It wasn’t too long ago that Maladie almost hung Mary Brighton and Penance Adair in an effort to kill Amalia True.
Now Maladie faces the noose for something she may not have done.
It has literally affected everyone in London. Some want to stop the chaos…others want to make it worse, and make it work for them.
Let’s just say Keyser Soze had an ancestor after all.
The point is: the Touched are marked…and maybe doomed.
And who are the Galanthi?

SPOILERS BELOW

Much of the episode looks at how the impending hanging of Maladie (Amy Manson) is affecting London. People want her dead, others think having a public execution is barbaric. At least one person, namely the Beggar King (Nick Frost), sees it as a way to sell very distasteful dolls.
That’s not the only thing. Remember that glowing orb Lavinia is trying to dig out? Now it seems she wants it killed, and just out of England. It seems to be glowing more often and Dr. Hague (Denis O’Haire) has theories about what it is. Lavinia admits that trying to find a cure for the Touched is pointless, so she wants the Orb gone and be a bigger “hero” protecting humanity than Messen thinks he is.

Speaking of which, it looks like he (Pip Torrens) or one of his minions was behind Mary Brighton’s death after all. He still thinks only his perspective counts, and he’s gotten laws passed to have the Touched registered and forced to wear blue badges. Sound familiar?
He’s decided the Touched are a threat to him, and everything else that exists. He even resents the fact an Irish girl (ugh) is a better inventor than men (Yes, we mean Penance). He’ll take some drastic steps.

As for Penance and Amalia, they want to get to that orb, called the source of the Galanthi (whatever they are) and Mary’s song. They’ll be doing some strategic drilling around London, but what will they learn?

It’s interesting how people are being affected by the hanging. Lavinia (Olivia Williams) looks very upset when people at a fancy restaurant are looking forward to it. She even comments to Hague about why America has no problem with public executions. She also tells Augie she knows about his involvement with Swann’s brothel. What if she finds out he’s Touched?
Then there’s Effie Boyle of the Clarion, who’s been writing against the hanging. Visiting Mundi, she even noticed a picture of a woman who was murdered but not identified. She wants an interview with Maladie for her paper, but he refuses. Yet, somehow, there’s an interview with Maladie the day of the hanging, claiming that God will fear her. Fake news, or something else?

For Messen, though, it’s really a chance to prove the Touched are a threat to everything, even God if he thought so. He gets the Beggar King to cause “enough chaos” to prove his point. They both hope to be above the chaos and exploit its power.

So what do the Touched think of all this? Harriet thinks that despite her many crimes, including murder, Maladie is being killed just because she’s Touched. She worried the same fate may happen to the others, and the presence of a lot of nooses outside the orphanages may prove her point.
As for Penance, she thinks Maladie should be saved, and she has a plan to save her from the noose. She just thinks the world has become cruel and scary, and it’s time for some mercy. Amalia doesn’t like it, but she doesn’t stop Penance or the Touched who decide to help her.
Besides, Amalia has something else to do. The Touched wind up choosing sides, and all hope for the best. At least Primrose (the very nice and very big girl) decides to stay neutral.
Fans may have expected a more extensive argument, but it’s still interesting as Penance and Amalia debate the meaning of what they have been doing. Amalia says she’s doing this for the future, while Penance says the present is more important and maybe that’s why Amalia is here.
For a second, the possibility that alien beings are part of the show crossed this site’s mind. After all, the Touched were created by a steampunk UFO. Did the Orb come from that?

At the execution, it looks like Penance and her crew will save Maladie, but she winds up hanging herself. They’re shocked, but they also notice some power lines have been laid out. One of Maladie’s minions, known as The Colonel, pulls a switch, and electrocutes much of the crowd. Some get out, but the damage has been done. The Touched will be blamed for the electrocution, and the chaos the Beggar King creates.
Still, Harriet and her ice breath does manage to save some people from a stampede. She almost gets trampled, but Effie covers her in time.

Afterwards, Mundi (Ben Chaplin) looks at the hung body of Maladie, and sees one of her shoes dropping. It reveals a foot with some toes missing.
It’s not Maladie, it’s Clara (the one who wished she was Touched) pretending to be Maladie so she can get away and cause more damage, preferably at Amalia. Mundi is in shock realizing he’s been had.
He also figures out Maladie killed the real Effie weeks ago, and stole her identity. This is confirmed when she takes off her disguise…and we also notice the real Maladie looks a lot like Amalia without her crazy makeup.
Could they be related?
Well, Maladie will cause more trouble but is it destruction for its own sake, the opposite of what Messen thinks he’s doing.

There were a lot of storylines crammed into this episode, which Joss Whedon directed. It could have been better if this was split in half, with one part being before the execution, then the other being the event itself. Maybe the Orb should have been part of episode four, towards the end. Fans may have forgotten about the Orb by now, and wondered what was going on. With all the storylines, it could have been better if the first half had eight episodes instead of six, to have the plots breathe a bit better.

Next week, the story will look at whether Amalia does find the Galanthi, and maybe what they are. This week’s episode gives a hint, with Amalia saying it went fine (which means it did not). Thing is, will she run into Maladie as she really is? Also, will Lavinia find out the truth about Augie?
And who wants Messen to get a lesson that he’s the real monster, not the Touched?
This saga is far from over.