As a long-time fan of science fiction and horror, I must say that this season of “Teacup” has been a rollercoaster ride. While it started off promisingly with its unique premise and intriguing characters, the final episodes left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
The first and currently only season of ‘Teacup’ concludes with Yvonne Strahovski’s character Maggie aiming a gun at individuals she believes are part of the anti-Visitor resistance, demanding answers about the situation. However, this ending is frustrating because the series has been meticulous in explaining what’s happening, which may have been its downfall! It appears that Maggie still doesn’t grasp certain aspects, such as who these new people are. Despite seeming clear, it might not be intriguing enough to keep viewers engaged if ‘Teacup’ gets renewed for another season. The show could have profited from more enigma. Regrettably, the last episodes provide a lackluster resolution that swaps the initial eerie bewilderment with tired weariness.
In contrast to the tense suspicion that dominated previous episodes, episode seven showcases characters carrying on with their daily routines without any apparent concern about identifying the Assassin. For instance, Nicholas stands watch outside Arlo’s door, brandishing a hammer like it could deter the armed adults if one of them were secretly the Assassin. Maggie enters Meryl’s room to check on her child, seemingly disregarding the rules that should be in place if they aim to confirm the teens aren’t the Assassin. This lack of caution, while not criticizing the narrative structure (as CinemaSins might), raises questions about how well Teacup’s premise is being executed. The penultimate episode seems more like a waiting game for the Assassin to reveal itself and instigate some action.
McNabb, who had fled into the woods in the previous episode, was considering suicide by crossing the barrier. At the last minute, he recalls giving Travis a small container of rainbow substance. McNabb then heads to the Navarro farm, finds Travis’ body, and retrieves the vial. In the final episode, McNabb will use this vial to provide Ruben with just enough resistance against the tree’s disintegration powers that he can snap off a branch, which instantly turns into a large amount of goo when placed in a jar. Consequently, they all now have a means to escape from the trap. Regrettably, Assassin is still trapped within one of them.
At home, Maggie and James are engaged in a deep conversation during which she expresses her frustration over always being the capable one. She feels it’s unjust for James, who once disparaged her as “so cold” to Valeria, to expect her to handle potentially drowning whoever they identify as the Assassin. Maggie also shares reservations about the drowning strategy. Specifically, she wonders if the Assassin would immediately take control of the person doing the drowning the moment they remove their mask to attempt resuscitation on the old host. This appears to have happened before, as suggested by McNabb’s notebook, which Travis is currently reading. Nicholas and Meryl are growing closer, not just emotionally but physically, as a discussion about how close the Assassin needs to be to inhabit someone else swiftly turns into a kiss. Initially, it seemed their parents might disapprove of their relationship given James’ past affair with Valeria (which, interestingly enough, turned out to be irrelevant by the finale).
In the next-to-last episode, Ellen, the last known host of Assassin, and Valeria, who is seen stalking outside Arlo’s room with a large knife and breakfast cereal at the start, appear to be the main suspects. It appears that Assassin might be residing within Ellen during a scene where she meticulously empties the freezer and deliberately picks up and returns Valeria’s knife. This moment is incredibly suspenseful and it’s somewhat anticlimactic to discover later that it was all part of a trick. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for Ellen to behave oddly with the knife other than to scare the audience. However, it turns out not to be Ellen. Instead, it’s Valeria, as we find out when she effortlessly gets Nicholas to leave his post and follow her. Assassin manipulates Nicholas to guide him to the trap’s edge, arranges Valeria in a specific position, and then switches into Nicholas so he can push his mother towards her demise.
Listen, I was promised gore in this series! The fact that we don’t see Valeria’s rib cage explode through her melting body feels like a tease for the horror fans who are Teacup’s ostensible audience. The reveal of the prosthetic Valeria corpse is gnarly, but my dark passenger is not sated by Teacup’s gore, which was essentially limited to Claire, that dog, and Donad’s forearm in the second episode. They all go over the line at night, so even then it’s kinda hard to make much out. I feel cheated.
