Abhiroop Das
Created by Jami O’Brien, ‘NOS4A2‘ tells the story of Victoria “Vic” McQueen, a seemingly unusual teenager who secretly possesses the power to break through space and time. Set in a world where magic is a skill wielded by the chosen few, Vic soon finds herself face to face with an entity who has been terrorizing the world for decades, if not centuries. The seemingly immortal Charlie Manx sustains himself by kidnapping children and trapping them in a fantastical realm that can only be located by Vic, which makes a confrontation between the two inevitable. Whether Vic learns to use her abilities for good and brings down the supernatural predator is at the heart of this Fantasy Horror series, which is based on the eponymous book by Joe Hill. SPOILERS AHEAD.
NOS4A2 Season 1 Plot Recap
‘NOS4A2’ begins with the McQueen family, comprising Christopher, Linda, and their daughter Vic, hitting a critical juncture. As their domestic troubles reach a boiling point, Vic wakes up one day to learn that her father has abandoned the family. However, she has a trick up her sleeve, a supernatural ability that lets her locate anything and anyone, no matter how well hidden. Dubbed “the Shorter Way Bridge,” Vic can only use the ability while riding her dirt bike through the eponymous bridge in the middle of the forest, which magically transports her to where she can find what she desires. In this case, it is her father, yet upon seeing him with a new partner, she abandons the idea of a reunion. This ability, we later learn, is not exclusive to Vic, as certain others, known as the Strong Creatives, can rupture the fabric of reality in pursuit of their desires and create liminal spaces known as Inscapes. Charlie Manx is one such entity, but his motivations are nowhere near as innocent.
We learn more about Charlie through his twisted employment schemes, which target Bing Patridge, a worker at Vic’s high school with a past to hide. A flashback reveals that Bing murdered his father and sexually assaulted his mother at a young age, and has since been suppressing his violent desires in the hopes of blending in with society. However, a chance to kidnap children for Charlie reopens the doors to Bing’s bloodthirsty desires, and a trail of blood follows. Charlie has a very specific reason to kidnap children, often choosing the ones who have been abandoned in one way or another. Once in control, Charlie promises them a trip to Christmasland, which is revealed to be his Inscape. Bing is promised entry into this mystical land if he successfully kidnaps young children, but Vic interrupts just in time, using her powers to smoke out the source of these sudden disappearances.
Faced with a challenge, Charlie wastes no time in overpowering Vic, but spares her life due to his bigger plans for her future. As she digs deeper into his past, she learns he had a lover named Jolene decades ago with similar supernatural abilities. However, she eventually discovered that her partner was siphoning life force from children to maintain his eternal youth. As a result, he declared her insane, imposing institutionalization shortly after. In the present, Vic locates Jolene, who is still alive, and learns that a person’s usage of the Inscape is subjective and depends on their medium of transportation. For Charlie, that medium is his prized car, dubbed the “Wraith,” and Vic sets out to destroy it by any means necessary. However, in the process, Charlie grabs hold of her lover, Craig, and imprisons him with the rest of the kidnapped children, who have turned into evil entities in the absence of their souls. As the ultimate fight between Charlie and Vic ensues, the latter realizes that the path to victory is not without its costs.
NOS4A2 Season 1 Ending: Is Charlie Manx Still Alive?
The first season of ‘NOS4A2’ ends with Charlie Manx coming out of his comatose state for just long enough to instill fear into the town once again. Although he slips back into unconsciousness right after, the words he leaves behind confirm that his core desires have, if anything, only grown stronger over time, and his potential return will result in an even bigger reign of terror. Charlie’s confrontation with Vic ends with her lighting the Wraith on fire, and the damage ends up having a compounding effect on him. As pieces of the vehicle burn down, the immortal entity ages rapidly, seemingly losing both strength and supernatural ability. However, his very immortality ends up working against him, as instead of dying, Charlie burns and shrivels down to a near-unrecognizable form. In the same vein, the fact that he cannot die frames his return as not just a distant possibility, but an eventuality that is dependent on the magic system that sustains him.
Throughout the story, Charlie’s connection to the Wraith is depicted as more than an emotional or psychological one, as the car is both a supernatural entity and an instrument in itself. Any damage done to the car, as such, has a proportionate effect on its owner, creating a dynamic that is defined by absolute balance. Vic, who has firsthand experience of the cost of using her abilities, weaponizes this causal effect by burning the Wraith to a crisp, which in turn destroys Charlie from the inside out. However, the final moments of the season prove that the inverse of this reaction is also true, as any repairs done on the car directly heal parts of his brain, even if temporarily. We see this happen in real-time as a mechanic gets his hand on the car and tries to fix its engine, accidentally bringing Charlie back to his senses. Although the telepathic connections break with the engine failing once again, a clear path to recovery is now in sight for the immortal man.
In the brief moment that he regains consciousness, Charlie grabs hold of the nurse beside him and begins terrifyingly listing out all the harm he can, and possibly will, inflict upon her family. This reiterates his driving force throughout the narrative, a desire to siphon the life force from children who are abandoned in one way or another. To that end, his means of resuscitation directly parallels how fuel is periodically added to a vehicle to keep it going, cementing a thematic motif. Another important symbolism involved in the scene is that of the blood transfusion bag, which falls out of the nurse’s hands and spills onto the floor. In doing so, the scene goes against the traditional depiction of vampirism, showing how Charlie’s thirst cannot be satiated by just blood. Given that he is effectively immortal so long as the Wraith exists in some form, Vic might have to devise ways to destroy the car once and for all.
