In Review: Lovecraft Country (S1 – E3) – Holy Ghost

Synopsis: Hoping to mend her relationship with her sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku), Leti turns a ramshackle Victorian on Chicago’s North Side into a boarding house – an endeavor that stokes neighborhood racism and awakens dormant spirits stuck in the house.

The Story

Having returned to Chicago. Atticus, Lettie, and Montrose have to deal with the loss of Uncle George and concoct a story for the benefit of Hippolyta, but keeping the truth from her is proving difficult for both Atticus and Montrose. Meanwhile, Lettie having come into money, which she believes has come from her mother opens up a boarding house on Chicago’s North Side but is confronted by neighborhood racism from the start, but worst of all is the fact that the house is haunted and is keeping a dark and nasty secret. A secret, which connects with the Braithwhite’s and their cult.

The Acting

Lettie gets put through the grinder in this week’s episode and Jurnee Smollett does a hell of a job of selling it. To use the term emotional roller coaster would be an understatement because not only is Lettie trying to mend bridges with her sister, she is also dealing with her feelings for Atticus as well as dealing with ghosts within the house that she has just leased. Smollett gives a showstopping performance and even manages to wield a baseball bat with a great deal of flare and style as she smashes the windows and headlights of the neighborhood cars that have waged a campaign of hate against her and her tenants. The scene where she tells Atticus that he was her first time with a man is handled with a great deal of sensitivity by both Smollett and Jonathan Majors.

Overall

A really solid episode, which allowed for the repercussions of last week’s episode to be dealt with while simultaneously giving us a ghost story that ties back to the Braithwhite’s and their weird cult of Adam. I really am liking the quest element to this series with regards to The Book of Names, which is what Christina Braithwhite is after.

Overall. A fun episode with some scary moments and really solid CGI work. I absolutely loved the effect of the face coming out of Lettie’s photographs as well as the ghosts that wind up helping Lettie out in a moment where Atticus is in mortal peril.