S01.E03: Holy Ghost

[DearEvette]

3 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Interesting parallels between the church scene at the top of the episode with people getting happy and taken with the Spirit, and the kids being used by ghosts via the Ouija board, and the  incantations the hoodoo woman was doing to try to cleanse the house.

One thing I love about the show is how it is pulling in all the different corners of African American culture.  The music is the biggest signifier with rock and roll, jazz, R&B, black folk music, juke-joints etc.  But we also get spoken word tradition, we get voice -overs from people like James Baldwin and Precious Angel Ramirez strongly referencing Leiomy Maldonado (also this is black queer rep), pop culture with the Jeffersons theme song etc. 

So I am not surprised that they chose to show both Christianity (the scene at the church with people getting caught with the Holy Spirit) as well as the hoodoo magic.  Again referencing my grandmother, she was a Christian woman who also believed in rootwork, hoodoo magic and the presence of spirits.  I think of her and my aunties and how to them all of that -- formal religion and the less formal spiritual rituals were basically all of one piece.

[Adgirl]

16 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I wouldn't want a large number of poor, underemployed, young, mixed gender people moving into a house in my neighborhood, regardless of their race. Leti was having wild party in her house on a Sunday Night, did she care that I have to go to work in the morning? 

I would have loved to live next door to James Baldwin or Richard Wright or Hemingway when they were writing some of my favorite books! I've read Van Gogh lived in poverty most of his life.

How could you even hear Leti's party with those horns honking all night? hmm

Also I thought the party was thrown to show that Leti would not be scared into moving or driven out by foolish, dangerous stunts.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, DearEvette said:

So I am not surprised that they chose to show both Christianity (the scene at the church with people getting caught with the Holy Spirit) as well as the hoodoo magic.  Again referencing my grandmother, she was a Christian woman who also believed in rootwork, hoodoo magic and the presence of spirits.  I think of her and my aunties and how to them all of that -- formal religion and the less formal spiritual rituals were basically all of one piece.

They spoke about this more in the podcast episode this week. 

[TexasGal]

Yeah, bad bad elevator.  Not for me to use ever.

[Adgirl]

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

It just seemed like it was those 3 white guys that were causing all the problem

The neighbors' silence is complacence. Why sleep through nights of those horns unless you supported what they were doing?

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Leti didn't offer you an invite, she didn't do anything but glare at you and give you the stank eye.

I wouldn't ask for one,  but I'd also not make assumptions based on prejudice...black people=underemployed, white people= working on my screenplay/novel.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Adgirl

[Johnny Dollar]

Abbey Lee cannot act. I assume that her character will become more important as the story unfolds, and I don’t have faith in her ability to keep up with the others actors. Wikipedia tells me that Elizabeth Debicki was originally cast in that role but had to drop out for some reason. That’s quite a drop off in talent. 

[kay1864]

6 hours ago, paigow said:

The exorcism / cleansing was the Epstein ghost...Winthrop was in a different dimension / plane

(Homer voice) D’oh!

I should’ve realized that, especially since I was the one who posted about Epstein earlier!

[kay1864]

17 minutes ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Abbey Lee cannot act.

 Au contraire, mon frére. Her character is detached, mysterious, and knows that she holds most of the cards. Abbey Lee is conveying that well.

[paigow]

19 minutes ago, Johnny Dollar said:

Wikipedia tells me that Elizabeth Debicki was originally cast in that role 

Saw her in Tenet .... She seemed to be a foot taller than everybody else..maybe it worked out for the best

[AnimeMania]

55 minutes ago, Adgirl said:

2 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

It just seemed like it was those 3 white guys that were causing all the problem

The neighbors' silence is complacence. Why sleep through nights of those horns unless you supported what they were doing.

Not necessarily, who is to say that the other neighbors didn't complain to the police, same as Leti did. If the police refuse to do anything about it, it would be difficult or dangerous to do something on your own. Most people are not that bold.