Is Vic Pregnant? Does Craig Live or Die?
In the aftermath of the climactic battle, Vic is rushed to the hospital, where an examination of her injuries gives way to a much bigger revelation: she is pregnant. While it is inferred that the father is none other than Craig, his ultimate fate fills the scene with a sense of tragedy. Vic’s plan of burning down Charlie’s car had the unintended effect of trapping Craig inside. Given its magical nature, the Wraith does not respond to any entry or exit attempts not allowed by its owner, and this meant that Craig had no way of making it out alive. In the middle of battling an infected child, the young man tries everything within his abilities to break free, but every move only serves to confirm the inevitable. In his final moments, Craig locks eyes with his lover, Vic, and begs her to climb out of the vehicle, ensuring that she is saved as the car blows up, killing him in the process.
The news of Vic’s pregnancy comes as a shock to not just her family, but also to Vic herself. With Craig dead, the responsibility of raising the child now lies solely on Vic, and the six-month timeskip that follows confirms that she chose to keep the baby. In some ways, her decision to become a mother brings the story full circle, as Vic now has the opportunity to improve on the lived experiences she has had, as well as narratively contrast Charlie’s beliefs and systems of abuse when it comes to children. Given the immortal man’s emphasis on Vic being a virgin, the fact that she is about to have a baby is just one of the many signs that reiterate his crushing defeat in this season. However, Vic’s pregnancy also touches on a completely different side of the story, which is concerned with her future aspirations. While Charlie’s destruction of her bike symbolizes the end of her creative ambitions, the presence of the baby, by contrast, signifies new beginnings.
Where Are the Missing Children? Does Vic Find Them?
While Charlie is defeated and Vic makes her escape, we are not given any concrete picture of what happens to the children trapped inside Christmasland. Following the six-month timeskip, we learn that Vic has been hearing the children’s voices guiding her to Christmasland and the Graveyard of What Might Be. Although the kids are nowhere in sight, she distinctly hears one of them asking about their father, referring to Charlie. The children also add that they are hungry, and given their cannibalistic past, it is only a matter of time before everything breaks into chaos. Upon examining the site, Vic comes across a tree with hundreds of dolls, candies, and other items hanging from its branches. When she recognizes a fallen boat as the one belonging to the dead kid, however, things suddenly fall into place, and she realizes that each Christmas ornament tied to the tree might represent a child kidnapped by Charlie, with their death being symbolized by the item falling to the ground.
The revelation about the tree’s true nature and significance leads to two possibilities regarding the children and how to retrieve them. To begin with, the fact that most of the ornaments are still hanging indicates that the children are still alive, and likely looking for ways to break free of Christmasland. Though there is a good chance that these items house the souls of these kidnapped children, whether destroying them returns the soul to its host body, or simply allows the child to rest in peace, cannot be established without big risks. The only way out of this conundrum seems to be through the Inscape, but with Vic’s bike now out of the equation, a journey back into that supernatural realm is exceedingly improbable. However, Jolene’s ability to substitute her roller skates for the wheelchair proves that one’s “knife,” or means of access to the Inscape, can be altered. While this gives Vic a fighting chance in her quest for the children, the possibility of them being past the point of no return cannot be ruled out.
What Happens to Bing? Does He Escape?
Amidst the chaos and macabre twists of the season finale, Bing manages to make his escape and start a new life in secret, despite the police’s best attempts to catch him. In the six-month flashforward, we learn that Bing has now shaven his beard and trimmed his hair, creating an unrecognizable look that helps him blend in with his new environment. However, the sinister side to him remains unchanged, and with his new job as the janitor at a dentist’s, he has no shortage of potential victims. In the brief time we spend with the serial killer, we see him attempting to cheer up a gloomy-looking girl, and yet the situation is far from innocent. The fact that we never see the girl’s parents raises the possibility of her being another abandoned child, making her a perfect match for Bing’s nefarious plans. As such, while Charlie is restricted to the hospital, there is a chance that his successor is continuing the craft, scouting out potential sacrifices to bring the immortal entity back to his senses.
In the same vein, it is equally possible that Bing has started practicing Charlie’s trade on his own and is abusing the children’s life forces to sustain himself. Although Charlie never directly explains how he came to be a vampiric entity, we learn that he made a figurative deal with the devil in some capacity, leading to his present requirements of ritual, periodic sacrifices. In Bing’s case, however, Charlie himself mimics the idea of a devil, which brings an altogether different connotation to the power dynamics at play. While Bing appears to be leading a peaceful life away from the sight of the cops, there is a glaring potential that he has secretly been exercising violence on innocents. Although Maggie comes close to pinning down his location, the plan turns into a failure, leaving the serial killer free to wipe his slate clean. In a story full of supernatural happenings, Bing represents the human ability to create terror, which makes stopping him as important as destroying Charlie.
Read More: Where is NOS4A2 Filmed?
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