Peacock's "TEACUP" Episode 101 & 102 Kickstart Something Spooky (SPOILER-FREE REVIEW)
(Photo by: Mark Hill/Peacock)
The first two episodes of the new Peacock original series “Teacup” premiered this past Thursday, October 10th. Creator Ian McCulloch and executive producers James Wan and Robert R. McCammon have come together to create a cinematically pleasing horror experience. Consisting of eight episodes all with a little over a 30-minute run time, this one is going to be great for binging this Halloween season. Before we dive in, we wanted to thank our friends over at Peacock for the early screening and the opportunity to review the series.
Think About The Bubbles
The opening scene begins with a woman in the middle of the woods with her hands zip-tied together, rubbing them against a large rock in an attempt to escape. Covered in blood, she screams out in agony and mumbles an odd array of phrases. We have a feeling that this woman may have some significance in later episodes…
Set in rural Georgia, the Chenoweth family owns a ranch and cares for horses along with several other farm animals. Whilst tending to the horses in the barn, Maggie (Yvonne Strahovski) has noticed a strange change in the horse’s behavior within the last few days. James’ (Scott Speedman) mother Ellen is back at the house and listening to the radio in the kitchen.
Suddenly, the old-timey music turns to straight static and cuts in and out. Maggie and James’ son, Arlo (Caleb Dolden), are looking out the window at the goat outside when it wanders off into the woods. Without anyone noticing, he sneaks outside to follow it.
(Photo by: Daniel McFadden/Peacock)
One by one the Chenoweth’s begin to realize Arlo is missing when there is no sign of him in the home. Before they are about to go out and look for him, the neighbors frantically pull into the driveway with their horse in the trailer in need of help. Maggie is also an equine (horse) veterinarian; James and their daughter Meryl (Emilie Bierre) along with the neighboring family head out to search for Arlo while Maggie and Ruben (Chaske Spencer) stay back with the injured horse.
Wandering the woods with no sign of Arlo, they all head back to the Chenoweth ranch. Frantically, Maggie stands in the driveway along with the rest of the family and neighbors when to her disbelief, she see’s someone walking up the driveway, it was Arlo. But something seems off about the way he’s acting… the episode ends with a quirky tune playing, a man in a gas mask appears and is spraying a blue line on the perimeter of the property.
(Photo by: Mark Hill/Peacock)
My Little Lighthouse
With what we got from the first episode, it left us wondering: “What happened to Arlo in the woods?” “What is the meaning behind the blue line?” “Who is the man in the gas mask?” Although we do progressively have these things revealed to us, we don’t want to include too many spoilers.
Arlo is slowly recovering from his injuries that occurred in the woods, but it seems he still isn’t acting like his usual self. He’s mumbling random phrases, flailing his body around, and lashing out on his mother. Similar to the woman we saw in the woods from the first episode… James and Ruben attempt to talk to the man in the gas mask after seeing his car from the front window of the house. To their despair, he doesn’t speak and uses a white board to communicate, being very cryptic in his choice of words he’s using.
At this point, the Chenoweth’s, the Shanley family, and their two other neighbors have decided to ride out whatever is happening at the ranch. The power is out, none of the vehicles will turn over, and Arlo is still acting manic. It is yet to be deciphered what exactly is going on at the Chenoweth ranch, but we think the truth is soon to come out. Someone has to know something. The most important rule: “Don’t trust anyone.”
(Photo by: Mark Hill/Peacock)
What we can conclude from “Teacup” so far is that there will be a lot of twists and turns along with some unexpected moments that make you say “What the hell?” The series is inspired by the novel “Stinger” written by Robert R. McCammon. We have not read the book first-hand, but with the way the show was written and directed, we could get that storytelling expressed in a cinematic view.
As for further into the series, we think the blue line is going to play a big role. Unsure as to what its purpose is just yet, we know whatever crosses it will not end up how they were before… Also, why won’t the man in the gas mask speak? What is this mysterious persona he is putting on? We think it may be someone the family knows and is in on the strange occurrences that have been going on.
As the series continues, we will be giving an updated recap of the two episodes that release per week until the finale. Make sure to stay tuned! Both episode one and two of Teacup are now available for streaming exclusively on Peacock.
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