Talamasca: Season 1 Episode 6 – Recap and Review

Sadly, they saved the best for last.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

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Episode 6 “The 752” Recap and Details

You’ve Gone Too Far: Jasper, Houseman, Greg

With Jasper and his Revenants massacring a coven, Greg finds the uterus needed to put his foot down. However, with an established relationship in Jasper’s favor, Greg’s attempt to change the dynamics isn’t appreciated, and he is killed for overstepping.

No sooner than Greg is bleeding out, the Talamasca attack Jasper, kill the majority of his half-bred vampire soldiers, and bring him to Houseman. Now, who is Housman? He is the director of the Amsterdam house, who presents himself as all-knowing. He wants to use Jasper to turn at least 16 different people into vampires, with it appearing to be so that he can make a new army under Talamasca control.

That is assuming it isn’t to make these people immortal, since they have gifts that Housman doesn’t want trapped by a mortal lifespan.

Is It a Lie If By Omission?: Doris, Guy, Olive, Jasper, Ridge, Helen, Dr. Melville

For a moment, it seemed the book Keves had, and that is now in Doris’ possession, was the 752. However, after Doris tries to ditch Guy, they learn about Jasper’s massacre, and Ridge arrests them upon taking note of Guy. Following a brief interrogation, the truth comes out.

The first thing is that Olive works for Jasper, for reasons not spoken. This is revealed after she gets Guy and Doris out of questioning and tries to kidnap Doris. However, when Doris reveals she is a vampire, not a witch, Olive finds herself forced to retreat/Guy escapes her.

It doesn’t end there. Doris reveals Keves was more than a friend; she raised her like a daughter, and on top of that, she reveals she is the 752.

To make a long story short, between Guy gaining access to Doris’ memories and Helen finding Dr. Melville, it is explained to us that Doris, formerly Emma, was one of the top children that the Talamasca secured, and her memory abilities led them to allow her to read every last bit of Talamasca history. Then, when she was old enough, in 1985, they manipulated a vampire into turning her and planned to use her, for eternity, as their walking encyclopedia.

However, she escaped, eventually found Keves, raised her, and associated with the coven until recent events. All of this is a lot for Guy, and Doris not being upfront offends him, but not enough to end their time together. After all, while he has Helen, Olive has shown herself not to be an ally anymore, so he is in no place to cut people off.

The Next Chapter: Doris, Guy, Helen, Ridge

Due to Ridge aggressively pursuing this case when she wasn’t supposed to, she got suspended. Yet, she can’t help herself. Guy and Doris’ case is too interesting and add in Helen, who is now accused, or being pinned, with Keves’ death, and perhaps that of Keves and Doris’ coven? It seems she had to see Helen herself, and, upon first glance, she is unsure Helen is capable of such acts. But, always in recruit mode, it seems Helen sees something in Ridge which could make her useful – perhaps as another off-the-books assistant.

But, before Helen ends up in the back of a police car, she finishes helping Doris and Guy escape to the mainland and even gets to have a silent moment with her sister. Leaving us with Guy and Doris on a ship going somewhere, and while it seemed like the end between those two, then Doris mentions perhaps knowing where Guy’s mom is, setting up another adventure for them, as the Talamasca watch from a safe distance – having found Doris again, thanks to Ridge’s investigation.

New Characters in Episode 6

1985 Housman (David Elliot) & Modern Day Housman (James Cosmo)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring David Elliot: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring James Cosmo: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Housman leads the Amsterdam Mother House, and as the leader of the headquarters of the Talamasca, he knows all, sees all, and holds many secrets that those at Helen’s level know nothing about.

Dr. Melville aka Dr. Jameson (Michael Elwyn)

Dr. Melville aka Dr. Jameson (Michael Elwyn) – Talamasca Season 1 Episode 6 – AMC+
  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Dr. Melville, formerly Dr. Jameson, was a Talamasca researcher who presents himself as forced retired after one of his greatest projects, that of Emma and her becoming the holder of the Talamasca’s secrets, no longer needed him.

