Ghost Wars S01E01 "Death's Door" Recap

Reverend Dan (played by Vincent D'Onofrio, known to many as Wilson Fisk in Netflix's Daredevil) addresses a gathering of people in a bar. They are saying goodbye to a recently deceased person in the town. His glass of wine appears to turn to blood that overflows from his glass and then he has a vision of bugs crawling underneath his skin before piercing outward. Reverend Dan grabs a knife, intent on stabbing his hand but a young Roman Mercer (Avan Jogia) shouts at him to stop, thus saving him from self-injury.

Roman isn't much of a church-goer but he attends the Reverend's next service anyway. Perhaps he's checking in, or perhaps it's just to say goodbye. He's decided to leave the remote Alaskan town and is harassed by a cantankerous town resident Doug (Meat Loaf) before being joined by a friendly face, Maggie (Elise Gatien). Maggie is later revealed to be a ghost, that sits with Roman on the bus headed out of town before the bus gets attacked by supernatural forces and crashes. While the bus teeters on the edge of a cliffside, Maggie shouts at Roman to get up. Roman tries to help an elderly woman, Mrs. Fu, off the bus but a supernatural force appears to yank her back into the bus and out of Roman's grip. Mrs. Fu's son is another members of the police force and blames Roman for her death. The sheriff, Sam, however, is kinder to him and is apologetic for how poorly the majority of townsfolk treat Roman. Roman is without a home or belongings, having given up his place when he decided to leave the town forever. The deputy advises him to stay at his mother's old place, as it's his best option given the circumstances.

Roman returns there and Maggie joins him. She's happy he's still in town, as they wouldn't have been able to keep contact if he had left, but also informs him that the bus crash wasn't caused by an earthquake as he had originally theorised. She leaves after a while, saying she needs to check on her dad.

Roman later heads to the bar in search of some food and the bartender, Marilyn, feeds him. Through their conversation, we also learn that Roman's mother abandoned him and only sends occasional contact, mainly in the form of letters or payments to Reverend Dan. Roman has another vision of a ghostly presence while Marilyn heads to the back room.

Some construction is being done on a bridge when one of the workers has a vision of his glove being on fire. He becomes frantic and falls over the side where he is impaled on some metal rods.

Roman has visions of Mrs. Fu's ghost before visiting Sheriff Sam at the police station. He privately admits to Sam that when he tried to save Mrs. Fu there were supernatural forces that stopped him. He also said that the people who died have come back as ghosts. Sheriff Sam interprets all this as a mere aftereffect of the trauma and shock from the accident and advises Roman not to talk about ghosts. Roman is also shown a message in the fog on the glass of the room that reads "NO HOPE" after Sheriff Sam leaves.

More citizens are shown to be terrorised by visions. It's unclear if what they're seeing are actually horrors coming true, or merely manifestations in their mind. But either way, it's clear that something evil is brewing in the town. Sheriff Sam is called to the main bridge in and out of the town and finds multiple dead officers. The town morgue worker sees Mrs. Fu's corpse come alive, and another random citizen is enjoying a pint down at the pub until the dead animal skull mounted on the wall begins to weep blood into his beverage.

The increase in fear ignites a search for answers and comfort among the town citizens. More people begin to flock to the church, where Doug interrupts Reverend Dan's sermon to call Roman out again as a freak and blames the problems in the town on him. Another citizen present says that Roman's mother put a curse on the town and Reverend Dan angrily orders them to stop, saying he won't allow such things to be said in a house of God. Roman excuses himself and heads back home, having more visions of ghosts along the way and being watched from afar by another town member.

Roman speaks to Maggie at home, sharing a story about a childhood friend called Thomas. They were close but Thomas had actually died a year earlier. His peers began to call him names and those names stuck. Roman doesn't see his ability to interact with ghosts as a gift, the way Maggie does, and is carrying a heavy burden of a lifetime of being ostracised for it. Maggie tells him that when spirits want to move on but are trapped, they being to lash out at the living. Maggie wants to protect Roman but won't be able to do so against such forces.

Some local residents continue to discuss Roman at the bar. Larry, Mrs. Fu's son, tells Doug about Roman visiting the station and talking about ghosts. Marilyn warns them all not to do anything, insisting they leave Roman alone. Regardless of this, Doug gathers up some more townsfolk and corner Roman, ordering him to leave town or else they'll inflict violence on him. Roman assures them he's already been trying to leave town. Sheriff Sam arrives to the scene and takes Doug into custody, also warning the others that if anyone lays a hand on Roman they'll be joining Doug in a jail cell. He also confiscates a hanging rope from one the men, Rodney.

Sheriff Sam brings Roman to the morgue where a mysterious body has been brought in. They need to send the body to Anchorage for an autopsy because of how his heart has exploded. Roman deduces that something scared the man to death. Sheriff Sam is now willing to listen to Roman about all the strange happenings, including what happened with the bus crash. Roman thinks that everyone that died since the recent 'earthquake' can't move on and they're angry at the living for it. Roman sense a ghost(s) is near so he tells the mortician Sofia to leave with her young son. When it's just Roman and Sheriff Sam in the room, the door slams shut and they're locked inside. Sheriff Sam considers shooting at the door but Roman says he doesn't think that will do anything. Roman observes a ghost in the room and says the ghost doesn't like that he can see it. The corpse appears to be reanimated according to Sam's perspective but Roman tells him it's not really happening and it's only in his head. From Roman's perspective, Sam is only fighting air. In the process, Sheriff Sam stabs himself in the neck and bleeds out despite Roman's attempts to stop him from doing so.

The episode then reaches the opening scene of Reverend Dan nearly stabbing himself in the hand until Roman warns him not to do so. The two step outside to speak to one another but when they head back inside, everyone is screaming terrified. They are having visions of being attacked by bugs but Roman can see things as they really are. Roman tells Marty, the main ghost wreaking the havoc, that he needs to leave now. Roman's eyes glow a bright white/silver in the process. The ghost seemingly leaves but it's unclear if he's just left the bar or moved on altogether.

Some town leaders meet at Reverend Dan's church and Roman tells them that everything happening is caused by ghosts. They ponder what it is that the ghosts want and debate what to do about it. The mayor is highly skeptical on the theory of ghosts and refuses to make a public announcement on the matter or order an evacuation. She tells them that if they want to leave, they are free to do so. Roman, Reverend Dan, and the deputies plan to leave the town and tell people outside what is going on. Roman is shitting shotgun while Larry drives towards the bridge. Larry apologises to Roman about how he previously treated Roman, and says that he believes him now. When they approach the bridge, Roman becomes frantic and warns Larry to stop the car. Larry doesn't understand Roman's panic and keeps driving while Roman jumps out of the moving car. Roman is able to stop the other deputy, who was driving Reverend Dan. The pair get out of the car and are shocked when they see Larry's car seemingly disappear. Roman explain to them that the ghosts can manipulate people's minds and that the bridge is actually out. Reverend Dan commends Roman for his gift, assuring him that they would all be dead without him. The bridge is shown to be severely damaged to the viewers. Everyone in the town is trapped.

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