With fire behind and blood in front, the coterie races to find Jasper after learning he may be in mortal danger. But what - and who - they find in the Nosferatu's underground lair leads them into their own peril, and leaves them with even more questions about him.
Tooth and Claw[]
“Tho' Nature, red in tooth and claw
With ravine, shriek'd against his creed."
― Tennyson, Canto 56
Plot Synopsis[]
This episode begins within a couple hours after the events of episode 6 with the coterie on their way to the Labyrinth to find Jasper. Upon going through the door in the slaughterhouse boiler room, they find themselves in the sewer tunnels. They follow a trail of rat symbols that they believe Jasper would've left, and it leads them to the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is quite intimidating, with yawning deep pits, weird angles, false doors, pivoting floors, ramps going nowhere, iron gratings torn apart, and portals. They find a mirror portal and walk through. On the other side, they find that they are in a tunnel once again. They have a scuffle with a wolf-like monster which hurts Victor and they run through the tunnels blindly away from the creature.
The run into a man in the tunnels who has a grey beard and a cowboy hat. It turns out he was the wolf that they had been fighting - now in human form. His name is Strikes A Chord. He wishes to leave the Labyrinth and has been lost within it for 3-4 days. The coterie, in turn, explain that they are looking for their friend, a nosferatu, who would know the way out. He says he has seen a nosferatu while wandering the tunnels and can lead them to him and in exchange the coterie will help him find his way out of the tunnels with the help of Jasper.
Strikes notices and is surprised by the silver ring that Annabelle is wearing, asking where she got it. She answers that it was given to her by Mark, and Victor recognizes it as Mark's mother's ring. Ib is visibly shaken and ashen faced, presumably from the werewolf fight and/or the werewolf. Victor causes her to forget the last few minutes. Upon coming to, she recognizes that her memory was wiped and is resentful. She pieces together again that Strikes is a werewolf and tells him that her boss would like to speak to him. We thus learn that she does not work for Victor. Nelli asks if his kind are also being hunted by humans. He says yes, humans and other creatures from the beyond. This is the first time Annabelle has heard about other creatures, and the group concedes there are ghosts and other creatures. Strikes continues that there is an unusually high amount of other wordly creatures in the Griffith Park and Labyrinth areas than in the rest of L.A. During their continued talks as Strikes leads them to the nosferatu, we learn that Strikes is of the Bone Gnawer tribe, whereas the Glass Walkers are the werewolf tribe that run L.A., many of them in Glendale, specifically.
For someone who claims to be lost, Strikes oddly knows exactly where to go, confidently leading them down a circuitous route. He eventually leads them to a small circular room containing a stone slab with an unmoving vampire laying across it. While the vampire is nosferatu, it is not Jasper. Nelli detects a blood magic shield surrounding the nosferatu. Annabelle notices that there is a scar on its neck. She thinks it's strange that his neck might've been slit but that he didn't suffer final death. Victor takes a picture of the nosferatu to share with Abrams later.
They continue on. Ib, noticeably, continues to act strange about Strikes, never once looking at him. Along the way, they encounter fire that emits no heat. Annabelle recalls X's vision in "Happy Families" (1x04) in which he saw fire underground that emitted no heat, within which he saw Jasper. Thus they conclude that they are going in the right direction.
They eventually come to an unlocked metal door. going through, they find themselves within a living room. by the smell, they surmise it is Jasper's abode. Exploring the rooms further, they find a jail with a woman pacing within. She, Tara, begs that they let her out before "he" gets back, whom she calls a monster. She reveals that she is a vampire, she believes "the monster" is her sire, and claims that he was keeping her here to feed. Nelli corrodes the lock with her blood and sets her free. They continue to question her and learn that the other vampire had been bringing her mortals to feed on and that he then feeds from her, rather than also feeding on the mortals. She guesses that she was helping him, but unsure as to why or how. Victor is angry to hear this, as her being kidnapped and not told what's happening is not the normal or right way for these sorts of arrangements to happen, and he is responsible for this happening in his dominion. They continue on and find the exit to the Labyrinth and Strikes takes off. They find themselves close to Griffith Park. It is close to dawn and decide they should head quickly to the safe room, Tara included. She can decide later whether to stay with them or go, but at the moment, shelter for the night is paramount. They then hear Jasper's voice tell them that they might as well stay for the day, and then they can talk.
Featured Characters[]
Valley Coterie[]
- Annabelle
- Jasper Heartwood (played by the Storyteller)
- Nelli G
- Victor Temple
Returning[]
New[]
- Strikes a Chord
- Tara Kearney
- Unknown Nosferatu
Mentioned[]
Locations[]
Cast[]
Core Cast[]
- Jason Carl as the Storyteller
- Erika Ishii as Annabelle
- Cynthia Marie as Nelli G
- B. Dave Walters as Victor Temple
Special Guests[]
Transcript[]
| L.A. By Night Season 1 Episodes |
|---|
| "Mortal Stakes" (1x01) • "Instruments of Darkness" (1x02) • "Fear No Monsters" (1x03) • "Happy Families" (1x04) • "What I Am" (1x05) • "Immortal Longings" (1x06) • "Tooth And Claw" (1x07) • "Who Can You Trust?" (1x08) |
| Season 1 Epilogues |
| "Keep Us Apart- Jasper" (1xe1) • "Black Magic- Nelli" (1xe2) • "Uneasy- Victor" (1xe3) • "Find My Home- Annabelle" (1xe4) |