[Cotypubby]

Well good to know it was actually the white neighbors who were the victims here. 🙄 Leti just wasn’t being neighborly enough to invite them and kept them up all night with her party. Wow. 
 

I must have missed something because how do we know one of the kids in the basement was supposed to be Emmett Till? Was “Bobo” a nickname he went by?

[DearEvette]

38 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

I must have missed something because how do we know one of the kids in the basement was supposed to be Emmett Till? Was “Bobo” a nickname he went by?

Yes, Emmett Till's nickname was BoBo and he was from Chicago.  Bobo in this ep was going on a trip and the Ouija board told him he would not enjoy it.  We know Emmet went to visit relatives down south where he was abducted and killed.  Also, this picture someone posted on twitter shows the character on the show next to a real picture of Emmett Till. Notice the tie.

4 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Maybe, but Leti didn't offer you an invite, she didn't do anything but glare at you and give you the stank eye. Maybe if she had sent invitations to the people on the street it might have put Leti in a better light, even if she just yelled out of her front door "I am throwing a house warming party tonight, you are all welcome to attend." It just seemed like it was those 3 white guys that were causing all the problems,

 

The three white guys were just the vanguard.  They were the most aggressive and belligerent.  But there were scenes of the neighbors putting signs in their yards that they wanted to keep their neighborhood white.

Edited September 1, 2020 by DearEvette

[AnimeMania]

36 minutes ago, Cotypubby said:

Well good to know it was actually the white neighbors who were the victims here. 🙄 Leti just wasn’t being neighborly enough to invite them and kept them up all night with her party. Wow. 

Since there were no other incidents after the 3 white troublemakers died, I am willing to cut the rest of the white neighborhood some slack.

You can't chastise someone for not wearing a sealtbelt and dying in a car crash that could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt, before cars even had seatbelts. If we continue to judge everybody from the past through our "woke" lense of today, nobody is going to pass, especially if we find one viewpoint that isn't the same as ours, their whole life is considered a "fail".

[paigow]

58 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

Yes, Emmett Till's nickname was BoBo and he was from Chicago.  Bobo in this ep was going on a trip and the Ouija board told him he would not enjoy it.  We know Emmet went to visit relatives down south where he was abducted and killed.  Also, this picture someone posted on twitter shows the character on the show next to a real picture of Emmett Till. Notice the tie.

Is this going to become Forrest Gump? Where important historical figures inevitably come into contact with one of the protagonists?? 

[Cheezwiz]

What a fantastic episode - almost a complete stand-alone story.

There is nothing I love more than a haunted house story, so I was on the edge of my seat for this one. Could not have been more up my alley! Plenty of hair-raising scenes - I think the scene that made me yelp was when Leti was trying to sleep and the ghost was tugging the sheets off her bed. And then you see the mangled face of the ghost peering up at her beside the bed ((shiver)). But once again, the scariest element wound up being the humans, rather than the supernatural entities.

Jurnee Smollet was amazing - I was cheering when she grabbed the baseball bat and went to town on the blaring horns in her heels and fabulous dress. Absolutely badass. The exorcism scene with the hoodoo priestess was also amazing - she looked genuinely spent at the end. I loved the way the ghosts reassembled themselves as they were being freed. The babyheaded basketball player was initially terrifying then somewhat absurd. I guess it was in there for shock value, because it was hard to make sense of it: scary and then kind of funny.

The episode was rich with call-backs to real life events.  I caught the reference to MLK, but didn't know originally went by Michael as a first name. I did not catch catch that one of the little kids playing with the Ouija board was supposed to be Emmett Till. I didn't know that he went by Bobo, or that he was actually on a visit when he was murdered in the South. Heartbreaking.

I couple of things occurred to me while watching - I think  the story element of experimentation certainly references the long history of unethical medical experiments that were done on African Americans. And when Leti was being tossed around in the van, it certainly called to mind the long and history of police abuse (in some cases outright abduction and detention with no charges and no legal representation) rampant in Chicago. Certainly other cities too, but Chicago's history in particular has been horrific. It did have me wondering how Leti managed to get out of jail so quickly.

