When one door closes on Haven, at least one more if blown wide open. And true to form, Thursday’s midseason finale, “Chosen,” did just that, shutting down the Mara/Audrey storyline while jumping off in a somewhat new direction.

Directed by Shawn Piller, “Chosen” picked up from last week’s story with a rapid-fire delivery of some key facts: Charlotte is 1,100 years old and is Mara’s mother. Mara, who is 600, became super-bad after being split from Audrey and doesn’t realize what a truly evil girl she’s been. Also? The mysterious aether is from the void between the two worlds and Charlotte and Mara belong in that other world. As a die-hard Haven fan, even I had to chuckle at the main storyline after I’d typed it. Only in this genre can stuff like that happen and no one bats an eye.

Anyway, Charlotte wanted to meet up with Mara and–with help from Audrey–perhaps the two could show Mara the err of her ways. And, if things worked out like Charlotte hoped, Mara and Audrey would become one again and the Troubles would stop. After all, Mara had said she turned off Duke’s leaking Troubles. (Raise your hand if you loved that exploding husband off the top of the episode. “I told you not to touch anything!” Good old Duke.)

Speaking of, the lanky lad was once again the odd man out in the situation, leaking black eye goo while seeing the gal he’d grown to have feelings for disappear. Now there is just Audrey, and Nathan has his love back. Duke, meanwhile, lost Mara and is in a very bad way. By episode’s end we’d learned that not only had Mara not turned him off like she’d told Charlotte, but he was exploding Trouble leeches out of his eyes. Now, instead of just a few people having them, it looks like every Havenite is going to be Troubled.

Like I said, only on Haven.

Notes and quotes

• “I’m about eleven-hundred in your years. Mara is six-hundred. Ish.”–Charlotte
• Turns out Dwight is into super-old chicks
• “Lady, I know problems and store-bought Kahlua is not a problem.”–Duke
• “I have to go to The Great Gull to pick up a body. With a sponge.”–Gloria
• Dave and Vince’s realization that the Croatoan massacre may have happened around Haven is an interesting twist, but there is still lots to cover in that storyline.

Haven returns in 2015 on Showcase.

Well, that lasted one whole week. The secret about Charlotte not being from the Center for Disease Control, I mean.

So, the big question at the end of Thursday’s new episode, “Mortality,” was: who the heck is Charlotte and who sent her to Haven? Of course, that question should be answered next week … unless Dave is unable to get cell service or drive back to Haven on his own.

Charlotte and Dwight spent a bunch of time together, mostly with him trying to convince her that a thing called the Troubles existed in Haven. She wasn’t buying it at first–she suspected Dwight had hired a sniper to shoot him at the same time she took target practice–but finally caved.

Other than that, “Mortality” didn’t have a ton of reveals. Audrey picked up a dose of the contagion, meaning she has some sort of Trouble after all, Pete was the one spreading the contagion amongst the Troubled folk (stress will do that to poor Pete), and a guy named Kirby was able to see how people will die and told Audrey he saw how she and her “twin” will meet their dual demise.

Duke appeared to be firmly in the “bad guy” camp with Mara after she brainwashed him into thinking the town hated him–he even unshackled and allowed her outside on an emergency run to the hospital to try and get to the bottom of the contagion conundrum–but was in his right mind by the time she killed Pete to stop the contagion. Mara re-attaching the handcuffs and telling Duke she wants to help him was either the biggest play this season’s villain has or she is genuinely softening towards the big lug. I’m hoping the former over the latter because I just don’t buy them as a couple.

Overall, not the best episode of Haven in my opinion but I view “Mortality” as more of a transition episode to bigger things to come.

Notes and quotes

• “Easy on the turns, Thelma.”–Mara
• I would like a Grey Gull baseball cap
• Stan is the slowest cop on the Haven force
• I’d love it if anything I touched turned to cake

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Showcase.