Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
WTF is happening here!? I couldn’t have said it better myself.
The moment a big, black, menacing dog appears in the opening minutes of Teacup Season 1 Episode 1, you know things aren’t headed anywhere good.
And as intimidating as that dog was, it’s got nothing on whatever is lurking beyond that deadly blue line drawn by the gas mask-wearing stranger in Teacup Season 1 Episode 2.
When Teacup’s showrunner, Ian McCulloch, told us in a recent interview that he wanted every scene to end with a cliffhanger, he wasn’t kidding around.
The first two episodes waste no time, dropping us right into the thick of the drama, mystery, and horror unfolding on the Chenworth farm. And honestly? I’m all in.
Strange Happenings
The first thing we need to discuss is the significance of the teacup and how it ties into the series.
We first encounter it when Maggie uses it to trap a wasp against the window which she then releases outside while Arlo watches.
It seems to be a nod to Robert McCammon’s novel Stinger, on which the series is based — after all, a wasp has a stinger, right?
But later, we see Arlo, fresh from a terrifying encounter with that creepy lady from the forest, using that same teacup to cover some marbles.
It comes across as a clever way to highlight the predicament the Chenoweth family and others face on the farm — trapped within that chilling blue line of death spray-painted by the gas mask-wearing stranger.
But the bigger questions are: Why are they trapped in the first place, and were they meant to be trapped at the farm together?
Clearly, something strange was brewing long before the gas-masked guy showed up — the horses were spooked, the radio was glitching, and the lights were flickering.
Things took a turn for the worse after Arlo wandered into the forest and encountered the forest lady with the weird eyes.
Coincidentally, the gas mask guy just happened to show up for the party shortly afterward.
We also have to wonder why the forest lady was tied up in the first place, who tied her up, and from whom — or what — she was running.
Nothing about this situation makes sense right now, from her ability to possess Arlo to what lies beyond the blue line that causes whatever crosses it to experience a gruesome death.
If whatever deadly air is outside that blue line, why isn’t it flowing inside the blue line?
It almost seems like the blue line might be to keep something out rather than keep the Chenoweths and the others in, which leads us to question who exactly this gas-masked guy is and why he is doing all this.
There are many questions that need to be answered.
No Time for Family Drama
The whole situation is even more tense thanks to the marital problems the Chenoweths are facing.
And now with the woman James had an affair with, Valeria, who is also trapped on the farm, it makes things a whole helluva lot more complicated.
Granted, Maggie doesn’t realize Valeria is “the woman,” but she’s starting to get suspicious, especially after Valeria tried to lighten the mood in the bathroom with Arlo.
It’s the last thing Maggie needs right now, especially given Arlo’s strange behavior — including the fact that he came at her with a pair of scissors!
There’s too much to process already. She has no idea what’s happening outside with the blue line of death. She has no idea what happened to Claire Kelly and no idea what happened to the menacing black dog.
In fact, other than James, Ruben, and Don — none of the women inside or the kids know what’s going on or the deadly dangers waiting outside.
Arlo knows — or rather whatever’s possessing him does — which is why he was trying to warn his mother to leave the farm. By then, of course, it was already too late.
The dynamic between all the characters will provide some interesting development as the series progresses, not only with Maggie and Valeria but also with Maggie and her mother-in-law, Ellen.
Don, James, and Ruben will need to process everything they witnessed outside, including Don’s wife, Claire, who basically melted and exploded from the inside.
What’s worse is that she was just frozen in place like a gory statue out of a horror movie. That’s going to be burned in Don’s mind forever!
But it’s her own fault! Ellen and Valeria warned her not to leave, but the hard-headed Claire thought she knew better.
Did you get the feeling she was implying something about Arlo before she left? Like he was being abused.
I might have misread that scene, but she seemed pretty judgy about the Chenoweths. No matter — she’s no longer part of this earth.
Hopefully, that won’t be the outcome for any of the rest of our group!
There’s No Escape
The Teacup season premiere was intriguing. It was dark and mysterious, with an added element of horror. Even if we only got a small taste of it, it’s enough to make your skin crawl.
Teacup sort of reminds me of Stephen King’s Under the Dome, except that it’s a blue line trapping everyone inside rather than a glass dome.
McCulloch mentioned in our interview that he was hoping for a parallel to a Stephen King series, and I think he hits the mark with Teacup.
The foreboding sense of dread on the Chenoweth farm is real. There’s no escaping whatever horror is waiting outside that thin blue line.
Whether it’s keeping them in or keeping something out has yet to be determined, but I’m going to keep watching to find out!
Over to you, TV Fanatics! Did you enjoy Teacup?
What do you think about the gas-masked stranger? Is he good or evil? What’s possessing Arlo? Share your thoughts in the comments below!