of the event. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} once she realizes that what she remembered as rabbits ears are actually [[TheKillerInsideMe her own arms]] [[TransformationHorror bent painfully behind her back as she transformed into her true form.]]]]
* {{Imprinting}}: Ayrn in "Back to Mornau'' was the first thing a duckling saw once it hatched. It would follow her around thinking she was it's family until she accidentally stepped on it while playing.[[spoiler: The same thing happened with Freddie and the EldritchAbomination in the mines and now he is the only one who can kill it because it leaves its guard down around him.]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:Melvina and Aldrin's description of how they feel disconnected from the world around them sounds like they are realizing they are characters in a Comic. Aldrin's description of how he is seeing the fishbowl in his dreams sounds like he's realizing that everything he's seeing is in a comic panel. [[spoiler: Notably Melvina's final attempt to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence get outside the fish bowl]] requires her to try to [[GrandTheftMe take over the body of Beatriz]] who the final chapter reveals is the only character directly based on an actual RealLife person.]]
* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: [[spoiler:When Beatriz attempts to bring police to Melvina's office after strangling her]] all she finds is a disused alleyway.

* {{Mundanger}}: In "Chairs" [[spoiler: the true physical threat to Edward is not the ghost of his mother or the haunted wheelchair, it's his neighbor Marget, a regular retiree.]]
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: [[spoiler: Annie in "Chairs"]].
* NightmareFace: [[spoiler: Gina in "Hare's Arms" and Gur in "Resilience". Most people affected by the curse in "Back to Mornau"]].
* NonActionBigBad: Melvina may be able to manipulate and abuse her patients into getting her way with ease, but in any physical confrontation she is an elderly woman.[[spoiler: Once Beatriz has enough of her manipulation and abuse following Ziggy's death she easily strangles Melvina to death in a fit of rage.]]

* NotSoAboveItAll: Melvina normally gives off a stoic and outwardly professional presentation for her clients. Which only makes her getting bored and doodling ducks on her notepad during a session in "Back To Mornau" even funnier.
* OldDarkHouse: Gina in "Hare's Arms" remembers going to a house with pictures of animals on the doors alongside a group of schoolmates as a child. The other students were never seen again and Gina eventually returns to the house as an adult to discover what happened there and why her experiences there made her afraid of rabbits. [[spoiler: it is eventually revealed that the house is entirely mundane and just an abandoned house previously used by the park for housing school children on trips. [[MadnessMantra It was never the place]] [[TheKillerInMe it was Gina herself.]]]]
* OriginsEpisode: "Resilience" gives Backstory for Beatriz and Ziggy as they meet at a mental health retreat that is actually a cover for a {{Cult}}.

** The nurse in "Antique" also tries to drug Olive into unconsciousness as she tries to leave.[[spoiler: This shared tactic is our first clue they are working together.]]

* {{Psychopomp}}: The actual purpose [[spoiler: of the wheelchair in "Chairs".]] That it reappears [[spoiler: to Melvina at the end of the story]] serves as our first hint that she is SecretlyDying.
* PsychoPsychologist: Melvina herself is an unusually subtle and terrifying example. [[spoiler: Also, Gur in "Resilience"]].
* PsychosexualHorror: The PatientOfTheWeek in the frame story of "Opposite Therapies" comes into discuss her tendency to [[BodyHorror intentionally cause injuries to remain and deepen so she can use them as pseudo vaginas for masturbation.]] [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} when this turns out to all be a lie so that the patient Beatriz can investigate Melvina. Then later on DoubleSubverted when we see Beatriz actually masturbating at the end of "Filling Gaps" which eventually results in her subconsciously digging a bloody hole into her stomach.]]
* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler:Melvina was set up to be sexually assaulted as a child by bullies in her boarding school. The resulting trauma [[DrivenToSuicide lead to her attempting to throw herself off a cliff.]]]]
* RapeDiscretionShot: [[spoiler:Melvina's sexual assault]] happens mostly offscreen with the panel focusing mostly on [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a flower opening up nearby.]]
* RealismInducedHorror: While there are many supernatural forces and threats in the series, abusive and neglectful family and authority figures are often just as destructive.
* RedRightHand: Margret in "Chairs" has serious facial scarring after her [[DomesticAbuse abusive husband]] forced her face into a pan of boiling oil. [[spoiler: She is also a repeated domestic abuser herself.]]

