Equinox – Season 1 Episode 5 Recap & Review

I Hear Voices

Episode 5 of Equinox begins with Astrid answering David’s messages, deciding against heading back home after all. Instead, she’s gone to Marrakech and followed the address Jakob sent his letter from. Once there though, she finds Amelia who happens to be very much alive and seemingly at peace.

There’s some serious Midsommar vibes as Astrid is brought in to this cult. Apparently Amelia cast off her old name a long time ago and now she’s known as Cybele. Astrid immediately asks about Jakob but as she does, strange whispering casts her gaze toward an ominous blue door alongside the house.

Astrid mentions the call Jakob made prior to his death and shows her the ripped out page about Ostara from his book. It’s clear Amelia is hiding something but she remains tight-lipped for now. Instead, she encourages Astrid to head up to the top of their wooden tower to watch the sunset. As it descends behind the rolling hills on the horizon, she rings a bell as a tribute to the sunlight.

Astrid sleeps there that night but awakens, drawn to this strange door by fragmented, incoherent whispers. She chips away at the yellow paint on the front and finds the familiar pattern of the Solstice dates. She’s distracted by Amelia screaming though as Astrid wonders what this all means.

Night paves way to morning as Astrid once again follows the ominous whispers to the strange room. Inside she finds a mirror but reflected back is her own younger self… and the faun we’ve seen before. Clearly not of sane mind, adult Astrid headbutts the mirror. In doing so, she reveals a strange booklet hidden behind the glass. Jakob’s book.

With this in hand, she approaches Amelia and demands answers. Amelia admits that nothing is random and everything inside that strange book has come true. This is, of course, exactly the same thing Falke told us last episode too.

Amelia tells her that Equinox repeats itself every 21 years and unfortunately everything is about to begin again. As Ostara runs in the blood, Amelia tells Astrid she needs to speak to her Mother about this as she has more answers. When she leaves, Astrid realizes that Ida is Ostara.

At the airport, David is there and drives Astrid home. Unfortunately he’s not actually taking her home. Instead, he’s intending to take her somewhere to get professional help. On the road, she tries to swerve the car but wakes up in a psychiatric hospital.

In the past, a young Astrid hears a story about Ostara told through shadow puppets. When her Father leaves her for the night, Astrid befriends a young boy who also happens to be there too. He’s been hearing voices and takes a shining to Astrid, telling her not to take her medicine.

Astrid takes his advice and holds off popping pills. This brings back the frightening visions from before, more powerful this time as she calls out for Ida.

More flashbacks occur this episode too, this time focusing on Ida. She experiences visions and weird whispers after the ritual. Ida shows up at school but finds herself shunned by Amelia and the others who don’t pay much attention to her. Jakob blanks her too, leaving Ida all alone and unsure where to turn next.

Ida’s condition continues to worsen as she struggles to concentrate and continues to feel under the weather. After throwing up in the morning, Lene realizes that Ida is actually pregnant. As the girl begins sobbing, Lene tells her she’s going to go to Marrakech and she wants Ida to join her.

Eventually Ida recovers enough to head into school where she spies Jakob and Amelia having sex in the music room. Distraught, Ida struggles while Henrik notices her under a tunnel hiding out from the rain. He encourages her to head over and talk to him before she heads home.

Henrik convinces her to stay and tells her she has a lot to live for. Ida excuses herself to use the bathroom but in doing so, finds the familiar mask from the ritual. The mask from the man who had sex with her. Oh no…

The Episode Review

The penultimate episode of Equinox delivers some damning truths and starts to align the puzzle pieces in a more coherent way. Ida being referred to as a child of equinox may well hint at her being conceived at a similar cult-like gathering that Ida attended. Given Ida is around that age, it’s not farfetched to believe the 21 year cycle is repeating. Could we be seeing a repeat of what’s happened in the past?

There’s still lots of unresolved questions with this one though but it’s very clear that this cult is central to what’s going on. Henrik is clearly one of the ring-leaders here too, especially given the mask inside his bathroom revealing that he was the one who had sex with Ida. This also explains exactly what his connection with the kids was too.

For now we’ll have to wait and see how the finale unfolds but Equinox has been an intriguing mystery series so far, one that’s been a really rewarding slow burn.