'NOS4A2' Season 2 Episode 2: While Vic struggles to be a good mom, does Manx deserve to be 'father of the year'?
Spoilers for 'NOS4A2' Season 2 Episode 1 'Good Father'
The premiere episode titled 'Bad Mother' saw Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings) terrified of Charlie Manx's (Zachary Quinto) return as Episode 2 showed us he is hungry for the soul of Wayne McQueen (Jason David), Vic's son. It's interesting how the series has portrayed a good human Vic to be a bad mother but the evil Manx is what we would call a good father. The drastic ways in which Vic and Manx want to protect their kids have everything to do with how much they hate each other and how much they love their children. The second episode showed us a previously dead Manx walk out from an autopsy room while still looking like a corpse, with memories of his "Sugar Plum", his daughter Millie Manx feeding his determination to make it back to Christmasland and defeat Vic.
The first episode saw Lou Carmody (Jonathan Langdon), Vic's man, remind her that he and Wayne should be enough for her to want to put the Manx drama behind them. But now, eight years down the line after Vic thought she had killed Manx, she's haunted by the thought that he's still alive. In the madness of hearing all her phone ring as Millie calls her from Christmasland, she put the cellphones in the oven and leaves to go make sure Manx is dead. When she returns, the home is on fire. She had blatantly put Wayne's life in danger after leaving him home alone. With Lou proposing professional help, we still see Vic leave Lou and Wayne behind as she heads to the lake. While the second episode of the season shows us no signs of Vic, we see the stark difference in how she and Manx parent their children and how far they are willing to go to keep their kids safe.
Episode 2 showcased Manx as a father when Millie was young. The duo shared a tight bond as they spoke and dreamt of Christmasland with Manx telling Millie, "I don't think mother understands us very well. It's time for you to close your eyes and dream of Christmasland." In fact, Millie's loyalty toward her father resulted in Millie biting her mother to death as her father had driven her to the "special place" she had always heard about. It's ironic that the bad guy would do anything for his child, even if that involves taking other children away from their parents so Millie has company in Christmasland.
Vic is the good person here, in wanting to take down Manx who feeds off children's souls taking kids away from their parents. Yet, in order to make sure Manx is dead she has now exposed Wayne to danger. This ironically makes Vic a seemingly bad mother. On the other hand, Manx who calls all the children in Christmasland "his children", is willing to kill as many people as possible and as long as he can feed his kids and make sure Millie is safe in his demented snowy village.
While Vic is forced to be a bad mother to make sure an evil man is dead, Manx is "the father of the year" in Millie's eyes, although, we wonder how long that will last. With the first episode sorely focused on Vic and Wayne and the second episode focused on Manx and Millie, we are not only shown both Manx and Vic's determination for revenge against each other but also Wayne's naivety and Millie's loyalty. Episode 2 painted a picture of Manx as a father, which is odd considering he's pretty much a serial killer. It showcased multiple sweet moments between Millie and Manx too. Vic needs Manx dead to protect Wayne and Manx needs Vic dead to protect Millie — who's the better parent? Who wins the battle the second time around?
'NOS4A2' Season 2 episodes air on Sundays at 10 pm ET on AMC.