‘NOS4A2’ Season 1 Premiere Recap: A Somber Beginning To A Horrific Tale

Christmas and vampires together – that’s definitely the twisted take on the holiday that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. But, as horrific as it sounds and contrary to the expectations on the tv adaptation of Joe Hill’s surreal and terrific novel of the same title, NOS4A2 started out quite soft bordering close to mediocre. It didn’t have the spunk and terror you’d expect from a supernatural series. Nevertheless, NOS4A2’s series premiere does the job and veers away from disappointment altogether.

That victory for NOS4A2’s series premiere can be largely attributed to the performance of the series’ titular characters. Ashleigh Cummings’ brilliant performance as the series’ protagonist Vic McQueen carried the first episode and gave it it’s solid footing. And together with Virgina Kull and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as her on-screen parents and Jahkara Smith as the impressionable Maggie, they make a good reason for giving a good investment to the show. They also make it worth waiting for Zachary Quinto’s Charlie Manx to give us that truly terrifying glint of evil. Now, that’s only for first impressions. The final verdict lies in the next few episodes.

For NOS4A2’s first episode, Charlie Manx makes one of his many abductions. This alerts Maggie who uses her magic scrabble tiles to know who took the missing child and how to find him. At the same time, Vic’s home situation is reaching a boiling point. And in one of her attempts to get away from it, she discovers a wooden bridge in the woods supposedly taken down years ago. When she finally crosses it, she never really goes back to what she once knew.

NOS4A2’s Wraith

One night in Here, Iowa, poor little Daniel (Asher Miles Fallica) is turned away by his mom after he disturbs her little escapade with her boyfriend. Then, downstairs “Oh Christmas Tree” starts playing and Daniel follows it to the front door to find a candy cane on the doorstep. He soon spots the Rolls Royce Wraith parked packed with gifts with wide open doors. And the child falls right into the trap of Charlie Manx. They end up driving away into Charles Manx’ twisted Christmasland leaving dead parents behind them courtesy of Manx’ lackey.

Dana Starbard/AMC

The next day in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Vic McQueen reunites with her childhood friend Willa (Paulina Singer) as she and her mother clean Willa’s house. After the cleaning job, Vic’s mother Linda suggests that Vic continue the job with her after graduation insisting that college does no good. But, Vic seems to think otherwise.

At home, her parents start a vicious fight over a lost credit card. Wanting to escape, Vic hops onto her motorbike and rides off into the woods. That is where she first sees the mysterious wooden bridge with the words “Willa’s” painted on the side. As she explores the entrance, Charles Manx’ radio alerts him of Vic’s presence. But before he could find out who she is, Vic backs off.

Vic passes by Hayley’s, one of the kids she babysits but, quickly takes off after a little chat because of a headache. She heads home and collects her art supplies for art class. And since her mom’s unavailable to take her, her dad volunteers. The father and daughter have a little heart to heart chat about futures and college and unlike Vic’s mom, her dad Chris fully supports her dreams. But, he has two conditions: Never get married and never have kids.

The Librarian

Back to Daniel’s home, Maggie (Jahkara J. Smith) the librarian, who also babysits for the kid finds out about the abduction and murder. Though she’s friendly with Sheriff Bly who’s handling the case, he advises her to stay away from it. Maggie doesn’t miss the odd candy cane and syringes on the ground though. In the library, Maggie digs into her magical scrabble bag to find Daniel. As she fixes the tiles, the words “The Wraith” pops out.

Dana Starbard/AMC

The said wraith is well into its way to Christmasland. However, Manx was not pleased with his lackey’s mishaps with the parents. So, he shoves him out of the car killing him. Daniel wakes up to the commotion and he noticeably looks like a sickly child.

Back in Massachusetts, Vic and her friend Matty (Oscar Wahlberg) pay a little visit to the school janitor Bing so Vic could hand him a book. She slows down to chat with him but, Matty ushers her along so they won’t be late to art class. In class, Vic creates a portrait of the bridge she spotted in the woods. As her teacher observes her work, she notes that it looked like the old Shortway Bridge that was demolished 15 years ago much to Vic’s surprise.

