‘Lovecraft Country’: Why Did Christina Cast Invulnerability Spell on Leti in the Finale?
Lovecraft Country has been a breakthrough hit this year for HBO. The series, which is based on a 2016 novel by Matt Ruff, gets its name from inspiration rooted in the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, who was a celebrated 20th-century horror writer.
Ruff’s novel — and, by extension, the show — takes many of Lovecraft’s themes but also explores the racist underbelly of Lovecraft’s original work by putting them into the hands of a primarily-Black cast of characters. The HBO adaptation has been racking up praise all over, including from modern cerebral horror extraordinaire Jordan Peele.
Now that Season 1 has wrapped up, fans are left with some questions, and most of them revolve around the finale and the decisions the characters made in the final episode.
‘Lovecraft Country’ treks across 1950s America
Just like the original books, Lovecraft Country follows protagonist Atticus Freeman in his journey across 1950s America. He’s searching for his missing father, and he’s joined by his friend Letitia “Leti” Lewis and his Uncle George.
Along the way, the characters face threats from both the human and the supernatural world. Traveling across Jim Crow America, the trio faces the terrors of white supremacy, which are set alongside the horrors of actual monsters that come straight from the world of classic horror.
Atticus “Tic” Freeman is portrayed by Jonathan Majors, who is a relative newcomer to Hollywood. Majors has also had roles in Spike Lee’s recent Da 5 Bloods and Sundance favorite The Last Black Man in San Francisco. When he learned that he had gotten the starring role in Lovecraft Country, he immediately poured himself into the source material, reading H.P. Lovecraft’s work to make sure he had a deep understanding of the bizarre fictional world he was about to inhabit.
Season 2 of ‘Lovecraft Country’ is still up in the air
It’s hard to imagine that Lovecraft Country will not see a renewal considering how immensely popular it has been. At this point, though, there’s no telling just what Season 2 might hold or when it could happen. So far, HBO has not announced the project.
That doesn’t mean fans should dismay, however. Creator Misha Green has made it clear that she has plenty of ideas ready to go, and she’s in talks with HBO.
“I envision a second season that carries on the spirit of Matt Ruff’s novel by continuing to reclaim the genre storytelling space that people of color have typically been left out of,” Green said of her plans for building on the world that she brought to life in Lovecraft Country this year.
Fans have questions about the ‘Lovecraft Country’ finale
While fans wait to hear more about what the future holds for the series, they’re left with plenty to think about from Season 1. As many had predicted, the series ended with tragedy and more questions than answers.
While that might not have been particularly satisfying for viewers, it certainly seemed appropriate for the genre and the message it had been building all season long. One question that remains is how Leti came back to life.
The season finale shows the protagonists come up with a plan to destroy Christina, the antagonist trying to become immortal. Leti is working with her sister, Ruby, until she realizes Christina has supposedly killed Ruby (best case scenario: Ruby is comatose) and morphed into her using magic.
After a fight scene, Christina throws Leti out of a tower and fans watch her fall to the ground, presumably dead. But during a climax scene, Leti comes back to life and returns.
According to Screenrant, the show had gone out of its way to show Leti as protected, both by Atticus or her sister, Ruby. Earlier in the season, Christina offered Leti invulnerability (in other words, Leti can’t be harmed but won’t be immortal) in exchange for info she needs. A pregnant Leti takes it, only for her invulnerability to be stripped away when she’s mad at Atticus.
When Leti falls to her death, she doesn’t have her invulnerability. But clearly, it’s restored. When Ji-Ah’s kumiho tails absorb the memories of Atticus and Christina, a brief scene shows Christina restoring Leti’s invulnerability — this ultimately leads to Christina’s death as Leti comes back to save the day.
The question fans have is: Why did Christina do it? One theory is that Christina has figured out Leti is pregnant and wants to save her unborn child on the off chance that her quest to become immortal goes wrong. This way, she has one more chance — Leti and Atticus’s son — after Atticus bleeds to death.
The other theory is that Christina wants to keep her word to Ruby. Earlier in the season, Ruby asks Christina to always protect her sister and Christina agrees. Sure, Ruby tried to betray Christina, who later puts her in a coma or kills her, but Christina could have restored the spell as a way to honor her word. Green told Rolling Stone that Christina restored Leti’s invulnerability to keep her promise to Ruby.
