The Myth of the Naiad
A sci-fi series dabbling in a variety of different paranormal and supernatural occurrences wouldn’t be complete without talk of plagues. Episode 4 of Paranormal begins after one of Refaat’s lectures, where he heads back to his office but once again sees Shiraz’s ghost outside. Maggie shows up and tells him he’s afraid of expressing his true feelings, allowing Refaat to finally open up – at least a little – and verbalize his internal thoughts. This conversation will have to wait for another time though. Refaat’s sister-in-law Nagat rings his office, revealing that his Mother has been taken ill. Could this be linked to the tarot cards? Before he goes however, Refaat stops by Shiraz’s mansion. It turns out someone has bought the lot and they’re looking to demolish the whole thing. Back home, things clearly aren’t right given Reda seems to be possessed, sitting on the edge of the bed motionless. Eventually he stands up and starts banging his head against the wall. Unsure how to help, Reda is restrained by the family before he clutches his head in pain. As Refaat heads up to the Health Unit to see a doctor, he’s exasperated to learn more about the supernatural there. This doctor seems to think that Reda is being possessed by a Naiad, which is a mythical creature and seemingly another vengeful spirit. Refaat listens politely before asking for medicine. This doctor brings it to the house… along with a sedative just in case more of them get possessed too. With a blood sample in hand, Refaat tasks Raeffa to track down Dr Sami who could help work out if there’s anything there that could hold some clues. While she’s gone, Refaat and Maggie talk outside (after she’s given some bed-robes by Nagat). He promises to take her to Cairo the following day. Refaat tellingly ignores her mentioning the supernatural occurrences that all seem to be linked to Refaat. By the dock, the trio prepare to summon the Naiad…until a ghostly voice calls out for Refaat. Grabbing his torchlight, he finds (presumably anyway) Shiraz down by the lake but a lot older than she once was. As he looks across, he’s captured and tied down given he seems to be delirious. While Huwaida comes to terms with her engagement being called off, she speaks to Taha before receiving a call from Raeefa updating her on what’s happening with Refaat and Reda. Refaat awakens to find himself in the same room as Reda; the pair tied down to a chair and bed respectfully. Together, they open up and talk about the possession they both seem to be experiencing. Refaat refuses to believe that’s what’s going on, suggesting they could potentially have been poisoned. Refaat breaks free from his binds after a heart to heart with his brother and heads up to Sheikh’s house, confronting him and his mute wife over what’s going on. At the same time, Maggie and the doctor come to a similar conclusion that they’re involved via the history records. Hidden in the basement is Samar’s twin’s rapist, who’s tied up and seemingly has been tortured over a long period of time – especially given the litany of nasty tools on the table. To backtrack, it appears the whole story here is revolving around this family. Samar’s sister was raped and the Sheik, unable to bear the thought of what happened to her, killed his own daughter down by the lake. Tis is seemingly the ghostly apparition we’ve been seeing – the Naiad. Acting as a sort of ghostly siren, it’s been targeting people ever since. Huwaida – who’s turned up at the family home following the updated news – sees this possession first-hand. Nagat is picked up off the floor and thrown against the wall. Only, it’s not the Naiad who shows up, it’s actually Shiraz. In a flash, she shows by Reda’s bedside and then disappears just as quickly. When she does, Reda is gone. As the girls try to find him, they bump into Maggie and the doctor outside who return to the house. Down by the lake, Refaat dives deep to find the skeletal corpse of the twin sister. It’s a long dive but on his way back up, Reda plunges down. Refaat wrestles with him as he tries to pry the corpse from his hands but fails. While everyone reconvenes by the shoreside, the tarot reading comes true – Refaat really did lose a loved one. It’s not Maggie or Huwaida though, but Reda. EReda never resurfaced after plunging down and we’re led to believe that he was being possessed by Shiraz. Refaat is understandably grief-stricken and struggles to comprehend what’s happened. He promises to be there for his family and pays his respects, promising to take care of Reda’s daughters. Alone, he sits by Reda’s grave and finally opens up, apologizing for everything and deciding now that he’s the source of all these problems that have befallen the family. Just before the episode ends, we cut back to Refaat’s house and see a hand reach out and snap up the tarot cards. Shiraz again?
The Episode Review
With a slower episode this time around, Paranormal reflects back on everything we’ve learned so far while fleshing out Refaat’s family. We also see the tarot reading coming true, which seems to hint that the second card – that of the dreams – may well come to pass as well. It turns out Reda was the victim all along and seeing Refaat coming to terms with that at the end is a nice inclusion, showing his character growing and evolving over time. The idea of a lady by the lake (which seems to be a trend in horror tv right now) is a good one and the series does well to flesh this out nicely. While episode 4 isn’t quite as exciting or absorbing as the other episodes this season, it’s still a good one nonetheless.
