Apologies. Life got in the way over the last couple of weeks, which meant I was unable to post weekly reviews of the last three Lovecraft Country episodes. So, while I don’t have the time (or space) to churn out three separate reviews, I figured I would do my best to speak on the central themes of the past three episodes, each of which focused on a different female character (Jamie Chung’s Ji-Ah in “Meet Me in Daegu”, Aunjanue Ellis’s Hippolyta in “I Am.”, and Jada Harris’s Diana in “Jig-a-Bobo”) to varying degrees of success.
Let’s tackle “Meet Me in Daegu” first. While it was nice to have a bit of a breather from the goings on in Chicago (which are getting increasingly intense), this was the weakest episode of the lot. That isn’t to say that exploring the Korean version of the succubus wasn’t an intriguing notion – it was – but bringing in a character we don’t know (aside from a brief phone conversation in the pilot) this late in the game wasn’t the best use of the show’s time. As a standalone piece it was great, but as a stepping stone in the story of Tic (who, at this point, has proven himself to be the weakest character in the series as well), well, I don’t care all that much. Exploring the complex emotions and pain surrounding incest and sexual violence is something that needs more than just an hour-long episode of television to really hit the way it needs to, and throwing in a stunted look at a mythical creature who literally kills men at the behest of a guilt-ridden and traumatized woman . . . yeah, that’s too much for a single episode of TV to really unpack. That isn’t to say that Jamie Chung wasn’t great, and that I wouldn’t have liked an alternate series that followed Ji-Ah’s journey navigating life after abandoning her work as a succubus, but I didn’t need this particular interlude when Lovecraft Country already has plenty of interesting characters we could be spending this time with. Which it why I was so engrossed with the past two episodes.
From the first episode, I’ve been waiting to see what the series had in store for Hippolyta. After all, she was the only one of the main characters to linger on the periphery for the first several episodes without much purpose. And you don’t kill off George if you aren’t going to have Hippolyta do something spectacular later in the season. Boy, was “I Am.” worth the wait. So much of Lovecraft Country has been built around reckoning with trauma, whether it’s huge like systemic racism and lynching or something smaller like dealing with the realization that your parents might not have been exactly who you thought they were – for good or for ill. And recognizing and confronting trauma is a valuable exercise, but there’s only so much pain and suffering one can witness before you long to see someone triumph over the adversity in their path and claim their place in the world.
“I Am.” was that satisfying moment, a chance to watch Hippolyta – a woman who has lost so much in her life – be able to reclaim all elements of her identity, as a wife and mother, a Black woman, a woman, and someone with strength and power (even if the world of the 1950s refuses to recognize that within her). The journey through the different elements that make Hippolyta whole was a celebration of the character that allowed us to see just how incredible she is (she’s also a math genius, witnessed through her understanding of how the mythical planetary device works). Her being able to name herself as anyone or anything she wants is yet another example of how constrained a Black woman was in 1950s America (and, let’s be honest, still is even today). The freedom Hippolyta feels is understandably addicting and it’s no surprise that she has yet to return to the present – whether that’s from her own choice or from some other reason, we don’t yet know. But watching the utter joy on Aunjanue Ellis’s face as Hippolyta explained to an alternative universe George all of her recent travels and adventures, I couldn’t help but wish that she could travel the universe forever, living the lives she wanted but was unable to in her current reality. But I suspect she will return before the end of the series, hopefully using what she has learned to protect those in her life that need it.
Speaking of needing protection, well, little Diana is in a load of trouble thanks to the curse placed on her by the Chicago cops. Easily the most pure horror of the eight episodes of the series thus far, “Jig-a-Bobo” was utterly terrifying and horrific to watch before even taking into account the creepy dancing girls with long nails stalking Diana around the city. Combining the real-life horror of the lynching of Emmett Till (who appeared on the series back in episode three as Diana’s good friend Bobo – Till’s real nickname – and was a native of Chicago) with the supernatural horror inflicted on Diana by magic (through cops, which is a clear metaphor for the actual horrors inflicted on Black men and women to this day by cops, as we have tragically been reminded time and again throughout this summer), the episode was, at times, very hard to watch.
From a horror standpoint, good lord were those two girls terrifying. And from a big picture standpoint, watching a young Black girl experience the pain of knowing her best friend was lynched – after losing her father and possibly her mother – and know that there is nothing she can do to protect those she loves from the white folks in the world was chilling. It’s a lesson no child should have to learn, and to hear the adults in her life discuss the lesson in such emotionless terms as just another step in growing up Black, well, that truly puts white privilege in perspective yet again (while the episode directly addresses white privilege in the conversation between Ruby and Christina – more on that in a bit – this particular realization, that your life and the lives of those you love can be taken for even the most minor of actions or willful misunderstandings is something that has been widely discuss over the past several months as the US continues to reckon with the systemic racism that is on display throughout Lovecraft Country).
Jada Harris was sensational when given a starring turn this week, and her performance was nuanced and heartbreaking. I’m thrilled the series opted to provide her a showcase like this, and I certainly hope this is only the beginning in a long career for her, as she clearly has talent to burn. Harris is given a heavy ask in her episode: Convey the horror coming at Diana from all sides and still present her deep inner strength. Where the other characters may have broken, this young woman stands strong. The cynic can read that as those around her having already been broken by the world they inhabit (and that’s certainly the case with at least some of the characters), but I would hope it’s a sign of something else. That perhaps Diana will maintain that strength (assuming she survives the curse, and that’s by no means a sure thing – I would guess that the massacre at the Northside house might take out the cops responsible, thereby breaking the curse), and she will continue to stand strong as a beacon in the years to come. I certainly hope that’s the case.
Final Thoughts:
— While the other relationships in the series remain stagnant and dull, the relationship between Ruby and Christina continues to intrigue. Despite knowing Christina is actually William, Ruby continues going back to her and sleeping with William. (Question: While Ruby’s potion wears off mid-coitus – and makes for a stunning visual – how come Christina’s doesn’t?) And when confronted with her own internal blindness as to why she keeps coming back, Ruby doesn’t dismiss Christina outright. Rather, she continues to align herself with her – much to Leti’s dismay. As for Christina, she keeps putting on disaffected airs, but her Emmett Till experiment at the end of the episode indicates that, on some level, she cares about Ruby and understanding her wants and emotions. I wish we got more time exploring their dynamic instead of dealing with the baby drama from Tic and Leti.
— The show brings back Ji-Ah to warn us about something that we were already warned about? To put unnecessary roadblocks up for Tic and Leti? We’ve spent so little time exploring Ji-Ah and Tic as a couple that Leti’s anger over the relationship (which happened before Leti and Tic got together) seems wholly unjustified.
