| This article is about an episode of NOS4A2. You may be looking for the character. |
| “ | You know, when I got back from the Gulf, I finally realized why he was so pissed off all the time, Larry, and why he drank and why he hid... because he knew there was no reason for him to have been born, and that nobody was gonna give a shit when he died. And that made him feel helpless, you know? And there's no worse feeling. So, yeah, Larry McQueen. Lived for nothing, died for nothing, saw a lot of death, and, I don't know, had me somewhere along the way. | ” |
— Chris at his father's funeral
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Chris McQueen is the eighth episode of the second season of AMC's NOS4A2. It is also the eighteenth episode of the series overall.
Synopsis[]
Vic and Chris take the Shorter Way to a junkyard; Chris loses his temper; Bing leverages a secret to seek forgiveness; Vic, Lou, Maggie, and Chris hatch a plan; Tabitha impresses her boss.
Plot[]
Flashback to the day of Larry McQueen’s funeral — Chris McQueen's father. Chris shares his father's passions, such as Whiskey, the Stones, and even poetry. He had a notebook that he copied down other people's poems into. Chris found them in a box under his father’s bed. He was surprised by this given the fact that his father hassled him about going to music school. In all honesty, Chris didn’t know his father well. He moved away to a cabin when Chris was in high school. He claimed he was trying to be a better person, but in actuality, he was hiding. He did so for most of Chris’ life. A lot of his time he spent at bars. And when he was home, he was very quiet. Chris’ mom often said that he wasn’t always like that. Before Vietnam, he was funny, but Chris never got to know that man. Larry got back and was pissed off about everything that he had seen over there and more pissed off about no one caring about the fight he endured.
The first death Chris can recall was that of his hamster, Fluff. He let her out of the cage one day, and she escaped into the neighbor’s backyard, and the neighbor kid blew her up with a firecracker. Chris’ best friend growing up was Derrick Bridges. He and Chris formed a band called "Left Turn." They used to play at the cove. He was the funniest person Chris knew. And then the summer before graduation, his grandma found him in the basement. He had overdosed. Everyone was so nice at his funeral. Chris always swore he’d never be like his dad, but after Bridges died, he enrolled into the Marine Corps because he didn’t know what else to do. And when he got back from the Gulf, he finally realized why his father was so pissed off and why he drank — because he knew his life made no difference and that no one would miss him when he died, which made him feel helpless. Chris, opening relating to his father's struggles, storms out of the church with a young Vic and Linda following behind him. Linda tries to comfort him, but he rides off on his bike.
With Chris and Lou’s help, Vic manages to get the Triumph up and running again, though only momentarily before it shuts back off. The bike appears to be having electrical problems. Lou gives it a look and tells Vic to try again. She revs the bike up and after a few tries, it starts.
Vic and Chris pack their bags with explosives. Vic thanks Chris for helping with the bike and getting the ANFO. She’s still visibly in pain and has yet to recover after being run down by the Hourglass Man, though she’s intent on finding Wayne. But before she leaves, she kisses Lou goodbye.
Vic joins Chris outside by the Triumph. Before getting on, Linda voices her concern in regards to them taking explosives over Vic’s Bridge, though Vic doesn’t have much of a choice. Linda tells them to be careful as Vic starts the bike and Chris hops on the back. Linda follows them down the street on foot and watches as Vic and Chris ride away on the Shorter Way Bridge. Linda is lost for words at what she’s just witnessed.
Vic and Chris ride the Shorter Way to a scrapyard, where they find Wayne’s phone on the ground. Not far from them Bing lays against his truck, dying from being stabbed with a pole. Wheezing for air, Bing reveals that they just missed Manx. He begs for help. Chris takes out his gun, pistols whips Bing, and applies so much pressure to his wound that he passes out, forcing Vic to intervene. Chris apologizes for losing control, but with Bing unconscious, Vic has no choice but to call for help.
