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Lovecraft Country Episode 7: Easter Eggs And References In “I Am”
The seventh episode of Lovecraft Country tackles Afrofuturism.
Well that was trippy.
Lovecraft Country Episode 7 doesn’t qualify as horror, per se. Think of it as a sort of reflect-and-regroup, before the final three episodes tie everything together. Our main characters spend “I Am” doing a lot of soul searching. Tic learns about the roots of his abusive childhood, while Montrose’s secret life is now out in the open. Leti is suffering from morning sickness, or something that seems a heck of a lot like morning sickness.
But the bulk of the episode focuses on Hippolyta, who goes on a fantastical journey through space and time to find her identity. She discovers that she has spent too much of her life “shrinking” and reshaping herself to other people’s expectations–even to the people she loves. It eventually leads her back home, so she can pass on what she’s learned to her daughter.
Here are all of the Easter Eggs and references we found in “I Am,” the seventh episode of HBO’s Lovecraft Country. You can read all of our episode reference guides below:
Episode 2: “Whitey’s on the Moon”
Episode 4: “A History of Violence”
1. When Does Bobo Come Back?
The Emmett Till storyline happening in the background of the show is like a slow motion trainwreck; we can see it barreling toward us, and we’re utterly powerless to stop it. But it won’t be long now; you hear Dee and her friends asking about when “Bobo” will be coming back from his trip. He’s probably not going to make it back; Bobo was the nickname of the real-life Emmett Till, who was 13 years old when two white men lynched him for allegedly hitting on a white woman, while he was on a trip down South to visit family. Like Till, the in-show Bobo is a Chicago native. He previously appeared in Episode 3 as one of Dee’s friends, playing with the ouija board. He appeared again in Episode 4, when Dee asked Hippolyta for permission to hang out with him.
2. Hi Bessie!
While Hippolyta is driving, a woman driving a motorcycle passes by her. This is Bessie Stringfield, the first black woman to ride a motorcycle across the United States, solo. During her many trips she encountered a great deal of discrimination, especially across the segregated South. Notably, she rode as a dispatch rider for the United States Armed Forces during World War II, and was known in her later years as the Motorcycle Queen of Miami.
3. What Is Afrofuturism?
When you read interviews and analyses about this show, the phrase Afrofuturism is going to come up a lot. The term refers to a genre of science fiction where people of African descent are central to the narrative. Typically, the genre asks big “what if” questions: What if slavery never happened? What if Africa wasn’t colonized? It then envisions the outcome in technologically fantastical ways. It’s both a celebration of Black potential, and a mourning for what could have been.
The most mainstream portrayal of Afrofuturism is the nation of Wakanda in Black Panther; the main characters wrestle with the responsibility of Wakanda towards other people of color, who did not have the privilege of uninterrupted advancement and prosperity.
Afrofuturism can also refer to a general mindset or approach to life–of someone who tries to escape or free themselves from systemic oppression. Legendary funk band Parliament, for example, incorporated a lot of spaceship and sci-fi imagery into its shows and encouraged black unity and uplifting through music.
4. Beyond C’est
The alien with the massive afro is named in the end credits as Beyond C’est. Beyoncé. Beyond C’est. Get it?
5. Josephine Baker
Hippolyta jokingly asks to dance with Josephine Baker in Paris, and then suddenly, she is. Josephine Baker was a real-life American who renounced her American citizenship and moved to France at a young age. In Paris, she found notoriety as an entertainer, dancer, and civil rights activist, and worked as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II and a main attraction revue dancer at the Folies Bergère. Her teasing performance, wearing nothing but a skirt made of bananas, made her a sex symbol during the Roaring Twenties. She later spoke at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s March on Washington in 1963.
6. Mother’s Finest
The song that plays over the African warrior fight scene is “Fire,” by Mother’s Finest. Appropriate to the scene, the ’70s funk band is fronted by a black female singer.
7. Space Is The Place
When Hippolyta and George are exploring the alien planet, we hear a monologue by jazz artist Sun-Ra from the cult classic 1974 film “Space is the Place.” A prominent proponent of Afrofuturism, Sun-Ra claimed to be an alien from Saturn. The most famous part of his speech is as follows:
“I’m not real. I’m just like you. You don’t exist in this society. If you did, your people wouldn’t be seeking equal rights. You’re not real. If you were, you’d have some status among the nations of the world. So we’re both myths. I do not come to you as a reality; I come to you as the myth, because that’s what black people are. Myths. I came from a dream that the black man dreamed a long time ago. I’m actually a presence sent to you by your ancestors.”
