‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘Sleigh House’ & ‘Gunbarrel’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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

We spend a lot of time, thinking about the future. Which isn’t a bad thing by any means. Because taking the time to ponder upon our next course of action, allows for us to walk into any situation with a plan in place, and we feel prepared for anything the moment is going to throw at us. But while it is nice to plan for tomorrow and lay down a foundation for our goals in life, life simply doesn’t work upon a plan, and it loves to throw a curveball our way and when that happens, we are faced with quite the choice. Either we stick with the plan and hope that everything works out for the better, or we toss the plan out and react to the problem at hand and pick up the pieces when the dust has settled and this particular conundrum is on my mind today, because it just so happened to serve as the centerpiece for the season one finale of NOS4A2.
​
Because over the course of this entire season, Victoria McQueen has been putting together a wealth of plans for her life. She’s going to RISD, and she’s going to let her college experience and the skill set she will learn, carry her out of Haverhill toward a bold new future, one that lets her break free of the failures of her parents, and… she is going to find a way to kill Charlie Manx and stop him from hurting more children. But that particular plan has been a little harder to assemble, since she hasn’t had the opportunity to really assess how exactly she can best isolate Charlie in order to get to the Wraith. But, while it’s been a delight to see her plan and prepare for a future and a future battle, that curveball I made mention of a moment ago, came about in ‘Sleigh House’, changing everything for Vic in the blink of an eye.

For her darling boyfriend’s sense of chivalry and honor kicked in, and he thought it best to confront Bing himself and make him pay for laying a finger upon Vic and that did not go quite like Craig planned. For Mister Partridge was able to best the young man and he used this moment of opportunity to summon Charlie and offer Craig as penance. And this little power play also allowed for Bing to show Mister Manx that Vic was ‘unworthy’ of a voyage to Christmasland, and well, his gambit worked, and Charlie couldn’t pass up the opportunity to bring his children a pre-packaged Craig dinner, so he set off back to the magical hell that is Christmasland and that, is what led Vic to her all-important decision. Because the silence from Craig was disconcerting and realizing that Bing took him when she and Maggie found his bike at the ol’ Partridge place meant that she had to do something to save her love.

Which meant it was either, play it safe and work with the police to get Craig back, since Maggie’s tiles offered an ominous warning about Vic’s chances against Charlie… or go for it and take the opportunity to try and end this once and for all and well, Vic chose the latter option and made her way to the Shorter Way. But what she found on the other side, allowed for some incredibly terrifying moments to play out. Because Charlie’s latest little monster was hungry to play and hungry in general, and the always calm and collect Charlie Manx was ready for Vic and found a way to close the Shorter Way, leaving Vic without any options on how to survive, fight or escape. And to make matters worse, once Vic rebuffed Charlie’s offer to be the second course in Christmasland, he set the house ablaze, leaving Vic to die, which oddly allowed for her to finally transform into the heroine we’ve been waiting to see her become. 

---

In fact, she was an outright warrior in this part of the tale, hoisting herself up through the laundry chute in order to survive and that was just a taste of things to come. Because a quick assist from a man named Lou, and some quick thinking on Craig’s part, prompted everyone to reunite at the gas station in Colorado that Charlie used to call Bing for help a few weeks ago and that, is when Vic truly shined. Because a quick distraction allowed for her to coat the Wraith in gasoline and give Charlie a taste of fear for the first time in a long time before setting it ablaze, an act that brought Charlie to the brink of death, ending his reign of terror. But sometimes, heroism comes with a price and this was quite the pyrrhic victory indeed. For there was just one problem in setting the car on fire, in that, Craig couldn’t escape because of the safety measures Charlie installed within it, meaning that Vic had to say goodbye to her love and that was just the beginning of the emotional journey that ‘Gunbarrel’ took us upon.
​
Because as this series is wont to do, it went above and beyond in its storytelling, and rather than simply fade to black and give us a quick resolution of an ending, the weight of Craig’s death and everything that Vic and Maggie experienced this season was explored in great detail and this was powerful stuff to watch. For we came to learn in the aftermath of this final battle that Vic was pregnant with Craig’s child and having a new life to protect, skewed her vision of the future, as did that stunning showdown. Which meant that her original plans for the future were no longer at the top of her priority list, instead she threw those ideas out and made her future all about giving back and making the world a better place by protecting people from evil, and she left Massachusetts to keep an eye on things in Gunbarrel and to see if by chance the Shorter Way would return so that she might potentially save the children in Christmasland, provided of course they’re worth saving, and she wasn’t the only one to obtain a new outlook on life.

For dear Maggie was able to finally convince Detective Hutter that her abilities can indeed do some good in the world, and she was able to demonstrate her power and reveal the truth of what was really happening in this town and together, they tried to work wonders in this tale. But alas, while the tiles didn’t lie and offered Haverhill P.D. the location of Bing twice over, they weren’t quite able to bring him in after all, and while that’s heartbreaking and terrifying in its own right since Bing is now empowered and feeling strong for the first time in his life, what matters more here is Maggie’s journey for certain. For she too now has a sense of purpose, and she’s able to genuinely do some good in this world, and it was illuminating to see a rejuvenated Maggie and it’s a wonderful thing to see her and Vic truly come into their own when this story comes to a close, because they’re going to need their newfound strength and their skills in the days to come.

After all, Charlie is still out there, and clearly anything that gives his car life, fuels him and judging from the closing moments of this tale, it will only be a matter of time before he’s up and around again, claiming souls. But thankfully we don’t have to wait and wonder as to whether or not we will get to see more of this magnificent tale, because AMC recently renewed NOS4A2 for a second season and I couldn’t be happier. Because this is truly the smartest horror series out there right now, and perhaps the most intimate one I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching as well, and hands down; this was one of the finest season finales I’ve ever seen, and I am definitely ready for more. Which means I’ll be counting down the minutes and the days until this series returns. But knowing that season two is on its way, makes this painful wait, a little easier. Until next time.  

---