The baby shower scene also makes the connection between blood and the forest's will more obvious, as Shauna drips a spontaneous nosebleed onto the enchanted blanket. Within seconds of the blood hitting a spot near the symbol, a thudding noise begins outside: it's dozens of birds flying into the cabin and dying immediately. "Il veut du sang," Lottie (Simone Kessell) hears in the present day at episode's end, and it's the same phrase that she screamed in the first season after the seance.

Is it the forest that wants blood, or the hunter's spirit, or something else entirely? Or is it the geometric image itself, imbued with symbolic power simply because the girls believe in it? While the "it" in question remains a mysterious presence, it's clear that the girls' time in the forest has involved more than a little sacrifice. When Lottie kills the bear, she presents its heart to a hollowed out tree trunk, an offering in exchange for the girls' continued survival.

Since then, they've all stayed alive, but they've also taken the body of Jackie (Ella Purnell) as a sacrifice of sorts, insisting she would want to be used as food. The appearance of the birds presents a clever wrinkle, as it seems at once ominous and timely. If it turns out that the girls can eat the birds, it once again seems as if Lottie's vague belief system has brought them good fortune. Yet black birds are often seen as a bad omen, a portend of doom, and their sudden mass suicide isn't exactly comforting.