(This is part of my journey playing through Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within. You can follow the entire series on the Nostalgia Lane page.)

The final chapter of the game (stick with me — we’re on the home stretch now!) begins with a long, trippy sequence. First there’s a portion where Grace is making out with Ludwig II who then transforms into Gabe. Then Gabe has “last week on Gabriel Knight 2” flashbacks to everything we just saw in the last chapter, with an emphasis on two wolves and the Black Wolf and DUDE VON GLOWER IS THE REAL ENEMY.

Then Gabe falls off of his bed and realizes that the bite from Von Zell is most likely turning him into a werewolf too. Fortunately, Ludwig II — now in ghost form — shows up to Gabe and gives him ghostly flashbacks to show how Luddy hid that secret Wagner opera all over his castle. Since that music looks like it’s the cure for werewolfism, I can see the path that this game is setting forth.

Finally, Grace shows up and the two have a tender reunion, by which I mean that Gabe shrieks “GET OUUUUT!” and Grace locks him up in the town dungeon. Theirs is a love story for the ages.

Grace is all concerned and Gabe is all regretful and this scene is just so dang cheesy to watch. I really have started to hate the music in this game, but at least the over-acting is entertaining enough to compensate. I guess they both know now that Von Glower is the Black Wolf, although Grace doesn’t fully explain why she hauled Gabe down into a dungeon to recouperate instead of his luxurious castle. Maybe I should give her a lot of credit to think that she’s doing it in case he turns into a werewolf and the dungeon will keep him locked away from innocents? Nah, I think she just wanted to bust his chops.

After going out to the post office, Grace finds a letter from Von Glower to Gabe. It’s pretty revealing and corrects a few misconceptions that I’ve had. Von Glower hasn’t transformed the entire hunting lodge into werewolves; he’s surrounded himself with like-minded people to indoctrinate into his hunting philosophy in the hopes that they would make good candidates for the “change” and become companions to him. Von Zell was an experiment and that failed badly. Von Glower hopes that Gabe will adjust well to the change and come hang out with him after. Awesome.

Grace finds Mrs. Smith in the tavern and the two of them have a conversation that’s mostly meant to fill in exposition gaps as to what’s been happening over the past day or so. They did lock Gabe up in the dungeon for protection and the two say that Von Glower’s death is needed to help Gabe. But Grace is also hot to go after the lost opera, so she’s got her hands full.

Speaking of having her hands full, here’s Grace kidnapping a pigeon and shoving it into her coat. I find this game’s visual portrayal of inventory acquisition hilarious, since Grace and Gabe are forever putting things into and pulling them out of their bottomless trenchcoats. So Grace, is that a live bird in your pocket or are you happy to see me?