Resurrection -- Is This Why The Returned Are Getting Sick?

This was the episode we got some answers to the mystery of the returned. Of course, it didn't seem to fit for some people like Caleb and Carl's nasty brother, Mike.

Fred decides to play show and tell with Bellamy. He shows him the bone he found in the secret spot in the old Langston factory and he tells him he thinks 12 men were burned alive and the truck accident was used to cover up their murders.

Meanwhile, Elaine has the biggest part she's had on the show since Fred made a pass at her. She befriends Babs the Betrayer and gets her and Maggie together. Babs gets bombed and shows up on Fred's doorstep with a bottle. One thing leads to another and they kiss and I'm yelling at the TV, "Don't do it, Fred, don't do it!" But he does. It's taken him a long time to get past Babs and stopped behaving destructively. As much as I don't like Granny Langston, I can well understand why she doesn't want her son with her. She does play with his head.

The morning after Fred is looking at her young hand against his old one and he gets out of bed. Then he looks at old pictures of them together when he was young like she still is. Babs comes and joins him and in a really sad moment he lays his head in her lap. As if this situation wasn't problematic enough, who should drop by but Granny Langston. To say that she isn't pleased by what she sees is the understatement of the word.

She heads over to see Maggie hoping she can get her to do her dirty work for her and nip this thing in the bud. But Maggie doesn't want to interfere, so Granny Langston realizes that if you've got a job to do you've got to do it yourself. And she does just that.

She goes over to Fred's house and get Babs to take a walk with her. Seriously, what follows just shows how incredibly dumb Babs truly is. The woman knows Granny Langston can't stand her, so anything she says should be suspect. Anyway, she tells Babs the returned are back to be punished. Then she proceeds to make Babs feel like she's making her family miserable. This is despite the fact she bonded with Maggie and she and Fred are back together. This is what I mean about Babs being dumber than dirt.

That's when Granny offers Babs a way out. She says if Babs wishes she was dead all her problems will be solved. By making this wish it causes Babs to vanish in thin air. Of course, one thing Granny didn't plan on was someone witnessing her nasty little act of getting rid of her unwanted daughter-in-law. Elaine sees the whole thing and knows Granny did something to make Babs vanish.

Granny has other problems. Bellamy comes to visit her and says he thinks she's the one who threw the bones in the river. Granny, of course, is a tough nut to crack and turns it around on Bellamy and freaks him out by telling him to not worry, that his secret his safe with her. When he wants to know what secret she's talking about, her lips are sealed.

Deputy Carl's eyes light up when Maggie explains that the returned are vanishing in thin air and when that happens, the returned are gone for good. She gives Carl some medicine to treat his sick bully brother, but he doesn't give it to him, just waiting around like a big fat spider for his bully brother to vanish in thin air. And he doesn't have long to wait. Bully Mike, whose feeling really sick, thinks he was better off dead, and once he utters those magic words, Bully Mike vanishes into thin air. Carl isn't happy when he sees his brother is gone for good. He seems like he almost regrets that he's gone.

Janine yells to Tom that she can't wake Rachel up and there's blood coming from her nose. She's the latest to get sick. Is it because now that Tom has made it clear they won't be getting back together and he's back with Janine, that Rachel too, feels it would be better if she'd stayed dead? Is that the reason she got sick?

Meanwhile, Maggie asks Bellamy to contact Gov'T Bitch as he calls the woman in charge of his leash to try to help with the sick returned. When Marty doesn't want to Maggie finally figures out it Marty who told the government about the bones. Marty finally decides to tell Maggie everything, including the fact he's now a returned, as well, when Maggie gets called away. That's when Marty realizes he's getting sick, too.

He does call Gov'T Bitch about the returned being sick but she won't lift a finger to help them. She seems to think it's just the natural order being restored. Bellamy decides to drive out of town but he doesn't make it and gets really sick in the back of his car.

Neither Caleb or Mike seemed to have any regrets about being back, so that's kind of the exception to the rule. And I don't think Marty seems like he regrets still being alive. So there's a flaw in the theory that thinking they'd be better off still dead is what makes the returned sick.

Also, is the reason the returned returns because they died not wanting to really die? I'm sure a lot of people feel that way when they die. But it could be the reason certain people have returned. Of course, the question is what is it about Arcadia that allows them to return. And why has it took so long in some cases for them to return?