‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘The Gas Mask Man’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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If there’s one thing about everyday life that I think we can all agree upon, it’s that a vast majority of us out there believe we were put on this earth to serve a particular purpose. Some call it destiny, others prefer the term fate, but any way you slice it, there is something that we are born to do and once we find out what that is, we latch onto it and do everything we can to make it part of our daily lives, and if there’s an option to make it a paying career, then our pursuit of it becomes all the more intense. But what we often forget about destiny, is that sometimes it evolves as we grow older, and a particular path we thought was the right one, surprises us when it reveals that it was designed to take us to our true purpose and everyone responds to this particular revelation, differently.

Some are elated, because their real destiny is revealed at last and they understand that sometimes the journey is just as important as the destination, while others…well they lament what they’ve come to discover. Because it’s just not fair, in their minds, to walk a particular path, one they truly believed would fulfill their destiny, only to find that a different one awaits them and well, they fight it at just about every single turn and that’s understandable. Because our species loves structure and habit and the safe route because there’s comfort and routine to be found in all of those places and well, the unknown terrifies us, and all of that is on my mind today, simply because, the fight to deny one’s true destiny served as one of the focal points during last night’s episode of NOS4A2. For ‘The Gas Mask Man’ picked up immediately after last week’s episode, and now that Vic had a full understanding of her destiny and what it entails, she did everything within her power to avoid it.
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In fact, she went full bore when it comes to her desire to be an artist, and she filled out her application to RISD, and was fearless in asking her folks to provide her with their tax returns so she could apply for financial aid and even she even set up a trip to the college in question and unfortunately for Vic, setbacks awaited her at every single turn. Because she came to learn that her parents haven’t paid taxes in ages and that the only way, she can get around that little problem, is to put her family’s problems out into the open, and well, that’s something Vic just isn’t prepared to do. And to complicate matters further, her ability to see into the darkness was still there, and the void was calling to her at the most inconvenient of moments and that emboldened her to do something she normally wouldn’t, since she forged her dad’s signature on a tax return in order to solidify her escape from destiny and her home and well, this was some brilliant and harrowing writing to say the least. Because Vic’s panic was genuine and relatable because we’ve all been at a crossroads where we aren’t sure which path to walk in the slightest, prompting us to make mistakes, the kind we sometimes regret. 

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But destiny has a way of putting an exclamation point on what it is trying to tell us sometimes, and while Vic toured the wonder that is RISD, the trouble brewing back home served up all the clues she would ever need to understand which path to take. Because Maggie went so far as to come into town to look for Vic since the Tiles called to her and warned her that Manx was hunting both Vic and something or someone known as ‘Smitten’ in Haverhill and her investigation managed to uncover the cruelty of their mutual foe. For she had the opportunity to meet an older woman named Jolene, who just so happened to be a Strong Creative that was paralyzed and terrified, and it quickly became apparent to Maggie that Jolene’s current state was a direct result of Manx’s actions and the darkness that resides within him was put on further display when we came to learn that it was Mittens that the Tiles were warning Maggie about, since Manx didn’t give a second thought to ending that poor cat’s life and well, coming to realize that the Tiles don’t lie and that Charlie is all about hurting anyone or anything at any given moment simply because he can, gave Vic pause, and hopefully now she’s listening to what destiny has to say, because without her help, horrors untold will come about from Charlie’s machinations.
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Yet, while all of those elements were fascinating to watch in their own right, this episode had one big surprise waiting for all of us, in that, not only did it ramp up the plot in this particular tale, it also took the time to up the ante when it comes to the scares as well. Because the horror on display here was eerie and sublime and watching Manx visit Jolene in the Psych Ward to eliminate her as a threat was about as chilling as it gets. As was Bing’s unfortunate evolution in this tale since his donning of the gas mask allowed for him to become the stuff of nightmares. For once he put that thing on, he was no longer the innocent, misunderstood man we met a short time ago, he was now a true monster, one that feeds the greatest monster of all and watching him move through that’s child’s house and quietly silence her mother and in turn, her, will forever change our perception of him since it’s clear now, he’s capable of awful things, all in the name of purpose.

If anything, this was just another magnificent chapter in this breathtaking series. Because the scares were truly top notch and unsettling in just about every single way imaginable, and the fact that the series is ramping up the terror makes me slightly nervous to see what awaits us in episodes to come. But the horror element wasn’t the only thing to celebrate, for this particular tale did a phenomenal job with everything it presented to us story wise. Because Vic’s journey was powerful and realistic and the plot really did jump forward in leaps and bounds, and I honestly didn’t expect Manx to be spending this much time in Haverhill, nor did I expect him to ooze such fury and malice and well, his actions in this tale really do make it seem as though Vic is preparing to embrace her role at last, and my only worry going forward now is whether or not she is prepared for all the collateral damage that Manx will bring to her doorstep when their battle begins, because his cruelty and the joy he receives from it, knows no bounds. Until next time.    

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