DISCLAIMER: This recap of Teacup Season 1 Episode 4, “In the Heart of the Country,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s hard to believe we’re now halfway through the season. Episode four, “In the Heart of the Country,” kicks things into high gear as we get more answers and more body-jumping. The McNab reveal is a bit of a letdown — as it turns out, he’s just a guy — but the entity leaping into Ellen will certainly spice up the narrative. Is there more than one harbinger? Perhaps what was in Olsen was the assassin, and the “alien” inside Arlo is the only harbinger. Regardless, the story is taking a turn for the sci-fi. I hope it pays off.
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Teacup, “In the Heart of the Country”
We open with Maggie (Yvonne Strahovski) discovering Carmen Navarro’s body in the woods. She rereads McNab’s warnings: “Don’t cross the line” and “Don’t trust anyone.” Then, she flees the scene. Meanwhile, Arlo (Caleb Dolden), aka the harbinger, gathers the rainbow-colored liquid “poison” in a jar. He explains to Nicholas (Luciano Leroux) that they can cross the line if they consume said poison.
However, it’s dependent on how much they drink. If they drink too little and cross the line, they die. If they drink too much, they die. Lastly, if they don’t drink any of it and stay put … they still die. Staying put means the assassin will kill them all. Meryl (Emilie Bierre) urges them to keep moving.
It’s All Connected
Elsewhere, the stranger explains to Valeria (Diany Rodriguez) and Ellen (Kathy Baker) that it’s all connected (like the broader MCU)—the lack of electricity, the aggressive animals and organisms turning into bloody, bony mush when they cross the line. The stranger asks them questions about who’s in their party and claims he’s there to help.
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Maggie returns from her trip into the woods. The stranger, whose name is Lieutenant Olsen, also asks if anyone has come into contact with Carmen Navarro. Initially, Olsen was tasked with locating and isolating her. After all, the chaos started with Carmen. Valeria and Ellen mention Arlo and how strange he’s acting. Olsen wonders where Arlo is. Sensing Olsen is a threat, Maggie lies, claiming her son is in the barn.
Meanwhile, Nicholas tries the trick Ellen gave him and uses it to confess his love for Meryl. He’s been smitten with her since the second grade. Meryl, whose back is turned, smiles but doesn’t respond. Later, Meryl asks Nicholas why he sprinkled in a love confession. Nicholas explains that they might all die, so why not tell the girl you love how you feel?
A Secret Mission
Meryl stops the harbinger and demands to speak with her brother. When Arlo surfaces, Meryl asks for confirmation: Is the harbinger an alien? Arlo verifies this. As for the blue line, the assassin created it to draw the harbinger in, right? Arlo nods. He adds that the harbinger is on a secret mission. Our trio hears a car pull up.
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Next, Maggie and Olsen head into the barn. Olsen reveals he works alone until a situation becomes untenable. He adds that the blue line is just a line and that the one who drew it, McNab, thinks he’s trying to help. However, he doesn’t have all the information. Olsen mentions that McNab is unstable. On the other side of the line is a concentrated, powerful vibration. When complex organisms come into contact with it, they get torn apart.
Maggie asks about Carmen and if the deceased was involved in an altercation. Olsen claims he arrived after Carmen went missing. They pivot to Arlo. While Arlo might have a concussion, as Maggie stated earlier, Olsen reveals there have been instances of whatever this is “moving from person to person.”
Not a Friend
They ascend the stairs to the top of the barn. Olsen realizes that Arlo isn’t here. She trains her weapon on him, declaring that he’s not who he says he is. When Olsen lunges at her, Maggie knocks him unconscious. He wakes up with his wrists zip-tied and his arms duct-taped together. His face is bloody. Valeria arrives, and Maggie explains why she subdued Olsen. She noticed markings on Carmen’s wrists when she found the latter, meaning she was tied up. Maggie also discovered zip ties on Olsen’s belt.
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Maggie urges Valeria to watch Olsen. Before they part ways, Valeria acknowledges the affair. She realizes that Maggie knows about it. Valeria asks Maggie why she doesn’t hate her. Maggie doesn’t feel hate; she feels pity. She pities Valeria because the latter’s not as good of a person as she thought she was. Valeria replies that James was right; Maggie can be very cold. Ugh, don’t try to reason away your indiscretion by pinning it on Maggie’s demeanor.
Then, Maggie asks Valeria to ensure the kids don’t see this. Valeria cries while pointing her gun at Olsen. Olsen starts singing “Heart of the Country” by Linda and Paul McCartney to himself. He wonders why he can’t get the song out of his head. Valeria calls it an “earworm.” Ellen arrives, revealing that Maggie is on her way to the clinic. Ellen couldn’t find the kids in the house. Valeria wonders if they’re hiding in the woods. She leaves to search for them while Ellen stays put, gun in hand.
McNab Returns
Later, Maggie has a panic attack in the clinic. Donald (Boris McGiver) wakes up from his nap to comfort her. Strahovski knocks this scene out of the park. She almost made me have a panic attack. Meanwhile, in the woods, the kids encounter McNab (Rob Morgan), who holds up his “Don’t cross the line” sign. Nicholas reaches for the knife in his back pocket.
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Then, McNab orders them to roll the jar over to him. They refuse to give it up. McNab crosses the line, and inexplicably, nothing happens to him. He lunges for the jar in Nicholas’ hands. It shatters during their scuffle. Nicholas also stabs McNab in the gut. He falls to the ground. Meryl decides to help him. She presses down firmly on his wound to stanch the bleeding. After this, she removes McNab’s gas mask. He looks like a normal middle-aged man. He can also talk.
McNab recognizes Arlo — or rather, the harbinger inside him. “You were that woman,” he says. McNab reveals that he almost got the harbinger into the car but then lost the latter. McNab reassures our trio that he was merely trying to protect them.
A Leap of Faith
Next, Olsen asks Ellen if she can wipe the blood from his eyes. It’s starting to sting. Ellen gestures with her gun, ordering him not to try anything. As she leans closer, however, Olsen opens his mouth as Carmen did. A kaleidoscope of colors flashes across his eyes as the “entity” leaps out of his body and into Ellen. Ellen shoots Olsen in the head before departing, singing “Heart of the Country” to herself.
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Elsewhere, on the Navarro property, Ruben (Chaske Spencer) discovers a rainbow-colored, glowing tree inside a silo. It looks alive and alien. That doesn’t bode well. Downstairs in the basement, James (Scott Speedman) wakes up. He meets Travis (Jackson Kelly), who removes his gas mask to smoke a cigarette. So, gas masks serve as protection; the entity can’t access a human host without a mouth.
Travis admits he doesn’t know if James will help him or “finish the job.” He needs James to give him one good reason why he shouldn’t finish his cigarette and then shoot the latter in the head.
He seems fun.
Teacup releases two new episodes weekly every Thursday on Peacock.
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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.
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