8. The Little Book
Lastly, in case you missed it: When Tic travels back to present day Earth after being sucked into the portal, he’s holding a small book. Its title is Lovecraft Country, and its author is his uncle, George Freeman. Putting aside that the real-life writer of the novel is Matt Ruff, this is a delightful in-story meta-twist. Has this story been the artistic work of George Freeman, who’s alive in a different continuity or dimension? How, exactly, do the different worlds of this multiverse affect one another? Will we get to see Tic’s portal adventures next week, as a counterpart to Hippolyta’s adventures this week? We’ll have to wait and see.
Scarlet Nexus Gets Even More Anime With New Story Trailer
During this weekend’s Tokyo Game Show event, publisher Bandai Namco showed off a new trailer for its action-RPG Scarlet Nexus. On top of providing a glimpse at the characters Yuito Sumeragi will encounter during his journey, the trailer also revealed a new playable character.
In fact, Yuito isn’t the only Scarlet Nexus protagonist. Kasane Randall, an orphan brought in by the Randall family after her parents were killed by the monstrous beings known as The Others, will also be playable from the very start of the game. Players can choose between Kasane and Yuito to get two different perspectives of Scarlet Nexus’ story. Finishing both storylines provides the full narrative.
Kasane, an elite supersoldier who imbues her projectile weapons with psychic powers to devastating effect, fights alongside Yuito to quell the threat posed by The Others. The two are supported by a colorful cast of characters, including Gemma Garrison, Luka Travers, and Tsugumi Nazar. Check out the TGS story trailer and some new screenshots below.
Apple Vs. Epic Lawsuit Prompts Google To Enforce Universal 30% Cut On Play Store
The blockbuster legal clash between Apple and Fortnite developer Epic Games over App Store pie-slicing continues to wreak havoc on the world of tech, producing all sorts of ripple effects. As predicted by a new report from Bloomberg, Google has clarified its approach to its own Google Play Store. Specifically, it’s making it clearer to developers that apps on Google Play must use Google’s billing system for in-app purchases. That would allow for the company to ensure it receives an Apple-esque 30% cut on in-app purchases.
The Play Store billing system has existed for years, but Google has historically been quite lenient about forcing apps to use it, allowing them to use their own billing services to avoid the levy. Unlike Apple, however, Google may be able to avoid charges of monopolistic practices, since the Android platform has more sources for apps than just the Play Store–even if the Play Store is the most well-known example. The company also said that it will make it easier to install and use third-party app stores in next year’s Android 12. Specifics on how it will do so were not shared.
Google says almost 97% of apps already use Google Play’s billing, so it’s a relative minority that will be forced to now comply. Google will give app developers a year-long grace period to comply with the new policy or move out of the Google Play Store, with the deadline set as September 30, 2021.
Syfy’s Magical Girl Friendship Squad & Wild Life Review
Animated series are the closest thing to coronavirus-proof forms of entertainment these days, which might explain why Syfy is putting much more weight behind its Adult Swim-esque TZGZ animation block. As part of that effort, the network just debuted two new adult-oriented animated sitcoms: Magical Girl Friendship Squad and Wild Life.
Is either series worth your time? Does Syfy have what it takes to dethrone the likes of Adult Swim and Comedy Central? Read on for our spoiler-free mini-reviews of both series’ respective premieres.
Magical Girl Friendship Squad
If the title doesn’t make it obvious, this wacky new series is basically a love letter to Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, and various other examples of the “magical girl” anime subgenre. Created by Kelsey Stephanides, the series follows two chronically underemployed millennials, Alex (Quinta Brunson) and Daisy (Anna Akana), as they find themselves bestowed with fantastical powers by a mystical red panda named Nut (Ana Gastayer).
