Midnight, Texas S01E01: Pilot Recap

Our episode opens with a shot of the city. Manfred brushes his teeth, with a recent gun shot wound to the back. He opens the door to his client, all smiles and big teeth. Rachel is friendly enough, having frequented Manfred's before. His fee has gone up, but Rachel is more than happy to pay. In candlelight, Manfred channel's her dead husband Harold. He tells her that Harold doesn't want her to grieve forever, and she confesses that she's seeing someone. When Rachel reveals the name of her new love the candles go out, and Harold appears. Manfred tells him not to cross, tries to get the spirit to stay back, but Harold takes over Manfred. He's very unhappy that Rachel has chosen his former partner. Manfred struggles against Harold, while Harold threatens to kill Rachel to reunite them. Manfred finally gets control back, ending the session. Harold still hates change. Manfred swallows a handful of pills, as he gets a phone call. The caller thinks Manfred has been hiding from him. Manfred promises to pay him back, but the caller tells him its too late.

Manfred cuts the call short, and high tails it out of there. In his RV his dead grandma pays him a visit. Harold high jacking his body isn't the first. Grandma Xylda thinks this could be a good thing, that he needs to settle down. Manfred would be more assured if that was coming from the living.

Manfred rolls into Midnight, Texas, and we get a quick glimpse of some of the residents. As he gets out of his RV he's nearly ran down by Olivia “the musician pawning a trumpet.”She closes the door behind her and removes the short firey wig she was wearing.

Manfred makes his way into the pawn shop, and is accosted by the past of each of the objects. From dolls with memories of drowned children, to chairs of bitter abandoned old women, to guns that have seen war. It's no fun being a psychic. Bobo appears, and is happy to bring him to his new home. Bobo shows Manfred around, admitting that he checked him out. Bobo offers him a month of free rent if he helps him find his fiance who ran out a few weeks ago. Manfred tries to downplay his gifts, and Bobo leaves him to settle in. Fiji has left him a plate of cookies as a welcome to the neighborhood gift. Manfred bites into the cookie.

Night falls, and Manfred heads to the local diner. The Reverend dines alone, and the place is fairly busy. Manfred goes to place an order to go, and meets Creek. She leads him back to the Midnighter's room. The Midnighters eat together, except the reverend and everyone else is from the surrounding area. Manfred is introduced to the non musician, now blonde Olivia, and her dining companion the piercing blue eyed Lemuel. Manfred leaves himself in Creek's hands for ordering as he ogles her as she leaves. Lemuel warns Manfred that she has a pretty protective papa. Olivia takes a stroll as Manfred sits. Lemuel tells Manfred that he works under the pawn shop. Creek finds Manfred very interesting, though the other waitress warns her that he's obviously running from something. Lemuel's touch leeches Manfred of his strength, turning him a ghastly grey. He needed his strength, as some patrons get a little handsy with Creek. Lemuel is a vampire. While blood is always on the menu, a little energy leeching will feed him as well, and help him control his bloodlust. Creek brings Manfred's pot roast, and he ravages it. Creek asks about taking Manfred to the town picnic, but Manfred makes excuses. Lemuel tells Manfred that Midnight is very different in the daylight.

At the picnic, Olivia catches Fiji admiring Bobo. He's a beautiful man, no one can blame the girl for looking. Olivia is less than pleased to see Manfred coming to the picnic, but Fiji assures her that Manfred is no problem. If he was, he'd be tossing the spelled cookies she left him. The girls go to see why the dog won't stop barking, and they discover the body of Bobo's very dead fiance, Aubrey. Aubrey's bloated face turns towards Manfred. The police arrive soon, and tell the town they are not to leave without permission.

One deputy talks with Manfred, confused as to why anyone would move to Midnight. She's unsurprised that a murder hadn't happened sooner. She points out Fiji, telling him that its rumored that shes a witch or lesbian. Manfred jokes that she may be both. The Deputy doesn't find it funny.

