Strip down to your Linda Hamilton tank top because the mysteries in the middle episodes of Teacup are multiplying.
One of the benefits of Peacock’s aggressive two episode per week scheduling of Teacup is that the series feels like it hit the ground running and hasn’t eased off the accelerator since. At times this propulsive narrative drive feels like the audience is barely hanging on, but the show is undeniably a fast-paced ride.
Episode three does, however, take a few beats to acknowledge how horrific the death of Claire Kelly (Holly A. Morris) is. And while everyone is upset, it seems obvious that Don (Boris McIver) is the most distraught; he spends the night staring at his wife’s mutilated corpse until Maggie (Yvonne Strahovski) finally sedates him.
The line that can’t be crossed is a constant source of conversation in both episodes, which makes sense given what we learn about Arlo (Caleb Dolden)’s interaction with Carmen (the dead woman in the woods). It turns out the voice the young boy now hears in his head belongs to ‘Harbinger’, an alien being that has knowledge about a crash site in the woods, the accompanying poisonous rainbow goo collected in a jar, the ‘Assassin’ coming to kill them and, yes, how the line can be crossed safely.
In one of the more amusing moments, Arlo confirms to both his sister Meryl (Emilie Bierre) and her burgeoning love interest Nicholas (Luciano Leroux) what their options look like: 1) drink too little of the poison and die crossing the line, 2) drink too much and die, or 3) don’t drink and be killed by the assassin. Obviously the unsaid fourth option is to drink the correct amount and survive, though both episodes offer visual reminders of what crossing the line does in the form of repeated images of mutilated animals (never mind poor Claire, whose body opens episode 3).
Naturally writer (and showrunner) Ian McCollough throws us a new curveball when two different people later cross the line without pause or punishment.
Olsen (Bill Heck) is the first to do it. In an exceedingly tense scene, the good looking law enforcement officer ignores their warning and steps across…and nothing. He’s completely fine and later, he tells Ellen (Kathy Baker) and Valeria (Diany Rodriguez) that it’s easy to come to their side (just not the reverse).
Intriguingly, despite (or perhaps because?) Olsen is armed with a badge and plenty of confidence, he is immediately coded as suspicious. Like most plot developments on the series, the truth is revealed a few scenes later when Olsen reveals a keen interest in who interacted with Carmen before her death and then zeroes in Arlo.
Initially Olsen’s questionable motivation is frustrating because it makes Ellen and Valeria look far too trusting, to the point of stupidity. Thankfully Maggie (over)reacts quickly, and a moment later Ellen reminds everyone about McNab’s whiteboard message not to trust anyone. That *partially* softens the blow…until Ellen is lured in by Olsen and he breathes the rainbow elixir into her.
At this point it’s unclear who – or what – is good or bad on the series. Our sympathies lies with the Chenoweth and Shanley families because, despite their interpersonal conflicts, they’re our defacto protagonists.
We also know, however, that Arlo is infected with Harbinger, who bears a striking resemblance to infected individuals like Olsen.
But Olsen and the black man that Nicholas accidentally kills crossing the line are clearly opposed to Harbinger. And they’re dressed the same as the desperate teen who takes James (Scott Speedman) hostage on the other farm while Ruben (Chaske Spencer) is getting possessed by a rainbow tree in the barn.
This leads to even more questions: are all of the camouflage guys on the same team? Are they all infected or only some of them? Why were they torturing Carmen and the other dead people on the farm? Can Arlo/Harbinger find more poisonous goo to get the 11 members of our cast across the line?
Teacup answered several rules and logistics questions in this pair of episodes while simultaneously raising just as many new ones.
As the season crosses into the back half, the number of percolating questions is still a positive because they suggest there’s plenty of story left to explore. Between McCollough’s teleplays and director Chloe Okuno (Watcher)’s smooth direction, the series isn’t hurting for tension and atmosphere. Take the end of episode three, for example, when James is pulled out of sight down the dark stairwell; it’s an incredibly effective moment.
Some audiences may find Teacup too reliant on twists and mysteries, but for my money, it’s doing exactly what it needs to.
Other Observations:
- Last week I praised the balance of personal backstories and mythology and episode three continues the trend. Maggie opens the episode addressing James’ infidelity with Valeria and Ruben immediately overhears them! It’s surprising how fast this information has come out, but it makes for good (interpersonal) conflict scenes between both Maggie/Valeria and James/Ruben later on.
- Case in point: Maggie talks a pragmatic game about not hating Valeria because it won’t do any good, but this feels like a deflection. When the veterinarian says she feels bad for Valeria because “you aren’t the good person that you thought you were”, though? Ouch!
- Speaking of quiet character beats, Don assisting Maggie through her panic attack in the barn is simple, but effective. McIver spends most of the episodes sleeping or in a state of shock (rightfully so), but this is a nice moment for him and Strahovski.
- Okuno mostly mirrors the visual aesthetic set up by E.L. Katz from the first two episodes, but using slow motion as Olsen and the other man cross the line really ramps up the suspense.
- Is it safe to assume that Olsen, the Black man Nicholas killed, and the man holding James hostage are responsible for killing Carmen and her family? I’m looking forward to some clarification about who the “sides” of this conflict are next week.
- The scene of Harbinger learning new words from the dictionary is interesting. Considering Ellen is now infected by whatever was in Olsen, will she also struggle to express herself or need time acclimatizing? As we saw, her MS tremors immediately ceased and she had no trouble picking up the song Olsen was singing, so the suggestion is that there was a complete, unencumbered transfer from him to her (unlike with Carmen and Arlo). I wanna know why!
Teacup airs two episodes every Thursday through Halloween on Peacock