NOS4A2 Season 1 Finale: Episodes 9 and 10

Christina Horton

5 years ago

NOS4A2 Season 1 Finale

We have reached the end of the road for season one. And for that, we got a spectacular two-hour season finale. Let’s dive right in shall we.

Let’s start with:

Maggie and Vic: the Diner

Vic never gets a break. She gets worried about Craig when he doesn’t answer any of her texts. She wakes up and sees Millie Manx hovering over her and she tells her she should come to ChristmasLand. When she comes to though it’s Maggie trying to wake her up.

Later the two have breakfast and Maggie tells her that she caused Joe’s death by crossing Charlie. Vic tells Maggie that she’s afraid she might’ve done the same thing with Craig and they head to Bing’s. They find Craig’s bike but no Craig and after telling Maggie about how she ran to Craig since she was six and how she loved him and that she was going to save him, she tells Maggie she isn’t in any condition to go but Maggie did ask her tiles about Craig, can the brat find the wraith and is the brat ready?

The titles answer, “The Wraith: Yes and No.” Vic doesn’t care and leaves anyway even with Maggie saying the tiles are right.

She goes to her bridge and sees the words “sleigh house” and heads through.

Bing’s Meeting with Charlie

We all know Bing is on Charlie’s super-naughty list by now but can he get himself off?

Bing brings Charlie Craig, who tried to kill Bing at the start of the episode. Bing tells Charlie that Vic was the naughty one and tells him that he found condoms and drugs in her room. He also tells him that Craig can confirm that. Well, even though Bing doesn’t deserve it he gets a pass because Craig, when asked by Charlie if they consummated their relationship, confirms it.

I don’t know if Charlie realizes where children come from since he hates the thought of the “mother” of “his children” having sex. But maybe he is just against premarital sex.

Bing is Tasked

Charlie tells Bing to get more of the gingerbread gas and then find a safe place. Bing then goes and steals some from his job in which he is abruptly fired from by his boss and then before the police arrive takes off.

Charlie’s House

Zachary Quinto as Charlie Manx – NOS4A2 _ Season 1, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Zach Dilgard/AMC

Finding the Wraith Vic tries to free Bradley who deceives her but then he tries to eat her. She hears Craig in the trunk but is unable to open it. She goes inside to find the keys. Once inside she looks for the keys but can’t find them all the while dealing with a sinister kid who wants to eat her. An Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas song plays menacingly in the background (thanks for making one of the best songs creepy, guys).

Vic’s head begins to hurt and she sees Charlie with her bike. He throws it into the bridge and it all disappears. Charlie has destroyed her inscape. Vic collapses to the floor in pain and passes out. Vic loses a lot at the end and gains very little honestly.

Charlie Appears

Running from him she goes into a laundry room. We begin a game of cat and mouse. Manx teases her from where she’s hidden, but he’s pissed. Because she and Craig had sex, she is no longer capable of being the children’s mother. She is now a meal.

While in there, Charlie douses the house in lighter fluid making sure to take a picture drawn by his daughter of him and her in ChristmasLand. I love how they give Charlie a human side here. Him stopping to save the picture shows he does still know how to love someone. After folding up the picture and putting it in his jacket, Charlie sets the house ablaze.

After a failed attempt at escaping, a battered and bruised Vic lays on the ground awaiting death. She hears the voices of her dad, mom, Haley, Manx, Jolene, Craig and Maggie. All of them pushing her to find strength.

Using all of her strength she climbs through an air vent and escapes. She runs away and finds a biker named Lou who takes her to a gas station to get help.

Finding and Destroying Manx

While on the phone with Maggie the Wraith pulls up and Manx starts pumping gas.

Lou holds a gun to his head while Vic tries to get Craig out with no luck. Craig bursts through the back seat though but is caught by a hungry Bradley.

When Charlie overpowers Lou, Vic takes things to an extreme. Using the pump she douses the Wraith’s hood in gasoline and sets it on fire. Her and Lou watch as Charlie burns up and becomes a very elderly man.

The Worst Moment of Vic’s Life

When she is unable to pull Craig up to the front seat because of a magic barrier, she runs to find something to break the car windows. When she starts back the fire hits the draining gas and the car explodes.

