‘NOS4A2’ Recap: ‘The House of Sleep’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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Growing up, we see the world through rose colored glasses, thanks to our inexperience and innocence, and this allows for us to believe that our world is a place full of wonder, where bad things only happen from time to time. And we also see people as inherently pure and good, especially our parents since we believe they are magnificent heroes that can do no wrong, and the pedestal we put our parents upon, combined with this wonderful view of the world sends our spirits soaring and helps us conclude that we can do anything once we reach adulthood because the world is tolerant place, full of wonder and joy. But eventually, all of those notions come crashing down around us. For there comes a day, where the reality of the world is revealed to all of us. Where we see that it can be a harsh and angry place, one where chaos reigns and where some people are in it for themselves, and that series of revelations are only the beginning when it comes to this path of dark discovery.
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Because once we see the selfishness that people exhibit, we begin to examine them closer, and we come to learn that mankind is capable of great cruelty and that extends to the people we hold in high regard. This is when we see our parents in different light, since their flaws are suddenly on display and it is also when we discover that certain friends, we thought were admirable people, are instead quite the opposite and this, can be quite the soul crushing day. For seeing the world in this light robs one of hope, but…not all is lost when it comes to such discovery. Because we also come to learn that there are people out there who work hard to try and make the world a better place and make our childhood views a reality, and well, all of this is relevant to today’s discussion, simply due to the fact that this dark day of discovery, just so happened to serve as the focal theme for last night’s episode of NOS4A2.

For ‘The House of Sleep’ saw Vic finally make a choice when it comes to her destiny, and she chose to embrace it, thanks to Manx’s kidnapping of young Haley, and she simply wasn’t going to stand for that, and if she could indeed use her gifts to recuse an innocent child, then there was no time to waste. But sadly, her immediate push to find young Haley, is what led to the revelations in question. For the Shorter Way brought her to Bing’s house, which simply didn’t make any sense to her. After all, how could sweet, innocent Bing be potentially in the wrong here since he’s a guy who seemingly wants nothing more than to go through life quietly and without an ounce of drama? Which means, she did her best to avoid the possibility that he had done anything, but the mere thought of it, stayed with her.

So much, in fact, that she finally found an opportunity to confront her mother about how dear old dad has a tendency to beat Linda up from time to time and well, a conversation that could have gone south quickly, ended up being productive and powerful when all is said and done. Because Linda was honest with her daughter, and explained the finer points of why she’s put up with the abuse for so long, and why her dear Vicki shouldn’t be so shocked at this discovery, because her father won’t be the first or the last man to embrace his darker side repeatedly, and try and atone for it, before slipping back into it, and while that sounds supremely nihilistic and hopeless, it’s what Vic needed to hear to process the reality of the world, and to finally do something about it. 

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Which led her back to Bing’s place for one powerful confrontation, and while Vic was scared, and rightfully so, she never let her fear get the better of her, and did her best to manipulate Bing just enough to see if she could find Haley’s mother, Sharon, on the premises. But alas, while she was brave and bold, even to the point where she handled Charlie on the phone like a champ, she was too late. There was nothing to be found at Bing’s house, outside of the awkward stuff, and it took another voyage through the Shorter Way to reveal Sharon’s fate in that, Bing had put a nail through her skull and buried her well after Vic’s initial visit, and while the police were able to take it from here, there’s no justice to be found for Sharon just yet since Vic didn’t have enough evidence to point the finger at Bing and her wild day of discovery ended with a locked door, and the realization that truly, she can be the counterbalance to the evil in this world.
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Yet, while all of that was dark and powerful in its own right, the story had so much more to offer when it comes to this story. Because it isn’t enough to just remind us of the fact that people do bad things in the world, it’s important to explore why, and that was accomplished by taking a trip back in time to see Bing’s childhood and what we saw, was awful. For he was severely abused as a child, and even the happiest of days, such as Christmas, turned out to be nightmarish for him thanks to his father, which allows for us to fully understand why he joined Manx’s cause and why he’s so obsessed with the holiday. Because he wants nothing more than to see that magical time of year as something pure, since one fine Christmas, his dad pushed him past the breaking point, prompting Bing to go on a murderous rampage that saw him put down his father and assault his mother before ending her life and really, the lesson here is that sometimes people indulge the darkness within because evil engenders evil, and since it was okay for dear old dad to treat his son like garbage, why should Bing care about anyone else?

Which is a chilling and realistic answer/message to find in a series about a soul sucking vampire, but that’s what horror does best and to properly close this story out, it needed to show us the foil of Vic’s journey, and that came about by way of Haley’s fate at the hands of one Charlie Manx. For their journey to Christmasland allowed for to us understand exactly how manipulative this vampire truly is, and how he uses a child’s potential loss of innocence to get what he wants. Since he recognized that Haley had a rudimentary understanding of how the world works, and rather than let her discover the truth and possibly find strength from it, he used his skill with words to try and keep her trapped within that rose colored dream, and sadly, his plan worked. Because eventually, what Mister Manx had to say made sense to dear Haley and she decided that perhaps should trust Charlie, and lowered her guard, and that unfortunate decision, sealed the young girl’s fate.

If anything, Charlie’s ability to bastardize this sacred holiday and turn it into a soul-sucking lie, makes him one of the most chilling villains to ever grace the genre. Because it takes a special kind of monster to be good with destroying something so pure in order to get its own way and well, when all said and done, what a powerful episode of NOS4A2 this turned out to be. For this one, was as dark as they come, and its bold subject matter gave me pause on several occasions, especially the portions that put our cruelty on display and while there was some levity to be found in this tale, by way of the gas station scene, the darkness present here is what will stay with me for days on end. But, on the upside, it’s inherently clear now that Vic is as strong as they come, and if she can handle the truth about her beloved father, she can handle anything Charlie throws her way and I truly cannot wait now, especially after this episode, to see Vic put an end to his twisted machinations because Charlie Manx is damn near the personification, of evil. Until next time.   

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