‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘The Graveyard of What Might Be’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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The more time I’ve had to think about the series premiere of AMC’s new show NOS4A2, the more excited I find myself to watch this series. Because in an era where gimmicks, and hooks and formula permeate the television landscape, this is a show that outright defies those conventions and works hard to be something special and something unique and it really is succeeding at those particular tasks. Because I simply don’t know what to expect from this story going forward, outside of the fact that it is going to be a powerful character study and that something evil is brewing and I’m absolutely fine with that, since this series features a sense of awe and wonder that you so rarely find on the small screen these days and what truly has me impressed when it comes to this show today, is the sheer fact that it found a way to amplify those elements over the course of last night’s episode.
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Because ‘The Graveyard of What Might Be’ not only featured those all-important intimate moments with our characters, it also took the time to challenge them in philosophical fashion, making for one brilliant hour of television and well, the best place to start with today’s recap is to dive into those character driven scenes, because what unfolded when it comes to all of that was powerful and heartbreaking to say the least. For this tale saw the McQueen family rattled over Chris’ decision to move in with Tiffany and rather than let this be the status quo, or potentially lose her dad, Vic made every effort to be near him and around him, going so far as to move in with dear old dad and Tiffany in the hopes of mending family wounds, with limited success, thanks to her mom.

For Linda simply wasn’t good with her daughter’s new living situation and that led to an incredibly uncomfortable moment, wherein a grand family fight happened on Tiffany’s lawn and well, the rawness of this was simply stunning to say the least, because you just don’t see realistic domestic disputes on television and seeing Vic’s family in tatters and oddly enough, bearing witness to her mother’s lack of faith in her daughter throughout the episode definitely gave me pause because it made Vic even more relatable. After all, who was ever good with their parents fighting when we were growing up? And while I had a lot of support from my parents on what I wanted to do when I got out of high school, I know plenty of friends who were devastated by a lack of parental support in regard to their life goals and while all of this was fascinating in its own right, I’m sure some folks that watched this, were left wondering how any of this was philosophical and related to horror and well, therein lies this episode’s brilliance. 

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Because, in essence, this particular tale was trying to remind us that the real horror in our lives is the unknown and the world we venture into on a daily basis. After all, we haven’t a clue where either element is going to take us in our travels, and sometimes we learn along the way that our life plans don’t quite work out the way we want them to when unique opportunities and situations present themselves and that’s scary when all is said and done. For, we like comfort, we like plans, and to not see things come together as we envisioned leaves us unsettled and for proof, look no further than Vic’s unexpected trip to Iowa wherein a meeting with Maggie revealed all kinds of answers about her abilities and her destiny for that matter as well and learning that she could conjure the shorter way, and was in essence born to find lost things, left Vic rattled and afraid and unsure of how to proceed next in life and that’s a brilliant place to leave her in this story, because now…she has to earn whatever path she chooses.
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Yet, while all of that was supremely high concept and philosophical in nature, the story didn’t forget the fact that this tale’s primary focus is battling a twisted vampire that eats children’s souls, allowing for us to spend a fair chunk of time in this episode learning a little more about Charlie Manx and what we discovered was chilling to say the least. For this segment of the story focused heavily on how Charlie operates and how he seduces other men to help him in his quest for souls and it turns out, that he expects the adults that aid him to be as broken as the children he chooses to feed upon since Bing Partridge’s curiosity and overall lack of direction in life made him Charlie’s target and it was quite the unsettling experience to see Mister Manx prey upon Bing’s naivety and feed him lie after lie to get what he seeks and that makes Charlie supremely dangerous when all is said and done. Because he will clearly say and do whatever it takes to feed and well, the collision course that he and Vic are currently on is only inching closer since Charlie did swing by Haverfield initially, to learn more about the shorter way, and the person that knows how to unlock it…

When all is said and done however, wow, what an episode. It cannot be easy to manage scares and genuine drama over the course of an hour, but this show does it seamlessly and what really impressed me about this particular tale, is the sheer fact that the overall plot was further advanced in subtle and smooth fashion. Plus, I’m a huge fan of how the tension is slowly building in this story, and at this point, the only unresolved matter when it comes to this tale is Vic’s destiny and what exactly it will take to for her to embrace it so she can save the world from Charlie’s special brand of evil. But before we get to that point, I’ll continue to bask in the wonder of this particular tale. For once again, this series found a way to terrify us, move us and unsettle us over the course of a matter of minutes, and that really does make this show incredibly special, and I am definitely enjoying everything it has to offer. Until next time. 

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