Lovecraft Country Episode 2

Published August 25, 2020 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hey hosts,

Sorcha_e here (you can use my handle, if you find some content applicable). I doubt this will make it in time for the deep dive, but I needed to get this out of my brain and Im slow to write and type out emails. Thanks in advance for reading my email. I hope it makes some sense.

Hope all are well and rested as we ( Texas folks ) prep for a double whammy on the 3rd coast. Stay safe!

If people were confused watching this episode, then they are Lovecrafting correctly, considering his stories are about experiences that drive characters insane. Youre in Lovecraft Country now. Enjoy!

A couple of themes and threads throughout this episode:
– Each episode is a fragmented but interconnected micro story tethered to the next;
– Family of Origin vs Family of Choice;
– If racism is horror (one heavy presence of the first episode carried over to E2 into an idealic Eden – thank you Dell, Samuel, and other Order of the Ancient Dawn members) ; interpersonal violence is an other layer of horror explored here.

MICRO STORY
OH UNCLE GEORGE. His death rattled me. I was not prepared. Although I should have been. His Book of Choice The House on the Borderland and Others by Hodgson foreshadowed the story within the story, how this episode would end for the house of stone in the vast garden of Arkham, Devon County and those within it. ??

FAMILY OF ORIGIN (FoO) vs FAMILY OF CHOICE (FoC)
Our traveling heroes are in their Family of Choice, while each character is at odds with their Family of Origin. If the Braithewhite family dysfunction on display is not evidence enough, Montroses outright rejection and rebuke of his rescuers makes that crystal clear, as did Letis conflicts with her brother and sister, along with Atticus conflict with his father from Ep1. Christina submits to her FoO, clearly practices the family craft well, holds high levels of authority and responsibility, and would be able to hold her own in the OotAD (Im getting serious Yentil vibes here) despite being excluded from her birthright and othered. Is William her FoC?
Is she creating her FoC by:
– bringing her long lost cousin home and providing him a connection to his mothers FoO….and her Book of Something;
– covertly sabotaging the Eden ritual with a cursed token (the OotAD ring) on a tainted sacrifice (Atticus);
– destroying the Sons of Adam legacy to replace it with her New Order; and
– breeding bipedal pig-monsters to imprint on and serve her? I guess well see.

INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE
This bit is harrowing and disturbing, and why I needed to get this out of my brain. We heard this type of horror in Ep 1 as Leti and her brother argue. – Marvin: Look what you made me do!
– Leti: Let go if my arm!
This Ep we see it played out in isolated hallucinations. Two of our heroes – all subjects of multigenerational violence – being gut shot as a form of coercion puts a cherry on top.

LETIs HALLUCINATION: Having revealed how her FoO (her mother) violated her safety and trust to a FoC member (Atticus); she is then subjected to this trusted FoC member attacking her with the threat of rape. The snake is purposely bad CGIed (I believe) a la the Young Sherlock Holmes stained glass knight come to life, which just makes it more disorienting for her. The stained glass window behind Atticus echoes this as well as reminds her to know her place, its another Whites Only or Sundown sign.

ATTICUS HALLUCINATION: Atticus defends himself in a knife fight and despite not wanting to, choked the life out of his female attacker. Rape (by someone you trust), stabbing, and strangling/ choking are some of the most intimate forms of interpersonal violence.

The constant echoes of racism – even in this secluded Eden – are forms of coercive control, aka murder in slow motion. One trauma after another, compounds as time goes on, reminding our heroes this world/ universe is not for them and is conspiring to destroy them.

Atticus is right to have his head on a swivel, anticipating the next monster just around the corner. I hope this isnt the last time he sees his GGGGGrandmother.

Looking forward to the deep dive and the next episode.

Thanks for the Shat,

Sorcha_e

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