S01.E06: The One About a Yiddish Vampire

[formerlyfreedom]

Holly presents her unusual theory about the connection between two other mysterious child murders and the Frankie Peterson case. While Ralph remains skeptical, a more receptive Yunis suggests they start looking into Claude, the last person to have contact with Terry. Jeannie’s attempt to include Glory in their group of concerned citizens backfires.

Airing Sunday, February 9, 2020.

[patty1h]

Shit is finally happening and things are looking crappy for Holly.  I was nervously waiting for her to notice those nasty blisters on Jack's neck and, now, dun dun dun!

I know I recognized Jack's mother from somewhere and it was a real blast from the past:  it was Denny Dillon who was an SNL cast member back in the early 90's.

Edited February 10, 2020 by patty1h

[humbleopinion]

Interest for this show is waning.

Being a stubborn cuss, Ima gonna stick it out.

Holly’s theory was ill received especially by Glory but she continues with her investigation...

[terrymct]

So, we were right about the demon having two types of victims. 

- The ones who are scratched (DNA collected) and then become the model for the demon's next incarnation.  

- The minions who are physically and psychologically abused, have the neck blisters, and who do things for the demon while he's (we have no proof of gender, I'm just going with male as a default) changing form.

I like that Holly and Jeannie have found each other and are working off one another.  Ralph is on the periphery as the voice of reason, listening to them and (we hope) changing his mind as more starts to emerge.   

Yunis, the Hispanic detective, is kind of curious.  It sounds like his grandparents or other family members laid the ground work for him to potentially believe in the supernatural or unexplainable, which led him to work with Holly and to potentially believe in the demon fairly early on.  I hope they have him struggle a bit more with the concepts, though.

[enchantingmonkey]

That was my favorite episode of the season.  I loved watching each of them deal with Holly's theory in varying ways.  Glory was willing to consider that her own beloved husband violently murdered a boy rather than accept that the supernatural could be involved.  It makes me wonder why the human mind has such a determination to believe that all can be explained through science, and if there's a kind of deception involved in that.  

[scottiB]

1 hour ago, enchantingmonkey said:

I loved watching each of them deal with Holly's theory in varying ways.  Glory was willing to consider that her own beloved husband violently murdered a boy rather than accept that the supernatural could be involved. 

You put it very succinctly what I was thinking. I really am enjoying watching all of the perspectives. Holly is the most logical and cop-like. Yune believes more, but him following the bar manager make sense if you follow the facts. Ralph is just staring at drawings that are obviously related but can't make the leap. This is really well done.

I liked the Andrews Sisters, Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar, reference when Jacks's mom was punching him. That scene really veered into Stephen King-land, and the song reference follows old-school pop culture references in his books.

One thing I'll handwave: 28 days murder cycle is too tight not to be discovered nationally. These a gruesome murders in crazy cases (one in NYC), and they couldn’t have NOT been noticed on a national level.

I've read the book, and I really enjoyed it as a book. Price, et al, have pushed it out to a 10 episode series that, thus far, makes great TV in keeping the book's tone and style. Really good examples of each media form.

Edited February 10, 2020 by scottiB
Fixed double negative.

[terrymct]

41 minutes ago, enchantingmonkey said:

Glory was willing to consider that her own beloved husband violently murdered a boy rather than accept that the supernatural could be involved. 

 

And Glory was forced to face a consequence of her outburst when she saw her daughter picking up Terry's things that Glory had torn out of the drawers and closet and chucked into the hallway.    That was powerful.

[blixie]

Quote

I hope they have him struggle a bit more with the concepts, though.

It actually would make sense to me that someone who is struggling to solve a crime in the "i need to know" rather than a I want to close this case sense is open to something supernatural being at work it would mean they aren't bad detectives just up against something that can't be formally "caught".  If you sincerely want to stop further child murders than go with it even if it might be crazy (and indeed I think this is why cops will indulge psychics when they've a had a case go really cold). In this case Glory and her lawyer are funding it so he doesn't even have to sweat the wasted finite resources aspect. 

