‘The Changeling’ Recap: ‘First Comes Love’, ‘Then Comes a Baby in a Baby Carriage’, ‘*’

9/8/2023

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LaKeith Stanfield and Clark Backo as Apollo and Emma in Episode 101 of ‘The Changeling’ – ‘First Comes Love’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘The Changeling’. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.

When we are young, there is but one thing we cannot wait for… adulthood. For our parents have infinite freedom, and there are no bedtimes they answer to, for they can do whatever they want. They can eat what they want, drink funny tasting drinks that make them happy, and they are in charge of everyone and everything. Plus, they get to do cool stuff for work and damnit, we want that. Badly. To the point where we dream of adulthood and romanticize it and in many ways… transform adulthood into a fairy tale. One where the possibilities are endless, and that romanticization continues as we chug through our adolescent years, since we are tasked with choosing our path for the future and prepare to become an adult and take on the world as our parents do.

Which is why we find ourselves quite stunned when we step into the world, only to learn… that adulthood is no magnificent fable or traditional fairy tale. It’s a Brother’s Grimm fairy tale. Filled with difficult moments we are not prepared for and suffering and strife and things we never thought about when we lay in bed, dreaming of becoming an astronaut or something more. However, despite having the fairy tale shattered… we persist. We go on. Because that is what is expected of us and we do our best, to carve out happiness and find a path that brings peace, and thankfully… a great deal of us do. There are of course, still hardships to come, and we deal with them accordingly, but that is the story we live, one that is tolerable and magical in its own right. Because in the end, all we can do is try to write our own story and deal with the plot twists as they come.

However, there was mention of the fact that only most of us find a path and find peace, and that’s important to point out because others… get lost in the story the world sometimes tries to write. Wherein they suffer and suffer hard and try desperately to find positivity and the magic of the fairy tale they dreamed of as kids through more storytelling in their minds, with mixed results, and well... that darker side of the human fairy tale is top of mind today because that is what a new series on Apple TV+ explores. A feat that The Changeling accomplishes by introducing us to a man named Apollo, who is searching for that fairy tale life and believes that Emma, the love of his life, will bring that forth, and their sweeping love affair only reinforces that. Since they wait for one another when needed, and marry, and have a child and find that sliver of happiness.

LaKeith Stanfield as Apollo in Episode 103 of ‘The Changeling’ – ‘*’. (Photo Courtesy of Apple.

But once the realities of the world, of life, of the chaos that we fear, finds its way into their day-to-day functions… does the story basically become a horror fairy tale. One where no amount of imagination and hope can help Apollo with the reality that his wife’s mind is slipping, and that such a slide will drive her to do dark things. So dark in fact, that the third episode in this batch is nothing short of an uncomfortable ride. But it is important to be honest and raw about the reality of the world, and how that which we dream of can become nightmares. Not to disappoint an audience or make them feel hopeless in nature. But to make it clear… that life is no fairy tale, and while we do write our own stories, and learn lessons as we do in those magnificent books… the world is still a rough and tumble place where anything can happen. Where we see all kinds of hardships and the question is… how do we find a way forward? How do we write that story that brings us something more?

Which is what the rest of the series will likely focus upon, through magical concepts no less to keep in the fairy tale theme, one designed to speak to how we cope with trauma and pain and PTSD. But in the interim, we need to celebrate what this trilogy put on display. Because all setup aside, this is a premiere that genuinely put life on display. Life as it is, free from dramatic gloss or carefully curated emotional beats and that’s rare to find in television these days and storytelling in general and that brought forth, harrowing stories to say the least. The kind that leaves you in silence, the kind that makes you uncomfortable because of how much of this waking nightmare feels familiar. Adding a different kind of relatability to this story, one that vests us in Apollo’s plight as well. Because now… we want to see him find peace and find answers and justice for what happens here.

In the end, it is definitely safe to say, that this is one of the most refreshing and original stories to hit the airwaves this year. Largely thanks to its plot, but also because of what it points out to the audience. Since we don’t often think about how we romanticize our lives and romanticize adulthood, and how that can prove to be unhealthy in nature and unsavory in many ways. Since it shields us from hard truths and hard moments. But we do it none the less, and we are in fact, aware of it now and with our eyes opened, we really are about to embark upon hell of a journey. One that will put more horrors on display and challenge us in the same manner as it challenges Apollo, and it will be powerful to see how Apollo handles the answers he is about to uncover to the questions he desperately wants answered, and what we will learn about ourselves, as this terrifying fairy tale plays out. Until next time.

Watch ‘The Changeling’

0 Comments