The Gloaming Review: Casting the Bones (Season 1 Episode 3)

The Gloaming leans in to the horror on Season 1 Episode 3, “Casting the Bones.”

Witchcraft, mummified cats, and medieval torture techniques are just a few pieces of the puzzle that is starting to take shape on The Gloaming. There are still a lot of holes in the story and more questions than there are answers, but that’s part of the fun.

Some significant discoveries are made with significant ties to the Jenny McGinty murder from 20 years ago.

Treasure Hunt

Spooky symbols and curious curios are scattered all throughout this episode, and the threads that connect three (and later, four!) seemingly unrelated deaths are strengthened.

An etching of a hexafoil sigil found on the wall of Dorothy Moxley’s house resembles a rune made of twigs hanging in the tree where Jenny was killed. Interestingly enough, hexafoils are also called “Daisy Wheels.” Is this a connection between Daisy’s suicide, the Moxley murder, and Jenny McGinty?

Perhaps.

Daisy is linked even further to the body found at the dam — her fingerprints are lifted off of Dorothy’s glasses.

The main person of interest on this episode is Freddie Hopkins (Matt Testro), and the biggest discovery happens when the police search his room. Jenny’s backpack that’s been missing for two decades is finally located, her schoolwork still inside. 

Face/Off

As a fan of crime dramas, I’ve seen hundreds of interrogation scenes. The Gloaming approaches this typical tableau cinematically.

It starts with close-ups of Freddie and detectives Alex McConnell (Ewen Leslie) and Molly McGee (Emma Booth) which sets the tone for the scene. There’s the ticking echo of a clock that helps to build up the tension. Molly does this sidelong glance to Alex; it is quick and such a small part of the overall scene, but it adds so much.

Similar to the aforementioned close-ups, are many shots that create a haunting effect by manipulating the focal point.

The camera ever so slowly racks focus, shifting from the foreground to the person in the background. At first, they are so blurred that it’s just the shape of their face with dark eye sockets — very ghost-like.

The most effective of these shots is one of Lily (Josephine Blazier) when she’s in the car with Freddie. She transforms from a ghostly figure to a terrified girl as she realizes that Freddie is dangerous.

A Higher Power

There’s been a couple of mentions of religion on the previous two episodes, but now it’s beginning to be a running motif.

Grace (Rena Owen) and The Door of Salvation are the obvious religious nods, but it’s unclear if Grace is practicing witchcraft for a benevolent or evil purpose.

What’s more subtle is the way Alex acts in regards to the subject of God and religion.

On The Gloaming Season 1 Episode 2, “Hell’s Black Grammar,” Alex theorizes that the barbed wire might refer to a crown of thorns. Molly asks if he still believes in God and he is quick to answer no, but it’s not entirely convincing. 

On this episode, Alex seems very affected by the old bible found at the Moxley house — he’s already planning on signing it out of exhibits. A pattern starts to emerge as he claims it’s just a passing interest when it’s clearly something more.

After finding the hexafoil, Alex asks Molly if she believes in the afterlife. She says no and poses the question to him. He takes a beat this time and says with vulnerable uncertainty that he doesn’t know. 

This exchange is framed beautifully — it looks like an oil painting worthy of a museum. The two of them are shrouded in darkness, faces half-lit from the sunlight coming through the window. There is something very intimate about it.

And it’s probably one of the most stunning shots on a show that’s already proven itself with its remarkable camerawork just three episodes in.

There’s more to Alex and religion just like there is more to the tension between the detectives. We get little clues, piecemeal, but it never feels like we’re being strung along. It’s the kind of mystery that builds interest rather than causing frustration.

I’m not even gonna be mad if half of these hints and clues turn out to be red herrings. I am all in for every twist and turn of this dark and twisty tale.

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

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The Gloaming airs Sundays at 9/8c on Starz.

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