# HBO's Lovecraft Country



## ctg (May 2, 2020)

> The series follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he joins up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.



This is coming out at August 2020 - if we are lucky.


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## ctg (May 2, 2020)

> H.P. Lovecraft is having a moment. January brought us Richard Stanley's surreal film, _Color Out of Space_, an adaptation of the short story of the same name, in which a family on a farm encounters a glowing purple meteorite with typically horrific Lovecraftian consequences. Stanley's film adaptation of _The Dunwich Horror_ is rumored to be in development, the second in a planned trilogy. And now HBO has dropped the first trailer for a new series partly inspired by the works of the Cthulhu-loving horror master, called _Lovecraft Country_.
> 
> The series is based on the 2016 dark fantasy/horror novel,_ Lovecraft Country_, by Matt Ruff, who also found inspiration in a 2006 essay by Pam Noles describing what it was like growing up being both black and, well, a hardcore nerd. The protagonist is Atticus Finch, a black veteran of the Korean War and science fiction fan who embarks on a perilous road trip from his home on Chicago's South Side to a small town in rural Massachusetts. He's looking for his estranged father, who purportedly vanished after encountering a well-dressed man driving a silver Cadillac.
> 
> Atticus's Uncle George and childhood friend/fellow sci-fi buff, Leti, come along for the ride. This being inspired by Lovecraft, naturally they encounter all kinds of arcane rituals, magic, shape-shifters, monsters, and an alternate reality or two along the way.











						First trailer for HBO’s Lovecraft Country blends Eldritch horrors and racism
					

Jonathan Majors plays Atticus Black, who takes a road trip to find his missing father.




					arstechnica.com
				






> Oftentimes when we dive into horrific stories full of otherworldly monsters, we do so in order to escape the all-too-real demons that haunt us here in the real world. But in the first trailer for HBO’s new adaptation of Matt Ruff’s _Lovecraft Country_, the racist evils that shaped American culture are realized as quite literal monsters that _will _get you if you aren’t careful.
> 
> Like any teaser trailer worth its salt, our first glimpses of _Lovecraft Country _purposefully don’t convey the full wildness of what’s in store for its central characters: recently returned Vietnam vet Atticus Black (Johnathan Majors), his uncle George (Courtney B. Vance), and Letitia Dandrige (Jurnee Smollett-Bell). But what it does make clear is that in addition to having to deal with the racist evils of 1950s America and its Jim Crow culture, the trio’s going to face all manners of otherworldly creatures that the majority of the public has only ever known as myths.
> 
> Even though they’re being hunted by redneck cops and forest dwelling demons alike, Atticus’ resolve to follow his father Montrose Freeman (Michael K. Williams) is what pushes them all to journey into the depths of the chunk of New England known as Lovecraft Country—where the things lurking in the shadows are that much more nefarious and, from the looks of it, dangerously supernatural.











						In Lovecraft Country's First Trailer, American Racism Is the Ultimate Eldritch Abomination
					

Oftentimes when we dive into horrific stories full of otherworldly monsters, we do so in order to escape the all-too-real demons that haunt us here in the real world. But in the first trailer for HBO’s new adaptation of Matt Ruff’s Lovecraft Country, the racist evils that shaped American culture...




					io9.gizmodo.com


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## ctg (May 2, 2020)

I expect Miskatonic University to make an appearance in the series.


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## ctg (Aug 17, 2020)

It's here. In the UK, you can watch it on Sky Atlantic. The episodes air at States on Sunday evening. In total there is going to be ten of them. The problem is, it's going to air at 2 am. It feels like a ban, essentially the same thing as what happened to the Breaking Bad.


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## BAYLOR (Aug 17, 2020)

ctg said:


> I expect Miskatonic University to make an appearance in the series.



I wonder if they have a good football program?


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## ctg (Aug 17, 2020)

Spoiler: S01E01 - Sundown



They say that this is story of an American Boy, but it's not just that, it's a story of Black American Man, returning from Korean War to US of A in the time, when Black Lives didn't matter anything. 

I was perplexed by opening world of the wars scene, with mini Cthulhu flying above the battlefield as if everything is normal. But you look at Lovecraft work, and essentially it's dreamscapes in hellish places.  You look sources and you might find Dreamland in there. For the Author it was escapism, but for the characters, it's a mystery. 

A puzzle that drives you mad. Essentially everything is going to drive people mad in the Lovecraft Country, except if you're already mad. Then you just ventured deeper into the craziness, eventually either become food for the nightmares, or offing yourself from the Books of Living, because your head cannot take it.

Essentially all the stories starts from the normal place, before something comes out and disturbs the reality. The series captures well the slow decent into the madness. Unless you know, it is this drift that captures the audience. At least that's how I personally get sucked into the Lovecraft stories.

They are not just horror stories, but a distorted realities. A possible realities if you look into the multiverse theory. Except, in their world, there are dimensions. In the series, those dimensions are hidden in the fabric of what you see. And frankly, it surprises me to see the black lives getting threatened by Redneck whites. 

When do we get over it? When do we accept that there's only people? 

Personally I made that choice a long time ago, even though I was born among tall, white blonds, with blue eyes and it took years before I saw a first coloured person. In the series, it surprised me that the Simmonsville turned out to be full of white supremacists. 

Bigger surprise, which frankly shouldn't be one, was the silver Bentley and it's driver doing magic tricks to the white boys. You could quickly assume that it was a spell of some sort, except spells and magic in the Lovecraft stories are ways into the madness. 

You don't do them unless you're a monster or a cultist, because of that toll. 

Seeing those white boys flying should have been the second warning, if the grim reaper on the map page was the first one. Third one was the location of unknown, unexplored land. It's was as if the producers wanted to show the audience that's where the dragons lie.

For the characters, no choice of turning back, but fearlessly venturing into the unknown, just because of the mystery. What Dad was doing? 






This is a depiction of Soggoth, the one in the episode, had multiple eyes, but also four legs. It was more close to hundred eye bear than a Yog-Soggoth. I'm also glad that the Chulthu monsters chose to save the protagonist and slaughter a-hole sheriffs. 

Except they might wish that they would have gone at the same time. Go further into the Lovecraft country and the only relief you will have is death.


