‘NOS4A2’ Season 1, Episode 4 ‘The House of Sleep’ Recap: Haverhill’s First Body

NOS4A2 has been crawling slowly in the past few episodes. But, this week’s episode titled “House of Sleep” completely turns those sleepy wheels around into a raging horror fest. It’s like someone just opened the flood gates of all things bad in NOS4A2. The horrors of the show’s last three episodes – kitty killers, monster kids, evil snowmen, de-aging villains – could never compare to the disturbing turn of events in this episode. One after another, these sickening events set a horrifyingly ominous future for NOS4A2.  And honestly, I’m loving these new revelations. We’re finally getting a real taste of the horrors of Joe Hill’s spine-tingling novel.

After Haley’s (Darby Camp) disappearance, Vic (Ashleigh Cummings) rushes to save her using her abilities in this week’s episode of NOS4A2. But, she doesn’t like what she discovers. However, she’s determined to save her friend, even if it means meeting the enemy face to face without knowing what he can do and plans to do.

Zach Dilgard/AMC

Junior Mr. Bing

Bing Partridge (Olafur Darri Olaffson) has been an interesting mystery ever since Charles Manx’s (Zachary Quinto) little hint of his horrible childhood in the “Graveyard of What Might Be.” It turns out, his poison was his dad’s toxic masculinity and misogyny. As a young child, his father gifted him the mask and his fatherly poison. And when Bing grew up to be a teen, he killed his father with a nail to the head on Christmas of all seasons. He then dragged the corpse to the garage where his mother found him sobbing over it. But, that’s not even the most horrific part. And we’ll get to that in a bit.

In the present day, Vic does what all heroes do at some point: mindlessly rush at the enemy without a plan. Using her bridge, she ends up at the house of sleep a.k.a Bing’s house. Bing sees her. And though surprised and confused, Vic manages to lie her way out. Back inside, Bing sets up a plate of Christmas cookies and milk. Then, he takes it down to the basement where he tied up Haley’s mom, Sharon (Elizabeth Stanley). Unfortunately, she’s not cooperative at the moment. So, Bing forces some gas up her nose. The creepy part is that he trained her to say “I love you more than anything Bing Partridge” per his request while she’s under the gas’ influence. Meanwhile, Manx is taking Haley through his own inscape, the St. Nick’s Parkway. And he eventually tricks the little girl into revealing that the person he’s seeking is a girl.

Cursed Gift

After her little trip, Vic heads straight back to Maggie (Jahkara Smith). And she expresses her disbelief about Bing. However, Maggie insists that inscapes are never wrong. And Vic has to trust her “gift.” Unfortunately, Vic doesn’t see her abilities that way. Once again, she leaves Maggie in the dust.

Vic heads straight to her mom’s. And after fussing over her sickly condition, Linda (Virginia Kull) manages to get her into bed. Haley, on the other hand, is doing much much worse in Manx’ car. First, she plucks a tooth out of her mouth. Then, three more fall out later. And Manx is slowly but surely tearing her down. While Vic and Manx are at their own ends, Maggie is in the middle doing what normal humans do. And she manages to get Sheriff Bly (Chris McKinney) to put out an amber alert for Haley.

While Vic sleeps off her inscape side effect, Craig (Dalton Harrod) pays her a visit. Unfortunately, Linda doesn’t even let him a foot near Vic. She thinks that Craig might’ve gotten her daughter into weed and promptly tells him to keep away from her. Later on, Vic wakes up to her mom and dad arguing over the phone. As she sees her mom somberly leaning over the sink, Vic builds up the courage to ask her when the abuse started. Linda doesn’t exactly remember when only that it started in the early years of the relationship. And she stayed because she always tried her hardest to believe his apologies and promises. Like her, Vic tried to ignore her inkling before because she wanted to believe her dad was good. But, as Linda said, he is good and he’s not. People can be both. It just matters which side you choose to see.

Unfriended

On Manx’ end, Haley is getting all kinds of bribes for Vic’s name – magic, promises of love and friends at Christmasland, and even Manx’ personal sob childhood story. Apparently, his mother also neglected him and he didn’t have any friends leading to quite a lonely childhood. No wonder he knows the right words to say to the kids he abducts. In the end, Haley surrenders Vic.

Meanwhile, after glimpsing one of Bing’s comic books in her things, she concocts a plan. She pays him a visit with the guise of returning his comics and getting her own back. And when he sets off to retrieve it, Vic starts snooping around. She ends up in the empty basement where Bing, unfortunately, corners her. At this point, Vic sees him as the monster he is. Thankfully, a phone call interrupts Bing’s plans to get rid of her. And surprise, surprise, it’s no one but Charles Manx, the boss himself.

Manx manages to strike a deal to meet with Vic face to face. But, being the dramatic monster he is, he doesn’t say when or where. In a last attempt to get anything on Haley or Sharon from Bing, Vic threatens him with a small kitchen knife. Bing’s only answer is “I made her clean.”

Remember that other horrid thing Bing did after killing his dad? Well, it might be the same thing he did with Sharon. After finding her son and her husband’s dead body, Mrs. Partridge ran to comfort Bing. But, instead of simply being comforted, Bing kisses his mother. Then, he proceeds to rape her beside his father’s corpse. Afterward, he also shoots a nail through her head.

NOS4A2’s New Monster

Jumping into another horrorfest, Manx stops by a convenience store to buy loads of pine scents. Outside, a woman spots Haley just as she’s notified of the amber alert Bly put out. But, as she sticks her hand in to coax Haley out, the little girl reveals rows of sharp teeth and pulls the woman into the car whole body and all. As Manx comes back with his purchase, he finds Haley still in the middle of her little snack. And he drives away unbothered by the disgusting scrunching sounds still echoing in his back seat.

On the other hand, Vic uses her inscape again to find Sharon after Bing lets her go. She ends up in a field. And a couple of steps from the road, she finds where Bing burried Sharon. Later that night, the police and reporters swarm the area. Maggie comes too and before Linda takes Vic back to her dad, she gives the other girl a slight nod, a signal perhaps that she’s in.

Vic arrives home visibly traumatized and broken. And Chris (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) does look concerned. But, he doesn’t really seem that interested as he should be. And Vic is left to go through her grief alone. Sadly, the kid she’s crying for is already in Christmasland. There, Daniel welcomes Haley at the gates. And he presents her with a sharp pair of scissors for some kind of twisted game. All the while, Manx watches beside his car, rejuvenated, young, and ready for the next hunt.

NOS4A2 continues Sunday, June 30th, with “The Wraith” at 10/9c on AMC.