Cr. Ken Woroner/Netflix © 2022
For anyone confused about the ending to the first episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities then allow us to try and help! We’ll also be covering the remaining episodes of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, but here is the ending explained to Lot 36.
Lot 36 is the first episode of Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, and was directed by Guillermo Navarro, and written by Regina Corrado.
To pay off his debt, Nick secures a storage unit filled with mysterious possessions to sell but soon finds himself in a deadly and desperate situation.
What happened in Lot 36?
After winning the auction for Lot 36, Nick began routing through the unit searching for valuables. Upon finding the candelabra, the chairs, and the seance table, Nick desperately needed to get an appraisal for the items after his truck is vandalized by his loan shark, Tommy, to who he owed twelve thousand dollars. Nick also tried to make a quick thousand dollars after a woman named Amelia arrives at the storage unit to pay her overdue bill, only to discover that Nick had purchased her lot. Despite her desperate pleas for access to the lot, Nick was dismissive, and would only give her access to the lot if she paid him a thousand dollars. He mockingly gave her the padlock from the unit, which would later come back to haunt him.
Upon taking the items to Agatha, she opened a secret compartment in the seance table which revealed three books of questionable origin. Knowing exactly who to call, Agatha brought in Roland, an expert on the books, who revealed the origin of the books, and the Wolmar family that previously owned them. However, Nick was missing the fourth and most valuable book of the collection, Liber Quartus Sacramentum. The fourth book had the means to bind a demonic entity, but upon the completion of a “transaction”, the book would ignite, destroying itself. All Nick cared about was the $300,000 promised to him if he could find the fourth book.
While on the way back to the lot, Roland revealed that the previous owners of Lot 36, the Wolmar family, were originally from Austria, and had made their fortune through steel, and making tanks for the German army in WW2. After the war, the family immigrated from Austria and settled in the USA. However, Mr. Wolmar had gambled the fortune away, disgracing the family. On top of that, he had used his sister for demonic possession, but in the eyes of the public, she mysteriously disappeared.
Once back at the lot, Nick and Roland discovered a secret entrance to the back of lot 36. Going down into a small secret tunnel, the pair discovered the last book and what remained of Dottie Wolmar, whose body was occupied by a demonic entity but was trapped within a summoning circle. Ignoring Roland’s pleas to be cautious, Nick’s attempts to get the fourth book disturbed the summoning circle, releasing the demonic entity within.
Almost instantly, Roland is consumed by the monster, which causes the book to ignite, signifying that the “transaction” had been completed. Nick attempts to escape from the facility but is chased by the monster, until he reaches the exit, however, he is unable to open the door. To Nick’s surprise, Amelia is on the other side, and he desperately asks for her help, only for her to take her revenge for his earlier rudeness, and use the padlock he returned to lock him inside. Hearing the monster is close, Nick once again attempts to escape, but is caught by the monster, and assumed to be eaten.
In the end what really killed Nick was his ignorance, greed, and his intolerance. Had he helped Amelia earlier in the story he would have escaped with his life or had he listened to Roland and done as instructed, he could have driven away with over $300,000 in his back pocket.
Did Roland know Dottie?
Roland, the mysterious expert behind the occult books, met a gruesome end in Lot 36. His expertise in the occult, his accent, and his knowledge of the Wolmar family history suggest he may have known them personally.
It is extremely coincidental that the expert on the occult books in Mr. Wolmar’s possession lived nearby, which heavily suggests he knew the Wolmar family for a long time and had been keeping tabs on them but kept himself at a distance out of fear of coming in contact with someone as dangerous as Mr. Wolmar.
Roland knew how dangerous the possessed body of Dottie had become, but that wasn’t enough for him to run away from the danger. In fact, the way he says her name with longing and sadness only suggests further he had known Dottie for a long time.
What Roland planned on doing with the books was unclear, but he may have bargained for the return of Dottie, and offered up an unwitting sacrifice as payment.
Did Amelia want to kill Nick?
Amelia exhibited some suspicious behavior at the storage facility by watching Nick, but nothing to suggest she wanted him dead. Her decision to lock him inside the storage facility with the same padlock he returned to her was a cruel moment of irony, however, it may have only been her intention to mess with him, and lock him in for the night.
If she knew about the monster and wanted Nick dead, then that would have been an extreme reaction to what Nick did with her belongings in the lot.
Where was Eddie?
Given the time of the evening, Eddie would have gone home. However, there’s a nasty surprise shaped in the form of the demonically possessed Dottie Wolmar that awaits him in the morning.
What did you think of the ending of Lot 36? Let us know in the comments below!