For me it was such an entertaining episode and had such a satisfying conclusion, I almost don't want to watch further episodes. And kudos to the production designers for a great spooky house, and the costume designers for some stunning clothes.

I'm with the poster above who is finding the actress playing Christina a bit flat. She's very pretty, but I find myself totally bored whenever she's on screen, so I wasn't thrilled to see her and her rolls return at the end. I'm actually not all that interested in the wizard stuff, but I am hoping for more interesting side-journeys in future episodes.

[Chicago Redshirt]

6 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

Since there were no other incidents after the 3 white troublemakers died, I am willing to cut the rest of the white neighborhood some slack.

You can't chastise someone for not wearing a sealtbelt and dying in a car crash that could have been prevented by wearing a seatbelt, before cars even had seatbelts. If we continue to judge everybody from the past through our "woke" lense of today, nobody is going to pass, especially if we find one viewpoint that isn't the same as ours, their whole life is considered a "fail".

Since the episode ended shortly after the three racists were killed, we can't possibly know how the rest of the neighborhood has reacted. Common sense tells us that the three racists who were killed were not alone in their feelings or actions.

Chastising people for either actively trying to drive out blacks who moved in their neighborhood or being complicit in that isn't judging them by the "woke" standards of today. It was a historical fact that people did that, and unlike your seatbelt analogy, it should have been clear with the knowledge available at the time to know that was a shitty thing to do. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Chicago Redshirt

[Empress1]

9 hours ago, paigow said:

Saw her in Tenet .... She seemed to be a foot taller than everybody else..maybe it worked out for the best

Saw Debicki in Widows. She’s six-three.

7 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

Well good to know it was actually the white neighbors who were the victims here. 🙄 Leti just wasn’t being neighborly enough to invite them and kept them up all night with her party. Wow. 

Wow is right!

[AnimeMania]

7 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Since the episode ended shortly after the three racists were killed, we can't possibly know how the rest of the neighborhood has reacted. Common sense tells us that the three racists who were killed were not alone in their feelings or actions.

It ended with a newspaper reporter talking about how Leti successfully opened up a place for low income tenants. All the residents seemed to be happy, there were even small children playing indoors and outside.

Since next episode will probably focus on the elevator and the basement secret lair, we will probably see if the tenants are still happy or if they were slaughtered by their white neighbors.

[Chicago Redshirt]

5 hours ago, paigow said:

Is this going to become Forrest Gump? Where important historical figures inevitably come into contact with one of the protagonists?? 

So far this is a one-of. But if the show keeps rolling and Our Heroes travel, I wouldn't be surprised if they encounter Rosa Parks (the bus boycott was in 1955) or go to a Topeka school (Brown v. Board, the Supreme Court decision  calling for an end to segregation in public schools, was in 1954) or Little Rock school (nine black students trying to integrate a school there happened in 1957), 

As long as they do it with the general wit that the show has shown so far, I'd be fine with it. Although part of me does wonder how the relatives of Emmett Till might feel about his being featured this way.

[Chicago Redshirt]

14 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

It ended with a newspaper reporter talking about how Leti successfully opened up a place for low income tenants. All the residents seemed to be happy, there were even small children playing indoors and outside.

Since next episode will probably focus on the elevator and the basement secret lair, we will probably see if the tenants are still happy or if they were slaughtered by their white neighbors.

There are lots of ways that one could read the ending.

It could be with Epstein's ghost vanquished and the racist trio dead, the forces animating the racism in the neighborhood are gone and Our Heroes and their boarders are set to live happy and unimpeded lives. 

It could be that we're supposed to take it that in the daylight, things can look happy and optimistic but if you dig deep enough, things are still founded on murder (as we see remains of numerous bodies from over the years).

It could be that Leti and the rest of the inhabitants are putting up a brave face on even as they are still suffering from off-screen harassment.

It could be that things have calmed down for now, but we'll see in future episodes that the neighbors are going to go back to the harassment plan.