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## ctg (Aug 17, 2020)

BAYLOR said:


> I wonder if they have a good football program?



Sure, they'll have an excellent footie program. I just wouldn't want to be part of it, even if the darkness and mystery does excite me. I would be wearing an Elder Sign all the time. Probably tattooed it on my chest and back.


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## REBerg (Aug 18, 2020)

Spoiler: WOW!



Long, slow start, crazy racism, then BAM! Monsters and mystery! Finally, 2020 provides something exceptional that won't kill us.


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## ctg (Aug 18, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> crazy racism



I wonder was it ever really that bad? They made the police look really bad and on top of that, they made the Northern State to look as if the Southerners had won the whole debate, and the declarations were just illusion. 



REBerg said:


> Finally, 2020 provides something exceptional that won't kill us.



Just you wait, we will get something really bad now.


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## Susan Boulton (Aug 18, 2020)

ctg said:


> It's here. In the UK, you can watch it on Sky Atlantic. The episodes air at States on Sunday evening. In total there is going to be ten of them. The problem is, it's going to air at 2 am. It feels like a ban, essentially the same thing as what happened to the Breaking Bad.


No, they show it first at 2.00am then at 9.00pm the following evening. Standard for a lot of Sky Atlantic series.


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## ctg (Aug 18, 2020)

> HBO's new series_ Lovecraft Country_ debuted Sunday night and the Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, and Courtney B. Vance-starring series drew impressive numbers for its premiere. The genre-bending new series premiered to 760,000 total viewers in its 9 p.m. linear spot, according to _Variety_, a number that's just behind the hit series _Watchmen_'s premiere and also stacks up well to HBO's more recent _Perry Mason_._ Lovecraft Country_ also performed well across all platforms, including HBO Max, bringing in 1.4 million total viewers. The series was the most-watched show on Sunday night on HBO Max and was also the second largest digital premiere since 2019's _Watchmen_ and _Chernobyl_.











						Lovecraft Country Premiere Nearly Scores Watchmen Premiere Numbers for HBO
					

HBO's new series Lovecraft Country debuted Sunday night and the Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, [...]




					comicbook.com
				






> “It’s got an element of the rancor beast from ‘Return of the Jedi’ in it,” Walker said. “It’s got elements of Stephen King’s ‘IT’ with the teeth for Pennywise the clown. The translucent skin comes from the ‘Alien’ movies. I have read quite a lot of Lovecraft stories, and his description is kind of slightly surreal. It’s hard to completely pin it down. Lots of people have drawn [the Shoggoths] based on Lovecraft’s description and they all look wildly different. There’s a lot of artistic freedom there.”











						Lovecraft Country’s Shoggoth Design Includes Iconic Movie Monster Easter Eggs
					

HBO's Lovecraft Country certainly lived up to its name by marrying the macabre and horrific [...]




					comicbook.com


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## ctg (Aug 24, 2020)

Spoiler: S01E02 - Whitey's on the Moon



I have to say, I would feel super uncomfortable to arrive at a mansion full of white people, after the last episodes racist incidents. It would be super weird to have a white person treating you as if you're part of the family. As if you'd always has been part of the family and all the things from now on in would be "normal..."

I don't think there's any normal in the situation like that, even if they're in Massachusetts. But that's thing that has always been present in the Lovecraft stories. The illusion of normality and fussy feelings is when you should be running, because those normal day horrors are far better, or a lesser evil than the Lovecraft monsters. 

First thing I'd ask, "What happened to those Soggoths?" without being able to refer to thousand eye spaghetti monster that I'd usually use as a reference. Seeing the protagonists in clean clothes, on top of the world is screaming literally you're going to die, while the only one who's going to survive the cultist treatment is the young Mister Freeman. 

Maybe the thing for me is the inside knowledge, decades of horror stuff that I've read, seen and experienced. Normality is boring. Weirdness is unsettling. Especially seeing a painting of the founding member wearing cultist robes.






"Yeah, there's nothing weird about it. It's perfectly normal to have a man wearing strange costume over the mantle piece. Why would you even think about it?"

No. Man, you go in any home, except Royal ones and you see boring old canvases hanging on the wall and there would be nothing weird about it. That painting is out of place and it captures the feeling you-should-get-out-of-the-Dodge-now really, really well. Just say thank you for the clothes and hospitality, but make the exit as soon as possible. 

Except our hero's or should I say victims, don't do that. The younger Freeman was the only one, who even remembered the attack, and was clearly at top of the game. Yet, somehow he didn't think was what he saw in the Dreamland or in the reality. 

Maybe the thing about the others and their memory losses is because they're meant to stay anchored in the reality, while young Mister Freeman is the only one who can freely move around the Lovecraft country.

The spells doesn't seem to affect him too much, as after the NK attack, he was back on his own. No wounds. No sweat. No visible damage on anything. Yet, they all recognised what happened, just as younger Freeman wished. 

Maybe if he would have opted to have amnesia as well, everything would have turned out to be fine... until the dinner. 






And thousands of petrol heads sighed on the sight of Silver Shadow getting crushed at front of the very own eyes. It was too late, and damn costly sacrifice to try to run out from the grasp of secret cult. But that's the thing, there's no escaping from the Great Old Ones, once you've been trapped in their scheme. 

Letty's death was a blessing. She would have been better dead than living in the nightmare mansion with all her memories. Knowing what happened, remembering it all would just drive you crazy. 

PTSDs are not a cakewalk. You wish you wouldn't have them. Yet, there is nothing to take away the anguish, the horror, the unsettling feeling of that there's nothing you can do. Nothing to stop them from happening. You have to live with them, sometimes happening again, and again. 






I never thought I'd see a Soulgate after I wrote about it. In my own books, it literally consumes ones soul to open a portal to another realm, another time, to any location in the space-time continuum.

Luckily, you Mister Freeman has a plot armour and the Great Old Ones has something else  saved for him and to rest of the crew. Now, including Pops in the place of elder Freeman. I guess someone had to pay the toll with their soul and Uncle George was useful.

May Lord bless his soul.



Fantastic second episode. I feel the central cast is on their way to the Mountain of Madness to meet with the Great Old Ones. In their shoes I would stay away from the sea ... if possible.


