by Conan Simmons – August 31, 2020 – 4:44 am
After the events in Ardham, Atticus (Jonathan Majors) and company return to Chicago and attend the funeral of ill-fated George (Courtney B. Vance). Hiding the facts surrounding his death they begin to go their separate ways. Atticus prepares to leave town while his father Montrose (Michael Kenneth Williams) attempts reconciliation with George’s wife, Hippolyta (Aunjanue Ellis), who is suspicious of the details surrounding her husband’s death. Leti (Jurnee Smollett) gets closer to her sister Ruby (Wunmi Mosaku) and buys a house on the northside of Chicago.
The house Leti buys is an old Victorian design complete with elevator. It’s not long before strange things start to happen as the house is haunted. Before the supernatural occurrences can get full swing Leti and her tenants must deal with the very unwelcoming white racists that don’t want her living in the neighborhood. When Leti gets arrested her captor roughs her up while spilling some hints about her house’s history.
Leti is the star of this episode with most of the plot centered on her and her house. Strange noises come from a cellar door and as she obsessively hunts down the history of the house she encounters several weird ghosts. Some of the scares are predictable but the ghosts are horrifying.
‘Holy Ghost’ is a definite improvement over last weeks episode. The effects seem better executed than previously. Much like the premiere the scariest parts are when racists threaten making the supernatural horrors feel a little relieving. The show does have a slight problem with trying to balance the horrors of reality against that of the unnatural. It really stands out in three scenes pressed together going from Leti being tortured by a cop to encountering a giant ghost head to a dramatic scene of her and her sister having a heart to heart.
There is more character development than previous episodes. Jealousies arise as the inevitable romance between Atticus and Leti is consummated. Montrose tries to drown his grief with the bottle.
The story however feels more like a stand alone plot though there are enough details to easily connect it to the events in Ardham. How the storyline of ‘Holy Ghost’ will fit in with the overall season may be revealed now that the femme fatale Christina Braithwhite (Abbey Lee) has arrived in Chicago.