Episode 4 of Archive 81 kicks off with a glimpse into the lives of Eleanor and Cassandra, two art collectors revealed through an antique advertisement. Eleanor, known as a "Spirit Receiver," holds a collection that includes various curiosities, including the ominous demon armoire that captured our attention in the previous episode. Its origins remain a mystery, yet its presence holds significant weight in the unfolding narrative.
Meanwhile, Dan struggles to breach the locked room hidden within the house's recesses. His hallucinations worsen, as he glimpses Melody wandering the woods, until Bobbi jolts him back to reality, revealing he had merely stood there, lost in a trance.
Returning to Melody's timeline through the tapes, we find her visiting Cassandra and her time-transcending artworks. After Eleanor's passing, Melody considered selling the collection but ultimately refrained. Amongst the exhibits lies the demon armoire, drawing Melody's attention. Cassandra notices her gaze and nods knowingly, mentioning a cult—not the Midnight Humming Society, but the one Eleanor belonged to.
Annabelle, armed with her research, confides in Melody, convinced that the two women were lovers, not sisters. She further reveals that Eleanor's body was found washed up in the Hudson River. The boundaries between reality and fiction become increasingly blurred, and as the episode unfolds, it becomes evident that Melody and Dan are somehow finding each other and communicating across dimensions. Given Cassandra's mention of parallel worlds, this mysterious connection seems plausible.
That night, Dan reconnects with Melody, who now holds his old tape player—a perplexing sight, as it was supposedly destroyed. Upon learning that Dan is Steven's son, Melody loses her composure, exclaiming that "this isn't right." As the light bulbs explode, we are jolted back to Dan's reality, or perhaps a reality of his own understanding.
On the bed lies a tape player, accompanied by a notebook, its back page adorned with the hasty scribble "T. Bellows." Inside the cluttered closet, piles of books tower, each page filled with notes that Dan hurriedly flips through. Among them, he stumbles upon a sequence of numbers, one distinctively circled. It seems the writer had sought Virgil's office code and found success.
Inside, Dan discovers a trove of oddities, including a file cabinet containing vital documents. Of particular interest is the folder pertaining to his father, Steven. Inside Steven's files, Dan finds papers delving into the realm of parapsychology. Later, discussing with Mark, Dan tasks his friend with investigating the mysterious "T. Bellows" and its significance.
However, Virgil intercepts Mark first. He proposes a collaboration, but his ulterior motive of spying on Dan and reporting back is met with a resounding rejection.
Meanwhile, Dan continues to sift through the tapes. This time, he watches as Melody attends one of Cassandra's gatherings. There, she encounters Patricia, who whispers of a message for Melody but refuses to disclose the sender. The star of the evening, however, is Evie Crest, an actress who has purchased two of Cassandra's paintings. She exudes a profound spirituality, her father being the late William Crest.
William had been working on a television project titled "The Circle," a project that never materialized. It was inspired by a bizarre cult ritual, shrouded in mystery and conjecture. It seems William took his own life, and much of the material was lost in the aftermath.
When a séance is proposed to aid Evie in connecting with her past, she eagerly accepts. Melody, meanwhile, snatches a key and unlocks an armoire, revealing a bizarre self-portrait statue of Cassandra. Cassandra dismisses it as she passes, drawing Melody's attention back to the séance.
Within the trance, William's spirit seemingly manifests in Beatriz, answering Evie's inquiries about her past with startling accuracy. Cassandra prompts her to inquire about "The Snuff Film," to which Beatriz replies with the name "Peter Crawford," a figure seemingly intertwined with the mystery. Suddenly, Beatriz begins to weep, warning Evie to stay away as a demonic voice echoes through her. The same chilling warning that Dan had heard through his television when Cassandra grasped him.
Melody, convinced, steps forward resolutely, while Beatriz, sensing no trace of Julia in the realm of the departed, whispers of "another presence" reaching out. Swiftly, Melody extends her hand first, and the scene shifts to Dan, who glimpses her ghostly figure looming behind him. The tape halts abruptly, and Melody confronts Dan, accusing him of stealing her ring and notebook. Dan's voice, chillingly matter-of-fact, informs her, "You're dead, Melody. You perished in the inferno."
As the tapes resume their eerie playback, Beatriz turns to Melody and echoes Dan's words, her tone laden with dread. Desperate to aid Melody, Dan flees the room and urgently dials Mark, relaying the harrowing details. Mark, his concern mounting, stares intently at Virgil's business card, pondering the next course of action.
Beatriz, emerging from her trance, suddenly claws at her face, her skin tearing and blood trickling down. The sight prompts Melody to frantically dial for an ambulance. As Beatriz is whisked away, Melody returns to her apartment, where she finds Annabelle scribbling frantically on scattered sheets of paper, insisting that "someone is inside."
