The more I think about the resolution to Ethan's plot this week, the more I like it. I wrote my previous post this afternoon, just after finishing up the episode. But I've been thinking on it, and I've had some thoughts that really solidify it in my mind. Mostly that the resolution, pretty much everything since they arrived at Talbot Ranch last week, isn't actually about Ethan so much anymore as it is about Malcolm. So much of the resolution hinges on Malcolm looking across that table at dinner and seeing himself, the man he used to be. And then stepping up to save Ethan from that kind of father. Interesting parallels as well to Malcolm shooting Mina back in season 1 to save Vanessa. Ethan's rage, his hate, which Hecate was using to manipulate him towards evil, is focused on his father. Effectively, killing his father is the point of no return for him, from the narrative's standpoint. When Ethan chooses to let his father live, he saves his soul, but didn't remove the potential threat. Malcolm's murder of the elder Talbot is a noble act, in it's way. Saving Ethan from an inevitable round 2.