Recap: Haven 2.7, “The Tides That Bind”

We open with a group of boys singing on a deck. What is it that’s so creepy about singing children? Anyway, they tie one kid’s legs to an anchor and toss him in the water. He struggles and sinks, and they’re silent for a moment before they start singing again. A man ““ with the tattoo Duke is worried about on his arm ““ comes to tell them supper’s ready. He calmly looks down at the boy in the water.

Later, the man washes up on shore, and Audrey and Nathan are called in. They determine he’s been dead about ten hours. All they find on him is a keychain holding a photo of him and a woman, and a soggy handwritten note. The note says, “I’m sorry to leave you like this. I know it will hurt but I can’t go on.” They resolve to find the woman in the picture.

Duke has somehow heard about the drowning and come to see Nathan. He’s worried about the tattoo. Nathan shows him a picture of the man, but Duke doesn’t recognize him. Nathan assures him that he’s already sort of looking into the man’s identity. Audrey has learned that the woman in the photo is Mary Collins, who runs the Rev’s soup kitchen. Nathan warns Duke to stay out of this.

Mary tells them the man’s name is Leif Glendower, and says this is a “family thing,” whatever that means. She assumes Leif committed suicide because he was worried about not having enough money for her and their ten-year-old son, Daniel.

According to Nathan, the Glendowers live on a compound on the outskirts of town. Let’s be for real, does anything entirely kosher ever go down on a compound? The Glendowers are Haven’s version of a cult, although the Chief never specifically said they were Troubled. Then again, he never said they weren’t, either.

Mary reports Daniel missing. The last she knew, he was spending the night with his cousins on the compound. Audrey and Nathan head out there. The kids are homeschooled, and there’s evidence (like bikes) that children live there, but no children are around. Cole and Gwen Glendower, who seem to be the heads of the clan, react weirdly when Nathan introduces them to Audrey. The cops tell the Glendowers it looks like Leif committed suicide, and show them the note. Cole and Gwen claim ignorance but they are determined to get custody of Daniel. Audrey wonders where all the kids actually are. Nathan threatens Cole with a warrant and Cole basically calls his bluff.

After they’re dismissed, Nathan and Audrey turn to find a kid standing there, all creepy-like. Of Daniel he says, “You can’t have him. He’s one of us now,” and trots off.

They go to the church, where Mary and the rest of the Rev’s cronies are preparing to go get Daniel. He sends his mother a text saying he wants to stay on the compound. Nathan tells the Rev to stay out of it. He tells Mary that Daniel needs all of his family, now that his father’s dead, and asks her not to escalate the situation. He gets the little mob to pack up. The Rev starts yelling about how Daniel’s soul is at stake.

Audrey has learned that the Rev’s wife, Penny, died in a car crash in 1983, three days after going missing. The prime suspect was Cole Glendower, but for some reason the Chief never pursued it. Audrey suggests they poke around at the compound after dark. Nathan is mindful of his position as Interim Chief, but Audrey (pretty easily) convinces him to go.

They finally come across a house on the compound that’s actually locked and figure that’s where they’ll find Daniel. Audrey picks the lock, and they find the place dark and seemingly empty. Audrey find a picture of Lucy Ripley and the Chief at the compound. Then they hear water running upstairs. That’s never good. You never see someone investigating the sound of water to find, like, a surprise party. Sure enough, Daniel’s lying in the overflowing tub. He opens his eyes and sits up, gasping for breath. Cole comes in holding a shotgun and tries to push Daniel back under. He and Nathan struggle over the boy before Audrey realizes he actually needs to be under the water to breathe.

Chez Crocker, Evi’s wondering where her dinner is, but Duke’s still shaken by Leif’s tattoo. Evi suggests that Duke demand answers from the Rev since he seems to know something. Duke suggests Evi do it instead, since the Rev doesn’t know what she looks like.

Back on the compound, the Glendowers explain that when the Troubles comes, the men in their family, starting with the children, lose their ability to breathe air. Then the family goes marching into the sea. I’m sorry, but that is about the silliest shit I’ve ever seen on this show. Oh, and they all have to go in the water at once, and Leif drowned because he went in too early. Okay then.

Cole confirms that the Chief knew, and he thought Nathan did too. Then why didn’t he just imply that when they first questioned him? Audrey confronts the Glendowers with the picture of Lucy and the Chief. Cole is all, “Well of course we didn’t think you were Lucy; that would be impossible.” I’m all, dude, half your family breathes water.

So. Leif was afraid to tell Mary because she follows the Rev and probably shares his “better dead than cursed” views. Cole admits that he had an affair with Penny, but didn’t kill her. Audrey realizes the writing on the back of the picture of Lucy and the Chief matches the handwriting on the note they found with Leif, which was actually the note Gwen (nee Penny) left when she faked her death. Or maybe it was a first draft, since the actual “suicide” note should be in the Rev’s possession. Shouldn’t it?

A woman comes in with the news that all the Glendower boys have been kidnapped. You’d think a compound would have better security. They determine from tire tracks that the Rev probably took the kids. While all this is going on, Gwen finds time to explain to Audrey that she had to leave the Rev when he got all crazy-obsessed with the Troubles.

