lovecraft county (spoiler free) episode reviews
EP1 - Sundown
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
We are truly living in the golden age of television. Lovecraft Country drags ever so slightly in the middle, but the beginning and end are a curb stomp of supernatural viscera and pulse-pounding action. It would be easy to mistake the show for a Hollywood tentpole film. The production values and acting are that high-level. The CGI effects are ever so wonky at times and a bit plastic-like but that could be a function of the high bar set for television VFX (especially on HBO, looking at you Game of Thrones) and essentially a "success problem." The racism is just as horrifying as the existential lovecraftiness. I can confidently predict it will eventually be considered a can't-miss HBO crown jewel.
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
My feelings on episode two are largely what you would expect. The show expands on episode one and begins providing answers while slyly creating two or three new questions along with each answer. The entire cast is game and the acting is consistently great as is almost always the case with HBO’s offerings. The episode gives off strong “Get Out” vibes and as with episode one, the underlying racism and classism at play is just as interesting as the real visceral horror. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next, if you didn’t catch on. I could say more, but we’ll leave that for the eventual spoiler review.
EP3 - Holy Ghost
EP2 - Whitey's on the Moon
EP4 - A History of Violence
Episode three refocuses nicely in the final 15 minutes. Up until then I was ready to criticize it for abandoning the road-trip-gone-wrong plot for a more traditional and rote haunted house narrative that felt like a watered-down episode of American Horror Story. For a second I even felt the show leaning into an “anthology series” vibe but again the episode recovers by the end. Thankfully this is not an anthology series. It would be a lesser show if it was. All told, this is probably the weakest episode of the first 3 but being the worst of 3 great pieces (looking at you The Dark Knight Rises) is not a terrible place to be.
EP4 - A History of Violence
EP4 - A History of Violence
EP4 - A History of Violence
This is the weakest episode of the season. Episodes one and two as well as the final third of episode three felt groundbreaking and new. This episode felt like the Goonies. In most any other circumstance, that would be a compliment. I would go as far as to say that episode four feels like it’s from a different show. Perhaps it’s the weight of expectations bringing it down, but the entire episode save for the last 10 minutes was boring and uninspired. Episode five of Lovecraft Country would do well not to stray so far from its established strengths. I did note the music in this episode. It’s really good. Rihanna all day.
EP5 - Strange Case
EP4 - A History of Violence
EP6 - Meet Me in Daegu
A body horror episode! Cronenberg would be proud. Thank you, showrunners. Episode five leans back into mysticism, sex, volatile relationships and the blunt instrument of racism. It was the correct choice as these are the themes that were so compelling across the first two and half episodes. This is arguably the most smartly written episode and the commentary it provides (right up until the end – more on that in a second) smacks of Eddie Murphy in the famous/infamous “Black Like Me” SNL skit. I’m not thin-skinned, easily offended or of the mindset that entertainment is meant to be taken terribly seriously. It’s escapism. But there is a scene towards the end of the episode that even for me was difficult to watch. The character who performs said shocking act has catapulted themselves from boring supporting character to “I actually really want to see where they are going with this” status. There are actually a couple of characters in this episode that finally get fleshed out to a point where we can begin to understand their motivation. This is where we should be by episode five. Let’s hope the show stays the course and doesn’t devolve back into a lesser version of The Goonies or Indiana Jones.
EP6 - Meet Me in Daegu
EP4 - A History of Violence
EP6 - Meet Me in Daegu
More body horror! And a super sweet Naruto reference for fans of the long running Japanese manga. I criticized Lovecraft Country in episode three for seemingly devolving into a disjointed anthology type series and episode four for having the feel of an (inferior) show unlike what Lovecraft had established itself to be across the first three episodes. Both of those admittedly short-sighted criticisms apply to episode six but in this case it completely works for me. Jamie Chung is a fantastic addition to the cast and she and Jonathan Majors have excellent chemistry. The Korean War and the horrific elements therein serve as a fitting backdrop for the episode's trippy foray into East Asian mysticism and mythologies. Make sure to put the kids to bed before you watch as they don’t hold back with the nudity and this one might set the single-episode HBO record for most sex scenes. If you’ve been watching HBO programming for any amount of time, you know that’s saying something. I did miss Ruby a bit after her amazing turn in episode five. It’ll be exciting and interesting to see how things continue to come together for the show's fantastic ensemble cast.
EP7 - I Am
EP8 - Jig a bobo
EP8 - Jig a bobo
Lovecraft Country has established itself as a show of dizzying, fantastical highs with occasional bouts of comparatively boring exposition. These exposition dumps tend to happen roughly every other episode. The first half of episode seven was essentially just people talking. To be clear, much of the talking is necessary to continue with critical world building but when you hold the first 30 or so minutes of this episode up to any parts of episodes one, five or six it’s noticeably something lesser. Faint criticism that is and Lovecraft Country remains one of the most surprising and entertaining shows out there. I am constantly impressed and re-impressed by Its willingness to take huge risks and dabble in mind-bending lovercraftian horror themes. These themes differ so drastically episode to episode that you might be misled into thinking you are watching an anthology series. But the show always finds it’s way back to its center, the characters. Long live Lovecraft.
EP8 - Jig a bobo
EP8 - Jig a bobo
EP8 - Jig a bobo
Save for spectacularly CGI heavy (in the best way) set-pieces which bookend it, episode eight of Lovecraft County is fairly dull and comprised mostly of drawn-out exposition dumps. Are these exposition dumps necessary? Probably, but that doesn’t make them any less of a chore. The episode does expand on the mythology of magic within the show and that bodes well as we approach the final two episodes of the altogether excellent first season. The show is far from perfect, but you won’t find anything quite like it anywhere else and when it’s good, it’s great.