Summary
Some solid horror and welcome twists help “Doubt Thou the Stars” sustain the quality and pace of the previous two episodes.
This recap of the Netflix series Lockwood and Co Season 1 Episode 3, “Doubt Thou the Stars”, contains spoilers.
To recap: the kids of Lockwood & Co. are trying to solve the murder of a dead Hollywood starlet named Annabel Ward, presumably committed by her wealthy and influential co-star Hugo Blake, while also being sixty grand in the hole after accidentally burning down the house of a client and being obsessively observed by a government agency named DEPRAC who want any excuse to shut them down. I think that just about covers it.
Lockwood and Co Season 1 Episode 3 Recap
Still under supervision, the kids need to be careful about how they proceed. The hallmark on the ring that Lucy stole seems to confirm a relationship between Annabel and Blake, but it won’t do as concrete proof, and there’s also the small matter of accruing £60,000 without being allowed to work. Anthony, naturally rambunctious scamp that he is, decides to work anyway and answers a newspaper ad for a paranormal job on behalf of Fairfax Iron.
Who is Sir John Fairfax?
Fairfax Iron is owned by Sir John Fairfax, one of those ruthless industrialist types who seems to alchemize every endeavor into unbridled success. He has, we’re told, been wildly profitable in every industry he has ever become involved with, and Fairfax Iron is simply the latest in a long list of ventures. But he needs to clear out a country house he intends to sell, and for that, he needs the kids, since the place is a former satanic priory, is infested with vengeful spirits, and he can’t allow the use of flares or explosives to fend them off since he can’t risk property damage. No other agency would take the job. Lockwood & Co. are willing to, though, both because Anthony has a point to prove and because Fairfax agrees to clear their debt in full if they pull it off.
“Doubt Thou the Stars” really turns the horror up here, I thought, while also sidelining the overarching mystery a bit in favor of a more procedural, case-of-the-week vibe, but it eventually turns out everything is connected anyway. But the scary business is really good! The sprawling country house Fairfax sends the kids to makes for a great spooky setting, the action and effects are cool, and there’s some sneaky characterization melded in, such as how Anthony sneaks a bomb into the place without telling anyone. His recklessness is going to get everyone in trouble — again! — sooner rather than later.
That bomb does save the day, though. Anthony is able to drop it down the deep well where all the monks jumped to their deaths, destroying the source and dispelling the army of apparitions marching towards them.
How is Fairfax connected to Annabel Ward?
The twist is that it wasn’t Hugo Blake who was Annabel Ward’s lover, but John Fairfax. He was the intruder from the other day trying to steal the ring, which proves their relationship. When it seemed like Lockwood & Co. may solve the case, and might make a big deal out of doing so in the press, Fairfax lured them to the house in the hope that the ghosts would kill them. Since they didn’t, he turns up himself with a shotgun to do the job properly.
But hell hath no fury and all that. When Lucy pulls out the ring, Annabel’s ghost emerges from it and kills Fairfax where he stands. Barnes promptly arrives and makes the kids sign a non-disclosure agreement, virtually proving that there’s more at play here than meets the eye.
At the memorial service, the kids also briefly meet Penelope Fittes, daughter of Marissa. Remember the name.
The ending
Anyway, “Doubt Thou the Stars” ends with the kids returning to the office, where Lucy, when she’s putting something in the basement, accidentally opens the canister containing George’s favorite skull. And when she does, the ghost inside begins to… speak? She promptly collapses.
You can stream Lockwood and Co Season 1 Episode 3, “Doubt Thou the Stars”, exclusively on Netflix.
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