‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘Scissors for the Drifter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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If there’s one universal truth that I’ve learned when it comes to television shows, it’s that, you can absolutely pin point the moment when the show has finally found its stride. Because there’s always that one episode, where everything comes together in beautiful and dynamic fashion, and what you witness on the screen moves you in ways you never thought possible. And that’s on my mind today simply because that all-important moment arrived last night for NOS4A2, since ‘Scissors for the Drifter’ was outright perfection through and through, thanks in large part to the multiple concepts and moods that this particular tale took the time to explore.
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For example, this is a story that took a good long look at the power of safety, and how it can impact us when it is removed from our minds, and that was explored by way of Maggie, who was not doing well in this story. For her emotional wounds ran deeper than her physical ones, and when given the opportunity to turn back to drugs to dull the pain, she was happy to embrace them, to the point where Sheriff Bly had to step in and help her get back onto her feet because she was outright lost. And the lesson inherent here is that not feeling safe, can lead us to embrace things that do, and sometimes what we turn to, is as bad as the fear running through our veins.

Yet while that plot thread and Jahkara Smith’s incredible performance could have carried this episode on their own, we had more to explore about the human condition and that was accomplished by Vic’s journey in this tale. Which focused heavily on the past, and how it haunts us, and how confronting it is sometimes the only way forward, something that was prompted by the actions of her mom and dad. For her darling mother sold her bike while she was in the hospital. Meaning that Vic needed to get her hands on a new Knife, and quick. And while dad was willing to help her find one, his need for alcohol and his inability to acknowledge the hurt he’s caused, prompted Vic to finally unleash her fury and call him and her mom to the carpet when it comes to their ridiculous behavior and the damage they’ve caused over the years, and this was just brilliant to say the least. Because this just goes to show how far Vic has come in the past few weeks, and how she’s finally coming into her own and it should be interesting to see what comes out of this magnificent set of confrontations. 

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However, this episode even found a way to throw a similar exploration into Charlie’s story as well, which was quite surprising to say the least. But even immortals aren’t immune to having to deal with yesterday, and with the hours slipping away, Charlie needed Bing’s help to get the Wraith fixed or he would face his end after all. Which meant it was back to that junkyard in Nebraska. Where Charlie’s car killed a man and stole yet another child, and a return to this place forced him to deal with the owner of the junkyard, who remembers Charlie after all these years, and she was happy to make an attempt to bring him down at last. But while this plot thread didn’t exactly bring about growth, or change, since Mister Manx escaped and managed to add another bloody tick to his ever-growing Butcher’s Bill, and is still as evil as ever and healed, unfortunately. I suppose this plot thread did teach us something. In that, the past is always with us and it is quite skilled at coming to the fore front of our lives at the most inopportune of times.

But truly, the centerpiece of the night, was the sheer fact that the series kicked the scares into overdrive in this tale. Because the children of Christmasland were hungry, and for some reason they felt the need to reach out to Vic since dear father spoke of her before he parted their company and these scenes were simply the stuff of nightmares. For there is something supremely disturbing about seeing little kids, transformed into monsters, mocking and taunting people in the hopes of goading them into becoming their meal. But while that was all unsettling in its own right, none of it compared to the final moments of this tale, wherein we returned to and entered Christmasland, at last. Because father made good on his promise to feed his babies, and since Sheriff Bly sold Charlie out to the cops in Nebraska, he was the meal in question, and I’ll never feel the same about seeing little kids moving about with scissors, ever again.

When all is said and done however, it’s best we just declare this episode to be the finest that season one has offered to date. Because truly, everything jelled together seamlessly in this tale, and every concept or notion that NOS4A2 has been working with or toward was either progressed or amplified in proper fashion in this tale, and that includes the scares. Because I truly felt uncomfortable over the course of the hour, and I cringed more than I expected to, and really, all the credit for that goes to Jami O’Brien, the writer of this episode, and the showrunner of this series. Because her script here was sublime and laid the foundation for everything we’ve discussed today and truly, I am both excited and nervous as we head into the home stretch of season one, because something tells me, the story is only going to get more intense from here out. Until next time. 

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