In this week’s episode of Swamp Thing, The Price You Pay, we get a deeper look into the growing corruption in Marais as Matt (Henderson Wade)  begins dig deeper into what happened to Alec (Andy Bean) and we get to see Swamp Thing (Derek Mears) take on some of Sunderland’s (Will Patton) hunters as they set their sights on taking him down.

Right away, we see that Swamp Thing is on the run from hunters that were sent by Sunderland to incapacitate him so that Woodrue can further his research. If there’s anything to learn from this episode’s opening, it’s that you DON’T mess with Swamp Thing. While the titular character’s more reserved and methodical attitude has been what we’ve mostly seen of him thus far, we finally get to see that he can also be an incredibly dominating physical force and him utilizing his environmental powers on the fly. It’s epic to see him use trees to inflict splintery pain in the of shotgun-like blasts on Avery’s hunters. It’s great to see Swamp Thing finally take more action and that the action isn’t straying away from the series’ horror roots and hopefully we’ll get to see more as bigger threats begin to enter the swamp.

One of those looming threats is definitely Daniel Cassidy (Ian Ziering) as Woodrue unearths a new power within him that connects him to The Green and makes putting on the Blue Devil mask that much more tempting. We see that after Cassidy was put into a coma in the previous episode that Woodrue uses this opportunity to test the power of the sample Abby (Crystal Reed) got from Swamp Thing on a live subject. What we find is that Cassidy is now connected to The Green after having a conversation with the Phantom Stranger (Macon Blair) that hints that he closer to fulfilling his fated purpose and being in the spotlight. With Cassidy literally coming up in smoke and have a new blueish glow run through his veins, even with Madame Xanadu (Jeryl Prescott) being able to contain this power, it hopefully won’t be too much longer until he’ll don the mask soon and give Swamp Thing a new kind of foe. We also get to see Woodrue’s obsession begin to affect his relationship with his wife, Caroline (Selena Anduze). She mentions that she misses the man he used to be and clearly is not okay with what he did to Cassidy, so his villainous turn is also likely on the horizon.

The Price You Pay also digs deeper into the corruption that’s occurring in Marais with Avery continuing to keep his activities under wraps and the connections Matt and Lucilia (Jennifer Beals) have to Alec’s murder are brought to light. It seems like Avery’s affair with Lucilia has caused some corruption within the police force and for her to go to great lengths to keep things quiet. We got a glimpse of this in the previous episode where she killed someone to keep them quiet about Matt’s involvement with Alec’s murder. It’s great to finally see Matt and Lucilia start to play a stronger part in the show and with Alec beginning to remember his final moments before changing into Swamp Thing, it’ll be interesting to see where Matt lies with the corruption occurring in Marais, especially with him now being aware of Alec’s transformation.

There’s also more time given to Abby and Alec’s growing connection and to Alec struggling to be more human than beast. It’s great to give more time to build the relationship between Alec and Abby and start to have the mentality of Alec blend with the daunting presence of Swamp Thing. Abby’s growing care for Alec is something that I’ve grown to appreciate about the show and her desire to protect him is great. It’ll be interesting to see how it goes with all the looming threats heading into the swamp and her relationship with Avery starting to fragment. Not to mention, the episode ends with a surprising moment that will surely further develop Abby and Alec’s connection and showcase new powers that The Green can offer.

The Price You Pay shows that Swamp Thing is a show worth watching and continues to build on all of suspense and intrigue they’ve created with each episode. From Cassidy’s slow-building turn into the Blue Devil, the excellent amount of horror elements that surround Swamp Thing, and the connection and chemistry that Abby and Alec/Swamp Thing have, there’s plenty on the horizon for fans to be excited about.

Watch the Trailer Here: