My grandson got his big, beautiful smile from me.
It never wavers on his face as he watches me die.
It never wavers on his face as he watches me die.
A superstitious Haitian old woman suspects that her grandson, Rex, is being possessed by an evil spirit.
Tropes featured in this episode:
- The Bad Guy Wins: Papa Doc Duvalier successfully locks Desi out of the house and takes her inhaler, leaving her to die.
- Brainwashed: Papa Doc Duvalier, through Rex, brainwashes the latter's parents so they will only bow to his wishes.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Desi was a survivor of the Duvalier dynasty's rule, whose Tonton Macoute militia killed her mother.
- Enfant Terrible: Rex is this, sowing fear and paranoia on Desi and isolating her from her son and daughter-in-law, until she is eventually left to die outside the house while they watch.
- Hollywood Voodoo: Desi keeps a Vodou altar in her house, a source of frustration in her son's family. She has every reason to be paranoid, though; an evil spirit who claims himself to be the late Papa Doc Duvalier is possessing her grandson as a way to kill her.
- Once More, with Clarity: The opening makes it look like Desi is the villain, trying to "exorcise demons" from Rex. As later scenes show, her fears are genuine.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: Papa Doc Duvalier is not an evil spirit in Haitian Vodou or anything. It's a nickname for François Duvalier
, President of Haiti from 1957 to 1971, who presided over the country with an iron fist, using Haitian Vodou imagery to legitimize his rule. He created the Tonton Macoute, which was named after a figure in Haitian mythology, but in reality was a State Sec who helped him suppress dissent. - Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Rex isolates Desi by claiming that she abused him, driving a wedge between her and her son, John.