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## REBerg (Aug 25, 2020)

Spoiler



I laughed out loud at the opening, with George and Leti "moving on up" to _The Jeffersons _theme song in the luxury of their new lodge digs --no evidence of lingering psychological trauma after their horrific trip to the lodge. I had a feeling that Tic's reaction was going to be radically contrasting.
This episode seemed to complete what I expected to be a much longer story -- Dad/Uncle Montrose's rescue, Leti's death/resurrection, portal opening failure, Samuel's demise, Tic's escape, lodge destruction and Uncle/Dad George's death. I guessing Christina also survived the carnage, as she seemed to be bonding with Tic to foreshadow future developments.
All of this left me wondering what's coming next. Is _Lovecraft Country_ going to be a series of chapters loosely linked by Tic's magic blood?


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## ctg (Aug 25, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> All of this left me wondering what's coming next. Is _Lovecraft Country_ going to be a series of chapters loosely linked by Tic's magic blood?



The illusion with Lovecraft stories and the death of secret cults is that you think you can escape, when there is no escape. There never is. It is always either a trip to the lunie bin or you end up dead ... or worse. If you watched the credits in the last one, then you might have seen the trailer for the season, and in it was the evidence that there's no escape. They can try, but it ain't over. The question is: What is the femme fatale going to do now Dad's gone?Can Tic's magic blood save him from woman's wrath?


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## ctg (Aug 27, 2020)

Well written piece of how Black people see the story, settings and the characters.









						How Lovecraft Country Uses Horror to Tell Black Stories
					

Lovecraft Country authentically captures the verity of being Black in a country that is built on anti-Blackness.




					www.denofgeek.com


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## ctg (Sep 1, 2020)

Spoiler: S01E03 - Holy Ghost



I really like how the show shows creeping mental illness, especially with Leti's sister. She's haunted by something and there's no way for her get help for the problem. She's not even opening up about what really bothers her.  

In the other hand I find it strange that our heros doesn't show anything. It is as if they'd once again forgotten what happened in the Lovecraft country. Funny thing is that Tic's Daddy is definitely on the PTSD road. But not Tic. I'm certain he experienced plenty in the Korean War, but unlike others he really didn't bring the package home. Instead it's as if he got the hero bug. 

Thing is I feel that Tic's Dad should open up about his experiences and spill out all the horrors instead of closing up like a typical man. The bottle and its spirit cannot be far away. The chances are that he's already drinking in secret, while he tries to forget the horrific ordeal. 

Somehow I feel that Leti's sister is suffering from the racism and not about losing her husband.






Speaking of which it kind of surprises me that they show it being extreme instead of what we are used to seeing in the small screen or in the big for that matter. Look for example Mississippi Burning and even though it's horrific it pales in the comparison of what the Lovecraft Country shows to the audience.

I would be personally offended for the white party arriving at the doorstep to blow their horns, while the police skulks at the background. Almost as if it's their job to the States white. 

I laughed out loud when five days later, the horns were still blaring even though you can be certain the sixties battery technology wouldn't have allowed such thing. What is even funnier is that the noise pollution is affecting the white neighbours as well. 






Nope. LOL. Quija board is the last thing you want to access, when you have been tagged by the Great Old Ones. But these kids, they knew nothing about what they could summon. Still it's good to see classical horror material creeping into the show. 

Then again, maybe thing is that The Horror Manual haven't been written and nobody has access to it to know what they shouldn't be doing, if they want to survive upcoming terror. In fact, like I said before, once you've been tagged by the  Old Gods it's really hard to get back to the normal life, because Lovecraft monsters are after you. 

As an example you could look Ash in the Evil Dead series. Once he was in, he was fully in and unable to escape the destiny. The spirit will be the first thing that manifest and they will try to drive you away. Failing to do so, more extreme measure manifests. They want you to escape, move out and keep running just like the spirit of the house demanded. 

"Get out of my house," it screamed to Leti. The boarders heard it and moved out. Not Leti. Not her sister. Instead of following them out and taking the easy road, she went and started investigating the history. 

The Horror Manual would tell you to avoid it. It would tell you to take Tic's advice and leave the house to be trouble for someone else. They didn't and we got the best horror in the while. 

I loved every minute of it.  

PS. What are we going to do with the invulnerable femme fatale?


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## REBerg (Sep 3, 2020)

Lovecraftian horror layered on mid-fifties American racism dovetails perfectly with ongoing BLM protests and demands for equal justice.
This series continues to impress.


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## ctg (Sep 7, 2020)

I have to be honest and tell you that I felt bored by this episode. IMDB however rates this episode second highest after the pilot. Rating standing at the moment of writing at 8.4



Spoiler: S01E04 - A History of Violence



I have no clue, where this series is going and I'm getting a bit tired with the amount of shouting. But, at least Tic Senior is showing that he's climbing towards the summit of the mountain of madness. 

Maybe the creepiest thing in this episode was not the tattooed man-woman, but the femme-fatale showing up with her demands. Leti called her white sorceress-bitch, showing equal amount of racism. It's like there is no stop on the bickering and at the end, they are no better than the white people.

You could probably claim that it's a result of their suffering, but do they really need to show the hostility towards each other in every minute. It's as if there is no stop button. Instead nastiness and bickering over things that could have been solved without hostilities.

Is it a sign of quality?






So Titus took voyages to Africa and Southern America. But not Egypt. Not the pyramids. Not to Syria or Iraq. And it seems that he was only interested in the Mayans, not Olmecs or any other lost civilisations. Nor does that map show he was actually interesting the mythical places in Northern America, like the Serpent Mounds. 

If he had a special interest in the mythical stuff, he certainly didn't visit the Eye of Africa, but instead made his trips to the rainforests. What is interesting is that for a hand drawn map at the beginning of 1800's, the whole map is actually super accurate. 

Thing is, in the first shot, the indians in the ship are Aztecs. Yet, he only made the trips to Columbia, Mezo-America and Caribbean Islands. All in time when there were still pirates around and the West was definitely wild.  






If that look doesn't say, "I'm going to shag you as soon as..." then I must becoming senile, because to me the whole thing between Leti's sister and 'the white boy' was obvious and total surprise. She looked so pretty in every shot and how the whole thing ended just talked about the chemistry between those two. But, as they were tearing clothes off from each other, wouldn't you have stopped and asked, "Why you have goat horns scarred on your chest?"

