The Call is the sixth episode of Creeped Out's first season and the sixth episode of the series overall. It first aired on 5 December 2017 on CBBC.
Synopsis[]
Pearl feels uncomfortable in her own skin, and when a mysterious call draws her to the sea, she embarks on a journey of discovery that she may come to regret.
Plot[]
Prologue[]
The Curious wanders down an empty school corridor and inspects his reflection in a mirror. The Narrator asks whether you have ever felt uncomfortable in your own skin. What if there was a reason for that?
Episode[]
On a stormy night, Pearl sleeps restlessly. She dreams of the sea and hears whispering voices.
The next morning, Pearl and her parents discuss themes for her upcoming 15th birthday party. Pearl decides on 'the sea'. She is worried that nobody will want to come, as nobody has yet replied to her online invite. Her dad suggests Pearl's brother, Danny, should help persuade people to come along.
At school, Pearl hears the whispering again. She wanders into a classroom where Pui is giving a talk on marine conservation. Pui encourages Pearl to crush a plastic bottle in front of the class, representing the damage 'filthy humans' inflict on the environment. Impressed by Pui's confidence, Pearl asks her for advice. Pui tells Pearl to act on instinct instead of thinking too much.
The whispering leads Pearl to the school swimming pool. Danny follows and finds her swimming fully clothed. He's impressed by how long she can stay underwater, and suggests she has special powers. Since they are both adopted, he believes the answer could lie with Pearl's birth parents.
At home, Pearl and Danny search their parents' paperwork and come across a memory stick containing a folder called 'Pearl'. It contains a video showing their parents finding a baby on the beach. As Pearl and Danny are watching, their parents return home and confirm they have never been able to establish where Pearl came from.
At school, Pearl revels in her new-found powers, swimming 50 metres in under 11 seconds. She also seems to develop the ability to manipulate others' thoughts, which she uses to secure more attendees to her birthday party. She visits Pui to tell her the advice worked. Pui suggests she should be using her 'power' to change the world, and invites Pearl to her next rally. They visit the beach together, and Pearl tells Pui she feels at home by the sea.
The next day, Danny questions Pui's influence, which Pearl shrugs off. When she sees someone leaving a plastic bottle on the floor, Pearl becomes enraged and uses her powers to throw rubbish at the offender. At home, Danny questions her again, and she complains about 'dirty humans', echoing Pui's words, and calls Danny a 'dirty little land-dweller'. She attacks him with sound-waves until they are interrupted by their parents.
Pearl flees the house and goes to look for Pui. She finds Pui's office empty, then wanders into another room to find Pui sleeping in a large tank of water. The two of them go to the beach again; Pui explains they are both sirens, and that she is the one who has been whispering to Pearl. As she asks Pearl to go with her, Danny arrives, warning that Pui is not to be trusted.
Pui uses her powers to attack Danny. Pearl refuses to join Pui and instead battles her. When Pui asks her to stop, Pearl says the land is her home. Pui returns to the sea. At home, Pearl cancels her birthday party, saying she would rather spend the day with her parents and brother.
One year later, having celebrated her 16th birthday, Pearl gets ready for bed. We see that, like Pui, she now sleeps in a tank of water – albeit still in her bedroom at home.
Epilogue[]
The Curious collects a sample of water from the beach. The Narrator asks what happens when danger comes from within you.
Cast[]
- Pearl (Rebecca Hanssen)
- Pui (Acushla-Tara Kupe)
- Danny (William Haresceugh)
- Hannah (Zita Sattar)
- Darrell (Chris Jack)
- The Curious (William Romain)
- The Narrator (Aurora Aksnes)
Trivia[]
- Pearl is the second Creeped Out protagonist to have superpowers, after Jessie from Slapstick.
- The Call was the last episode to air before the show took a month-long hiatus.
- Like Slapstick, this episode was partly filmed in New Brighton, The Wirral.
- This is the second episode, after Slapstick, to use the setting of Karter Bay.