Ashleigh makes us all feel not only Vic’s grief but her anger at herself for not being able to save Craig. She should win multiple Emmy’s for this one scene. She’s an amazing actress. Craig dying a hero though really was a fitting end for a character who was always downplayed and forgotten.

Meanwhile, Maggie…

Maggie is still recovering from everything when she and Vic go to check on Craig. When Vic decides to go after Charlie to save Craig, Maggie tells Vic to call her and the two hug. Maggie calls the police to tell them that Bing has kidnapped Vic and Craig. When the police arrive they find his nail gun and Detective Hutter puts out a call to the police to set up a BOLO.

While waiting for Vic to call, she asks her tiles where Bing is and they answer “gas”.Well, Maggie lays out the truth to the Detective who doesn’t look convinced but chose to trust her. When Detective Hutter comes in and apologizes to Maggie for not moving sooner she also asks about Vic.

Looking to find out herself, Maggie asks the tiles who answer “soon” and then Vic calls. Vic tells her that she’s in Colorado and that Charlie destroyed her bridge and that she needs it to get to ChristmasLand. She has Maggie ask the tiles where the wraith is and it answers “Gunbarrel”. Vic tells Maggie he’s there and then hangs up leaving Maggie worried.

Ashleigh Cummings as Vic McQueen – NOS4A2 _ Season 1, Episode 9 – Photo Credit: Zach Dilgard/AMC

Hutter and House of Sleep Two

Hutter asks her for one more favor and that is to ask her tiles where Bing is again. When she does all they say is “house of sleep two”. When Hutter asks Maggie if she could have unscrambled them wrong Maggie answers “No” though she didn’t look too sure. We see Bing shaving off his beard and changing the license plate on his car.

The Hospital

Vic wakes up and Lou tells her that Charlie is in intensive care with an armed guard and locked down. He also gives her his hospital bracelet with his phone number on it to call him if she needs anything.

He also tells her that she’s a superhero and that because he does read a lot of comics he totally believes what he saw even though he told the police Charlie was in the car when it burned. She hugs Lou and he leaves and she heads down to see Charlie but not before the nurse tells her she’s a few weeks pregnant, adding more pain to an already built up arsenal.

Seeing Charlie

Vic tells Charlie “I will find ChristmasLand and I will torch the place just like I torched your fucking car” and she leaves, head held high.

Craig’s Funeral

At the reception, Linda tells Vic she doesn’t know what she would’ve done if it was her. She also tells Vic if she had lost Chris in the gulf they would’ve stayed with her mother. All her dad has to say is that she would figure it out when she tells him she’s pregnant. Again not a very supportive group.

Going to her Bridge

Vic takes her dad’s bike and goes to where her bridge should be.

At the place where The Shorter Way should’ve been Vic and Maggie have a talk. Vic tells her that she now understands how she felt when she lost Joe. Maggie says she’s staying to help the detective find Bing and Vic tells her that she can’t stay. The two hug and Vic goes off on her dad’s bike.

A Six Month Time Jump

We see Bing working in a dentist office as a janitor under the name Anderson. He offers a little girl who just got her teeth cleaned a candy cane.

I really wanted him to die because he is insane and a terrible person. He has no charisma and really doesn’t add to the story. I hope season two gives us a reason to like him or he better die in the first few episodes.

We don’t see anything about Maggie which is really upsetting. I really do hope that Jahkara Smith comes back for season 2 because she is a beautiful and talented actress and the show wouldn’t be the same without her.

Vic is working at Lou’s garage and very pregnant. She doesn’t want to hear or see anything to do with Christmas at all. I really hope that they deviate from the book in the second season and her and Lou stay together. I really think he’s right for her.

But we all know that nothing can stop…

Charlie Manx

At a junkyard, a man tries to start up the Wraith and when he sends electricity through the car it also awakes Charlie.

Unfortunately for the nurse, Charlie is still his demonically cruel self and scares her so much she drops his blood for transfusion and runs out screaming for help. Obviously working mothers also upset Charlie. He closes his eyes and the episode ends.

We draw the curtain on this season but I can’t wait until the next. There are so many questions we still need answered – Including:

“What awards will Quinto win for his spectacular performance?”

Until then you can always see it again on the AMC app.

With contributions from Ariel B.