‘The Terror: Infamy’ Recap: ‘Taizo’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

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I’ve always found it fascinating how the ghost story continues to endure and remain pure in this modern era of scary storytelling. For horror is a genre that loves to evolve with the times and right now its focused heavily on the evil that men do and the darkness that resides within all of us because that’s what truly terrifies us in the moment, and that examination is tangible and sound in an era where technology and science continue to debunk and disassemble myths about what goes bump in the night. Which bring us back to the ghost story and its ability to survive in the midst of this age of information, because tales of spirits that roam our world continue to captivate and enthrall audiences at every turn.
 
That’s likely related to the fact that science still cannot answer exactly what happens to the very essence of who we are, when we die, and the sheer possibility that we have a soul that transitions into another plane of existence is a fascinating prospect, one that fuels our imagination in ways we never thought possible. But personally, I think what truly draws us into the ghost story, is that it often explores how we never quite lose our humanity when we transition into something more, since we meet spirits that are conflicted and unable to leave their emotions behind in these tales, and I think that’s why I’ve been so enamored with AMC’s The Terror: Infamy. Because not only has this story provided us with mystique and solid scares, it’s genuinely given us a confused spirit that doesn’t understand anything outside of its sorrow and for proof, look no further than last night’s episode.
 
For ‘Taizo’ offered up quite the tale, one that provided us with a fascinating background story for the Yurei that’s been terrorizing the good folks of Terminal Island, and one that straight up dropped a powerful surprise into our laps. But before we get to said surprise, let’s talk about Yuko and what made her the vengeful spirit we’ve known from the get-go, because it turns out that her journey from person to Yurei is quite the tragic tale, one grounded in rejection. For long ago she was going to be Hideo Furaya’s bride, but the revelation that she was pregnant upon her arrival to the United States was more than Hideo could bear and he quickly cast her out into the world for being impure and that led to some tough times for Yuko.

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​Because she gave birth to her baby while living on the streets and struggled to put food in her baby’s mouth and rather than risk its health and safety, she surrendered the baby for adoption and then handled her failure as a mother in extreme fashion, by committing suicide. Which bring us to the more mystical elements of this tale. For shortly after jumping off a bridge, she awoke in a beautiful place, one occupied by the same woman who offered Yuko kind words before she made her fateful decision, and it didn’t take long for her to figure out, that this was the afterlife and this wonderful little slice of paradise is one that a relative from Yuko’s bloodline created, in order to keep the souls of future family members safe. But what captivated Yuko was not the gentle world she found in death, but the power she could yield as a spirit and when given the right opportunity, she took over this place and manipulated it to bend to her will so that she could return to our world and handle the unfinished business in her heart.
 
Which in essence, involved resuming her role as a mother, and that’s where the surprise in question came into play. For Chester didn’t return home in this tale empty handed, the Yurei was with him all the way once again, and her constant desire to be near Chester prompted a hard truth to come to the surface in that; Yuko is Chester’s biological mother. Which is quite the bombshell to say the least, one that Chester struggled to process, but his adopted parents let him know of this truth and why they took him in. But while it was fascinating to learn of Yuko’s unfortunate origin and discover the real reasons as to why she’s been chasing Chester/Taizo after all these years, one cannot forget that she is downright dangerous, and that prompted Chester and his family to destroy her body and end this madness. But judging from Yuko’s response in the afterlife and the ominous image at the end of this tale, one has to wonder if the nightmare is truly over.
 
When all is said and done however, wow, what an incredible episode. I mean, I knew it was only a matter of time before we learned about Yuko’s origins as a spirit, but I expected this series to handle that in linear fashion, by say, having Chester dive into her past on his own and uncover the truth by more traditional means. But here we are, basking in the wonder of a tale that took us places we rarely go in stories such as this and it was just fascinating to see the afterlife and all the quirks that come with it and really, kudos to the folks behind the scenes for providing us with a bold and wild episode that was eerie and captivating and stunning and honestly, I have to admit that I’m hungry for more. For this is a game-changer for this story, and nothing will be the same after this revelation and it should be interesting to see what comes next, now that Yuko’s spirit seems to be free of its primary restraints. Until next time. 

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