In spite of its lukewarm reviews, Ryan Murphy’s The Watcher bumped Dahmer – another Murphy production – from Netflix’s top streaming spot. Much of its debut episode was all about introducing us to the Braddock family and the moderately sized pool of suspects. For its second episode, Blood Sacrifice, The Watcher promises to tell us a bit more about the house’s dark past. Hopefully, the second episode digs a little past set-up and more into some suspense and scares.

Blood Sacrifice Introduces More Quirky Ryan Murphy Characters

Apparently Detective Chamberlain isn’t up to date on victimology or social justice. As Blood Sacrifice opens, Detective Chamberlain opines that maybe the Braddocks provoked ‘The Watcher’. Though he’s not much help, the detective does suggest that the Braddocks hire a detective. Of course., this leads to Ryan Murphy’s specialty – quirky supporting characters. And that quirky supporting character is Theodora Birch, a private detective. During a roadside diner meeting, Dean listens on a wildly excessive personal story that involves jazz singing, heavy drinking, and divorce. Somewhere along the lines, Birch decided to ‘Murder She Wrote’ things up. Her story doesn’t do much to convince Dead. But Birch’s offer to half her hourly rate to $50 an hour appeals to him. And it’s important to point out that it’s the reduced fee, not Birch’s cancer diagnosis, that tugs on his heart strings.

During a roadside diner meeting, Dean listens on a wildly excessive personal story that involves jazz singing, heavy drinking, and divorce.

In the meantime, Nora and the kids stay at a local dive hotel and Dean opts to stay in the house to catch ‘The Watcher’. Since Blood Sacrifice is only the second episode, Dean doesn’t catch anyone nor does he notice the shadowy figure wandering the house behind him. But ‘The Watcher’ is much better at their job and finds Nora at the motel taking a few minutes to make a ‘heavy breathing’ prank phone call. Fortunately for Dean, our eager, young security guy, Dakota, beefs up the security at the motel room. He even offers to pull the graveyard duty and watch the family, though Dakota may be more interested in watching Ellie.

Blood Sacrifice Teases More Nefarious Happenings in its New Jersey Dream Home

At a diner, Dean meets the most recent past owner, Andrew. And Andrew’s story of a happy family finding their dream home sounds familiar. Andrew, his wife, and infant son Caleb, initially bonded with neighbours Mitch and Mo. In fact, Andrew and his wife even let the older couple babysit their son. But it wasn’t long before they heard strange music playing in the house. Soon thereafter, the same letters signed by ‘The Watcher’ arrived. All the strangeness took its toll and the wife took her own life. Things get a little more bonkers – Andrew claims his then toddler son saw several of the neigbhourhod residents, including Mitch and Mo, dressed in cloaks and drinking the blood of a baby sacrifice. Much of the story falls apart when Andrew confides that he’s on a cocktail of medications. But Mitch and Mo still rise to the top of the suspect list.

While Dean enjoys pointing out bylaws around construction and noise, he cautions Mo not to ‘watch’ the house too much or she’ll get melanoma.

Meanwhile Karen the realtor lowkey bumps herself up the suspect list. She chips away at Nora, suggesting that putting the house up for sale – not actually selling, mind you – may dupe ‘The Watcher’. And Nora considers it for a bit before ultimately deciding she’d rather fight for her suburban dream. On the subplot front, Dakota spends a little time poolside at the motel with Ellie. Even though she’s only 16 years old, he doesn’t protest too much when she asks him to kiss her. But the biggest moment in Blood Sacrifice follows another terse front yard exchange between Dean and Mitch and Mo. While Dean enjoys pointing out bylaws around construction and noise, he cautions Mo not to ‘watch’ the house too much or she’ll get melanoma. Of course, Mo actually suffers from skin cancer.

Blood Sacrifice Crosses Off Two Suspects From The List … Maybe

Later that night, Dean hears two gunshots but considering all the other strangeness he doesn’t think too much of it. The next morning he sees paramedics wheeling two bodies out of the neighbour’s house. Apparently, Mitch couldn’t bare to watch his wife suffer, so he shot her and then turned the gun on himself. Their adult son is sure to berate Dean, blaming him for disrupting their suburban tranquility with all his renovations. So cross off two names from the suspect list. Though it bares mentioning that we don’t actually see the couple’s bodies. All in all, Blood Sacrifice is a moderately paced episode that’s once again more concerned with teasing suspects than building organic suspense.