The Portland Beacon
We begin episode 2 of Truth Seekers with a brief flashback to the past. Planes fly overhead as a soldier stands by his phone, calling in the numbers 1, 5, 9 and 7. As air-raids are imminent, lightning suddenly crackles down and disintegrates the man. Bizarrely, it seems to suck him inside the radio. Back in the present, Elton is unsure whether he wants to continue searching for the paranormal with Gus or not. Back at work, Dave does little to help him, thanking Gus for his diligence and being his number 1. Elton however, is his number 28. Gus takes Elton back to his house and shows him The White Sheet magazine he has stored. Specifically, he highlights the 1 star ghoul rating for the hotel they were supposed to visit. While Gus tells his Father not to move his stuff, Astrid sneaks out the van and breaks into Gus’s house. As she does, Elton and Gus leave and hit the road. It turns out Gus’s wife died in the past but he’s reluctant to talk about it. It’s also here that we learn Elton’s sister is an agoraphobe. The pair eventually arrive at The Portland Beacon. Interestingly, this hotel happens to be the same one we saw at the start of the episode. Elton immediately sees something behind the painting…which happens to be the hotelier Jack playing a trick. He shows them around where the broadband is located… but also breezes past a strange room with green tape on. Apparently, everything inside is freezing cold and the wiring is messed up. Of course this has absolutely nothing to do with the scattered broadband signal! Elton finds a strange man there called Byron who claims something is blocking the broadband. When he leaves, the door to Room 2 opens by itself beckoning Elton inside. Meanwhile, Richard sits at Gus’s desk and begins watching the Truth Seekers YouTube channel. Scoffing that it’s a load of rubbish, he changes the channel…to Helen’s make-up tutorials. Unbeknownst to him though, Astrid rushes past and continues to see the two strange apparitions. Gus continues trying to find Elton but realizes the door to Room 2 is shut tight. Thankfully Jack helps him in and finds Elton hiding under the bed sheets. He heard whistling along with the familiar numbers too. Realizing this may be a paranormal incident, Gus scrambles back to grab his gear. Thanks to Byron arriving, Elton uncovers a hidden room leading down to the basement. There, they find a skeleton and the same strange upbeat music coming from behind a door. Opening it up, the flickering lights and the radio lie dormant. Gus believes that the human spirit is stuck inside the machine which explains the numbers he keeps hearing. This, as we soon find out, happens to be the source of the radio interference. Gus manages to convince him that the war is over, which leads to the machine completely shutting down. This also seems to fix the broadband too. Elton says goodbye to “Professor” Byron outside and the pair head home. Only, something doesn’t add up as Elton keeps fumbling his back-story about where he’s from. As they sit outside Gus’s house talking, Astrid rushes over asking for help as she’s being chased by ghosts.
The Episode Review
With another ghost-of-the-week episode, The Portland Beacon serves up a nice treat as we see the duo solving the mystery of the numbers and the hotel broadband. This clever blend of horror and comedy works really well here and the growing mystery continues to make this an intriguing series. The characters are quite well written but it’s the packet of crisps gag that really stands out as the highlight of the episode. All of this leads nicely to a big cliffhanger at the end, one that leaves the door wide open for the future episodes to follow.