I get the heat might dull your senses, but still, when you lust someone you look at them through rose tinted glasses, and sometime you see flaws. Those scars would have pulled me out from coitus, for knowing how significantly the devil is associated to the image. 

Honestly I could have even asked, "What's your agenda?" as this is just happening after the Haunted House event. 






They built one of the oldest cities in the States over a fifty meter wide chasm that nobody knew nothing about. City that has one of the famous technical universities in the world. University that teaches also geology. A place that has been mapped very thoroughly and extensively, including seismically. 

I'm sorry but my sense of disbelief is off the charts and while it started with the chasm, it was shattered by that impossible blank. Now, I know there are world tallest trees in the other side of the continent, but how do you make a fifty meter blank that is one solid piece? How do you transport it through tunnels that curve and have 90 degree angles? And why is that they have ever burning torches down there?

Seeing the blank, I'd have turned around and said, "No. I ain't crossing that. No way." 

You can probably imagine me hiding my face behind my palms, when they made the 'special knot' to tie themselves together. If one goes, so will all the others. They had no anchor, no gloves and the boys were standing by the edge. So, what would have happened, if Leti had fallen?

If you have sharp eyes, you will also notice that they somehow manage to lose the robe and special knots on their way to the other side, without ever taking off the robe. 

But then they came across Leti's lift... in Boston. I would have taken it back to top and went straight to a bar. Not them. Deeper into the trap they went. Boldly. Fearlessly. 






Do you see that? It's the same Elder sign that you can see at the belly of that man-woman creature. Tic Sn should have noticed and understood what it means. Maybe that's why he slashed her throat. What do you think?


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## REBerg (Sep 8, 2020)

Spoiler



A definite Indiana Jones vibe to this one: Light beams reflecting to the secret door trigger, a rope into a mysterious underground chamber (What? No snakes?), a leap-of-faith-style walk on a dissolving narrow plank while dodging a deadly, unseen pendulum, a narrow winding trip to another secret chamber unlocked by Tic's special blood, all hell breaking loose when they grabbed their prize.
The back-from-the-dead she-male was weird, but not as weird as their freight elevator escape route. I half expected it to magically take them back to their haunted house.
I don't know why Montrose is so intent on blocking their adventure. His cutting the she-male's throat was a shock at the end.


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## ctg (Sep 8, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> I half expected it to magically take them back to their haunted house.



It did. They got back in the house, not in Boston. The dead bodies were the missing neighbours. 



REBerg said:


> I don't know why Montrose is so intent on blocking their adventure. His cutting the she-male's throat was a shock at the end.



Because he knows the whole story and there's more there then he has let out. He does not want to go back to lodge.


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## ctg (Sep 8, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> A definite Indiana Jones vibe to this one: Light beams reflecting to the secret door trigger, a rope into a mysterious underground chamber



You know, it really bothered me how easily and how conveniently they found the switch. Indian Jones would have had to do something, while the Moon just happened to be in the right spot for them to notice. Also, why is it that no security guard had not spotted it before? Are they on the cult payroll?


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## REBerg (Sep 8, 2020)

Spoiler






ctg said:


> It did. They got back in the house, not in Boston. The dead bodies were the missing neighbours.


I missed that. I'll have to take another look.


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## REBerg (Sep 9, 2020)

Spoiler



Yup! Freight elevator, non-stop, Boston to Chicago, straight up.
Does that mean they can take the elevator back down to Boston and explore the tunnels not followed?
They would have a few obstacles to overcome, including a chasm without a plank bridge and rising water, assuming everything didn't reset after they escaped. I don't know if the water was a tidal thing, although all the cobwebs they encountered going in would indicate high water was not a regular phenomenon.


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## ctg (Sep 9, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> Does that mean they can take the elevator back down to Boston and explore the tunnels not followed?



Most likely, but is it crucial for the plot?



REBerg said:


> I don't know if the water was a tidal thing, although all the cobwebs they encountered going in would indicate high water was not a regular phenomenon.



The whole tidal wave thing with the groundwater explanation was laughable. I mean, why it wouldn't go out from that door they opened? Tidal waves do happen in the groundwater aquifers, but they are more likely get filled with rainwater filtering through the soil. And even if it would be part of the elaborate trap, the builders would have to make sure that there are times when it's all dry and there's water, when it's needed (around hundred and fifty years after it was built)?*

I'm not sure where that museum is in Boston, so I cannot speculate if the shipwreck is plausible. If it's near the coastal banks then all of it can make more sense, but then the great chasm isn't plausible. 

I also don't get why the pendulum didn't cut the plank in pieces?

Did you notice where the rope went? 

* If you study the great pyramid, you find out that there was a water feature at very bottom, and now it's completely dry. But, there is high likely that they used sand traps instead, as there are still false doors and cavities that haven't been explored. Sand would make much more sense, and in Boston's case, mud. It could make impossible for anyone to access the treasure.


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## REBerg (Sep 14, 2020)

Spoiler: 1.05 Strange Case



Strange, indeed. More like grotesque in the extreme.
I understand that the series is basically a horrific exploration of American racism. This episode was visually disturbing.
Perhaps graphic violence what it needs to be effective. The amplification of Ruby’s rage and frustration by spending time in a white woman’s body is just difficult to watch.
On the positive side, it was good to see Ambrose finally accept and embrace his gayness. I hope that puts him on a path to sanity.
What did he do with Yahima’s body? Did she de-animate and turn into dust?


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## ctg (Sep 14, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> More like grotesque in the extreme.



I think many Preacher episodes were more grotesque and far more violent than what they've achieved in this series so far. I noticed that a number of reviewers had gone to a point that there was more gore than horror, and some even claimed that, "It was the most horrific thing they've ever seen."

Man, sometimes I believe these people have not explored the horror or gore or that matter opened a Fangoria to see what's inside. Today, you can try to choose where to see your violence, but you cannot escape from it. There was none in the small screen, if you count out the sodomy on the storage manager.

