Let's detail Season 1 of Netflix's Archive 81 as Dan tried to save Melody, which left fans with many mysteries they need answers for.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Archive 81, now streaming on Netflix.
In Season 1 of Netflix's Archive 81, Dan (Mamoudou Athie) went down a demonic rabbit hole to find out what happened to Melody (Dina Shihabi). As he restored her footage from a fire at the Visser hotel over two decades prior, he unlocked a conspiracy tied to cults, witches and both their families, realizing Melody didn't die, but was lost in a dark realm run by a vicious god, Kaelego. However, by the time the eight episodes wrapped, there were many mysteries left unanswered.
Dan, Mark and Bobbi -- revealed to be Melody's witch mom, Julia -- opened a portal so Dan could bring Melody back. However, Dan got stuck in 1994, with Melody coming back to the present. Seeing as Julia's magic is all but lost, it left fans wondering if she could reopen the rift. She may look to Melody's untapped potential, Jess (who went to Haiti and became a nun), the witch blood in Virgil's lair, as well as the Kaelego statue and tuning fork, if she is to pry it open for more than five minutes.
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Dan and Julia were working for Virgil, who wanted the footage to reveal the truth behind the ritual as he wanted to extract the energy from the Otherworld. However, while Mark knocked Virgil out to save Dan, Julia admitted he might die. Still, seeing as his brother, Samuel, was in the Otherworld and Melody's crew might be able to unlock more doors, Virgil could become an ally. Of course, he's shady so he won't be trusted as he said he didn't even care for Samuel.
Samuel was the one who grabbed Melody from Dan and threw her back to the real world. But it wasn't revealed if he was still in the Otherworld, if he snuck out to Virgil's lair where Mark and Julia were, or if Samuel used another door to head to another timeline, as the showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine hinted this realm could be used to jump into various eras. This could make Samuel much more sinister a puppet master than first thought.
Anabelle was infected with the mold-laced paint and had a connection to the Otherworld. She sent Dan to the lair to bring Melody back, which now has fans wondering if Anabelle's connection still exists with her bestie back home. She could became a tool to help find Dan or fight Kaelego, while some other cultist in Samuel's circle may corrupt and use her as a pawn as she's institutionalized at Rockland.
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Father Russo supposedly fell onto the NYC train tracks and died, allowing Samuel to keep using Jess as bait to trap Melody. In addition, Chris seemingly jumped off the Visser building, but it's pretty clear they were both "dealt with," presumably by Samuel. That's never been clarified, though, so it'd be nice to find out who did this as someone other than Samuel might have been doctoring everyone's journeys.
Lucas bailed on the family plan in 1924 when he realized what an awful thing they were doing in trying to bring Kaelego forth, all so Iris could have a baby. He wasn't seen afterwards, so hopefully viewers will find out what he did after. He could have worked with the Baldung witches to stop Iris and Samuel's vision for the demon, which may well have played into why Dan's family was burned -- all to protect the secret and keep the monster at bay.
In the two portals opened in the '20s and '90s, other cultists got sent over to the Otherworld besides Iris and Samuel, respectively. Fans need to know who died in the subsequent fires, who ended up Kaelego's minions in that dark dimension, and who might have gotten out to different time periods to keep the demon's plan going. It'd also be nice to know why Jess didn't notify the world of the cults, rather than just disappearing to become a woman of the cloth.
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The footage from both rituals will act as proof for the outside world, but while Virgil had most, fans would like to know if Dan snuck more out. He had Jess' footage, which helped him find Melody, but he could have hidden more from Virgil's lair. The shocking thing is, this might be a bad thing as this footage is infected with Kaelego's presence, which could spread the demonic poison all over the world.
Season 1 wasn't clear on this, firstly connecting Kaelego to the Kharon comet and black mold that was derived from it on Earth. It shaped the being as a Lovecraftian monster, but it's still uncertain if that might be a misdirection. Kaelego could be an emissary of Satan or the Devil himself, ergo why he lured people to the Otherworld with their wildest dreams, such as Dan getting to reunite with his family and Iris possibly having a kid.
To see these mysteries in Archive 81, stream all eight episodes on Netflix.
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