Now that Jentry’s (Ali Wong) power-free, she’s ready to dive into a normal life headfirst. Unfortunately, in Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld Season 1 Episode 9, “Everyone Wins,” that’s not that simple when a Skin Painter demon is in love with you and your “normal” Homecoming date is having creepy visions.
The episode starts with Ed (Bowen Yang) finding Jentry huddled next to the headstones of her parents in the graveyard, incense sticks burning in the bowl beside her. She’s folding some origami items for them in the afterlife. He asks if she booked her flight to Seoul. She’s not sure she wants to go back since her guardian over there is connected to Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn).
Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld, “Everyone Wins”
While Ed goes over possible options, Jentry receives a text from an unknown number with a link to one of his viral videos showing her at the height of one of her fiery power episodes. Ed tries to explain. Jentry tells him to take the video down immediately. She’s upset that he’s been using videos of her to boost his social media presence.
Ed follows after her, telling her it was all to strike fear in the hearts of viewers. He accuses her of not finding him scary, and she loses her temper. She tells him he’s never been scary, and the harder he tries, the more embarrassing he looks. This wounds him deeply. But Jentry’s not done. Now that the portal’s closed and she’s gotten rid of her powers, he can’t use her to boost his follower numbers anymore. She tells him to go back to Diyu and stay away from her.
RELATED: New Squid Game Season 2 Poster Makes Bold Statement: The Game Will Not Stop
With the last vestiges of bravado, he shouts a half-heartedly angry goodbye. Jentry hesitates and turns to apologize, but he’s gone. The unknown number texts asking if she’s okay.
Stella
Jentry figures out the texts came from Stella (Cristina Milizia) and goes to her house. Hanging out in Stella’s room with a hot drink, she fills Stella in on everything which kind of blows Stella’s mind.
When Jentry shares that she’s not sure about what to do now that she’s more “normal,” Stella points out that Spirit Week’s coming up, and so are the Homecoming Game and dance. Jentry reminds her that the only date she can get is with a literal demon, Kit (Woosung). Stella replies that Michael (AJ Beckles) isn’t a demon, and he asked her, too (even though it was Kit dressed as her). Jentry refuses to ruin their new friendship by going to the dance with Stella’s ex.
RELATED: TV Review: Arcane Season 2 Act 1
Stella tells her she and Michael were never a good fit. She encourages Jentry to accept Michael’s invitation. Besides, she smirks, she’ll have no problem finding a new date. The girls laugh.
Alone
Jentry returns home. She shouts at Gugu — not knowing that Zhongkui (Sheng Wang) apprehended her and took her to Bixi — that she finally has a chance at a normal life.
Michael stands on a football field in a thunderstorm, holding a Chinese sword covered in engravings. A body falls to the ground. It’s Jentry, wrapped in the Yellow Emperor’s robes, seemingly dead. Screaming, Michael wakes up at his desk, sweating and panting. It’s 3:05 am.
At school the next day, Jentry shows Stella the string of texts Michael sent. Kit appears holding a mum to ask Jentry to Homecoming. Stella makes a quick exit. Kit’s mum is made of skin and decorated with rosettes, heart shapes, and eyeballs. Jentry appreciates the effort but tells him their relationship could never be normal, and that’s what she needs right now.
Spirit Week
Monday is the first day of Spirit Week at Riverfork High — Hat Day. Stella lends Jentry a silly hat. On her way to class, Vice-Principal Wheeler (Sean Allan Krill) ambushes her and accuses her of endangering the town and his school. He threatens to expose her and her powers. She wishes him luck with that.
RELATED: TV Review: Arcane Season 2 Act 2
Two members of the drill team find Jentry next. They tell her one of their team members has pulled out, and they want Jentry to take her place. Despite Wheeler reminding them that Jentry sets things on fire, the girls are determined she join them. She accepts.
Jentry finds Michael at his locker. She gives him a patch she made of him and his flute. Taking a deep breath, she asks him formally to go to the Homecoming Dance with her. Just as formally, he accepts. They break into fits of giggles. From the shadows of the hall, Kit watches in horror, Mr. Cheng’s (Greg Chun) voice whispering, “I told you so,” in his head.
On the way to class, Jentry tells Michael that she’s gotten rid of her powers. This startles Michael, and he tells her that he might have manifested some powers somehow.
Ghost Business
At home, Ed returns after spending the night in the forest to give Jentry space. And to fight a possum apparently. Not realizing Jentry’s at school, he storms up to her room to confront her. He finds Gugu’s bestiary book and sees that Jentry’s edited the entry on jiangshi demons to describe them as “super scary” with “sick moves.” She’s added pictures of Ed and of her and Ed together, captioning them as best friends.
RELATED: Lady Gaga Is Dancing Into Wednesday Season 2 on Netflix
His moment of sappy reverie is interrupted when the house ghosts burst into Jentry’s room, armed with mops and brooms to attack the intruder. Discovering it’s only Ed, they tell him that Gugu’s in the Zhong and they need the ghost essence to get there and help her. Ed tells them that he and Jentry used the last of the ghost essence on their last trip to Bixi. The ghosts have a way to make it from scratch, but it’s painful. Headless Herschel (Stephen Fu) volunteers to do it.
With the tiny bit of ghost essence extracted, they all arrive at Bixi. Ed disguises himself as a mercenary ghost-hunter and offers the house ghosts to Zhongkui. Unfortunately, Zhongkui sees … well, smells through the ruse. When the would-be rescuers rush the door, they all get barnacled.
Homecoming
For the rest of the week, Kit tries to court Jentry while she tries to avoid him. Finally, she tells him to cut it out in no uncertain terms. He gets angry at her rejection, punches a locker, and leaves.
Michael finds his parents in the kitchen on Friday, getting ready to cheer him on at the game. When he tells them he wants them to stay home because he’s having visions that something bad is going to happen, they acquiesce suspiciously quickly. He realizes they know something about the visions.
RELATED: Don’t Move Spoiler Review
He texts Jentry on his way to the game and tells her his parents are keeping something from him. She sympathizes.
She gets home and gets ready to perform with the drill team. The house is extremely quiet. She goes to Gugu’s study and realizes the robes are gone. She addresses Gugu and tells her she’s sorry for some of the things she said and hopes Gugu will come watch her with the drill team. After she leaves the house, Kit sneaks out behind her carrying the robes in a backpack.
Yellow Emperor Cheng
Kit sneaks out to the edge of town and gives Mr. Cheng the robes. Cheng dons the robes and begins the ritual to draw his daughter’s soul back to the land of the living in order to bring her body back to life. At the same time, Jentry’s on the football field performing with the drill team. It goes really well.
However, Wheeler gets on the loudspeaker and tells everyone that Jentry is the demon girl. He plays a montage of videos — her standing in the middle of the Great Fire when she was eight, footage of her being carried out of Big Tex when it burned, talking to Horse-Head (Stephen Fu) and Ox-Head (Kaiji Tang) in the school, curled up in the middle of Mimi’s kitchen when its fire started. The crowd turns against her. Her drill teammates abandon her. She stands in the middle of the field and weeps.
RELATED: Read our recaps of Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld
Wheeler assures them that this will cause her powers to ignite. When nothing happens, the crowd quietens. She continues to cry. Suddenly a maelstrom of darkness appears on the field behind her.
Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld is streaming now on Netflix.
- SEVERANCE Season Premiere Recap: (S02E01) Hello, Ms. Cobel - January 17, 2025
- TV Review: SEVERANCE Season 2 - January 13, 2025
- Jack Meets His Match in REACHER Season 3 Official Trailer - January 8, 2025
