For Whom the Spell Tolls

For Whom the Spell Tolls is the thirteenth episode of Season 2 & the final episode of the series. The episode aired with Box to the Future as part of a two-hour season finale.

Summary
The two-hour Witches of East End season finale takes the Beauchamps back in time to the 1840s where Freya encounters Edgar Allan Poe and Joanna is ensnared by a dangerous admirer. Killian does the unthinkable and risks his life for his one true love. The season comes to a shocking and tragic end when the Beauchamps lose one (three) of their own.

Plot
The season finale begins with Ingrid waking bound in a circle that debilitates her from using her power or moving. The King scolds her for disobeying him, even giving insight as to how he commanded Frederick to blindly follow him. Seeing that Ingrid has been weakened, he breaks the circle and invites her to join him for tea, but she rejects his offer. It is then revealed he went "easy on her because of her condition". Seeing that Ingrid is confused, he confirms that she is pregnant. Though, she's unsure who the father may be: Dash or the Mandragora.

Back in the 1840's, Wendy and Freya await Joanna in the alley, unaware she's been captured by Tarkoff, but the door to the future is gone. They've been in the past too long and the door disappeared. Freya, being withdrawn and longing for home, believes she should've stayed behind with Ingrid. Wendy assures her it's no better there, as the King may be torturing her. Freya than wishes she had a phone so she could text her sister and see how she's doing, even possibly asking her for help. This gives Wendy an idea. Meanwhile, Joanna has been drugged and bound by a talisman. Tarkoff has clearly spelled her to make her believe they are in the present, in her bedroom, although as he looks out the window, it's clear they're still in the 1840's. He makes unwanted moves on her, though she begs him to stop, and claims, "I've loved you for over 500 years, and tonight, I'm going to have you."

In the present day, Killian drank a poison that is slowly killing him and dropped the only chance he has at slowing the process. It's not certain if he's sleeping or if he's died at this point.

At the police station, Raven is hard at work trying to decipher the murders that have been occurring around East End. She's on her way to the courthouse when her assistant stops her with the results on the strange liquid they'd found at the crime scene as well as a similar substance she discovered at Fair Haven; as it turns out, they're a match. Dash calls her moments later asking her to come over, though not for their usual antics. He believes she took the journals he left on the table and wants them back. She has other plans in mind.

In the 1840's, Wendy is writing a letter to Ingrid and having a fellow warlock deliver it in the future, although he'll be holding on to it for a while. Joanna, still high off of opium injections from Tarkoff, begins to notice aspects of "her bedroom" that seem altered. She realizes they haven't left the past and informs Tarkoff, if they stay any longer, they will die. He tells her he knows another way out and when he's ready, they'll leave. He leans in to kiss her and she rejects him, prompting him to give her another dose, but he's run out. Tarkoff leaves to get more, condescendingly telling Joanna not to leave.

Meanwhile, Ingrid is home with the King who tells her to see the pregnancy as an opportunity to start fresh. Ingrid, clearly upset, tells her grandfather she doesn't believe anything he's telling her and that he's only here to kill them. Amused, the King informs her that he would gain nothing from their death; he wants their power and he's already taking Ingrid's. This is only proved when she tries to spell him and nothing happens. Frederick tries to come to her rescue, a dagger in hand to stab their grandfather in the back, but the King catches him and has Frederick stab himself in the stomach. At Fair Haven, Raven arrives and enters an argument with Dash about the books. He eventually turns Dom on her, but their games are over as she serves him with a search warrant. Hours later, Frederick wakes up to an anxious Ingrid who tells him she can't heal him and he's lost a lot of blood. Healing himself, Ingrid tells him he's her only hope of stopping the King, but they need to get a dark spell from Archibald's journals. Frederick believes the King being gone is a trap, but Ingrid indignantly replies, "Or he's counting on us being too scared to run away. Either way, let's just get out of here now."

