TRICKSTER Recap (S01E04) Episode 4

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any creepier, Trickster pushes the envelope further. I’m a little freaked out y’all. In episode four, after learning the truth about this parents, Jared (Joel Oulette) is in even more danger.

So, Wade (Kalani Queypo) is a trickster, Maggie (Crystle Lightning) is a witch and Jared is their son. That’s an interesting family. Maggie turned to her own mother, Sophia (Georgina Lightning) for help with getting rid of Wade. Wade is doing his best to shield Jared from Georgina (Gail Maurice), Edna (Kirsten Johnson), and Albert (Darren Hynes). And they’re all headed for a collision course.

AM I A TRICKSTER?

Jared goes to his shack, obviously hiding from Georgina. He sees someone walk by and gets scared, but it’s only Wade. Jared is still a little shocked after finding out that his real dad is a trickster and his mom is a witch. Does this mean that Jared is a trickster too? Maybe. Wade says being a trickster is hereditary, but it skips generations. He also admits that he has hundreds of kids who did not have supernatural DNA. Wait! How old is Wade?

Wade deflects the question and says Georgina is still hunting them. Jared wants to know why, but Wade deflects that too. He suggests they go to Vancouver where Georgina won’t follow them. Jared can’t go because Maggie is still missing. Jared has been trying to text and call her, but she won’t answer.

FLASHBACK

Georgina participates in ceremony on Trickster

Wade is over 100 years old…maybe closer to 200. He was alive when the Americas were colonized. He trades furs for whiskey, avoiding his duties to his tribe. Georgina is just as old, if not older. She comes to him, saying it’s time. Georgina tells him to open the North Door, whatever that means. Wade gets up to follow her, but he’s too drunk to stand up.

Back in the present, Georgina fixes her face with make-up and puts on perfume before joining Edna and Albert outside. They’ve been looking for Wade and Jared with no luck. Georgina is desperate to find them.

FEND FOR YOURSELF

Jared returns to Maggie’s house, but no one is there and the lights are still off. If the lights are off that means the refrigerator is off too and all of the food is spoiled. Maggie is still at Sophia’s. She standing on a tree stump trying to find a signal but can’t get one. At the same time, Jared receives a text from Maggie? He says they need to talk, but Maggie tells him to chill out. Jared tries to call her but gets an automated message. And at Sophia’s cabin, Maggie continues to try and get a signal out.

Wade calls to check on Jared. Jared is out and about walking around, so Wade tells him to go back to the shack and lay low. This is funny because Wade is at the strip club. Jared goes to a food pantry where Sarah (Anna Lambe) is working. He tells her about the electricity going off and she packs some food for him. She also apologizes for overstepping into his business. He’s actually glad she did. Sarah says her shift is almost over and pulls out a small bag of pink pills. Jared leads Sarah to the shack and she quickly realizes that he’s the one who made the pink Ecstacy pills. They take the pills at the same time.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER

Maggie and Sophia talk about their trauma. Sophia was sent to residential boarding schools as a child. She was abused, physically and sexually while she was there. She turned to alcohol to deal with her trauma. Sophia had Maggie and took out her trauma on her sometimes. Maggie grew up and became just like Sophia. Even having Jared didn’t change Maggie, but it changed Sophia. Sophia left Maggie and Jared when the boy was seven. Maggie told him that his grandmother died. The next year Sophia sent Jared a birthday card. He thought she rose from the dead.

Sophia found a trickster luring spell. Maggie wants to use it to kill Wade once and for all, but Sophia warns her about using medicine for selfish reasons. Maggie justifies it as protection. Somehow that leads to a discussion about Maggie getting sober. Sophia says if she walks the red road, she will have clarity. Maggie doesn’t want to be lectured, so Sophia leaves her alone to find firewood. They are going to lure a trickster.

