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Lovecraft Country, Ep. 1 still

Source: Eli Joshua Ade / HBO


The latest episode of Lovecraft Country was probably the tamest one thus far but pushes the story further along as Tic, Leti, and Montrose dive deeper into the mysteries of the Order of the Ancient Dawn. With a death-defying scene and plenty of catacomb-crawling tension ala Indiana Jones, the hunt for ancient artifacts yields more truths about Tic’s father and much more.

The episode, titled “A History of Violence,” focuses squarely on Tic, Leti, and Montrose picking up the pieces left in the wake of George’s death in Ardham and the Ancient Dawn’s ever-present looming and conspiring. There are callbacks to movies and films that centered on adventures, exploring, and discovery, while also maintaining the creepiness factor.

The show’s title can be assumed to be a nod to the mysterious Titus Braithwhite, who birthed the Order while also passing down his magic-induced bloodline to Tic. The show opened with Christina Braithwhite, looking to cash in on manipulating Leti into purchasing the Winthrop House and uncover an orrery that serves as a time machine along with looking for the pages of a spellbook mentioned in last week’s episode.

Montrose Freeman most certainly knows more than he’s sharing but that comes out slowly across the episode. Tic, Leti, and Montrose, all determined to discover the missing pages of the book before Christina, launch a wild goose chase of a treasure hunt under the guise of a family trip to Boston with Uncle George’s family, Hippolyta and Diana joining the group.

In Chicago, Leti’s sister Ruby finds herself in the crosshairs of William, the brooding blonde that served as housemaster of the Braithwhite lodge in Ardham. Apparently, he has goals of his own outside of Christina’s thirst for power and frustration at not being able to become a full member of the Order. Ruby is seduced by William and it isn’t known what he has in store for her from this point on.

When Tic, Leti, and Montrose arrive in Boston and visit the museum, viewers learn that Titus Braithwhite was a slave trader and explorer. Montrose, who somehow knows the security guard, gains the group access to the museum after hours and they make their grim discovery of secret tunnels and such while also happening upon the killer elevator from Leti’s home. This episode makes good use of Montrose’s working knowledge of the Braithwhite’s plots as we see earlier in the episode him reading a book Uncle George gave him while reliving some unspoken horrors in relation.

As the trio go deep underground to halfway flooded tunnels, the danger factor is ramped up when they come upon a lone wooden plank and a locked door. Leti, always the heroine, is the first to cross with Tic and am afraid Montrose following suit while the plank disintegrates behind them. Reciting the words from the book earlier in the episode, Montrose and Tic figure out how to get into another secret passage and into yet another puzzling entryway.

With floating bodies all around them, the group happens upon a door that only opens to the magical Braithwhite bloodline, bringing the group into an ancient room full of corpses and cobwebs. The show again takes a major turn with the introduction of Yahima, an Arawak person who only Tic can understand. We learn that Yahima is “woman, man, Two-Spirit” and Yahiima explains some important details. The group is inside Titus Braithwhite’s submerged ship deep under mystic waters, which somehow kept Yahima in a suspended state.

Yahima reveals what most should have known, is that Titus had terrible intentions for the ancient arts and Yahima, along with her people, suffer for refusing to be kind and open to the Braithwhite wizards. After Yahima shares all and the ancient scroll retrieved, the windows of the cabin burst as water rushes in. Once again, Leti saves the day at the risk of her own life as the quartet find the elevator and ascend to freedom. Yes, they’re back in Chicago at the Winthrop House at this point, which Hippolyta makes note of.

While Yahima meets an untimely end at the hands of Montrose, who has more secrets than a little bit we find, Hippolyta and Diana are searching for answers in Uncle George’s death and apparently will be making their way to Ardham in search of answers.

On Twitter, fans have chimed in with their thoughts about Lovecraft Country‘s latest episode. We’ve got those listed out below.

Photo: HBO

#LovecraftCountry: Tic, Leti & Montrose On Their Indiana Jones, Shifty Pops & More Revealed In Ep. 4 Of ‘Lovecraft County”  was originally published on hiphopwired.com

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