I'm guessing it's going to be a bit before pioneering is a key plot or subplot, though.

[grawlix]

Was there any explanation on how the bodies of the 3 white guys got into the secret cavern under the house?  Or how all that blood from the bodies was cleaned up?  It looked to me that Atticus and Leti had no idea the three had broken into the house.

Edited September 1, 2020 by grawlix

[Chicago Redshirt]

7 minutes ago, grawlix said:

Was there any explanation on how the bodies of the 3 white guys got into the secret cavern under the house?  Or how all that blood the bodies was cleaned up?  It looked to me that Atticus and Leti had no idea the three had broken into the house.

Evil Elevator Did It.

[DearEvette]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

There are lots of ways that one could read the ending.

It could be with Epstein's ghost vanquished and the racist trio dead, the forces animating the racism in the neighborhood are gone and Our Heroes and their boarders are set to live happy and unimpeded lives. 

It could be that we're supposed to take it that in the daylight, things can look happy and optimistic but if you dig deep enough, things are still founded on murder (as we see remains of numerous bodies from over the years).

It could be that Leti and the rest of the inhabitants are putting up a brave face on even as they are still suffering from off-screen harassment.

It could be that things have calmed down for now, but we'll see in future episodes that the neighbors are going to go back to the harassment plan.

I agree.  Without the show explicitly stating it could be any of these.  Also, it could be that the three young men were just the more active, violent and aggressive of the objectors -- burn the cross on the lawn types.  The rest of the neighborhood could simply be quietly seething or continue with more passive aggressive behaviors -- signs, crossing the street, kicking over garbage cans etc.  Stuff that the black inhabitants would handle as a the cost of living there, annoying and infuriating but not life-threatening or terrorizing.

 

19 minutes ago, grawlix said:

Was there any explanation on how the bodies of the 3 white guys got into the secret cavern under the house?  Or how all that blood the bodies was cleaned up?  It looked to me that Atticus and Leti had no idea the three had broken into the house.

The way Leti answered that woman's question was too breezy and read as completely disingenuous to me.  It felt like Leti knew all about those men and where they were.

[Sheenieb]

Quote

Maybe, but Leti didn't offer you an invite, she didn't do anything but glare at you and give you the stank eye. Maybe if she had sent invitations to the people on the street it might have put Leti in a better light, even if she just yelled out of her front door "I am throwing a house warming party tonight, you are all welcome to attend."

Nah, it isn't Leti's job to show racist trash her humanity. You don't get to be complicit when assholes set off car horns outside my house and expect to get an invite and sweet potato pie.  They're putting up signs on their lawns about keeping out "undesirables" and she isn't being neighborly? I wouldn't want them in my house, either. And I guarantee they wouldn't want to go in even if she did invite them. They probably would have had her arrested for trespassing as soon as her foot hit their step. 

[AnimeMania]

32 minutes ago, DearEvette said:

57 minutes ago, grawlix said:

Was there any explanation on how the bodies of the 3 white guys got into the secret cavern under the house?  Or how all that blood the bodies was cleaned up?  It looked to me that Atticus and Leti had no idea the three had broken into the house.

The way Leti answered that woman's question was too breezy and read as completely disingenuous to me.  It felt like Leti knew all about those men and where they were.

Since the spirits killed the men, I am guessing they also hid the bodies. The Spirits were also helping our heroes by showing Hippolyta the Orrery (mechanical model of the solar system). Hiram Epstein was an Astrophysicist, and Hippolyta has an interest in astronomy, so they will have to bring her into the loop at some point to progress further. 

All human interest stories are kind of puff pieces where the tone that Leti uses seems to be what was expected, upbeat, uplifting, motivational, and self promoting, while also giving recognition to the people who inspired you. The more words you use like that, the fewer things the lady reporter will have to change to write her story.

[Cotypubby]

14 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

she didn't do anything but glare at you and give you the stank eye.

You are making up a narrative. The very first time we see Leti having any interaction at all with her neighbors at all is on Day 2 when the racists set off the car horns. And it is more than just the three guys who are killed. The couple in front of the house across the street are standing there glaring at her.