Vic meets Tabitha at the local precinct. She reveals that Bing woke up this morning and is out of surgery. No one at the hospital could get anything out of him. He simply kept asking for Vic. It’s been nearly 24 hours since they found him, and Vic doesn’t have much time left.
Bing is taken into processing and later placed in interrogation. Tabitha stands on the other side of the window with Chitra and Daltry. She wants first crack at Bing and guarantees she can make him talk within ten minutes.
Tabitha interrogates Bing. He recalls her from their last encounter at the church and their initial encounter eight years before that in Haverhill. Bing asks to talk to Vic, but Tabitha brings up Bing’s past and his time spent in juvie. She assures him prison will be much worse. She then asks where to find Wayne. Tabitha tells Bing how she screwed up at her job and her bosses are mad at her. Bing can relate, explaining that Manx is always mad. Bing wishes he had never met Manx. He wouldn’t be sitting there in a police station, and Vic would still be his friend. Tabitha agrees to help Bing so long as he helps her.
Vic, Maggie, Lou, Chris, and Linda sit in the waiting room of the police station. Tabitha tells Vic that Bing has confessed to several crimes, including kidnapping Wayne. Unfortunately, he refuses to give up any more information of Wayne’s whereabouts until he speaks with Vic. Chris and Linda advise her against it, but Lou tells her to do whatever feels right. And so Vic decides to speak with Bing.
Vic enters the interrogation room and asks Bing where to find Wayne. Bing apologizes for bringing Manx back to life and putting the engine back in the Wraith. He tried to save Wayne, but he failed. He asks if Vic remembers when they were friends. They used to trade comics, she recalls. She claims to miss the person she thought Bing was. Bing doesn’t have any friends now. He’s all alone and sorry for his actions. He asks if Vic can find it in her heart to forgive him. Vic grabs his hand and asks him where to find Wayne. Bing reveals that before they go to Christmasland, they must hang an ornament on a tree near Sleigh House. It’s the last stop before Christmasland.
Vic returns to the waiting room and tells Maggie that she needs her Tiles.
Chitra and Daltry call Tabitha into the interrogation room and congratulate her on the full confession from Bing. She even managed to prove that her relationship with Vic was beneficial. Next, they order a psych evaluation on Bing. As for Wayne, they suspect that Bing killed him and hid his body in the junkyard. They order Tabitha to coordinate with the field office and start an official search for the body. Lastly, Daltry gives Tabitha her badge back.
Vic and Maggie head out to the SUV, where Maggie can use her Tiles in privacy. Vic still blames her dad. If it wasn’t for him, they could’ve found Wayne already. Maggie replies that parents always let you down, which is why she doesn’t talk to hers. Maggie then tells Vic that they all screw up sometimes, reminding Vic how she went to a murderer's hotel room without a plan. "I’d shank a thousand assholes for your mopey ass," Maggie adds. She lights a cigarette and burns her arm just before asking her Tiles if Wayne has hung his ornament yet. The Tiles reveal that he hasn’t, and so Vic is headed for Sleigh House. She then notices Tabitha watching and alerts Maggie before exiting the truck.
Vic tells Tabitha that Wayne hasn’t hung his ornament yet and there’s still time to save him if they can beat the Wraith to Colorado. Tabitha assures Vic that she’ll keep the F.B.I off her back. Tabitha then joins Maggie inside the SUV and breaks up with her. While she loves Maggie more than she’s ever loved anyone, Tabitha wants to live in the real world all the time. Maggie asks about Tabitha’s grandfather, the Santero of Mattapan. "What about the cost of ignoring forces beyond your imagination?: Maggie asks. Tabitha replies that her grandfather, for the most part, lives a normal life with a normal family. She knows Maggie would never be happy living that life, so Tabitha has to let Maggie go. She wants Maggie to be who she truly is. She even offers to drive Maggie to the airport so that she can meet Vic in Colorado.