I felt so much anxiety when Holy realized she's in the middle of nowhere with a jerk controlled by a child killing monster. 

I think Glory was angry about Holly explanation as it wouldn't clear Terry's name, and that's been her angle exonerating him PUBLICLY so her kids and her community will stop giving her a  hard time. I think it makes a lot of sense that at some point she would doubt Terry's innocence, I'm just surprised it wasn't sooner. 

 

Quote

 28 days murder cycle is too tight not to be discovered nationally.

Eh these are completely different jurisdictions this is something that is used by serial offenders to avoid discovery all the time, like the Rapist in Unbelievable and of course the Golden State Killer wasn't really ever formally connected to his earlier Visalia Ransaker crimes until they just caught him in 2018. And I don't think we know if the monster is replicating a particular MO. 

[iMonrey]

I realize how crazy Holly's theory must sound, and she had the added disadvantage of awkward presentation.  But when you lay out the cases of these three connected people, all arrested for gruesome child murders by a plethora of evidence while at the same time having rock solid alibis, what other explanation can there be? At the very least, Ralph should be closely monitoring the strip club owner, who he already knows got a scratch from Terry Maitland. 

Speaking of which . . . I don't even know the guy's name, and I assumed he was the owner or at least manager of the strip club, but why did the bouncer drag him out of the bar for trying to break up a fight between two patrons? And where did he go and why was Yunis watching him? Does he know about the scratch?

[tennisgurl]

Holly's meeting explaining her idea for what happened was really fascinating in how everyone reacted. Really, Holly clearly did a ton of research, used a lot of deductive reasoning, and came to what could be seen as the only logical conclusion, that this pattern is being perpetuated by a supernatural entity. Thats certainly a seemingly out there conclusion, but in the face of this bizarre and specific pattern...what more "logical" explanation is there? At some point, isnt it more logical to say that there is some creature out there that science hasn't discovered yet instead of either coming up with a utterly convoluted conclusion based on "facts" or just chalking everything up to coincidence? Yeah coincidences do happen, but this pattern is so specific, its hard to look at it and dismiss that something else is happening out of hand. And yet, half the meeting does just that, especially Glory, who would apparently prefer to imagine that her deceased husband was a child rapist/killer over the possibility of something supernatural. Its like Ralph insisting over and over that the fact that Jeannie, one of Glory's daughters, and the teen in Dayton all say the same very distinct and specific person/thing in real life AND in dreams, all people connected to the case but very little else, is just a coincidence and shouldn't even be considered as anything more than bad dreams. At some point, your just ignoring the facts that are starring right at you. Not that "the boogeyman" should be suspect number one in most murder cases, but if you are serious about solving a case, sometimes you have to look at every possibility. Even if the possibility seems totally impossible. 

I've also always found the way that various cultures throughout world history have told stories about many similar myths and mythical creatures, that have differences but also a lot of basic similarities, despite the fact that many of these cultures were on opposite sides of the world and had seemingly no contact with each other. The idea that this creature is the inspiration for all of these similar myths about shape shifters and child killers is a really interesting idea to explore. 

Of course, some of Glory's anger is probably because this idea will be a pretty hard sell when it comes to exaggerating Terry. A mythical creature being the killer isnt as easy to get a mug shot from to show the media. 

I am interested to see where things go with Yunis, the cop who seems to be more open to a supernatural answer. 

Just a bad day for Holly all around. Tons of people yell at her and tell her how shit she is for doing her job, including the guy who hired her, and now she is stuck in a car with the newest Renfield of the monster. 

Still really enjoying this show, even if it makes me want to check underneath my bed every night. 

[kicksave]

15 hours ago, patty1h said:

Shit is finally happening and things are looking crappy for Holly.  I was nervously waiting for her to notice those nasty blisters on Jack's neck and, now, dun dun dun!

I know I recognized Jack's mother from somewhere and it was a real blast from the past:  it was Denny Dillon who was an SNL cast member back in the early 90's.