At the old brothel house, Wendy and Freya look for Joanna. Wendy starts to worry, thinking something could've happened to her sister and decides to track her. Not wanting to be left alone, Freya fears the worst for her mom. Wendy assures her everything will be fine; she'll find Joanna and meet Freya in the alley.

Back at Fair Haven, Ingrid and Frederick ask Dash to see Archibald's old journals to which Dash reveals them to be missing. Ingrid is concerned over the fact that Dash promised not to read them, but Frederick gets the ball rolling and says he can extract the information from Dash's subconscious with a spell. On her way back to the alley, Freya notices Tarkoff making a shady deal and follows him. Edgar finds her again, deciding to join her wherever she may going. She doesn't stop him nor agree to have him follow. Joanna, clearly weakened by the drugs and bound talisman, rolls out of bed and crawls toward the talisman.

As Frederick prepares the spell, Dash admits to Ingrid that the FBI searched his house and are trying to connect him to the murders, but assures her they won't find anything as he's cleared any evidence they could find, such as the hard drive on his laptop with menacing emails. The point he's trying to make is that, whether he gets caught or not, he will keep Ingrid from it all. She tells him she had a part in it, that she's responsible as well, but he refuses to hear it. No one knows she helped him and no one ever will. He says, "As far as I'm concerned, you were never here." Frederick then interrupts their moment, telling him they need to get started. Ingrid is assigned the job of translating and she directs them through the various spells.

In the 1840's, Joanna is inches from the talisman when Tarkoff arrives, cutting her off. At the same time, Wendy arrives and knocks Tarkoff in the back of the head. He falls, but isn't out. When he makes a move, Wendy sticks him with the needle and drugs him. She tosses the talisman in the fire, Joanna grabs the box, and they make their escape. Freya has returned to the brothel house with Edgar, not sure what to do. The door is still gone and her family hasn't returned. Her nose is starting to bleed, a sign that she's been in the past too long. She shares a moment with Edgar, telling him about how their souls are connected and they will be together again in each lifetime; they will always find each other. After a farewell kiss, she leaves.

Frederick's spell is working and they finally find the spell they need to kill the King, but their moment of success is short-lived by a knock on the door. Ingrid believes it might be their grandfather, but Frederick assures her the King wouldn't knock. At the door, we find it's the warlock from the past here to deliver a letter to Ingrid Beauchamp, a letter he's been carrying for 166 years. He tells her its from Wendy and Freya and they need her help getting home.

Help is clearly needed as Freya runs back to the alley, blood coming from her nose and ears, even her fingernails, but the door is still gone. She then sees Wendy and Joanna running towards her, but also, Tarkoff not too far behind. Joanna tries to spell a carriage to run him over, but it misses him. He continues his pursuit and knocks the box out of Joanna's hands, expelling the demons trapped inside. Luckily, Ingrid has opened the door to the past, allowing Freya, Wendy, and Joanna to return. They close the door before Tarkoff can get in. They've returned to the present and are at Fair Haven. Ingrid reveals to them that it was Frederick who created the door because the King took her powers and intends on taking all their powers, that's his purpose for coming through the portal. The lights go out and suddenly, Wendy is missing. Wendy appears in a bound circle with the King standing before her in the kitchen of the Beauchamp house, saying they'll have to go through this one by one. The search begins, Dash going to the attic, Ingrid suggesting the catacombs, but Joanna says they lost their only chance of defeating him. Ingrid counters this with the spell she found, although she isn't sure it'll work with her powers being gone. Nonetheless, it's all they got and they have to try. Frederick wants to help, but he is not the key, nor the dagger, nor the bridge, nor the traveler; he'll only get hurt. They head out and while Frederick tries to part with his mother on good terms, she turns a cold shoulder.