Another questions Bobo. His fiance left, and yet he didn't report her missing. She didn't have much, and she left after a fight. He thought she just left him. Fiji watches the interrogation in distress for Bobo. Olivia hopes that Bobo doesn't reveal something he can't take back. She has no love loss for Aubrey, noting she's trouble even in death.

That night as Manfred tries to sleep, he's awoken but the sound of flies. He opens his eyes to see Aubrey staring at him. The floor of his room is covered in water. He tells her that she doesn't belong. She tries to communicate with him, but is choked by water unable to speak. On his window she writes help. He agrees to help her, but on his terms.

Bobo watches videos of Aubrey when she was still alive, one being when he proposed to her. Fiji brings him breakfast, but he's not up to eating. Fiji offers to just sit with him instead.

Manfred heads to the creepy chapel. The inside is no less creepy, but he needs holy water. The reverend asks him if he's taking holy water, and Manfred is taken a back for a moment, but the Reverend wasn't stopping him. Instead he finishes filling his flask for him, and invites him to Sunday service.

Bobo remembers how Aubrey wanted a bunch of kids. He and Fiji laugh about it, as the Sheriff arrives. Fiji goes to leave, but Bobo asks her to stay. Aubrey's autopsy has been completed. She was shot, but died of drowning, but that's not all. Aubrey was married five years ago, to a member of the Sons of Lucifer. Her husband has recently been released, but they don't know where he is. The Sheriff urges Bobo to no try to handle this on his own, to call the police if anything happens.

Manfred casts his circle, and calls out to Aubrey. He tells her to stay out of his circle as they communicate via ouija. She spells out PECADOS. Other spirits appear, all desperate for help. He tells the others that they're not welcome. His floor lights from below, it buckles as the spirit activity gets stronger. Manfred gets out in a hurry before any of them can high jack him. None of the spirits are able to disturb him further thanks to a medallion on the door knob.

The Sheriff and his deputies go to gather more information about Aubrey. She saw the Reverend, but she'd rather talk directly to God. Fiji doesn't have a bad thing to say about her, even if she did lie. The sheriff points out that there were ritualistic killing, but the Reverend thinks it was just wicked. The deputy asks Fiji about animal killing and Witchcraft. Fiji doesn't bite. All serial killers start out with small critters, but there hasn't been a Wiccan in the lot she names. Aubrey didn't confide in either of Chewy the manicurist, or Joe the tattoo artist. The deputy heads to Manfred's. He's a little shaken and shifty after dealing with all the spirits. She doesn't trust him, but he wants to prove himself. He asks if Pecados means anything.

Manfred heads to Pecados with the Sheriff and deputy. It's a dam. The Deputy isn't taking Manfred very seriously until a gun is recovered. Back at Midnight, Olivia watches Manfred talk with the deputy. He's now apart of the investigation, and warned against leaving town.

Fiji's cat is also keeping a watch on Manfred.

Manfred heads into the RV to chat with his Granny. He thought he would be safe in Midnight, she thought he wouldn't conjure up evil spirits. She tells him that Midnight isn't the same as most places. Olivia bangs on the floor. She heard voices. He's surprised, he thought she was avoiding her. She was until now. She knocks him out.

Fiji pays Olivia a visit, and is curious by all the noise in her apartment. It's a stripped down Manfred, tied to a chair making all the noise. She was searching him for a wire. Now with Fiji, and a just awakened Lemuel by her side she questions why Manfred is in Midnight. She questions if her father sent him. Lemuel is bored and hungry. Fiji worries about Manfred. Manfred tells them that his grandmother sent him there, but she was kind of a liar. Lemuel knows Xylda, and wonders why anyone would want her dead. She ran a lot of scams, and when she died, he received the fallout. Olivia doesn't buy his story. It still doesn't explain the sheriff. He didn't want to reveal his secrets, so he revealed Aubrey. Manfred tells her to let him go or finish it. Lemuel tells her to let him go. Manfred and others like him are drawn to Midnight. Its relatively safe for all of them. The veil between the living and the dead is very thin though, and that worries Manfred. He understands why Xylda liked Midnight, but now he just wants to go home. Lemuel is understanding. Midnight is usually a quiet and peaceful town or was.

