‘Anna’ Recap: ‘The Hyenas Laugh’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Three of ‘Anna’.
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At this point, it is definitely safe to say that the AMC+ series, Anna, is one of the most unique post-apocalyptic television shows to ever grace the airwaves. Because not only does this series feature an extremely original plot… wherein all the adults of the world have died of a horrific and contagious virus, leaving the children to inherit the earth without direction or guidance, but it is also unconventional in how it tells this dynamic and harrowing story. For this series genuinely takes the time to flesh out every single character no matter how big or how small so that they have depth and meaning when they finally encounter our heroine Anna and that wonderful dynamic, one that was introduced in last week’s episode by way of the mysterious and twisted twins, carried on in this week’s entry. 

For ‘The Hyenas Laugh’ helped us to better understand the creation of the Blue Kids and who leads them. But not before wrapping up the whole mess with the twins in the most harrowing way imaginable. For when we catch up with Anna here, she and a Blue Boy are locked away in dog crates and are being fed nothing but kibble and this kind of cruelty and madness prompts Anna to play along and curry favor in the hopes of arranging her escape. But that sadly, goes sideways and puts her in a far more precarious place. At least, until Pietro shows up and frees her, allowing for her to finally teach her captor a lesson before heading out into the world to try and retrieve her brother from the Blue Kids and while she was on her journey… the exploration into their creation got underway.

As it turns out, the origins of this strange group, were born out of cruelty well before the pandemic took hold. For a pre-teen named Angelica thought it would be fun to pick on a girl named Lucia that wanted to roll in Angelica’s inner circle, and she was so hell bent on proving her superiority to Lucia… that she demanded the young girl do horrible and dangerous acts. The kind that eventually cost this innocent girl her life. And shortly after the dust settled from this ugly moment and the Red Fever gripped the world, payback came Angelica’s way in the form of being covered in blue paint and well… her ability to withstand her humiliating punishment… combined with a hell of a medical surprise, allowed for her to build a world unlike any other.

One where her minions assemble and worship Angelica and indulge her madness and fury. Since she has shown no signs of the Red Fever despite being of age and being that kind of beacon of hope and supposedly having a cure, is why the kids fall in line and put up with the cruelty that she embraced before the end of everything, and that is bad news for Anna. For eventually she found herself caught up in Angelica’s strange little world when she arrived at the Blue Mansion for her brother, since she was turned into a ‘dancer’ that was to entertain Angelica on demand or face death upon refusal, and thanks to her intelligence and understanding of the situation… she was able to evade trouble and simply observe her surroundings and that will hopefully help her formulate a plan to escape with her brother. 

But while we wait to see if that happens, we can bask in the wonder of one engaging and unique tale. One that pulled us in by changing up the narrative all while engendering hope. Because at long last… there are teenagers in this world that aren’t dying horribly from the Red Fever. Which means there is potential for immunity and a cure and a way forward for humanity. Provided of course someone can figure out how to get these healthy kids away from the bedlam they’ve created at the mansion. Which only compels us further to continue this amazing and creative journey, so we can indeed see if hope will spring eternal from this revelation or if this mansion is nothing more than the place where hope and mankind’s future will die at the whims of immaturity. Until next time.

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