Ghost Wars S01E02 "The Ghost in the Machine" Recap

Much of this "Ghost Wars" episode focuses on the introduction of Billy McGrath, played by "Sons of Anarchy" actor Kim Coates. Billy's been out of town for some time but returns to it on his boat with his first mate Chewie. They feel a tremor when crossing the border back in and finds that they encountered a dead humpback whale and as they look around, there are even more dead ones rising to the water's surface.

When Billy gets back on shore, he is reunited his with his sister Marilyn, the town doctor. Marilyn and he have a tense relationship and so she initially refuses him access to visiting his nieces and asks her wife to enforce this. Billy is also reunited with Dr. Landis Barker, a young research scientist with whom he has a part casual, part romantic relationship with. Billy returns to his boat and learns that the engine is dead, Chewie already attempted to repair it but Billy is stuck in town for the time being. He heads to a bar to have a drink and shake off some stress. He encounters Rodney, one of the townsfolk that's been antagonistic towards Roman. Roman arrives in the bar and Billy is friendly towards him. He is intrigued when Roman informs him that a ghost has been following him, as Billy has had the feeling that a spirit has been nearby. Roman offers to help him with the ghost on the condition that he gets him out of town on his boat but has to leave since Rodney begins berating him for talking of ghosts.

Billy speaks with Reverend Dan about the ghostly happenings in the town and seems even more open to the likelihood that a ghostly presence is following him. Billy spends the night with Landis but the following morning is visited by his sister and an officer of the law that want to bring him in for questioning since Trevor's body washed up on shore. Trevor is the man that disappeared while on Billy's boat and the presence Billy suspects has been following him since he got back to town. Billy is brought to the morgue and is shocked to find Trevor's body appears fresh, as it should've been far more decomposed considering how many years Trevor has been missing.

Billy reaches out to Roman once more and they make a deal for Roman to help him deal with the ghost that's been haunting him. When they revisit the morgue, they find that Trevor's body is in fact just another dead whale that spirits manipulated the people that looked at it into believing they were seeing his body. Billy's first mate Chewie is injured on the boat due to further manipulation by a ghost. Billy later admits to his sister that Trevor was lost at sea because he and some other ship crew played a hazing prank on him that went wrong when a large wave hit their boat. He has been carrying around the guilt of this ever since.

Marilyn and an officer, Norm, go to investigate the previous owner of Billy's boat, whom Billy and Marilyn's father had scammed the ownership from. They find that man's dead body hanging from a tree and they argue about whether this man could be the one haunting Billy, as Roman had already stated that it's not Trevor that was haunting him. Roman seemingly helps rid Billy's boat of the ghost and helps to ready the boat so they can leave. But Billy double-crosses Roman and leaves him on the pier, saying that the town needs Roman for what he can do.

Norm nearly shoots Marilyn when he has a vision of the dead man coming at him and later, she shoots him by accident, finally beginning to believe that the ghosts of the town are real. When Billy reaches the border in the water to leave the town, he finds that he is heading back towards the town, as the supernatural force that has hold of the town has now locked him in too.

Ghost Wars airs on Thursdays on Syfy at 10/9c.