Witch Creek Road S3 E2 Explained (Spoilers)
Episode 2 (aka Stories from the Recently Deceased, Part 2)
The episode begins in the same bar from episode 1, from the point of view of Mikey. Mikey is one of the bar patrons. After the Serpent leaves, he walks up to the main demon and asks, “What brings you in here, beautiful?” She replies that she's looking for a heart, and he uses a poorly-chosen pick-up line: “You can have mine, sweetheart.” The demon smiles, deciding to take him up on this; and it's in that moment that he realizes he's “made a terrible, terrible mistake.”
The story shifts to Johnny, who's playing pool and only half paying attention to his friend (Mikey) as he tries to pick up the demon. Then he hears “a horrible squelching sound, and the thud of [Mikey's] body as it hits the floor.” He realizes his friend is dead. The demon, meanwhile, stands over Mikey's body with his heart in her hand.
Johnny pulls out his gun, but “before [he] can even aim, [he] realizes that [he's] missing half his arm, and that [his] gun is on the ground.” Then he's on the ground, and one of the demons is smiling down on him, “beautiful and predatory.” As he dies, he can't help but notice how beautiful she is, and all he can think is, “I'm in love.”
The story shifts to Gavin, the other bartender, as he and Julia (the hot bartender from episode 1) hide behind the bar. The other bar patrons, bikers mostly, have opened fire on the demons, and “the sounds of gunshots and screams [fill] the bar.” Julia is on her phone, calling what Gavin can only hope is 9-1-1. All Gavin can think is, “I need to get out of here.” It's at this point that Julia gets caught in the crossfire and shot in the face. She falls, dead, in front of Gavin. Gavin, in shock, stands up and starts walking toward the exit, but before he can make it, he gets stabbed from behind. He falls to the ground and everything goes dark.
The story shifts one final time to Detective Thompson, who was featured in Season 2. He sits in the corner, waiting. The demons walk up to him, and the main demon comments, “You're different. I don't smell any fear.” She comments that what she does smell is death. “Like you sit here waiting to die. But beneath that, ever so slightly, I also small the Skinned Man. You were in contact with him, and not too long ago.” Thompson tells her the Skinned Man is dead, to which she replies, “Oh, no. He doesn't die. He simply sleeps or wakes.” She then tells him she wants to know who put him to sleep. At this, Thompson finally shows some emotion: fear. Because Thompson realizes the demon is referring to his daughter, Hailey, who presumably shot and killed the Skinned Man. And if these “women” can tear through a bar of armed men and walk away unscathed, what will this mean for his daughter, should they find her?
Then the demons are gone, and Thompson is left alone and yelling, “Come back and deal with me! Come back and finish this!”
THE CIRCULAR NATURE OF THE CURVES
Thompson's section begins with the observation, “I'm reminded of something an old cop buddy of mine used to say... Piss off a guy, and he'll generally just punch you and be done with it. Piss off a woman, and she won't be happy until you've been publicly eviscerated.”
A few readers recalled that, back in season one, Keifer had said something similar to Dirk:
Specifically, Keifer says, “A guy will be a dick and be done with it. But a woman won't be happy until you've been publicly eviscerated.”
My personal concept for the curves is that events have no beginning or end; they simply repeat. So you'll see certain phrases show up from time to time, or the repetition of a panel, etc. In this case, Keifer was quoting his father, who was quite vocal with regards to his opinion about women. And Keifer's father is the same “old cop buddy” Thompson was referring to.
Another example of repetition is the final scene, in which Thompson yells, “Come back and finish this!” This is very reminiscent to an oft-repeated phrase, “It's time to finish what we started,” which appeared numerous times throughout season two.