Hello readers,
The Haunting of Hill House continues to surprise me. Just as I started to look at it side-eyed, the show managed to suck me back in. This episode is one of the most fascinating for a variety of reasons, and I’m back on board the Hill House train.
“Two Storms” is concerned with the aftermath of Nell’s death. The remaining members of the Crain family come together for the first time for years. During this strained meeting, truths are hinted at, and more questions come up. The past intrudes upon the future, and we find that answers are never clear.
Let me just say that this is my favorite episode on a purely technical level. The two primary stories are tied together during a weather event, hence the title: “Two Storms.” The first thing that I noticed was the amazing, and let me repeat: amazing camera work. I don’t know if they used tricks to make it seem like it’s one shot or if these were legit shots but the effect is mesmerizing.
The long shots that made up the majority of this episode are absolutely incredible. I know that long, uncut shots are not that uncommon in cinema, but I think that it was the closest I’ve felt to seeing a live action book. That we don’t know what’s going on outside of the characters in the frame adds to the tension… by a lot especially when we are in the scenes following Hugh Crain in the past.
One of the strengths of the series is the family drama. It could have been easy to focus the show on the scary elements. I mean, the 1999 version does exist after all 😛 The family issues are what makes Hill House so effective. Spending so much time on the Crains allows the more dramatic moments to have much more weight. Let me just put it this way: I wouldn’t shed a tear for any of the characters from the 1999 adaptation, but I’ve been brought to tears many times watching these episodes. Skimming through the episode, looking for footage, is enough for me have moist eyes.
We really get to see some of the nastier aspects of the Crain children, and we find out that they’re kind of insufferable jerks. While it’s true that lots of tragedy has happened to them in the past, they’re unlikable in this episode. Shirley leaves alcohol
out even though she knows Luke is trying to get sober, and then she is so full of sanctimonious hogwash that you kind of want one of the family members to slap some sense into her. Steve, while he does demonstrate that he cares about the family, doesn’t listen to anyone; he closes his mind off whenever he hears something that clashes with his beliefs. And we already know about Theo’s inability to form connections with anyone. I think that the only characters who are sympathetic in this episode were Luke and Hugh.
I wonder if Hugh Crain had told his family that Olivia had committed suicide then maybe the family might have turned out better. To be honest, having Hugh telling part of the truth makes for more interesting story direction than having a DEEP DARK FAMILY SECRET. While it doesn’t seem that Mr. Crain told his family the exact details, Steven’s reaction shows that Hugh actually tried to tell at least some of the truth. I wonder if the next episode will expand upon what happened to the Crain family after the events at Hill House. The narrative seems to be heading in that direction, and I presume that this would be the time for the Hugh Crain centered episode.
-Olivia: Do you know what storms do?
-Nell: They Pass
“Two Storms” is certainly an apt title for this episode, serving as a literal meaning –the storms in the past and the future– and symbolic –meaning, the family is now caught in a hurricane of horror. I imagine that When Olivia is comforting Nell after she sees the Bent-Neck Lady, and explains the counting the seconds between the lighting and thunder represents how close the end is.
One of things I touched upon in my last review was how odd it was that the dying Nell only saw a few snapshots in her life as the Bent-Neck Lady. In this episode, young Nell sees the BNL. It only weakens the impact of the previous episode’s twist, and even the BNL herself. I was correct in surmising that the BNL appeared to Nell more times than depicted in the series, but the appearances seemed to always have some dramatic weight. I think that the handling of the BNL story has been the most disappointing part of the series. It’s a cool character and concept, but it suffers from weak execution.
There are three interesting revelations in the episode:
For one, the scary stuff is actually supernatural, and it’s not *just* in the character’s heads. Olivia told Nell after she saw the BNL that the ghosts in the house are there, but they won’t hurt anyone. I do have to wonder if the the ghosts in the house are benign, then what is the force in the house that is malevolent? Why did Mama Crain lead Nell to her death? And what of the monster that attacked Luke in the basement? Is the House actually evil?
