How To Hang A Witch

At the hospital, Sam talks to her unconscious father. When she touches his hand, his heart monitor rises, and the nurses force Sam to leave the room. Sam remembers kids from school cutting off one of her braids; her father cut his hair to match hers. The nurses tell Sam and Vivian that Charles is stable for now, but they should wait a few days before visiting again. Sam kisses him goodbye and tells him she's going to fix the curse.

Sam thinks her dad should be moved far away from the curse and Salem, but Vivian says moving could harm him. Vivian suggests therapy for Sam. Sam accuses Vivian of not caring about her father, and Vivian angrily leaves. Sam cries and calls for Elijah, who seems concerned. Sam says she needs his help to break the curse. Elijah says she will probably need the Descendants’ help. Sam reluctantly agrees. She asks to borrow notes on the other Descendants' deaths to convince the people who hate her to help break a curse on their families.

In homeroom the next morning, Sam tries to talk to Alice, Mary, and Susannah about the curse, but they refuse. Susannah slips her a note, asking for an explanation. Sam hands back Elijah's notes. Sam is told to go to the principal's office, and she finds Vivian on a first-name basis with the principal. They discuss Sam’s troubles, and the principal suggests she see the school therapist. Vivian insists.

Sam finds a note on her locker from the Descendants requesting a meeting. On the way there, she sees a funeral, which must be for a Descendant. They meet in a garden at a local mansion. Suzannah and Alice want to know where Sam got her information. Sam doesn't want to tell them and instead asks if they'll help her. Susannah finally acquiesces. Sam says that the curse is triggered when at least one member of each of the families involved in the witch trials is in Salem. Alice looks shocked and says they need to talk in private.

They go to Mary's house, which feels normal and comfortable to Sam. Sam tells the three girls about finding the actual execution location. The girls agree to go, but Alice doesn't want Sam coming because she’s not one of them. Mary says that she is technically part of a descendent family, despite being on the wrong side of history. They swear Sam to secrecy and gather candles and cloaks, telling Mary's mom they're on their way out but will be back for dinner. Sam sees how close the families are. Mary's mom jokes with Sam about not letting the girls make her dance naked in the moonlight, and the girls joke back about fun initiations. They go behind the Walgreens and through the woods until they find a spot to spread out a blanket. Sam is worried that if she can see Elijah, maybe she can see other spirits, too. The girls light candles and recite a spell, inviting Sam to join in and asking to see clearly. After a moment, Sam sees the girls’ faces flicker, and older women's faces are transposed over them. Sam sees a boy being crushed by a large piece of metal. Mary screams, breaking their trance, and they leave the woods. They are disturbed and leave in silence.

When Sam gets home, Vivian is furious that Sam didn’t let her know where she was. When Sam snaps back, Vivian says Sam can’t see her father for another week as punishment. Sam goes to her room and accuses Elijah of not being able to stand her, and he says he had a similar fight with his sister. He says his sister was in love with one of his friends, and he eventually agreed to carry love letters back and forth between them, despite his friend being pressured by his family to marry someone else. Sam thanks him for sharing, and he jokes that it’s terrible to find something in common. They have a moment of levity before she tells him about the experience with the Descendants. He’s surprised she practiced witchcraft. He wants to see the faces that appeared; he read reports of people seeing faces like she described, and the people who saw the faces died soon after.

Everyone in the cafeteria watches Sam approach the Descendants’ lunch table. They invite her to sit. Sam says they need to return to the hanging location, and the girls agree to go after the witches and warlocks party that night. Samantha tells them about people dying after seeing the faces but won’t reveal how she knows. Lizzie shows up at the younger student’s lunch and tells Sam to leave. Jaxon tells her about the annual costume party at Alice’s house and asks her to go with him.

Susannah shows up at Sam’s house, and Vivian talks to her about the party. Susannah appreciates the house and shows Sam a letter from Sam’s grandmother to hers. Susannah denies knowing anything about the rock being thrown through Sam’s window but admits Sam has reasons not to trust the Descendants. Susannah reveals her little sister has cancer. She wants Sam to trust her so they can work together. She leaves, and Sam finds a beautiful black dress in her armoire that she is sure Elijah left her. Vivian is surprised by the dress and gives her a black cape to wear as a peace offering. While Vivian is in the closet, Sam sees a medical bill on her dresser. Sam remembers how Vivian used to dress her up in matching clothes, helping Sam feel confident in front of her bullies. Vivian adds a knotted silver necklace to Sam's outfit. Sam feels guilty and asks if they can talk the next day over dinner. Vivian softens and agrees, saying they will go see Sam’s dad. Jaxon arrives and says she looks beautiful. His mom sent a corsage made of sugared flowers.

They flirt as they near the house, and Sam feels odd after having one drink. Lizzie tells her to get out. Lizzie and Jaxon argue, but people around them begin to break out in rashes resembling bite marks. Lizzie says it’s Sam, but Susannah tells Lizzie to stop. Soon everyone is screaming in pain. Jaxon pulls at Sam, who doesn’t want to leave without talking to Alice and Susannah, but Elijah appears and tells her to run. Kids are crying and pointing at Sam: She is the only one without bite marks. They chase Sam and pound on Jaxon's truck door as they drive away. She and Jaxon part badly when she says she has to go but won’t tell him where or why, and she offends Vivian by saying she left the cape behind.

Elijah convinces Sam not to go meet the Descendants, as their parents and the police are convening to discuss the incident at the party. Many blame Sam. Sam cries, and Elijah comforts her. They hug. She asks about Abigail, and he tells her he painted the portrait downstairs. Abigail loved to make up songs, despite it being against Puritan laws. Sam calls him a Puritan rebel because he smuggled in canvases and paint, as well as the blue dress for Abigail. Only his fiancée knew. When the trials started, people said that his sister sang songs to the devil. Elijah secured her passage to Europe, but she refused to leave William, who said he couldn’t marry her to protect her because his mother was already unwell. Eventually, William denied their relationship, and Abigail’s health declined. She died when she learned William was engaged to someone else. She avoided being arrested for witchcraft because of her illness. Elijah investigated and discovered his fiancée spread the rumors about Abigail’s singing because she was jealous of their relationship. Elijah died by suicide following this betrayal. Elijah and Sam share a moment of understanding, and Elijah admits to bringing her the dress for the party. They are interrupted by a text from Jaxon.