Admittedly, Chris lost control when attacking Bing, but he refuses to allow Vic to ride to Colorado alone. Vic doesn’t want his help. They lost nearly a day because of him. Chris explains that half of those bombs have timers and that only he knows how to rig them. Linda warns Vic against letting her anger screw up her chances of saving Wayne. Vic reluctantly agrees to allow Chris to join her. Linda hugs Chris and tells him to bring Vic and Wayne home.
Vic and Chris ride out to Sleigh House, where they plant the bombs. Chris apologizes again for letting Vic down, though she initially doesn’t respond to him. She eventually explains that it’s easier to be mad at him than herself. Chris tells Vic that Charlie Manx isn’t her fault. Vic was confused when her Bridge brought her to her father at his lake house after burning down her home. However, she knows that whenever she was with her father, she was just a kid who had dreams of being an artist and having a family. She promised herself that she’d be a better parent and provide a better home for Wayne. Instead, she ended up a failure and drunk. She wants to forgive her father because if she can’t forgive him, then she can’t expect Wayne to forgive her. But if she does forgive Chris, then she’s also letting herself off the hook for constantly failing Wayne and Lou. She doesn’t believe she deserves forgiveness. Maggie and Lou then arrive.
Vic, Maggie, and Lou gaze upon the trees, each one with dozens of ornaments hanging from them, each representing a kid. Vic suddenly hears kids singing, but only she can hear them and goes to investigate. Lou tells Maggie that he likes being a dad. More than that, he likes being Wayne’s dad. Maggie assures him that he still is. She then pulls out her Tiles and asks if there’s a way to get the other kids back.
Vic follows the singing to the faltering veil, where Millie can see her but she can’t see Millie. She asks if Vic is going to kill her father. If Manx dies then so will all the Christmasland kids, Millie explains. Millie doesn't want to die. She wants to know what it feels like to grow up. So she asks Vic to help her get out. Millie agrees to show Vic a secret so long as she promises to rescue her. Millie grabs a snow ball and rolls it out the veil to Vic, only for it to disappear moments after.
Lou asks Maggie if she needs medicine given the amount of times she has burned herself, but she assures him she’ll fix it later. After asking if there was a way to save the Christmasland kids, Maggie’s Tiles spell out "WHEN SOULS FALL." Vic joins them and informs Maggie and Lou that Manx is on his way and that they need to hide.
Vic and Chris hide in a ditch, waiting for Manx to arrive. Chris tells Vic to forgive herself. If she doesn’t let herself off the hook, she’ll simply hang for the rest of her life. They then hear the Wraith approaching.
Manx pulls over and exits the Wraith, taking in the scenery. He lets Wayne out and tells him to hang his bat-like ornament. Wayne, in the time between the scrapyard and Sleigh House, has grown fangs and become more monstrous. As Wayne gets lost within the trees, the Wraith starts to honk and it’s lights flash, alerting Manx of a presence. He then hears Vic’s motorbike and realizes that she’s nearby. Manx gets in the Wraith and drives towards her.
Maggie slowly approaches Wayne from behind as he hangs his ornament on a tree branch. She calls out to him. He bares his fangs and runs off into the trees. Maggie calls out to him, but he doesn’t answer.
Lou finds Wayne in the woods and hugs him. And for that moment, Wayne appears to be human again. He then bites Lou in the shoulder and runs off laughing.
Manx meets Vic on the road. She revs her bike, challenging him. He charges towards her in the Wraith. Chris blows the first explosive but he misses. He blows the second explosive and misses again. Without notice, the Triumph cuts off. While the third explosive also misses, it hits close enough to steer Manx off track, though only momentarily. Manx turns his attention back to Vic and drives towards her. With the bike not starting, Chris jumps from behind the trees and pushes Vic and the Triumph out the way, though he is run over in the process. Wayne then emerges from the woods and gets into the back of the Wraith. Vic is stuck under the Triumph as Manx approaches. He stands over top of Chris and calls him a second generation failure and drunk before snapping his neck in front of Vic.
Cast[]
Starring[] |
Guest Starring[]Co-Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- This episode is directly named after Chris McQueen.
Multimedia[]
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Episode Guide[]
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