* RippleEffectProofMemory: [[spoiler: Freddie's father in "Back to Mornau"]] can remember some parts of previous loops and is confused by them. [[CassandraTruth His attempts to explain what's going on and how to break the loop always fail.]]

* SerialKiller: A serial killer known as [[CreepyCrows the Black Crow]] who breaks into houses to slaughter families while leaving the children alive to discover the bodies is alluded to several times before finally showing up in "The Black Crow". [[spoiler: It turns out to be Ziggy.]]

* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:"Opposite Therapies" and "Filling Gaps" turns out to be this for Melvina]].
* StealthSequel: The last few chapters heavily imply that the series is a sequel to Rasen's earlier short story "PHASMATODEA". [[spoiler: A dream sequence showing Melvina's birth more or less says she is the stick-bug covered baby from the story abandoned by her father after her mother's death.]]

** [[spoiler: An inversion serves as the the core of [[BigBad Melvina's]] plan. She aims to steal the blood of people about to experience horrific events so she can use that blood to "vaccinate" herself against the fear they experienced in preparation for her [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence going beyond the fishbowl]]. The people she takes the blood from are mundane people in over their heads but Melvina is clearly somehow supernatural. By the time the series starts she has vaccinated against all but one fear, [[MortalityPhobia the fear of her own death.]]]]
** [[spoiler: A straight example occurs in the final chapter when Grethel injects Beatriz with Melvina's supernaturally empowered blood as a final attempt to break the fishbowl.]]

* SympatheticInspectorAntagonist: [[spoiler:Beatriz]] starts out as this, seeking to end Melvina's abuse and manipulation of her patients. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} when she almost immediately becomes the focus character taking over the protagonist role from Melvina.]]

-> '''Beatriz:''' I will bring to light what she is doing, and I will end Melvina's Therapy forever.
* TheTopicOfCancer: Emma in "Resilience" claims that skin cancer was healed by the power of positive thinking and following Gur's teachings. [[spoiler:In reality it just keeps getting worse and Gur blames her doubt on the technique failing.]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: Gina in "Hare's Arms"]].
* VillainProtagonist: Melvina pushes all her patients towards self destruction to meet her own selfish goals. She is also the main viewpoint character for much of the story.

** "Opposite Therapies" gives Melvina's backstory [[spoiler: and introduces Beatriz the stories true protagonist.]]
** "The Black Crow" [[spoiler: reveals that Ziggy is the titular SerialKiller, having been manipulated into it by Melvina, and has him commit suicide rather than hurt Beatriz once she discovers it. This in turn causes Beatriz to snap during her next therapy session [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath strangling Melvina to death.]] Melvina's office disappears when Beatriz tries to lead police to the body, removing the main setting of the series and leaving open the question of whether or not Melvina is truly dead. The season ends with Beatriz institutionalized and haunted by visions of Melvina's corpse taunting her.]]

** [[spoiler: What happens to all of Melvina's accomplices is left unresolved at the end of the story. This is most notable with Grethel who is last seen screaming as Beatriz leaps from her balcony at the beginning of the final chapter.]]
** There is also no explanation of what happened to the people of Mornau following [[spoiler: Melvina's death, as she served as a vital part of the GroundhogDayLoop trapping them.]]

** In "Hare's Arms" Owen eventually finds the bodies of several school children killed by the Hare years ago.
** In "Chairs" Alice beat her baby for crying too much and is implied to have suffered similar abuse at the hands of her father.
** In "Back to Mornau" the [[spoiler: EldritchAbomination]] causing the citizens of Mornau to repeat the same action kills at least one child when it forces their mother to keep driving directly off a cliff.
** The bullies in "Opposite Therapies" almost drown young Melvina in a toilet because they thought she wasn't good enough to use one. [[spoiler: Then they manipulate the developmentally disabled boy that Melvina considered her only friend into sexually assulting her.]] Melvina herself [[spoiler: kidnaps them and and ties their heads to a drain pipe to slowly drown in toilet water.]]
** The care home staff [[spoiler: including Melvina]] in "Antique" are happy to kidnap two children for use in their experiments.
* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler: Margaret in "Chairs", who, motivated by her [[DoesNotLikeMen hatred of men]] and [[IfICantHaveYou fear of losing her life-partner]], killed Annie rather then letting her contact her son.]]

