Episode Recap: Nine Circles

We open 30 years ago in Windsor, Connecticut, where young Clara Sullivan is helping young Ruth give birth … to a baby boy (who will grow up to be your favorite villain and ours, Aleister). As witches are forbidden from having male children, this may jeopardize Ruth being next in line as coven leader; Ruth blackmails Clara, who's been known to sell a spell or two on the side, to get rid of her little problem, but instead of drowning the baby in the tub, Clara leaves him on the doorstep of the Freewill Baptist Church.

Back in the present day at the compound, Rachel and Logan are sharing a cell. Rachel demands to know if Logan is "one of them" … and, more importantly, what she's pregnant with. Logan tells her their son will have "plenty of normal years" … and then, eventually, he'll become like his father. Rachel tells Logan that they're going to get out of this mess … and, when they do, he needs to just walk away from her.

In another part of the compound, Aleister is teaching Savannah to work her witchy powers without a talisman. Savannah's distracted, as she's worried about Elena … which annoys her mentor greatly. Aleister pays a visit to Elena in her cell, putting a spell on her that he believes will break her at last.

And so Elena begins her descent down the rabbit hole. She manages to crawl through the small hole in the wall of her cell, which takes her to Savannah's room. She quickly disposes of an investigating goon, which gives her a set of keys and access to the hallway. She doesn't get very far before groping hands start exploring her body, eventually pinning her against the wall. What did Aleister do to her … ?

Somewhere in the woods of the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Clay and Paige are searching for the compound. Paige is picking up a "static electricity" from Elena, though it's impossible to pinpoint where it's coming from. Clay has little to go on, too, sensing his lost love but not knowing what direction to go in. Paige shares a story from her past about a neighborhood boy who would buy ribbons for her hair, a poignant tale of romantic love that gives them the morale boost they need to keep searching. They're definitely on the right track, as Jeremy's team found their abandoned military base and found nothing.

Logan's attempt to bust him and Rachel out of their cell results in a deadly gas being released. The quick-thinking Logan takes the wire from Rachel's bra and uses it to hotwire the door controls — it works, and the door opens, allowing Logan and Rachel to make a run for it.

Things aren't going as well for Elena. Now she's on the floor, with her pleasant hallucination of Clay soon segueing into a nightmarish vision of her drowning in a pool of blood. She then comes across Philip's sister, Diane, all bloody and unkempt and crawling on the floor like she's in The Grudge, blaming Elena for Philip's death … and her own! Oh, the guilt!

Elena gets her wits about her enough to knock out a few goons and take their baseball bats. She then comes across Savannah, all decked out in a red dress given to her by Aleister for The Undoing. Savannah leads her to a door; Elena looks through the window and sees herself writhing in agony on the bed — she's been in her cell the whole time! Savannah suddenly goes all dark, sporting lifeless black eyes and accusing Elena of not protecting her when she promised she would. "Selfish!" screams Evil Savannah.

Luckily, Clay visits Elena in her nightmare world once again, giving her the strength to rally and fight Aleister's spell. He also tells her that she needs to get outside and give him a signal so he can find her.

Outside, Aleister and Savannah have begun the ritual of The Undoing. "Bow before the two who shall remain!" Aleister commands his goons. He's just about to inject Savannah with Elena's blood when Elena and her baseball bats show up, demanding Aleister release the young witch and causing an explosion or two to signal Clay and Paige.

Meanwhile, Logan and Rachel have made their way to Aleister's quarters, where they stop the spinning top. Everyone's neck marks disappear, rendering Aleister's goons harmless and confused. Logan and Rachel bolt out of there for parts unknown.

Elena finds Savannah in Aleister's quarters, struggling with the hold her mentor has over her. Aleister soon appears and causes the mirror to shatter and the shards to fly toward Elena, an attack that's deflected at the last second by a counter-spell from Paige. Aleister introduces himself to Paige as her brother, after which Elena manages to get Savannah to break Aleister's hold over her. Paige casts a spell on Aleister that makes him disappear from the room.

Paige and Clay track down Aleister, who's found impaled through a wooden post and seemingly dead (unbeknownst to our heroes, this is actually one of Aleister's goons that he made look like him, the clever devil). Elena and Clay are reunited, and they drive off with Savannah … with the real Aleister watching and planning his next move.

Go deeper into the world of Bitten with The Undoing.