As Naomi presents a threat to Matthew and Claire, they do just the same for Mark.
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As Naomi presents a threat to Matthew and Claire, they do just the same for Mark.
| Aired (Showtime) | 11/25/2022 |
| Episode Title | Or Stay and Die |
| Director(s) | Viet Nguyen |
| Writer(s) | David Turkel |
| Introduced This Episode | |
| Chris | Cole Doman |
Recap
This content contains pertinent spoilers. Also, images and text in this post may contain affiliate links which, if a purchase is made from those sites, we may earn money or products from the company.
A Dangerous Game We Play – Peter, Naomi, Ben, Matthew, Claire, Chris
With her father’s drug linked to what is currently popular and deadly in the streets, Naomi and Ben head to Long Island to confront Claire, and she is a bit shaken. Not enough to slip up, but Naomi’s tactics definitely push her to believe she and Matthew are screwed. Thus leading Matthew to head to Naomi’s to investigate what she has and knows and maybe to take her out.
As that happens, Peter and Chris bond to the point of Peter trying to help Chris escape, and that almost leads to Claire dying. All because, as his maker, Peter felt an immense bond that he couldn’t deny.
Do You Like Her Or Not? – Naomi, Eleanor, Isaiah, Mark, Matthew
Eleanor and Isaiah are immensely interested in their parents’ potential relationship, and for a good reason. Naomi is happy, and Mark makes it seem he is too, but in reality, this is all about information and protection for him. This upsets Eleanor since she, too, spends alone time with Naomi, learning self-defense, and she likes her. But Mark makes it clear this is not about bonding, being cute, and all that – this is about survival, as it has long been.
All of this dampers his news that with learning about Claire, her drug, and lining things up between what happened with Eleanor and Peter, he has a major lead. Which is what he focuses on after his argument with Eleanor escalates to him cursing at her, bringing up her mom, and Eleanor, thankfully, having enough restraint to not kill her dad.
However, when Isaiah comes over to check in, she melts into his arms and bawls her little eyes out.
Things To Note
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- How would Naomi react to learning the truth about Eleanor?
- Did Frank ever have a funeral? Also, where is his family?
- Where is Zeke at?
What Could Happen Next
- Naomi starts to build a case against Claire and her family
- Eleanor goes to save her dad
- Someone is going to die before the end of the season
Review
Highlights
The Pressure Is On For Claire
The police at her door, being attacked by one of her experiments, Matthew being specifically named by the cops, and having no allies or resources outside of him? Oh, things have gotten serious, and I don’t think Claire is ready to have the entire weight of Peter’s situation, or the drug dealing, on her shoulders.
Naomi Bonding With Eleanor
Being that Eleanor is so isolated, seeing her interact with anyone, but her dad is a treat. I’d even submit seeing her bond with Naomi pushes the idea that she doesn’t lean on Isaiah to make adorable moments. She brings something to the table as well. But beyond the pseudo-maternal influence/ mentorship, what perhaps matters the most is Naomi is prepping Eleanor to exist without her dad. She likely will teach her how to fight and handle herself so that she knows her strength and power and isn’t stuck in a state of arrested development.
This likely will be handy for what is to come with her dad’s rescue, but also it could trigger some dangerous situations for Mark, maybe even Isaiah.
On The Fence
Mark Being In Danger
What “Let The Right One In” hasn’t necessarily had throughout the entire season is a sense of time being of the essence. Yes, Eleanor being fed has been a major issue, but take note of how Elizabeth said that Eleanor needs a liter every other day, yet how many has Mark killed, in the present day, so far? It’s inconsistent in presenting a human threat or a threat of time.
But, with Matthew really making moves and coming after Mark, and it appearing it will be a life or death situation, we may finally have a reason to believe the finale is going to be epic.
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Yup Claire definitely been protected and has protected Peter most of life as she stated her dad was too busy to be *father of the year “. I think she had preferred to stay behind the scenes but is forced to be more active even letting Matthew take the lead. Speaking as of EP 9, she is now the boss. And what did she say to Peter? This has me worried honestly.
Far as Mark, I think Mark only wants Eleanor to act her age when it comes to following his orders of “no getting comfy ” with the enemy. He’s still see her as a kid most times. If and when, Eleanor start acting grown up more and more , I’m willing to bet he won’t like it .
The moments of Isaiah and Eleanor is some of the best moments. I thoroughly enjoy them.
**Special Note*** I did see this ep but did not have time to post my thoughts before today. I posted my ep 9 thoughts before this one. So I am looking at ep8 without interjecting what I already know about ep 9. So….****
I really did liked the before scene of Eleanor getting caught by Naomi and their small bond. Shows/movies sometimes forget women in movies need to bond with each other and not just the men. So when Eleanor went to class with Naomi that was a treat and we got chance to see the another part of Naomi. The 2 actresses have good chemistry. I was laughing a little because I think Isaiah should be in that class too. I can speculate his mom tried to get him to come but he declined like most kids would.
Anyways, continuing with Naomi I liked her heated exchanged with Claire. Very combative and clearly Naomi wasn’t falling for her bs. I want more scenes with them.
Speaking of scenes together, I found the scene with Mark and Naomi very interesting. I think it’s too soon for them and gladly nothing came of it. Right now, Mark is trying so hard to stay ahead of everything, he knows he can’t slow down. I’m glad we finally had him see and remember Claire face somewhat after 10 years. Claire at this point is so different, I doubt she would help anyone without ulterior motives for herself and brother. She is also in the drug trade and that’s something to add to her growing list of bad things she’s doing.
