'Lovecraft Country': Season 1 Episode 5 "Strange Case" Recap

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WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Within episode five of “Lovecraft Country,” our focus shifts to Ruby’s (Wunmi Mosaku) fall out from hooking up with Willaim (Jordan Patrick Smith), as well as some moving discoveries for Montrose (Michael K. Williams).

Flash to a bedroom, where the sheets are all over the floor. A white woman is in bed, slowly waking up. Once she's fully awake, she begins to panic as she's looking at her body. Running to a mirror, she screams, "Wake up, Ruby!" What a way to start an episode, genuinely showing Ruby's enormous consequence after a night with William (Jordan Patrick Smith). Once we get past the opening credits, we see Ruby's new incarnation walking around the streets of Chicago, scared and confused. She bumps into a young black boy, and the police come and question in him and escort her out of the black neighborhood she calls home. In the cop car, Ruby starts to have a reaction, to which we slowly realize she's changing back to her usual self. Back in William's care, he explains to her that he's been trying to experiment with changing one's self and used her for this reason. Ruby says it will never happen again, but William tells her she won't be able to resist doing it again. She scums to and takes her new appearance out for a real test drive.

Back at Leti's house, we come to the morning after Montrose murdered the woman from the vault. When Tic (Jonathan Majors) and Leti (Jurnee Smollett) come to her room, they know precisely what Montrose did, seeing Titus's pages gone. Tic beats up his father within an inch of his life, with Leti breaking things up before they got even worse. Tic goes down to Leti's darkroom, franticly looking for photos of the pages and yells at Leti, who is scared for her life. Once Tic settles down, Leti gives him the film to the pages, and they reconcile.

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Returning to his home, William finds Ruby takes a bath, and she tells him about her day. She describes the freedom to do what she wanted, needing only to be white to enjoy the whole world around her. He says to use this gift to her advantage. Therefore, Ruby goes back to the department store where she was denied a job in the previous episode. Only this time, she goes as her white alter-ego and lands the position of assistant floor manager. Towards the end of her interview, Ruby feels herself changing back, find a room, and happily turns back.

The camera pans to an apartment door, where find Montrose knocking on Sammy's door (Jon Hudson Odom), the bartender of Montrose's favorite bar. Hinted in the last episode but fully answered, Montrose and Sammy have an intimate relationship. As he seems to go to Sammy every time he gets hurt, they come into each other's arms and make love. It's a beautifully tender moment in this episode, showcasing to men who love each other in times where they can't express their love.

The next day, we see Ruby at work in her white form. She's given herself the name of Ms. Davenport; everything seems to be going right for her. When she approaches Tamera, a young black girl working at her store, she asks her how she got her job, considering she's not doing a good job. Tamera tells her it's because she's young and thin. This takes Ruby aback and pisses her off. As she is in the backroom talking with the other white women of their job, they talk about all the day's gossip, and she seems to fit right in as Ms. Davenport. When she leaves for her first day, she finds William waiting for her. He needs a favor from her since he gave her a gift of a lifetime. She is an attend a party, and we flash to the night of the festivities, we find out it's a party with the police union.

She meets Catherine (Abbey Lee), who gives Ruby something to plant in the captain's office. Catherine tells her to do it for William if she has any feelings for him. Ruby goes through with it, but when she hears someone coming, she goes into a closet and finds a man hanging on a hook. Horrified by this, she's able to keep herself composed enough not to make a sound then escaped.

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Leti and Tic look at the photos of the symbols and decoded the language of Titus's pages. Concerns over these pages' sinister intentions are all over Leti's face, but Tic reassures her they will use it for good. On the other side of town, Montrose and Sammy spend the night with some of their friends. This is the first scene all series long where Montrose feels comfortable, and again, Montrose and Sammy seem to be in full love mode, and it's beautiful to see.

Back to Ruby, who goes out with her colleagues to a bar from her side of town. She slowly realizes how she doesn't belong with them and in her new white skin. She sheds it off in the alley and goes to William's place, waiting for him. But instead of William walking in the door, Catherine opens the door and sees Ruby distraught. Seeing how angry Ruby is, Catherine tells her she's been misusing this new gift. She needs to use it not just for a job, but to gain unlimited power over anyone.

The following morning, Ruby goes to work as Ms. Davenport. She goes to her boss's office and seduces him. Right when she has him where she wants him, she takes off her heels and stabs him with it. As the person who told she wasn't good enough for the job, she got revenge on her boss and left him a bloody mess on the floor, shedding herself one last time to show him who she really was. Back to Williams's place, Ruby confronts him about what goes on in the house's basement. She's seen them both go in and out of there multiple times a day, and she wants answers. But before he can answer, William starts to shed. That's right, what I predicted last week was true, William is Catherine and vice versa. And just like that, we are left like Ruby, shocked by the twist we just witnessed. It should be interesting to see the conversation between those two next week.

We finish this show with Tic. He comforts Leti as she's taking a bath. They realize that their connection is something real, and without saying it, these two are in love with each other. When he leaves her, he goes to the decoded pages and finally finishes them. Tic realizes what they mean and runs to a phone. There, he collects calls Korea, and we hear the voice from the pilot telling him, "you should have listened to me." When he asks what she is, she hangs up. Then we see his pages, and it says one word, E-V-I-L. And with that, we end another violent, twisty, entertaining episode of “Lovecraft Country,” which keeps getting better each week.

Grade: [A-]