A Cosmic Horror Story wherein children are not safe and families are often split apart by tragedy both mundane and supernatural, tearjerking moments are bound to be plentiful. In the presence of the Old Gods of Appalachia, sometimes survival is the only victory you can get away with. Those that do are often the lucky ones.
Disclaimer: The saddest moments of our story come when you don't expect it, family. Beware of spoilers!
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General
- The Narrator's opening speech in the prologue sets the tone for the series pretty well, lamenting the way that the world looks down on Appalachia and how they all take up addiction and solitude to try to survive in the face of the Awful Truth. Overlaps with Nightmare Fuel.Narrator: For generations, the outside world has looked at us and wondered why we never really climbed out of these hollers, wondered why we do reject outsiders, why we bind ourselves to industries that destroy us, why we drown ourselves in pills and the bliss of ignorance. They see us feed ourselves to the earth like martyrs, they see us dig into the mines, watch our fortunes rise and fall, cave in and burn. They don't understand how short the days are here, how these mountains swaddle us in an early darkness. They don't see how little sunlight we actually get, and they don't see the shadows stir, don't hear the lost hymns that haunt these hillsides, don't hear the prayers that rise up in the night, prayers raised to a god on high... and fall back down to feed the old gods of Appalachia that sleep below. Which is fitting. First come, first served.
- The fact that in this show, while the heroes may occasionally come out on top, its much more common that The Bad Guy Wins. Sarah Avery survives and escapes Barlow, but after losing everything and once she's grown, the monsters behind her parents' and uncle's death are still up and running, plotting to free their horrible masters. Oftentimes, it feels like the victory of the Eldritch Forces is inevitable, with the only attainable victory being going on to live a cautionary life, constantly unsure about those around you. As Horned Head says:The Black Stag: We are very good at waiting.
Season 1
- Daughter Dooley's whole situation. She loses her mothers to disease, and tries her best to be a good healer before being banished due to Belief Makes You Stupid. Struggling to find her own way in the wild, she's approached by Old Horned Head, who comes to her in the form of her mothers. She sees right through this, but is still convinced into a pact with the Inner Dark due to the stag's promise that she will be able to look after the land for all time. And, given what happens to her later, she won't be able to reunite with her mothers anytime soon.
- The fact that, for all that Old Number 7 was a horrible disaster sobering enough to turn anyone away from the mines, no one cares, because it was mostly African American scabs that were killed in the blast. A sobering reminder of the racism that permeates Appalachia to to this very day.
- Sarah Avery is a contender for the title of The Woobie if there ever was one. She lost her father and Uncle Eddie in the same day, before her mother seemingly hangs herself outside. She's then pursued by the hounds of Ignatius Combs, and after that, the charred still burning corpses of her father and uncle. And this is just her first episode.
- Shortly after, she finds her entire town has been transformed into the Burned Things, all of them advancing on her. This would be enough to make anyone Go Mad from the Revelation, but she manages to return the land to the Green and escape with her life. Except when she's finally found by others, she's scooped up by the Grey Ladies, taken to an orphanage where the wards often go missing in the middle of the night. The poor girl is so worn down by the end of it that when she's faced with a furious Elder Henry, all she can tell herself is that she's come too far to just give up now. Luckily, her aunts show up to take her home soon after, and this turns into HeartwarmingMoments.
- Carol Anne Avery. The poor girl was raised in a brothel before being married off to Pinky Avery at the request of her mother's good friend Eddie. Eddie is the closest that she ever had to a father, and she manages to find happiness in Barlow with her young daughter, never truly giving up the ways of the Green. Yet, Old Number 7 happens and takes the two men in her life away before she herself is hunted down and killed by the Swarm, Ignatius Combs. She doesn't even get the satisfaction of seeing her wards dissolve the monster, and the Narrator clarifies that neither she nor the Avery men will find any peace in the afterlife.
Season 2
- Cowboy Absher is an example of The Woobie if there ever was one. He, in his first life, loses his entire family to the unprovoked wrath of the Dead Queen, before reviving months or even years later with amnesia. Taken in by the Absher family and treated like any one of their children, he soon finds he can no longer eat food, sneaking off to throw it up whenever his new family isn't looking. Desperate to fit in with his brother's friends, he joins them on a trip to Death Island and confronts a haint that's been impersonating one of his friend's father. The haint easily kills Cowboy but is ripped to shreds, only for Cowboy to wake up a couple of hours later. The poor boy is taken in by the Walker sisters, and ultimately must leave his family to find a way to undo the curse he's been afflicted with.
- The fact that, for all her suffering in season 1, Sarah Avery ( as Miss Belle) seems to live all alone with no family, being far from her loving aunts and generally having her gifts unrealized. While her accomplishments in Barlow are hardly anything to scoff at, it's somewhat sad that she never did anything more with the great family gift.
- The fate of Vera Blevins. Begging desperately for her life against one of the horrible monsters sent to kill her, and one that has promised to do so horribly, she makes the horrible (but completely understandable given the circumstances) decision of grabbing the pocket watch and offering it back to him. The Hollowed Man, the one sent to kill her, is horrified by this and begs her to let it go as he knows what it can do. As a consequence, she painfully ages to death right before his eyes. Just before her dad arrived to save her.
Build Mama A Coffin
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