‘The Terror: Infamy’ Recap – ‘My Perfect World’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Traditionally, ghost stories follow a pretty ‘by the numbers’ formula. There’s a haunting of some kind, someone is terrorized by a spirit and they either enlist someone else’s help in figuring out why this entity is obsessed with them, or figure it out on their own, before they finally confront the spirit in question and resolve the living nightmare they’ve been experiencing. It is simply something we’ve seen time and time again when it comes to this sub-genre of horror, and that’s why I’m such a fan of AMC’s The Terror: Infamy. For this is a series that refuses to give into conventional tropes and clichés and for proof, just take a moment and ponder upon last week’s chilling story.
 
Because ‘Taizo’ was a truly bold venture, one that defied everything we just discussed, since it took the time to reveal Yuko’s spiritual secrets and her relation to Chester in the middle of the season and that’s just unheard of in a ghost story. Which means that we are now in uncharted territory when it comes to this tale since we haven’t a clue where its headed. And that sense of the unknown had me extremely excited to tune into last night’s episode to see what would await Chester now that he was seemingly free of Yuko’s cold and disturbing grasp and ‘My Perfect World’ took full advantage of the ambiguity that the previous episode put forth, in regard to whether or not Yuko was alive, by providing us with quite the bold character study when it comes to Chester.
 
For now, everything had changed for him. His life was in essence a lie, and he hadn’t a clue who he was or where he really came from and that left him directionless and listless for the time being, that is until an important package arrived at the Internment Camp. Because all of his letters to Luz were sent back to the camp and that immediately changed him. Suddenly he was done with sitting on the sidelines in life, and he was done with being trapped behind the walls of this place, so he broke out while he was being transferred to another camp for being a trouble maker, and he went and made amends with his love and motivated her to escape her situation and start over anew elsewhere as well. But not before taking the time to dig into his past and discover that he has a twin brother, and while Chester’s story may not have been all that thrilling, it was just nice to see him grow and try and make something positive out of his current situation and it should be interesting to see how his second chance in New Mexico is going to treat him. 

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​But while it was nice to see some positivity injected into Chester and Luz’s life for a change, what would an episode of this series be without strife and scares, and all of that came about by a series of harrowing events from within the camp’s walls. For a surprise encounter with Yuko (more on that in a moment) injected great fear into Major Bowen, to the point where he isolated himself in fear and felt the need to lock down the camp, which could not have come at a worst time. Because an ugly illness was spreading through the barracks and without aid from a hospital, people would surely die, and that prompted Amy and Ken to take action in bold and unique fashion. For while Amy was content to use the Major’s authority to help people out, Ken’s attempt to have a man to man talk with the Major ended in disaster. Because Bowen was in a wild state when Ken found him and the situation quickly led to blows and that put Ken in a tough spot, the kind where he needed to subdue the Major and that made it seem as though he was in the wrong and took Bowen hostage and that cost him his life when all is said and done. And nothing will ever quite be the same in this camp thanks to Amy’s actions following this ugly twist of events.
 
However, I also made mention of a Yuko sighting and it’s important we talk about that simply because, this episode took the time to reveal that she was ‘alive’ and well in this particular tale. Because somehow, she got to her body in time before the shack burned down last week, and she was able to get her corpse to a mortuary to repair the damage done to it and once she ‘healed’ from her wounds, she resumed the search for her son. Which is what allowed for her and Bowen to briefly cross paths since she went there looking for Chester/Taizo and for a moment it seemed as though Chester had indeed escaped her clutches at last since he was gone by the time she got there. But the Yurei is resourceful and wise in its own right and she used a photo that featured Luz to swing by Los Angeles to visit the home of Chester’s love and unfortunately for our star crossed lovers, Yuko was able to infect Luz’s father to discover where they might have gone, and sadly she too is headed to New Mexico to be reunited with her baby boy. 
 
If anything, I really appreciated the fact that this episode went in such a wildly different direction. Because it made the characters a priority over the ghost and it was nice to see a more unique side to Chester and see that he desperately wants to forge his own path over anything else and hopefully he can find a little joy in his day to day experiences before the Yurei finds him once again. Plus, I also loved how this particular tale took the time to show us how the people of the camp are reaching their breaking point. Because good people can only handle this kind of pressure for so long and it should be interesting in the weeks to come to see what Amy has planned to avenge the death of her love and how this showdown between Chester and the spirit of his mother will be resolved now that their struggle is free from the confines of the Internment Camp. Until next time. 

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