Episode Recaps

Episode Recaps
This page contains recaps of each episode and contains spoilers for the show. Read at your own risk!

All episodes are in the form of voicemails left on an answering machine.

Episode 0: The Arrangement
This episode is the trailer for the show and explains the basic premise of the plot. A man introduces himself as Agent Eric Rockford, and tells the unknown receiver of the call that he received their message (which was some form of threat). Agent Rockford goes on to state that he's willing to cooperate with the unknown party - by reporting the details of his cases and allowing the unknown party to make decisions regarding them. He references his "organization" vaguely, and implies that the cases he's assigned are something more than ordinary criminal investigations.

Case 1
The first case arc revolves around Agent Rockford's search for Felix Grant, a young man who works at an antique mall and has been reported missing.

Episode 1: The Disappearance of Felix Grant
Number of voicemails: 2

This episode begins with Agent Rockford informing the unknown party that he's received his first case since he began being blackmailed. The case is a missing persons investigation. A young man named Felix Grant has been reported missing by his boss, Diane Kowalczyk, after failing to report to his job at an antique shop two days in a row. Rockford explains that police found his car full of pig blood outside of his house, the inside of which was empty and completely painted with tar. He explains that he's heading out to the area to investigate.

In a second voicemail, Rockford states that he received another call from the police - and that they found a pile of dead pigs with "things carved into the skin" out in the woods near Felix's house. He tells the unknown party that he's driving to the area and offers four possible starting points for the investigation: Meeting Diane Kowalczyk at the antique mall, checking in at the police station, visiting Felix Grants house, or looking around the woods where the dead pigs were found.

Episode 2: The Black Room
Number of voicemails: 2

In the poll following the previous episode, the audience elected to send Agent Rockford to Felix Grant's house to investigate. The episode begins with Rockford driving up to the house, and finding Felix's car out front - the interior still covered in pig blood. After not finding any useful evidence, he enters the empty tar-covered house. Drawn by the sound of flies under the floor, he discovers a trap door that leads into a hidden room under the property. Inside the hidden room, he finds a clawfoot tube on top of a symbol painted in blood, surrounded by a circle of pigs strung up on hooks. He identifies it with a fair degree of certainty as a ritual space dedicated to summoning some sort of entity. Shortly after finding a small, water-logged book in the tub, Rockford hears a car door slam outside and disconnects the call.

In a second voice message, Rockford explains that a police car had arrived and the officers were harassing him for "interfering with their crime scene." They also informed him that there were two instances of pigs being stolen from a local meat processing plant, and that a group of teenagers claimed they were paid to dump the other pigs out in the woods. He speculates that maybe Felix isn't a kidnapping victim, but could be involved in some sort of demonic activity - suggesting that the pigs in the woods may be a false trail. He leaves the unknown recipient of the voicemails three options for proceeding: visiting the antique mall owner to see if she recognizes the book, interviewing the teenagers at the police station, or exploring the woods where the other pigs were found.

Episode 3: Sugar Glider
Number of voicemails: 2

In the poll following the previous episode, the audience elected to send Agent Rockford to the antique mall where Felix Grant worked. The episode begins with Rockford parking out front of the shop. Upon entering, he's unable to find the owner, Diane Kowalchuk, but does come across a sugar glider in a cage next to the front desk. He looks around the shop for books similar to the one found in the ritual space underneath Felix's house, but doesn't find anything relevant. After looking around, the lights shut off unexpectedly and Rockford sees the sugar glider out of it's cage. He follows it thinking he accidentally let it out, and it leads him into the break room where he finds Felix's locker. He opens it to see the sugar glider be absorbed into tar covering the inside, and finds a collection of books about demonology, and what appears to be a copy of the water-damaged book found in the previous episode. Rockford is interrupted by an appearance from the shop owner (an uncredited appearance from co-creator Danielle Lutz). Rockford ends the call right before naming the organization he works for.

In a second voicemail, Rockford relays that the shop owner said the locker was empty, that she doesn't know how the books got inside, and that the sugar glider was still safe and well in its cage. She told him that Felix's behavior changed after meeting someone named Lincoln Willow - a book collector that had sold books about the occult to Felix recently. He points out that the behavioral shift described is consistent with someone involved in attempts at demonic summoning, and expresses the belief that Lincoln is heavily involved somehow. Rockford goes on to explain that the small book is filled with cryptic symbols, with the exception of a small note inside that read: "Submerged at the feet of a circle of giants, The King of the West will rise." He speculates that the ritual space underneath Felix's house was intended to reflect this - the pigs representing the circle of giants - but it wasn't close enough for the ritual to succeed. Before offering suggestions of where to go next, he relays news from the police that two of the teenagers were hospitalized after vomiting tar, and that one remaining at the station won't talk anymore except for whispering to themselves. He offers the following next steps as options before disconnecting the call: interview the teenager at the police station, explore the woods where the pigs were found, or track down Lincoln Willow.

