"The Inaugural Swim" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Street signs

At the Historical Society museum, tourists tune in for a film about Widow's Bay, discussing the founding of the island, forty-two miles off the New England coast, by Richard Warren, who started as a tradesman but became the Lord Island Protector (Mayor). Gerrie leads others through the building, calling attention to exhibits throughout while acknowledging that they've never had so many visitors. Outside, Tom and Evan both watch on as ferries drop off guests; the island is busy to say the least.

Tom ends up driving into the woods only to find a woman, Marissa, struggling to find her way with the map in the town guidebook. The issue, as it turns out, isn't the scale of the poorly-drawn map, but the fact that the street signs have been vandalize. Tom kindly offers a lift instead and, nervously, she accepts, asking him not to murder her.

Answer: As part of a bachelorette getaway

Marissa lets Tom know that she's there as part of a stay as a bridesmaid, and while there may have been a time when she and the girls would have gone to Vegas, they're of an age where a quaint stay at the Breakwater Inn seems to make more sense. In fact, she likes the island, and if she lived there, she'd be on the beach every day with a coffee and a crossword. It's a coincidence, Tom notes, because the very next day he's set to perform the inaugural swim, an annual tradition in which the mayor swims in the ocean to let his people know that it's safe to do so (considering the town's history with dangerous sea events).

In a town hall, Tom can't help but think about Marissa and turns his attention towards discussion about a town sales tax to the cocktail hour meant to be held after the inaugural swim. Patricia leans into this conversation, concerned about Marissa's attractiveness enough to derail the meeting for a bit and call Tom out for not giving any of his female coworkers a lift.

That night, Tom puts on some casual clothes and heads to the bar, hoping to run into Marissa and her friends. Evan catches him on the way out and wishes him well, unable to leave for the night because he's grounded. Tom has to ask about the street sign, but Evan feigns ignorance.

Answer: She scratches his arm

Tom ends up grabbing a drink at the Barnabus Tavern hoping that he may, by chance, run into Marissa, but he ends up leaving without encountering her. Driving home in the dark, however, he comes across a woman in a white dress walking, barefoot, on the side of the dirt road. He rolls down his window and asks if she needs a ride, from a distance, but is terrified enough to turn the vehicle around when she pursues him. He stops only for a moment to look back, but she's already gone, having shuffled around to the side of the car. He speeds off when she claws at his arm with a taloned hand.

The next morning, Tom phones the Sheriff, suggests that a homeless woman rode in on the ferry, and suggests that they put a perimeter up around the island. Dr. Morgan checks out the scratch mark on Tom's arm as well, suggesting that he can't do his inaugural swim, even if the town is expecting him to.

Answer: Rosemary

Tom returns to town hall to find that Marissa stopped by and he'd missed her while he was at the doctor's. Ruth, giving him the message, indicates that she may yet see him at the swim that afternoon-- one more reason to attend despite doctor's orders. He heads to his office to finish writing his speech for the townspeople.

It's in his office that Rosemary finds him and suggests that his arm wound was probably cause by the sea hag, a woman from old fisherman's lore. The story goes that the hag targets lonely sailors and follows them home at night. She scratches you to get some of your skin, and with that, she can track you down like a bloodhound. As a trickster, the hag waits until you're at your weakest. Tom doesn't have time for this. He's got a swim to attend.

Answer: Yes

When Tom arrives at the beach for the inaugural swim he checks on his still-bleeding wound while Dale comes by and gives the bad news-- they have no electricity on the beach, and while that would have been Patricia's job, she's caught up with cocktail hour. Fortunately, they're able to bum electricity from Garrett at the marina, using his converter to supply them for the speech. They can even see him biking out to do that at a slower-than-gentle pace.

Eventually, the power does come, but the sound system isn't particularly effective, so Tom has to project his voice to make the speech work. He officially opens the ocean (to the muted tune of "I'm So Excited") before stepping foot in the surf.

He swims leisurely out to the buoy marking the far edge of the beach and prepares to head back, but that's when he spies a body submerge nearby. Afraid that it might be the sea hag, he paddles much more furiously on the way back, eager to outswim his pursuer. By the time he gets back to the sand, he's left with another wound, this one on his calf.