Back at the Beauchamp house, the King antagonizes Wendy. He reveals that he cursed her as a cat because she's selfish and only gives reward when it benefits her, saying he spared the children she'd never had so they'd never have to suffer with having her as a mother. Wendy rejects the idea, claiming she will risk anything for the people she loves. He tells her that if she begs, he may only take her power and spare her last life. Wendy, unfazed, tests him, telling him to kill her. She tells him that he can't hurt her, his attempts at breaking her have only made her stronger. He says she inherited that strong bravado from him, but she spites him, provoking him to begin the torture.

Meanwhile, Raven arrives at Fair Haven and takes Dash in to custody, saying they found everything they needed in the IP servers. Incriminating emails were found from Kyle Hutton and after a DNA test, the murder victim turned out to be the very same Kyle Hutton.

A final showdown with the King ensues at the Beauchamp residence as Ingrid, Freya, and Joanna arrive to save Wendy. They each recite a part of the spell, "The Dagger will set you free, the traveler will set you free, the key will set you free, the bridge will set you free." The first attempts are weak, Ingrid's power being gone doesn't help the matter, but as the circle entrapping Wendy is broken, the King is weakened. Ingrid then affirms it's working as her power returns. He begs them not to kill him, that they are family, but they ignore his feeble attempts at redemption. Finally, the King is killed. The victory is short-lived as with the King, Tommy died as well. They leave Wendy to her grief, Freya and Ingrid leaving to go check on Killian.

At Killian's house, they find him dead. Freya becomes emotional as Ingrid rationalizes how and why it happened, explaining he drank the potion to end the opposition in the stars, making their love possible in the next life. Heartbroken, she kisses him one last time. The kiss of true love, as it always does, brings the princess back to life. Or prince, in this case. The pair shares a moment of confusion before passionately embracing. Ingrid awkwardly steps out on the happy couple and receives a call informing her of Dash's arrest.

Meanwhile, Joanna calls Frederick and tells him she'd like to make things right. However, another murder has occurred in East End and Frederick is the victim this time. Beside him, written in blood, is the statement "Death to Witches". In the kitchen, Wendy blames herself for Tommy's death and decides to make things right, sacrificing her last life so Tommy can live. He wakes, smiling at Wendy only to realize she's dead. Joanna walks in the next moment, horrified.

At the police station, Killian enters the cell block to see his brother. Dash asks for his help, Killian isn't sure what to do. He admits he doesn't hate him anymore and he doesn't know how to help him. Dash then decides to show him, casting a spell that switches their souls. Killian's soul is now inside Dash's body and Dash's soul is within Killian's body. Dash, now Killian, says, "Someone has to take the fall and it's not gonna be me and no one will ever know. Not even Freya." Killian, now Dash, begs him not to do this, but Dash leaves anyway. He meets with Freya in the waiting area, acting as if nothing has changed and leaves with her.

We then join Wendy in a fiery place, the Underworld, as she wakes up. Someone speaks to her, "I've been waiting for you, sister." Wendy looks over and seems to recognize the person, referring to the woman as Helena.

Main cast

 * Julia Ormond as Joanna Beauchamp
 * Jenna Dewan-Tatum as Freya Beauchamp
 * Rachel Boston as Ingrid Beauchamp
 * Mädchen Amick as Wendy Beauchamp
 * Eric Winter as Dash Gardiner
 * Daniel DiTomasso as Killian Gardiner
 * Christian Cooke as Frederick Beauchamp

Guest Stars

 * Ignacio Serricchio as King Nikolaus/Tommy Cole
 * Steven Berkoff as King Nikolaus
 * James Marsters as Mason Tarkoff
 * Sarah Lancaster as Raven Moreau
 * Unknown actress as Helena Beauchamp

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is a reference to the novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls " written by Ernest Hemingway.
 * As of this episode, all the Beauchamp men are dead; Victor, Nikolaus and Frederick.
 * Joanna is officially the only member of the family to never have died at least once.
 * Ironically, both season finales have ended with a song by The Fire and the Sea playing.