This year saw the release of the Haunting of Bly Manor. This is the second season of Mike Flanagan’s Anthology Series following 2018’s Critically Acclaimed The Haunting Of Hill House.
Now, I’m going to start with a part that is completely spoiler-free : The Show is very good and you should absolutely watch it. It has a lot of the same standards that Flanagan set in Hill House while maintaining a completely different feeling to the first season. Honestly, that’s the impressive part of the two seasons is that each one has a distinct atmosphere that’s indicative of the Original’s authors writings while still forging through with their own tales.
With this story, they’re able to bring out emotions that weren’t entirely present throughout Hill House. Now, please don’t misunderstand : I love Hill House and I think I still prefer just a bit over this series but this series is able to make you feel emotion for literally every character in the series instead of just the core family members. Every ghost has a story in this one and it’s worth it to see all of them. Is it as scary as Hill House? No, not at all. But I don’t entirely think it’s meant to be and I think that’s where a lot of Viewers have hangups.
The ensemble cast on this show could rival pretty much any other grouping out there. Of course, the same could be said about Hill House before it which is where a few of the actors came from. Most notably in Victoria Pedretti as Danielle Clayton and Oliver Jackson-Cohen as Peter Quint.
To pick a standout from this cast would be nearly impossible to do. Any choice would be a hard one to argue against, however; my personal choice would T’Nia Miller as Hannah Grose. Rewatching earlier episodes add a nuance to her performance that can’t be overstated. She carries such a reserved strength throughout the first few episodes and it’s one that you don’t entirely understand until later in the season. But just understand that her role is as brilliant as the actress performing it.
Overall, it’s phenomenal, It makes me want to watch everything else that every actor and creator is involved in and I haven’t felt that way since I watched Hill House the first time. I highly suggest you watch it and then get back here for the spoilery parts of this article.
*Spoilers Ahead and avoid the comment section as well if you haven’t finished the series*
Alright, so I do have 2 mild complaints about the show and I hate that they both revolve around the same plotline.
1. Why do the Children/Hannah not remember Peter’s Death?
(Editors Note, I’ve since noticed that Flora’s statements about Peter make it seem like she already knows about Peter’s death.)
Now, Hannah’s might be excusable due to the fact that Hannah might have only seen his death the same time we did in the story as it’s shown during the 5th episode when she’s jumping through time.
That being said, that still leaves the issue of the children. Now, Miles makes Sense since Peter might be fighting his ability to remember or speak out about it. Flora doesn’t entirely make sense unless she just chooses not to talk about it for fear of it happening again. This as a coping mechanism for her would be interesting but there’s not lead up to this and there’s no mention of it in the show so it honestly just seems like a Plot hole.(I may just be picky, let me know in the comments if you understand it better than I do.)
2. Peter’s Plan didn’t make sense until I looked it up online.
This one is me being nit-picky because They do reference this but I don’t think it’s brought out well enough. So, we learn that the ghost possessing the person would have to stay behind at the manor. Then, in the last episode, Viola is able to Possess Dani and still leave…Weird, but ok. How is this Different and how does Peter know they can?
So, what I found is that apparently the Possessions are stronger if the host invites them in. (I.E. “It’s you, it’s me, it’s us.”) Which is how Dani saves everyone. But How does Peter know that? and why wasn’t it brought to the viewer better. I honestly felt no fear for Flora and Miles because I figured that what was going to happen to them if they tried to leave the Manor was that the ghost would fly out like it did the first time. Now, if I knew that Flora and Miles were basically in the sunken place from Get Out…that raises the tension of that episode exponentially. It also would’ve set up Dani’s Sacrifice a little bit better. Don’t get me wrong, that final Confrontation is beautiful but even I was a bit confused about what was happening until Carla Gugino’s Voiceover kicked in.
Also, Quick Hits : Dani’s Ex-Boyfriend Storyline was very good, just too subtle for certain people. After she gets with Jamie, she looks at the mirror and sees nothing. It’s symbolism for moving on.
Rahul Kohli is a delight and needs to be in more things.
Henry Thomas is incredible and also needs to be in more things. His ability to play the two roles was an exceptional performance on his part.
The ending was perfect, I have no idea why Viewers were confused. Jamie wanted Dani’s story to be told and she told it to Flora and Miles, even if they didn’t know it entirely because they were so much older. Also. yes, that’s Dani’s hand at the end.
Yes, I cried. I cried a lot. No shame in it.