I thought it was her...wow...time has not been kind to her.

[blixie]

Quote

but why did the bouncer drag him out of the bar for trying to break up a fight between two patrons? And where did he go and why was Yunis watching him? Does he know about the scratch?

I keep forgetting Paddy Considine's characters name too, it's Claude, Claude IS the manager but he's on probation so can't be assaulting people in club, manager or no (thought it's weird they let a guy on probation manage a place that serves liquor since I'd guess that compromises their license). I DO think he knows he was scratched by Terry and that something weird is happening to him, but isn't sure what and really how could he ever guess. I don't know where he's going at the end, but you'd think he'd go to Ralph, since he held back the info about Terry scratching him, he may want to fess up now that he's feeling freaked out.

[terrymct]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Speaking of which . . . I don't even know the guy's name, and I assumed he was the owner or at least manager of the strip club, but why did the bouncer drag him out of the bar for trying to break up a fight between two patrons? And where did he go and why was Yunis watching him? Does he know about the scratch?

 

I think we're supposed to see that he's acting out of character.  Previously he seemed like an in control manager of a strip club.   I don't think the issue was necessarily was him breaking up the fight, although that's the bouncer's job surely, but that he was getting into it a bit too vigorously rather that defusing the situation.

[cpcathy]

Thanks for pointing out Paddy Considine, I knew he was in the show but could never figure out who he was playing.

[teddysmom]

2 hours ago, kicksave said:

it was Denny Dillon who was an SNL cast member back in the early 90's.

She was also on one of the very first series on HBO, Dream On, with Brian Benben and Wendy Malick.  

I think it was at least an hour or so before my blood pressure/heart rate lowered after the final scene of Holly trapped in that car with Jack. 

I was not familiar with Cynthia Erivo as a performer, but I'm loving her as Holly. And I just watched her perform her nominated song,  "Stand Up" on the Oscars. Holy shit she is amazing.  

The entire cast is fantastic.  

[Rickster]

13 hours ago, terrymct said:

So, we were right about the demon having two types of victims. 

- The ones who are scratched (DNA collected) and then become the model for the demon's next incarnation.  

- The minions who are physically and psychologically abused, have the neck blisters, and who do things for the demon while he's (we have no proof of gender, I'm just going with male as a default) changing form.

 

I’ve been late to this show and have been catching up on demand. I’ve been trying to figure out:

We had the nursing home orderly doppleganger in Dayton and his minion

We now  have Jack as the minion, as the entity transforms into the doppleganger of the strip club manager (we assume)

Was there a minion for Terry, and who was it?

[Johnny Dollar]

I agree. Cynthia Erivo is amazing. If her sing won an Oscar she would’ve been the youngest EGOT ever. She won a Tony for The Color Purple a couple of years ago, along with an Emmy and Grammy for related works.

Since Claude was the last character to get scratched, I assume he will be the next perp/victim. But he doesn’t seem to match the typical profile of the wrongly accused  being a somewhat good person.

The show still moves at much too slow of a pace for me. And Ralph’s cluelessness is really starting to grate. Three separate people draw exactly the same weird drawing and he thinks it’s a coincidence. I don’t know why the demon was so worried about stopping his investigation based on how he’s approaching this whole thing. 

Edited February 11, 2020 by Johnny Dollar

[terrymct]

11 hours ago, Rickster said:

I’ve been late to this show and have been catching up on demand. I’ve been trying to figure out:

We had the nursing home orderly doppleganger in Dayton and his minion

We now  have Jack as the minion, as the entity transforms into the doppleganger of the strip club manager (we assume)

Was there a minion for Terry, and who was it?

 

That's an excellent question.  I don't know.   When the model for the doppelganger changes location (NY to Ohio, Ohio to Georgia), the demon obviously follows.  He must make a minion after he arrives.

[pasdetrois]

I can't follow the demon chain-of-custody.

I have been bored during most episodes, but I feel the narrative pace picked up with this latest one.

