A war is brewing on NOS4A2. In “The Night Road” Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto) makes plans for revenge as Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings) tries to make up for her recent mistakes.
Last week Charlie met Wayne McQueen (Jason David) and decided he needed saving most of all. Charlie also disappointed his daughter Millie Manx (Mattea Conforti) when he decided to go after Wayne. And the last time we saw Vic, she left Wayne and Lou (Jonathan Livingston) behind in Colorado.
RELATED: Recap the Latest Episode of NOS4A2, “Good Father”
CANDY MOUNTAIN
When Charlie left Millie in Christmasland, she ran after him, hoping to convince him to stay. After the Wraith disappeared, Millie saw a light coming from the distance. She ran through the woods to find it. She found her old house. The one she lived in with her mother and father when they were… alive.
Millie goes inside and looks around. She finds Christmas decorations everywhere. There’s no one in the house, but Millie hears knocking. She finds an open door and goes in. The sun shines into the room and Millie smiles. She looks in the closet and puts on the shawl. She looks in the mirror, giggling. Millie sees a cat pin on the dresser and picks it up. All of this stuff belonged to her mother. Millie sees something move behind her and turns to look. When she looks back in the mirror, her mother stands next to her.
Cassie’s (Celeste Arias) face is scratched up and her eyes are bright blue. Millie starts to run, but Cassie grabs her and makes her stand next to her in the mirror. She sees herself as she was… before she became NOS4A2. Millie wiggles away and runs.
RUNAWAY
Vic rides through the bridge and arrives at her father’s lake house. Chris McQueen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is happy to see her and can tell she’s been drinking. He makes her go to bed and says they will sort out everything the next day. Vic sleeps for a day and a half. Chris says she had a fever. He makes her some coffee and they chat.
Vic wants to move back to Haverhill and find work. She needs to sort herself out. While she talks, she’s searching her pockets, but Chris says she won’t find any booze in her jacket. He took it all and threw it away. He’s been sober for a while now. Chris says he will help her find a job and she can stay as long as she needs to but his house is dry. Vic says that’s great, but leaves for her mother’s house.
Chris calls Linda (Virginia Kull) to let her know that Vic was on her way. Linda meets Vic outside and is happy to see her. When they get inside, Linda finally asks about Wayne. Vic admits to endangering Wayne by getting drunk and setting the house on fire. She says Lou and Wayne don’t know she’s in Haverhill. Linda hands her the phone and tells her to call Wayne. Then she leaves for work.
Lou and Wayne go back to the house to fix the phone in the garage. Vic calls, but Lou doesn’t answer. She leaves a message telling them where she is and to give her a call. After Vic hangs up, she searches through her mother’s kitchen for alcohol.
HELP ME OBI-WAN
Wayne plays basketball while Lou works on the phone. He notices the lights flicker a bit. A car drives up, so Wayne calls Lou to greet the customer. The customer is Bing Partridge (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson). Lou comes out to meet the guy and is impressed with the man’s bike. Bing says the bike won’t run, so they go into the garage to talk.
Wayne hears Christmas music coming from the woods and goes to investigate. He sees the Wraith, but does not see Charlie walk up behind him. Wayne asks how Charlie is feeling. The last time he saw him, Charlie was bleeding badly. Charlie says Wayne is a considerate child. Then he does a trick, pulling a candy cane from behind Wayne’s ear. He asks if Wayne still doesn’t want to celebrate Christmas. Wayne takes the candy cane. Charlie opens the car door and reveals a bunch of Christmas presents. He tries his best to entice Wayne with tales from Christmasland.
Bing doesn’t give much information about the bike, so Lou has to actually look at it. He gets concerned when Wayne is not out front like he’s supposed to be. But Bing continues to distract him. Meanwhile, while Lou checks out the motorcycle, he sees Bing’s gas mask. He knows who Bing is and he knows about the NOS4A2. He tells Bing that he can fix the bike but he needs a part.
Lou calls Linda’s house, but Vic can’t hear the phone. She’s upstairs drinking and listening to loud music. He leaves a message that he needs them to check on a 1048 Fairbanks part for the bike. Lou is very nervous when he hangs up, hoping Vic gets his message soon.
WHAT’S THE PASSWORD?
Lou tells Bing that he found the part and asks for help unloading the bike. He releases a strap and swings it at Bing, hitting him in the head. Lou tries to run and Bing grabs his foot. Lou has to kick Bing in the face to get away. He runs into the woods, yelling for Wayne.
