‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘Bruce Wayne McQueen’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘NOS4A2’.
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Our love affair with horror exists for a great many reasons. For some, it’s all about the buckets of gore that splash upon the screen, or it’s about the delightful one liners that the monster or the hero spouts on a consistent basis. But when all is said and done, we all indulge of the wonder of this genre for one reason and one reason alone; it’s oddly cathartic. Because in essence, horror offers us a supreme sense of safety. For where else can we spend a couple of hours exploring our worst possible fears before returning to the comfort of our everyday lives? And to top it off further, there’s something reassuring about watching evil fall at the hands of good and just people, especially since deep down, we know that evil is quite successful at its machinations in the real world. 
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Which is why time and time again, good is triumphant in this genre, regardless of how many sequels a particular scary story generates. But while it is nice to go on an emotional roller coaster and feel good about turning off the television or walking out of the theater when the nightmare has come to a close, the bravest horror stories out there… do not subscribe to this particular formula. For these are the tales that truly want to terrify the audience to their core and leave them shaking when the credits begin to roll, and it just so happens that the AMC series NOS4A2 is a show that meets this darker criterion. For it truly wants to take us on a visceral and powerful experience, one that leaves us talking and worrying about what horrors might come next, and for proof that this series is fearless in regard to going to darker places, the kind where evil is triumphant, then look no further than last night’s episode.

For ‘Bruce Wayne McQueen’ took the audience on quite the horrifying and unconventional ride, one that quite frankly, tricked us into thinking everything was going to be safe. Because the early segment of this tale, wherein the Hourglass Man was able to turn a pair of noble federal agents into outright assassins, ended in the favor of Team McCarmody. For Chris McQueen’s valiant efforts to stop said agents from getting into the house, worked. Giving everyone precious time to regroup and heal and wait for Vic’s return and her arrival at the house could not have come at a better time. Because Bing made his move about the time that Vic returned, leaving the audience to firmly believe that Wayne would be in her hands in no time and that Bing would finally get his just desserts for being so cruel to just about everyone. 

But that’s precisely when the false sense of security surrounding this tale outright disappeared. Because the unthinkable happened since young Wayne was tossed inside the Wraith, forcing his mother to battle Charlie Manx one on one, after Manx took the time to run her over of course, and well, this made for some stunning television to say the least. After all, a grandiose showdown between the hero and the villain, are often reserved for the end of the story, or a season for that matter as well. But since this show loves to shatter norms and surprise us at every turn, a battle royale unfolded before our eyes, one where both good and evil were able to trade heavy blows with one another before Vic was forced to retreat. Due to the fact that Bing came to play dirty and brought a gun to a fist fight. 

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Yet while that was quite intense in its own right, it doesn’t quite speak volumes to a story that outright devastates the audience. But Vic being forced to run and hide, served as the perfect catalyst to open the proverbial floodgates, since Vic was forced to watch in helpless horror as her beloved Lou had his face smashed into the Wraith by her greatest enemy. And despite her father’s best efforts to save the day by putting a bullet in Bing and buzzing quite a few over Charlie’s skull, Mister Manx was still able to get away in the Wraith with Wayne. Giving Vic one last chance to chase that horrific ride down and save her son from an outright disgusting fate and sadly, she was unable to do so. For the Hourglass Man offered up an assist and laid her out with his lovely car. Which is a heartbreaking way to end this tale, and sadly… the show wasn’t quite done dragging us through tough moments just yet.
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For this story also took the time to plunge us into the immediate aftermath of this unfortunate fight, one that saw Chris McQueen in bad shape and Vic on a gurney in more emotional pain than any of us will ever understand. Because it is strongly implied that her beloved Lou is dead from the awful injuries he sustained in the battle, and worst of all, poor Wayne is still in the backseat of the Wraith. And despite his pleas that he wants his mother and nothing to do with Christmasland, Charlie is adamant on taking him there. Which in essence means… that evil wins in this tale and wins big, and that’s a tough pill for the audience to swallow because it wasn’t supposed to be like this. Because Vic was supposed to win and teach Charlie the ultimate lesson.

But instead, he was able to outwit and outmuscle Vic at every single turn, making this episode the darkest that this series has offered to date, and that’s saying something. But while this one gives you pause and leaves you stunned and in silence long after it has come to an end, one cannot help but praise the bold nature of this tale. For it takes guts to let the bad guys win, especially this early on in the season. Because now, we are in uncharted territory, where anything can happen and that is both terrifying and thrilling all at once. If anything, the only silver living in regard to how this episode ends, is that now we know just how much Vic loves her son and that she will truly do anything to keep him safe and that will hopefully spell some bad news for Charlie Manx down the line. 

In the end however, this really was quite the impressive episode. One that hit the ground running with action and tension and everything in between and by going the intense route, it kept the audience on the edge of their seats and kept our hearts racing as well, and undoubtedly; there were some tears shed at the end of this tale. For it was savage and raw and really, all of this comes courtesy of incredible writing (Tom Brady) and direction (Hanelle Culpepper) and acting as well. Because everyone in the cast brought their A game to this particular tale, to the point where every single moment moved us and that makes this, a perfect episode through and through and truly, the wait between episodes is getting harder and harder. Not only because this series tells such a great story, but also because… the stakes are higher than ever and we’re all dying to know what comes next.

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