The Mirror

That night, Trey and Sonya sleep peacefully through the supernatural noises of the manor. They make love in the morning before Trey leaves for work. He thanks Sonya for pushing him to talk about Marlo and feels lighter after the talk. Corinne plans to hold a yard sale for the undamaged items from Marlo’s house to help her out financially, and Sonya agrees to create the flyers.

Later, Sonya sees the mirror placed next to her desk, the creatures on its frame slithering. She walks through the mirror into the library, where a young Patricia looks beautiful and regal. Patricia talks to herself, expressing satisfaction that she will soon be Poole Manor’s mistress.

Dobbs appears in the library and tells Patricia that she alone is the manor’s mistress; once Patricia becomes a bride, the witch will give her only hours to live. Patricia will be the sixth bride Dobbs kills. Patricia yells at Dobbs to get out, and Dobbs slashes the air, making Patricia fall and drop her compact. Dobbs says that she respects Patricia because, like her, Patricia seeks power for power’s sake. This is why she has warned Patricia.

Patricia runs out of the room. Dobbs senses Sonya’s presence and looks toward her. When Dobbs vanishes, Sonya grabs Patricia’s fallen compact and steps out of the mirror. She tells Cleo that if she could bring the compact into her timeline, she can retrieve the seven rings.

Owen and Trey arrive, and Sonya tells the group she is going to visit Gretta Poole for answers. Cleo decides to go with her, but Trey tells them not to expect much, as Gretta has lost much of her memory. Sonya shows Trey and Owen the compact—though it dates back to the 1940s, it somehow feels new. Sonya wishes someone could tell her more about it. Owen refers her to his cousin Clarice, as he’s seen similar vintage items at her house.

At 3:00 am that night, loud rock music erupts from everyone’s phones, a warning sign from Clover. They rush out of their rooms to see smoke filling the house. Doors slam and the lights go out. When they turn on flashlights, they see blood running down the walls. Pye dashes up to the third floor, and Cleo and Owen follow. The Gold Room doors are pulsing again. Owen sings to call Pye to him.

The Gold Room doors swing open. Owen instinctively places his hand on the handle and gets an ice burn. As the doors shut, Dobbs tells Owen she will bathe in Poole blood. Afterward, Sonya tends to Owen’s hand. She thinks Dobbs wanted Owen to go into the room so she could harm him.

Back in bed, Owen dreams of Collin. He and Collin play a game of chess, as they used to. Collin tells Owen he has a gift for building things and taking care of animals, which will come in handy when he and Trey have to face what is coming. Though Sonya must be the one who stops Dobbs, Owen, Trey, and Cleo have important roles to play as well. Owen asks Collin why Sonya has to be the one to defeat Dobbs; Collin replies it is because Sonya is a Poole and his “true mother’s granddaughter” (260). When Owen wakes up, he tells the others about his dream.

In the dream, Collin was the same age as Owen and Trey, which is strange because Owen remembers him as much older. Collin also referred to a ship that Trey is currently building, suggesting that some part of Collin is alive in the present manor. This means the other spirits besides the brides and Dobbs live on and will help when needed. Sonya thinks Collin wanted to explain to Trey why he left the manor to Sonya and warn Owen about Dobbs. He tells them that in his dream, the black queen on the chessboard transformed into Dobbs, with the seven rings on her fingers.

At her nursing home, Gretta draws while her caregiver Jen tells Sonya and Cleo that Gretta is having a good day. Sometimes she has angry spells when she is struggling with memory. Sonya makes light conversation with Gretta, not revealing her identity. Gretta talks about Patricia in the present tense, telling Sonya she and her mother often travel to Boston for social engagements.

As the conversation proceeds, Gretta guesses that Sonya is a Poole because of her green eyes. When the subject turns to Charlie, Gretta grows agitated, calling Clover a gold-digger and saying that Clover and Charlie paid the price for going against Patricia. Sonya asks Gretta how they chose which twin to keep; Gretta angrily answers that it was a random choice. Gretta is furious that she was given a baby to raise, upsetting her plan to escape her family’s clutches. Her anger suddenly subsides, and the visit ends.

As Cleo and Sonya discuss the meeting, some of Sonya’s anger against Gretta fades. Gretta was bullied by Patricia and forced to bring up Collin. She also thinks her father Drew was lucky to be adopted by the MacTavish family, who gave him a far happier childhood than Gretta gave Collin.

While Cleo runs errands, Sonya drops in at Poole Shipbuilders to see Clarice Poole. She shows Clarice the compact. Clarice tells her it is part of a set of three; Clarice has the other two in her office. Sonya tells her the mirror inside the compact broke when it fell. Clarice thinks it is fitting for a woman who cared too much for appearances. She reveals that Patricia had offered her money to break up with her husband before they were married, but she refused. Sonya likes Clarice’s frankness and gifts her the compact.

On Saturday, Sonya and Cleo help at the yard sale for Marlo. They are both touched by how Owen and Trey are helping Marlo. Sonya invites Trey and Owen to the manor for the weekend, which passes happily, as Dobbs is exceptionally quiet. Sonya considers the week the happiest in the manor.