Bringing out a baby in this world can look as a same thing as Ruby's and William's metamorphosis. They were beautiful butterflows, both of them. What disturbed me was what or rather who was inside William's body. I never guessed it, but now it kind of makes sense as it was literally voiced out: "You can be whoever you want to be."

What I expected to come out was a Deep One. The original ones from Lovecraft's stories, mainly appearing in The Shadow over Innsmouth. They live in the sea, and they come out from the sea to mate with humans. Ultimately, they are ones that people in the secret sociaties want to be in the Cthulhu stories.

It's just Ruby and William weren't the only ones, who were hiding in some one else skin. If you take a look again at the Police Captain's office, you'll see that the captain is wearing a white skin face over a brownish head and he splashes some lotion over it, probably to maintain appearances. After all, everything in these stories are about appearances and what they hide behind.

In her shoes I'd get ef out from the town and go somewhere far enough from all of it... for as long as I can find. The problem is that the ocean is everywhere, and you cannot really escape it. The only way to get out from the Dodge is to hitchhike a lift from a flying saucer.

Easier said then done, yeah?



REBerg said:


> What did he do with Yahima’s body? Did she de-animate and turn into dust?



At the bottom of the magic elevator. Same place where the last bodies went. Same place, where she came out from, but couldn't escape because of Ambrose's madness. 

I really honestly think he's trying to protect the family from the horrors he has seen and they are making him to want to live more than ever. Hence, he was willing to go back to his lover and come out from the closet. Not really publicly, because I believe gay-clubs were still banned and frowned upon like the black people.

Thing is, I think it was sort sighted to kill Yahima. They didn't really explore what she knew or what she could have exposed and there might be a time, when they wish they'd have a real warlock on their side. Not that they could do anything to the Great Old Gods, but it might have given them some hope before they end up as fish food.


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## REBerg (Sep 14, 2020)

Spoiler






ctg said:


> I think many Preacher episodes were more grotesque and far more violent than what they've achieved in this series so far.


Yes, but they were darkly humorous. These are just dark.


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## ctg (Sep 14, 2020)

REBerg said:


> Yes, but they were darkly humorous. These are just dark.



It can work. Lovecraft settings are dark, but they can be made dark comedy, if you like. Blame HBO for releasing this sort of program in this year. It's not right. But, in regards of dark comedy, as long as everyone dies at the end, because there's no survivors in these stories, anything could be used.


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## paeng (Sep 16, 2020)

2.5 out of 4 due to problems with storytelling, e.g., too much content crammed into two episodes leading to a lack of characterization, etc., the inability to show rather than tell, non-realistic characters, etc. The first two episodes could have been expanded into one season.


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## ctg (Sep 21, 2020)

Excellent episode



Spoiler: S01E06 - Meet me in Daegu



I never thought that I'd see tentacle pr0n in live TV that is not animated. It is either laughed or frowned upon to be a fan of that culture in the Western culture. We simply don't imagine sexual encounters with the tentacle monsters. Not even if you're Lovecraft. 

He had other ideas, but I get why a tale of Nine Tail Fox could be interpreted as such. After all it's all about transformation and hiding under another person skin that bridges us with the last episode revelation with Rudy. Her erotic encounters portrayed more closely the traditional horror angle. Thing is, Lovecraft never claimed that Cthulhu monsters were the only ones in the whole world. So, Ji-Ah in the role of kumiko gives a nod to the oriental traditions, and at the same time it's an excellent portray of oriental horror.

This time they didn't even have to use the Korean traditions with zombie culture as the whole story was so beautifully wrapped around a short encounter in the Korean War. If it would have been shown from Tic's perspective the whole episode would have lost so much value. Instead, it's good that we know our hero and we get to see it all from a monster's point-of-view.

It intrigued me that the mother had made a deal with a devil for the soul of her daughter. I laughed at her attempts to get the monster to do her bidding, while a wiser person would have accept the resolution. As the shaman said Kumiho would have to consume more souls to fulfil her bargain as if she had  some sort of quota. The mother would have known that the hope she cast in a deep, dark well wasn't ever going to come back.

Nobody comes back from the darkness and be the same again. The mother should have also acknowledged that a lot of that blood was on her hands and Ji-Ah acted as she was supposed to. In a strange way the mother is more monstrous than the fox lady. Not that the father was any better.

You could assume that Tic would have solved that problem quite differently if it had been presented to him without involving monsters in the picture. After all, he is such a golden boy. [/sarcasm]

To be honest he was showing no emotion from putting down the Korean ladies. What he was and his fellow soldiers were conduction was a war crime, and since the Nuremberg Trials were happening at the same time, I'd assumed that they would have been scared, orders or not.

Thing is, you say your voes and your promise to protect the country and its people from domestic and foreign violators. That is pretty much standard thing around the world. Therefore, if you get an illegal order, like shooting ladies for being spies you're committing a crime. You're meant to refuse to commit the act, but many chooses to do it instead of going through the pain of refusing it.

That is what Ji-Ah did. She said no to dear old mum so, so many times. Instead, just like any other possessing demon, she refused to give up the host. Not that she could even have done so after fulfilling the order. The shaman knew that the change was permanent. Only a death would release the bond and then it would be too late.

The interesting thing is that she saw the future as if it was set in stone and it's Tic's destiny to become trapped on a cross. The shaman laughed at the notion as if she knew that nothing is set in stone. The future fluctuates. It's just it's very likely that Tic would get sacrificed, just I wouldn't count on it, because he has story shield.  

Why is it that Ji-Ah doesn't travel to States to save her lover?


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## REBerg (Sep 21, 2020)

Spoiler



Geez. A guy would leave the love of his life behind on the other side of the world just because she can loose control during a moment of passion, become a hideous creature, steal his soul, and paint the room in an explosion of his blood and guts? Go figure.
Looks like Tic's real problem is that he's a monster magnet.


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## ctg (Sep 28, 2020)

Beautiful episode.



Spoiler: S01E07 - I am



If you plug the coordinates in the google maps, it'll take you here.






It is outside Kansas City. Just North-West of it. A meaningless place that the producers knew would tingle some viewers minds, because why you wouldn't find out what's really at those coordinates? 

Well, a disappointment for sure, but in the series nothing like it. I really doubt that anyone could have guessed they were going to place a magical observatory on that field. Even though we should have guessed it, because Lovecraft stories are multidimensional. 