The second important revelation happened during the past storm, and I think that it reveals a little bit about why Olivia and Nell were the ones to die. Let me rephrase that. We don’t learn why exactly, but because they are the ones affected during the episode, it’s almost as if they were marked. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with Mrs. Crain and her daughter. I don’t think that Olivia would have stayed in the house if the entities were bad, but what did she miss?
The last important revelation was that Mr. Crain agreed with Luke that Nell didn’t kill herself, but when asked about Mrs. Crain, he said that it was “complicated.” He didn’t get a chance to finish his thought, but I wonder if Olivia’s spirit is trapped within the house.
Something happened to her during the episode, and Mr. Crain kept seeing something that looked like her appear and disappear in the halls of the house. Maybe Olivia “dying” just meant that her body died, but her soul remained within the house. Being the other mother would explain why Nell corrected Luke when he was talking about their tea party, and why Hugh slammed Olivia against the wall. Maybe that’s why he didn’t demolish the house: Olivia is trapped and if Hugh was to destroy the house, she would be lost. I mean, I think that I would destroy the house down to the very cornerstones and then salt the earth so nothing could ever grow there ever again. Heck, I’d take inspiration from general MacArthur during the Korean War, and bury some Nuclear waste at the site so nothing can go there ever again.
I have to once again commend the acting in this show. As someone who has experienced a profoundly devastating loss, seeing each character’s complex reaction to their sister’s death held so much truth. No one processes grief in the same way, and thinking back to the loss in my own life, I can explicitly remember how differently people handled the loss. Heck, my own experience would encompass multiple blog posts, or perhaps one that was super long 😛
Near the end of the episode, young Nell reappears, she tells them that she was there the whole time and no one saw her, Luke grabs her and tells her to never do that again, that he thought that house things had gotten her. She says that she waved and jumped . I don’t think I would have expected the director to have extracted that level of emotion from children. The young Crains are absolutely pivotal to the success of the series, and they have been able to stand alongside the more experienced adults in the series. Holy smokes, are the actors for young Nell and Luke good.
The ultimate twist in the episode comes at the end. As we hear young Nell’s voice-over after she reappears, it cuts to the present. Steven convinces Luke to leave, and as the walk away the camera swivels around to the coffin, and we see Nell’s spirit standing beside her corpse. The last words we hear are Nell saying, “I was right here. I was right here the whole time. None of you could see me. Nobody could see me.” The family was so selfishly consumed by their bickering that it was almost as if they had forgotten why they had come together in the first place. It became less about Nell, and more about their needs, their hurt. But that is a theme that extends to the first episode. When Steve sees Nell in his apartment, he doesn’t even wonder why Nell was even in his apartment, only admonishing his sister about Luke taking his stuff. Heck, the only family member who talked to her was her father. It’s no coincidence that he was the only one who saw Nell.
Something that strikes me as odd is how readily the two eldest Crains dismiss the happenings during their time at Hill. While they didn’t have as many overtly paranormal experiences, Nell’s disappearance alone should have granted them at least some measure of belief. However, it may just be Steven Crain who wholesale denies the existence of the supernatural, and we haven’t really get a good sense of Shirley’s thoughts on the matter.
In the end, a lot of the problems in the show would have been solved if the characters were allowed to just say the thing they needed to say. After Hugh finds Oliva, she says that she felt like she was having a dream, but before she can say what that dream was, the children begin to scream, and I bet that the so-called dream was either forgotten or never discussed. Hugh hasn’t yet fully disclosed what happened with Olivia yet. So many communication issues.
And who is this guy?
Presumably he’s a ghost from the past, and Shirley knows him, but who is he? And was he the guy who Nell saw on the ceiling in the previous episode?
This episode answered some questions and reinforced some of my theories, but created others. After a minor stumble, the series comes back in a strong way. While I ultimately feel like the family is doomed, there it is possible that some salvation is possible. It’s a slim chance, but I think it can happen. Remember, the Crains have that counting to seven thing going on for them, so it’s possible that the remaining Crains have an out. And maybe the storm will pass.
All the best,
Kevin
Adventures in Korea 