‘NOS4A2’ Season 1, Episode 8 ‘Parnassus’ Recap: Rebellion

Well, hot damn. That was one hell of an emotional crackdown. Compared to this week’s episode on NOS4A2, the past episodes were tiptoeing. I didn’t even realize that the tension had been pulled so tight on the personal aspect of the show that this episode feels like a whip lashing out. The words stung especially on Vic and Linda’s scenes. And I absolutely applaud Ashleigh Cummings and Virginia Kull for bringing some of the best performances on NOS4A2’s first season. Jahkara Smith as well brought her best to the table.

“Parnassus” sees rebellions wreaking havoc all over NOS4A2. Vic (Ashleigh Cummings) is lashing out with booze, drugs, and boys. And as expected, it brings her clashing head to head with her mother. On the other hand, Maggie (Jahkara Smith) is reeling from Sheriff Bly’s death. And she goes spiraling down old habits of drugs, booze, and partying. In the shadows, Bing (Olafur Darri Olafsson) is also plotting his own rebellion as he becomes more and more desperate to get off of Manx’s (Zachary Quinto) naughty list. Overall, “Parnassus” is one of NOS4A2’s better episodes. It doesn’t necessarily shove horror elements to your face to get your attention. What it does is it grips you and keeps you anxious like a mother waiting for her daughter to come home watching the seconds tick by of every hour that passes.

Denial

After Bly’s disappearance, Maggie tried to hold on to a sliver of hope that he’ll come back. In her misery, she calls her mother and begs to go home. But, her mother is merciless, not allowing her daughter to come home without agreeing to narrow-minded consequences. Realizing her mistake, Maggie cuts the call short. A while later, she’s surprised to find her scrabble bag waiting for her at the front door. When she asks it where Bly was, it answers with four letters: D-E-A-D.

On the other hand, Vic is living a changed life with smokes, booze, and Craig (Dalton Harrod). It’s weird how they just crossed her relationship with Drew (Rarmian Newton) out without explanation. But, anyhow, after spending the night at Craig’s, Vic receives a letter from RISD. And it says that she got in with a full scholarship. The first person she calls is her mom. But instead of jumping for joy, Linda looks more torn and defeated than ever.  Unbeknownst to Vic, Bing has been watching her little exchange all the while planning on how to get out of Manx’ naughty list.

Later that night, the Brewsters throw Vic a congratulatory party. And Linda can’t feel more out of place. Repeatedly, she tells Vic that that – college, parties, etc. – wasn’t the life for them. Fortunately, Chris (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) arrives just in time to break the ice. Along with his pride and joy, he also tells Vic that he’s quitting drinking. But, that does nothing more than putting Linda further on edge.

Betrayal

While the McQueens were out, Bing took the chance to snoop around Vic’s house. In Vic’s room, he found her stash of alcohol, drugs, and condoms. But, before he could do anything, Linda arrives home. So, Bing quickly slips out. Unfortunately, his snooping left Linda to discover her daughter’s secret. And it’s everything she fears for Vic.

Later on, Vic comes home to find her mother furious. Linda has taken her computer and art materials away. And she’s threatening to stop Vic from attending RISD. In retaliation, Vic calls her an ignorant, small-town loser. With a second’s hesitation, Linda chucks the bottle of alcohol at Vic only missing her by a couple of inches. Full of anger, Vic marches out of the house. It was an uncomfortable scene to watch but, it’s also one that you can’t stop watching.

Out in the woods, Vic lets her anger loose. But, that’s where Bing gets her. When she wakes up, Vic finds herself in Bing’s basement. And just like what he did to Sharon, Bing starts forcing the gingerbread gas on her forcing her to say she loves Bing.

