An Angel watches over this place.
Tropes
- Brainwashed and Crazy: The Kid takes advantage of the entire town being in the main square for their anniversary celebration to unveil a statue of "The Angel" that puts everyone into a trance. Pops is only spared as he was facing away when the Kid pulled the cloak off.
- The Bus Came Back: A rare example of it being a place that this trope applies to: after being mentioned in a previous episode, Shawshank Prison is revisted having been reopened since the events of season 1. Pop goes there to visit his brother-in-law John, the father of Ace and Chris and in turn learns that "Ace" had been to viisti recently as well.
- Continuity Nod: This episode is similar to the Season 1 episode Henry Deaver taking place in a different setting while also providing some insight into the current storyline.
- Cult: Those buried in the caverns beneath the Marsten House aren't witches so much as a cult that follows one...and then she's really more a Dark Messiah to The Angel who grants favors and blessings in exchange for their obiedence. This includes the ritualistic mass-suicide associated with this trope the twist being they actually do come back as promised.
- Disappeared Dad: We finally meet Chris and Ace's father John...whose currently serving life at Shawshank though the crime isn't specified.
- Internal Reveal: Pop learns that "Ace" along with others are planning something (though what he doesn't know) involving the Marsten House.
- Laser-Guided Karma: The village elders which include Amity's father used their religious beliefs as an excuse to banish Amity from the village for challenging their leadership decisions. Such as making rational suggestions like finding a better palce to live. The first thing she does after taking over the village is burn them at the stake tied to inverted crosses.
- The Reveal:
- The cavern beneath Marsten is the resting place for the people of New Jerusalem who 400 years ago became a cult centered around one of the daughters of the village elders Amity. She in turn serves the will of "The Angel" a hooded figure that appeared and saved her life during her exile.
- "Ace" is possessed by Amity's lover and second-in-command, a Catholoic priest named Pere Augustin. Along with finding suitable hosts for the remaining cultists, his main mission is to find their "Angel" in the present day.
- The Angel himself is a major one as not only does it ties in the events of the previous season but reveals its none other than The Kid...who along with Henry Deaver have since gone missing.
- Sinister Minister: Pere Augustin was the village's Catholic priest in love Amity who reciprocated, but the village leaders used this to accuse of letting his love stray from his vows to God. After her return, he becomes her right-hand man and is revealed to be the one possessing Ace and spearheading the cultists' actions in the present.
- Villain Has a Point: Though its before she became evil, Amity is correct that there's soemthing wrong with the land on which New Jerusalem was founded including an inablity to grow crops. None-the-less she's banished by the village's leaders (which include her own father) and the village quickly is swayed to her leadership when one of The Angel's blessings is a bountiful harvest.