As Assassin orchestrates Nicholas’ secretive murder of his mother, Meryl and Arlo are deciphering a recurring pattern that Harbinger makes Arlo sketch within their shared space. A breakthrough occurs when Meryl intuits a connection between the drawing and a U.S. map, revealing Belknap Mountain as the destination for Harbinger. Meryl breaches regulations when she’s lured outdoors by Assassin (posing as Nicholas), but Assassin skillfully exploits their earlier kiss to seize control of Meryl. To incapacitate Nicholas post-possession, Assassin strategically leaves a rock near Meryl, planning to strike her head once the transfer is complete. However, the strategy proves just as flawed as humans’ identification plan for them. Meanwhile, Arlo notices the unfolding events outside his window and alerts James and Maggie about Meryl harboring Assassin. This shift in circumstances means that instead of sneaking into Arlo’s room undetected (as only Meryl and a select few are allowed access), Assassin has now placed itself in the weakest, most vulnerable form, potentially making it easier for them to drown.
Despite it being emotionally challenging, Maggie and James manage to overpower Meryl after their confrontation with Assassin in the kitchen. Maggie’s calm exterior momentarily cracks (given the situation, it’s understandable that she’s struggling to save her daughter), but they successfully hold Meryl underwater until the bubbles cease. Unfortunately, James’ composure slips during this ordeal, allowing Assassin to move to a different host. Remarkably, James manages to keep Assassin at bay for a brief period, enabling Maggie to revive Meryl and urgently call out for them to flee.
The assassin doesn’t manage to use James effectively as a host. He gets into a fight with Ruben before Maggie scares him off with gunshots, although they both understand that she wouldn’t actually shoot her husband and killing the host wouldn’t stop the assassin. Arlo has the solution, similar to how Maggie trapped a wasp in a teacup at the start of the first episode. She eventually manages to lock James inside a freezer in the barn. It’s an emotional scene, but it’s hard not to notice the differences between Arlo’s wasp analogy and the reality. The idea behind trapping the wasp in the teacup was to release it safely outside, but James dies of suffocation inside the freezer and the assassin is trapped where he might never escape again.
After eliminating the Assassin, albeit at the price of James’s life (another offscreen demise to mention), it’s now time to break free from the trap. McNabb serves everyone a shot of rainbow liquid and they all cross the line unscathed, except for Ellen, who volunteers to remain behind with the animals. They climb into Olsen’s truck and depart, first seeking medical aid before proceeding towards Belknap Mountain. However, their journey is halted by two individuals, including a woman we saw preparing a bag in the finale’s opening scene. Although they claim to be friendly members of the online forums McNabb and his alien-hunting companions ran, they soon meet a violent end at the hands of a swift hot rod. It turns out to be Hayden, McNabb and Olsen’s former partner. He and another individual emerge from the vehicle wearing gas masks, urging everyone to follow them. This action triggers Maggie to demand “We won’t move until you explain what in the world is happening,” and the episode concludes there.
It seems like there’s a nationwide, massive alien invasion unfolding, and these mysterious intruders are stirring up chaos across the country. However, the series has been quite isolated until now, which makes the sudden introduction of high stakes and new characters at the very end feel jarring. Additionally, the way the self-contained storyline was resolved earlier (trapping a man in a fridge, consuming some liquid, and leaving) didn’t leave much impact, so I’m not particularly keen on diving into this new plot development. To be honest, while I can probably guess what Maggie is asking about – a witty way to end the season – I don’t feel invested enough to piece together the missing details.
If you were anticipating that Teacup‘s final episodes, released on Halloween, would provide a fitting end to the spooky season, you might be disappointed. Instead, Peacock offers numerous horror titles worth watching! Unfortunately, Teacup fell short, offering only a mediocre imitation of The Thing. However, the original can still be found streaming on this very platform!
Crossing the Line
It appears that Scout, the horse from the initial episode, miraculously lived beyond my concerns, even though he’s forever confined. This leaves one pondering why they didn’t simply consume a bit of that substance, find another tree branch to break off, and produce enough of this substance for both the dog and horses. If the wolf could manage it last week with just a little of it, surely Ellen wouldn’t have needed to remain behind!
I became quite anxious as McNabb neatly arranged rows of gooey glasses on an irregular surface, and my anxiety escalated when everyone walked right over them to exit the area. I couldn’t help but worry that someone might accidentally knock one over with their shoe and cause a spill!
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2024-11-01 00:54