| “ | You're just like my mother. You think you can do as you please. Ruin my life, and I'll do nothing? Did you actually think that I was gonna sit by and let you take my daughter? Destroy everything I've worked for? You selfish bitch! You're all alike. Hen-pecking harpies and nags and whores! Nothing's ever good enough for you, is it? Is it?! | ” |
Good Father is the second episode of the second season of AMC's NOS4A2. It is also the twelfth episode of the series overall.[1]
Synopsis[]
Charlie Manx fights for his life. Millie Manx determines to never let the lights go out in Christmasland again. Bing receives a long-awaited call. Wayne McQueen, attempting to understand his mother, walks headlong into danger.
Plot[]
Ernie Hicks, the security guard at Jefferson Memorial Hospital, makes a deal with a doctor to get her pictures of Charlie Manx's corpse in the morgue. She’s fascinated by the horrible crimes he’s committed. She tells Hicks to ensure he gets a picture of Manx’s hands, as they are the tools of his trade.
Hicks enters the morgue and takes a photo of himself next to Manx’s body. The lights suddenly go off and he exits the morgue. He sends the photo to Sasha, but she reminds him that he was also supposed to take a photo of his hands. Ernie re-enters the morgue and finds that Manx is no longer on the autopsy table. Manx sneaks up from behind and bashes Hicks over the head with a silver hammer. He then staples his chest shut and takes Hicks’s clothes. While alive, Manx remains extremely weak.
Flashback to many years prior. Charlie Manx and his wife Cassie return from seeing the Nosferatu film. Cassie compares Manx to Nosferatu and asks for Charters opinion. Manx, in a jokingly fashion, puts two toothpicks in his mouth to resemble fangs. Cassie then asks about her father, who Charter tells her had gone to bed.
Manx joins Cassie upstairs in their bedroom, where she reveals that she’s pregnant. She fears what her father will say. He’s already been so kind by letting them stay there. She wonders what he’ll say to them bringing a baby into his home. Manx insists that he’ll simply have to accept it as it is his grandchild. He then remarks how much Cassie’s father resents him. However, it wasn’t always like that. When Manx was driving for him, their relationship was much more pleasant but that changed when Manx and Cassie eloped. With the baby on the way, Manx wants to propose to Cassie’s dad a proposition. A small loan until they are on their feet. Cassie tells Charlie that she loves him and believes in him. Manx gets down on his knees and tells their child-to-be that he will take care of them.
Present day; Manx grabs Hick’s car keys and exits the morgue. He calls Bing and tells him to put a child in the Wraith and to meet him at Sleigh House. Do that, and the Wraith will start on its own and drive Bing to him.
Flashback; the maid tells Manx that Cassie would like to name their new born child Millicent, after her mother. Manx looks to Cassie’s father, Horace, who agrees this shall be the child’s name. As Millie starts to cry, the maid takes her away. Manx approaches Horace with a business proposition, but he isn’t interested in funding any of Manx’s endeavors. The very qualities that made Manx an excellent driver are the same traits that make him an insufferable son-in-law. He doesn’t trust Manx and doesn’t know what to make of him. However, Horace tells Manx that he has arranged an inheritance in the form of a trust for Millie when she turns 18. He lastly remarks that Manx thinks he can live off him like a vampire.
Present day; Manx drags himself to the parking garage, leaving a pool of blood behind with each step. He gets into Hick’s car and backs out just as another security guard is approaching. Manx turns the car around and runs the security guard over.
Bing arrives at Paul Demeter’s ex-wife’s house to pick up Mike, claiming that Paul sent him. Bing finds Mike locked in a dog cage. Bing asks who is responsible for this, and Mike reveals that it was his step-brother Eric. Bing finds Eric watching porn with his friends and demands the key to the cage.
Bing releases Mike from the cage and takes him to his car. Bing tells Mike that it’s okay if he wants to cry. He used to cry a lot. He used to think he was so big because he had so much sad in him. But then he realized that a frown is just an upside down smile and he looks at everything like that now. Mike reveals how he’s constantly tortured by Eric, who has even made him drink his pee before. Bing offers to go back inside and kill Eric, but Mike tells him not to, as Bing would be arrested, and Mike would have no one to talk with. Bing then tells Mike about Christmasland and how he’ll have friends forever.
Manx pulls up to a truckstop. His wounds have opened and he continues to grow weaker.
Flashback; Cassie expresses her concern to Manx. They’ve moved out of her father’s home and are struggling to stay afloat. She worries what this kind of living environment will have on Millie. While Cassie has remained faithful to Manx and always believed in him, even after her father died and the money dried up, belief won’t put food on the table or clothes on their backs. She suggests that she go looking for a job, which Manx refuses to allow to happen. He suspects that she wants to open something as frivolous as a kissing booth. She tells Manx that if he doesn’t come up with something soon, she’ll leave and take Millie to her sister’s. Millie interrupts and Manx takes her back to her room.