In the course of Hippolyta's trek, she said that, "I was thought it was a time-machine, but it's not. It's something else. Then I realised it's one of those multi--"

Man, I gaped at that moment, because I realised she's true. Not only can it move in time and space, it can move between dimensions to parallel worlds almost instantly. It might look like a magic, but it wasn't because it was the weird alien technology. 

It disturbed me seriously to see that one of the mechanoids had chosen to wear a literally gigantic afro as if the aliens think it's all about the head-devices.

I get why some people go mental, when they encounter Lovecraftian beings. Thing is, the multiverse theory has always claimed that everything changes between dimensions. The physics in the other worlds aren't ours, and that is crazy in its own rights.

It doesn't fit in our current world, where facts and the science rule most of what we are doing. But if you think about it, it kind of makes sense as our myths and some of our greatest writings depict it being real hundreds of years before the actual invention of the said theory. 

You look at Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night Dream and it is kind of obvious that the fairy folk lives in another dimension, another world. In my own books, Jane tells to Henrik that she hasn't always been here, hinting the possibility of another world, before he's taken there.

So, while the magic doesn't exist in our modern, futuristic world, it might be real somewhere else and we just haven't figured out a technology to break the boundary. In the series, I believe that the machine came from another dimension. And it was a gift for Tic's ancestors before the Order of New Dawn claimed it as their own.

It might be a possibility that the cult has acquired a number of these items and they know nothing about how things work. Or then they know exactly and there's a humongous cover-up involving a lot of people in the right places.

You might pop in the kitchen and fetch a roll of tinfoil, when you watch this series next time, because its turning to a real conspiracy. How is Tic going to handle it all, when he has no clue about what is really going on, and he's always one step behind everything?

The most mysterious thing has to be the dream of him in the house, looking at the grandma holding the Book of Names. Is it really going to give him the insight or drive him further into the clutches of the Great Old Ones?


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## REBerg (Sep 29, 2020)

Spoiler: I Am



Holy Time And Relative Dimension In Space!
Ruby underwent a messy magic process to temporarily gain the power of a white woman (not much of a step up in the mid-1950s); but Hippolyta gains the power to become anyone, any place, any time? Ruby had better not find out what Hippolyta has been up to.
I agree wholeheartedly that it was a beautiful episode. It was a trip with no need for mind-altering substances.


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## ctg (Sep 29, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> I agree wholeheartedly that it was a beautiful episode. It was a trip with no need for mind-altering substances.



What did you think about the giant afro? Not only the droid was humongous, but that afro was as wide as it was tall. It makes me wonder how much giggling has going when they made the scenes?


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## REBerg (Sep 29, 2020)

ctg said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> What did you think about the giant afro? Not only the droid was humongous, but that afro was as wide as it was tall. It makes me wonder how much giggling has going when they made the scenes?


That was a bit "over the top".


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## ctg (Oct 5, 2020)

Spoiler: S01E08 - Jig-a-Bobo



I talked earlier about the cost of casting spells or doing magic in the Lovecraft world. It taxes you and sends you literally in the crazy place. We literally saw it in the pilot episodes, where Tic was completely impervious, and Uncle George and Leti were under the spell to protect their minds from the horrors. 

I know I also talked about the Elder sign. The one symbol and the only protection spell in the Lovecraft universe. Everything else are illusions and stronger magics. However I think we can also assume that the other things, like exorcism have their own flairs but none of them are as powerful and dark as the Lovecraftian magic. 

We know that Dee saw the monsters that the police captain cast on her, and she really though that they were real, even though the physical beings in the world couldn't notice them. The possessed people or those who suffer hauntings talk about them as the shadow in the corner of your eye. The children literary put the monsters under the bed, while Lovecraft shows them at the centre. In the spotlight. 

But that is the thing in the Lovecraft world. If you are able and not everyone can see the monsters, they will drive you mental. What she didn't do was to confront them. The Horror Manual actually recommend you to fight instead of running. "Face your fears," someone brave said long time ago, and that is the only thing you can really do. 

What's interesting is that the magical things work better, but physical things do damage as well. But then again, what a black girl can do, when their race in that time, in that world, is seen as waste?

It is also interesting that while the spell was happening the city was sweltering. People literally melting in their shoes. To me it felt like part of the magic.






Oh Tic. What did you do?  You loved two and didn't tell either one of them about the other. Man, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes, because whatever you do it is wrong and they are going to show it. Literally. There just isn't a good way to solve the problem.

Man, I laughed out so loud when I saw Li-Ah sitting in the day room, dressed up and pretty. The setting in the kitchen as you see at above shot is even more comical, but also very typical. It is a kind of miracle that they haven't ripped each others eyes out. But man, did Atticus had some explaining to do! 

I have to confess, I've been in his shoes a couple of times, before I learned my lesson. Women will make sure that you're the loser and whatever you do is always wrong. Always. So, it is better to take the punishment like a man and move on without getting WAP in the mean time. 

Speaking of which, that scene with Rudy having hanky-panky... I looked away and thought not going to write about it. 

I loved that both women were at tears on Tic's madness. If he couldn't have either, then why the hell he should care about living any more? Yeah, it's our feelings, the one thing that makes us humans that are at the heart of crazy. 

In a way you can see it as a curse that made Star Trek's Spock to commit a suicide or Data to abandon his own body to be a human. So, if you feel like you're losing your marbles, stop and fight the demons. Don't let them take you in the dark place, where you certainly will die.

At the end maybe it was easier for Tic to choose his destiny once he'd read the book from the future and Christina confirming then to try to solve the women problem. 

It amazed me that at the end Tic chose to protect himself with a Soggoth. I wonder if Tic's going to buy it an extra big spiky collar and short leash for walkies.


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## REBerg (Oct 6, 2020)

Spoiler






ctg said:


> Man, I laughed out so loud when I saw Li-Ah sitting in the day room, dressed up and pretty. The setting in the kitchen as you see at above shot is even more comical, but also very typical. It is a kind of miracle that they haven't ripped each others eyes out. But man, did Atticus had some explaining to do!


Ah, yes. There is nothing a guy likes more than to come home and see his current and ex-girlfriends staring at each other across a table, especially when the ex is a 9-tailed succubus.


