MG's mom and Clarke force Landon to leave Alaric a voicemail, telling him that he needs some time to himself. As soon as she leaves, Clarke starts telling Landon a story, revealing the origins of Malivore.
Malivore (the Eater of Evil) was a golem, created by a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf in order to stop dragons and other dangerous supernaturals, although they put in a Restraining Bolt to keep it from attacking those three species. After some time, when it absorbed many creatures and wiped the knowledge of them from the public consciousness, its creators decided to destroy the golem, except it had grown sentient and didn't want to die, so it convinced the humans it had saved to help it. Over time, Malivore tried creating more creatures like it, but they ended up being pale imitations, lacking its powers. Clarke reveals that he is one such creation, rejected by his father for not being perfect, so Clarke betrayed Malivore and got the humans to turn Malivore into a puddle. Those tasked with keeping an eye on it eventually formed Triad Industries and became corrupt, using the pit to dispose of anyone they didn't like, both supernatural and human. Clarke also reveals that Malivore is Landon's father, having somehow impregnated his mother. Clarke's goal is to free their father, but he needs the last key. Landon points to a golden chalice and they leave.
Meanwhile, Hope and Lizzie are having trouble dealing with their respective losses, while Josie is researching the Merge. Emma decides to take a sabbatical in order to convince Alaric that he can't do everything on his own. Rafael is experiencing side effects from Hope's potion, constantly zoning out and acting increasingly aggressive. Alaric tells the twins about the Merge and goes to Dorian to apologize and ask him to come back. Hope figures out that Landon has been taken by Triad and plans to go to their base with the twins, MG, and Kaleb.
MG's mom learns of Clarke's betrayal and sends a team to attack the school.
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The final shot of the episode is heavily-armed Triad soldiers attacking the school under the orders of MG's mom, clearly equipped to deal with witches, vampires, and werewolves.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Landon is hesitating to help Clarke by asking why he should help him free Malivore and destroy the world, Clarke answers that, prior to being betrayed and turned into a puddle, Malivore has walked the earth for centuries.Ryan Clarke: Was the world destroyed?
- Beam-O-War: Josie and Lizzie get into a magic beam struggle. Josie wins.
- But Now I Must Go: Roman once again leaves the school to go back to his task.
- Drunk with Power: According to Clarke, Triad Industries have corrupted Malivore's original purpose by using the pit to get rid of anyone they don't like.
- Forged Message: MG's mom and Clarke force Landon to leave Alaric a voicemail about him needing space and going on a camping trip. In the message, he asks "Ric" to say hi to Rafael and Jed. During Hope's conversation with a holographic Landon, the latter exposes her doubts about the message's authenticity, such as calling Alaric "Ric" and pretending to care about Jed, the guy who beat him up. Hope asks Roman to use his vampire hearing on the message, and he picks up the sounds of keycards being swiped and footsteps on a metal floor. Hope realizes that Triad has taken Landon.
- Fur Against Fang: A fight between the school's vampires and werewolves nearly breaks out when Rafael bumps into a vampire while in a daze and then responds to the latter's comment with unusual aggression. Jed and Roman are able to defuse the situation by calming down their respective sides.
- Golem: Malivore was created as a golem by a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf in order to keep the world safe from the other supernatural species. Ryan Clarke is one too, having been molded by Malivore to look human.
- He's Back!: Alaric swallows his pride, apologizes to Dorian, and asks him to come back. Dorian accepts but demands a raise.
- Humanoid Abomination: Malivore's true form is that of a mud Golem of a humanoid shape, but with pits where eyes and mouth should be.
- I Have No Son!: Malivore rejected Clarke for not being a perfect creation. The resentful Clarke betrayed Malivore to the humans and had it turned into a puddle.
- Internal Reveal:
- The twins learn about the Merge.
- Rafael admits his feelings for Hope, but he knows she won't reciprocate.
- The Triad learn that Clarke is supernatural.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jed genuinely wants to repent for being such a jerk during his time as the pack's alpha. He sees that Rafael is not himself and is doing his best to keep the pack intact while Rafael deals with it. He wants Rafael to be a better leader than he was.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Well, more like "Landon, I am your brother", but Clarke does also reveal that Landon's real father is Malivore, who used the DNA of the many humans that Triad had tossed into the pit to create sperm to impregnate Seylah with. Clarke appeals to Landon's sense of family, pointing out that he'll never be at home at the school.
- MockGuffin: The humans who trapped Malivore created three keys and three fakes. Two of the real keys have already been found and dropped into the puddle. Clarke showed Landon photos of four items and asks him which of them he's being drawn to, like he'd been drawn to the knife and the urn. Once Landon becomes convinced of Clarke's sincerity, he points to a golden chalice.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Clarke eventually realized he was wrong to betray his father and now works to free him.
- No Medication for Me: Josie reveals to Hope that Lizzie is supposed to be taking meds to deal with her episodes, except she's stopped doing that after their biological mom showed up, since the meds make her cold and distant.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Hope is suspicious of Landon's voicemail because he calls Alaric "Ric" and asks him to say hi to Jed, a guy he can't stand. Landon does it deliberately, since he's being forced to leave the voicemail and knows that either MG's mom nor Agent Clarke would pick up on the mistakes.
- Origins Episode: Much of the episode is Clarke retelling Landon about Malivore's origins. Landon lampshades this.
- Phlebotinum Rebel: The original triad created Malivore to rid the world of dangerous supernaturals. Then they decided to end their creation. However, with every absorbed supernatural, Malivore became more intelligent. Eventually, it became self-aware and didn't want to die. So it made a deal with the humans it had saved to stop its creators from wiping off the triad symbol on its forehead (which would undo the magic).
- The Power of Blood: Clarke needs Landon because Landon has Malivore's blood in his veins, whereas Clarke himself, being a Golem, has no blood of his own. Landon's blood is what draws him to the three keys - artifacts originally used in the ritual that turned Malivore into a puddle and that can be used to free it.
- Punched Across the Room: Alaric tries to calm an enraged Rafael down only to get casually tossed across the hallway by him.
- Really 700 Years Old: Ryan Clarke was created by Malivore centuries ago. He has lived among humans since.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Lizzie assumes what's happening to Josie is just a phase. When confronted, Josie lays into her that she's tired of always playing second fiddle to Lizzie and wants to live separate lives. Lizzie attacks her in anger, but Josie is able to cast a defensive spell in time.
- Restraining Bolt: Malivore is unable to harm witches, vampires, and werewolves. According to Clarke, the Triad have been experimenting with the pit in order to remove this restriction and put an end to all supernaturals.
- Talking to Themself: Hope uses one of Emma's crystals to practice apologizing to Landon by having the crystal manifest a magical hologram of him from her subconscious. Her initial attempts are unsuccessful, especially since "Landon" is just a reflection of her and knows everything she does, so he knows when she's being genuine and when she's not. Eventually she gives him an earnest apology. "Landon" then exposes her own doubts about Landon's voicemail.
- Ungrateful Bastard: The humans Malivore has saved from supernaturals are initially grateful and some even start worshiping Malivore almost like a god. Then Clarke tells them the Malivore has been trying to create more like him. The same humans turn on Malivore and use a ritual to turn it into a puddle.
- Wham Episode: Both Clarke and Landon are revealed to be Malivore's children.