** [[spoiler:In the finale Melvina begs Beatriz to stay by her side as she dies in the hospital. [[KickTheSonOfABitch Beatriz refuses and]] [[KilledOffScreen Melvina's final death happens offscreen.]]]]

->''"In order for therapy to work, you must find a psychologist whith whom you connect. I found one. I connected in a way I had never imagined. More and more it felt as though she were inside me. But I was wrong. I should have never visited her. I should never have opened up to her! Because while she pulled me from the ashes of my life... Little by little she was dragging me to hell."''

* ADateWithRosiePalms: The PatientOfTheWeek in the frame story of “Opposite Therapies” comes into discuss her tendency to [[BodyHorror intentionally cause injuries to remain and deepen so she can use them as pseudo vaginas for masturbation.]] [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} when this turns out to all be a lie so that the patient Beatriz can investigate Melvina. Then later on DoubleSubverted when we see Beatriz actually masturbating at the end of “Filling Gaps” which eventually results in her subconsciously digging a bloody hole into her stomach.]]

** Owen in "Hare's Arms" pushes his girlfriend into a therapy she doesn't want mostly because he wants to avoid social embarrassment, rather then actually helping her]].

* OldDarkHouse: Gina in “Hare’s Arms” remembers going to a house with pictures of animals on the doors alongside a group of schoolmates as a child. The other students were never seen again and Gina eventually returns to the house as an adult to discover what happened there and why her experiences there made her afraid of rabbits. [[spoiler: it is eventually revealed that the house is entirely mundane and just an abandoned house previously used by the park for housing school children on trips. [[MadnessMantra It was never the place]] [[TheKillerInsideMe it was Gina herself.]]]]

** [[spoiler: An inversion serves as the the core of [[BigBad Melvina’s]] plan. She aims to steal the blood of people about to experience horrific events so she can use that blood to “vaccinate” herself against the fear they experienced in preparation for her [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence going beyond the fishbowl]]. The people she takes the blood from are mundane people in over their heads but Melvina is clearly somehow supernatural. By the time the series starts she has vaccinated against all but one fear, [[MoralityPhobia the fear of her own death.]]]]

** ”The Black Crow” [[spoiler: reveals that Ziggy is the titular SerialKiller, having been manipulated into it by Melvina, and has him commit suicide rather than hurt Beatriz once she discovers it. This in turn causes Beatriz to snap during her next therapy session[[SuprisinglySuddenDeath strangling Melvina to death.]] Melvina’s office disappears when Beatriz tries to lead police to the body, removing the main setting of the series and leaving open the question of whether or not Melvina is truly dead. The season ends with Beatriz institutionalized and haunted by visions of Melvina’s corpse taunting her.]]

* SkunkStripe: Melvina had a grey streak in her hair as a child, which was one of the reasons bullies decided to target her.

** The series title both refers to the therapy that Melvina conducts on her patients and [[spoiler: how she uses these sessions as a way of treating her own fears.]] Some of the individual stories have double meaning titles as well.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Margret in “Chairs” was in a loving relationship with Annie before her death and had previously been in a loveless and [[DomesticAbuse abusive]] relationship with her ex husband. While the story never touches on whether she actually ever had any interest in men, by the time of the story she is uninterested in men because of her violent {{Misandry}}.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Emily and Sarah Dunne in "Opposite Therapies" are exceptionally cruel bullies. Owen in "Hare's Arms" pushes his girlfriend into a therapy she doesn't want mostly because he wants to avoid social embarrassment, rather then actually helping her]].

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The series title both refers to the therapy that Melvina conducts on her patients and [[spoiler: how she uses these sessions as a way of treating her own fears.]] Some of the individual stories have double meaning titles as well.

* DyingAlone: In “Chairs” Annie is locked up in her house forced to die alone and in pain. [[spoiler:In the finale Melvina begs Beatriz to stay by her side as she dies in the hospital. [[KickTheSonOfABitch Beatriz refuses and]] [[KilledOffScreen Melvina’s final death happens offscreen.]]]]

* MedicalHorror: Most of the series falls under the psychological variation as we watch Melvina drug and abuse her patients. “Antique” features the common surgical BodyHorror flavor.

