Review: Lovecraft Country Episode 2, “Whitey’s on the Moon”

The second episode of Lovecraft Country balances drama with comedy with spectacular special effects action. Even with some choppiness, it’s a good watch.

The second episode of Lovecraft Country continues the headlong energy of the premiere, dropping us right into a montage of George and Leti enjoying the opulence of the Braithwhite mansion while dancing to the theme of “The Jeffersons.” Like the first episode, “Whitey’s on the Moon” is a bit uneven and jerks the characters this way and that without much in the way of buildup or preamble, but it’s so eager to please, and is so earnest in its messaging that it’s impossible not to like it anyway.

Lovecraft Country isn’t a subtle show. It’s at its best when it wears its heart on its sleeve, delivering big spectacular set pieces that smack us in the face with their grandiosity. “Whitey’s on the Moon,” then, is all about the climax, when Samuel Braithwhite, the owner of the enormous mansion where our heroes find themselves held prisoner, forces Tic to participate in a magical ritual he hopes will open a door to the Garden of Eden.

There’s a layer of comedy throughout the episode that underscores what a ridiculous, stupid, privileged goal this is. Our heroes are living in Jim Crow-era America, Tic is suffering from post-traumatic stress thanks to his time in Korea, Leti’s sister can’t get a job because of the color of her skin despite her being a harder worker than anyone she knows, but Samuel’s idea of helping the human race is playing dress-up and opening a door to some edenic paradise he would just ruin the second he stepped foot in it, on account of how much he sucks. When the ritual goes wrong and he and all his colleagues are turned to ash, it’s satisfying on a dramatic level, not to mention spectacular to look at, but it’s also really funny.

But the episode brings in plenty of other tones. Uncle George, unfortunately, doesn’t make it out of the catastrophe alive; Jonathan Majors does a terrific job of making us feel Tic’s heartbreak over his uncle’s death before the episode cuts to credits.

Or was George his father? We get several hints here that Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams), who’s been a prisoner of the Braithwhites this whole time, isn’t Tic’s real dad, but clearly the show wants to withhold the whole truth of that until later in the season. The climax is the reason to watch “Whitey’s on the Moon,” but it also sets up several longer-term storylines like that.

Lovecraft Country Season 1, Episode 2 – Courtesy of Eli Joshua Ade/HBO

For example, we should also expect to see more of Christina Braithwhite (Abbey Lee), Samuel’s daughter. She’s an intriguing character; she wants access to the power her father wields, but chafes under his cult’s discrimination against women. She tries to reach out to Tic through their shared experience of exclusion, but there’s a limit to how well she can understand him, and how much of an ally she can be.

It was fun watching her help birth a baby Shoggoth from the womb of a cow, though. If nothing else, Lovecraft Country has enough random WTF moments to keep people interested.

I just wish it were better at stringing them together. The show has plenty of interesting things to say and show, but it’s rough around the edges, with lots of jarring transitions. After George uses the cult’s own by-laws to gain him and Tic the run of the grounds (good move, George), we cut abruptly to the two of them storming a prison where they think Montrose is held. After Samuel shoots George, we smash to a scene of Tic being washed and prepared for Samuel’s ceremony, underscored with a Marilyn Manson-sounding satanic vocal track. Sometimes the actors are good enough to make us forget these bumps in the road — Jurnee Smollett especially is consistently killing it as Leti — but there’s a choppiness I could do without.

Still, the overall effect is so fun that these concerns can mostly be waved away…for now. Two episodes in, I’m surprised at how much Lovecraft Country has already shown us. Where does it go from here?

Episode Grade: B

Bullet Point Country

• “My father and his associates would never fraternize with the Klan,” Christina tells Tic. “They’re too poor.” That’s a funny line, and another indication of Christina probably isn’t going to be a real friend to Tic, even if she wants to be.
• Partway through the episode, Samuel’s guests toy with Tic, Leti and George by making them see upsetting visions. Tic fights and kills a Korean woman. He also called a mysterious Korean woman in the first episode, but quickly hung up. We don’t know what this means yet, but it’s another thread the show is slowly unspooling.
• “This isn’t real. You’re dead,” George tells a vision of Dora, Montrose’s wife. “Dance with me anyway,” she says. A nice moment.
• One more thread that will probably come back later: Tic sees a vision of someone fleeing the Braithwhite mansion as it burns down. Is this Hannah, his slave ancestor?

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