Jack's portrayal is no longer one dimensional. The actor is doing a good job of showing us some range. Seeing a big strong tough guy getting whooped by his mama made me sad.

[humbleopinion]

Terry is seen scratching Claude on the video when he came in the strip club to change his bloody clothes...so Terry's  henchman....but he delayed in his  behaviors other than anger/rage with his fighting...

 

[Sam Spayaid]

On 2/10/2020 at 7:43 AM, humbleopinion said:

Interest for this show is waning.

Especially now with this new information.....so they are dealing with a......DEMON?!!! As long as we don't get another giant spider, from Mr. King.

[kay1864]

4 hours ago, humbleopinion said:

Terry is seen scratching Claude on the video when he came in the strip club to change his bloody clothes...so Terry's  henchman....but he delayed in his  behaviors other than anger/rage with his fighting...

 

 Shouldn't there be a Claude doppelgänger, rather than Claude turning evil?  Terry didn’t turn evil after he was scratched. 

[Dowel Jones]

On 2/10/2020 at 8:10 AM, scottiB said:

I liked the Andrews Sisters, Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar, reference when Jacks's mom was punching him.

They should have pushed it all the way with the chorus:  "Rip, rap, rip, rap, ripping all with ease."

[humbleopinion]

4 hours ago, kay1864 said:

 Shouldn't there be a Claude doppelgänger, rather than Claude turning evil?

Next episode the investigation turns to Claude so probably will see his Doublemint twin next week....

[terrymct]

My SO and I talked last night about the minions and whether there was one when the Terry doppelganger was forming.   It doesn't have to be a 1 to 1 thing.  There were two minions in Ohio.   They were still active while the demon was heading to Georgia and starting to form into Terry.   The demon might not have needed one in Georgia yet.   

16 hours ago, kay1864 said:

 Shouldn't there be a Claude doppelgänger, rather than Claude turning evil?  Terry didn’t turn evil after he was scratched. 

That's going to be curious.  We haven't seen any neck blisters on Claude yet.  I'm still betting he's the model for the next doppelganger.  

[Cheezwiz]

This was a good episode, and my hair was standing on end at the conclusion with poor Holly (after the most shit day ever) realizing she's trapped in a vehicle with a demon minion.

I really like the tweaks the writers are making to the source material - they are enhancing the story big-time.

[raven]

On 2/11/2020 at 12:26 PM, pasdetrois said:

Jack's portrayal is no longer one dimensional. The actor is doing a good job of showing us some range. Seeing a big strong tough guy getting whooped by his mama made me sad.

Same here.  I definitely felt he held out as long as he could.  At the end though, he looked like he was wearing a better fitting Edgar suit.

I've binged this one and I'm really enjoying it.  I think Cynthia Erivo is doing a fantastic job.  Holly is so reserved and holds herself in control but you can see that she does indeed feel all emotions. 

I'm also really liking Mare Winningham's Jeannie and her willingness to accept these ideas. 

I understand that Ralph wants to stick to "cop shit" but it seemed like he was more open minded than he showed in this one.

I give Glory a pass due to going through hell.  My guess is she wants things as normal as they can be and El Cuco does not fit with that.

I love well done weird stories and this one is really good.  I was distracted by the overhead light fixture in the Anderson house that looked like a UFO though.

 

[Wouldofshouldof]

On 2/10/2020 at 2:56 PM, teddysmom said:

I was not familiar with Cynthia Erivo as a performer, but I'm loving her as Holly. And I just watched her perform her nominated song,  "Stand Up" on the Oscars. Holy shit she is amazing.  

Check her out in Bad Times at the El Royale - with a bonus as it also has Jon Hamm :)

[Roxie]

Being willing to believe in an evil entity reminds me of something St. Augustine wrote:  "Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only to what we know about nature."

[Cheezwiz]

2 hours ago, Roxie said:

Being willing to believe in an evil entity reminds me of something St. Augustine wrote:  "Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only to what we know about nature."

Maybe Shakespeare was paraphrasing St. Augustine when he wrote the famous line from Hamlet: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,/ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy (science)."