Written by Angela L. Harvey
Directed by SJ Main Munoz
Bloody Mary (to Bianca): "You have set me free."
So far this season we've had living dolls, ghost showing security apps, a serial killer and a very gross cure for smallpox. Now as we enter the second half of the season, how about a new spin on a very good and bloody tale.
Yup, it's time for Bloody Mary (Dominique Jackson) but not quite as you know it. Four girls on a sleepover decide to light a candle and summon Bloody Mary. Needless to say, the consequences for the girls in question are particularly dire. It seems when you make a request to Bloody Mary, you better do as she says. Or should you?
The girls in question being sister duo Bianca (Quvenzhane Wallis) and Elise (Raven Scott) along with the latter's friends, Lena (Kyla Drew) and Maggie (Kyanna Simone), all of whom had certain desires. Bianca wanted to go to Yale but would have to accuse a guidance counselor of rape, while Lena would have to cripple her cheer captain to take her place and Maggie would have to post a rival's nudes in order to get her ex-boyfriend back. I'll get to Elise's wish in a bit.
The three girls in question were tempted to go through these bad deeds in order to get what they truly desired but one by one, none of them could actually do it. It's a testament to the girls themselves but unfortunately choosing to do the right didn't help Maggie and Lena as both of them ended up dead soon after failing to follow Bloody Mary's orders.
Except that it wasn't Bloody Mary who killed Maggie and Lena. It turned out that Elise wasn't as strong to resist and the reveal of her working with Bloody Mary to get her desire for security and power meant that Bianca ended up killing her sister by accident, freeing Bloody Mary from her prison and assuming her place as the new Bloody Mary in return.
As twists went, it's a pretty satisfying but unfortunate one for Bianca. As for Bloody Mary, her backstory revealed she had been a slave who misused Mami Wata's powers for revenge, spilled the wrong blood and paid for her misdeeds. With her newfound freedom and a sense of self reflection, perhaps she can avoid history repeating itself. As for Bianca, she's got a lot of desperate souls at her control.
- This is the second magical themed episode we've had this season. Will we get a third?
- Mami Wata was often described as a water spirit, usually female though sometimes male. We didn't see her in the episode however.
- Dominique Jackson is now the latest actor from Pose to appear in this franchise. I'm hoping she appears in the main show at some point.
- Chronology: 2022 for most of this episode along with 19th century flashbacks for Bloody Mary's origins.
Bloody Mary took an all too familiar and did something truly interesting and different with it. Dominique Jackson did a fantastic job in the screen time she had and was suitably creepy while the episode itself didn't vilify the legend either. The young cast were also fantastic to watch. A bloody triumph.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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