Dark Gathering – Season 1 Episode 17 Recap & Review

The House of the Virgin Conception

Episode 17 of Dark Gathering begins with Eiko and Yayoi entering the haunted home they want to turn into a Graduate Dorm. Yayoi uses her powers to search for ghosts as she believes there’s a lot of Ghost Traffic inside since she spots a boy ghost getting escorted by a daughter and father spirit. She recalls the current homeowner saying the daughter and father’s spirit killed people and themselves. They continue following these spirits since Yayoi believes they’re reenacting their past crimes to toy with her and Eiko.

After witnessing them reenact a murder with the help of a monster, Yayoi suggests they go upstairs to catch and kill the monster. They head upstairs and notice a spiritual altar. Suddenly, the woman’s large monstrous baby attacks them, enticing Yayoi and Eiko to flee. Yayoi and Eiko stumble upon several rooms, detailing the lives the daughter and father led. The visions detail the father getting his wife, them getting labeled as murderers, and the pair making a deal with a mysterious individual. 

Yayoi puts everything together but questions why the pair are reenacting their crimes with wandering ghosts. The baby spirit follows Eiko and Yayoi to their car, snatches Eiko and leaves Yayoi locked inside. The baby enters Eiko’s body as the daughter’s spirit says her plan may work some time. Yayoi recalls the tale about a female officer dying through childbirth and believes this answers one of the questions she had about the two spirits and why they didn’t want to harm them. 

Additionally, they wanted to use Eiko to give their baby a chance to be birthed into a physical form. Yayoi argues they need to kill the remaining “angels” in the home, otherwise, Eiko will die. Eiko gives Keitaro a call and they chat about him needing to get physically fit at the gym. His siblings belittle him. Yayoi attempts to remove the angel/baby inside Eiko’s stomach and warns her that it might hurt a bit. The spirit exits Eiko’s body and Yayoi’s spirit murders it. 

Yayoi checks Eiko’s body and notices it left a curse on her stomach. However, since they’ve already murdered two curses, they only need to kill one more to remove Eiko’s curse. The two reenter the home and get split up somehow. The daughter’s spirit pushes Eiko into the well.

The episode closes with the final angel entering the well and Eiko screaming in terror. 

The Episode Review

Dark Gathering episode 17 delivers many spooky scenarios with an equally terrifying cliffhanger that’s ripe for the Halloween season. From the murderous antics of a father and his daughter to the creepy depictions of childbirth, this episode will leave audiences with a haunting impression. Unfortunately, the episode feels a bit convoluted with its explanations, making it somewhat tough to digest. 

Previous episodes fell into a similar trap but weren’t as noticeable. Moreover, the scenario involving Eiko and Keitaro, though wholesome, tampered with the episode’s tone a bit. Unless Keitaro finds his way to this location, the wholesome scene feels pointless in retrospect. At the same time, it’s nice seeing Keitaro in a scenario where he’s not the one being tortured for once. 

While the episode’s tone and informative bits could’ve been handled better, the animation and soundtrack remain stellar. While the vision sequences could’ve used more gruesome imagery, the scenes involving the angel screaming inside Eiko’s stomach and her stomach bursting were tough to sit through and will leave some viewers with nightmares.

Overall, this was an enjoyable chapter of Dark Gathering and a stimulating one to watch to get everyone ready for Halloween.