Elah Bandik (Robert Clarke), the Castithan who fled the battle in the pilot episode, is accused of cowardice by Datak Tarr (Tony Curran) and must undergo a "cleansing" ceremony which is actually ritual torture and execution.

Nolan (Grant Bowler) and Irisa (Stephanie Leonidas) intervene and stop the ceremony, but Amanda (Julie Benz) allows the ritual to continue, citing a previous incident in which many Irathient were killed and those remaining left Defiance.

Rafe McCawley (Graham Greene) is displeased with his daughter Christie's (Nicole Muñoz) engagement to Alak Tarr (Jesse Rath); he asks her to call off the wedding.

Rafe McCawley leads Nolan through a series of caverns called "The Rat's Nest", meeting up with the blocked shaft in the ruins of Old St. Louis.

With the help of Tommy (Dewshane Williams), a Deputy Lawkeeper, she arrests Elah as a means of providing protection for him.

"I may praise “Down In The Ground Where The Dead Men Go” for being audacious, for carrying the momentum from the pilot forward, for not freezing, looking down and collapsing, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the episode was actually any good.

""Defiance" has a ways to go before it truly lives up to its potential, and characterization, not plot, needs to be the primary focus for the early part of this season at least.

This week, "Down in the Ground Where the Dead Men Go" took advantage of the momentum that premiere created, propelling us into the exploration of the beliefs of some of the Defiance residents.