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Five Thoughts on Lovecraft Country‘s “History of Violence”

By | September 8th, 2020
Posted in Television | % Comments

Welcome to Multiversity Comics’ coverage of Lovecraft Country! This is the buzziest HBO debut since last year’s Watchmen and I am thrilled to report that it absolutely lives up to the hype. “History of Violence” is a pretty big structural departure from what we’ve seen so far but mostly it works really well!

1. A Different Kind of Episode
Every week, Lovecraft Country has taken on a different genre, all falling under the horror genre. It’s fourth episode, “History of Violence” takes a very different shape- that of an adventure story- to great affect. It’s a much lighter episode than we’ve seen before; still dramatically compelling, of course, but more actively fun than anything that’s happened in the last 3 episodes. The scope of the episode is also much more wide than what we’ve seen. The focus is certainly on Tic, Leti, and Montrose, but Ruby and Hippolyta both get some real material to work with (particularly the former). All in all, this is probably the weakest episode of the show thus far, but only by a hair and that’s more due to its weaker final moments than anything else.

2. AAAADVENTURE!!!
As for the actual adventure that Tic, Montrose, and Leti embark on to figure what, exactly, is up with the Braithwhite family- it’s good! It manages to evoke similar feelings to The Adventures of Tintin and The Goonies while still feeling like a firmly adult drama. The whole thing is great, from the exploration of the museum in Boston after hours to the simple but effective disappearing plank (which is also responsible for an incredibly funny line from Montrose), the whole thing is just easy to watch and captivating all the same. Michael K. Williams, Jurnee Smollett, and Jonathan Majors are still great and have really strong chemistry as a trio. They move easily between drama and humor, often balancing both at once, and play really well off of one another. The Boston trip also serves to give us some more substantial Hippolyta material as we see her assert herself to go on the trip in the first place. Then we get a very sweet moment between her and Diana as they look at the stars in a planetarium and Hippolyta reveals that she named Hera’s comet but didn’t get credit for it what with her being a Black woman and all, and Diana announces her mother’s credit to the room. As much as Boston is a meh city (author’s note: I’m from New York and I’m legally obligated to say that), it led to some really strong material for Lovecraft Country.

3. Braithwhite Intrigue!
The most forgettable (almost so forgettable that I wrote a thought about the very good soundtrack of this show) but arguably most intriguing part of the episode is Christina Braithwhite’s dealings with the Chicago Police Department. The police chief has her brought to his office where it becomes clear that he’s had dealings with the Braithwhites before. There’s plenty more intrigue where that comes from: there’s a coming power struggle between Christina and her brother, William, which I’m very excited to see unfold. Even more excited, a model solar system that Hippolyta has is a TIME MACHINE!!!! The whole subplot is like watching a table get set at a very fancy restaurant. The payoff is going to be great and it’s wonderful to look at but on the whole, it’s not the most engaging thing in its own right.

4. Ruby Gets Her Due
Last episode, Ruby spoke about her desire to work at department store Marshall Field. When she goes to apply, she finds another Black woman working there; the development is exciting for a moment but it’s quickly undercut by the understanding that two Black women will never be hired at the same store. When she drowns her sorrows at a bar, Ruby finds comfort in none other than William Braithwhite who she swiftly hooks up with. The whole subplot is a wonderful showcase for the incredibly talented Wunmi Mosaku whose performance is staggeringly good. There’s also something more subversive going on here. Mosaku is a plus-sized, dark-skinned actress and the ability to a play a full, dynamic character who also gets to be sexual without any caveats is rare for someone like that. It speaks to one of the representational strengths of the show. It’s a series that isn’t going to let the normal boxes Black people are put into stay there. Here’s to even more Ruby in the future because whew she was great this week.

5. A Messier Ending
I’ve repeatedly sung the praises of the conclusions of the last 3 episodes of Lovecraft Country and this is the first time things have been harder to make heads or tails of. The last few episodes have ended on mind-boggling, powerful, almost overwhelming moments. This one does conclude the adventure side of things with a bang and a kiss between Tic and Leti. Then there’s the touching moment of between Tic and Montrose. Those are good but definitely don’t pack the punch of the conclusions of episodes’ past. Then there’s the whole Yahima issue. Yahima (played by indigenous actor Monique Candelaria) is an intersex Native American victim of Titus Braithwhite’s who our trio finds on their journey under the museum. They return to Leti’s house with Leti, Montrose, and Tic via mysterious haunted elevator only to be suddenly killed by Montrose right before the credits role. Misha Green is a trustworthy, thoughtful showrunner but this move definitely feels more than a little shortsighted. Unceremoniously killing off an intersex Native American character very shortly after their introduction is definitely an odd move. It’s clearly something he’s doing to deter Tic from the Braithwhite conspiracy (much like the book burning earlier in the episode) but that doesn’t really justify things on a meta level. It’s not an series-shattering or even episode-shattering misstep for me but it might be for some and that would be fair. I’m still excited to see what happens next and I hope you’ll stick around.


//TAGS | Lovecraft Country

Quinn Tassin

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