# Lovecraft Country S1 \[SPOILERS within\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, hbomax-wb-dc\ **Created:** [July 26, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355 "2020-07-26T02:19:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/41 "2020-08-28T05:49:23Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > I’m listening if anyone wants to convince me that in addition to Lovecraft Country, a subscription to HBO is worth it because…(please fill in the blank for me). It’s hard to know what will entice without knowing your taste and interests, but the back catalog of HBO shows, movies, and documentaries is extensive, and a subscription gets you access to pretty much all of it through streaming, if you do that. I am currently using my sub to rewatch The Wire, for instance. (Oh, and the Studio Ghibli catalog is on HBOMax, which is right up my alley as well.) ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/42 "2020-08-28T05:56:55Z")
Perfect answer as I’ve been wanting to watch The Wire for ages. I had DVDs of it years ago, which I tried to watch while running on a treadmill, but there were no subtitles and between my aging ears, tinnitus, and the hum of the treadmill, I couldn’t understand enough of it to make it worth pursuing. It’s been something I’ve wanted to go back to, though. (And yes, I stream everything.) ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/43 "2020-08-28T05:59:19Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > They threw a HUGE amount of stuff into that second episode. You could get whiplash trying to follow all the sudden shifts. As my daughter remarked, it looked as if they took about three episodes worth of material and stuffed it into one. > > What bothered me is that they also seemed to be setting up that house as a major element in the story, and I expected a lot to unravel there. But by the end of the episode it’s like they got tired of that whole thing and were anxious to move on. I didn’t like this episode neary as much as the first because of the over-stuffed, hectic quality you describe. It was a _lot_ to introduce and wrap up. (Obviously, some stuff is _not_ wrapped up for good, but …) The source novel is episodic (though it has an overall narrative arc), and I gather from reviews by critics who’ve seen screeners that the show follows that approach — for the first five episodes, at least. I’m curious how the pacing will work if we’re seeing a lot of short stories each getting 1-2 episodes. We’ll see! ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/44 "2020-08-28T06:02:53Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > It’s been something I’ve wanted to go back to, though. Oooh, have fun! It’s so good. :). And rewards multiple viewings. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/45 "2020-08-31T03:11:15Z")
Just caught up and watched Ep 3. Wow. The scene in the sub basement was powerful, with the healing of the tortured black spirits through casting a spell over the professor who tortured them. And that Brathwaite woman has some interesting power. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/46 "2020-08-31T12:21:31Z")
Watched episode 3 last night (my wife Pepper Mill wanted to keep watching ABC’s broadcast of **Black Panther** , which our daughter MilliCal hadn’t seen, but both MilliCal and I outvoted her). a.) It’s good b.) I had to keep asking “Is this from the same book?” It felt as if it has very little to do with the previous episode, and has the characters doing completely different things in a completely different place. Does the book do such story-hopping? The series gives the impression of being put together from a series of short stories involving the same characters, rather than a single coherent story. c.) as before, the juxtaposition of the horror of racism with the horrors of monsters makes for a pointed contrast. Would you rather be pursued by bloodthirsty inhuman monsters or racists? These poor characters don’t get the choice – they get both. And it doesn’t help that the racists _are_ bloodthirsty inhuman monsters, too. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/47 "2020-08-31T12:52:09Z")
Another good episode. but I too felt this episode was not very Lovecraftian. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/48 "2020-08-31T14:28:42Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Does the book do such story-hopping? The series gives the impression of being put together from a series of short stories involving the same characters, rather than a single coherent story. That’s exactly how the book is structured. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/49 "2020-08-31T14:59:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > And it doesn’t help that the racists _are_ bloodthirsty inhuman monsters, too. I take perverse pleasure that all the gory deaths we see on screen are of those selfsame racists. I am sure this is intentional by the writer or director. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/50 "2020-09-01T11:32:49Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > > [@CalMeacham](#): > > > > Does the book do such story-hopping? The series gives the impression of being put together from a series of short stories involving the same characters, rather than a single coherent story. > > That’s exactly how the book is structured. I’m getting a Sam and Dean Winchester (the early seasons) vibe. Is that about how we can expect the rest of the season to go? ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/51 "2020-09-01T11:37:14Z")
Question for all who have seen Ep3: If you’re breaking into someone house so you can rough them up with a baseball bat (assuming you are so inclined), and in the process of breaking and entering you notice a freshly killed goat on the front porch, do you go inside or do you let this one go? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/52 "2020-09-02T04:56:21Z")
I thought one of the guys who broke in was the guy looking at them through the window when they killed the goat. Man, is that a sentence I never thought I’d write. ---
**Author:** ![BeagleJesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5daacb/32.png) [@BeagleJesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeagleJesus)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/53 "2020-09-02T11:29:40Z")
This is what I’m saying. When they were busting out the window I was sitting there wondering “didn’t you see the goat? Is that not enough of an experience for one night?” ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/54 "2020-09-02T15:23:28Z")
Yeah, but they may have taken the goat sacrifice as some sort of backwards nonsense indicating that they had to really beat down on them. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/55 "2020-09-02T20:13:45Z")
One major difference from the novel is that the Scary Magic White Girl on teevee was a Scary Magic White Boy in the book. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ukulele_ike1/32/4613_2.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike1)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/56 "2020-09-02T20:15:04Z")
…well, that was first post in the new format. Wonder if there’s any way to lose the numeral one I had to append to get into this damn place. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/57 "2020-09-02T23:59:09Z")
When I watched Hunters I was a bit troubled by the cartoonish way Nazis and Holocaust issues were handled, thinking that it supports those who contend the _reality_ of it is told somewhat fictionalized (deniers and the ilk). I have a similar concern about the manner in which racism is handled in this show. Am I alone in that reaction? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/58 "2020-09-03T00:01:58Z")
I actually agree on Hunters, it was part of why I didn’t make it through the entire show. I don’t see that as much for Lovecraft Country. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/59 "2020-09-03T00:12:58Z")
Could you be more specific? Aside from the supernatural elements, the show matches my understanding of the period. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2020, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355/60 "2020-09-03T01:04:21Z")
Some of the history in the second episode seemed a little odd to me. We’re told that Titus Braithwhite had slaves in nineteenth century Massachusetts, but I thought slavery ended there in the seventeenth century. And the whole portrayal of sundown towns and murderous cops in 1950s Massachusetts seemed wrong, but perhaps New Englanders really were that racist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lovecraft-country-s1-spoilers-within/916355.md?page=4)