Swamp Thing season 1, episode 6 review: The Price You Pay

“I have to help him.” Spoilers for Swamp Thing season 1, episode 6 follow.

Abby continues on her crusade to help Alec discover what turned him into the Swamp Thing but, being surrounded by so much evil, there’s no easy path for her.

Meanwhile, Daniel Cassidy is in a coma following the attack on him and Liz, but Jason Woodrue believes he may have a way of helping Cassidy.

More monster than man

By essence, Swamp Thing is a show that easily falls within the confines of the monster genre, much like the classic horror films of the 1930s. Most notably though, there are shades of Frankenstein within the series, and that’s most apparent within this episode. As the audience, we see through the eyes of the monstrous being and, because of that, we see who the true monsters actually are throughout the world.

This thematic point throughout the episode is very tried and true within both the monster and sci-fi genres of storytelling, but it doesn’t really matter when it’s done effectively, as it is here. By starting off the episode showing Alec’s confrontation with hunters which leads to Abby’s conversation with Avery and Woodrue’s experimentation on Daniel, it becomes easier and easier to see the monsters that inhabit this world.

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Alec mutilated the hunters, but only because he was defending himself. Whereas when you look at Avery, he feigns being the good guy until Abby calls him on who actually is and, within the same conversation, shows his true colors to her. And then Woodrue, in the guise of being helpful, commits extremely unethical human testing on a previously untested drug, which looks to be transforming Daniel even more.

Much like in Frankenstein, people want a scapegoat for the actions done in Marais, which they’re attempting to find in Alec, whereas Alec isn’t sure whether he is a monster or not. By that value alone, he’s a better person than nearly every other character in the series, except for Abby. So while this series is treading ground that has been tread plenty of times before, it does so in a satisfying and well-done way.

The Blue Devil rises

Speaking of Cassidy, we learn a bit more about why he’s stuck in Marais in this episode. It’s not the most exciting part of the episode, and possibly wasn’t even needed, but it’s still interesting to see. It may have been more insightful to leave Cassidy’s issues a bit vaguer, but at least this episode didn’t completely tell the audience everything there is to know about Daniel Cassidy.

Probably the best part of the Cassidy portion of the episode is its willingness to combine science and magic into one. As seen in the previous episode, and in the flashbacks here, Cassidy is stuck in Marais thanks to some (potentially demonic) magic and, now, his potential full transformation into Blue Devil is pushed forward even further by science, thanks to Woodrue.

Swamp Thing, character and comics, has always been something bound by both science and mysticism so, while the Swamp Thing portions of the show have focused more so on the scientific elements, with some mysticism, it’s great to see other parts of the show combining both.

Abby and Alec

Despite how great this show has been so far, there has been one element that has really been holding it back, the lack of interactions between Abby and Alec. The ones that have been present have been solid, but there hasn’t been enough of them. However, this episode rectifies that toward the end, and the show looks to be headed to place where they will have more as well.

The reason why Abby and Alec’s interactions have been so good is the camaraderie the two share. It was something that made the first episode of the show so good, and it carries over through the rest of the series, especially with this episode. There’s a spark between the two, and the kindness that they show to each other simply stands out from the rest of the show, where nearly every character is mired in corruption and evil.

In these scenes as well, Crystal Reed really shows how good of an actress she is. She doesn’t have much to do in the way of emotion during this episode, but the rapport she is able to convey while acting with someone in a big, green suit is admirable.

Swamp Thing continues on its solid run and provides more of an emphasis on Abby and Alec’s relationship, as well as their relationship to the town.