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## AE35Unit (Oct 6, 2020)

Watched a few episodes. It was good at first. Then got a bit muddled, stopped watching.


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## ctg (Oct 6, 2020)

AE35Unit said:


> Watched a few episodes. It was good at first. Then got a bit muddled, stopped watching.



I'd say: "Have some patience, man!" This series is very different from the normal stuff. It goes constantly towards dark and in occasions there's Preacher like carnage. Things happen in extreme way and it seems that the series is coming to an end with the future not looking so rosy for the lead star. Overall, I'd give it seven and half out of ten. Two and half points deducted because there's not enough of Lovecraftian monsters. 

I also do admit that it is hard to watch with the racist angle turned up to eleven.


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## REBerg (Oct 6, 2020)

Spoiler






ctg said:


> Two and half points deducted because there's not enough of Lovecraftian monsters.


This round did not disappoint in that department.
Tic's toothy new buddy made quick work of the cops. What's Tic going to do with him now? Put him on a chain, keep him under the stairs and call him Spotty?
Looks like the spell he and Ambrose put together wasn't such a failure after all. I chuckled when Tic asked his "Dad" if he had any other secrets he hadn't revealed.


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## ctg (Oct 6, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> Tic's toothy new buddy made quick work of the cops. What's Tic going to do with him now? Put him on a chain, keep him under the stairs and call him Spotty?



Yeah. Well, if he cannot get invulnerability then Spotty is a good alternative for protection. Magic works on them, but you saw that the Captain couldn't do nuffin when the Soggoth released his anger. I wonder how much monthly food bill is going to be and is it going to fussy over what it eats?



REBerg said:


> I chuckled when Tic asked his "Dad" if he had any other secrets he hadn't revealed.



There's probably loads since he has grown custom to keep his business, his business. Just alone how did know how to pronounce Adam's language is a mystery. It's not like it's natural for the afroamericans to speak in ancient, lost tongues.


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## Dave Vicks (Oct 8, 2020)

At The Mountains of Madness  scared me.


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## AE35Unit (Oct 8, 2020)

ctg said:


> I'd say: "Have some patience, man!" This series is very different from the normal stuff. It goes constantly towards dark and in occasions there's Preacher like carnage. Things happen in extreme way and it seems that the series is coming to an end with the future not looking so rosy for the lead star. Overall, I'd give it seven and half out of ten. Two and half points deducted because there's not enough of Lovecraftian monsters.
> 
> I also do admit that it is hard to watch with the racist angle turned up to eleven.


Ah we're done with it. Watched Ratched instead. That was good


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## ctg (Oct 12, 2020)

Beautiful and very dark episode.



Spoiler: S01E09 - Rewind 1921



I am not surprised that the end result of Dee's curse made the cast once again to shout each other. I take it as their norm, even though I wish they could be more civil. Then again, maybe they can't because the end result of Lovecraftian magic is not pretty. And healing one with another Lovecraftian spell, what could possibly happen?

Thing is I wondered how they were going to explain Soggoth going rampant outside Leti's house and killing all of the police. There can't be many of them left. But wiping out a whole department would have brought in the FBI. 

So, a big plot hole, but explained. A gas explosion done by an oversized dog with too many eyes. But I wonder what they had done to hide the boy? Did it went back underground, even though Soggoth's are meant to be floating around, looking creepy. 

I also know that I recommended fighting the demons. Dee did it and paid the price. So, Christina is right, she could do things, but fighting magic with magic is unpredictable. The end result could be even more horrifying.  

It surprised me that the curse was bonded in the item that the Captain kept in the desk draw and the captain was at his end from getting bit by Spotty. I guess he ain't as powerful as he think he is. Then again maybe that same thing should apply to Christina.

She explained that the power of magic corrupted her father and all the other powerful people, "who thought they could use magic to bend the world to their will." Maybe Christina is wise enough to not get corrupted by the power of magic. Still, she is seeking immortality, which either might be a way to become one of the great ones or a curse that renders her to something she doesn't see coming.

Funny how Tic's gang decided to use Ruby's multiverse machine to get back in 1921, to day when Montrose witnessed a massacre. The ultimate expression of racism. A trial of genocide. 

When we will learn that we are all humans? There is no need to fight each other. We can all live in peace and doing something that we haven't achieved, yet.

It was kind of ominous when Ruby asked them to "not change the future." 

There was no way that Montrose wasn't going to act on his knowledge about what happened, and how it lead to events later on in the future. It was always in the cards. 

In Tic's shoes I would have probably acted the same way, because what happened wasn't right. Then again, that world isn't ours. It's something else even if Ruby believes its her primary world.

Will they able to save Dee with the Book of Names?


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## BAYLOR (Oct 12, 2020)

Dave Vicks said:


> At The Mountains of Madness  scared me.



You might want to look up *The Weird Company* by Pete Rawlik .   it's a follow up to *At the Mounts of Madness.*


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## REBerg (Oct 12, 2020)

Spoiler



Here I am trying to make sense of the magic and multi-dimension elements of this series, and they go and throw time travel into the mix.
I was shouting at Tic that* he *was the mysterious guy with the bat, but he had to nearly trip over the thing before it hit him -- and he hit them. Funny how not intervening would have been the timeline spoiler, not staying out of the fray.
Leti appears to be every bit as fireproof as the Mother of Dragons. I was wondering if the dusty, old Book of Names was equally fire-retardant.
Because the book was apparently destroyed in the fire of 1921, what saved it this time?
Did Leti's protective spell extend a magic shield over anything she held? If so, why didn't it save Grandma?
Doesn't saving such a powerful tome and bringing it back to the future risk considerably more timeline mayhem than saving a life might have done?
Traveling back in time is always fraught with paradox  -- unless you're a pair of docs from Gallifrey.


