Ares season 1, episode 2 recap

As the novice members of Ares struggle through their initiation, one of them goes missing and finds something they shouldn’t.

The initiation into Ares continues as the novices are linked together by chains to cuffs around their necks. One of them doesn’t belong and they are given two minutes to decide who goes. There’s some debate, but Rosa reasons that initiations are about solidarity. It’s a test to see if they stand up for each other. At the end of two minutes, Rosa steps forward and says that they all stay. Her answer is acceptable.

The novices are called on to tell their darkest secrets, make themselves vulnerable to the society, and generally prove their worth. Rosa discovers that Jacob has been using his mother’s maiden name to hide his connection to his rich and powerful family. He was tasked with recruiting a friend for Ares but instead tried his best to keep Rosa out of it. Rosa feels betrayed, not realizing how afraid he is for her.

Just as the initiation is beginning to wrap up and the novices are welcomes into Ares, Carmen realizes that Jacob is missing. For some reason it is urgent that they find him as soon as possible, so they drop everything and begin searching. Jacob has lost his nerve and is wandering the labyrinthine house to find a way out, only succeeding in journeying forever deeper into its dark heart.

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When they can’t convince him to come back, Carmen tells Rosa to call Jacob’s name. Maybe if he hears her calling, he’ll come back. When that doesn’t work, Rosa wanders off herself to find Jacob, which turns into another urgent matter for Ares. For some reason, they really don’t want people wandering around by themselves. What are they hiding anyway?

Meanwhile, Jacob begins experiencing some weird and disturbing stuff. As he investigates the basement, he comes to a doorway walled up with bricks. When he touches it, it’s as if his hand is being pulled ever more forcefully against the wall until his fingers begin to turn black. He is finally able to pull his hand away from the wall. As he flees, he stumbles across the oil-slicked and chained creature from Rosa’s dream. It drops to it’s knees and begins pounding the floor. It’s terrifying!

That’s when Rosa finds Jacob passed out in the basement hallway and wakes him up. Was that creature just a dream or what? Doesn’t matter, because he’s still terrified. Rosa wraps his injured hand and they return to the others to finish the ceremony. They each get branded with the symbol of the Stargate (not really, but it’s pretty close). They all congratulate each other for passing initiation.

Elsewhere, Ares president Joost (the yellow-robed master of ceremonies) speaks on the phone with a shadowy authoritarian named Mauritus. Mauritus demands absolute honesty and asks, “How mad was it?” Whatever exactly “it” is, Joost tells him that there was some noise from downstairs, but that the ritual helped a lot. Mauritus accepts this, saying “As long as we keep feeding it, we’ll be fine.” What the heck is this thing?