DISTRACTION

Georgina joins Wade at the strip club…it’s not like he was hiding or anything. She is adamant about finding Jared. Wade says if Jared is a trickster, he needs to be ready. Georgina doesn’t understand why it’s so hard to do that. She asks if he remembers how things used to be. He remembers and says they can’t go back to the way it was. Georgina says he’s the reason she is here. She will find Jared with or without Wade. Wade gets up to leave and Georgina grabs his arm. He starts shaking and falls to the floor.

Jared and Sarah dance around the shack. They end up in front of the fireplace holding hands. Jared pretends to read Sarah’s palms and reaches for her arms. She pulls back, saying she has scars. Jared says he has scars too. He tells her about a bicycle accident and getting caught in a fishing lure. Sarah’s scars are the cuts on her arms. Jared looks at them and kisses her arms. She kisses him and the fireflies appear around her head. A light shines above them. Jared is surprised that Sarah can see the light too. She kisses him again and they transport into the woods with a green glow and fireflies all around them.

WAKE UP

Crashpad and Sarah give Jared a dirty look on Trickster

Trickster — “Episode 4” — Image Number: TRK104_0011.jpg — Pictured (L-R): Nathan Alexis as Crashpad and Anna Lambe as Sarah — Photo: Lindsay Sarazin/Sienna Films Trickster XIX Inc. — © 2021 Sienna Films Trickster XIX Inc.

Jared walks into Maggie’s house and there’s a party going on. Sarah sees him and walks over to Crashpad (Nathan Alexis). They both look at Jared and give him a dirty look. Richie (Joel Thomas Hynes) is in the living room and Phil (Craig Lauzon) is in the kitchen doing drugs. Jared walks to Maggie’s room. She’s in there with Wade. And that’s when Jared wakes up. Sarah is asleep on his chest. She jumps up and says her foster parents will be mad at her for staying out all night. She kisses Jared, calls him a bad influence and leaves.

Wade wakes up in Georgina’s RV. She’s outside talking to Edna and Albert, so Wade calls Jared to check on him. Jared says he’s fine. Wade tells the kid that he’s on his own. Georgina is keeping a watchful eye on him. When he gets away, Wade wants Jared to go with him to the city, but Jared won’t leave until he talks to Maggie.

Jared tries to call Maggie again but gets the same automated message. Maggie and Sophia talk about practicing witchcraft. Sophia saw the gift in Maggie early and taught her the practice so she could defend herself, even from Sophia. Sophia realizes that was wrong and that makes Maggie feel better.

TRICKSTER TRAP

Jared calls Crashpad to pick him up. When he gets in the truck, he asks his friend if he has his mom’s phone number. Crashpad does, but it’s a different number than what Jared has. Crashpad calls the number and gets an actual voice message from Maggie. Someone changed the number on Jared’s phone.

Maggie and Sophia start their spell while Wade talks to Georgina and Edna. Georgina keeps talking about the way things are supposed to be and that the Earth is screaming in pain. She will get Jared and make things right. Wade says if Jared is a trickster, and there’s no evidence that he is, then Wade will do things the right way. Georgina doesn’t believe him because he was supposed to make things right once before. And now here they are.

Wade hears a loud screeching noise and holds his hands to his ears. Edna looks at Georgina, but it’s not her. They watch Wade’s demeanor change. He stands up and says he has to go. Wade walks outside and towards the road. Edna and Albert look to Georgina for direction, but she is amused. Wade is under a spell and that can mean only one thing. They found a witch.

MEET THE PARENTS

Sophia helps Maggie catch Wade on Trickster

Maggie impatiently looks out the window while talking to Sophia about getting sober. Sophia takes the opportunity to tell Maggie that she left because she thought Maggie would be better without her. Maggie changes the subject and talks about Wade. She doesn’t know how she killed him the first time. All she knows is that she felt a burning rage inside of her when she did it.

Wade shows up. Maggie grabs her gun and Sophia tells her to calm down. He walks into the house and Maggie hits him with the gun. He’s confused as to why he’s there. Maggie admits that they used a trickster luring spell to make him come to them. Wade asks if Jared is there and Maggie says he’s not because Jared is not a trickster. But Georgina is there with Edna and Albert. They followed Wade to the cabin and they are delighted to meet the witches. Georgina reveals that they haven’t met a witch in over 60 years. She sits at the kitchen table and wants them to sit with her.

