It’s easy to dismiss the opening scene as a mere sight gag meant to connect Scarlett’s twenty-three days alone on the island with Tom Hank’s 2000 film Cast Away. However, watching her talk to Wilson as she builds a raft in an attempt to leave the island, points out not only the loneliness she feels but the helplessness as well. But this helplessness extends far beyond her inability to get on with her journey. She’s been at this for more than four years, and though she and Vanessa have made significant progress, the reality that it may all be for naught can’t help but gnaw at her.

Writer Jonathan Lloyd Walker and director Leslie Hope wisely ignore the more mundane details and quickly throw Axel and Scarlett together in a delightful little near-miss reunion on the road to Renfield House. In an episode that focuses more on the light than the dark, it’s nice to hear him admit he loves her and even go as far as to suggest they just run away, drop out of sight, and have some “baby ninjas.” After the experience with his sister, Axel may be re-evaluating his willingness to continue Vanessa’s fight, but it is telling that Scarlett stays silent on the suggestion. It’s understandable that he has doubts, but the coordinated vampire attack makes those questions moot and puts into motion the core of the episode.

We’re treated to a solid action sequence replete with at least two decapitations, but it’s the serenity with which Scarlett fights the vampires that makes a notable impression. More importantly though, this skirmish leads Scarlett and Axel into an encounter with the enigmatic Simon the fisherman. Temporarily blinded by the shotgun misfire, Axel has his eyes rinsed with saline by the stranger who initiates a conversation about God, religion, and divinity, topics which clearly hold little value for Scarlett. The biblical allusions are unmistakable but nonetheless important. The story of Simon’s conversion is meant to spark similar questions of purpose and meaning in Scarlett, and it may be that despite everything she’s seen and experienced, she’s afraid to embrace something less tangible that requires her to accept some things on faith rather than fact. Jeff Kober’s understated charisma drives this aspect of the story, and he plays Simon with such a soft touch that at the end, we’re still not certain who or what we’ve just witnessed.

Though he has still not regained his sight, Axel sees clearly what Scarlett must do if he doesn’t pull through. “If she goes dark like that Elder you found on the island, you’ve prepared to do what you gotta do,” he tells Scarlett knowing full well the difficulty inherent in putting down one’s own sister. Scarlett has made difficult decisions many times along the road that’s led her to Simon, but when Axel reminds her that she might have to kill the sister that’s she’s just found, she becomes more open to other possibilities.

Even though we haven’t seen an organized Daywalker army of this size and scope before, Scarlett’s first inclination is to fight her way through the seemingly insurmountable odds. And despite the fact that Simon’s suggestion she just sit tight and have faith that God will deliver them from this hungry horde goes against everything she’s learned to this point, her willingness to submit shows she’s not closed herself off entirely. Is this divine intervention or mere luck? Regardless, this thought provoking examination of faith within the world of Van Helsing appears at the perfect juncture as the characters question either their worth or role in the new world order.