Episode Twenty-Three: Bull in the Maze

In which the saint speaks.

Episode description: Warning: this episode is haunted.

Episode Overview
Saint Anna, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our deaths.

Trigger Warnings

 * Gore, mental spiral, grief, colonization, mentions of death.

Episode Summary
Anna makes her return, mimicking her own voice from season one in order to attempt to play a trick on Mabel. She mentions that Mabel's voice (from her voicemails) has gotten stuck in her head, to the point where she cannot physically claw Mabel out of her ears. Even through her anger, she still says that she Needs Mabel, that Mabel is her antithesis which defines her. She then tells a story about the land the Martin House was built on-- the land and the House resenting each other, the House eventually becoming bitter:

"So the house said, stay. The house said, mine. The house said, no more; I am staking my claim; this is my family and I have a right to them, and if they leave me they will leave bereft, for I am the house on the hill and this is my final testament. And under the house, in the land below the land, the king said –"

Anna talks about her changeling, saying that she was doing a better job at being human than Anna ever did. She talks about the King, explaining how he changes-- based on the seasons, he lives and die throughout the cycles of the year. Lastly, she finally tells Mabel that she loves her too, and then commands her (all king-like) to never, ever leave her.

Continuity
''' Please note that this section contains spoilers for later episodes of Mabel. Continue at your own risk. '''


 * The King as his "winter" self is his primary form throughout season four.
 * Veratrine being a better 'person' than Anna is positions her to be the best at pretending to be human amongst the irreverent miscreants-- Anna being a better 'person' than Mabel is is canonical as of Coalescence.

Trivia
'''Please note that this section contains spoilers for later episodes of Mabel. Continue at your own risk.'''


 * The piece of code hidden in the transcript from this episode is "in."
 * There is no "featuring" portion in this episode.