‘The Changeling’ Recap: ‘Stormy Weather’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Adina Porter as Lillian in Episode Seven of ‘The Changeling’ – ‘Stormy Weather’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘The Changeling’. To revisit the previous episode, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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If there is one word, or a variation of that word that has come up often in our discussions of the Apple TV+ series, The Changeling, it would have to be… unconventional. Because nothing about this story has felt akin to anything we normally see on television. After all, it is in many ways, a twisted and horrific horror story, one for adults and one that resembles the horrors of everyday life and how we use imagination and storytelling to escape those horrors. Plus, we simply don’t know if Apollo and Emma encountered something supernatural or if everything that happened to them is related to mental health and post-partum depression. And well, the unconventional nature of this story is showing no signs of slowing down as we barrel toward the story’s finale, as evidenced by this week’s tale.
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Because instead of returning to the island, to reunite Emma and Apollo and begin to have our questions answered, ‘Stormy Weather’, opted to take the story down a vastly different path. One that explored different questions whilst exploring a topic we don’t discuss all that often. A feat it accomplished by having us spend some time with Lillian, as she wandered the streets of Manhattan with a destination in mind, the Elk Hotel. The famous hotel, or infamous depending on how one views it, so that she could answer questions about what happened to Apollo’s father, Brian, all those years ago… through a confession to her son. Which of course, allowed for this tale to explore ‘the sins of our parents’, and how we don’t really think about the fact they are flawed individuals that falter often and make grave mistakes like the rest of us and well… her confession and that exploration went hand in hand. 

Simply because, we came to learn as Lillian grappled with the pseudo-silence of this hotel, that she… didn’t really love Brian the way he loved her, briefly. Because she spoke to a rocky marriage, one filled with cold moments and pain, the kind that so many parents take part in out of the belief that love and marriage are elements we must find in this world, and the same goes for having children. But she came to learn that marriage with a man like Brian wasn’t for her. Motherhood, yes, for she declared her love of Apollo. But Brian was no big deal to her, and she wasn’t sad to see him go when he decided to move onto greener pastures. Because it was all about Apollo for her… until Brian returned on a fateful day. The one that haunted Apollo’s dreams, because it was real, and traumatic, and Lillian made sure to end it.

A move that spoke to the greater theme. In that, there are a great many things our parents have done they are not proud of, and they have indeed crossed lines to keep us safe, and we… never find out about them. For they are the secrets that go to the grave and haunt mom and pop until the day they take their last breath. Which served to remind us… that they are not the heroes we see them to be, nor are they villains. Just people. People that make fascinating choices in the name of their children seeing a better tomorrow, and while what Lillian did was obviously illegal and cannot be forgiven or endorsed, it stands with that concept and the unconventional nature of this story, one that went above and beyond to help Lillian sort out her actions and her confession, so that she could find catharsis and move forward without that guilt. 

Courtesy of haunting visuals from within that hotel room, the kind that brought past, present and future together in a unique manner, and reminded us of a mother’s capacity for love regardless of whom is hurting in front of her. As evidenced by how Lillian handled the final moments of a man that rented a room to die beneath the neon lights of this part of town. All of which made for a supremely human story. One that was powerful, moving and off the beaten path, and of course, still found a way to infer its mystical game. Since there was implication, the sins of the mother, set this entire nightmare in motion, in order to keep her act a secret. As to whether or not that is the case, time will tell, but while we wait to have those questions answered, we can revel in one amazing tale. One where Adina Porter (Lillian) put on an acting clinic, and where we were taken on quite the emotional ride, one that shattered the façade of the superhero parent. Until next time.

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