Rowan visits Julien's victrola. She finds herself trapped there. She can only leave once Julien gives her permission. When she calls out to Moira for the rope, it's an action out of fear. That's how Julien assesses her. She doesn't just cater to his every whim like Cortland did earlier this season. She has her own agency and independence. Yet so much of the episode covers Julien explaining things to her. He taunts her. He has information she desperately needs. Answers arrive quickly in the sense that Lasher has been taken to Scotland by Albrecht. It's much more agonizing to pinpoint his precise location. That takes the entire episode to figure out. Even then, it isn't something just given to Rowan by Julien. She has to be cunning to outsmart him. She has to prove him wrong about his initial assessment. Of course, she has plenty of opportunity to do so because of how her personality was split. She is suddenly in two places at once. Her identity has been split along familiar lines. Her heart is one place and her head is in another. That division allows the plot to advance in meaningful ways. She isn't holding herself back because of these concerns getting in the way. She has no doubts. She still feels like a piece is missing. She isn't hindered for too long. She saves herself.
Rowan was simply a means to an end for Julien. He needed the designee to fulfill the legend of Lasher's return. Rowan was destined to give birth to Lasher's new physical form. She accomplished that mission. Now, the family in New Orleans is no longer necessary. They no longer enjoy the things that have protected them for generations. Lasher's proximity gave them so many powers. Moira still expertly uses her mind-reading abilities. Everyone else is weakened. Lasher is elsewhere in the world. He has a different destiny to pursue in what has been declared his true home. Julien put that into motion as well. He established his own family in Scotland. He removed any memories of them from Cortland's mind. Only fragments remain. The family was built in New Orleans. That has long been the foundation that has informed all of their characters. Yet they are each disposable. Julien looms over them from afar. He has the ability to touch the First Street house from the victrola. He monitors their progress. He doesn't get to participate in it himself. He knows how the family will react. He manipulated them while alive. He got Cortland to do his dirty work after his death. He never trusted Cortland. Instead, he saw his other son Ian as more deserving of what comes next with Lasher.
Cortland is stunned by the revelation he has a brother. He's terrified of the figure in his memories. He slowly recalls a name and his connection. It highlights the differences in the environments they were raised in. Cortland isn't a natural killer. He has done many heinous things in the name of protecting the family. That has always been the central tenet of this clan. They can't trust outsiders. They have to preserve their secrets for as long as possible. It's smart of Rowan to give Link the elixir that will make him forget about her. It was foolish to search for answers in genetics. She confides in him though. She shares her truth. He doesn't run away. He continues to marvel at how wonderful she is. She isn't acting like herself. Part of her is missing. She can sense it. She can't articulate it. Meanwhile, her intellect is watching from afar. She wants answers. She needs to know a solution is possible. The family waits until the last possible second to realize the hourglass is still pouring. Death is imminent. Trying to strengthen Lasher's presence in New Orleans doesn't amount to anything either. It highlights the connection between Rowan and Link. She trusts him completely. She invites him to join the family on their mission to Scotland. It's dangerous. He's out of his depth. He is in on the secret now. She sees that. She knocks away the elixir. She needs him. It's a forced love story to make everything feel more tragic should the worst happen. It doesn't though. And so, the audience has to go along with all of it.
Rowan doesn't have to gamble too much away either. She is willing to make whatever deal Julien wants. He holds all the power. She doesn't have anything that can tempt him away from the plan he set in motion long ago. Albrecht prepares for the ceremony. He won't get to see it for himself either. Ian remains the brutal man he was in childhood. He doesn't hesitate when it comes to killing. He eliminates a problem. Albrecht is a loose end that had to be taken care of. Lasher has returned to his ancestral home. Of course, it doesn't feel like that to him. It's yet another strange land. He is still learning how to live with this physical body. Julien gave him the opportunity to remember what it was like. Julien was touched by Lasher. That fueled his mission. He had to see it through no matter what. Rowan gets no clarity on what the extent of these dynamics were. They were all transactional. Julien prays to a higher power. He sees the forces that extend from the older gods. He seeks to tap into that power. Lasher is but one figure in this world. He was transformational to the Mayfair family for a long time. He doesn't have to be their sole source of power. More options exist. Too many people limit their minds. As such, they don't see what's possible. Julien dismisses Rowan. She shouldn't be underestimated. She's powerful when she leads with conviction. Too often she doesn't though. That's frustrating. More clarity is always needed with her. That's the constant problem. It hasn't really changed either.
