We pick up immediately where Part 1 ended, with Grady caught in the net trap as Swamp Hermit approaches. Swampy cuts the net down from the tree and drags Grady back to his shack, snarling at him the whole time [Does he not talk?]. As the silent Swamp Hermit feasts on some kind of meat [I think? Whatever it is, it looks disgusting] and stares at his captive [I think he thinks Grady’s the wolf], Grady notices his gross fingernails and super hairy arms [His fingernails are sooooo gross] and tries to negotiate his way free.
Munch munch, crunch crunchAs the full moon begins to rise, Swamp Hermit studies Grady, and disappointed by the lack of transformation, heads outside to howl like a werewolf [Trying to lure the real werewolf maybe? Otherwise I don’t get it lol]. Grady sets himself free with a pocketknife he conveniently happens to have [And we didn’t learn of until this very moment] and runs straight home to convince his family to leave.
Unfortunately for him, Dad’s out getting supplies and Emily’s taken the other car into town, so Grady and Mum are stuck at the house! Grady tries to explain that Swamp Hermit is a werewolf with a convincing speech about how not everything that’s real can be explained [Mum’s scientific mind is too smart to fall for stories about werewolves apparently], and then they hear Vandal barking outside before a deer sort of bursts through the open window for a bit [Hahahaaha wtf]. Mum and Grady bolt outside to check on the deer enclosure, but fence is broken and the deer have run off, except for the dead one inside [:(].
Mum immediately blames Vandal, but Grady argues that a dog couldn’t have done that to a fence [True]. Mum attempts to lock Vandal in the barn, but Grady turns the tables and locks her inside instead [Hahahahahahha], claiming the werewolf won’t be able to get her in there [So it can chew through a metal fence, but not through a wooden door???].
Vandal runs off, and then Grady hears Will screaming [It’s a trap, Grady!]! After searching Will’s house [Which is suspiciously empty…], Grady realises the werewolf must have gotten him and heads into the swamp to rescue his friend.
Meanwhile, Emily returns home to her own dark, empty house, but all she find inside is the werewolf [Or a boy in a wolf costume…]. She escapes through the basement and seeks refuge in the barn where her mother is, were the werewolf eventually breaks his hand through part of the door [Legit, why did Grady think the wood would protect her?]. Mum ends up injuring its arm before the werewolf heads after Grady instead.
A short chase scene ensues until the werewolf is captured in the same net trap that caught Grady earlier. Swamp Hermit appears, monologuing about finally getting revenge for the werewolf’s attack on his family, but as he approaches the net, he realises it’s only a deer. And then the werewolf attacks him and he’s presumably killed [Poor Swamp Hermit :(].
Grady’s chased by the werewolf, but just as it looks like the end of our hero, the lunar eclipse occurs and the werewolf transforms back into… Will!!! [I knew it]. Although Grady tries to help him, there’s nothing he can do, and as the lunar eclipse quickly ends, Will transforms back [Should have ran, Grady].
Again it looks like the end for Grady, but Vandal appears and pounces on Werewolf Will, who goes sprawling backwards into the same bog water from earlier, the heart of the swamp, sinking below the surface and drowning.
Some time later, it’s revealed mum and dad believe the kids were attacked by a wolf, but there’s no evidence it was a werewolf. Grady knows what he saw though, and Emily backs him up, pointing out that Will hasn’t been around ever since, but their stupid parents still seem reluctant to accept the truth.
That night, Grady wakes from a nightmare about being a werewolf as elsewhere, in the bog, Werewolf Will’s skull rises to the top [Is it a bog of acid? That was some quick decomposition]. We hear a werewolf howling in the distance, and noticing the full moon, Grady steps outside and howls back, and the story ends with this hilarious freeze frame:
We’re back to R.L. Stine now, who reminds us that werewolves aren’t real and waves goodbye, his right hand now resembling a werewolf’s. And then the whole thing ends with this:
[Hahahaha such swag].
Final Thoughts
I’m not a fan of werewolf movies/TV shows/books, so I’m not even sure if I ever bothered to read the book this episode’s based on and thus, was not looking forward to this two-parter. It was better than I was expecting though, thank God! The atmosphere and vibe was definitely creepy, and I loved the setting. The twist was obvious from the start, although we did hear more werewolves that can’t have been Will. Or maybe they were normal wolves? Who knows.
I’m left with some burning questions though – was Grady part-werewolf at the end, and if so, how did that happen? Where the hell did Vandal come from in the first place? And did anyone in town know Will, and if so, why weren’t they concerned about his lack of parents?
I realise I’m asking too much of a simple kid’s anthology, but I really hate not knowing things. RIP.
73 swamp hermits out of 90!