* {{Mundanger}}: In “Chairs” [[spoiler: the true physical threat to Edward is not the ghost of his mother or the haunted wheelchair, it's his neighbor Marget, a regular retiree.]] Also Gur in “Resilience” who [[spoiler:despite being supernatural himself,]] manages to do all his evil through entirely mundane {{Gaslighting}}, brainwashing, manipulation and drugs.

* PlayingWithSyringes: Melvina drugs and draws blood from most of her patients during most sessions. The nurse in “Antique” also tries to drug Olive into unconsciousness as she tries to leave.[[spoiler: This shared tactic is our first clue they are working together.]]

* TheRunaway: Freddie in “Back to Mornau” ran away from home for reasons he truly cannot remember. Ziggy ran away after experiencing extreme abuse from his parents.

* SuperhumanTransfusion: [[spoiler: An inversion serves as the the core of [[BigBad Melvina’s]] plan. She aims to steal the blood of people about to experience horrific events so she can use that blood to “vaccinate” herself against the fear they experienced in preparation for her [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence going beyond the fishbowl]]. The people she takes the blood from are mundane people in over their heads but Melvina is clearly somehow supernatural. By the time the series starts she has vaccinated against all but one fear, [[MoralityPhobia the fear of her own death.]]]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: What happens to all of Melvina’s accomplices is left unresolved at the end of the story. This is most notable with Grethel who is last seen screaming as Beatriz leaps from her balcony at the beginning of the final chapter.]]

* WouldHurtAChild: Happens in almost half of the stories.

* AdultFear: One of the central themes of “Chairs” is the fear of dying without being able to complete everything you want to do in life. In “Antique” aside from the supernatural threats at the care home Olive has to deal with her Grandma reaching a point where she starts to forget about her. [[spoiler:Later Grandma has to deal with the fear of outliving her grandchildren.]]

* ThematicSeries: The first in a trilogy by Rasen that also includes “Webcomic/GremoryLand” and “Webcomic/CountingSheep”. While there are small details that imply a shared setting, for example Edward’s painting briefly appears in Counting Sheep, the primary connections are the metafictional natures of the stories and the shared idea of [[ArcWords going outside the fishbowl.]]

''[[https://www.webtoons.com/en/horror/melvinas-therapy/list?title_no=1021 Melvina's Therapy]]'' is an episodic horror webcomic by A. Rasen. The [[FramingDevice frame story]] is centered around the eponymous Melvina, a mysterious and cruel [[PsychoPsychologist therapist]] whose patients has an unfortunate tendency to meet grisly ends when trying to confront traumas of their past.

** There is also no explanation of what happened to the people of Mornau following [[spoiler: Melvina’s death, as she served as a vital part of the GroundhogDayLoopTrapping them.]]

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The series title both refers to the therapy that Melvina conducts on her patients and [[spoiler: how she uses these sessions as a way of treating her own fears.]]Some of the individual stories have double meaning titles as well.

* VillainProtagonist: Melvina pushes all her patients towards self destruction to meet her own selfish goals. She is also the main viewpoint character for much of the story.
* WhamEpisode: Both of the season finale stories serve as massive changes to the status quo.
** ”Opposite Therapies” gives Melvina’s backstory [[spoiler: and introduces Beatriz the stories true protagonist.]]
** ”The Black Crow” [[spoiler:reveals that Ziggy is the titular SerialKiller, having been manipulated into it by Melvina, and has him commit suicide rather than hurt Beatriz once she discovers it. This in turn causes Beatriz to snap during her next therapy session [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath strangling Melvina to death.]] Melvina’s office disappears when Beatriz tries to lead police to the body, removing the main setting of the series and leaving open the question of whether or not Melvina is truly dead. The season ends with Beatriz institutionalized and haunted by visions of Melvina’s corpse taunting her.]]

* HairRaisingHare: Gina in “Hare’s Arms” has a horrible fear of rabbits after encountering something in the woods with her friends on a school trip. Her boyfriend convinces her to return to the scene and try to get to the bottom of her RepressedMemories of the event. [[spoiler:{{Subverted}} once she realizes that what she remembered as rabbits ears are actually [[TheKillerInsideMe her own arms]][[TransformationHorror bent painfully behind her back as she transformed into her true form.]]]]

