'Lovecraft Country' Episode 9 Review: Tic, Leti and Montrose escape the Tulsa Massacre, but will they save Dee?
Spoilers for 'Lovecraft Country' Episode 9 'Rewind 1921'
In 2019, when HBO's 'Watchmen' had pegged its central focus on the shameful Tulsa Massacre of 1921, people were left stunned. This abhorrent, deplorable part of American history was almost nearly, if not entirely, wiped out from the pages of history. People did not know about the ordeal of Dick Rowland and the young girl he had allegedly assaulted that catapulted to full-fledged racial horror as White supremacists cracked down on the Black Wall Street of Tulsa, Oklahoma, from May 31 till the morning of June 1, 1921. Black lives lost, brutally murdered, and their properties — home and establishment alike — squandered by a wildfire exploded by the White people of the town, this incident was somehow still shoved into the backwaters of America's ever flaming issues of racism. But trust 'Lovecraft Country' to bring back the memories and address the horrors and sinister crimes within its storyline in Episode 9.
The Tulsa race massacre has always been a significant part of the protagonist Atticus Freeman's history. With the show digging into Tic's authority over Lovecraftian magic and his bloodline and lineage contributing to it, we have learned of a book of Names that was Tic's family's heirloom on his mother's side. Sadly, the book was burnt to dust in the Tusla massacre where Tic's parents, especially his mother, lost everything and all the family she had known. Episode 9, as the title 'Rewind 1921' suggests, is a trip back in time to retrieve the Book of Names from Tic's mothers' ancestors so they can save a rapidly deteriorating Diana aka Dee Freeman. But even after all that, Tic, his father Montrose and girlfriend Letitia 'Leti' Lewis endure this episode, whether they will be back in time to save Dee remains the burning question.
Dee, as we saw in the previous episode, was touched by one of the imaginary, ghostly entities from the curse put on her by the racist cop Lancaster. The magic spreads like decaying rot in her arms and Dee is turning into one of those girls from the curse who had touched her. Leti's sister Ruby assured Christina Braithwaite will help them for her sake, but the Braithwaite heiress doesn't care about anybody other than herself. She offers help only in exchange for Tic traveling with her to Ardham on the ominous Autumnal Equinox. Tic agrees, but Christina still needs the Book of Names, the rampant pages they have available not enough to heal Dee. So following the little girl's mother Hippolyta Freeman's footsteps, our new golden trio arrives at the observatory where the Orrery has been charged to aid time travel.
This is where Episode 9 gets very interesting, and somewhat pretentious while at it too. The trio arrives at Tulsa, 1921, right at the onset of the massacre, but they can't warn or alert the people lest that will change the future. So they keep shut and history repeats itself as Montrose goes through yet another pivotal, game-changing turn of his character arc this season. Montrose's upbringing is sashayed for viewers to see as his father beats him up and he has to watch the first boy he ever likes, get shot by White supremacists. Montrose breaks into another preachy, philosophical sermon about how he wishes he had known of his sexuality at the time and it sort of rolls over to a justification for the way he treated Tic growing up.
Without excusing the battery, it does offer some insight into why he was such a s****y parent because Montrose didn't know any better, so he piled on generational trauma over Tic, who is now a vivid replica of his father at times. And all of this happening in the backdrop of the trauma Tulsa suffers, and the trauma the victims and their generations would go on to suffer is a story told well with very calculated, tasteful liberties. The graphics once again come into play with explosions, fire and deafening screams painting the bloody horror that the night of the massacre was. In all of it, only Leti goes unscathed because of the spell of invulnerability Ruby made Christina cast on her with the Mark of Cain, so she is the one to actually retrieve the Book of Names successfully from Tic's ancestor before it all blows up in smithereens.
When the trio steps out of the portal, it's right in time before Hippolyta's strength begins to give out. Blue-haired and panting from the attempt to save her family, and most importantly daughter, her presence is bittersweet. But worry still lingers for poor Dee who is far from improving. Hopefully, they will be able to save her because the last thing we need on the show right now is to lose both George and Dee Freeman. But if they save her, it means Tic will have to accompany Christina to Ardham, where he will meet his inevitable fate — being killed by her.
'Lovecraft Country' airs on Sundays at 9 pm only on HBO.