Manx lays Millie in bed. She wonders why her mother was crying. Manx replies that she’s merely worried about grown up things, but he does fears that she doesn’t have faith in him. Millie, on the other hand, will always have faith in her father. She then gives him an Eskimo and butterfly kiss. Manx tells Millie to close her eyes and dream of Christmasland.
Present day; Manx exits the car, covered in blood and barely able to walk. A bystander notices him struggling up the ramp and calls the authorities. Manx calls Millie from a pay phone and tells her to stay brave. She asks when he is coming home. He isn’t sure, but he tells her not to worry as Christmasland is forever. They’ll always be safe inside his gates. However, Millie reveals to him how the lights went out and the white noise crept up all the way up to the Sleigh coaster. Millie begs her father to return. He promises her that the lights will never go out again and that he’s on his way.
Bing puts Mike in the back of the Wraith and tells him that it’s a magical car, comparable to Santa’s sleigh. Bing gets inside the Wraith, but it won’t start. He checks the engine, but the Wraith refuses to start. Eventually, the Wraith turns on.
Manx duct tapes the incisions on his chest. He then sneaks up on a trucker and smashes his head in with the bone hammer. He locks the bathroom door and hides the trucker’s body in the custodian closet. Two state troopers arrive and kick in the door and find Manx hiding in the last stall. He suddenly regains his youth and exits the restroom.
Manx heads towards the parking lot. While he may look youthful, his wounds have not yet healed. He gets inside the trucker’s truck and drives off. He arrives at the Sleigh House, or at least where it once stood. He finds a child within the trees, who unbeknownst to him is Vic’s son. He tells Manx that his family doesn’t celebrate Christmas, and he thinks the ornaments on the tree are creepy. Wayne shares the stories he’s heard of Charlie Manx, who’s allegedly killed many children. Manx tells Wayne not to believe everything he hears. He looks into Wayne’s eyes and calls him by his first name: Bruce. Wayne replies that no one calls him that, though it is in fact his name. Manx then appears to recognize Wayne. He’s seen him before in a dream. Wayne then runs off as Manx continues to bleed through his shirt.
Flashback; Manx returns home with a 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith in pristine condition. Millie is overwhelmed with joy, but Cassie is not impressed, questioning how much the vehicle cost. Manx reveals that it cost $3,000. He pawned her mother’s rings, which was the last thing Cassie had of her. She tells Manx to take back the Wraith or else she and Millie are leaving. Cassie explains that their daughter needs a stable home, and she can no longer do this by herself. Manx tries to explain that he did this for their family, but Cassie insists that Manx did this for his own selfish needs and goes inside. Millie approaches her father and gives him an Eskimo kiss. Inside, Cassie packs her and Millie’s belongings. Millie, however, doesn’t want to go to her aunt Beatrice’s. Cassie reveals that they’re taking a bus. She purchased tickets last week, having planned ahead for just this moment. Manx admits to having failed them and offers to drive them to her sister’s house himself.
Bing arrives at the Sleigh House with Mike in the backseat, only to find Manx bleeding out on the ground. Bing helps Manx to his feet and drags him to the Wraith. Upon entering the vehicle and grabbing ahold of the steering wheel, Manx heals almost instantly. He looks back to Mike and asks if he’s ready for the ride of his life. Mike smiles, baring his extremely sharp teeth.
Manx stops on the road to Christmasland and reminds Bing of their deal that he can only enter Christmasland after helping save ten children. Bing reminds Manx that he saved his life. While this is true, Manx questions if Bing had any doubts of his return. Bing admits that he was doubtful at times. And so, Manx hands Bing a flashlight and tells him to take the northward path and wait for him there.
Flashback; Cassie tells Manx that she and Millie are freezing in the back of the Wraith. He intentionally misses the turn off to her sister’s house and speeds up the car. He tells her that he was never going to allow her to take his daughter and everything he’s ever worked for. He claims that all women are alike. They’re all hen-pecking harpies and whores. Millie appears to be sick. She shows her mother that her teeth are coming out, though Millie is amused, whereas Cassie is frightened. Millie’s fangs come in and she attacks her mother, ripping the skin off her face. Manx is empowered by this act. He passes out but soon awakens to find himself more youthful than before. Millie then points towards Christmasland, which up until now, Manx didn’t know was real. They exit the Wraith and approach the gates.
Present day; Manx arrives at Christmasland and greets his children. Millie runs into his arms. He introduces everyone to Mike, though Millie is only interested in whether her father is staying. To make up for his absence, Manx feeds Paul Demeter, who he’s had tucked away in his trunk, to the kids. However, Millie doesn’t join in as her only concern is with her father. He tells her that he will be leaving soon as there are other children that need saving, though he promises her that he will return.
Manx reconvenes with Bing in the Graveyard of What Might Be. They stand over Wayne’s grave and state that he’ll need saving above all the other children.
Cast[]
Starring[]
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Guest Starring[]
Co-Starring[]
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Trivia[]
- The title "Good Father" refers to Charlie Manx.
- This episode serves as an origin story for Charlie Manx.
Multimedia[]
Promotional Images[]
Videos[]
Episode Guide[]
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