Later on, while waiting for their food in Aunt Carrie’s diner, Vic shows the portrait to her dad. Just like her teacher, Chris notes how it looked exactly like the Shortway Bridge. To Vic’s disbelief, her dad was even part of the demolition team that took it down. When Vic’s mom arrives, Chris mentions that Vic’s art teacher thought Vic could get into art school. However, nothing could convince Linda to even hear a word of it. Disappointed, Vic decides to take up Willa’s invitation to watch the fireworks at their lake house.

The Lakehouse

At the lakehouse, Vic meets Willa’s mother Mrs. Brewster. And after the older lady catches up with her, Mrs. Brewster hands her the credit card her mother dropped when they cleaned the house. Afterward, Vic also meets Willa’s friends and they’re just as snotty as rich kids would go except Drew (Rarmian Newton) who immediately took an interest in Vic. Surprisingly, Vic kept her ground in the rich kids’ group through her wit. When the conversation veers towards college, Vic tells the group that she plans to go to RISD. But, once she unveils that her parents consist of a house cleaner and a demolisher, they look quite appalled that she’s that smart.

The comment obviously bruises her and Vic distances herself from the group. And Drew follows. Fortunately, he’s a better conversationalist. And Vic ends up spilling her fears of her dad leaving and being alone with her mom. She also tells him about the bridge. But, in the last moment, Vic closes back up and throws the conversation into what she sees as Drew’s twisted notion of fun slumming with the town girl. She leaves him for a glass of water but, she’s met with Mrs. Brewster. The woman tiptoes with her words until she finally offers the accommodation of a woman’s shelter she donates to in town to Vic and her mom.

More than hurt by everything that happened in that lakehouse, Vic takes off and finds her parents at the bonfire near their motel. She’s met with a happy scene. And her father starts singing a song to further get everybody in the mood. But, as Vic hugs her mother from behind, she finally sees the truth in the form of a huge bruise on the side of her mother’s face.

Aunt Carrie’s

The next day, Vic is sentenced to another of her parents’ arguments. This time, it’s about Chris’ missing watch. Before the argument could end up in violence, Vic barges into their room. Distraught, she takes off again on her bike into the woods. This time, she doesn’t hesitate. She rides straight into the bridge and ends up right in front of Aunt Carrie’s. However, it seems that she’s suffering from some kind of concussion-like injury based on her reddening eye.

Dana Starbard/AMC

The waiter at Aunt Carrie’s warmly welcomes her and returns her father’s watch. After which, she rides back into the tunnel and pauses right in the middle where a flurry of bats flutter around her. Arriving back on the other side, she suffers a disconcerting headache. When she looks back, the bridge was gone. But, she still has her father’s watch in her pocket. Vic heads to Hayley’s but, when she gets there she immediately faints.

On the other hand, Manx is getting younger the longer Daniel stays in the car with him. Daniel, on the other hand, is becoming more and more like the little demonic sickly little boy. He notices that Manx has gotten younger. But, Manx quickly brushes it off and reminds him of all the presents in Christmasland. Looking into his map, Manx discovers that The Shorter Way has opened probably because of Vic.

The Brat

Vic wakes up in her room with her father taking care of her. At that moment, she confronts her dad about when he hit her. And Chris tries to excuse his behavior to too much vodka. Vic makes him promise not to drink vodka again. As Vic slowly drifts off to sleep, Chris once again assures her that she can do anything she puts her mind to. And as he tells her he loves her, he addresses her with his pet name for her “Brat.” Coincidentally, when Maggie takes to her scrabble tiles to look for where Daniel is, the tiles spell out “The Brat.”

Dana Starbard/AMC

When Vic wakes up again sometime later, her mother is sitting at the foot of her bed. And Linda delivers the crushing news that her father left them both. In despair, she rides out to the only place that made sense to her, the bridge. And there it was, waiting for her, with Tiffany’s written on the side. When Vic emerges on the other side, she finds her dad with a younger woman at Tiffany’s. Meanwhile, Manx and Daniel have very well swapped places with Manx regaining his youth and Daniel being reduced to a shell of the boy he once was.

NOS4A2 continues Sunday, June 9th, with “The Graveyard of What Might Be” at 10/9c on AMC.