‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘Good Father’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

One element that is supremely fascinating in regard to the horror genre, is how said genre’s exploration and understanding of evil has evolved throughout the years. For earlier scary stories saw evil as an outright force of nature. Where the creatures that populate this universe and go bump in the night, exist simply because evil has always been with us, and the darkness of night is the perfect place for it to thrive and function without impunity. And it only needed to show its twisted face when a poor soul took the time to dig too deeply into the mysteries of the world, and that led to generations of powerful stories that preyed upon our most primal fears in fascinating fashion, that is until the 20th Century arrived, when this genre underwent quite the incredible change.
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Because suddenly the creatures that once existed and acted upon instinct, simply because it was in their nature to cause harm when provoked or uncovered, evolved into something more for the audience. Now they were tortured souls, created by mad scientists or they were under the influence of something far more powerful and eventually, they evolved into the worst monster of all; humanity. For the people that have turned their backs on decency and the moral code that society holds dear are as twisted as they come and that’s led to a new generation of fascinating stories. Ones that feature men and women that no longer care about a society that has afforded them every opportunity to be good and kind and all of this is relevant to today’s discussion, simply because every element we’ve discussed in regard to horror so far, found its way into last night’s episode of NOS4A2.

For ‘Good Father’ pulled us away from Vic McQueen’s struggles to put the spotlight upon the mysterious and vindictive and downright evil Charlie Manx. For when we catch up with him here, he’s bleeding and broken and desperate to find his way back to Sleigh House and in turn Christmasland and that allows for us to learn exactly how much fight is present within this man. Since he pushes his body to limits untold to get what he wants and having some brief moments of pause on the road back home, allowed for Charlie to reflect upon his long and twisted life and what exactly brought him to this particularly unfortunate point. Which revealed a fascinating origin story for Charlie, one that helped the audience understand exactly what he is all about and what makes him so determined to do the horrible things he does. 

As it turns out, this powerful vampire, one that engenders fear in the heart of Vic McQueen and so many others, started out as a nobody. In fact, he was nothing more than a driver back in the day, one who found himself at quite the crossroads. For he fell in love with his boss’ daughter and married her and they eventually were joined by young Millie Manx, and all he ever wanted in life, was a chance to do something special and own his own business, one that would allow for others to be driven around in style, so that he could provide a wonderful life for his wonderful wife and daughter. And all that he needed to make that happen, was a little capital investment from Cassie Manx’s supremely rich father, Horace Haber. But alas, his pleas for financial aid fell upon deaf ears and eventually, the Manx family found themselves dealing with hard times. 

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Because with money drying up quickly, especially after dear Horace passes into the great beyond, and no work and a bad economy surrounding them, there was little hope for joy. Plus, to complicate matters further, Charlie refused to let go of the dream, causing a great divide between he and his beloved wife, and really the only happiness he found in this life was through his daughter, who adored him and joined in on his imaginative creation of a place called Christmasland. Which truly kept Charlie going and when an opportunity arrived for him to risk it all on the dream so his family could finally enjoy financial security and stability, he took it without giving it a second thought. But the move was viewed with disgust and disappointment, and when faced with the prospect of losing Millie and the stability of family life, he made one ugly decision, one that would alter his life in ways he never thought possible. 
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Yet while it was fascinating and powerful to see Charlie in the days before he kidnapped little kids and robbed them of their youth by way of the Wraith, and see him cross paths with Bruce Wayne McQueen, the nuances of this tale are what matter the most. Because as is often the case in regard to evil in our modern world, it is often created by small men who cannot stand being marginalized by society and Charlie most certainly meets that criteria. For his ego simply could not bear the thought of failure or a lack or adoration and that drove him to the extreme, and the end result of that damage is the creature we see before us now. One who firmly believes he is doing some kind of good in the world by saving little children from monstrous mothers who could care less about the well-being of their babies, regardless of the damage of his actions.   

But what truly made this exploration of his past so fascinating and powerful, is that it was also able to show us how small Charlie really is after all these years. For his quest to save lives and find a queen for Christmasland, is related to the fact that he still hasn’t given up on his dreams of family and success. For he seems to believe that bringing a wife to this twisted place and giving her a bevy of demon-esque children will somehow provide him with adoration and completion in his soul and it really is quite fascinating to see this more pathetic side to Charlie Manx, since it engenders a sense of pity from the audience. For someone with his talents could have done wonders in this world. But instead he has mired himself in a quest for revenge and self-fulfillment, making him one of the most realistic and mystical horror villains out there. 

However, there was mention earlier of the fact that this particular tale also features elements of classic horror as well and it accomplishes that feat, first and foremost by keeping the fantastical alive. Because having Charlie inadvertently discover his powers as a strong creative and become a force of nature harkens back to those early days of the genre, and it also pulls this off by outright being a terrifying tale for certain. For Charlie’s escape from the hospital and Bing’s role in getting Charlie healthy, features nothing less than chilling and twisted moments, the kind that make you supremely uncomfortable and really in the end, this episode was nothing short of brilliant. For it truly did give us a quality origin story for this iconic villain, and it also features some powerful performances, since Ólafur Darri Òlafson shines as Bing and of course Zachary Quinto steals the show in this tale. But what matters most, is that this is more than a simple one-off story, it also sets the stage for a more meaningful vendetta from Charlie Manx. For now, Vic’s rattling behavior has deemed her to be a ‘Bad Mother’ after all, one that needs to be punished while her child is given salvation. Something that will sweeten the pot for dear Charlie and something that force one hell of a showdown between good and evil. Until next time.

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