* {{Mundanger}}: In “Chairs” [[spoiler: the true physical threat to Edward is not the ghost of his mother or the haunted wheelchair, it's his neighbor Marget, a regular retiree.]] Also Gur in “Resilience” who [[spoiler:despite being supernatural himself]] manages to do all his evil through entirely mundane {{Gaslighting}}, brainwashing, manipulation and drugs.

* StealthSequel: The last few chapters heavily imply that the series is a sequel to Rasen’s earlier short story “PHASMATODEA”. [[spoiler: A dream sequence showing Melvina’s birth more or less says she is the stick bug covered baby from the story abandoned by her father after her mother’s death.]]

* TitleDrop: Beatriz at the end of "Opposite Therapies" after she discovered what Melvina did to one of her former patients:
-> '''Beatriz:''' I will bring to light what she is doing, and I will end Melvina's Therapy forever.
* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler: Gina in "Hare's Arms"]].
* TheTopicOfCancer: Emma in “Resilience” claims that skin cancer was healed by the power of positive thinking and following Gur’s teachings. [[spoiler:In reality it just keeps getting worse and Gur blames her doubt on the technique failing.]]

* VillianProtagonist: Melvina pushes all her patients towards self destruction to meet her own selfish goals. She is also the main viewpoint character for much of the story.

** ”The Black Crow” [[reveals that Ziggy is the titular SerialKiller, having been manipulated into it by Melvina, and has him commit suicide rather than hurt Beatriz once she discovers it. This in turn causes Beatriz to snap during her next therapy session[[SuprisinglySuddenDeath strangling Melvina to death.]] Melvina’s office disappears when Beatriz tries to lead police to the body, removing the main setting of the series and leaving open the question of whether or not Melvina is truly dead. The season ends with Beatriz institutionalized and haunted by visions of Melvina’s corpse taunting her.]]

** ”The Black Crow” [[spoiler: reveals that Ziggy is the titular SerialKiller, having been manipulated into it by Melvina, and has him commit suicide rather than hurt Beatriz once she discovers it. This in turn causes Beatriz to snap during her next therapy session[[SurprisinglySuddenDeath strangling Melvina to death.]] Melvina’s office disappears when Beatriz tries to lead police to the body, removing the main setting of the series and leaving open the question of whether or not Melvina is truly dead. The season ends with Beatriz institutionalized and haunted by visions of Melvina’s corpse taunting her.]]

* DyingAlone: In “Chairs” Annie is locked up in her house forced to die alone and in pain. [[spoiler:In the finale Melvina begs Beatriz to stay by her side as she dies in the hospital.[[KickTheSonOfABitch Beatriz refuses and]] [[KilledOffScreen Melvina’s final death happens offscreen.]]]]

* FateWorseThanDeath: The Grandma in “Antique” explicitly does not fear death but is horrified at the thought of [[spoiler: watching her grandchildren tortured to death in front of her.[[KickTheDog Melvina is]] [[UncertainDoom heavily implied]] [[KickTheDog to do just that at the end of the chapter.]]]]

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday:[[spoiler:When Beatriz attempts to bring police to Melvina’s office after strangling her]] all she finds is a disused alleyway.

* SurrealHorror: "Back to Mornau".

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Emily and Sarah Dunne in "Opposite Therapies" are exceptionally cruel bullies. Owen in "Hare's Arms" pushes his grilfriend into a therapy she dosn't want mostly because he wants to avoid social embarrasment, rather then actually helping her]].

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Most stories are deliberatley drawn in black and white, but colour is sometimes used for certain effects.

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler: Margaret in "Chairs", who, motivated by her [[DoesNotLikeMen hatred of men]] and [[IfICantHaveYou fear of losing her life-partner]], killed Annie rather then leting her contact her son.]]

* {{Yandere}}: [[spoiler: Margaret in "Chairs", who, motivated by her [[DoesNotLikeMen hatred of men]] and [[IfICantHaveYou fear of loosing her life-partner]], killed Annie rather then leting her contact her son.]]

* MadnessMantra: "They are not hares. They are arms. I was so wrong. It was never the place."

* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:"Opposite Therapies" turns out to be this for Melvina]].

* Psycho Psychologist: Melvina herself is an unusually subtle and terrifying example. [[spoiler: Also, Gur in "Resilience"]].