Tic recites the spell to open the Book of Names and heal Dee, but can he escape his destiny to die at the Braithwhites’ hands?

Every episode of this show has had the scale and ambition to be a season finale, which makes it difficult to know where the actual finale could go. As it is, rather then try to top what has gone before (nigh on impossible) showrunner Misha Green has wisely written a conclusion that truly does bring the show full circle, while tying up the many plot threads.

At this time, there’s no mention of whether we’re getting a second season, and while there’s aspects that could be teased out for another run, if this was the end of it then that would be fine. The hero’s story has been told, the world now has to exist without magic at the fingertips of white folk (who clearly can’t be trusted with it) and Tic’s legacy can continue with the adventures as written by his son in the future volume of Lovecraft Country. The blood is still flowing thick and fast in this finale, gushing from some awful slashes, and there’s a particularly gruesome neck crush. But this episode is less about spectacle – there’s been bigger baddies and greater devastation in previous episodes – with its eye firmly on the narrative.

On reflection, there wasn’t too much of the Lovecraft influence for us to be troubled by, and fears that the ‘biggest monsters here are the racists’ message would become overpowering didn’t come to pass. The white folk generally were the monsters here, and this frequently led to some very uncomfortable viewing, but through it all, Tic, Leti, Montrose, Ruby et al held their own and overcame some formidable odds and prejudices in some highly imaginative and very adult scenarios.

Verdict: A season finale that genuinely wraps things up, completing a run of 10 impressive hours of extreme pulp and polemic. I’ve loved it, and if we don’t get a further season, I’ll happily take what we got in this single run. 9/10

 

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