Lovecraft Country Season 1, Episode 2 recap: A house of horrors

Lovecraft Country Episode 2 recap: Meeting the Braithwaites

Tic, Leti, and George are basking in their new digs as they settle into the mansion in Lovecraft Country Episode 2. Full of outfits that fit her like a glove, Leti basks in the myriad of gorgeous silks and outfits available in her wardrobe. Meanwhile, George is ecstatic to find a private library full of his favorite novels.

However, Tic is less inclined to believe in the Braithwaite family’s generosity. The main reason for that is because he soon learns he’s the only one who remembers their monstrous encounter from the night before. George and Leti’s memories have been wiped clean of anything supernatural or otherworldly.

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It’s hard not to be reminded of Jordan Peele’s other famous film, Get Out, during this whole moment. But eventually, the trio does leave the house in search of the mysterious whistle that called off the vampiric creatures.

They come across a strange stone tower with yet another bigoted white woman standing guard at the door with two massive, snapping, dogs.

Inside the tower, it looks like a room from a slaughterhouse with grisly pig heads dangling from the ceiling. George informs Tic that there is a dungeon-like basement based on the way it is constructed, they theorize that is where Tic’s father, Montrose is being held.

As they make the journey back to the manor, the group is forced to traverse through dark woods. There, George makes a revelation about how Tic is connected to the Braithwaites based on something one of them said. The original patriarch, Titus Braithwaite, was known for being “kind” to his slaves, meaning he likely raped his slave Hannah, who became Tic’s great-great-great-great grandmother.

Before they make it back, they’re attacked by monsters yet again. Christina arrives on horseback to call them off and yet again, George and Leti immediately forget the attack as soon as it happens.

That night, Christina visits Tic in his room and he asks her to undo whatever spell she’s using to block George and Leti’s memories, especially as they’re starting to think he’s experiencing shellshock from the war.

Lovecraft Country Episode 2 recap: Who are the Order of the Ancient Dawn?

Christina does, but then she also puts barriers on all of their doors to keep them imprisoned. All three are faced by someone they love in a horrific nightmare sequence that is left on display for members of the Order of the Ancient Dawn — a group that current patriarch Samuel Braithwaite (Tony Goldwyn) leads — to watch for entertainment.

The house of horrors forces Tic to see Ji-ah (Jamie Chung) a woman he likely cared for while at war, yet had to kill. She is the one who called him on the phone in the first episode, so it’s hard to say if she’s really dead or if he is being haunted by her in more ways than one. Leti sees Tic and the two start to have sex before the nightmare version of Tic unzips his pants and releases a very real snake. George sees Dee and the two share a romantic, but somber dance.

Tic and George are then escorted to a men-only dinner for the sons of Adam. In this episode, we learn that Samuel’s real goal is to open a door to Eden so he can seek immortality and restore the world to its natural glory and order. He needs Tic’s blood to do it, as his lingering connection to Titus makes him valuable as the final descendant.

Lovecraft Country Episode 2 recap: Not everyone makes it out alive.

Before the ominous ceremony can take place, Leti, George, and Tic try to save Montrose and escape. They were right about him being kept in the dungeon, but Montrose figured out a way to dig himself out on his own. The trio encounters him in the yard before piling into the car and driving off. Unfortunately, one of those invisible forcefields is blocking their way out and their escape vehicle is smashed to pieces.

Christina and Samuel arrive to stop them with Samuel shooting both George and Leti. He’ll only save them if Tic concedes to his demands and participates in the ceremony. Ultimately, Leti is saved first, with the promise to save George after it is completed.

But the ceremony ends in disaster with Samuel and the sons turning to stone and ash the manor catches on fire — history repeats as it did when Titus tried the same thing years before. Tic survives and escapes the fire as he follows the ghost of his ancestor out of the ash heap. George, Montrose, and Leti escape too.

As The AV Club noted, there’s something to be said about George seeing Hannah in Eden’s doorway — holding the Book of Life — instead of a “white Adam.”

Sadly, George dies as Samuel never healed him and he bleeds out in the escape. It’s a devastating end to a very trippy episode. I had a feeling George was not going to live long but I’m still upset about it just the same!

As for the three survivors, where on earth do they go from here? Also, what was the deal with Christina birthing that cow and pulling out yet another monstrous creature from its innards?

What did you think of Lovecraft Country Episode 2? Are the Braithwaites really dead? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

New episodes of Lovecraft Country air Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.