[Episode Review] LOVECRAFT COUNTRY EP. 8

[Episode Review] LOVECRAFT COUNTRY EP. 8
Courtesy of HBO
In LOVECRAFT COUNTRY Episode 8, one thing is for sure. Ghosts from the past always have a funny way of showing up precisely at the wrong place and the wrong time. For young Diana (Jada Harris) losing someone affects her more than the rest of the family could ever know. For everyone else, they finally begin to learn what is and isn’t possible in the world of magic.

The city is on fire with tensions rising on both sides after something unspeakable happens to a child. The entire population of black folks residing in Chicago has had enough of what they feel is unfair treatment from an unjust system designed to keep them in check. Nobody pays for the crimes against them, so they’re using what happened as a rallying cry to come together and overcome. LOVECRAFT COUNTRY may take place in a fictitious world filled with mystery, magic, and the supernatural, but this part of it is as real as today. As current as of May 2020, which says more about our systematic shortcomings than it does the creators of this show, resonating with the heartbeat of today.

Diana, as portrayed in a killer performance from Jada Harris, wanders off to deal with her feelings. Her friend is gone and she has no idea where her mother is. She feels like something is off; it’s the same kind of talk around like when her father, who went on a similar guide book trip, never returned. Keeping with family tradition, she breaks off on a quest to find out the truth about her mother. In this search, she comes across terrifying things no child should see. What can you do if you see something nobody else sees? How do you reconcile with the danger ever present around you that everyone ignores? Diana grows up in unexpected ways way before she should have to. She should be spending her time in the summer chilling, writing more of her fantastic comics. Instead, what awaits her, you nor I would ever wish on even the people we despise the most.

Jada Harris in LOVECRAFT COUNTRY l Courtesy of HBO

Tic’(Jonathan Majors), Leti (Jurnee Smollett), and Montrose (Michael K. Williams) begin their search for Diana. But, in the usual fashion, life has a way of sidetracking them from their initial mission. An old friend visits the house and shakes things up between Leti and Tic but will their newly found harmony be disrupted forever? There is always a sense of duty that the characters display. To the rules of magic and also to each other.  Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) has a coming out of sorts with Leti that tests that new bond they just called themselves building. Throw in Christina (Abbey Lee) doing her best work as a temptress for everyone involved, you’ve got yourself an episode that moves you, shakes you, and then places you back down, daring you to talk about it.

All they and anyone want in this world is to be protected.  This week we find what lines they’re willing to cross and what depths they’re willing to go and who they are willing to summon to protect the ones they love.

Tune into LOVECRAFT COUNTRY on HBO each Sunday at 9/8c to find out. With two more episodes left, we’re inching closer to the end. For more on the series, check out our review here.

Elga Roberson
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