NOS4A2 Season 2 Episode 5
From the moment of birth our mother fights to protect us and for Brice Wayne McQueen this was no different.
The episode opens with Wayne being born not breathing and Vic begging to see her baby.
She is continually asking what was wrong but no one answers her. She is left to worry about the worst until she hears Wayne crying.
The episode ends where it began, with Vic begging for her son.
This was probably the most emotional episode of the season, the cast responded beautifully by giving one of their best performances.
The episode itself is told from Vic and Wayne’s point of views so we see what both are feeling.
But let’s break down the episode as a whole shall we.
The HourGlass Man
We finally learn why Charlie wanted him so badly, he can make people do as he wants.
He controls the FBI agents, by turning his hourglass upside down, guarding the lake house to go and kill everyone but Wayne.
They shoot Chris when he goes to talk to them and after he takes down the woman, the male agent shoots himself.
Speaking of Chris, let’s talk about him.
Chris McQueen
Chris is finally showing us he is ready to step up this season and this episode solidified that.
Things start off rough when chris tells wayne he’s just dreaming about Manx.
Lou tried to tell him differently but he wouldn’t listen.
You can’t blame him completely because Charlie was pronounced dead but he could’ve been nicer about it.
I was worried when shots were fired and he was hit that Chris’s road had come to an end but thankfully it was just his leg.
After killing the female agent who shot him, we lose sight of Chris until he comes out of nowhere and shoots Bing, whose trying to kill Vic but we will get to that in a bit.
Lou
Lou kicked ass in this episode. I love how he let wayne know that him and his mom weren’t angry about him telling Charlie where they were, just worried about him.
When Bing gasses the house like Bing does, he runs outside and tells Wayne to run as Bing gasses him.
While Wayne is in the wraith, Lou tries to break Wayne out with no avail but Charlie does beat him up real bad with a hammer.
I love when he tells Vic to “Find him and kill him”. It’s the first time we’ve seen or heard Lou wish death on someone.
Wayne
As we watch from Wayne’s point of view we get the story of a young child who is scared but sort of interested by Charlie Manx.
Wayne showed his tough side when he bit Bing trying to get away from him. He’s got a ferocious side like his mother and he will need that.
I can’t imagine being Wayne’s age and watching his mother go through what Charlie put her through.
You can see the pain as he watch’s an SUV driven by the Hourglass man, slam straight into her and not knowing if she’s alive or dead.
Charlie and Bing
Charlie is up to his old games again. Every chance he gets he tells Wayne how his mother doesn’t love him and that he will always protect him.
We also get confirmation that Bing won’t survive his trip to ChristmasLand when Charlie tells him “upon your arrival at ChristmasLand I promise there will be a feast”.
I have a feeling it’s not what Bing thinks and he’s going to be the meal for the children.
Charlie then proceeds to beat Vic with a hammer after hitting her with the wraith. He continues the berating calling her a horrible mother and that she doesn’t deserve Wayne.
I know that Wayne said that the jacket would protect her but how does she run so easily in a jacket that seemed to be made with steel inside?
When Charlie is being shot at by Chris he leaves an injured Bing behind and heads to his destination with Wayne.
The look on Bing’s face when he left him was priceless and I think he finally started to realize that Charlie didn’t care about him.
And finally to our heroine:
Vic McQueen
Vic is a warrior mom if there was ever one. Not only did she survive being beaten with a hammer by Charlie,
she also survived being shot at by Bing and hit by the hourglass man’s suv.
There were a few stand out scenes for Vic that I thought that Ashleigh Cummings nailed and made us feel Vic’s pain.
One was the scene with Vic placing her hand on the window of the wraith.
Even as she’s being shot at by Bing, she tells Wayne that she will find him and that she loves him and to always remember that.
Wayne tells her that he loves her and to run which she reluctantly finally does.
Second was when Vic was in the lake trying again not to be shot by Bing.
The fact she was able to keep her calm and stay hidden while Charlie and Bing criticize her is amazing,
I probably would’ve ended up giving myself away.
Third was at the very end when her mom came in.
This scene brought me to tears for the very first time since the series started.
Vic screaming for Wayne, for someone to help her, like she did when he was born.
When she told her mother that he was gone and he was never coming back, it broke my heart.
The way nothing, even her own mom could comfort her was so real and raw it hit the very core of the soul.
In conclusion
Even though it wasn’t packed full of action, even though there was enough to keep you on your seat.
The emotional ride was enough to keep you from fidgeting in your seat except to grab a tissue.
I loved how Chris finally got his chance to be the father Vic always needed.
This series just gets better and better as it goes on.
You can watch NOS4A2 on AMC Sunday nights at 10/9c.