Episode Recap: Rabbit Hole

So how did Dr. Sondra Bauer wind up being the resident mad scientist of Aleister's Happy House of Horrors, anyway? This week's pre-opening-titles flashback shows us, as the good doctor is fired from her university after two frisky lab students get the horror-show equivalent of a cold shower when they see the two-faced rabbit she's been working on. Doc Bauer's about to end it all when a flock of crows keeps her from jumping off the parking garage roof, from which emerges Aleister, who promises her that they're "going to do great things together."

Yeah, like have her inject herself with werewolf blood in the middle of ritualistic witch sex, if you remember from last week's episode. Fast-forward to the present day and Sondra's having a hard time with her upcoming transformation; what's worse, though, is her mind seems to be completely unraveling as well. Aleister orders Elena to cure her, though she only assures the doctor that she's going to die.

Clay pays a visit to Dr. Bauer's former employer and lover, Dr. Penner, who tells him that after she was fired she moved in with a "Timothy Ashmont." Clay gives the name to Paige and Nick, who hit the Internet (and on each other) to see if they can track the guy down.

Back at the compound, Aleister continues his corruption of Savannah as he instructs her to put her attendant to sleep. Savannah claims she can't do it without a talisman, though with some unseen help from her mentor, she's surprised that she indeed can. Meanwhile, Rachel's going through her own kind of training — or, rather, The Gentling, a sort of Clockwork Orange brainwashing technique of rapid-fire sounds and images that turns you into a hypnotized Aleister Goon. "He is the One True Path," deadpans Rachel as she's injected with Savannah's blood.

Sondra's getting worse, so Elena tries to use her last few minutes of semi-coherency to get some answers: just why in the heck does Aleister want her blood, anyway? Sondra tells her that he has to "inject the blood of the Cursed into the One That Curses" … and that "this is the way the world ends." That's all Elena gets, though, as Sondra's body starts to twist and convulse: the transformation is nigh!

Aleister takes Elena to his quarters, where he casts a spell to keep her from attacking him. Elsewhere, Nick and Paige go to a retirement home to pay a visit to Mrs. Ashmont. In a story told by both Aleister and his adopted mother, we learn that when Aleister turned 12, he was able to suddenly "do things," which caused his ultra-religious adopted parents to believe he was possessed. Aleister was often beaten by his adopted father with a belt buckle labeled with the word "Faith," though nothing seemed to drive the devil out. Finally, Aleister took his revenge, causing his adopted father to bleed "from everywhere." The story is cut short when Mrs. Ashmont looks in Paige's eyes and freaks out, screaming that she's "just like him."

Aleister reveals his master plan to Elena: The Undoing involves injecting Elena's blood (the Cursed) into Savannah (the One Who Curses), which will cause every witch to die. This will only work once Savannah's powers are at full-throttle, which is why he's been encouraging her to develop her abilities. And it's almost time …

Aleister's villainous musings are interrupted with news that Dr. Bauer has escaped. Elena follows the trail of mutilated goons to the storage room, where a terrified Savannah is hiding. Elena tells Sondra-wolf to focus on changing back and manages to rescue Savannah from the angry, confused predator.

Meanwhile, Rachel seems to have found a way to resist The Gentling and made her way to Aleister's quarters, where she takes note of the spinning top on the table. She stops the top … which causes everyone's neck marks to fade away! This is a fleeting victory, though, as Aleister soon finds her and starts the top a'spinning once again.

Sondra has changed back to human form, though her mind is now completely gone. After Elena and Savannah are escorted back to their rooms, Aleister tells her he can give her "the most beautiful pain in the world" … and causes her to bleed out, like he did his adopted father. She dies in a state of bliss as Aleister walks away.

A number that Sondra kept repeating during her ramblings is "Four-Six," which happens to be the address of the house owned by Clara Sullivan, a witch whose powers were taken away by Ruth when she went wicked. Ruth and Jeremy pay Clara a visit, during which Ruth scans her memories and sees the image of a baby in a basket. "You never went through with it!" exclaims Ruth as she puts her former colleague to sleep. Hmm …

Back at Stonehaven, Paige reveals to Clay and Nick that someone has broken The Commandment and given birth to a male witch. The "girl babies only" thing with witches isn't biological, it's a rule due to The Prophecy of the Tribulation, which says that a male child born to a witch will bring about their downfall. Unable to deal with the stress of this, Paige and Nick have sex against a tree outside.

Back at the compound, Savannah visits Elena in her cell, where Elena tells her about Aleister's diabolical plan to kill all the witches. Savannah agrees to leave a "channel" open for Paige in the hopes that they can contact Ruth … who herself just revealed a doozy of a plot twist to Jeremy and the gang: witches are responsible for the existence of werewolves, as the first werewolf was the result of a dark magic ritual. Whoa!

Savannah and Elena hold hands, and Elena is able to communicate through Paige. She tells Jeremy and the gang that they're in Quebec, at a former military base: look for a grouping of red roofs, a field of lavender nearby, and a train three miles to the east. She also gets to have a little "Witchy FaceTime with her lover, Clay, who promises to find her.

The connection is interrupted as guards enter Elena's cell, zapping Elena and taking Savannah away …

Nick deduces Elena and Savannah could be in one of two possible locations, which are 150 miles apart — they split up with Clay & Paige checking one location and Jeremy, Nick & Ruth checking the other. As the others leave the room, Jeremy tells Ruth that he's going to tell Paige the truth: that Aleister is Ruth's son!

Back in his quarters, Aleister has one final test for Savannah: He encourages her to send her fear to her attendant … using her left hand. Savannah's attendant starts convulsing and collapses to the floor, foaming at the mouth. "Today you are a full witch, and you will never be afraid again," Aleister tells his student. "Today is the beginning of the end!"

Go deeper into the world of Bitten with The Undoing.