Episode 4: The Inkwell and The Abacus
Number of voicemails: 2

In the poll following the previous episode, the audience elected to send Agent Rockford to Lincoln Willow's house. The episode begins with Rockford driving to the house and telling the unknown recipient of the call what he dug up on them via social media. He explains that their accounts have been quiet for a couple years, and that he couldn't find any current info on them. He arrives at the house, and after no one answers the door, he enters through an open window. Inside, he discovers a brass inkwell and abacus with a wooden base, and black spectral roots burrowing into the desk they're sitting on. He speculates that it may be the origin of everything going on around Felix's disappearance and the ritual. He explains that he needs to call in his organization's Artifact unit to deal with it, and that it would be dangerous to touch.

Rockford continues searching the house and finds a book in Lincoln's bedroom. He's about to explain the significance of it when he's interrupted by Adelia, Lincoln's partner (played by Jordan Kearns, aka The Lady Dame). She teases Rockford about breaking in, and answers his questions about Lincoln and Felix with increasing hostility. She tells him that he and others will end up dead if he interferes with the ritual, and the call is disconnected.

In a second voicemail, Rockford says that Adelia's exposure to the Artifact has completely taken over her mind, and that he called Rosa (the lead Artifact specialist) to have a team sent in. He goes on to say that the book he found was a guide to local hiking trails, and that a bookmarked trail has a sculpture installation of giant women surrounding a pond. He expresses the belief that the ritual will take place there. He also states that he believes they're trying to summon the demon Paimon - based on finding the name "The King of the West' in the occult books, and Paimon's description in those books matching an engraving on the inkwell. Rockford tells the person receiving the voicemail that he thinks he should go to sculpture immediately, but admits that interviewing the teenager or searching the woods could still be useful before hanging up.

Episode 5: Inferno
Number of voicemails: 2

In the poll following the previous episode, the audience elected to send Agent Rockford to the woods where the dead pigs were found. The episode begins with Rockford expressing anger with the unknown party giving him orders, for ignoring his advice on where he should go next. He explains he's been wandering in the woods for a large amount of time without finding anything and theorizes about why pigs would be dumped out in the forest. He expresses frustration with the teenagers that were responsible, but hopes that they recover from whatever is affecting them. After some time walking, he notices that he is walking in circles somehow and discovers the pile of dead pigs directly behind him when he turns around. No matter where he turns after that, he finds the pigs in front of him and begins to panic. The symbols carved in their skin begin to change in front of his eyes - into the phrase "We have no patience of children," which Adelia said in the previous episode. The call is disconnected after Rockford is seemingly knocked out by someone or something.

In a second voicemail, Rockford reveals that he woke up in the ritual space under Felix's house, and that the house is burning. He explains that he's trapped and that he called 911, but doesn't know if they'll get there in time. He says if he makes it out somehow, he's going directly to the sculpture installation to try and stop the ritual. He asks the unknown person receiving the call to do him a favor if he dies in the fire: to tell someone named Damien that he's sorry. He goes on to say that if he hadn't broken protocol in January, none of this would be happening and that he wouldn't have needed to abandon Damien. Rockford also says to leave Damien out of his blackmail agreement with the unknown party, saying that he was never part of the original agreement. Before disconnecting the call, Rockford reveals that the name of the person receiving the voicemails is Clearfield. It's unclear if it's a codename of some kind, or their surname.

Episode 6: A Circle of Giants
Number of voicemails: 3

There was no audience poll leading into the final episode of Case 1. In the beginning of the episode, Rockford reveals that he was found in time by paramedics, and commandeered the ambulance to get to the trail where the sculpture installation is as soon as possible. He tells Clearfield to forget about talking to Damien and describes himself as selfish for making the request. It's raining heavily as Rockford makes his way down the trail toward the sculpture. The disembodied voice of Lincoln Willow (played by Alyssa Johnson) taunts him as he makes his way down the trail, and he pushes on to find Lincoln levitating about a whirlpool in the pond - chanting to summon Paimon. Before Rockford is able to do anything, the pond erupts in a column of water, and the demon inhabits Lincoln's body. Paimon mocks Rockford's efforts to stop the ritual before the rain intensifies and the call is disconnected.

In a second voicemail, Rockford lashes out at Clearfield for not sending him to where the ritual was held immediately, calling it "one of the biggest disasters in the organization's history" and saying that the teenagers involved all died as well. He goes on to say that the Artifact team secured the abacus, and also discovered that the bodies of Lincoln and Adelia were found buried on the property. He explains that Paimon must have been able to touch the world in some capacity to use their likenesses to manipulate events. Rockford ends the call saying that he'll call Clearfield when they get another case, and says they "haven’t seen the last of Paimon."

A third voicemail is left from an unknown caller (played by Liv Chavez), who lectures Clearfield that they should be prioritizing gaining Agent Rockford's trust - and cautions against pushing him too far. She goes on to thank Clearfield, saying that Rockford's failure to prevent Paimon's summoning has allowed her to convince "the Board" to move forward early on some sort of project. They state that they're working to intercept the demon, and tells Clearfield that she expects a report on Rockford's next case within a week before hanging up.