Midnight Texas S01E03: Lemuel, Unchained Recap

Night falls in Midnight, and Creek tries to get dressed but is thwarted by Manfred for a second. She's very late for dinner. He'd like to have actual dinner with her, but she puts him off. He jokes, what happens if shes late. One possibility is her dad comes after him with a shotgun. She urges him to not let her dad find out, to keep things fun. Manfred asks to walk her home atleast, but she declines. No weretigers out, so she's safe, or so she thinks. It's a town full of freaky citizens, but totally safe to stroll down the streets at night. A strange man runs into her. She's not scared of her she says, until he pulls fangs on her. There's a whole slew of vampires surrounding. Lemuel throws him off her. He knows the attacker, its Zacharia. Manfred comes running after her. Lemuel makes it clear that Midnighters are off limits, but Zacharia has come looking for his old friend.

Lemuel takes him into the pawn shop and introduces him to Olivia. She notices immediately that he's a vampire, and Zach plays it off that he's just like Lemuel. Olivia isn't buying it, no one is like Lemuel. Lemuel gives him the rules. No Midnighters, and no killing in the county. Zach agrees to play by the rules, and Lemuel welcomes him with open arms. He heads up to a room. Olivia questions if Lemuel trusts him. Lemuel offers him the benefit of the doubt, because he owes him his life.

Flashback to Lemuel getting whipped as a slave, as a pre-vampire, named Abraham. He doesn't want the life he has. Was he a British citizen before, cause there's no explanation for him having a British accent. He's willing to risk anything for a chance at freedom. That night, in chains Lemuel heads towards a fire. Zacharia finds him. Lemuel has heard abiut him, that he can offer freedom. Freedom comes at a price, but for Lemuel death comes for him either way. Zach bites Lemuel, and feeds him from his wrist, turning Lemuel into a vampite.

Now. The Midnighters meet at the Reverend's church. Many things have changed recently. Aubrey's death, the demons under Manfred's floor, the Reverend getting loose. The church is still sanctuary, but many of the other vampire myths not so much. Lemuel can kill them since he's a leecher, so most vampires avoid him. Garlic, holy water and all of that don't work, but sunlight, and stakes work, so can silver.

Olivia and Lemuel hang out at the local haunt, as Zach and Pia make themselves at home. Olivia feigns a headache and leaves. Mansfield asks Olivia if she trusts them, but she doesn't. Manfred offers to contact some spirits and to snoop for him, and wants Olivia to be his lookout. He heads to Zach and Pia's bus to search for some spirits to talk to, but instead they find a former bloodbag, who looks a little dead. Manfred wakes the girl, she's still alive apparently, and she willingly gave her blood.

Pia pulls Lemuel into a dance. They have a colored past too. Apparently she tried to stake him. Olivia and Mansfred come to talk to Lemuel about the girl. Lemuel doesn't think its nearly as big of a deal as they do. She's a groupie, and she willingly gave herself to them. It's a thing, and its how they survive since they can't leech energy. Lemuel tries to get Olivia to understand, Zach has been by his side for most of his undead life.

Past. Lemuel killed the man who kept him as a slave, and everyone in his household.

Grandma Xylda tells Manfred that Vampires are killers. Lemuel is the exception to that killing, he abstains from it. Midnight is safe, which is why she sent him there, he just has to fight to keep it that way.

Fiji is worried about the vampires, and she's not the only one. Bobo is concerned too. He's outfitted a crossbow so that she can shoot stakes from a distance.

Creek tells her brother that there is a nest of Vampires that has come to roost in Midnight. And its time to prepare, since their nothing like Lem. And yet she hides the broomsticks she's sharpening.

The Reverend finds Joe in his church. No one comes to hang out in the church, but rather for confession. Joe tells him that he's a fallen angel, and that the veil in Midnight is weak. He likes the life that he's made, but knows that he and Chuy may not be there for much longer. There will come a time when Midnighters will need to make a choice, to leave or fight.

Manfred is attacked in the hardware shop when he finds a hungry vamp and the dead storekeeper. Maybe he shouldn't go there anymore, he doesn't have the best of luck there.

Manfred tells the Reverend, Fiji and Bobo what happened. There's no time for waiting. The vampires aren't playing by the rules, so they need to step up their offense. They need more than stakes and waiting on sunlight. Bobo tells Fiji to use her powers and make a weapon.

Pia tells Olivia how she became a vampire. She asks Lemuel when he'll turn Olivia, but Olivia isn't interested. The girls excuse themselves so Zach can talk with Lemuel. Midnight called him back, and he wants to stay.

