Hemlock Grove (2013)

Jellyfish in the Sky

The series begins in a scene with Roman Godfrey having sex in his red convertible in the parking lot of a candy store with a prostitute. In this scene, he pulls out a straight razor and purposely cuts his thumb while "in the act." He then smears his blood on the girl's arm. For a few seconds, the screen is filled with the following images: a razor, drops of blood, and the act of sex. The sexualization of violence is a common theme for Eli Roth, the film's director and executive producer. Next we are introduced to a young cheerleader named Brooke who, during class, makes a discreet date to meet her female teacher, Banksy, later on that evening. There's more than a minor suggestion that the two have more in mind than studying. Before the two make date-night plans, the teacher is giving a lecture on particle physics: "the particles of the largest structure are equal to the particles of the smallest structure." As the series progresses, dichotomies between rich and poor begin to emerge. This discussion foreshadows the coming conflict. Later that evening, the cheerleader is en route to rendez-vous with Banksy. Driving in her car, she is texting the teacher while stopped at the train tracks for a passing train. All of a sudden, her car is attacked by an unseen attacker. The attacker is so strong, the cheerleader's car is moved several feet off its stopped position. She manages to scramble out of the car and runs through the woods, eventually coming to a clearing where she hides in a shed on a soccer field/playground. Whoever or whatever attacked her car has followed her. The cheerleader manages to call Banksy when her attacker has reached her just in time for Banksy to hear horrifying chomping sounds. The cheerleader is dead. The credits roll. In the next scene, we are introduced to Peter Rumancek and his mother Lynda Rumancek, who evidently are both "roma" or pejoratively "gypsies." They have evidently just inherited a dingy trailer from Peter's uncle, the cause of whose death isn't immediately clear. While going through the trailer's contents, Lynda stumbles upon a small box containing several small viles of clear liquid. She clutches it to her chest and sits back saying, "Oh baby." Peter and Lynda are evidently drifters who like to drink--though Peter is in high school--and shoplift. Peter then has an ominous dream with jellyfish flying through a starry sky, a small snake eating its own tail, and a large python. Peter then encounters a young girl who is a "novelist" and begins to pepper Peter with questions. We learn that Peter is half-roma and refers to himself as a "half-breed." The girl accuses Peter of being a werewolf because his index and middle finger are the same lengths. Peter tells the girl that his uncle died of alcohol poisoning. In the next scene, we meet Olivia Godfrey, Roman's mother. They live in a large mansion and possess obvious wealth--noticeable in contrast to the ailing post-industrial town of Hemlock Grove in which the story takes place. For some reason, Olivia decides to rent out an entire amusement park just for Roman and his cousin Letha Godfrey on the last night before the new school year starts. Though they're cousins, the experience is decidedly date-like. In the next scene, Peter shows up for his first day at the new school. Roman gives him an easy look--while smoking a cigarette on school grounds. We then get our first glimpse, at Roman's sister, Shelley Godfrey, who walks into school hunched over, freakishly tall, hair in her face, with her hands bandaged. As she walks underneath the lights, they begin to flicker. Though her hands are completely bandaged, she wears an iphone around her neck. When Peter tells his mother Lynda about the Godfreys, Lynda ominously warns that the Godfreys are her business and that Peter is to stay away from them. Meanwhile, at dinner JR then returns to the house, visits his children, and confronts Olivia. He has a gun in his hand while they argue. He asks her what she is and she tells him to shoot her to find out. The camera then pans out of the room, the audience hears a gun shot, and then the next view shows JR lying dead on the floor. Roman, who appears to be about 5 years old, is staring down at the body. Pan to modern day, with Roman taking a bath, smoking a joint, and rubbing his teeth with cocaine. Norman shows up to meet with Olivia, who in JR's death is evidently left in control of the Godfrey company, in which Norman is apparently a major shareholder. Olivia has requested increased funding into biomedical research, but refuses to explain her reasoning. She is evidently working hand in hand with Dr. Jonathan Pryce, a Godfrey employee. Olivia says Dr. Pryce is the one who is requesting the increased funding. Someone finally discovers the cheerleader's dead body. There were no tracks found at the scene and the car window was broken in. During a major crime scene investigation, for some reason Peter walks through. The sheriff questions Peter who says he lives near the crime scene but didn't hear anything the night before. When Shelley hears the news, she begins crying and Roman tenderly mollifies her. The entire town is shut down. A voice on the radio says the attack appeared to be caused by an animal. For some reason, kids at the school are blaming Peter, based evidently on the novelist girl's prior rumor that Peter is a werewolf. Norman arrives at Godfrey headquarters, where he meets the Sheriff. The two of them walk through a series of labs to meet with Dr. Pryce. The Sheriff shows pictures of the dead cheerleader and the crime scene to Dr. Pryce and asks if he has any pointers as to what might have caused the attack. Dr. Pryce has ruled out a human assailant. The Sheriff says he believed that with the girl's cell phone on, he thinks the attacker wanted the attack to be witnessed and says he didn't find any animal tracks anywhere in the vicinity. Dr. Pryce doesn't address the issue and says he can only tell the sheriff what he sees from the photos. After he leaves, Norman tells the Sheriff he doesn't trust Dr. Pryce. In the next scene, Olivia is alone in her bedroom with a vial of the clear liquid that is identical to the vial found by Lynda Godfrey at the beginning of the episode. She squeezes a drop into her eye, slightly shutters, smiles, closes her eyes, and then the camera fades away to Roman clicking through online photos of Brooke and stumbles upon a picture of the two of them together. Peter visits the crime scene and begins to investigate, apparently determined to identify the killer. Roman then appears and accuses Peter of killing Brooke the cheerleader whom he calls "that girl," even though we know he knows who she is--a fact he had earlier denied to his own mother. A vigil is held for Brooke the cheerleader, where paper lanterns are set into the air. The paper lanterns look alot like the jellyfish Peter saw in his dream at the beginning of the episode.

The Angel

Roman confronts Peter at the crime scene, finding common ground. Letha reveals a shocking secret and Olivia and Norman fall into old habits.

The Order of the Dragon

In Poor Taste

Hello, Handsome

The Crucible

Measure of Disorder

Catabasis

Peter's Hierarchy of Shit He Can Live Without

God Doesn't Want You to Be Happy, He Wants You to Be Strong

The Price

Children of the Night

Birth