It is really disturbing that you are trying so hard to make Leti be the one who did anything wrong.

Edited September 1, 2020 by Cotypubby

[Cotypubby]

10 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

If we continue to judge everybody from the past through our "woke" lense of today, nobody is going to pass,

It's not fucking "woke" to know that burning crosses on the lawns on Black people and using car horns and intimidation to force them out of white neighborhoods is a shitty and despicable thing to do.

[kay1864]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Evil Elevator Did It.

 Evil Elevator, now with the Blood Roomba™️ attachment, to automatically clean up your unsightly white racist messes!

Edited September 1, 2020 by kay1864

[kay1864]

Hey, are we ever going to see Jamie Chung (Ji-Ah) again? In IMDb, she’s listed as ‘credit only’ (including Ep 8 and 10) except for Ep 1 (voice on phone) and Ep 2 (mostly played by stunt  woman).  If that’s her total involvement, geez, why bother?

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 minute ago, kay1864 said:

Hey, are we ever going to see Jamie Chung (Ji-Ah) again? In IMDb, she’s listed as ‘credit only’ (including Ep 8 and 10) except for Ep 1 (voice on phone) and Ep 2 (mostly played by stunt  woman).  If that’s her total involvement, geez, why bother?

I wouldn't bet the farm on IMDB having a fully accurate list of credits for future episodes. I might not even bet like a small part of the farm on it being 100 perent accurate with regard to aired eps. Sometimes they are slow to update, leave people off or just get things wrong. 

[Roxie]

In another possible slight nod to history, didn't one of the men helping Leti move in say that his name was James and his dog's name was Baldwin?

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 minutes ago, Roxie said:

In another possible slight nod to history, didn't one of the men helping Leti move in say that his name was James and his dog's name was Baldwin?

Yes, but it wasn't supposed to be THE James Baldwin. AFAIK, Baldwin didn't have a Chicago connection, and his first novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain, come out in 1953, and he would presumably have been in a good enough position to not need to board with Leti and co.

One of the things I had toyed with would be starting a references thread to highlight the historical, literary and other references in the show.

[Roxie]

43 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Yes, but it wasn't supposed to be THE James Baldwin. AFAIK, Baldwin didn't have a Chicago connection, and his first novel, Go Tell It On the Mountain, come out in 1953, and he would presumably have been in a good enough position to not need to board with Leti and co.

One of the things I had toyed with would be starting a references thread to highlight the historical, literary and other references in the show.

I realize all of this - maybe it was just supposed to be honoring his name?  Someone who was a fan?

[Cheezwiz]

1 minute ago, Roxie said:

I realize all of this - maybe it was just supposed to be honoring his name?  Someone who was a fan?

That was my thought as well - that the young man moving into the boarding house was perhaps a fan of his writing.

[tennisgurl]

I've been reading more Lovecraft stories as of late, both because this show has put me in the mood and so I can look for references in the series, and while I might be reaching, as this episode is mostly a classic ghost story mixed with further examination of racial violence and inequality mixed in, I saw a few references and wonder if it is planning more. For one, Leti opening up a boarding house calls to mind a number of Lovecraft short stories where someone moves into a boarding house or apartment complex, only for creepy stuff to start happening. Of course, in those it was normally some other tenant being creepy that was the problem, not the house itself, while here its the house and its bloody history that is being creepy while the residents seem to be perfectly normal and pleasant, but considering "boardinghouse with supernatural stuff" is a bit of a reoccurring setting in Lovecraft, it could be a reference. The episode also brought to mind the story The Terrible Old Man, where three robbers broke into a strange old mans house in the night to rob him and, not too surprisingly, come to bad ends. This episode also had three men break into a house at night and also came to bad ends, albeit under different circumstances and with different motivations, so I wonder if that was deliberate. 

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

It's not fucking "woke" to know that burning crosses on the lawns on Black people and using car horns and intimidation to force them out of white neighborhoods is a shitty and despicable thing to do.