Answer: A large chest

Tom drives out to Wyck's place deciding that, of all people, he'd probably understand, even if he's generally hostile, and naturally, Wyck is aware that he wouldn't ring him up if something weren't serious. Every sailor, fortunately, knows the story of the sea hag; Wyck even knows an old sea shanty about her, and it implies that Tom might be fated to be betrothed to the hag. Worse still, she'll crawl into his bed, sleep with him, and kill him if she has her way.

Wyck says that Tom needs to find a chest and lock himself inside. By the evening, he'll be paralyzed by the hag's scratch and unable to protect himself otherwise. If he stays in the chest for seventy-two hours, the wound will heal and he'll be fine. The alternative is being hunted down.

Answer: The Driftwood Diner

Despite his son being grounded, Tom that finds Evan has his friends over. It's a tough moment, especially when Evan indicates that Marissa phoned the house and said she would be stopping by the Driftwood for dinner if Tom wanted to join. It's enough leverage for Evan to suggest that he stay at a friend's place. Tom agrees to let him go on the condition that he not stay out all hours. Naturally, it's a lie.

Tom arrives at the Driftwood, to find that Marissa is there, alone, and this is a great opportunity save for the fact that Kathy is their waitress for the evening. Marissa, who orders a sundae, ends up getting a full burger and fries plate instead for some reason.

Answer: A well

Marissa and Tom continue to have a great time even though Marissa asks some personal questions about his past relationship, finding that his wife passed away quite a long time ago. Unfortunately, the dinner has to be cut short because of the cocktail hour that Tom forgot he had to attend (especially with Patricia putting extra work into it). Marissa says that she would like to keep talking though, even if that means not needing to go to the event, and recommends possibly going back to his place. He suggests that this evening isn't the best though.

Out in the woods, Reverend Bryce runs through the dark and finds himself at a solitary stone well. He leans in and listens closely.

Nearby, Evan and his friends, ignoring Tom's request, hang out at an old junkyard and smoke up with a couple of out-of-town girls. While they toss fireworks into old cars, the reverend walks out of the woods, stands in the light of the headlights, and states that there is evil in Widow's Bay before walking off.

Answer: No

Tom heads home alone and makes himself a cup of coffee while his messages play in the background; Patricia complains about his being a no-show while Wyck, in the next message, worries that he won't be able to fight off the hag if he's home alone. While washing dishes in the sink, Tom finds his scratch bleeding once again. That's when there's a knock at the door.

When Tom checks to see who's stopping by so late, Marissa replies from the other side of the front door, claiming that someone from his office told her where he lived. Tom is leery though; he hasn't seen any of her friends yet and no one in town has mentioned a bachelorette party. He says he can't let her in because he knows what she is.

Outside, Marissa heads back to the cab, where her friend is waiting in the back seat. Inside, Tom puts a chair against his front door, grabs a baseball bat, and takes a seat in the middle of the living room, intending to stay up and keep watch. He passes out immediately.

Answer: Wyck

Tom opens his eyes to hear someone bringing him coffee and he turns, groggily, to see that it's his dead wife, Lauren, sitting on his armrest. She's not there though, and worse still, when Tom looks down, he sees that the sea hag has arrived. She climbs on top of him and prepares to kill her quarry, but he manages to grab the lever of the recliner and send her careening over the seat.

Incapable of getting to his feet, Tom crawls though the house with the hag in close pursuit, making his way into the bathroom, closing the door, and heaving himself into the bathtub. The hag finds her way inside though, and the moment all seems lost, Wyck arrives. Fortunately, he's armed-- he fires his gun at the ghoul and she bursts into an explosion of dirty water. Tom can only ask why this is happening, but Wyck doesn't have an answer for that; all they can do is survive.

Elsewhere in the house, the phone rings and Reverend Bryce leaves a message: he heard it, and he's so sorry. He asks God to forgive him before hanging up.

Out in Wyck's car, on the police scanner, the Sheriff calls for backup at Cocktail Hour. Something is happening and he doesn't know what.