The Gloaming Review: The Mark of the Witch (Season 1 Episode 7)

On The Gloaming Season 1 Episode 7, “The Mark of the Witch,” the investigation hits a major breakthrough, but is it too late?

Things are getting clearer but the motivations behind it all still evade me. It is a huge break in the case to find the probable familial connection between some of these persons of interest. Just when Molly (Emma Booth) and Alex (Ewen Leslie) discover this, though, they both find themselves in danger.

Alex is so close to finding out the truth of what really happened that fateful day with Jenny McGinty all those years ago and Molly is finally about to bring Gareth McAvaney (Martin Henderson) to justice. At the end of the episode, Gareth attacks Molly and Alex sees what that “something horrible” is behind the blue door. 

I love that the detectives and their team are flabbergasted by these revelations because I am as well. In my review of The Gloaming Season 1 Episode 2, “Hell’s Black Grammar,” I likened myself to Charlie and his Pepe Silvia theory from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

And now we are all Charlie trying to keep the facts and the names and aliases straight, to figure out what it all means.

Molly’s look to the big board as they start to hypothesize really sums it up. Booth is great at these micro-expressions that add a nice nuanced touch to so many moments.

What they uncover is that the murder victim, Dorothy Moxley, is actually Marianne Gowdie, sister of Alma and Shirley Gowdie. But, we know Alma and Shirley as Grace Cochran (Rena Owen) and Eileen McGinty (Anni Finsterer), mothers of two murdered daughters, Valerie and Jenny.

Is your head swimming yet? Mine is.

It is puzzling, yes, but there’s been enough clues and crumbs of clues along the way that these connections make sense, even if it is in a vague way.

On Episode 5, “Beyond the Veil,” Alex proselytizes that Ricky Jones, who was accused of the murder of Valerie Gowdie, is the son of Dorothy Moxley—now known as Marianne Gowdie. Then Molly makes the connection to Gareth. “You think Gareth McAvaney is Marianne Gowdie’s son?”

These two figuring this out is exciting, especially coming after a particularly shippy exchange.

Alex: Sorry I left so early.
Molly: No problem. I thought, perhaps, I stole all the blankets.
Alex: No, it was nice.

He says, “It was nice,” and in such an adorably bashful way! Along with Molly’s little smirk, this small moment feels much bigger.

But, more importantly, the takeaway is that it’s very possible that Gareth McAvaney is Ricky Jones. If he did kill Valerie, then is Grace looking to him for revenge?—they seemed to be in on the nefarious church dealings together.

This is what I am having trouble with. What is the purpose of these killings and of the missing foster kids? And how does this link back to the women from the 1850s, presumably the ancestors of which Grace speaks?

Is the Star of the Forest Church responsible for the gloamers that seem to be directing Freddie Hopkins (Matt Testro) to do bad things? In a sort of catatonic state, he tells Alex that he “did it for the children.”

There’s still a lot to figure out, but these big reveals are satisfying—a perfect set-up to head into the season finale.

Stray Observations:

• At one point Grace turns her head and there’s a creaking kind of sound which is kinda comical and fits with her character vibe.
• I love Grace’s house—that open kitchen is divine.
• Of course Gareth’s lawyer is super annoying, just like him.
• What is the scarf budget on this show?
• I know there is going to be some significance to the MONA museum. Calling it now.

What did you think of this episode of The Gloaming? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Gloaming airs Sundays at 9/8c on Starz.

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