Review and Commentary

Highlights

Doris’ Backstory [82/100]

Talamasca: The Secret Order didn’t put much effort into being an emotional show. It had its mysteries, felt heavily reliant on being associated with Anne Rice and Interview With A Vampire than establishing it had something to say in its own right, and most of its characters, if they lived or died, was unimportant.

But then Doris’ backstory changed things. Almost in an instant, she went from this rather dull character to someone partly exciting, after seeing her show her fangs. Then combine that with her being the 752, and diving deeper into her relationship with Keves? I almost shed a tear. In fact, when Helen and Doris came face to face, as she provided a distraction for them to get away, and the Talamasca to not take her in, I did get teary-eyed.

After all, Helen seemingly joined the Talamasca just to find what happened to her sister. Then, when she finally gets to see her face-to-face, she doesn’t get to say a word, hold her, just the confirmation she is still alive – never mind a vampire, so there is the possibility the time they have left is based on how much longer Helen may live.

It all brought a genuine sense of emotion, which has been absent from the show. For now, the question is, will these two sisters have a proper reunion, or is the confirmation that each other is still alive all they will get? There is a drive for not only the characters, but the viewer, to see them reunited, especially with this version of Doris, who doesn’t seem so bland.

Housman [83/100]

While Jasper did bad things, it was hard to see him as a villain. With having a justifiable reason for doing what he did, he was more of an anti-hero, yet another character who felt like they eclipsed Guy and deserved to be seen as the lead more than him. Housman, on the other hand, feels like a villain.

From forcing a vampire to turn Doris into one of them, and making sure he found a weak one so she wouldn’t be a threat, paired with how HQ has been spoken, he comes with oomph, a threat, and even appears formidable. Take note, he knows what Jasper is capable of, yet he still removed the headpiece, which could keep him from ripping his jugular out.

To me, that’s the kind of bad ass this show has been needing, since, while it tries to present itself as a spy thriller, it fails at that and it’s better off shifting to be like most fantasy shows – at least in the sense of having an actual villain who you can potentially love to hate because of their negative affect on the majority of characters.

On The Fence

Guy Remains The Weakest Link [72/100]

After what Doris and Helen shared, Guy devolved further into just being a token White guy who doesn’t even anchor the story. Granted, does his power help further the narrative? Yes. But his search for his mom lacks that oomph.

Now, could the payoff come as surprising as the Doris reveal or the moment she shared with Helen? Maybe. But I would submit, when you take note of the losses Doris experienced, from her twin sister to Keves, to the coven which took her in, after what the Talamasca did, there was something to feel and care about there. Guy hasn’t been built up to have that level of emotional investment.

As of now, he feels more a part of Doris’ story than Doris a part of his, or there being any balance between them.

Olive’s Motivation [70/100]

Olive is the odd one out when it comes to this show. Helen’s motivation was finding her sister, Guy wants to find his mom, and Doris wanted to figure out who killed her surrogate daughter and learn more about this boy whom her sister has taken an interest in. What did Olive want? What was the reason for her to be a double agent, with some kind of role in Jasper’s life?

Again, because this show isn’t that good at being a spy thriller, lacking her motivation made the reveal that she is working with Jasper fall flat for it wasn’t so much a shock as something which pushed you to wonder why? Mainly in the form of feeling this decision was more about a cheap surprise than something we should have saw coming.

Ridge’s Future [71/100]

I feel like Ridge is the type of character who stands out because she doesn’t seem like she’d be part of a show with vampires and other types of supernatural beings. Yet, at the same time, because she is so even-keeled most of the time, she sucks the energy out of the room.

Even in her back and forth with Guy, which was one of the rare moments he got to shine, it felt like, even when she was getting a few quips in, it wasn’t clap backs but rather set-ups for him to have a moment to shine using his legal knowledge. Almost like the show wanted to remind us that Guy can do more than boost Helen and Doris this episode. He can actually have the type of personality you wish didn’t often come off so smug that you’d find him getting killed off what he deserves.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [75/100]

Talamasca: The Secret Order finishes with the type of energy it should have had when it started. For as much as we understand some characters develop warmth like a wood-burning furnace, having it where the overwhelming majority operate as such did the show a disservice and undercut what could have been a more impactful finale.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been writing reviews since 2010, with a focus on dramas and comedies.