Netflix’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” is a horror TV series that Guillermo del Toro created. Each episode is a short story about the theme of human curiosity through bizarre and unexplainable events. It follows an anthology format. The third episode, “The Autopsy,” is based on a Michael Shea short story.
The episode focuses on a medical inspector who is called to investigate an unusual incident at a mine. It introduces exciting concepts but ends with an unclear conclusion. The episode’s conclusion must therefore be a source of curiosity for viewers. Here’s everything you need to know regarding ‘The Cabinet of Curiosities.
Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 3: Recap
Episode 3 of ‘Cabinet of Curiosities,’ titled “The Autopsy,” opens with a blast at a mine that kills ten workers. A few days later, Sheriff Nate invites Dr. Carl Winter, his old friend, to Braddock Fort. This is a small community in Montague County. Carl is a medical inspector, and Nate asks him for his assistance in finding the truth about the series of unexplainable events that led to the explosion at the mine. Although the blast at the mine claimed the workers’ lives, there was no evidence that explosive materials were present on the scene. Nate asks Carl to conduct an autopsy of the bodies to look for evidence of the bomb blast.
Nate, however, explains the nightmare situation through flashbacks before Carl can examine the corpses. Nate and his deputy failed in their attempts to find any leads or evidence after a series of disappearances took place in the small town a few months back. They found a body in the woods and identified Joe Allen. The man, formerly Edward Sykes, was reported missing in the woods a few months back during a mentor shower. After the metro shower, the disappearances began in the town. Nate believes that Sykes is connected to the disappearances in the city.
Sykes was a resident of a motel name Joe Allen. Nate discovers that Allen has a mysterious object while inspecting the motel. Nate attempts to arrest Allen, but he escapes with the team, leading to the explosion at The Mine. Carl discovers that he has cancer after learning all about the case. He prepares to do an autopsy of the miners and begins recording his findings. Carl is soon threatened by the actual cause of the deaths and disappearances.
Cabinet of Curiosities Episode 3: What is the Traveler?
Allen suddenly awakens from a deep sleep while inspecting the bodies of the deceased and becomes an alien parasitic creature. The alien lives off human blood and can be found within the human body. The beast holds Carl hostage and attacks him. The animal calls itself a “Traveler,” an alien species from outer space. This alien species has been traveling to Earth for many years and has successfully fused with human physiology. The Traveler requires a human host to survive on Earth. Their first step in transportation is to destroy their spaceship, so that other species can’t learn about their physiology.
The Traveler tells Carl that his current host can no longer use it because he is suffering from hunger. The Traveler now seeks a new host. Carl is a medical examiner, so his body will provide the Traveler with endless supplies of corpses from which to draw blood. The Traveler won’t have to hunt for food or fear being found. The alien parasitic creature is arrogant and can’t control its hubris. The alien parasitic being is not superior to us. The alien doesn’t have senses and depends on its host to hunt and gather food.
Is Carl dead? What happens to the Traveler?
The Traveler reveals its true motives and begins the process of transferring its proper form into Carl. It attaches itself to Carl and then uses the rest of its host body’s strength to continue operating. The Traveler rips itself from Allen’s body and begins entering Carl’s. The operation is a conversation between Carl and the Traveler. Carl tells the creature that the Traveler’s arrogance will lead to its demise. Carl makes a last-ditch attempt to stop the alien’s plans after the creature injures Carl’s body.
Carl leaves behind a message for Nate with blood on his body and destroys all of his sensory organs. His brain is also damaged, and he only keeps one cord connected so that he may talk to The Traveler. Soon, The Traveler fuses completely with Carl’s body. It is stuck inside because none of Carl’s sensory organs function. Therefore, the Traveler’s body is useless as it lacks any sense. Carl soon dies, and the Traveler is also pronounced dead by the experienced medical examiner. Nate arrives and finds Carl’s last message and the recording. This is proof that the Traveler exists. The sole purpose of the Traveler is thus also destroyed.
The arrogance of the Traveler causes him to ignore tape recordings. Carl’s prediction of the alien is accurate. Carl can also defeat the alien because he has already made peace with death and surrendered to it. The Traveler, on the other hand, sees death as a prison. He wants to live through different host forms. Carl defeats the Traveler using his wits to prove that the alien is nothing but a parasite. Carl ultimately gives up his life to stop the Traveler’s charade and defeats the creature once and for all.