From TV Series Season 1: A Quiet Town With A Dark Secret

Long Day’s Journey Into Night

During a cross-country RV trip, the Matthews family – parents Jim and Tabitha, along with their children Julie and Ethan – come across a blocked road due to a fallen tree. Sheriff Boyd, a local, directs them to follow an alternative route through a small town. However, their journey takes a strange turn as they repeatedly find themselves returning to the town. Their situation worsens when another car forces them off the road, resulting in a crash. Worried about nightfall, the townspeople come to their aid, bringing passengers Tobey and Jade from the other car. Meanwhile, Sheriff Boyd and the town doctor, Kristi, stay with Jim to help Ethan, who has a severe leg injury.

In a frantic attempt to find shelter, Deputy Kenny’s car runs over a road spike strip meant for the RV. This prompts Kenny, Tabitha, Julie, the town priest Father Khatri, Jade, and Boyd’s estranged son, Ellis, to flee to the “Colony House” on foot before nightfall. Meanwhile, back in the overturned RV, strangers gradually surround the vehicle as darkness descends.

The Way Things Are Now

Upon reaching the Colony House, the group is granted entry by Donna just as the strangers encircle them. Following safety protocols, Tabitha, Julie, and the unconscious Jade are separated and secured. Inside the RV, Kristi, Boyd, and Jim work to stabilize Ethan, all while the strangers close in. Concurrently, Boyd and Donna explain the grim situation in the town: the nearby woods are inhabited by cunning, shape-shifting creatures who hunt for pleasure. The town’s residents are individuals who arrived and became trapped, with the oldest survivor being a peculiar man named Victor. Boyd discovered enigmatic talismans that, when placed inside enclosed spaces, offer protection from the monsters.

At the clinic, Sara, under the influence of mysterious voices, kills Tobey and opens the door, allowing the monsters to enter and gruesomely slaughter everyone, including Kenny’s elderly father. Morning breaks, and Boyd and Kristi transport Jim and Ethan to the town, while Kenny discovers the horrifying scene at the clinic and mourns. Inside the Colony House, Ethan spots a mysterious boy dressed in white through a window.

Choosing Day

Following Jade’s recovery, Donna clarifies the situation to him. Struggling to believe it, Jade initially thinks the town is some kind of escape room arranged by the late Tobey. Father Khatri takes Jim and Tabitha on a town tour, outlining the local “Choosing Day” ritual. This ritual allows newcomers to decide whether they’ll reside in private homes within the town or in the communal Colony House. While passing a peculiar structure in town, Khatri mentions the “Box,” a unique form of punishment where the guilty person is exposed to the monsters overnight.

Frank, a man responsible for the deaths of his wife and daughter due to negligence, is the first to face this punishment. Boyd attempts to save Frank, but Frank declines the offer. During the Choosing Day event for Jade and the Matthews family, Julie selects the Colony House, while her family chooses Frank’s former home. Jade, causing a scene, is taken to Tobey’s grave. Kenny offers Jade shelter at his home, and Julie and the rest of the Matthews family settle into their new homes separately. Tragically, Frank meets his demise in the Box at the hands of the monsters.

A Rock and a Farway

In the distant past, a young Victor comes across the lifeless bodies of many town residents. A boy dressed in white appears and invites Victor to play on a roundabout. In the present, Ethan connects the boy in white he saw to a drawing made by Victor. Kenny reveals to Jade that the town doesn’t have a fixed physical location. While they talk, a radio suddenly emits static, and Jade takes it away. Back at the Colony House, Julie starts to regret her decision as she learns that the residents share everything and live collectively. She confronts Tabitha angrily about Jim and Tabitha’s impending divorce, triggered by the loss of their baby, Thomas. Tabitha returns home, and a heated argument ensues with Jim.

Victor takes Ethan on a quest to find the boy in white. In the woods, Victor shows Ethan a tree with an opening, demonstrating that objects inside it are teleported to random physical locations by throwing a rock in. Meanwhile, Jim and Tabitha search for Ethan but are surrounded by wild dogs until Victor scares them off with a pistol. In the diner, a hallucination drives Sara to contemplate harming Ethan, leading to a seizure. Outside the Colony House, Victor begins to dig a set of graves.

Silhouettes

At the clinic, Sara recovers from her earlier state. Boyd starts to suspect that the town may trigger physical reactions, citing Sara’s and Ethan’s seizures. He confides in Kristi about developing tremors in his left hand. Seeking a different perspective, Sara asks Kristi if she would do something morally questionable for the sake of the entire town’s return home, to which Kristi agrees, motivated by her abandoned fiancée. Separately, Jade and Jim begin to contemplate unsettling possibilities, wondering if they perished in the crash and are now in purgatory. Meanwhile, Sara locks Tabitha in a barn with the intention of murdering Ethan. Nathan intervenes and prevents her from carrying out her plan, having confessed his actions to Father Khatri. Tragically, in the struggle, Sara accidentally slashes Nathan’s throat with the blade she intended to use on Ethan, leading to his untimely death.

