S02.E10: Into the Afterlife

[raven]

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Henry and Asako look to the past to provide answers to their current turmoil; Chester and Luz grapple with their identities in hopes of saving those who are dearest to them; Amy and Yamato-san struggle to once again assimilate into American life.

Airdate 2019.10.14

[calliope1975]

The last minute of this episode with the actors and crew juxtaposed with their real life families and the camps where they lived/where they served was 100x better than the entire series. 

Edited October 15, 2019 by calliope1975

[Mr. Sparkle]

Well... that's over. 

[Straycat80]

I thought this finale was the best episode of the whole season.  I wish Henry had not died though. And at least Luz and Chester had a happy ending. I also liked how George Takei got his signature ‘Oh my’ in at the end. 

This was not scary to me at all. The real Terror was what the governments of the US and Canada did to the Japanese patriots during WW2. 
 

[Dowel Jones]

It was interesting to note that some of the real life internees were not released until 1946.

As far as then entire supernatural aspect of the story, I'm going to assume that there is some basis for the myths in Japanese culture, but most of the plot surrounding Yuko was lost on me because of cultural differences.  By the end, I didn't really care.  The Obon festival was a far more poignant moment. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

This was by far the best episode this season. If the rest of the episodes had even half the tension of this one, the show would have been more successful. 

[iMonrey]

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I also liked how George Takei got his signature ‘Oh my’ in at the end. 

LOL that bit of fan service didn't escape my notice either.

As for the rest of the episode, I say "meh." The show did such a horrible job explaining Yuko and how the supernatural element worked that even a somewhat emotionally satisfying ending to her arc didn't help matters. 

I guess Amy gets off scot free for murder. Good for her?

There were two basic stories here - the internment of Japanese Americans and some weird story about the Yurei. As another poster so wisely stated earlier on, both seemed half-assed. If they'd focused on one or the other this might have been a good season. The characters were good, the acting was good, it had the ingredients. The writers just blew it. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

10 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I guess Amy gets off scot free for murder. Good for her?

And became a beatnik, apparently. 

[BusyOctober]

Soooo...in order to defeat a traditional Japanese body snatching ghost, one needs knowledge of traditional Mexican religious voodoo?  That would make as much sense as anything else in this show.

i was really shedding heartfelt tears watching the last 10 minutes.  The convo between Henry and Chester, the family reunion, and especially the credits showing the connection between the actors/creative staff, and their families who were imprisoned in the various camps.  I need to find more documentaries or books about this subject.  I guess if AMC and The Terror, season 2 helped to inspire viewers to learn more about it, then they did something right.

[Dowel Jones]

If you go to the Wikipedia site for Manzanar ( and probably any other camp), you will find a boatload of references to people and literature about the internment, including protests as late as 2015.

[ferjy]

I agree with everyone. The story about the Japanese was the far more interesting of the two and should have been in an entirely different series. The "terror" was anything but this season. It didn't have the big names like the first series to sustain it either, though I agree the acting was good from most. I almost shut off the TV half way through, the Yurei story was so lacking. Glad I didn't, the ending was moving, the best part of the episode.

Edited October 17, 2019 by ferjy

[jewel21]

I'm sad Henry died. He was probably my favourite character and I really liked the actor. I also enjoyed the ending which showed the real life families that were imprisoned in the camps. 

I somehow missed George Takei's 'Oh my.'

This season wasn't the best but at least I learned a bit of history. I never got to study World History in school and so this was all kind of new to me. I also wasn't aware that the Canadian government also placed Japanese Canadians in camps. I thought it was just in America. 

[tennisgurl]

The last ten minutes or so are honestly the best that this show has ever been, Yuko finally going back in time to her happiest moment and being at peace, Henry going out to his afterlife boat and Chester getting to say goodbye, seeing Luz and Chester getting a happy ending and everyone together at the end, and, the most moving of all, the pictures of the people who worked on the shows families and their history in the camps. That was really well done and emotional. I especially appreciated that Chester finally accepted Henry as his father, blood or no, and named his son after him.

I especially was hit by the picture of a young George Takei in a camp as a child. And of yeah, I caught that "Oh my..." right there at the end. I see you show, I see you. Honestly, the most striking part of the show for most of the back half was George Takei seeing his friend in the afterlife, hearing he was from Hiroshima, and seeing his whole family with him in the afterlife. 

I would totally watch the adventures of beatnik Amy. 

[TheRabbi]

On 10/14/2019 at 11:03 PM, Straycat80 said:

This was not scary to me at all. The real Terror was what the governments of the US and Canada did to the Japanese patriots during WW2. 
 

I think it was the beginning of the previous episode, when they were being set free, the guy in charge made the statement like 'And remember your loyalty, to this nation that has provided shelter for you in this difficult time.' Trying to spin it like that....oof.

I recorded the whole season and binged it over the past week since I knew it was ending. Definitely more enjoyable to see it in quick succession. I thought the stuff at the camp, and even Chester's stint in the army, was good. The Yuko stuff, and the second baby plot introduced in the last couple episodes...not so much.

I've been reading the comments of earlier threads, and agree with some of it, mainly wondering what exactly the rules are for Yuko. Seeing her switch hosts for the hundredth time got a bit stale towards the end. And relying on Spanish magic to solve it seems especially odd. I hated how Chester treated his adopted parents. There was never so much as a thank you or I love you, yet they always ended up showing unconditional love to him. A little gratitude would be nice.

I appreciated the show for shedding light on some of the awful things that transpired in this time. And the credits scene was very moving. I never really dug the supernatural aspect of the season though.

[Tyro49]

So what happened to Jiry? Is he stuck forever alone in that room that Yuko created?

[Dowel Jones]

Interesting article online (Yahoo) about a body being found in the high country west of Manzanar.  Some hikers came across a body that appears to have been buried, and research indicates that it might be an internee who left the camp and went hiking and fishing with a group back in 1945.  He died in a snowstorm and they went back and buried him later.