Bloodride Season 1, Episode 2 recap: A brotherly road trip goes terribly wrong

Episode 2 of Bloodride follows a road trip between three brothers that becomes substantially twisted after they pick up a hitchhiker.

The second episode of Bloodride begins with Erik getting released from a psychiatric hospital after three years. He discovers his two brothers are eager to go on an adventure to their old family cabin. Before arriving at the cabin, they pause to pick up an attractive female hitchhiker, and their “road trip” spirals out of control.

I wasn’t overly impressed with the first episode of Bloodride, but compared to “Three Sick Brothers,” it made more sense and was more enjoyable. The problem with episode two is a total lack of cohesion. The character motivations don’t make much if any, sense.

As mentioned above, the main story here is about the tale of three brothers intent on visiting a cabin so they can have fun with the girl they picked up. Once they reach their destination, things start to get weird.

Otto goes a little crazy with the cheese doodles and the music, which encourages Monika to inquire if he’s “been diagnosed .” That immediately triggers a reaction from Otto, who makes it clear that he’s not the crazy brother in the family — that’s all Erik.

Otto and the other brother, whose name I’m not sure was ever said, leave the room for a little bit to give Erik and Monika some time alone. They feel as if Erik’s hospital stay has left him unfulfilled, and they encourage him to “have fun” with Monika.

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The two do seem to bond. Monika asks about their father, who Erik says was a terrible guy. He starts to tap into the reason they’re all at the cabin, because apparently someone killed their father and Erik went to the psych ward to cover up the true murderer.

Otto and Brother #3 get all weird on Monika. They decide to tie her to the chair and mock her about her psychology degree, interrogating her to see if she can discern which of them is the real killer. Eventually, the entire incident ends in violence, with Otto brutally stabbing Monika over and over again while Erik watches, helplessly — or so you think.

Meanwhile, Erik’s guardian shows up after figuring out that he took off to the cabin. At the beginning of the episode, she talked about selling the old place, so it’s not completely clear what the significance of the cabin was to the family. I’ll suggest my theory for that soon.

She shows up at the cabin and finds a bloodstained Erik at the door. Once she enters, we learn the truth about Erik and his “brothers,” they don’t exist. Erik has multiple personality disorder. As for Monika, she didn’t exist either. Erik was stabbing a balloon or cardboard cutout that he ran over when he first pulled up to the cabin.

The twist isn’t very original, and it leaves a lot of questions unanswered. We learn that Erik’s dad didn’t die; he just abandoned him at a young age. But then, what is the significance of the cabin? Why did Erik wind up getting sent to a hospital, was it specifically for his disorder? Why would he have imagined killing Monika?

At the end of the episode, Erik’s delusions pop up yet again. He and his mom pull up to the same gas station Erik visited earlier. His “brothers” start a fire using the gas hose, lighting an unsuspecting young woman on fire.

I’m guessing the implication is that Erik kills random women, or at least killed one in the past. Did he imagine the gas station victim too? Or did she really die? Maybe his vision of Monika was the person he murdered before that led to his hospital incarceration. We just don’t know!

So the half-hour left me a little unsatisfied. I didn’t love the first episode either, but at least the story was simple and clear enough to follow without tons of questions left unanswered.

As other reviewers have pointed out, such as the writers at Cinemaholic, Bloodride is a “mixed bag.”

What did you think about the second episode of Bloodride? Did you guess that Erik’s brothers didn’t really exist? Do you plan on continuing the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!