Hulu's The Path
Season 3 , Episode 4 : "De Rerum Natura"
Directed past Patrick Norris
Written by Coleman Herbert

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, "Locusts" – click here
* For a recap & review of the side by side episode, "Pageantry" – click here
Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 11.21.29 AMThe title of this episode refers to a 1st-century poem; the title itself translates toOn the Nature of Things.
Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) and Dr. Jackson Neill (Raúl Esparza) are setting up a film reel, she found a possible "home movie" in her family's things. It'south a bunch of the "originals" who were with Dr. Steve Meyer, from the Armstrongs to Felicia to a bunch of the others. Dorsum in the 1960s or 70s, when they were just running around in the wood and getting high.
Later, the reel cuts to shots of Steve, he's in the hypoxian cleanse chains ropes, and a woman behind the camera speaks to him, as if she's commanding him. Could that take been Lilith (Sarita Choudhury), female parent of Vera Stevens (Freida Pinto)?
"Life is one long struggle in the dark"
The Meyerists are dealing with a situation at the interfaith infinite: a bomb threat. Militarist (Kyle Allen) is trying to keep things under control exterior, while Eddie (Aaron Paul) is inside with Vera trying to talk the whole thing through. Of class the new leader's non in a skilful position, having recently let a kid with a Nazi tattoo into their compound.
At their meeting in the morn, Eddie apologises, which pisses Vera off. He explains the mess to everybody, that the supposed threat was "a hoax." In the middle of it all, Cal (Hugh Dancy) and Mary (Emma Greenwell) arrive. People aren't happy. Then it'due south the Cal show, all over again. He pushes dorsum into the eye of things once more than. Although he tells everybody: "Who we follow is Eddie Lane." Hmm, strange. He compliments the new leader, believing Eddie has done things past breaking downwards the barriers surrounding Meyerism. He asks if they can come back to the fold, and he is gladly accustomed.
Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 11.28.00 AMSeems that Eddie's not beingness entirely too forgiving. He wants a bit of penance for Cal and his family to come back, which includes the deal that their boy Forrest must be "embraced." Whatever that means, we'll come to find out. Because Cal'south very angry about information technology. So there's the fact Mary doesn't similar the way her man is interim, in particular when it comes to Sarah.
At abode with her mom, Sarah asks Gab (Deirdre O'Connell) about the woman in the video she plant with Steve. She wants to know if the woman, whom Steve calls Lil, was somebody her mother knew. Gab remembers that the woman was possibly "a patient" of the doc, she wasn't well. Last time she saw Lilith was the '80s, the woman made claims near Dr. Meyer, though Gab doesn't specify what those were exactly.
In the role, Eddie gets a visit from Nicole (Ali Ahn), she wants to talk nigh possibly catastrophe her spousal relationship to Russel when he gets back. He offers her prayers, nothing concrete. This pisses her off. He's finding his people want to be led, they don't want to retrieve for themselves; that's why one joins a cult.
Even so nursing his hobbling face, Hawk gets a thank you from Caleb. We see that Caleb's definitely got more feelings for the guy than just beingness friendly. He kisses him in the bath before leaving quickly, surprising Hawk. Oh, wow. Hawk certainly didn't pull away, either.
Cal goes to see Vera, telling a long winded story about he and Steve driving one twenty-four hours when they picked up a hitchhiker. He lets slip a detail about them sleeping in the same sleeping bag, until he was 16. Jesus. He even has letters they wrote to one another proving the relationship, as well as pictures, all revealing his molestation. So, what's his endgame? He didn't want to show Eddie, who'd bring information technology "to the low-cal." This would destroy the motion altogether. What Cal wants is to be reinstated, as the businessman, the possessor-operator of Meyerism.
Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 11.49.29 AMNaturally, Vera'southward over trying to convince Eddie to let Cal take on a bigger role at present that he's dorsum. She worries that the customs needs healing, which will be helped if Eddie brings Cal back into the fold hands, without penalty, and all that. The new leader realises the sometime ane is "a ophidian." Evocative imagery, given the literal snake we've seen continued to Dr. Meyer, Lilith; Meyerism's total of snakes.
"If yous come from monsters, does that brand us monsters?"
Mary'south gone out to pawn off the World Football game Championship jewellery she stole from Harold before fleeing Florida. Wonder what sort of repercussions that volition take. In the meantime, Eddie and Cal sit together for 1 of their sacred Meyerist rituals, get-go with drinking their juice. "To the truth," the new leader toasts.
At the college, Sarah gets Dr. Neill to put on her film reel again. She wonders if the Meyerist move was "built on the cravings of a very sick homo," as she starts uncovering more of the hypoxian cleanse and exactly why it was conceived in the starting time place: to choke the "inappropriate urges" from Dr. Meyer's consciousness.
Sitting together, Eddie and Cal are tripping. Some pretty wild juice! Suddenly, Cal tackles Eddie, the two of them start wrestling, fighting, until they fall over. Soon Cal is having a vision of himself, sitting side by side to a young male child, a version of himself, property an umbrella over the child. They're on a tomb-like structure in the rain. After that Cal is lying in that location, weeping. Eddie also wanders in the forest, he hears Steve's voice; Cal advises not to follow the sometime man.
The serpent appears in the copse. Eddie walks further, finding tons of bodies similar the post-Kool-Aid Jonestown scene, people dressed in Meyerist clothing all dead and littering the ground. He worries he did this to them. He and Cal continue walking until information technology's daylight. In the distance, Sarah walks by the treeline, she doesn't respond to either of their calls.
Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 12.06.50 PM Screen Shot 2018-01-24 at 12.09.16 PMSubsequently their dreamy fugue, Eddie goes to encounter Sarah. He feels the premonition of seeing her ways she's headed towards something. She won't tell him, though. Even she isn't sure where she's heading, not yet. But she'll dig deeper. And and then will he, I'm certain.
Elsewhere, Lilith and Vera sit and take dinner. This is where we notice Vera is the daughter of Dr. Meyer. Oh, shit. The m plan is slowly commencement to reveal itself. It's notwithstanding non entirely obvious what their goal is, and I dig the mystery.
And at the compound, young Forrest is embraced by Eddie in i of those Meyerist rituals. The baby becomes son to the move, to the leader. Quite a weird moment. It's as well a stab at Cal, right to the centre, after all that's gone on between them.
The Path gets more intense with every chapter. The revelations, as they come in droves, are filling in bits and pieces of the past we've just withal – in some cases – seen briefly. "Pageantry" is next, I can't begin to imagine what more we'll discover. Bring information technology on.