Jumping back to Mark, I really like him reminding Ellie that Naomi IS a homicide det and he has killed lots of people for her to live and they can’t get too cozy. However his tone came out harsh and in an accusation kind of way. He practically told Eleanor during that scene that it was her fault her mom is dead and he has to kill for her. And then he left. WTF??? I know it’s a struggle and have been on his mind and soul for a long time but can he really blame Ellie? What Elizabeth did was for love and survival for daughter ala the ultimate sacrifice. I felt so heartbroken for Ellie during that scene. It was like a gut punch. Happiness obliterated from words. So true in real life.
Ellie crying in Isaiah arms was sad. His face was just pained. Ellie told her father about how she loves Isaiah and telling her secret. And Mark, this is the first time I felt like he was being a d*** lol. He purposely told Eleanor that Isaiah only liked her because he didn’t “know what she was”. Wtf again. Mark basically told his daughter no one will like or love her because she’s different. What-in-the-holy-f***. Mark was catching L’s from me in this episode but that’s good writing and acting lol
So Mark = 2 L’s 1 W’s. L= Lose W=Wins. He gets that one Win because he found out who Claire was.
Oh and Peter and Chris. Very interesting. And something you didn’t mention in your review. Claire told Peter that whatever bit him was like over hundreds of years old. So it would seem, perhaps Eleanor and Peter was bitten by a real vampire.
Now returning to Peter, that was an an interesting turn for him. I never seen the bond take place in such a subtle way. Usually movies just have the “maker” giving orders and the person following orders. I guess because even Peter couldn’t understand it, he felt this overwhelming urge to protect what he created. That was cool. I’m sure if Zeke was there he would had known what was happening. No surprise Chris wanted revenge against Claire and failed. Peter is way stronger and he iced Chris handily and quite shockingly. He dragged him away liked a rag doll.
I will offer a slight pushback to your statement about the inconsistency of feeding Eleanor. You forgot that Zeke brought over the blood when Roland was killed and even then Eleanor said she didn’t need it maybe for 2-3 weeks and Zeke told her to drink it. So yeah, there’s no inconsistency. Eleanor is more than good.
Also, what Elizabeth surmise was 10 years ago. I am certain Mark and Eleanor, especially Eleanor has learn new ways to not feel the hunger as much. She was able to not bite Isaiah and suppress the hunger. So the writing stands good with me.
The human threat is there and was shown to be Matthew in this ep who was very shady and went to kill Naomi. That was a bold move on Mat’s part and Claire’s too. She knows everything Mat tells her and she would be guilty if something had happen to Isaiah had he went back into that apartment with Matthew there. I never really thought about it until now. That’s some sick stuff.
Anyways Mat gain the advantage because Mark taking another L went to Claire and got knock out. That’s it. Another good episode.
As I think you said, or maybe I did for the video review (I’m not sure which), one of the things Eleanor hasn’t had in over 10 years is a maternal figure. She’s only had her father, who has secluded her, and Uncle Zeke, on rare moments. So getting to bond with Naomi may have been the rare opportunity to interact and be around a woman. On top of that, Naomi was a maternal figure who wasn’t just nurturing, but also empowering. She taught her to fight and enabled her to use her strength in a way Mark never allowed or encouraged.
Switching to Claire, I think with her, as noted in the episode 9 comment, she has been protected so long that confrontation, like she got with Naomi, is foreign.
Getting to Mark and Eleanor, a part of me is starting to feel like, especially with the constant acknowledgments of Eleanor being 22, Mark wants her to start acting like it, but he is torn. He wants Eleanor to take responsibility, yet with dedicating his last ten years to her, he doesn’t know what life would be like without doing what he does. How can he just work in Zeke’s kitchen after killing so many people, and building a tolerance to that? Heck, considering his faith, the level of guilt and question if he deserves a girlfriend, a good job, and to be happy, is probably sky high. So, I think in that moment, he unleashed in a way that he has been holding back for a long time and, unfortunately, Eleanor is the only one he can really talk to about what happened and his frustrations.
But, the issue with that is, because Eleanor has been treated like a child for so long, she is stunted. She can’t process this as her dad just being frustrated with Elizabeth’s decisions and him feeling helpless. She might be 22 in terms of how long she has been alive, but her father gave her arrested development. Hence her being capable of being so close to Isaiah since he is mentally and emotionally where she is.
With that said, I was tearing up when she cried and allowed herself to be so vulnerable with him. It reminds me of when Frank died and Isaiah, when Eleanor was consoling him, just uncrossed his arms from his knees and just let himself feel and cry. That moment hit me hard.
I feel that, with the Claire mentioning the vampire being 100s of years old, it’s in my notes but it’s hard to say how that is going to factor into anything. Especially since it doesn’t seem we’ll see Peter’s maker any time soon, if at all. And speaking of makers, I too am used to the whole, “I made you, so now I can command you!” type of action most vampires have. So Peter being more maternal, or maybe paternal, and wanting to protect, nurture, and teach Chris was sweet. It makes Chris going after Claire unfortunate, since Peter, like Eleanor, has likely lived secluded his whole life, with only his father, so having someone like Chris could have been what he needed. Chris could have been his Isaiah, potentially.