Damnation Spring

Colleen is angry that the Damnation Grove harvest might lead to renewed spraying right by the family home. Rich says because the spray is legal, there is nothing he can do. The pair are arguing when the phone rings. It is Sanderson’s secretary Marsha, with news for Rich.

Lark has died. The community turns out to pay him its respects at his funeral. There, Helen spits in Merle Sanderson’s face.

A grieving Rich returns to work. Colleen consoles an emotional Chub, who wishes his best friend Luke would come back to school. Later, Colleen drives to Daniel’s uncle’s house. Daniel reveals that locals have been persecuting his uncle, vandalizing his boat and stealing his outboard motor. Colleen hands over more water samples to Daniel, saying she feels she has to try and do something about the situation.

The Gundersens visit the cemetery together. As they pay their respects to Lark and dead family members, Colleen notices that all this time Rich has been visiting and leaving a little agate in memory of their recently miscarried child.

That afternoon, they take on the arduous job of cleaning out Lark’s cluttered old home. Colleen cleans inside with Marsha’s help. Outside, Rich dismantles a cairn Lark stacked up for Rich’s dead dad.

Rich tells Colleen about Lark’s “loan,” now permanent, to tide them over. On his way to work, Rich comes across a family of tourists in distress after crashing their car. Rich says the wet pine needles on the road must have been to blame. He ferries the family to the local bakery, where they can phone for assistance.

When he arrives at the Sanderson mill to catch the “crummy,” a term for a vehicle that transports loggers to a worksite, Rich sees Marsha hauling a box to her car. She breaks the momentous news to Rich: Merle has sold Damnation Grove out from under them all to the state park. The harvest will not go forward, nor will the completion of the roads. Rich speeds to Merle’s house to confront him.

Merle has been playing everyone all along. Sanderson knew there was no way to replace its lucrative earnings from finite old growth redwoods. So, Merle negotiated to have Damnation Grove incorporated into the state park, while also guaranteeing a final pay day, by salvaging the redwoods downed during the vandalizing of the Grove. His actions screw over almost everyone in the community and especially Rich. But Merle seems to take pleasure in that. Rich punches him several times, then leaves the gloating Merle in his empty home, taking Merle’s abused dog with him—Merle had its vocal cords cut so it couldn’t bark.

Back at the mill, Marsha hands Rich one last paycheck, a carved wooden box Lark wanted him to have, and Lark’s beloved pocket knife. Rich gives Don and Eugene a lift home. Eugene admits to burning down Carl and Helen’s house, mindful that Merle played him too.