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## ctg (Oct 14, 2020)

> In _Lovecraft Country_’s fourth episode, “A History of Violence,” Atticus, Leti, and Montrose journey to a Boston museum where, unbeknownst to most of the general public, a secret vault containing a number of Titus Braithwhite’s pages from the Book of Adam is hidden deep beneath the ground. When the intrepid trio manages to enter the vault, they find Titus’ pages, but that’s not all.
> 
> Atticus, Leti, and Montrose are horrified enough when they see that Titus’ pages are trapped beneath a mummified corpse that’s eerily seated at a table within the vault. But the episode becomes that much more alarming when the corpse begins moving and transforms from an emaciated husk back into a living, breathing person: Yahima (played by Monique Candelaria), a two spirit character who wasn’t in Matt Ruff’s novel but was added to the show as a means of building out _Lovecraft Country_’s mythos.











						Lovecraft Country's Misha Green Admits She 'Failed' Yahima's Storyline
					

Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green took to Twitter to apologize for how the show handled the arc of Two-Spirit Native character Yahima, who was brutally killed off shortly after her introduction.




					io9.gizmodo.com


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## ctg (Oct 14, 2020)

Apologies for a late answer. I didn't mean to ignore this, it just slipped out of my mind.


Spoiler






REBerg said:


> Leti appears to be every bit as fireproof as the Mother of Dragons. I was wondering if the dusty, old Book of Names was equally fire-retardant.
> 
> Because the book was apparently destroyed in the fire of 1921, what saved it this time?
> 
> ...



I think the evidence is in the scene. In the dreams, both Leti and Tic are fully clothed, standing in the fires and not catching fire, even though you'd think it would happen regardless. The grandma in the dreams escaped that destiny while the fire spread behind her heels and she's invulnerable at the end. 

You look Leti's flimsy dress. First getting shot. No damage. And then getting burned. No damage. Bombed, the same thing. So, scientifically speaking that itself proofs that the spell extends to the material person is having on their person. Being it a book they are carrying or a dress they are wearing. 

You could probably soak your hair with a flammable product and look absolutely fabulous while standing on top of a lit bonfire. However, hypothetically speaking, the magic should make all the difference. It could counter the spell and provide a way for the physics to work. 

Remember that the science is all about taking notes and proving things time and again.


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## REBerg (Oct 14, 2020)

ctg said:


> Lovecraft Country's Misha Green Admits She 'Failed' Yahima's Storyline
> 
> 
> Lovecraft Country showrunner Misha Green took to Twitter to apologize for how the show handled the arc of Two-Spirit Native character Yahima, who was brutally killed off shortly after her introduction.
> ...





Spoiler



I was initially shocked by that murder, but I figured any entity who was brought back to life once could be re-reanimated. Apparently not.


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## ctg (Oct 14, 2020)

Spoiler






REBerg said:


> I was initially shocked by that murder, but I figured any entity who was brought back to life once could be re-reanimated. Apparently not.



Never say never. It might still happen and as the foxy lady and her were added characters, it could still happen. Reanimator is Lovecraft.


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## ctg (Oct 19, 2020)

Spoiler: S01E10 - Full Circle



I am so confused by these spells. How reciting one can take you in the spirit world to talk to your ancestors? It just doesn't make sense. And even less that the grandma thought the words to break the curse. 

But I'm glad that Tic finally understood that the future isn't set in the stone. It is always fluctuating, never being fully set to be whatever we want it to be. Thing is, when Leti fell on the floor I thought that they were suddenly sisters, maybe even twins, before I understood that it's Atticus blood in her belly doing the work. 

Funny thing is that when they brought back the man who started it all, he said it's my book and the grandma sited: "What's stole ain't yours!" Effectively that counters what she earlier, the book and its spell doesn't belong to Atticus bloodline, even if it one stuff that makes things work. 

Even more ironic is that Tic murdered Titus the grandpa for unknown reasons. Almost as if it was part of the deal to fight Christina. 






I really didn't think this would happen, that Tic would go back with a proverbial hat in hand and tell her that what they had between each other was real. The talk he should have had in the first time, admitting on everything that he'd done and to understand that the reality is more complicated than the image you have in your mind. 

It's just I hate that he's confession was wrapped in a need. We all have needs, but we never ever should use them for nefarious reasons. Let's be honest what their side and Christina is doing is part of a war, and Christina isn't explaining why she needs to live forever. 

In the Altered Carbon Meth's did it so that they could remain in power forever. Maybe immortality shouldn't be granted to the humanity until we have learned the lessons, whatever they are. It's just time after time corruption wins and things turn bad.






Christina said, "If one part of the spell is wrong..." something truly terrible could happen. When Ruby gave the 'blood' to Leti I thought it wouldn't happen, because she's in love with Christina. She has been corrupted by the grand power Christina holds. Something that Leti never possessed. 

But I never guessed that she would end up killing Let in the process. 

Thing is, it changes the future, because the young one - the Author - also died. What I didn't see is that Chrstina's spell brought her back as Tic's spirit left his body. When the Foxy lady connected Tic and Christina together I understood her role. The whole binding spell was a revenge, but to claim that no white person in world could use the magic again is a bold statement.




So...

...what was all of it all worth? I don't know. I doubt there's going to be another season, because what there would be when the writers didn't leave nothing open. I know that I've asked to not to repeat the old trope of putting in a cliffhanger, but I didn't expect them to leave nothing open. 

Maybe it's a good thing, because then we don't have to waddle through more racism and all that package coming with it. Overall I'd give this series six out of ten. Four deducted for overwhelming racism, the lack of Lovecraftian monsters, the shouting and the scenes that really pushed the boundaries of the disbelief.

At the end I'd a meh feeling. Not the most excited feeling to be honest. What did you thought about it?


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## REBerg (Oct 19, 2020)

Spoiler



Too much magic, not enough monsters.
I read a recap of the finale that noted the show had put viewers through a lot of pain for an unsatisfying ending. I agree.
The series served as a stark and depressing look at racism in the U.S., but not much else. The magic spells might make sense to those with enough ambition to minutely analyze them, but I don't know if that would be worth effort.
I don't think I will watch another season, unless, of course, I am again locked into my home.


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## BT Jones (Dec 16, 2020)

REBerg said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just watched episode 2 last night... and, sorry, but I'm out.  Episode 1 was interesting, with the supernatural element almost a footnote to the racial story and the characters' journey.  Episode 2 was rushed, like 3 episodes squashed together, with no time for any sense of mystery, suspense or horror to linger.  Breathless nonsense.  Fortunately, I can bow out now and not in 6/8 weeks' time.


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