Meanwhile, Evi goes undercover as a church volunteer. You know, she’s evil and all, but I’m still not interested. She needs to start killing folks, or doing magic, or something. Hell. Maybe if we found out she’s working with Fake Agent Howard? Anyway, Duke sends her a text: “let me know when u get him out of there.”

Audrey wants to reason with the Rev, but Cole reminds her that the Rev is not exactly a reasonable man. He also nixes the possibility of talking to Mary, who’s firmly under the Rev’s thumb. Nathan asks Cole not to go charging in there with his men, as the Rev also has people to back him.

Duke searches the Rev’s office at the church. He gets a call or text (presumably from Evi), which he ignores. In a secret compartment, he finds a typed list of “Citizens killed by the cursed” with Simon Crocker’s name on it. Audrey and Nathan burst in, guns draw. They take the list from Duke, and Audrey asks if he knows where the Rev is. He gives up his whereabouts in exchange for the list.

Evi and the other volunteers are down on the docks helping the Rev load boxes into a pickup truck. Nathan, Audrey, and Duke confront the Rev. He calls his men off, and Audrey accuses him of the kidnapping. He says he’s been there all morning. Evi vouches for him, and it comes out that she’s helping Duke. No one appears to care. Nathan guesses that the kids are with Mary, but the Rev claims not to know where she is.

Then the Rev’s men start getting snatched into the water by Cole and his men. It’s kind of hilarious, honestly. Nathan warns Duke to get the Rev off the docks, but Duke’s attention is caught by Cole’s tattoo. Cole tells Duke to hand the Rev over, but Duke calls dibs. Cole accuses the Rev of kidnapping, but Nathan is confident that Mary has them, based on absolutely nothing. Hey, maybe the little creepers ran off on their own. Nathan asks Cole to trust him the way he trusted the Chief. Audrey reminds everyone that the Rev’s bodyguards are kind of, you know, drowning, and Cole calls his men off.

Cole basically says the whole town is gonna get it if anything happens to the Glendower boys. Then the Rev starts in, until Nathan threatens to hand him over to the Glendowers. He checks the Rev’s phone, and sees that Mary’s called him a bunch of times in that past hour. Nathan demands to know where she took the boys. Evi, useful for a second time, heard Mary talking about a barn outside town that the food bank uses for storage. Nathan asks the Rev to talk to Mary, even tells him the kids are in danger of dying, but the Rev just smirks and refuses.

At the barn, Mary is leaving the Rev another frantic message. The kids are lying around hacking and coughing and she doesn’t know what to do. Why don’t any of the kids have the sense to ask for a damn glass of water? Daniel tells Mary he doesn’t want to die, and begs her to let the boys go. Stupid-ass Mary’s under the impression the Rev can save the kids. They hear cars pull up outside. Mary pulls out a gun and warns the cops to stay back.

Audrey and Nathan debate how to handle the situation. Mary asks to speak to the Rev, and the cops let him approach the barn. He agrees to convince Mary to let the kids go, if Nathan and Audrey will come to church. Nathan, who apparently hasn’t heard of a little thing called lying, says no.

Then they bring Gwen up in a van. After the Rev gets over his shock, she tells him he’s just looking for revenge. The Rev goes to the barn and Mary lets him inside. After some time passes, Nathan is convinced the Rev isn’t going to help, but then the boys start filing out of the barn. Audrey thanks the Rev. He says, “The time for prayer is indeed over, but a good shepherd always finds a way to save his flock.” Damn, just say you’re welcome.

As Mary and the kids leave, Nathan gets Leif’s autopsy report. Turns out he was involved in a struggle before he died, and didn’t actually drown. I suspected Mary was the killer, but Nathan and Audrey zero right in on Cole. Off-camera, they learned that Daniel saw Cole arguing with Leif. It seems Leif was planning to solve his money problems by blackmailing Cole with Mary’s note. Cole killed Leif to keep Gwen and the other Glendower women safe. Nathan knows arresting Cole now would be tantamount to murder. Cole says he plans to turn himself in whenever the Troubles are over, and Nathan tells him he’ll keep the Rev away from the compound. Daniel and his mother exchange tearful goodbyes, and then the Glendower men start marching into the water, wearing black robes for no damn reason.

Audrey asks Gwen about Lucy. Gwen only knows that she disappeared as suddenly as she arrived, and the Colorado Kid murder was supposedly the only time anyone saw her cry. Meanwhile, Duke has showed up to pump Cole for information about the tattoos. Cole says it’s the mark of people who will fight those like the Rev. He tells Duke he’s being watched to see if he’ll turned out like his father. Duke asks if that’s why Simon was killed, but Cole only warns him to stay out of his father’s business if he wants to survive.

The Rev stands at a distance, watching the Glendower pilgrimage. Evi approaches and asks if he’s sure they’re doing the right thing. She confirms that Duke is not suspicious, and is hooked now that he knows Simon was murdered.

So I guess no one’s going to ask WTF is up with the black cloaks. They have little hoods and everything, which the men and boys pull up before going underwater. Nathan is frustrated about how much the Chief didn’t tell him. Audrey has learned (from Gwen) that he and Lucy helped a lot of people. She notes that she and Nathan have been following in their footsteps without even knowing it. And that’s that.