The Myth of the House: The Return
We begin episode 6 of Paranormal in Mansoura 1910, with Dr. Ibrahim first laying eyes on that mysterious mansion. At that time, it belonged to Mr Al Khadrawy who showed him around the house personally. Tellingly, the various people sat in the different rooms seem to reflect what Refaat has seen all those years later. That evening constant bangs and strange noises plague this house but Al Khadrawy refuses to acknowledge their existence. This continues in the dead of night too, as little Ibrahim awakens to loud bangs appearing to come from the fireplace. There, he finds the little Shiraz who asks if he wants to play. The cycle of events seem to repeat, with Ibrahim making a doll for her and even picking berries for the young girl. Ibrahim is eventually seduced by this girl, promising to help her out by burning the mansion to the ground. This seems to be a ploy to break her out but no one does, leaving the girl locked up underground and pleading with Ibrahim to help. Only, he’s pulled away by the helpers inside, who let this little girl be consumed by fire. As Refaat reads this history lesson in his book, he learns that Ibrahim committed suicide as a way of trying to absolve his guilt and sins. It looks like it’s up to Refaat, who tellingly scribbles “how to save” in front of the word Shiraz in his notebook. Meanwhile, Taha continues to experience strange hallucinations, this time with Shiraz appearing before him with a burnt face. As the rest of the family wonder just where Refaat has gone, Taha screams while the ghost of Shiraz (which only he can see) sits atop the mantlepiece watching him. Maggie checks Refaat’s office and finds a letter from Louis. Within that holds the third and final tarot card which symbolizes “home”. Could this be referring to Shiraz’s mansion? Maggie eventually receives a call from Huwaida who reveals that Refaat has gone missing – now the pieces are starting to fit together. Taha is the one who seems to hold the clues though, constantly scribbling the mansion over and over again. As he does, the family contemplate whether Shiraz is going after them one by one, picking off all the kids that were playing with her in the past. Back at the mansion, Refaat creeps through the various rooms seeing visions of things that aren’t there out the corner of his eye. The loud banging ominously returns while Refaat manages to piece together the layout of the mansion, dropping red berries up the stairs as a way of drawing Shiraz out of hiding to no avail. Only, suddenly he realizes the fountain holds the clues he seeks. With an axe in hand, he destroys the crumbling monument and – lo and behold – a passageway down to the basement appears. That leads him to the familiar locked cage we saw before where Shiraz was being kept. He finds her corpse in the basement and brings it up to the ground floor where the rest of the family arrive. Only, when Refaat turns his back, everyone disappears completely and he’s forced to watch his family members die in horrible ways. Refaat finds an ominous noose hanging from the rafters and brings a stool over, looking set to kill himself. Thankfully, Maggie shows up just in time and reveals that everything he’s seen is a hallucination and actually they’re all safe and sound. Refaat contemplates just what this means as Shiraz’s spirit encircles the duo in a ring of fire and possesses Maggie. There, Shiraz reveal’s that actually she’s been trying to help the Professor all this time, pleading with him to rely on his mind. Shiraz is not to blame for all of this but claims that the real culprit is actually Lucifer. Freeing Shiraz’s spirit has allowed her to talk to him but it’s taken a tremendous toll on her, prompting the spirit to disappear completely. Honoring her memory, Refaat decides to repay the young girl and leaves a headstone for her outside the mansion. With everything resolved, Maggie prepares to leave and head back to Scotland. Refaat’s heart tells him to reveal the truth about how much he cares for and loves her but he just can’t do it. Instead, Refaat heads back to Huwaida who makes her choice and decides to leave him, handing back the engagement ring and walking away. This inevitably leads Refaat back home alone where he writes in his book… until his coffee cup strangely tips over by itself. That evening he also receives a letter from Louis including a tarot card featuring the devil. Could this mean that Louis is a manifestation of Lucifer? Whether he is or not, one thing’s for sure – Refaat is now a believer in the paranormal.
The Episode Review
With the finale leaving things open for a possible second season, the resolution to Shiraz and the story with her is nice and includes a lovely twist at the end with her actually helping – rather than hindering – the Professor. The characters all have decent conclusions at the end too, with Huwaida finally deciding to go it alone while Maggie heads back home to Scotland. Refaat has had quite the progression across the season too and it appears he’s finally ready to accept that the paranormal is a very real thing. What could this mean if season 2 is green-lit? Either way, the ending provides a satisfying enough conclusion, bowing out this Egyptian series with a decent slice of horror that’s well worth your time.
