‘The Haunting of Hill House’ Recap: ‘The Bent-Neck Lady’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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If there’s one thing I love when it comes to television shows, it’s when a particular series takes the time to drop an incredible plot twist our way. These are the kinds of surprises that outright change the course of a show and leave us stunned and as it turns out, that was precisely what was waiting for me when I started the fifth episode of The Haunting of Hill House. Because ‘The Bent-Neck Lady’ brought about a reveal, that quite frankly changes everything we know about Hill House and its relationship to the Crain family. But of course, before we came to that particular point, the show was quick to provide us with a grand re-direct by having us spend a little time with the only child of the family that we haven’t gotten to know, Eleanor ‘Nell’ Crain. 
 
Of course focusing on Nell, likely meant that we were in for the most tragic tale of the series to date since dear Nell passed away in the first episode of this terrifying saga and well, this truly was quite the heartbreaking ride because we learned early on that Nell is hands down, the most gentle child in the family, she is kind and warm and generous she spent most of her adult life fighting to find internal peace from her experiences at Hill House, with mixed results, until she meets the love of her life, Arthur Vance. And while at first glance that seems to fit the traditional, ‘only a man can save me’ trope, that simply was not the case. Arthur didn’t save her, he merely offered support and unconditional love and that helped her heal and while all of that doesn’t sound too heartbreaking, well, it was only a matter of time before that kind of happiness faded away in this tale, and in the midst of an appearance from the mysterious Bent-Neck Lady, Arthur died of an aneurysm, sending Nell into an emotional tailspin.
 
To make matters worse, Nell faced her pain on her own since her family really didn’t do much to support her despite her attempts to reach out and garner their support, and when they did take the time to stand by her, Nell’s shattered state made it difficult for them to stick around and slowly and surely, the past she tried to escape crept up on her, leading her to finally go back and face all of it by way of a return to Baltimore, and the hotel the family stayed in on that fateful night when they escaped Hill House, and of course the house in question, which brings us back to that mega twist that I made mention of earlier. Because Hill House brought about all kinds of surprises, like the fact that it more or less welcomed Nell with open arms, and made all of her dreams come true since she was ‘reunited’ and ‘loved’ by her family and her husband, and once she found herself comfortable in this place once again, the house made its move, and fooled Nell into a noose and well, now we know how she died.
 
But the twist, well that came in the closing moments of Nell’s life. Because as it turns out, her neck was badly broken, bent in fact and as the life escaped her body, she ventured back through her own past, interacting with younger versions of herself and we quickly came to learn…she IS the Bent-Neck Lady, and well, while that was shocking in its own right, it’s the implications that come with this discovery that bother me more. Because it confirms something I made mention of in my recap of the last episode, in that, the house seems to be calling to all of them in some form or fashion, and it seems to be connected to each and every member of the household in some strange way and really, the questions on my mind after this one all relate to why? Why does Hill House need this family within its walls? And why this family? What makes the Crain clan worth tormenting?
 
I would imagine that all of these questions will be answered in episodes to come, since everything is starting to tie together neatly, but when all is said and done, wow, what an story. I really did not see that twist coming until the last possible second, and I’ll be honest, knowing what we know now about Nell being the Bent-Neck Lady, I have a funny feeling that this particular spirit will no longer produce any scares, just sadness. Because now we know Nell is just another tortured spirit in a house full of them, and if anything, I merely hope she finds the peace she’s looking for, so she can move on. Either way, I’m now quite curious where the show goes from here, since we have all the backstories when it comes to the kids and I suppose the only way to find out, is to hit ‘next episode’, so once again, if you’ll excuse me, I need to know what comes next…

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