Summary
The penultimate episode is an illogical and poorly written mess. The series lays out many of its best-kept secrets, but the answers given barely make any sense. Instead, the show expects viewers to accept these ridiculous plot twists without questioning any of the logic.
Harlan Coben has a habit of weaving together many seemingly random, outlandish subplots in his narratives, but they always somehow manage to connect by the end. In episode 7, “Sweet Dreams Are Made of This,” Shelter starts to reveal many of its interconnecting mysteries as I hurtle toward the season 1 finale.
Continuing on from the previous episode’s cliffhanger ending, Mickey is found washed up on the shore. After his near-death experience, Mickey is left in a coma in the hospital. Spoon and Ema suspect that Bat Lady is somehow involved.
The friends head straight to Bat Lady’s house for answers. But she’s preoccupied and fears she is being haunted by Brad’s ghost. She urges the friends Ema, Spoon, and Rachel to finish their mission. The new trio decides to infiltrate the nightclub first for further answers.
Spoon has the building’s blueprints (of course), and he plans on sneaking in through their vent system, although he worries that he may be claustrophobic.
The trio head out in Ema’s fancy sports car to the venue. Spoon crawls through the vents and drops down in the middle of the nightclub.
How does Candy help the teens?
The claustrophobic (yes, he is claustrophobic, after all) teen is thrown into the back of a van after being captured. Candy witnesses this incident taking place and warns Spoon’s friends. She tells them that Ashley is inside the club, trapped in the dungeon. They need to steal Buddy’s phone in the VIP section to gain access to the dungeon.
Rachel and Ema enter the VIP section together, with Ema bragging about her celebrity mother. She throws money around and quickly gains Buddy’s attention. He’s a huge fan of Angelica Wyatt, after all. They have their photo taken together, and Rachel unlocks the app for access to the dungeon.
Elsewhere, Mickey wakes from his coma. Sunglasses Man (aka Dylan Shakes) is at his bedside. He tells Mickey about his pact with Brad and how they swapped baseball caps all those years ago.
Harlan Coben’s Shelter Season 1 (Credit – Amazon Prime Video)
Adult Dylan hands Mickey his father’s cap back. He says how Brad helped save him and many others; now it is Mickey’s turn.
Back at the nightclub, Candy frees Spoon, undoing his restraints. They flirt with one another, and miraculously Spoon actually recognizes her from before all of this chaos. Spoon is later interrogated, and Candy saves Spoon’s life, but she is shot by the goons. She dies in Spoon’s arms.
Buddy realizes that he has been conned and fights with the girls. Ashley appears out of nowhere and saves the day, knocking Buddy clean out. The teens all escape the club together, but Ema is held at gunpoint. Ashley chooses to return to the enemy’s car to save Ema’s life.
Who is Octoface working for?
Mickey and Spoon arrive in the goon’s van, rescuing the girls out of nowhere. Mickey explains that he found Spoon thanks to the tracker app, and together they came back to the nightclub. Spoon looks broken after Candy’s death, though. Octoface then arrives; he is actually a good guy, he’s been working with Abeona in secret all along. A shootout then follows, and the teens flee the mayhem.
Ashley has finally been saved from the trafficking ring, but it isn’t the happy ending Mickey was hoping for. She has to leave for good. The lovers nearly kiss, but Octoface arrives to interrupt this heartwarming moment. They say their final goodbyes, and Ashley is taken away by Octoface.
Before leaving, Octoface has a quick word with Mickey. He explains that the face tattoos were just a front for when he was undercover. Octoface knew Brad well, they both worked for Abeona together. He passes Mickey a letter from Brad. Mickey reads the letter back at home.
Brad’s letter
The letter from his father explains how Brad wanted to leave Abeona. Mickey thinks that Bat Lady had Luther kill Brad because of this life-altering decision. The teen runs straight to Bat Lady’s house to confront her about his latest theory.
In Bat Lady’s home, Mickey finds the mysterious woman standing inside a creepy room. All the walls are covered with photographs of children. Quick snapshots of the photographs focus on the faces of Ashley, Dylan, and even Spoon.
Bat Lady promises that she didn’t kill Brad; she adored him. She states that the photographs are of all the people that Abeona saved. Luther was one of them, too, saved by Brad. Bat Lady states that their shared story ended terribly, though.
Suddenly, Luther appears out of nowhere; he stabs Bat Lady, locks the door with Mickey on the inside, and then sets the house on fire. Mickey and Bat Lady are left trapped inside.
What did you think of Harlan Coben’s Shelter Season 1 Episode 7? Comment below.
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