Wade tells Maggie that Georgina wants Jared and Maggie points her gun at the woman. She asks what they want with her son and Georgina is even more delighted. Jared is the son of a trickster and witch. That’s never happened before. Maggie tells them to leave or they will feel her wrath.

SON OF A TRICKSTER

Jared and Crashpad show up, confused by what’s going on. Georgina is more interested to know what brought Jared to the cabin. Wade says he told Jared to be there, but Georgina knows he’s lying. While they talk, Georgina, Edna, and Albert close in on Maggie, Wade, and Sophia. Edna reaches for the gun, but Maggie pushed her away and shoots her, and then shoots Albert. Sophia and Wade are screaming for Maggie to stop. Maggie turns the gun on Georgina and shoots her too.

Jared starts screaming and his body is transforming. He takes off his shirt and feathers appear on his arms. Wings emerge out of his back as Jared screams in pain. He falls to the ground in pain, as Georgina and her followers leave the cabin. Everyone watches Jared on the floor. He returns to normal and everyone is sad because he is definitely a trickster.

Crashpad runs out of the cabin and to his truck. Jared runs after him and the kid is terrified of him. He says he has to go and tells Jared to catch a ride with his mom. Crashpad takes off quickly, leaving Jared behind.

RIGHT OF PASSAGE

Wade tells Jared the truth about his heritage on Trickster

Later that night, Wade sits with Jared by the fire. Maggie and Sophia sit close by and watch. Maggie always knew Jared was special, but she still wants to kill Wade. Sophia reminds her that they still have to find out what he wants. Maggie walks up to Wade and asks him to tell them everything.

Wade says he wanted to tell Jared, but he had to be sure. There is a right of passage that keeps things in harmony. Tricksters have to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of tricksters, their sons. To do that, the son must kill the father. Jared doesn’t believe him, but Wade is serious. One day Jared will have to kill Wade. Jared doesn’t say anything and gets up to walk away. Maggie thanks Wade for telling truth and goes after him.

In a flashback, we see Wade as a boy. His father flies to him and stands in a lake. Wade walks to his father and holds his head in the water until he dies. The tribe watches while playing the drums and sings while he does this. The drummers gather in a close circle. When the drummers back out of the circle, a humanoid being jumps forward and starts dancing. This being is wearing the skin of a woman on its head.

After the being stops dancing, two women come forth and sew the skin onto the being. The skin is Georgina. Georgina steps forward and talks to Wade in their native tongue. Wade stares at her from the water and begins to turn.

THOUGHTS

That was freaky! What is Georgina? And don’t say skinwalker because that is something entirely evil and dark. She is obviously someone of great power who is trapped in the modern world. She wants to return to an old way of living, a peaceful way, but Wade messed that up for her. It seems that Wade wanted to live longer and has been running from Georgina to stay alive. I’ve never heard of a being like Georgina, that wears human skin. And there are two more that are just like her, Edna and Albert.

So now what happens? Does Jared kill Wade? He’s not a killer so I don’t see that happening. Is Jared the only person who can kill Wade? Probably. How does Jared’s witch ancestry affect his trickster ancestry? That will be interesting to see. Whatever happens, Georgina has to go!

On a side note, I’m very disappointed to hear that Trickster was canceled by the CBC due to the controversy involving Michell Latimer’s ancestry. It seems to me that the network could have easily hired a new, authentic Indigenous showrunner. And there are several Indigenous directors in Canada and the States that could have directed the individual episodes. But that sounds too easy, right? It would be great if The CW would pick it up, but that all depends on the ratings. But then again, they saved a few other shows with small followings, so you never know. I’m not holding my breath.

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Noetta Harjo

Contact: Noetta.Harjo@geekgirlauthority.com

News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.

GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.