Co-sign. The implication that burning crosses on Black peoples' property is only wrong when viewed through the 2020 "woke lens" is racist. White people knew it was wrong and harmful back then, which is why they did it.

[kay1864]

 Gee Stainsy, I wish we had one a them magic elevators.

Edited September 1, 2020 by kay1864

[Chicago Redshirt]

I think some of you people are perhaps being overly critical of some of the characters.

All Epstein's ghost wanted to do was protect his property and to get people he didn't know or invite out. Sure, through our woke lens, it seems that he had committed a bunch of murders back in the day, but nothing he did was menacing. Leti was the inconsiderate one, spilling blood on his doorstep, daring to try to get protection that she didn't need, and making a bunch of noise. How is he supposed to rest in peace with all that jungle beat music going on? He might have a big day of haunting people and such, and Leti did not ask about it or even care. Perhaps if she had left some Hostess fruit pies out for him, he would have been a friendlier ghost.

Along the same lines, people are acting like the police captain and the driver were trying to threaten Leti. But if she had not committed all those crimes, the police would have left her alone. Also, the driver was swerving not to inflict harm on her but because there suddenly were a bunch of fluffy bunnies in the road, and he was successfully avoiding them. #Leti'sfault

/sarcasm.

[kay1864]

8 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Perhaps if she had left some Hostess fruit pies out for him, he would have been a friendlier ghost.

 For those of you too young to remember,  (or in my case, old enough to have forgotten the Hostess connection) :

(Nice reference, CR!)

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by kay1864

[izabella]

I'm still confused why the police chief allowed Leti to go back home.  She damaged the property of white men - that alone would have kept her in jail for a long time.  And then those same white men whose property she damaged just so happen to be missing without a trace? 

I am very interested in Leti's backstory with her sister and their mom. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by izabella

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, izabella said:

I'm still confused why the police chief allowed Leti to go back home.  She damaged the property of white men - that alone would have kept her in jail for a long time.  And then those same white men whose property she damaged just so happen to be missing without a trace? 

My take: the police captain didn't particularly care about the garden-variety racism of the neighborhood. (Not that he was a particular fan of black people of course). 

His main concerns instead: Was someone onto the crazy shiznit he was up to with Epstein back in the day? Could he have to face justice for what he did? Is another wizard coming for him and whatever knowledge/equipment/documents/etc. he has from working from Epstein?

Once he was convinced that Leti didn't know anything that would be helpful to get answers to those and related questions, he probably figured he might as well cut her loose. There's nothing to gain for throwing her in a jail cell for vandalism to the cars, from his perspective. And keeping an eye on her might have the forces that backed her reveal themselves.

I'd guess for once sexism and racism would work for Leti: nobody in the 1950s would think that she was powerful/smart/together enough to pull off the murders of three strapping, All-American white guys and get away with it with no hard evidence linking them to her. Even their racist bullying isn't enough because there's no real way to show that Leti knew which of the many neighbors who might have resented the house was behind the cars and cross-burning.

[DearEvette]

I headwank that Christina had something to do with her release.  No way she goes through such a complex ruse to get Leti to buy that house (...I mean she can give a Bond villain a run for their money on the needlessly complex scale..) only for Leti to end up languishing in jail or worse from a run of the mill arrest. 

on a trivia detail note: Also, I just re-watched Sundown and now knowing that Uncle George's favorite book is Dracula it makes sense he was the first one to cop to the creatures in the wood's light sensitivity and name them vampires.

[kieyra]

Agree about Christina/Abbey Lee’s acting. Google searches and Wikipedia list her as ‘model’ first. I won’t ever claim to understand casting, but I do wonder if it was more about her intensely blonde/blue-eyed-ness (like the poor man’s Eric Northman in the previous episode). But yeah, performing with the other actors in this show isn’t doing her any favors, and it’s a weird thing to see in a flagship HBO property.