Parnassus

Meanwhile, Manx visits a bar called Parnassus. As he enters it, it becomes obvious that it’s the inscape of one of the bar’s occupants, Abe (Reg Rogers). And here, Manx stands out as the most rotten of all as people of all shapes and sizes scurry out in his presence. If you look closely, these people are jolly Halloween easter eggs paying tribute to some horror icons. Pennywise is there along with Lloyd of The Shinning. And of course, who’d miss Freddy Krueger by the side? Just imagine Krueger or Pennywise exchanging tips with Manx; that’ll surely put a tingle up your spine.

Unfortunately, Manx’ purpose of the visit wasn’t to show off his power over other dark entities. He’s simply there for advice from dear old Abe. After hearing of Jolene’s death from Manx, Abe realizes that his friend has found a new girl. And his clear cut advice? Kill her. For Abe, there’s no lass ever worth risking an inscape for. However, Manx is adamant on getting Vic.

Manx has developed some type of obsession for Vic more than he had for Jolene. Her purity has only furthered his belief that she’s fit to be the mother of his children. And he thinks that showing her Christmasland will be the key to gaining her heart. It’s a huge risk considering he’d have to take her with him in his inscape. But, to Manx Vic is worth the risk. If his glorious jingle bells don’t do the magic trick, then it’ll be the dinner bells ringing.

Naughty List Obsession

Back to Vic, Bing reveals his plans to get rid of her so Manx would put him back on his nice list. And this buys Vic some time and leverage. While secretly using her small boot pin to slice away at her binds, Vic questions Bing’s plan using the conversation she had with Manx. She tells Bing that Manx specifically told her that she belonged in Christmasland. Getting rid of her would put a red mark on Bing’s name forever. But, Bing still refuses to let her go. His desire for Christmasland is on par with his fear of Manx.

As Vic keeps the conversation rolling, Bing tells her the truth about his past. Being the cuckoo head he is, he admits that the best feeling he had was when he killed his parents. It was just like when he kidnapped Sharon. At this point, Bing dangerously turns to Vic, stepping closer, and taking a whiff of her scent as he threatens to rape her before killing her.

Fortunately, Vic breaks loose of her bounds just in time. Using the small pin, she slices at Bing’s face before kicking him in the balls. As he falls to the ground, Vic takes off the bounds on her feet. And before Bing could pull her down, she knocks him on the head with his gas tank. Then, she proceeds to give him a taste of his own medicine.

Vic’s first refuge was Craig’s place. And before Craig could do anything rash, Vic stands on his way and firmly reminds him that she’s been traumatized and that she didn’t need another thing to be added to her worries at the moment.

Cutting It Too Close

While all that was happening, Maggie was trying her very best to drink and party away from her pains. But, it still doesn’t seem to be working. While taking pill after pill from the bottle of drugs she stole from her one night fling, Maggie decides to look for Vic’s bike. And the scrabble tiles tell her that it’s been with the brat all along.

Maggie calls up Vic a few hours after the latter’s escape from Bing’s clutches. And though traumatized, Vic finds relief in hearing from her friend as well as knowing where to find her bike/knife. However, when she hears the hopelessness in Maggie’s voice, Vic knew her friend was in danger and she needed to get to her fast.

Upon getting home, Vic finds that her mother has stayed up all night waiting for her despite their argument. And this time, they don’t end up screaming at each other. Instead, Vic just gets right to the point and forces her mother to face the truth that’s been lingering above them all along. Cutting deep, Vic says, “You’re not stupid ma, you’re a coward.” As she says this, the beauty of Kull’s performance shines through. The child-like vulnerability is spelled on her face. And you can literally see the moment Vic’s words plunge a knife in her heart and the moment she breaks under the truth of them.

That heartbreaking moment is quickly cut off, however, and Vic finds her bike in the basement. Linda lied about selling it. At top speed, Vic gets to her bridge and to Maggie just in time. Vic finds the poor girl passed out with a pill coma. Thinking quickly, Vic shoves two fingers repeatedly down Maggie’s throat until she vomits the pills she has taken in. And the two girls find some respite in their reunion despite everything that just happened to them.

NOS4A2 continues Sunday, July 28th with “Sleigh House” at 10/9c on AMC.