‘NOS4A2’ Recap ‘The Lake House’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

If given the opportunity, each and every last one of us would be happy to avoid tough and trying times in our lives. Because no one enjoys navigating rough waters in life, since they tend to bring stress and anxiety and tears, so naturally, living a life free of those kinds of problems sounds pretty darn appealing for certain. But whether we like it or not, tough times will find us, and they will come about by way of circumstances that are our of our control, or because of the many mistakes we will make in life and really, what matters most when they arrive; is how we handle them. Because there is a choice to be had when tough times happen. In that, we can either let disaster wash over us and hope that everything turns out fine in the end, or we can take a moment and look at this situation objectively and learn and grow from it. 
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Because just about every single moment in our lives, either good or bad, teach us something quite important and it just so happens that last night’s episode of NOS4A2 explored that concept and the challenge that tough times present to us, in great detail. For ‘The Lake House’ gave everyone in Team McCarmody a chance to catch their breath and look at their current situation in an objective fashion after arriving at Chris’ lake house and that led to some supremely powerful moments, especially for Vic. Because this quiet time allowed for her to realize that the time had finally come to bid farewell to her drinking habit, not only because it was beating her down physically and mentally, but also because it was quite the crutch. The kind that helped her to avoid ever dealing with her pain and her trauma and her problems. Something that was pointed out to her by Lou when he took the opportunity to offer up a little commentary on the family’s current and tenuous situation. 

But while Vic was quick to acknowledge his words and the reality of her situation, she did struggle mightily as to what comes next in the healing process. Because she really didn’t have a clue how to reach her love and her son, after spending so many years keeping them at bay, and that led to a surprisingly beautiful moment between father and daughter. For a now clear Chris McQueen, offered up some solid advice to his baby Brat. In that, it’s not enough to apologize or say one will be better in regard to how they treat their family. They have to show that they mean it and that’s what brought about the conflict in question. For Vic really did have quite the choice, either stand back and let Lou and Wayne become their own family without her or fight like hell to be a part of something supremely special and thankfully, Vic chose the latter option and used this opportunity to grow and make amends.

Which meant that heartfelt and genuine apologies were in order for Lou and Wayne. And it was quite lovely to see Vic express her love for a man that has been there for her every step of the way, and be honest about her mistakes and how she was going to make things right, and it was equally as wonderful to see him reciprocate her love and continue to stand by her because he knew her words were genuine. But while it was quite nice to see Vic patch things up with Lou, Wayne was a tougher customer, because he’s heard it all before. But with great effort on Vic’s part, she eventually reached her baby Bat and it was just incredibly uplifting to see this family start to heal and more importantly, it was supremely satisfying to watch Vic finally face her demons and her past pain and recognize a wonderful opportunity in the face of chaos, rather than continue to run and hide.

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If anything, her growth could not have come at a better time. For while the McQueen family and Mister Carmody healed by the water, evil was pressing forward with its twisted machinations. For Charlie Manx was in full on revenge mode in this tale, and nothing was going to stop him from persuading young Wayne from coming with him to Christmasland, not even a good night’s rest. Because the candy cane that Charlie handed over to the younger McQueen in the last episode, served as a conduit to Wayne’s dreams. One that Charlie exploited by showing this young man the wonders of Christmasland whilst informing him how much happier he would be living inside its walls instead of dealing with a mother and a father that were constantly fighting and inattentive, and slowly but surely, he wore Wayne down and was able to get some pertinent information from him.
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But before Charlie and Bing could corrupt another child, they had to deal with the wonder that is FBI Agent Tabitha Hutter. Because while Vic was finding herself and her family, and while Charlie ran his salesman routine in the middle of the night, she was working the case and hard. For something in her gut, told her that Bing was going to return to Haverhill. Because a guy like Bing would firmly believe that no one would look for a guy that committed a crime in the very place where he broke the law and her gut feeling paid off in spades. Because all the clues she uncovered, such as missing sleeping gas and word that he was hiding out in a nearby church, led her to the right spot at the right time. For she spotted Bing preparing to depart and sadly, without backup being readily available, she made the call to go in after Bing on her own. 

A decision that she would regret for certain, for Bing’s new House of Sleep was far creepier than his old one, and Bing was of course, ready to get his hands on her and exert his incredible strength over his prey. But he met his match in Agent Hutter, since she was able to do some serious damage to Bing and get the cuffs on him before squaring off with Charlie Manx. Which is another fight that ended in great pain since he seemingly snapped her collarbone in two. Which genuinely made it seem as though Tabitha might not live to see another day. But perfect timing allowed for Tabitha’s backup to arrive before more harm could be done, and Maggie and Vic’s arrival brought her some much needed comfort. And while that makes it seem as though this episode ends happy, since evil is on the run for the moment and the heroes are safe, that simply wasn’t the case. 

For the information that Wayne revealed to Manx, was the location of the lake house, which means it won’t be long before the Wraith arrives there and well, when all is said and done this was just an incredible episode. Because it offered so much to the audience, since we were treated to a moving drama, quality character development and sheer chills and thrills and that made for one engaging hour, one that was quite frankly exhausting when all is said and done. Which reinforces the fact that this is hands down the finest horror series on the air right now. Because no other scary show out there is offering this kind of outright depth and intensity. But in the end, what’s truly impressive about this particular tale, is that there was no respite from the horror. For Charlie isn’t messing around anymore, and he is on his way to the lake house and that is going to make the wait for next week’s episode, an unnerving one for certain, as we wait to see whether or not Vic can save her family in time. Until then.

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