The war continues on NOS4A2. Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto) got his revenge last week when he successfully took Wayne McQueen (Jason David) away from his mother, Vic (Ashleigh Cummings). In “The Hourglass” we learn more about this mysterious man and exactly what his power is.
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So Charlie has Wayne. Vic, Lou (Jonathan Langdon) and Chris McQueen (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are all in the hospital. The Hourglass (Paul Schneider) played a key role in Charlie’s win. And since Vic survived the hit and run, The Hourglass decides to try again.
The Hourglass asks for a moment of time from a man outside of the hospital. The man turns out to be Vic’s doctor. He injects something into Vic’s blood bag and leaves the room. Maggie (Jahkara Smith) is sitting with Vic while this happens. She quickly removes Vic’s needles and calls for the nurse. Maggie chases after the doctor and watches him kill himself.
The whole ordeal makes Linda (Virginia Kull) mad, and she gives the FBI an earful. Vic hears her and gets out of bed. She starts putting on her clothes, when Linda walks in. Linda tells her to get back in bed because she has a ruptured spleen. Vic tells Linda about her gift, saying she’s the only one who can save Wayne. Linda doesn’t believe her and threatens to order a psych eval if Vic doesn’t get back into bed.
TO CHRISTMASLAND
Wayne wakes up in the Wraith and checks his phone. He doesn’t want Charlie seeing the phone, but Charlie knows about it anyway. He tells Wayne to call his mother. Wayne doesn’t get an answer, and Charlie says it’s because Vic is selfish. Someone appears in the backseat with Wayne and says Charlie’s lying. It’s Craig’s (Dalton Harrod) ghost, but Wayne doesn’t know him. He tells Wayne not to be afraid and Vic will come for him. Wayne tells Charlie that his mom promised she would find him, and Charlie just smiles.
Tabitha’s (Ashley Romans) boss visits her at home to check on her and to let her know that the big boss wants to see her. They take her off of Wayne’s case until she can justify why she went after Bing Partridge (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson) in an unsecure location without backup. Maggie comes home and tries to make Tabitha feel better. She says Wayne’s disappearance is not Tabitha’s fault. And it’s not her fault that two trained FBI agents tried to kill Lou.
Maggie realizes that the agents and Vic’s doctor may have been compromised. She says the doctor didn’t know what he was doing. It was like he had no control over his actions. It wasn’t Manx, because that’s not his gift. Tabitha thinks she may be onto something and Maggie offers to use her tiles. Tabitha doesn’t like it because of Maggie’s seizures. Maggie says people will keep coming after Vic and they won’t see it coming. Tabitha begs her not to use her tiles. Maggie says she loves Tabitha and runs upstairs.
THE PROVIDENCE HOTEL
Maggie goes to the Providence Hotel and instantly connects with The Hourglass. They sit and talk, happy to find someone like them in the normal world. The Hourglass’s name is Jonathan Beckett. He thinks Fate brought them together and asks about her gift. In return he shows her his hourglass. He says fate controls most of the outcomes in the world, and he controls the rest.
Maggie says she didn’t know who or what she was looking for when she entered the hotel. Jon says she was looking for someone she can be her whole self with who’s not afraid of her power. She adds: someone who isn’t afraid to show their powers.
Jon shows how his power works. He asks the bartender for the finest bourbon in the house, and tells him to make it on the house. He turns over his hourglass and the bartender does exactly as he’s asked. Jon turns over the hourglass again and the bartender walks away.
Jon’s gift comes at a price: his memory. He asks to see Maggie’s gift, but she says her price is seizures. Jon says he can teach her how to use her gift without paying the cost. Actually, it will cost her the answer to his question. Maggie says everyone wants answers until they get one they don’t like. Jon thinks Fate brought them together so he could help her outrun her fate.
THE HOURGLASS
Jon takes Maggie to his room and lights a cigarette. He says there are two ways to mitigate the cost of her gift: A) hurt yourself or B) hurt someone else. He already explored both options and thinks she will choose option A.
Maggie grabs her tiles and asks for Jon’s question. He whispers in her ear. She says he may not like the answer, but he’s prepared for whatever Fate hands him. He takes Maggie’s arm and burns her with the cigarette. He tells her to harness the pain and let it fill her up. When the pain is all she knows, then use her gift.
Maggie reaches into her bag and asks if Jon will achieve immortality. She pulls her hand out and waits for the seizure, but it never comes. Jon is eager to know the answer, so Maggie puts the tiles on the table. The answer is no. Jon gets mad and walks to the bathroom. Maggie gets up and heads for the door. She sees his jacket on the chair and looks for his hourglass.
THERE’S CRAZY AND THEN THERE’S MAGIC
Everyone is getting discharged. Linda checks on Chris and expresses her concern for Vic’s mental state. In particular how Vic thinks she can save Wayne with her motorcycle. Chris says he thinks Vic has a gift, because he saw a walking dead guy come back to life and take their grandson. He thinks Vic is special. Linda says she would have seen it because she’s her mother. Chris reminds her that Linda was preoccupied with paying bills and hiding bruises. He says it’s time to listen to Vic and believe her.