Bobo gets a visit by Aubrey's husband and his friend. Bobo isn't up for their crap, but they think he killed her for the guns and money. Olivia shoots one, and Lemuel kills another. Lemuel sends Bobo to bed, while Olivia cleans up the one body. He tries to get information out of the one Olivia shot, but he's only spewing crap about the Sons of Lucifer coming to get revenge. Lemuel uses him as a warm meal rather than listening to his drivel.

Manfred stops in for a coke at Creek's family gas station. She questions his cuts, but he brushes it off as just a flesh wound. Creek is still disturbed by what she saw. Her father sees her talking to Manfred, and sends Creek away, doing the tough dad talk with Manfred.

On his way home, Manfred sees some blood leaking from under the Reverend's truck tarp. He doesn't question it though.

In his RV he gets a call from his mystery voice. He's getting closer to finding Manfred. Creek comes a knocking, apologizing for the cold shoulder she gave him in front of her dad. She sits with Manfred and has a beer, opening up to him. She wants to go back to school, maybe leave. In school she was labeled a freak since she lived in Midnight, but now she sees the Midnighters as family.

She knows he knows about Lem, but she also tells him about fallen Angel Joe in the tattoo parlor.

Can we all admit that his wing arms look ridiculous. Please fix that Midnight, Texas.

Joe watches over them all, and is willing to lend a hand. Shes not sure what brought him and Chewy there though.

Bobo never talks about where he came from or his family. But he's sweet and kind and so honest. Creek isn't sure about the Reverend, but knows he's more than he seems. He's obsessed with his pet cementary, and shes seen him lift a grave stone out of the ground with his bare hands.

Fiji is more than a new age cat lady, but she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. Fiji sits on the floor. She removes some of Aubrey's hair, burning it. Her cat tells her that burning Aubrey's hair won't change anything.

And then there's Olivia. She's got more secrets than anyone. Olivia passes on a lot of money. She heads into her secret room full of guns. Lemuel checks on body disposal. It went down without a hitch. Lemuel asks about her phone call. It was for a very lucrative hit, but she had to turn it down since she has to notify the police when she leaves. Lemuel notices that she's a bit angry, and offers to take that anger away. She's relieved, having been waiting for him to offer. The pair strip down, and he grabs her in the sexiest leeching ever seen on tv. Even if she does turn a little blue, its much sexier than a bite to the neck.

Back to Creek and Manfred. Midnight is full of freaks, but its home. Creek has already googled him, knowing that he's a gypsy fortune telling. She asks if its real. Sometimes its just theater. Creek asks if he will read her fortune. He doesn't want to, but agrees to do it old school. He reads her palm. She'll have a long interesting life, and eventually meet her soulmate, maybe has already met them. The pair go to kiss after that bit of theatrics, but are interrupted by some blue and red lights.

All of Midnight come out as Bobo is arrested for Aubrey's murder. The town know that Bobo is innocent, and they block the road, even as the Sheriff demands that they clear the road. They put Bobo in the back of the car, but Fiji isn't willing to let him go. She stops the car, lifting it with her magic. The Reverend pleas to her. He won't be able to help her tomorrow. He'll be out of commission. Olivia begs her to be smart. Even Manfred tells her he thinks he can help. Finally Fiji releases the car, and the sheriff high tails it out of there. Manfred returns home to find the spirits have taken over. Home may not be so safe anymore.

This pilot for Midnight, Texas shows a lot of potential. The cast has great chemistry, and a very interesting world full of possibility. This show will definitely be on our roster all season. If you're loving Midnight, Texas as much as we are, keep your eyes on our website, we brought back a few signed goodies from San Diego Comic Con that I'll be giving away soon!