As fans of ABC’s Eastwick know all too well, the network has cancelled the supernatural drama. Only 13 episodes have been produced but ABC has decided to air only 11 of them thus far. Based on the network’s decision of which ones to air, it seems hard to believe that they’ll ever air the remaining two.
Episode 10 left off on several cliffhangers, with the three main characters in life-threatening situations. With one episode left on the schedule, programmers opted to next air the 12th installment. Though it didn’t solve any of the cliffhangers, episode 12 could serve as a better series finale than the 13th.
Fans, of course, were confused and then upset when they realized what had been done. How did Roxie (Rebecca Romijn) escape from Jamie (Jack Huston)? Will they kill Darryl (Paul Gross)? Did Joanna (Lindsay Price) and Max (Jason Winston George) succumb to the poison of Eleanor (Cybill Shepherd)? Did Kat (Jaime Ray Newman) indeed drown at the bottom of her bathtub?
Well, wonder no longer. Here are the answers to what happened in episode 11 of Eastwick, “Red Bath and Beyond.”
We join the Eastwick girls at a seemingly casual girl night at home. Joanna is trying out her new concoction — a very potent social drink called the Nutcrusher. As they chatter and toast, Kat’s hair suddenly turns from blow-dry perky to soaking wet. Is it the drink? Next, Joanna suddenly can’t move her arms. Finally, Roxie’s clean hands leave bloody fingerprints on her glass and on the table. Perhaps this is a dream?
Jamie appears. He is carrying a spade over his shoulder. He tells Roxie it’s time to go and in spite of Roxie’s trepidation, and Joanna and Kat’s protests, Roxie feels compelled to leave. As Roxie follows Jamie, she pleads with the girls to find her, and they promise to do just that.
We next see images of the three girls that confirm that they were dreaming – in part. Roxie awakens on a tile floor of the shop. Her hands are bloody and Jamie is with her. Johanna finds herself on the floor of Eleanor’s basement, next to Max. They are both paralyzed from the neck down. Kat is unconscious and submerged in her bathtub.
Back to Roxie. She recalls that Jamie tried to kill Darryl. Jamie needs Roxie to help him finish the deed, because she has very powerful magic. Roxie refuses, telling Jamie that he’ll just have to kill her. Jamie persists, telling Roxie that Darryl wants to use her, to steal her power. He finishes, saying that Darryl is pure evil. Roxie still resists. Jamie physically forces Roxie to go to Darryl’s. On the way out of the shop, Roxie leaves behind bloody handprints.
Now to Joanna and Max, laying on Eleanor’s basement floor. They’ve been poisoned by Eleanor and as a result they are both paralyzed. The poison is progressive, and soon they will be dead. Joanna awakens first and believes that Max is dead. She confesses that she has personal feelings for him, and he reveals that he has heard everything. Joanna tries to discreetly use her powers to open the basement door, but, affected by the poison, they don’t work. They try screaming for help.
At Kat’s home, Ray finds Kat and pulls her out of the bathtub. Ray is completely upset. He points out to Kat that she’s been submerged in the bathtub for over three hours. He begs her to please explain what’s going on.
Jamie and Roxie return to Darryl’s. Jamie reaffirms that he is committed to physically forcing Roxie to stab Darryl in the back. The only challenge to this plan is that Darryl has seemingly disappeared. Roxie surprises Jamie and almost escapes, but Jamie gets the upper hand again and Roxie remains his captive.
Ray tells Kat that she should be dead after being under water so long – he’s really worried about her. Kat acknowledges that something strange is going on. Ray wants her to talk to someone – a psychiatrist or neurologist or exorcist. Kat agrees that she needs to talk to someone. Ray is satisfied that Kat has a plan. But ,while he is preparing coffee, Kat slips out and heads to Eleanor’s.
At Eleanor’s, Joanna and Max are exhausted after all of their screaming. The poison is continuing to weaken them. Kat arrives on Eleanor’s doorstep and Eleanor is not pleased by the visit. Kat insists on entering and Eleanor finally agrees. As Eleanor prepares poison tea for Kat, Kat pumps her for information about her powers.
Jamie and Roxie are now at Jamie’s place. He has bound Roxie’s hands behind her back. She continues to try to persuade Jamie that his plan to take her and run away from a vengeful Darryl is a bad one. He still won’t let her go. Penny knocks and calls from the front door. Jamie gags Roxie and hides her in the bathtub. Penny arrives in a trenchcoat and nothing else. She is suspicious of Jamie’s uncomfortable reaction, but he covers with a bit of his own seduction and convinces Penny to leave and flash him from the park (which is visible from his window).
