S01.E01: Sundown

[shanndee]

I am so happy that I remembered to set my PVR for this! I can't really add much to what you have already been discussing, but I just have to say that I am all in for this! Well done HBO! (and of course the production team and the amazing cast!).

On a shallow note, my husband commented that he was really enjoying the fact that this had the familiar feel of "Supernatural" to him: Two family members searching for a lost father who has knowledge of the occult. A car with a ton of character that won't die 😉 and of course the creatures themselves. It also had a bit of a "Preacher" vibe with its title cards and wonderfuly strong heroine.

All of this combined with a plot line that addresses serious issues of racism and inequality? Show...you are a glorious thing to behold!

[Cotypubby]

Thirding the complaint that the random rap song in the middle of the episode was completely out of place. Everything else was contemporary to the time period, then all of a sudden we get 2019 rap.

[paigow]

4 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

Thirding the complaint that the random rap song in the middle of the episode was completely out of place. 

This is probably a clue that Inception shenanigans are going on

Edited August 23, 2020 by paigow

[wanderingstar]

I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to horror, but I loved this! Truth be told, the supernatural monsters had nothing on the racists Atticus, Leti and George encountered. When the shoggoths showed up, I was a bit relieved to be honest.

[kay1864]

 So we’re to assume that Woody got trashed by crashing through the front door.

1. Question is, how did Leti know to squish the sheriff? He hadn’t turned when she left, right? If she was coming back to scare off monsters and rescue them, seems like all she needed to do was shine the lights through the front windows.  Then everybody jumps into Woody, and they drive off.

2.  How did they survive the night in the shack? Those headlights wouldn’t have stayed on more than a few hours.

 

 

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, kay1864 said:

2.  How did they survive the night in the shack? Those headlights wouldn’t have stayed on more than a few hours.

Somebody whistled and the monsters left, somebody was watching the whole scene, maybe even manipulating it.

[kay1864]

10 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Somebody whistled and the monsters left, somebody was watching the whole scene, maybe even manipulating it.

 Oh, right. And even after that, they still had possible human monsters to contend with until sunrise.

[DollEyes]

15 hours ago, Gillian Rosh said:

I'm a scaredy cat when it comes to horror, but I loved this! Truth be told, the supernatural monsters had nothing on the racists Atticus, Leti and George encountered. When the shoggoths showed up, I was a bit relieved to be honest.

By that time,  I was not only glad to see the monsters,  every time they killed a racist cop, I cheered.

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 hours ago, kay1864 said:

 So we’re to assume that Woody got trashed by crashing through the front door.

1. Question is, how did Leti know to squish the sheriff? He hadn’t turned when she left, right? If she was coming back to scare off monsters and rescue them, seems like all she needed to do was shine the lights through the front windows.  Then everybody jumps into Woody, and they drive off.

2.  How did they survive the night in the shack? Those headlights wouldn’t have stayed on more than a few hours.

Atticus told Leti that if she heard gunshots that she should bail. Leti presumably heard gunshots as she is returning with Woody from when Atticus tried to kill Monster Sheriff with a shotgun. Instead of bailing, she realized the situation got serious and drove straight into the cabin. Yes, it presumably is just dumb luck that she hit Monster Sheriff and only Monster Sheriff rather than George or Atticus.

Oh, right. And even after that, they still had possible human monsters to contend with until sunrise.

I think all the racist sheriffs are dead. As far as we know Hunt and the other guy were the only ones to survive the initial assault. Hunt saidd the monsters killed four of his men, and George said he played possum until the monsters moved on. Hunt of course killed the one deputy after his transformation and was in turn killed by Woody.

A fair question is how they managed to get a flare perimeter set up in the time that they had (and why they had that many flares in the first place).

 

[kay1864]

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Yes, it presumably is just dumb luck that she hit Monster Sheriff and only Monster Sheriff rather than George or Atticus.

[kay1864:And even after that, they still had possible human monsters to contend with until sunrise.]  I think all the racist sheriffs are dead.  

A fair question is how they managed to get a flare perimeter set up in the time that they had (and why they had that many flares in the first place).

1. Yep!  Effing risky.

2.  Plenty more non-sheriff human monsters in town!

3.  Yes, the flares were definitely a Checkov’s gun on the Woody checklist.

Edited August 23, 2020 by kay1864

[AnimeMania]

5 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

A fair question is how they managed to get a flare perimeter set up in the time that they had (and why they had that many flares in the first place).

You know that Diana put them in there, that girl has a checklist and is prepared for anything.

[paigow]

55 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

You know that Diana put them in there, that girl has a checklist and is prepared for anything.

The local Woolworth was probably selling 2 boxes for $1.00 

[Chicago Redshirt]

Flares were definitely on the checklist, but it was like at least a dozen of them laid out in no time flat. How many flares is someone normally gonna carry with them? Like 6?

Not that I care, mind. 

[Tachi Rocinante]

Glad I didn't stop watching. It went from boring as shit to Holy Shit in a few minutes.

The Rolls Royce was following them, it didn't come from the mansion.  There was a glimpse of it when they were leaving (another character also mentioned a white guy, and 'that car' when talking about who took NotOmar).

I really tried to enjoy Lovecraft, but he's really inconsistent for me.  His good stories are the ones that don't involve the Old Ones.  Anything that leads to Cthulhu bores me to tears.

[carrps]

Heh, forgot to look at Previously for this show.

Anyway, I LOVE Matt Ruff, so when I heard Jordan Peele was going to be involved in making a series from the book, I was IN. And I wasn't disappointed. I was counting the days until the 16th, and when all the pandemic news was getting so dire in the last couple of months, I was thinking "just don't let me get covid and die before Lovecraft Country airs."

If anyone else in intrigued by this mash-up, I can recommend most of Ruff's other books. They are all a bit off-kilter, funny, serious, and often deeply weird.

[go4luca]

On 8/21/2020 at 11:34 AM, Scarlett45 said:

Oh yes silly me! I will remember not to put the apple links next time. 

Or perhaps include both options?  Some of us are using the Apple ecosystem.  Please and thank you!

[Catfi9ht]

I just discovered this show this weekend and am still getting caught up. So far, I think it's great for many of the reasons already provided, and I'm hooked from the first episode.

Since there was some discussion on the locations of Sundown Towns in the US, here's a link to a database from sociologist James Loewen cataloging Sundown Towns in the US: https://sundown.tougaloo.edu/sundowntowns.php

He's most famous for the book,  Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong. This database stems from his book, Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism.

I've read the former, it's excellent.

I also found this article that summarizes the shrinking African-American population in New England in the late 19th century. For a short article, it's got some pretty compelling information. https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/secret-history-new-englands-sundown-towns/

 

[Accidental Martyr]

Article about “sundown towns” near where I grew up in Alabama.

https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/lovecraft-country-and-the-dark-history-of-alabamas-sundown-towns/

[Scarlett45]

43 minutes ago, Accidental Martyr said:

Article about “sundown towns” near where I grew up in Alabama.

https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/lovecraft-country-and-the-dark-history-of-alabamas-sundown-towns/

Yeah- I just learned this year that there are adults born in raised in the USA who didn’t know sundown towns did and do exist. I thought it was common knowledge.