DISCLAIMER: This recap of Miracle Workers: End Times Season 4 Episode 8, “Children of Women,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Welcome back, warlords and lone wanderers! “Children of Women” is a peculiar creature. While it’s stronger than last week’s fare, the pacing is off-kilter. This particular narrative could’ve benefitted from a longer run time. The stakes are higher, which is great, and it sets up the final two episodes of the season as the most action-packed yet. However, everything feels crammed to appease that strict run time. It seems both A and B plots will converge in the final two episodes. I like that the ending unites them somewhat.
This outing delivers some comedic hits and misses; some jokes that land, and others that don’t quite stick it. It contributes to the inconsistent flow of this season, one that started strong in the first half and has petered out in recent episodes.
Ready to delve into “Children of Women”? Let’s get to it.
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We open with Dr. Crazybrainz (Jon Daly) attempting to kill Freya (Geraldine Viswanathan) before she can take him out. However, Freya and Sid (Daniel Radcliffe) are there for a doctor’s appointment. Why? Freya’s been feeling nauseous and fatigued the past few days. Crazybrainz runs a full body scan and is bewildered to find a “parasite” shaped like a tiny man living inside Freya. She’s pregnant! Sid looks thrilled; Freya appears even more nauseated than before.
Later, Sid cheerfully skips and dances through the streets of Boomtown, announcing Freya’s pregnancy to whoever will listen. Freya urges him to keep a lid on the news. She needs time to process it. Frankly, she never envisioned herself as a mother, especially in a world where the last penguin ended his life and Sid’s presumably radiated swimmers managed to impregnate her. Sid vows to remain mum. (That won’t last long.)
Meanwhile, Uncle Tai (Karan Soni) agrees to watch Scraps (Jon Bass) while Freya and Sid are at the doctor’s office. Tai hops into a time machine and whisks Scraps away to 2023, aka the “Before Times.” Tai reveals he goes there every day to kill the leader of the human resistance (Kyle Mooney). If he doesn’t, this person could ensure robots never exist. However, someone always travels to that moment to save their human leader. Boo. While in 2023, Scraps encounters a real dog for the first time, even though he doesn’t know it. All he knows is this little fuzzy beast holds absolute authority over him. It sniffed his bum and everything.
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Next, Sid divulges his and Freya’s secret to Morris (Steve Buscemi), who takes it upon himself to orchestrate a baby shower. Oh, and he volunteers to be the baby’s godfather. He knew the couple would ask him regardless (nah, that wouldn’t happen). Sid reveals that Freya wanted to keep the matter between them while she grappled with her feelings. Morris tells his mentee that women want the opposite of what they communicate. Freya’s all hormonal — she clearly wants a baby shower. Morris should know; he’s been married three times. I wonder why those marriages didn’t work out.
Then, Scraps prevents Tai from shooting the human resistance leader. It doesn’t spark joy for Tai anymore, so why not spice things up by having an adventure in 2023? Scraps suggests they do something unique to that year. What about partaking in an escape room? Meanwhile, Freya confronts Sid when she discovers he’s taking her to a baby shower at Morris’s abode. Sid merely hoped if Freya saw other people were excited about the pregnancy, she’d be on board with it, too.
Once inside the old McDonald’s, Sid and Freya spot a person clad in a long, red hooded robe, with other black-robed figures surrounding them. The red-robed figure removes their mask, and we see it’s Morris. Okay, that’s a bit of a jumpscare. Buscemi looks creepy as hell in that getup. Back in 2023, Tai and Scraps begin their escape room journey. It’s an Egyptian-themed event. Tai tries to act indifferently while Scraps attempts to solve each puzzle. However, Tai can’t help himself when he notices what Scraps is doing is wrong. We knew you were a secret escape room lover, Tai.
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In Boomtown, Morris reveals he and the others created a religion that worships babies. Totally normal. Yep, it’s a legit cult. He makes Freya and Sid recite their parental vows. As expected, Freya’s are about a mile long and are chock full of ridiculous expectations, while Sid’s merely consists of one thing: hold down the fort. Those are sexist double standards for ya.
Later, Tai realizes he needs Scraps’ genius in the escape room when the latter solves one particularly advanced puzzle. At the baby shower, Freya opens her gifts, which consist of nipple butter and a nasal aspirator. Of course, this doesn’t put Freya on the side of Team Baby. Suddenly, things get really creepy when Morris bars the couple from departing while the group demands to touch Freya’s belly. Freya knocks Morris aside. She and Sid flee the scene.
However, after barricading the door, they discover leaving will be more difficult than expected. Morris’ fellow baby-obsessed cultists attempt to break down the barricade. Sid realizes he’ll have to actually hold down the fort to allow Freya to escape. She must leave Boomtown to protect herself and the baby.
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Next, Tai and Scraps must solve the final puzzle to win. Scraps arranges the letters to say “Mummy” backward, but neither he nor Tai can figure out, well, that it says “Mummy” backward. Thankfully, once they spot the word in a mirror and recite it aloud, their escape room guide, Julia (Sasha Compère), releases them. While celebrating their win, Julia reminds them they solved the easiest room. Even children breeze through it. Hey, a victory is a victory. Fun fact: Sasha Compère last appeared in the first season of Miracle Workers as Laura. Petition to bring her back full-time, please, and thank you.
Finally, the baby cultists enter the room to find that Freya is MIA. But Sid is there in her place, dressed as Freya. Daniel Radcliffe looks good as a warlord. Meanwhile, Freya, who boasts Sid’s facial hair and outfit, gives Boomtown one last look before departing. Unfortunately, Morris stops her; fortunately, he doesn’t recognize her as Freya. He refers to Freya as “Sid.” Then, he wonders aloud if he might be attracted to Sid after complimenting her “rack.”
Later, Tai and Scraps emerge from the escape room in matching shirts. They eagerly make their way toward the time machine to kill the human resistance leader, only to find him entering said time machine. Uh-oh. He disappears. Tai and Scraps return to their time courtesy of a handy dandy Time Taxi! Yes, those exist in 2023. Right? Anyway, they’re relieved to discover Boomtown looks the same. No harm, no foul. However, we see the human resistance leader riding on the back of a truck while urging humans to revolt. Then, we get slapped with a “To Be Continued…” Ruh-roh.
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Do you think Freya will ever return to Boomtown? How does she feel about her pregnancy now? Will Tai stop the human uprising in Boomtown before robots are eradicated for good? Only time (and two more episodes) will tell.
Miracle Workers: End Times airs Mondays at 10 pm on your TBS affiliate.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
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