Dark Gathering: Season 1, Episode 20 - The Old I Watergate: An Innocent Grudge (2023)

In the ending of Dark Gathering Season 1 Episode 20, "The Old I Watergate: An Innocent Grudge," Shami is killed and gruesomely turned into meatballs by the boy's spirit after a fierce confrontation at the watergate, leaving Keitaro, Yayoi, and Eiko horrified as they realize the boy's deadly true nature and escape the peril.

Now, let me take you through the climactic ending scene by scene, as it unfolds chronologically in the dim, humid shadows of the Old I Watergate, where the air hangs thick with mist from the lake and the faint echoes of dripping water amplify every tense breath.

The scene opens with Keitaro piecing together the boy's deception. He stands drenched near the water's edge, his clothes clinging to his skin from the humidity, eyes widening in realization as he recalls the boy's subtle clues--the way the child seemed to manipulate reflections in the rippling lake surface and the humid air to project a false physical presence, fooling them into thinking he was just an innocent lost soul moved by the lake's pull. Keitaro's face drains of color, heart pounding with growing dread, as he whispers to Yayoi and Eiko about the boy's location and hidden malice.

Suddenly, the stepmother's vengeful spirit materializes from the mist, her translucent form twisted in rage, lunging straight at Keitaro with claw-like hands outstretched. Her ethereal body slices through the air, aiming to tear into him, her eyes burning with otherworldly hatred from her tragic past. Keitaro stumbles back, defenseless, the ground slick beneath his feet.

In a flash, Shami intervenes, shoving Keitaro aside and taking the brunt of the assault. Her body jerks as the spirit's attack connects, blood spraying from deep gashes across her chest and arms, staining her clothes dark crimson against the pale fog. She gasps, clutching her wounds, but before she can recover, the boy's spirit notices the stepmother's presence clinging near Shami like a shadow.

The boy's spirit reacts with chilling precision. His small, innocent-looking form twists unnaturally, eyes gleaming with sadistic glee as he reveals his obsession: he adores hanging his victims and compressing them into grotesque meatballs. With a surge of supernatural force, invisible tendrils yank Shami upward, suspending her in mid-air by her neck. She thrashes wildly, legs kicking futilely, blood dripping down to patter on the wet stone below, her face contorting in agony and shock as the air is crushed from her lungs.

Yayoi, Keitaro, and Eiko watch in frozen horror from a few paces away, their faces pale and mouths agape. Yayoi's small hands clench into fists, her prodigious spiritual senses overwhelmed by the raw evil unfolding; Keitaro grips Eiko's arm tightly, his body trembling with helpless rage; Eiko's eyes widen in disbelief, whispering denials under her breath.

Shami's body convulses violently as the boy's power intensifies. Her limbs crunch and fold inward with sickening, wet snaps, bones grinding like gravel under immense pressure. Flesh warps and compacts, skin splitting open in ragged tears, until her entire form collapses into a pulsating mass of bloody, meaty orbs--perfect, horrifying meatballs that plop onto the ground one by one, steaming faintly in the cold air. The metallic stench of blood fills the scene, mixing with the lake's dank rot.

The trio stands rooted in shock, the boy's spirit hovering triumphantly nearby, his childlike giggle cutting through the silence like a blade. Keitaro snaps out of it first, grabbing Yayoi and Eiko, yelling for them to run as the mist thickens and the boy's presence looms larger, hinting at more victims to come.

As the episode fades out on their frantic retreat, the fates of the main participants crystallize: Shami perishes completely, her human body and possessing spirit alike destroyed and reduced to meatballs, consumed or discarded by the boy. The boy's spirit endures victorious, his grudge unbound and his killing spree revealed in full--hanging and meatball-crushing countless others, driven by an innocent facade masking pure malice, with ties to his stepmother's spirit now severed or redirected. Keitaro survives, shaken but resolute, taking charge to protect his friends. Yayoi survives, her powers briefly used earlier but unspent here, her determination to hunt stronger spirits like this one hardened. Eiko survives, her bond with Keitaro tested but intact amid the terror. The core conflict escalates, underscoring the boy's transformation from pitiful victim to apex predator, his "innocent grudge" a deceptive lure that preys on empathy, forcing the protagonists to confront how spirits steal bodies and lives with ruthless cunning.