The Haunting of Bly Manor: 5 Things We Loved (and 5 We Didn’t)
By Louis Skye
Bly and the Real World
One doesn’t expect a horror TV show to reflect the problems of the real world. But The Haunting of Bly Manor did.
Rebecca Jessel (Tahirah Sharif) having to take the job of an au pair so that she can get a mentorship with Wingrave—a major step to her becoming a barrister—is painfully true to life for people from marginalized communities.
At the same time, Owen having to give up his dream of becoming a head chef in Paris to care for his ailing mother is something so many people in the modern world must deal with.
Rebecca and Peter Quint’s (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) abusive relationship is jarringly realistic—but more on that later.
Staying true to life is something entertainment can fail to do so it was interesting to see this show handle those aspects along with the primary plot.
The Altar of the Dead
The episode of The Haunting of Bly Manor that everyone’s talking about. Halfway through the season, the show dropped a bottle episode that focused on Hannah.
Heretofore just a housekeeper who seemed absent-minded and had worrying eating habits, the show expanded on what viewers had surmised about Hannah while progressing the story forward.
Designed in a similar fashion to Castle Rock Season One’s ‘The Queen’, this episode played around with time and emotions, cementing theories and building bonds between Hannah and Owen that had only been hinted at before.
The episode rides on the power of Miller’s performance. She plays Hannah’s confusion, concerns, love, and fear with such ease that you can’t help but be drawn to her and wish the best for her.
Though Hannah’s fate is pretty much known to viewers from the start, it’s still heartbreaking to know that she was killed by Peter, and that too, so thoughtlessly.
And Hannah reaching out to Owen to tell him she will go to Paris with him will never not be devastating. Justice for Hannah!