To a certain extent, Magical Girl Friendship Squad is a real YMMV kind of series. It’s steeped in anime tropes and references, even as it remixes all of that material through a distinctly 21st century American pop culture lens. Half the fun of watching the pilot comes from pinpointing all the various Easter eggs and references to various iconic anime. For instance, there’s a really clever Cowboy Bebop poster inserted into the background of one scene, and the climax hilariously spoofs the more sexually explicit examples of the magical girl genre. Of course, all of this means that if you don’t have at least some familiarity with/appreciation for that source material going in, MGFS may not entirely click.
Still, the fast pace and tongue-in-cheek tone go a long way toward making the premiere a breezy and enjoyable 15 minutes. The two leads are entertaining, both lampooning all the millennial stereotypes and defying them at the same time. There’s just enough plot in this first episode to provide a hook for the full six-episode season without getting in the way of the goofy humor and action.
The animation style also works in its favor. MGFS strikes a balance between the irreverent style of most adult-oriented animated sitcoms and a more flamboyant and expressive anime style. The series resembles nothing if not a grown-up version of the similarly anime-influenced Steven Universe. All in all, Magical Girl Friendship Squad makes a decent case for switching over to Syfy for 15 minutes every Saturday night. What else is there to do these days?
Score – 8
Wild Life
Wild Life is a series with a fairly intriguing premise, but one that tends to fall back on more familiar animated sitcom tropes. Created by Adam Davies and featuring the voices of John Reynolds, Claudia O’Doherty, Baron Vaughn, Reggie Watts, SkittLeZ Ortiz, and Natalie Palamides, Wild Life is set in a post-apocalyptic zoo where the inmates are quite literally running the asylum. Davies previously teased the series as, “If The Walking Dead smoked Adventure Time and stayed up all night watching Friends.”
The idea of a diverse community of animals thriving in a world where humanity has been utterly annihilated sounds intriguing enough. Unfortunately, Wild Life doesn’t do a whole lot with that basic premise or the post-apocalyptic angle. The first episode is instead anchored mostly around a lovestruck cheetah named Glenn (Reynolds) as he pines after his dolphin friend Marny (O’Doherty). It barely matters whether these characters are human or animals – no doubt that’s the point, but the end result is a show that still hits on a few too many sitcom tropes for its own good. The intentionally crude and simplistic animation style doesn’t necessarily do Wild Life any favors or really take advantage of the post-apocalyptic setting, either.
That said, there are occasional moments of brilliance in the premiere when it devolves into moments of pure, wacky surrealism – and Ortiz is a hoot as the lazy, hedonistic panda, Debbie. But in the end, Wild Life doesn’t make a very strong case for an ongoing series, even with its lean 15-minute running time.
Score – 5
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For more animated sitcom news, find out which iconic Family Guy and The Simpsons roles are being recast and which controversial South Park episodes aren’t being included on HBO Max.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
New Study Reveals Lakes Beneath Surface of Mars
A new scientific study reveals there are several lakes beneath the surface of Mars.
Roma Tre University’s Elena Pettinelli led a team of researchers in this study that borrowed techniques scientists currently use to study lakes beneath Antarctic glaciers, to study similar lakes under the surface of Mars, according to a report by Independent. They used something called MARSIS, which stands for Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding, to scan the surface of the planet.
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More specifically, MARSIS sends radar pulses across the planet and these pulses reach subsurface levels of Mars before bouncing back to the scientists that sent them. According to Independent, a breakthrough study in 2018 revealed that a large lake had been found beneath Mars but scientists at the time questioned whether enough data had been gathered to truly conclude that the body found was that of water.
This new study by Pettinelli’s team seems to solidify those earlier finding as the data gathered through MARSIS confirmed the bodies discovered were, in fact, liquid water. The team also discovered it wasn’t just one large lake but a network of lakes considered “hypersaline solutions,” or in other words – very salty water. It’s that concentration of salt that allows the liquid to remain liquid, despite the extremely cold and otherwise freezing temperatures of Mars’ South Pole, which is where the lakes were found.
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Considering that liquid water is a necessity for living organisms to survive, this study could help further the possibility of alien life on Mars. The research team have already plotted future work to further study Mars, its environmental makeup, and whether or not there are legitimate traces of alien life on the planet.
Elsewhere in the universe, it was recently discovered there might be possible signs of life on Venus and that scientists have detected extragalactic radio signals arriving in an unexplained pattern.
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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.