A familiar face arrives in Castle Rock.
Tropes
- The Alcoholic: Rita is four years sober at the time of this episode, opening up to her attending an AA meeting. After meeting Joy, who asked for her to come back tomorrow, hits a couple bottles from a hotel mini-fridge before going a local bar.
- Demonic Possession: Anyone who dies on the Marsten property apparently comes back possessed by one of the witches who were buried in the cavern beneath.
- Drowning Their Sorrows: Rita, who was four years sober, finds her daughter after nearly two decades and its not the happy reunion she hoped it be: naturally she immediately falls off the wagonnote .
- Internal Reveal
- Joy meets her biological mother and learns about her past and the truth about Annie and she's left devastated spending the night crying and sobbing. It doesn't help matters after speaking with Annie later.
- Nadia learns via a voicemail left by Pop that Abdi knew the truth assuming she already spoke with him. He comes home to her throwing his stuff out on the front lawn telling Abdi to find a new place to live.
- Mexican Standoff: Joy (who unexpectedly has a needle of sedative), Rita has a gun, and Annie has mud and a rock. And determination.
- The Reveal:
- Ace and the rest who were murdered and resurrected are in fact possessed by the souls of the witches previously mentioned in previous episodes. Their leader has yet to be brought back due to "Ace" having just discovered a potential host...Annie.
- Ace told Abdi the truth about five years ago when Pop planned to give him the mall just to spite him.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Joy learns the truth about her family, she doesn't automatically connect with Rita, a complete stranger; in fact she decides to take up on an offer from Chance to go to North Carolina just to get away from everything.
- Villains Out Shopping: One of the main ways to tell someone is possessed is by their thing for wine. Both "Ace" and the others seem to particularly pleased how much better its gotten over the centuries.
- Wham Shot: A very literal one. When Rita tries to shot Annie, Joy injects her with a sedative but causes her mother to drop the gun causing it to go offnote . Rita looks down to find she's been shot.
- You Have to Believe Me!: When Rita calls the FBI about finding Joy and Annie they don't believe her. Apparently her drinking led to an embarrassing incident for them and they refused to reopen the case.note
