‘Lovecraft Country’ Episode 4: 5 Things You May Have Missed in “A History of Violence”

It was pretty obvious last week that the orrery Hippolyta found in the Winthrop House would be important. Now we know why. As Christina tells the Chicago chapter of the Sons of Adam, the orrery is the key to time travel. Oh, just that little thing. Cool.

So while Hippolyta is on the phone with her father talking about Virgo clusters and eclipses, she’s actually tinkering with the one device on Earth that opens up the canyons of time and space. Chill.

It’s worth noting that in the book, Hippolyta is gifted the orrery by Leti and winds up visiting an observatory that can help you travel anywhere in the universe. In this version of events, Hippolyta is transported to an alien planet where Hiram Winthrop trapped some of his Black servants in retribution after a maid ran off with his son. So far no whiff of that storyline…

In what seems to be either a heartbreaking homage to a martyred child or a really ghoulish setup, Lovecraft Country once more showed us a teen boy named Bobo having a great old time on the South Side of Chicago in summer 1955. As we explained last week, this appears to be a reference to young Emmett Till, the Black boy who was infamously lynched in Mississippi in late August 1955. His death remains a national tragedy to this day.

While the events leading up to his death have been in dispute for 75 years, what’s often forgotten is who the 14-year-old Emmett Till was before his murder. He was not a Southern boy, but a South Side, Chicago native. And yes, he went by “Bobo.” If this is indeed meant to be Emmett Till, it’s yet another reminder of his grace and humanity. (And it feels pointed that Misha Green has him behave respectfully to Hippolyta.)

Tonight’s episode featured another key Hippolyta moment, but with a twist. In the show, Hippolyta says that she named the comet “Hera’s Chariot,” but credit was given to a Swedish girl named Nancy Studabaker.  In the book, though, Hippolyta’s slight was an even bigger deal. She became obsessed with “Planet X,” and when it was discovered, she entered a naming contest for the new celestial body. Her name, Pluto, was chosen. But credit was given to British girl Venetia Burney.

Now Venetia Burney is a real person and she is credited with the naming of Pluto in real life. Although she is dead, the show seems to have obviously changed key elements of this story to not ruffle feathers. (Or inspire legal backlash.)

Still the emotional toll of the situation — and the reality that white academia did exploit the ideas of Black scholars — remains.

Joining our heroes on their road trip is the bouncer of the local club, Tree (Deron J. Powell). In Boston, he talks to Tic and attempts to give him a little bit of a head’s up about a development in his father’s life. Though the show has not confirmed it, Lovecraft Country is hinting that Montrose may be in a homosexual relationship with Sammy (Jon Hudson Odom). Sammy is the bartender at the local bar and the man who Tic walked in on in the alley in Episode 1.

We’ll have to wait to see how this develops, but after learning this, Tic views all of his father’s interactions with men…a little differently.

After using his Braithwhite blood to unlock Titus’s tomb, Tic meets a most unusual person: Yahima Maraokoti, a Two Spirit indigenous woman Titus met and kidnapped on his journey to Guyana. They were able to decipher some of the symbols in the Book of Names because they recognized them from the Cave Alomun Kundi. Speaking in Arawak — which Tic seemingly understands — they explain that they befriended Titus, not knowing his true nature. When it was too late, he imprisoned them in the tomb where they were trapped with the remains of their murdered friends and family.

Yahima’s story echoes that of 16th century French explorer René Goulaine de Laudonnière who claimed to encounter two indigenous hermaphrodites in Florida. Furthermore, by referring to themself as “Two-Spirit,” they are nodding to a Native American gender categorization that recognizes genderqueer folks as part of the tribe. It should be noted that the concept of “Two-Spirits” varies from tribe to tribe, and has evolved in recent years. (And Two Spirit is a strictly Native American categorization.)

Yahima is played by actor, model, and singer Monique Candalaria. You can follow them on Instagram at @moca369.

Where to stream Lovecraft Country