The Super Powered Fancast

Lovecraft Country

HBO

Season 1 Episode 9

Rewind 1921

To save Dee’s life, Atticus, Leti and Montrose have to revisit the event that shaped many of their lives.

After being attacked by the two demon girls, Dee is in a coma with an infection that is rotting her from the wound out. As everyone sits around blaming each other for what happened to her, the one thing they can all agree on is that the only one that might have the knowledge to save the girl’s life is Christina.

Unfortunately, none of them knows what it will cost to enlist her help.

After making another deal with her, Christina agrees to help, but there is only so much that she can do. After telling them that they need the blood of a relative to complete the spell, Atticus learns a long buried secret from Montrose. A secret that could change everything about their relationship and not for the better. To further complicate matters Hippolyta returns and agrees to help with the spell.

When it’s done, Ruby and Leti talk about Christina and her motives and Ruby makes a choice to stay with Christina and encourages Leti to leave Atticus and come with them.

Knowing that the spell is only a temporary solution, Hippolyta takes Dee and the others back to the observatory to repair the machine. Knowing that the only thing that can help Dee is the Book Of Names, Atticus, Leti and Montrose travel back to Tulsa right before the massacre to find it.

Michael K Williams delivers a powerful performance in this episode. You can see the years of pain, anguish and secrets on his face in every scene as Atticus and Leti revisit the moments that caused him that pain. Those moments continue to illuminate the cycle of emotional and physical abuse that Montrose suffered and how his visiting that same pain on Atticus tore them apart. But in that pain, there are also great moments of emotional connection when they discover how they affect a traumatic moment in young Montrose’s life.

One of the most powerful things about Lovecraft Country is that it puts a spotlight on the legacy of our pasts both personal and cultural. This episode was powerful in its depiction of the Tulsa massacre and that power is elevated by Michael K Williams performance as well as the imagery of an invincible Leti walking through the fire and devastation. The episode sets the scene for a powerful season finale, but this episode stands as one of the best examples of what the series is, what it has to say and how far it is willing to push the viewer.