S02.E04: The Weak Are Meat

[raven]

Quote

Chester, in search of a better life, is treated with hostility by his fellow Americans; Luz hopes to be accepted by Henry and Asako in their new home as the Japanese American community celebrates Obon, a festival to commemorate the dead.

Airdate 2019.09.02

[Starchild]

This episode was pretty good, but overall I'm just not feeling it this season. I wish they'd stay in the camp. The claustrophobia helps the atmosphere.

[jewel21]

I really enjoyed this episode! My favourite so far of the season. They brought the creepy which I felt had been missing. I felt so bad for Luz losing both babies. Chester will be so heartbroken when he finds out what happened. The Yurei is pissed now and I hope she really brings the terror.

[Mr. Sparkle]

I agree, this was the best episode this season. I wonder if the twins are really dead, or we'll see them again in some form. 

Hypothetical question: if Luz isn't having the babies, does she have to stay in the camp? It's only supposed to be for the Japanese. 

[BonnieD]

i'm having a problem with the nature of this evil spirit or sad ghost, whichever it is. I can understand when it takes over someone's body to do its will. But then sometimes it is corporeal, actually laying hands on Luz while posing as a midwife. I don't like it being played both ways. Pick one type of manifestation and stick with it.

So, I guess we are to surmise that Henry had a twin, who died while he lived. This is that twin's vengeful spirit or something like that? Perhaps it was one of those situations where one fetus consumes the other in the womb. If dead twin is the gist of it, why did it only suddenly begin to manifest in his life?

[iMonrey]

Quote

i'm having a problem with the nature of this evil spirit or sad ghost, whichever it is. I can understand when it takes over someone's body to do its will. But then sometimes it is corporeal, actually laying hands on Luz while posing as a midwife. I don't like it being played both ways. Pick one type of manifestation and stick with it.

I have my own issues with the evil spirit. The last episode made is seem like she was after Luz's baby but, surprisingly (to me, anyway) both babies were still-born. That makes the evil spirit seem somewhat impotent, doesn't it? I mean, if she can't prevent the death of the babies what good is she? For that matter, you'd think an evil spirit would be able to communicate in any language. 

Then she ends up murdering the doctor because he somehow murdered the babies (?), but why couldn't she just have prevented him from murdering the babies? And what was the purpose of her seeing the nurse before the delivery? I thought she took possession of the delivery nurse but she didn't do anything afterwards.

Quote

So, I guess we are to surmise that Henry had a twin, who died while he lived

Why? What did I miss?

[tennisgurl]

Having Chester leave the camp kind of hurts the atmosphere for me, it feel scarier when its more claustrophobic. That being said, I thought this was the strongest episode so far, it was creepy, tragic, and I am getting more of an idea of the characters now and who they are.

So was the soldier possessed, or was he brainwashed and severely mentally broken by torture? I am leaning towards torture, but either way it was disturbing stuff. 

Poor Luz, and poor Chester, he will be devastated when he finds out. Chester reading the letter about how things are going better for Luz, while the family has a little funeral for the baby and Luz is devastated, was heartbreaking. So did the ghost want the babies to die so she can have their ghosts? So she can kill more members of this family? She is clearly a vengeful spirit of some kind, but I dont really know what kind yet.

[Claire Voyant]

The old men seem to know who the yurei is.  Chester's dad sure knew who she was and that she wants Chester.

The yurei hasn't seemed to want any harm to come to the babies, which is why I think the woman who made the potion to abort them was possessed and ultimately killed herself.   Now the doctor had to kill himself when he didn't die of fright at the sight of the yurei sans mask, makeup and sewing kit.  

Apparently it's not nice to mess with mother nature or the haunting of a yurei.  😨

It's been interesting to learn of other people's culture and the indignities they had to suffer because of the actions of their homeland people. 

I understand the paranoia of the day, but I still don't like that it happened.  I'm sure we'll never know some of the horrors they may have suffered at the hands of the powers that were, with or without a yurei lurking around. 

Yurei's are handy with a blowtorch though, huh?  Chester didn't even have a blister! 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Claire Voyant

[iMonrey]

Quote

So did the ghost want the babies to die so she can have their ghosts? 

It did not seem to me that Yuko wanted the babies to die. It appeared that she killed the doctor in retribution for their "murder." First, she seemed to take possession of the delivery nurse, then the nurse was openly criticizing and chastising the doctor for not doing anything to help the babies when they were born. Finally, she returned in that weird Mardi Gras mask and called him a murderer. From all of that I gathered she wanted the babies alive. 

Quote

The yurei hasn't seemed to want any harm to come to the babies, which is why I think the woman who made the potion to abort them was possessed and ultimately killed herself. 

That makes sense, but why did she blind that woman's husband and why did she cause Amy and Walt's father to go berserk and get himself killed by the guards? Neither of those things were related to the babies. 

I'm not altogether convinced the writers have a clear idea of what this thing is doing or why. It might well be just something they're throwing in for shock value and atmosphere.

[Dowel Jones]

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

So was the soldier possessed, or was he brainwashed and severely mentally broken by torture?

I think he was possessed because he was speaking Japanese, which Chester translated.  That's not likely (but not impossible) for an Anglo soldier.

[Lamima]

So we know that this is a vengeful spirit. She told the blind guy he called her exquisite when she ripped his tongue out. So this is a girl who was wronged by the men somehow and died. Then Chester's mother got weird when Luz asked her about Chester's birth. And they were weird about the twin thing. So it could be that Chester was a twin and/or his mom died in childbirth and he really isn't the son of this lady (don't know his mom's name). Could also be just that he was a twin and the twin died and that's why she didn't want to talk about it.

Here is a long shot theory...maybe the spirit is Luz's mom and she just wanted the baby. ANd she also gets even with anyone harming her daughter or grandbabies. MAybe she was beaten by her husband while pregnant and died after having Luz so she is vengeful against men. Maybe the Japanese girl we see as the evil spirit is just another girl she posses. Maybe a girl these families knew. What did Luz say her grandma told her about her mom? And she is wearing that necklace with pebbles (or ashes) and Chester shook the same out of that book he was translating. No?

Edited September 5, 2019 by Lamima

[foxfreakinmulder]

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2019 at 1:37 PM, Claire Voyant said:

Yurei's are handy with a blowtorch though, huh?  Chester didn't even have a blister! 

Yeah, I thought that was a little too much, everyone else in the pile was charcoal and like you said not even a blister. His clothes didn't even catch fire.

When Chester's mom, dad and other lady was talking and thought Luz was sleeping didn't Chester's mom say "it follows Chester" or something like that?

I don't see any reason for Luz to stay in the camp now.

[ccphilly]

On 9/3/2019 at 4:37 PM, Claire Voyant said:

Now the doctor had to kill himself when he didn't die of fright at the sight of the yurei sans mask, makeup and sewing kit.  

I almost did-that was totally creepy!

[Tyro49]

I think we need more knowledge of Japanese culture and beliefs to follow this program accurately. Maybe one of the characters can explain something to either Luz or the camp commander so that we can follow along?

Do the Japanese have any particular beliefs about twin births, or is it just this particular family?