Lovecraft Country Review: A History of Violence (Season 1 Episode 4)

An exciting adventure awaits below Boston, where the lore starts to click together a little more but not before a surprising twist knocks it all back on Lovecraft Country Season 1 Episode 4, “A History of Violence.”

The episodic adventures through the horrific and the supernatural have been a great way to parcel out the story, even if the overarching story has been a little unfocused up until now.

It’s not that the larger story about the Braithwhites and the missing pages are unsuccessful: it’s more that they feel a little secondary to Tic and company as they face a new threat.

This episode fixes a lot of that, making the texts the main maguffin.

The adventure feels like a mixture of Journey to the Center of the Earth (which Tic comments on and happens to be the book the young boy is reading in the library when Tic and Leti argue), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

The plank scene has a similar vibe to the “penitent man” sequence from Last Crusade, where faith is all that can push you forward.

The journey underground is almost like the connective tissue of the show’s lore, with the elevator to Leti’s house in one spot, and two other paths that could lead to other neat locations (one markedly missing its lantern, likely meaning someone else has been through there).

There’s a lot of fantastic sets, but my favorite of the show so far is the grand room at the episode’s climax that has a similar look to an old, abandoned galleon. The little details help add up to a rich history to be discovered, and it’s just as fascinating to witness its destruction as the waters rush through the back.

Infighting between Tic, Leti, and Montrose helps to keep them grounded and keeps a layer of comedy on top of their more serious investigation, especially with Tic and Leti. They have proven to each other that they can take care of themselves, but emotions are getting in the way.

Leti is infinitely the hero of this show, so Tic needs to catch up with all of us.

Leti’s the one to gather up the scrolls as they nearly escape from view, after all, and she’s the first to take on the dangerous walkway. This is not mentioning all of the epic moments she’s faced over the past three episodes.

But this also brings up how the scrolls possibly escaped. Montrose is the one holding them, and based on what happens at the end of the episode, and his general skittishness, there’s more to him letting the scrolls nearly float off.

Montrose is quite the enigma. Everything is clearly weighing on his mind, especially during the beginning of the episode. But it’s still not clear if he’s obstructing or if there is something more sinister afoot.

Burning the lodge’s book, withholding information about Titus Braithwhite’s texts, and his sudden attack on their new companion sure sends a nefarious message, but the intriguing part is that it could go two ways.

Are these attempts to protect Tic and Leti, or is he on a different sort of mission? Either way, the show looks to be leading down a path of confrontation between Tic and Montrose, their anger and frustration that’s been building over their lifetimes likely to explode once the truth is revealed, one way or the other.

But it’s great seeing Michael K. Williams tackle this sort of role. Montrose is the fountain of information, but he’s not ready for this line of adventuring. He falls at the end of the rope heading into the caverns, he’s displeased with all of the dust and spiderwebs, and he’s rather grumpy about the whole thing.

It’s not a flashy role, but Williams brings so much character to the character (which sounds redundant, but it’s true!), where we want to believe in his good intentions, especially after finally giving Tic praise at the end of the episode, even as we’re shown that he may not have those good intentions in the long run.

Now that Tic has the scrolls, will Montrose try to sabotage his son? Or will that prove to be a more difficult dilemma?

Maybe Tic will gain some of those Braithwhite type powers and become a wizard in his own right. The sky is the limit with this show, and this is probably thinking too small.

Something that’s been going a long way is the inclusion of supporting characters on the madcap adventures. While Hippolyta and Diana are sidelined on the episode, the ending does give hope they will be getting their own episode where they search for answers about George’s death.

There’s also Ruby slowly becoming part of the shenanigans, now that William makes her a promise to change her life. Based on her frustration over missing out on the potential of the counter job, maybe William will provide the power to change that for her. Changing someone’s life sounds like a significant move, after all, and it’s unlikely to be a good thing in the long run.

Something worth noting, too, is that we now know a little more about this order the Braithwhites are either leaders of or part of. Montrose makes mention of thirty-four other lodges, which potentially means there’s far more mysteries and monsters to discover.

Lovecraft Country continues to be one of the most exciting television productions, as you never know what you’re going to get week to week, and the sets are grand spectacles that deserve a second viewing after watching.

But beyond that is the brilliant context that settles under the surface of its every idea, where its moment-to-moment build has something to say about not only its characters, but the world of 1950’s America that reverberates to today.

 

What did you think of this episode of Lovecraft Country? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Lovecraft Country airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.

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