[Chicago Redshirt]

In terms of Christina, I guess so far, the actress is doing OK. Part of the issue seems to me to be deliberate. All the black recurring characters have been written with soul and depth and highs and lows and ranges of emotion (with the possible exception of Montrose -- I don't think that we've seen enough of him yet. But Michael K. Williams has enough goodwill from The Wire and Boardwalk Empire, among other places that I don't think we have to worry.)

Christina strikes me as a difficult role to play. It seems like the powers that be are going for a combo of crazy/sexy/cool, intelligent, aloof, powerful, mysterious. Lee's adequate. But nothing in Lee's portrayal makes me think that she's nailed all of that, but at the same time, nothing makes me wish for a different actress.  I can't really think of an actress who could pull off the part based on what we've seen of her. 

I'm not looking forward to the Thanos-level-inevitable Christina's Last Temptation of Atticus and/or a Christina/Atticus/Leti love triangle.

[kay1864]

Re Abbey Lee, I just don’t remember any scenes, even after re-watching, where I went “Oh my god, she’s so insipid, completely wrong for the part.” (I’ve seen Keanu Reeves, so believe me, I know flat acting 😆)

An example of “flat and wrong” is January Jones in X-Men First Class. Her flat acting really stuck out for me, and marred every scene she was in. I hate when that kind of delivery takes me out of the movie moment, but she did just that. 

[rollacoaster]

Tic and Leti's "love" scene and the scene leading up to it really did not sit well with me. 

The crassness of how that man spoke of "tussling" with Leti in high school, and saying "If THAT belongs to you, maybe you ought to tell her," -- ugh! Like she's property. There was no respect for Leti, only respect for Tic's property rights. 

No, there was nothing loving or tender in that bathroom scene, just Tic staking his claim,  primed by the poison that grotesque fool of a man poured into his ear.

I know first times are rarely ideal, but, I wish for something better for these two. I'm so glad they were able to have that conversation and clear the air somewhat.  

That exorcism scene was so powerful! I actually started weeping and rocking back and forth. The incantation, the song, Leti's strength, and the tortured, murdered souls re-membering themselves back to wholeness as they joined together to cast out that white man's evil. Ahhhhh! It was perfect on every level.  

[harrisonjames]

Did Hippolyta steal the orrery?

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, harrisonjames said:

Did Hippolyta steal the orrery?

I thought it was just the spirits helping out the gang, showing Hippolyta a vision of the orrery, which is probably the key to the underground lair or to deciphering the pages. The spirits pulled the covers off of Leti to wake her up so she could turn off the furnace before it exploded.

[qtpye]

https://tomandlorenzo.com/2020/09/lovecraft-country-holy-ghost-costumes/#.X1LIdMhKiUk

Really interesting post. I love the Leti character and think she is fascinating to look at and observe. I also appreciated that Leti and Ruby really look like they can be sisters.

The cast is killing it.

 

 

[Scarlett45]

On 9/3/2020 at 10:16 AM, rollacoaster said:

"If THAT belongs to you, maybe you ought to tell her," -- ugh! Like she's property. There was no respect for Leti, only respect for Tic's property rights. 

I took that as sarcasm, not as anger or judgment towards Leti. Obviously Leti belongs to no one as she was doing what she wants (and it didn’t appear that anyone was judging her character for that), but if Tic wanted her he needed to make a move because she was not going to be sitting around waiting for him. The other guy was judging Tic for being a punk, not Leti for dancing with another guy. 
 

I think the linguistic choices fit in with the period without dehumanizing Leti at all. 

On 9/2/2020 at 11:06 PM, kay1864 said:

Re Abbey Lee, I just don’t remember any scenes, even after re-watching, where I went “Oh my god, she’s so insipid, completely wrong for the part.” (I’ve seen Keanu Reeves, so believe me, I know flat acting 😆)

An example of “flat and wrong” is January Jones in X-Men First Class. Her flat acting really stuck out for me, and marred every scene she was in. I hate when that kind of delivery takes me out of the movie moment, but she did just that. 

 I agree with you.