Control Issues is the ninth episode of the third season of Escape The Night.
Episode Summary
The Carnival Master’s daughter turns one YouTuber against the others. As friends fight friends, the daughter’s flesh-eating pet demon must be slain if the YouTubers want to cleanse the final artifact.
Plot
With only one artifact left to cleanse, the group finds that the map has once again changed. The artifacts are now in various positions and there's a message on the map that, when all the pieces are placed in the proper order, reads:
ARRANGE YOUR SEVEN
TO GET THE EIGHTH.
They rearrange the seven artifacts in the order shown on the map. Their table flips over and they find the Collar of Control, the final artifact. The note that comes with it says that one of them must wear it. Joey volunteers Nikita and she agrees.
After the collar comes on, the Carnival Master's daughter, Lucy, enters with her Demon Dog. They find out that the collar lets her control whoever is wearing it, in this case Nikita, and make them do her bidding. Lucy says that she senses something dark within Mortimer and, after a fight with Calliope, she, with Nikita's help, kidnaps Mat and Joey, taking them to the tent where the mirror was, and shackling them to poles.
Manny and Mortimer run off, but Mortimer is captured by Nikita and taken to the Circus Tent. Manny makes it into the Drug Store and fends off the Demon Dog by distracting him with candy. He finds a note inside of the mailbox. Meanwhile, Joey and Mat free themselves by lowering a bucket with bean bags and stepping on a sequence of symbols. They also find a note.
Once Manny and Calliope meet up with Mat and Joey, the note Mat found reveals that they can free Nikita from the collar if all of them put their hands on her at the same time and then rip it off. If they choose not to save her, she goes into the challenge without a vote, but if she touches them, they go into the challenge. They choose to save her.
Once Nikita is freed from the collar, the note Manny found reveals that the first ring is in the chapel, which is also where the Carnival Master is encased in amber. When they arrive there, with some motivation from the Demon Dog, they find out that said dog can't go inside the chapel. To get the first ring, two of them have to place their hand inside of the altar. Manny and Nikita do it and they end up getting handcuffed together.
Getting the second ring requires them to go to the graves of five people and match their fetishes with their graves. Joey and Mat take turns distracting the Demon Dog and they find the ring.
The group then finds out that the third ring is on the Demon Dog. He must be lured into a trap with a human snack and then stabbed with an iron rod. They first try candy, but then realize that the note meant a HUMAN snack. Nikita and Manny briefly step into the trap, luring him in and snatching him. Mat then stabs him with the iron pole and the group gets the ring before rushing back into the chapel.
To get the final ring, they must select two of them by vote to "beat Lucy at her own game." At Joey's suggestion, they all decide to vote for themselves. Manny and Nikita are picked and the group heads to the Circus Tent where the center ring is filled with popcorn and balloons.
On the benches are nine boxes, but only one of them contains salvation. After freeing themselves from their straitjackets, the two of them must look for keys that unlock the boxes.
Manny finds the first two, Nikita finds one, but both lead to nothing. On Manny's third and Nikita's second, they each open a box. In Nikita's is a pink pistol and a note that reads:
Nikita reluctantly shoots Manny, 6 times.
KILL YOURSELF OR
KILL YOUR FRIEND TO
CLAIM THE RING.
YOU DECIDE
HOW THIS ENDS.
Nikita, reluctantly, chooses to shoot Manny.
After the group unlocks Mortimer from his chains and retrieving the ring, Lucy disappears. Nikita is nearly inconsolable as they exit the tent, but Mortimer diverts off to the chapel with the collar. The group follows him to find that all of the artifacts are there and that Mortimer is trying to release the Carnival Master. He does and the Carnival Master ends up trying to kill him, but Calliope intervenes. This results in both Calliope and Mortimer dying.
The Carnival Master tells them that the Society dragged them into a war that wasn't theirs and that they're going to pay with their lives, but that he has some very special friends who are going to come visit them. From the gravestone where they resurrected Sam come a group of zombies that chase them from the chapel. The episode ends with the Carnival Master laughing.
Characters
- Joey Graceffa
- Matthew Patrick
- Nikita Dragun
- Manny Mua
- The Carnival Master
- Calliope
- Mortimer
- Demon Dog
- Lucy
Trivia
- The day before the episode went live Joey posted the emoji clue of a megaphone, a sweet, box of popcorn, dog, a girl, a right arrow and a demon face. This has been suggested to be Lucy and the Demon Dog.
- Also someone on twitter asked Joey for an emoji that describes the next persons death and he responded with a box of popcorn
- In this episode, Joey revealed that the crystal attached to the carnival master's chest can bring his friends back to life.
- The final act in this episode is a parallel to the first season, where Matt could choose to kill either Sierra or himself.
- The Collar of Control parallels the Helm of Obedience from A Nation Divided.