Following the climatic escape from the motel in the previous episode, Tandy is now faced with an unconscious and seemingly dying Tyrone.  Throughout the episode she discovers what happened to him and does everything she can to bring him back.  Meanwhile, Mayhem and O’Reilly have a heart to heart and Adina attempts to convince Father Delgado to help clear Tyrone’s name.  So each

When Tyrone’s cloak is leaking out Tandy makes the right decision and calls Evita to help fix whatever’s wrong.  Evita figures out they need to summon Papa Legba, Voudon god, in order to bring Tyrone back.  Tandy and O’Reilly both decide to enter the void, but they each end up going down a different path.  Tandy finds her way to an arcade and meets another Voudon god called Samedi.  She asks for Tyrone back but Samedi tells her that Tyrone is being held willingly and it becomes clear that Tyrone is afraid of making the wrong choice.  This is why he’s playing the video game.  Tyrone can be the hero he wants to be in a world where his actions don’t have consequences.

The two components of the game were definitely some one of the most interesting aspects of this episode.  We get an 8-bit version of the show where Tandy and Tyrone are fighting their way through villains on the street and a live-action piece where they’re basically doing the same thing.  By the end of the game when they’re faced with Andre, Tandy decides to stop playing and the two of them have a confrontation.  Tandy is upset because what they’re doing isn’t actually solving their problems, it’s just ignoring them.  When ends up pulling Tyrone out of his depression is when Tandy reassures him that she’ll stay by his side no matter what he chooses.  This is an important turning point in their relationship because now they both know that they don’t have to hide anything or take action behind the other’s back.  Everything they do, they can do together.

One particularly interesting part of the episode is the reconciliation between O’Reilly and Mayhem.  It’s revealed that the mall we’ve been seeing in the past few episodes has been coming from Mayhem’s psyche because it was a place she remembered visiting a lot as a child.  However when they discuss it, Mayhem only remembers the negative aspects of her childhood which could be one of the reasons why she’s so aggressive.  As they talk, O’Reilly comes to the conclusion that she needs Mayhem in order to defeat Andre and they come to an agreement to work together.  O’Reilly tells Mayhem that she’s going to let her take the wheel and by the end of the episode it seems like Mayhem is in control.  The scene is also very well shot and acted since it’s the same actress playing both characters.  Throughout the season Emma Lahana has done a phenomenal job portraying the same character with drastically different personalities.

The one plot line that isn’t very connected to any of this is Adina and Father Delgado.  Adina needs his help because, as a Priest, he’s able to submit the the evidence from Connors without being required to give up his source.  Delgado seems to be better off since we last saw him, but he’s still not fully recovered.  He blames himself for what happened with Tyrone and feels like he failed in his godly duties..  But Adina convinces him to help her and he agrees to listen to her confession.  This bit starts to get a bit weird since she tells him that she killed Connors.

What’s strange is that Adina is trying to convince Delgado to help her by using the sanctity of confession to convey evidence that would clear Tyrone’s name.  So there’s no reason for her to disclose what she did to Connors.  Adina should know that he’s probably not going to be very happy after finding out what she did.  And that’s not even getting into why this seemingly normal woman would murder a man in cold blood.  Of course she hates Connors for what he did to her family, but hating someone and wishing them to be punished or killed is a huge leap away from actually killing them yourself.  Hopefully her decision will having meaningful consequences in the coming episodes.

We also see in this episode that Andre makes a discovery that could lead him to unlocking the Loa powers that he’s been seeking.  Although this discovery comes at a cost because he first uses Lia to alleviate his migraine.  She initially refuses him saying that she can’t go through that process again, but she realizes that it’s futile and stops trying to resist.  The process appears to have killed her because by the end of the episode she’s laying motionless on the ground as Andre drives away.  Going forward, it’ll be interesting to find out what powers Andre has now that he’s figured out the meaning of the veve.

VERDICT

4 bouquets out of 5.  

Incorporating the 8-bit and live-action video game sequences was a bold and unique choice for the show and was a great way to explain  Tyrone’s inner turmoil over the choices that he’s made.  It’s also nice to see Tandy and Tyrone reassure each other that they care about the other since Andre has been messing with both of their emotions.  Coming out of this episode it feels like they’ll both be much stronger and unified when they eventually face whatever Loa powers Andre has unlocked.

ONE-SHOTS

  • Samedi is pretty unique and has potential to be a fun reoccurring character.
  • At the moment it’s unclear what Evita’s marriage to the Loa will mean.  Is it strictly spiritual or is there something more?  And how will this affect her relationship with Tyrone?
  • Sad to see Auntie Chantelle die, she’s been really entertaining and her scenes with Tyrone have been a highlight.  But it’s possible that she’ll remain in the show as a spirit.
  • I like the double meaning with the title of the episode referring to the game Tandy and Tyrone are playing as well as several plot lines with two characters figuring out how to work together.