Lovecraft Country: Season 1, Episode 2 “Whitey’s on the Moon” (B)
When I watched the pilot of this show, I wasn’t really sure what to make of it since it so easily transitioned into full-on monster horror after the more real-life historical terror of white police targeting Black people on the road and setting out to punish them for the crime of not following curfews or daring to travel through segregated areas. This episode made that separation even less distinguishable, as it became nearly impossible to tell what was real and what was a hallucination, which of course was caused deliberately to make them doubt the stability of their own minds. What’s most fascinating to me is the notion of being cognizant enough to recognize that pieces of your memory are missing and that what’s happening can’t possibly be real even if it absolutely looks that way. This show also subtly transitions into moments that could be played as jump scenes but instead are scary in a more sophisticated way, like the snake that emerged to attack Leti when Atticus pulled off his belt. Things proceeded very quickly with the ceremony that ended in a way reminiscent of “Indiana Jones” and found Samuel Braithwite turned to stone. I was trying hard to figure out who played him and now completely see that it was Tony Goldwyn from “Scandal” and “Dexter.” I was also pleased to see Michael K. Williams from “When They See Us” and “Hap and Leonard” as Montrose, who wasn’t happy at all that his family came after him. There’s so much more to unpack here but I’m not sure what else to say because it’s such a head trip, but I’ll be back for episode three to see if I can understand more of it.
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