The story is really kicking off with episode 4 of The Changeling, as after the initial batch of episodes set up the world of this new Apple TV Plus fairy tale horror, episode 4 on Friday, September 15 kicks things into gear.
So far we've watched as Apollo (LaKeith Stanfield) and Emma (Clark Backo) have had a whirlwind romance, married, moved in together, and had a baby... before the latter murdered the child and disappeared, leaving Apollo alone and confused.
The fantastical but horrifying world of The Changeling shows us a version of New York City but with many fairy-tale elements like witches, curses and prophecies, and that's what Apollo is having to contend with in this tense fourth episode.
This Changeling episode 4 recap will explore everything that happens in this 45-minute journey, so spoilers abound. Here's how to watch The Changeling if you still need to catch up before watching, but if you've seen it, let's jump straight in.
Money matters
Apollo and Patrice (Malcolm Barrett) are due to meet William (Samuel Herring) in order to sell him their rare copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird". While waiting, Patrice mentions baby Brian's tribute page on social media, which he thought Apollo was aware of. It's full of crazy posts that range from light sympathy to deranged cannibal and murder posts.
William arrives and drives them to a boat, much to Patrice's concern. It's not Williams' boat but one he's rented — this man is an app developer and he made his fortunes on 'Airbnb for boats'.
We learn that William is buying the book to win back his estranged wife, after his non-stop work ethic for years drove his family away from him. William has a minor breakdown and Apollo tries to comfort him but promptly leaves.
That night, Apollo has dreams of his traumatic night at the beginning of the third episode. The next morning he meets Emma's sister and offers her $10,000 of the profits from the sale, to thank her for looking after baby Brian and being family.
Emma is alive!?
At the cafe, Apollo receives a text from an unknown number saying that Emma is alive. The number sends him a map pin to meet him, and Apollo rushes there... to discover that it was William who sent the message. That man apologizes for the subterfuge.
Apparently, Emma is living on an island in the East River, where the Wise Ones live. The man won't say who he really is or how he knows this, but says that Apollo will need to get a boat to cross the river. Luckily, Apollo has just met someone with a boat rental app!
William also offers Apollo evidence of his claims, which he takes to Patrice to validate. It's CCTV footage from a dock, showing incontrovertible proof that Emma is still alive and about.
The next night, Apollo and William take the boat into the river. They see ominous messages on the Brian tribute page, and Apollo is sick when they pass the spot where he and Emma had their romantic trip on episode 2, but eventually, they find an island looming out of the fog.
On the shore, William confesses that his wife Greta didn't accept the reconciliation present of the book, and now he's at his wit's end. So Apollo lets the man join him on his journey.
The mysterious island
The men find hospital beds in a field, and William realizes that they're on North Brother Island — this is a real island, used throughout history to quarantine people (especially typhoid, and William mentions Typhoid Mary being held there for decades). Now it's simply a wildlife sanctuary, or so William says.
The two men find a building with lights on, and while Apollo charges towards it emboldened in his quest, William backs off into the fog. Four people dressed like fishermen jump the former man, and beat him up. They try to drown him in a pond, but a flashback to his cutting of Emma's bracelet gives Apollo a second wind.
Apollo starts shouting about Emma, and the figures realize who he is. They re-capture him but decide to take him to Cal, who we've heard talk of before in the season. On their trip, they pass the grieving mother from episode 3, one of the people who've mentioned Cal.
Cal, or Calisto (Jane Kaczmarek) is a woman who seemingly leads the people on the island. She's making puppets for a kids' show for the inhabitants the next day, and uses the dolls to tell a story showing Apollo that she knows his story. She also implies that baby Brian was taken as a payback curse for Apollo cutting the bracelet in episode 1.
We also hear from Cal of when "another husband" found them years ago, brought guns to the island and killed several women and children, so they "left the world and came here". Mysterious! Cal also talks about illusions, and Apollo realizes "it's not a baby" — presumably referring to Brian — but an illusion that someone made.
At this point William is discovered, so he and Apollo are led to prison cells. Cal discovers that William is Greta's husband, and she beats him half to death, mentioning plans to kill him fully. She also breaks his phone under her boot.
Apollo knows that William hasn't told him everything, so the latter man shares more. William has been searching for the island for months and needs Apollo's help. After Emma gave birth on the A Train, William has been searching for and watching Apollo, simply because he represents the kind of happy fatherhood that William failed to provide.
William's wife ran away with one of his daughters, other the other daughter died, but William is desperate to make amends. Since Cal implied Apollo could be set free, William implores the man to find his wife Greta and get her to grant William forgiveness. However when Apollo is skeptical, William ends with an ominous warning: "if you don't help me, everyone on this island is going to die".