Manfred tries to get a hold of Creek, with no luck.

The last time Zach and Pia were in Midnight it wasn't so great for Midnight. They killed a lot of people, and they wanted Lemuel to play with them. Zach and Pia wanted Lemuel to play along, and they gave him a gift, a girl. He struggled with feeding on the girl, and offered to help her escape at daybreak. Once she was gone, he would end his existence. Xylda, the girl, gave him a gift. She turned his eyes blue, and gave him the ability to leech.

Lem turns Zach down. He likes his home, and is thankful for what Xylda did for him. Zach appears to take the news well, and offers Lemuel a drink from his blood bag. He pours 2 shots, but only Lem drinks his. Olivia asks Pia what they're doing, and Pia coyly tells her that Zach is reminding Lem of who he is. Lemuel drops his glass. Olivia goes to Lem's aid, and Pia tries to pull her back, thinking she can out muscle Olivia. She messed with the wrong girl. Olivia stakes Pia without batting an eyelash. Zach thinks he's going to replace Pia with Olivia, but her silver bullets say differently.

Manfred heads to Creek since he can't get a hold of her. Her father doesn't want Manfred there, or his help, but with vampires on the loose, there's no time for small talk. He knocks out Papa Lovell and put him in the RV along with Creek and her brother Connor. They're headed to the church like everyone else in town, but they don't make it. The place is surrounded by vampires. Instead they head to Fiji's. Its safe against the undead. Fiji and Bobo have made a weapon. Its a sun quartz flashlight. Olivia arrives with the bad news. They have Lem and they're going to kill him. They're going to need a bigger light.

Zach has Lemuel restrained. Lemuel drove Zach from Midnight before, and he's not going to do it again. Lemuel offered Xylda's gift to the others, so that they could stop feeding on humans, but they refused it. They liked the killing. Lemuel told them to leave and to never come back to Midnight, when they refused, Lemuel leeched one to death. Zach was interested in Xylda's gift then, but it was too late.

A vampire sneaks up on Olivia in the Pawn Shop. She goes hand to hand with him for a little while, but when he throws her against the wall, the game is over. She blasts him with her magic flashlight. Olivia is hurt, and she's forced to call backup. She calls Fiji, who tells Bobo, who calls Manfred. Manfred and Creek look out the window, they can't just sit and wait. Manfred sees Xylda and he has an idea. Manfred is willing to risk himself to save Lemuel, but he needs a little help. Creek's dad maintains that Manfred is an idiot, but Creek points out that Manfred is the one putting his life on the line to save Lemuel.

Manfred calls out Zach. He can give him what Xylda gave Lemuel as her grandson he has the ability. Manfred wants nest to leave Midnight, but they're not willing to do that. But they are willing to let everyone leave Midnight in exchange for Xylda's leeching ability. Zach is willing to deal. He meets Manfred in the street with a box in hand. Joe uses his angel wings to position himself on a building above them. Zach opens the box, and its empty. Before Zach can get revenge for the deception, Joe uses the Magic flashlight and nearby streetlight as a spot light and fries the entire nest.

Olivia rushes into the room that Lemuel is chained up in. She hurt, and not strong enough to break the chain. Lemuel is too weak to break the chain that binds him. The sun is getting ready to rise, and Lemuel is a sitting duck. Olivia breaks a window and uses the glass to cut her wrist. She gives Lemuel the blood he needs to break the chain and get away. Crisis averted.

The town is safe. Joe thanks Manfred for his help. Manfred asks Joe how he got up on the top of the building. He shrugs it off, he just snuck in. Joe isn't ready to tell everyone his secret.

Lemuel questions Olivia about helping him. He never intended to taste her blood, but she wanted to help, which surprises Lemuel. He's astounded she helped after hearing of his colored past. Olivia can't exactly throw stones though, her past is pretty colored too.

Bobo pays Fiji a visit. She's a little embarrassed about turning their celebrating hug awkward. She tries to play off the loving hug, as her emotions getting the best of her. Bobo tries to make his closest friend feel better, but she's just a little too in love with him, and humiliated for it to do much good.

Papa Lovell still doesn't like Manfred even though he just saved Lemuel. He questions his daughter if she's sleeping with “that Psychic.” She lies to him about her relationship with Manfred. He warns her that Manfred is going to be her downfall.

The Vampire Groupie made it out of Midnight with her life. She's hitchhiking just out of town, when a truck stops to pick her up. She gets in, and the driver kills her.