Lord of Misrule

Grace tears her own hair and binds it like a gift, signaling the start of a sinister ritual. Three masked observers watch from afar, and Grace seems to communicate with them without uttering a word. This moment hints at a hidden belief system operating in the village that Rebecca has yet to recognize.

Rebecca returns home and blames Henry for not taking proper care of Grace, especially after her injuries caused by the rabbit. Henry deflects, saying he must focus on work to provide for the family. Grace overhears the argument and quietly leaves to distance herself from the tension.

Grace is selected as the Harvest Angel, and Rebecca feels unease at participating in the village custom. Grace heads toward the festival ground as villagers prepare for the ritual. The atmosphere hints at a ritual importance beyond ordinary celebration.

Jocelyn assumes the makeup and role of the lord of misrule, praying to the devil with ominous gestures. He confronts the crowd and urges them to chant Gallowgog’s name, displaying fearless reverence for dark forces. The ritual unfolds as he guides the townspeople toward the forest edge.

The lord of misrule leads the villagers to a field by the forest where three bonfires blaze and the dancing continues. Rebecca scans the crowd for Grace but is told, in a vague fashion, that Grace is now away. She ventures into the forest in search of her daughter and returns without finding her.

Police question Rebecca and Henry but the investigation seems hollow, with repeated questions and little effort. Rebecca prays for Grace and later sleeps in Grace's bed, convinced Grace is alive and calling for help. A whisper in the night confirms Rebecca's growing belief that Grace is trapped and needs saving.

On the third day, Rebecca pleads with the villagers to pray for Grace, while Jocelyn counters that God cannot return what was taken. He echoes a line found at Nash's property—'He stands in the field and waits'—tying Grace's disappearance to an ominous ritual. Rebecca learns of Derry Nash and the old Tobias Bron tale linking the cult to the present danger.

Ida appears increasingly possessed by an unseen force, while Mira explains the folklore: Gallowgog is tied to the land and to a history Christianity sought to erase. An old book suggests Gallowgog is the spirit of the land itself, complicating Rebecca’s understanding of what is happening. The folklore begins to blur with the town’s actions.

In a flash of history, Tobias Bron is linked to a Black Barn ritual where offerings were made. Rebecca and Henry learn that the boy is Derry Nash and track his grandfather to Nash’s property. Inside a campervan, they uncover ominous handmade structures and a Harvest Angel girl seated on a blood-stained throne, revealing a dark cult at work.

The village holds a vigil for Grace, and the ritualistic atmosphere becomes undeniable to Rebecca and Henry. Jocelyn’s cult becomes openly visible, and a confrontation erupts when Henry hits Jocelyn to stop the madness. Derry Nash attempts to intervene and is killed by Jocelyn, leaving Rebecca terrified and captured.

Rebecca wakes to find Jocelyn pressuring her to accept the cult’s truth, hinting at the town’s past revenge. Jocelyn declares that killing a vicar is the new form of Bron’s punishment, and Henry becomes the target. Jocelyn executes Henry in front of Rebecca, sealing her complicity in the ritual.

Right after Henry’s death, Rebecca finds herself brought into the Black Barn with Grace nearby and the ritual performance intensifying. She confronts Gallowgog directly, revealing her face to the devil and offering her hair as a gift to save Grace. The devil accepts, and Rebecca emerges from the darkness with Grace in her arms.

Rebecca explains that she faced Gallowgog and chose a personal sacrifice, causing the crowd to doubt Jocelyn’s deception. The villagers, shocked by the visible power shift, burn Jocelyn as retribution for his manipulation and murder. The ritual’s façade begins to crumble as trust in Jocelyn evaporates.

Rebecca remains the village vicar, but she has accepted a dangerous truth: she has allowed a fragment of Gallowgog to enter her through the hair offering. Her appearance and authority are now altered, and she continues to protect Grace within a new, unsettling balance. The town begins to live with this uneasy fusion of church and folklore.

The story closes with the implication that a part of the devil dwells inside Rebecca, a consequence of sacrificing her hair to Gallowgog. Grace remains by her side, and the villagers accept this transformed order as the new normal. The ending hints at power and danger coexisting within the same maternal and clerical bond.