Book 74

In a cellar, Khatri holds Sara captive and shares his belief that the modern Bible contains 73 books, theorizing that their current predicament is a test from God, forming a new, 74th book. To prove the existence of the voices to Khatri, they remind him of a buried bag from his arrival. Boyd discusses with Kenny his plan to venture into the woods with a talisman in search of civilization, but Kenny rejects it, fearing it’s a suicide mission. Boyd confesses that he’s dealing with an extremely rare early-onset Parkinson’s disease. Jade and Jim manage to repair the radio using scavenged car parts, but it only picks up static.

Jade experiences hallucinations of a Civil War-era soldier chasing him and notices a strange symbol in a tree. When Kenny’s mother Tian-Chen sees this, she shows him a discarded notebook with similar drawings. Upon returning home, Jim finds Tabitha digging a hole in the basement to trace the power lines. Meanwhile, at the Colony House, a resident named Kevin is revealed to be developing a unique relationship with one of the monsters.

All Good Things

Khatri confides in Boyd about Sara and the voices, suggesting that he and Sara join Boyd on his journey into the woods. Meanwhile, Jim proposes constructing a proper radio tower, utilizing nearly all of the town’s resources, while he and Tabitha begin a thorough excavation in the basement. Jade discovers a photograph in the discarded notebook, and Tian-Chen points out a young Victor in it. At the Colony House, the residents celebrate the first anniversary of Fatima’s arrival in town. During the party, Fatima kisses another resident, sparking jealousy in both Ellis and Julie.

Tragedy strikes when Kevin, one of the residents, opens a window to let his “friend” monster inside. The creature brutally kills him and leaves the window open for others. A horde of monsters swarms inside, causing widespread havoc and claiming the lives of many inhabitants. Some manage to escape in a van. Ellis and Fatima survive by barricading themselves in the Colony House foyer with a talisman, while Victor and Julie flee into the woods, following the boy in white. Victor instructs Julie to enter the “faraway” tree, transporting her to a root cellar. Meanwhile, the van arrives at the sheriff’s station, where Boyd and Khatri are letting the Colony House residents in. Tragically, a monster kills Khatri during this chaos.

Broken Windows, Open Doors

Boyd, Abby, and Ellis arrive in town just before nightfall. Guided by Khatri to a hidden cellar with Donna and other residents, they learn about the town’s dire situation. Boyd takes charge, organizing resources and exploring the woods, where he inexplicably finds livestock. As he assumes more responsibility, Abby’s mental health deteriorates due to neglect. During a scavenging trip, Boyd gets lost in the woods overnight. In a cave surrounded by monsters, he discovers the protective talismans. Upon his return, he finds Abby indiscriminately firing on the townspeople, thinking she’s trapped in a nightmare. Boyd is forced to shoot and kill her to save Ellis. In the present, Boyd and Ellis reconcile over Abby’s death. Boyd and Sara venture into the woods, while Kenny becomes the new sheriff. Kenny, Donna, and Jim explain their plan to build a radio tower to the townspeople.

Into The Woods

Boyd and Sara reach the cave, marking it as a reference point. Venturing deeper than any other townsfolk had gone, they discover a tree adorned with dangling small bottles, which prompts another seizure in Sara. Back in town, residents work on constructing the Colony House radio tower but face a power supply issue. Tian-Chen suggests utilizing electricity from the town’s houses, providing a solution. Upon Sara’s awakening, she and Boyd find themselves in a tent with bottles containing scraps of paper dating back to 1864. Sara recounts hearing a new, unfamiliar female voice warning Boyd against his plan and revealing there are worse dangers in the forest than the monsters. Sara addresses Boyd by a nickname previously used by Abby, just before their tent is attacked by an unseen force. After the assault subsides, the tent is illuminated from the outside, and they hear a loud horn.

Oh, the Places We’ll Go

The townsfolk gather wiring to power the radio tower. Ellis proposes to Fatima, and she accepts. Kenny makes a pass at Kristi, who declines as she’s already engaged. Boyd and Sara exit the tent and find themselves in a forest engulfed in spiderwebs. Boyd is bitten by spiders when he approaches what he believes is Abby cocooned. Delirious from the bites, Sara encourages him to continue.

The radio tower is activated as a storm approaches. Jim contacts someone on the radio, but the voice threatens him by name and warns against Tabitha’s digging. Rushing home, the basement hole collapses, and Tabitha falls into a cave where she encounters Victor. Victor cautions her about the monsters below.

Boyd and Sara spot a lighthouse as the source of the light and horn. The boy in white instructs Sara to enter a nearby “faraway” tree. She pushes Boyd inside, and he becomes trapped in a shaft. Meanwhile, a bus arrives in town at the diner.