WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapelwaite Season 1, Episode 2, "Memento Mori," airing now on EPIX.

Death hangs like a shroud over Chapelwaite. However, some of Chapelwaite's alleged "deaths" may not be what they seem. Phillip and Stephen Boone both supposedly died at least a year before Charles, Honor, Loa and Tane arrived at Chapelwaite, but the events of "Memento Mori" call that narrative into question. Susan Mallory's death from the mysterious illness that's wreaking havoc in the town leads Charles Boone to discover the truth: Stephen Boone's grave is empty.

From her first appearance in "Blood Calls Blood," Susan Mallory has fulfilled the "creepy child" trope often found in horror fiction. However, "Memento Mori" does briefly counteract this trope. In the middle of the episode, Susan arrives in the night at Chapelwaite. Her arrival is framed like a horror movie; the audience can hear her labored breathing as she stumbles toward the house. Once they let her in, Susan begins asking the Boones where her father is. The audience knows that her father, Edward Mallory, was murdered at the end of the premiere even if the town just believes that Edward is missing. Once Rebecca snaps Susan out of her delirious state, the truth becomes apparent. Susan is just a sick little girl, and she’s terrified once she realizes where she is. This reveal increases the tragedy of her death later in the episode and shows the actual loss caused by the town's strange illness.

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Susan Mallory in Chapelwaite

On Susan's deathbed, she asks for her father. When her mother, Rose, tells her that Edward is not there but will come home soon, Susan switches to telling her mother that "Stephen will bring him" and that Stephen is at the window. Susan's final words are "Papa is here with my friend Stephen." Even without the possible supernatural explanation of vampirism, Susan's words imply that a grown man has been visiting her window in secret, which is horrific on its own.

At this point, the town believes that Stephen Boone has been dead for at least a year. However, Susan's words convince Rose that Stephen and by extension the Boone family are the cause of Susan’s death. In her grief, Rose leaves her house and interrupts the All Hallow's Eve celebrations to call for her husband and to make her suspicions clear. When she sees Charles Boone, she demands that he "dig [Stephen] up" to show that Stephen is not actually buried in his grave. Rose states that "Boones made an unholy pact for that house and land. They're all cursed, and we are too." Rose vows revenge, but Constable Dennison shoots his gun to break up the growing mob and end the festivities.

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Stephen Boone's empty coffin in Chapelwaite

Charles Boone, in an attempt to prove Rose wrong, angrily decides to dig up Stephen’s grave. He mutters to himself that he will drag Stephen's corpse into town to prove Stephen's death. The scene ties in with the series’ horror in two ways. First, "Blood Calls Blood," began with Robert Boone digging a grave for Charles. Charles’ attempts to dig up Stephen's remains mirror his father Robert’s gravedigging, even though they have vastly different reasons for their digging. Their actions are even similarly framed; Rebecca watches Charles dig from the window just as Charles watched his father dig in the past. Thus, the act connects Charles with his father even though Charles is not planning to murder and bury his children.

More importantly, Charles' literal digging reveals Stephen Boone’s empty coffin. While Charles seems to be in denial of the possibility of the supernatural in favor of more mundane explanations thus far, the empty coffin still serves as part of Chapelwaite's growing evidence that something supernatural is at the center of all of the area's misery. Thus, the end of the episode calls into question Stephen’s death and the reasons why the Boone family was invited to Chapelwaite in the first place. Even though Charles has not yet made the connection that Stephen may have risen from his grave, he still has to contend with the fact that Stephen may still be lurking and causing harm, both to Preacher's Corners and to Charles' family.

To learn why Stephen's grave is empty, new episodes of Chapelwaite drop each Sunday at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on EPIX.

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