Lou wakes up, and Vic is sitting by his bed. She tells him that he had a heart attack at the lake. They had to put a stint in his heart. Lou is more concerned about Wayne. The FBI lost Wayne’s phone signal. She has to get the bike working so she can find him. Lou says he will help her and they will find him. They are in this together.
When they get home, Linda studies Vic’s drawings. Vic walks in asking if they can fix her bike at Linda’s house. Linda says she watched Vic draw all the time, but she never understood how it helped her. She doesn’t understand Vic. She was always a quiet kid and self-sufficient. Linda didn’t feel needed. Vic says she did need her and she still does. Linda asks how Vic’s gift works, but Vic doesn’t really understand it either. Linda tells her to fix her bike in the kitchen.
When Lou and Chris return with the bike, it’s literally in a million pieces. Vic is heartbroken and says they are running out of time. Lou promises her they will get it fixed and find Wayne. Vic is scared that Wayne will change into a monster. Lou reminds her that Wayne is strong.
THE KEY TO IMMORTALITY
Jon comes out of the bathroom and Maggie hands him a drink. He apologizes for scaring her. When he asks for someone’s time, he keeps his memory intact by taking their life. He thought there was a way to bank their time. Jon mentions that Charlie Manx unlocked the secret to immortality, and he thinks he can too. Maggie knew he wouldn’t like the answer and says he can’t change fate. Jon thinks the tiles are wrong. Maggie says the tiles are never wrong. And if they ask again, he’ll get the same answer. And yet, Jon can make her ask them again.
Jon reaches for his hourglass and Maggie runs to the door. He sees that the hourglass is missing and chases her, pinning her against the door. He realizes it wasn’t Fate that brought them together. Jon pulls her back in the room and asks who she is. He knew she came for a purpose and she came for him. She admits she came because he tried to kill Vic McQueen and says Jon is nothing but a failed errand boy for Charlie Manx.
Jon throws her across the room. When she gets up she grabs a box and hits Jon in the face, causing him to drop his hourglass. Maggie dives for it, but Jon pulls her back, pinning her to the floor. Maggie grabs a shard of glass and stabs Jon in the side. She stands up and says she tried to warn him. Her tiles are never wrong. She steps on the hourglass, breaking it and causing Jon more pain. Maggie says that was for Vic. She leaves Jon lying on the floor, dying.
OFF THE CASE
Tabitha meets with her superior and he asks questions about Vic. He thinks Vic’s PTSD caused her to do something to Wayne. Tabitha is certain that Vic would never hurt her own kid. But they’re not there to talk about Vic. He doesn’t think Tabitha is physically or emotionally equipped to solve this case. Tabitha says she knows Bing Partridge better than anyone, but her boss tells her to go home. When she’s well he will reconsider putting her on another case. Tabitha turns in her gun and badge and goes home.
Maggie returns later that night while Tabitha is sitting in the dark crying. Maggie tells her about Jon and his hourglass. Tabitha says she turned in her gun and badge. Maggie says they will find Wayne without them. They’ll destroy Manx and catch Bing too. Tabitha sees the burn mark on Maggie’s arm. Maggie tells her about how she can stop the seizures. Tabitha doesn’t like it, but Maggie says it’s okay. Tabitha says she won’t let her burn herself. Maggie says she stopped using her tiles for years for Tabitha because she loves her. She always felt like something was missing and it’s a small price to pay. Maggie asks Tabitha to accept her because she’s not going to stop using her gift for anyone ever again.
THE JUNKYARD
Wayne wakes up in the Wraith and doesn’t feel so good. Charlie looks at the cut on his face and determines that Wayne needs more rest. He says when they are safe, they will sleep and dream together. And when they wake up, it will be like Christmas morning.
Charlie gets out of the car, and Wayne watches him walk away. He then spits out a bloody tooth. Wayne watches a butterfly fly land on Wayne’s hand. He says he will call the butterfly Sunny, then he tears up the butterfly into bits. Wayne looks at the dead butterfly and smiles.
Later that night, Charlie wakes up in the Wraith and checks the cut on his face. He’s all healed up. He turns to look at Wayne and says it’s time to continue their journey. Charlie asks if Wayne needs to go to the bathroom first. He gets out of the car to let Wayne out and sees Bing. Bing has his gas mask on and knocks out Charlie. Then Bing opens the engine to the Wraith and takes something out. He drags Charlie away from the Wraith, with Wayne watching from the back seat.
Craig appears and tells Wayne to call Vic. The police are at Linda’s house when Wayne’s call comes through. He says he’s in Charlie’s car but they aren’t moving. They’re in a junkyard and it’s dark. He asks her to come get him and says something is wrong with him. He killed a butterfly and he’s scared. Vic tells him to keep fighting and she’s coming for him. The signal goes dead.
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News Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.
GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.
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