In the second episode of Hell Motel‘s premiere, the group of true crime enthusiasts staying at the infamous Coldwater Motel try to figure out what to do after they find the chef Hemingway (Eric McCormack) cooked alive in the sauna. As it is still unsafe to go outside in the torrential rainstorm and with dangerous animals, Floyd (Gray Powell) advises that everyone hunker down for the night. However, there are ulterior motives at play as Floyd and his partner Shirly (Yanna McIntosh), the kindly old couple who were seemingly stranded in the storm, are the original murderers from three decades ago, who hope to complete their Satanic ritual and are concerned by the fact that there is another killer in their midst.
Most of the patrons end up pairing up to stay the night with a killer on the loose. Portia (Michelle Nolden) is the most traumatized of the two owners, and she is having major buyer’s remorse that Ruby (Brynn Godenir) convinced her to buy the motel from realtor Magenta, as shown in an opening scene flashback played by Canada’s Drag Race alum Icesis Couture. Meanwhile, serial killer groupie Adriana (Genevieve DeGraves) cozied up with a freaked-out Blake (Atticus Mitchell) and decided to get freaky. The third major pairing is with academic Andy (Jim Watson) and the medium Crow (Shaun Benson), the latter of whom decides to brave the elements to find help.
My Thoughts on Hell Motel – Episode 102: “Night Orchid”
While the pilot of Hell Motel came off as a bit overtly stylized for my liking, the second episode, “Night Orchid,” ends up slowing the plot down to allow us to get to know the ensemble more. The cliffhanger of the pilot revealed that Floyd and Shirly, the seemingly kind RV-driving couple, who were willing to drive second-guessing actress Paige (Paula Brancati) away after the weather cleared, are the 30-year-older Satanic couple who committed the original Coldwater Motel murders. It turns out that the ritual needs to be on a specific date and requires a total of nine sacrifices. Floyd and Shirly are also concerned that someone else seems to be stealing their thunder.
As the last episode focused primarily on Paige, “Night Orchid” provides backstory for Portia. The episode confirms that she and Ruby are more than just business partners, though it is the latter who is obsessed with true crime and the macabre. Portia is more than traumatized when she goes with Ruby to collect Hemingway’s body, only for his cooked arm to come off like an overcooked piece of chicken. Sadly, being the more sane of the motel owners means that Portia ends up becoming this episode’s sacrificial victim, as she is gutted in bed by a machete, as Ruby sleeps right next to her!
As Floyd was out stalking the copycat killer with a machete earlier in the episode, and also really wants to kill Ruby, he is the most obvious suspect for Portia’s murder. However, the episode also drops a suggestion that it could be Blake, who is seen picking up a knife and leaving his room after very intense sex with Adriana, who also reveals herself to be a knife freak. At this point, all these characters could very well be red herrings, especially as we get minimal character development this episode from Paige and Kawayan (Emmanuel Kabongo), the latter is briefly seen destroying one of his art installations.
As with the pilot, “Night Orchid” continues to establish that nobody in the cast of Motel Hell is safe, as the episode ends with the death of one of the core protagonists. The question after two episodes is not only who will end up being the Baphomet masked killer, but who will be left alive at the end? And with at least two other confirmed murderers at the Coldwater Motel, the bloodshed has just begun!
