‘Lovecraft Country’ Season 1 Episode 6 ‘Meet Me In Daegu’
Culture Editor Bianca Gregg is back with her recap column, this time spotlighting HBO’s newest series “Lovecraft Country.” Get introduced to the characters, memorable scenes, and plot-twists as we dig into the racially-charged supernatural guilty pleasure.
Tonight we get the story of Ji-ah, Atticus long lost love. You may recall back in Episode 2 when Atticus, Letitia and Uncle George had seperate visions under the spell of Christina. Atticus was in a battle with Ji-ah. Also in episode 1 the bloody princess from Atticus’s dream was also Ji-ah. We find out tonight that the relationship started as a revenge plot.
Ji-ah appears seemingly innocent. She enjoys a showing of “Meet Me In St. Louis” starring Judy Garland. She has a somewhat normal relationship with her mother. They talk about school and we see that her mother wants Ji-ah to bring home a man. Which still may seem like a regular situation for some women. Pressure to meet a man, marry a man and have children with a man but we soon find out it is a bit deeper than that. The following day at school, the women chatter about how Young-ja has met a man and likely would not be at the meeting with the other women. Turns out the meeting is a speed dating event. Ji-ah sadly has no luck at the meeting finding a man but that does not stop Young-ja from inviting her out with her that night to a bar.
Ji-ah goes to the bar and attracts the eye of a somewhat older man. Ji-ah takes the man back to her home. She and the man begin to have sex with each other however at the end of the session, tails begin to come out of Ji-ah. They wrap the man up and pierce his body. Ji-ah has visions of the man’s life before his extremely bloody death. At this point, like myself, you may be wondering what in the world did you just witness.
The next day, while talking to her mother. We discover that Ji-ah has become something called a kumiho. The kumiho must obtain 100 souls before it will free Ji-ah to be human again.
Ji-ah and Young-ja both work at a hospital during the war in 1950. Young-ja is subsequently killed by Atticus and other soldiers for being a communist spy. This sticks with Ji-ah so when she reunites with Atticus in the Fall of 1950 she wants revenge. Ironically enough she only needs one more soul to be human again.
Atticus takes a liking to Ji-ah and the two have a movie date. Ji-ah takes Atticus to her home. Her feelings for him a strong and she decides to spare his life and not have sex with him. The next day Ji-ah confesses to Atticus she wanted to kill him because he had killed her best friend but admits her feelings for him are too strong now.
Winter 1950 arrives and Atticus has earned enough points to return home if he wishes. He does not want to leave Ji-ah and insists she comes but she tells him she can not. She also tells Atticus there is so much about her he does not know about yet. Atticus and Ji-ah have sex at her house and the tails can not be held back this time. They wrap up Atticus but do not penetrate his body. Ji-ah sees flashback of Atticus life but she also sees the future and his death. She warns Atticus not to go back home or he will die but he is so shaken by what occured that he leaves.
The next day Ji-ah and her mother go to see the shaman that originally put the kumiho in to her body. She asks the shaman if the vision she saw of Atticus dying would come true. The shaman tells Ji-ah that before her journey is over, she will witness countless deaths. This of course does not confirm for us if Atticus will die but it does not look promising.
Takeaways:
Atticus was really out here with these women considering he was still a virgin when he slept with Ji-ah. He started to cut loose!
The memory of Atticus being beat by his father was a little sad because people like to assume children do not remember these things but that is so far from the truth.
Looks like next week we are time traveling with Hippolyta.