At Eleanor’s, Kat learns that, as a witch, she’s not immortal but she cannot be drowned. While dispensing advice, Eleanor keeps encouraging Kat to drink the poisoned tea. However, Kat keeps putting the tea down without drinking. She is distracted by her own curiosity. Through a reluctant Eleanor, Kat also learns that she will always get nose bleeds when she overtaxes herself by using her powers too much.
Back in the basement, Joanna awakens, still hoarse from screaming. Talking is of no use since Max is unresponsive. Joanna suddenly hears that Eleanor has a visitor. In a last ditch attempt, she focuses her energy on moving the trap door and manages to do so several times. Kat runs to the door and catches sight of Joanna and Max.
Jamie drives Roxie to an undisclosed destination. While driving, Jamie questions Roxie about her powers. He asks if the reason that Roxie had been afraid of him is that she saw that he was going to harm her. Roxie does not deny this, but she tries to convince Jamie that her visions can be changed. She tells him that he could change things by letting her go and escaping on his own. He responds by putting her in the trunk.
Eleanor and Kat engage in a war of magic. Kat prevails and knocks Eleanor unconscious. She helps Joanna and Max out of the basement. After rummaging through Eleanor’s spell book, Kat discovers an antidote. Joanna and Max are revived. As the three prepare to leave, they overhear Jamie leaving a message on Eleanor’s phone. They learn that Jamie has kidnapped Roxie. Joanna uses her powers to convince Max to return home and he does. After Joanna and Kat leave however, we learn that Max is wearing a special necklace that makes him immune to her powers. He was only pretending.
Jamie stops the car in a secluded wooded area. He tosses Roxie onto the ground, next to a freshly dug hole. While he is leaning over her, Roxie notices a strange marking on Jamie’s abdomen. Joanna and Kat arrive at the shop and discover it’s empty. They do notice a bloody handprint. They each remark that it’s the same handprint that they’d seen in their dream — causing them to realize that they both had the exact same dream. As they review the details, they remember that, in the dream, when Jamie was taking Roxie away, they saw a sign that read Buck Hill Trail.
Jamie tosses a still-bound Roxie into the grave. As he begins the work of burying her alive, Joanna and Kat surprise him from behind. Jamie is out of commission. Kat and Joanna begin to help Roxie, but Jamie revives, pulls out his knife, and hurls himself into the grave. His clear intent is to kill Roxie but instead, he falls on the knife and is stabbed through the abdomen. As the girls pull Roxie out of the grave, Jamie revives, yet again. Kat creates a powerful wind storm that forces Jamie in the grave and then covers him until the hole is filled. The girls are both relieved and horrified. In the background, they suddenly hear something moving in the bushes. They worry that someone may have witnessed what they’ve done, but then believe it is probably just a forest animal.
The next scene switches briefly to Max. We learn that he is onto Joanna’s powers, has no real romantic interest in her, and is working under orders of a mysterious person on the phone.
Finally, the girls are back in the kitchen. Joanna and Kat are feeling a little guilty about killing Jamie, but Roxie convinces them that their actions were completely in self-defense. They comment that they can now feel relieved, as they’ve survived the worst of times.
The final scene cuts away to Jamie’s hand breaking through the ground.
If you’ve seen episode 12 already, you know what comes next. If you missed it, you can watch it at ABC.com (for now). We’ll be publishing a synopsis of the 13th and final episode soon.
Image courtesy ABC.
hi just checking in to see if there was ever any news about releasing EASTWICK on dvd??
@cassandra: Not yet.
My son and I have just watched all 13 episodes here in the UK, and we are gutted that there isn’t going to be a 2nd series or more episodes!!! The 13th episode finishes on a cliffhanger, and there are storylines left untold…. can the makers not film more episodes for dvd??????
Bring it back! I need an ending!!!
Say, thanks for the synopsis!
I have to say, I was less than pleased to find out that ABC messed with the order the episodes aired. One week, two of the characters are paralyzed in a basement, and the next? No mention of it! Irritating.
I have seen a few rumors that Lifetime was interested in the show. Any news on that front?
–gdw
@G.D. Warner: Lifetime hasn’t expressed any interest in it. I think that rumor stems from the fact that there was a poll about if Lifetime should pick it up on the Lifetime site. Unfortunately it was a fan who started the poll.
I also checked for weeks. This is such a bummer I loved this show
this family loved easwick
I hate it when they just drop a show and not finish it off with an ending.
I was a little bummed to see east wick end so suddenly, it was just getting good.
They really left us hanging, ichecked for it for weeks. please notify me if it becomes
available on dvd
Jim
Thanks, I was so confused. I thought I missed an episode but didn’t see how that was possible since I have it set up on my tivo…now it all makes sense. THANKS!
Thant you. Any news on DVD release?
@tadd: Sorry. No news yet.