Charlie makes many promises to Wayne if he gets in the car. Wayne asks for the password, but Charlie says there are no passwords in Christmasland. Wayne says he’s wrong and runs into the woods, back to the garage. Along the way, Lou grabs Wayne and makes sure he’s okay while they hide together.
Vic is asleep, but wakes up when she hears the phone ringing. She gets up slowly and is hesitant to answer the phone. When she finally answers, it’s the Colorado State Police. Lou and Wayne are okay… maybe. Wayne still has the candy cane and stares at it.
Vic finally calls Lou and tells him to go to Haverhill. She’s arranged for an FBI escort, Tabitha (Ashley Romans), to take them to Maggie’s (Jahkara Smith) house. Lou knows she’s going after Manx and tries to stop her. Vic says Charlie will keep coming for them. He will take Wayne and Lou to get to her. She wants to stop him before he can try again. Lou says it’s a suicide mission and says Wayne needs her alive. Vic gets on her bike anyway to find her bridge.
THE HOURGLASS
Charlie goes to a supernatural bar, sort of. He meets with a man named Abe (Reg Rogers) and asks to be introduced to someone called “The Hourglass.” Abe doesn’t really do that anymore and knows Charlie is afraid of something. Abe warns him that if he doesn’t let go of his vendetta, they will be scraping him off the Night Road. The phone rings. Charlie knows it’s for him. Charlie reminds Abe that he owes him a favor. He says it’s time for Abe to start showing his gratitude. Charlie gets up to take his call and says he looks forward to meeting The Hourglass.
Charlie takes his call at the bar, and it’s Millie. She asks when he’s coming home and tells her the same thing he told her last week. He’s looking for a new friend for her to play with. Charlie knows she’s been up to something. Millie admits to investigating the light on Candy Mountain. He reminds her that children who venture outside of the gates are put on the naughty list. Children who fib are put there as well. He asks if she’s been naughty and she says no. Charlie reminds her that he depends on her to spread Christmas cheer and take care of the children while he’s away. Millie knows that, so she wishes him “Merry Christmas,” and they hang up.
THE NIGHT ROAD
The lights in the bar flicker, signaling an arrival. Vic comes out of the bridge and arrives in front of Parnassus. She sees the NOS4A2 license plate and grabs a gas can from her bike. Charlie comes out to greet her, saying she’s too late for her rescue mission. He underestimated her last time, but he won’t make that mistake again. Perhaps this time she’s underestimated him.
Charlie tells her she’s on the Night Road, an inscape form of the collected consciousness of a community of people like them. Access requires a certain darkness of the soul. He starts listing off the things that make up her darkness. Vic says none of that matters as she gets on her bike. She says he can’t have Wayne and she will stop him even if it kills her.
Charlie says it sounds more like a death wish to him. So she doesn’t have to face her family and her failures. And a mercy he’s willing to provide. He says Wayne will forget all about her in Christmasland. He will be the best thing that ever happened to Vic and Wayne.
Vic lights the gas can and rides towards the wraith. The wraith rides toward her as well. She throws the can, but the wraith turns in time and misses the flames. Vic rides away, through the bridge, and back to Haverhill.
REUNITED
Linda comes home and finds the empty bottles in Vic’s old room. She hears Vic’s motorcycle and confronts her about it. Linda tells her to straighten up and go back to Wayne. Vic has a pity party about her parenting skills. Linda basically tells her to suck it up. She will make mistakes and she will learn from them. But she has to be there, no matter what.
Millie goes back to the house on Candy Mountain. She cut the head off a stag and sets the head on the porch. She bangs on the door and runs away. Millie watches her mother emerge from the house. Cassie looks out at the trees and says, “Millie.”
Vic watches Lou and Wayne from outside of Maggie’s house. Maggie is happy to see her alive and in one piece. Vic says she tried to stop Manx but couldn’t. Maggie says he will have to get through all of them this time. This time, they will all stop him. Neither Lou or Wayne will say anything to Vic when she walks in. She apologizes for not being there. Lou is happy she’s okay and asks if she is just visiting or if she plans on staying. Vic says she is staying.
A mysterious man gets a phone call from Abe. He’s The Hourglass (Paul Schneider), and he’d be honored to meet with Charlie Manx. He stares at a small hourglass while Abe continues talking. The Hourglass looks up and asks, “Who’s Vic McQueen?”
RELATED: Catch Up on NOS4A2 Season One Here!
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