"The House Within the House" is an episode of the series Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the fourth episode of season 2.
Contents
Synopsis[]
As the team's investigation leads to a startling discovery in the long-abandoned Cardenas homestead, Bart and Panto forge an unlikely and unusual relationship. In Wendimoor, Amanda takes steps towards understanding the powers that are hidden within her.
Plot[]
Amanda and the injured Vogel emerge from a lake and, seeing the giant half moon with a face in the daylight sky, conclude that they are "somewhere else".
At the Cardenas house, Dirk discovers a strange hole with a slide in it and falls into it.
A missing persons report is called in to the sheriff's department for 4 members of the book club and Farah and Tina go off to investigate it.
Amanda and Vogel are captured by a band of Kellum Knights, who drag them into their forest encampment and lock them in a cage wagon, which is already occupied by a boy, Farson Dengdamor, and a half-wild creature, the Beast.
Todd and Sheriff Hobbs discover Dirk is missing and head to the Cardenas house to find him. The wall phone rings despite their supposedly being no power at the house and it's Dirk calling from a version of the Cardenas house where the windows look out apon static. Dirk realises he's being followed by something that most likely isn't human.
In Wendimoor, an overwhelmed Amanda smokes and struggles to listen to Farson explain about their circumstances, the rivalry between the Dengdamor and Trost families, and the danger posed by the Mage Kellum and his Kellum Army, and the hoped-for aid that may be provided by the witch Wakti Wapnasi and her prophecy. Interspersed in parallel, Panto Trost explains similar to his cell neighbour Bart in the Bergsberg County Sheriff's Department.
At the book club house, Farah and Tina investigate and see that there are four piles of sand, each with items belonging to the missing book club women in them such as rings, a watch and glasses but Farah notices that there are five wine glasses. Bob shows Suzie the video she took on her phone of the Mage, and at the end he walks towards the camera and tells her that he will "see her soon."
Dirk hears thumping sounds that are discovered to belong to a 'one eyed one horned flying purple people eater' who is following Dirk. Dirk manages to outrun the monster but finds a table bleeding after being stabbed with scissors. Todd travels into the other Cardenas house and shoots the monster with the gun Dirk found and they jump out the door and back into their reality, bringing the scissors that are then determined to be the weapon that killed the Cardenas couple.
In Wendimoor, Vogel's condition worsens and Amanda begs for help from the Kellum Knights, but they do not care and leave the encampment. Amanda has a small pararibulitis attack that results in electricity running through her hands and fingers. The Beast reaches out, touches her shoulder, and is thrown back. Vogel feeds on Amanda, and she experiences a vision: seeing Todd at the Cardenas house in Bergsberg and calls out to him, and he sees and walks towards her, however they are both struck by electricity once more. The attack ends then, and a surprised Amanda learns that the others could see the electricity too; her imaginary attack was somehow present in reality.
Farah and Tina go to the Boreton's house but Suzie is attacked by the Mage who holds a wand to her face and forces her to be silent. Assuming that she isn't home, Farah begins to pick the lock but Tina receives a call from Hobbs asking them to come back to the station before they can investigate Suzie further. Suzie and the Mage hurl spells at each other as Farah and Tina drive away.
At the sheriff's office, Dirk is feeling pressured as the others keep looking to him for advice in the case and he couldn't help Todd because all he wanted was a friend and he doesn't want Todd to die.
At night in Wendimoor, the Knights' superior Lord Triangle Badevil arrives at the forest encampment to collect Farson. Badevil orders the other three captives killed, and prepares to carry the execution out himself by scissor sword. Vogel is the first slated to die, and Amanda apologizes for not being able to save him. Ordered to make her shut up, a Knight grabs Amanda, causing another pararibulitis attack, again manifesting electricity visible for all present, who call her a witch. Amanda weaponises this new development in her illness to attack her captors, hitting all the Knights with streams of electricity and letting Vogel feed on her, incapacitating the Knights and restoring Vogel to health. Overjoyed at their victory, Amanda and Vogel free Farson from the cage. Farson sets the Beast free too, and she and the three go their separate way into the forest.
Dirk, Todd, and Hobbs take Panto to a windowless room in the Cardenas house which Panto identifies as the room he first arrived in this world. Dirk pulls down a Murphy bed from the wall, which Panto had landed on during his arrival but which had flipped shut afterwards; Todd notes that aside from water damage the wall is solid and shows no sign of how Panto came through. Meanwhile Dirk notices the wallpaper and starts pulling it down, asking the others to help him: The bare walls reveal a long mural of childlike drawings, which Panto identifies as "Home" as Dirk smiles, vindicated.
In her home, the Mage explains his story and mission to Suzie. He has come to this world to thwart the prophecy that foretells his defeat, and has created the apprentice wand for a partner to help him with that. After first purporting to not want to harm anyone and to possess no ambitions beside leaving Bergsberg, the Mage offers her the wand back and goads her into admitting the truth: Suzie does not want to go back to a normal life, and asks the mage for her first task as his apprentice. He tells her to kill Dirk Gently.
Behind the scenes[]
- The episode title refers to the "House Within the House" reality/pocket dimension in the Cardenas house.
- This fourth episode mirrors episode 1.04 Watkin: both feature a kind of maze, respectively the underground Springsborough maze and the other house in the Cardenas house (--Max Landis' Video Blog on Episode 2.07).
Cast[]
Starring
- Samuel Barnett as Dirk Gently
- Elijah Wood as Todd Brotzman
- Hannah Marks as Amanda Brotzman
- Fiona Dourif as Bart Curlish
- Jade Eshete as Farah Black
- Mpho Koaho as Ken
- Dustin Milligan as Hugo Friedkin
- Osric Chau as Vogel
Guest Starring
- Tyler Labine as Sherlock Hobbs
- Amanda Walsh as Suzie Boreton
- Christopher Russell as Panto Trost
- Izzie Steele as Tina Tevetino
- and John Hannah as The Mage
Co-Starring
- Ajay Friese as Farson Dengdamor
- Emily Tennant as The Beast
- Robert Lawrenson, Reese Alexander, Sean Tyson as Kellum Knights
- Jared Ager-Foster as Scott Boreton
- Christian Sloan as Lord Triangle Badevil
- Chris Eastman as Jasper
- John Stewart as Bob Boreton
Uncredited
Crew[]
Notes[]
References[]
External links[]
- "The House Within the House" at BBC America
- "The House Within the House" on IMDb
