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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2019)
cover story Infamous and terrifying AMC’s first anthology horror series heads into Season 2 By Kenneth Andeel TV Media T he first season of AMC’s chilling series “The Ter- ror” garnered rave reviews, so of course the network has brought it back for Round 2. On Monday, Aug. 12, the second season of the channel’s hit historical horror series (now christened as a yearly anthol- ogy program) returns, dubbed “The Terror: Infamy.” The altered title helps audi- ences differentiate the new season’s storyline from last year’s, because this is not a continuation of the first sea- son’s story, but a whole new tale of, well, terror. The new season stars Derek Mio (“Seal Team”) in the lead role of Chester Nakayama, a photographer who discovers creepy signs of the existence of an otherworldly presence in his pictures. Mio is supported by Shingo Usami (“The Pacific”) and Naoko Mori (“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” 2018), who play his character’s parents; Cristina Rodlo (“Too Old to Die Young”) as his clan- destine girlfriend, Luz; and C. Thomas Howell (“Animal King- dom”) as a retired soldier who oversees functions within the War Relocation Authority, the agency established to conduct the relocation and internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Rounding out the cast is beloved veteran actor and activist George Takei (“Star Trek”), who plays Yamato-san, an experienced elder able to offer Nakayama wisdom and help him navigate the perilous threat posed by spirits out of Japanese folklore. In addition to his onscreen role, Takei also served as a consultant for the production. Having lived in an internment camp himself when he was young, he was an in- valuable source of knowledge. The first season of “The Ter- ror” went into development in 2016, and was adapted — quite faithfully — from the 2 | Screentime George Takei as seen in “The Terror: Infamy” flair to rocket the story into novel of the same name by truly brain-breaking territory. science fiction and horror au- He added an unrelenting Arctic thor Dan Simmons. Simmons’ demon known as the Tuunbaq, book is based on a legitimate which pursued and savaged incident from real-life history: the doomed survivors as they the disastrous lost expedition struggled to boat, sled and hike led by Englishman Sir John their way out of the grip of the Franklin in 1845. Franklin and northern ice. his crew intended to probe the “The Terror: Infamy” rep- Arctic region for the coveted licates that formula of real Northwest Passage, but the human history paired with a two ships assigned to the task supernatural threat, but it re- (HMS Erebus and HMS Terror) locates to an entirely different became icebound, and all 129 era. This season features a com- men who set out on the expe- munity of Japanese-Americans dition perished. The wrecks of during World War II who are im- their ships remained undiscov- prisoned in camps set up by a ered until 2014 and 2016. paranoid U.S. government after To the already terrifying prospect of becoming stranded the attack on Pearl Harbor. These Japanese-American in Arctic ice, Simmons added internment camps are seen as his own piece of supernatural August 7, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald a shameful moment in Ameri- can history, and the story of the camps remains largely unex- plored by American television. No series has ever focused on life inside those camps, let alone one that features a majority Asian and Asian- American cast like “The Terror: Infamy.” The new season juxtaposes the cruel fate of interned fami- lies with this season’s new iter- ation of occult monstrosity. Un- like the Tuunbaq of Season 1, which was an invention of Dan Simmons, the preternatural baddie of “The Terror: Infamy” is a creature inspired by Japa- nese folklore, known as a bake- mono. In Japanese mythology, a bakemono is understood to be a shape-shifting entity that disguises its original form. The show is likely to take healthy liberties with its in- terpretation of the folkloric bakemono. This season’s evil creature needs to deliver a horrifying visual punch equal to that of the Tuunbaq’s mu- tated zombie polar bear from Season 1, while simultaneously expanding upon the traditional Japanese mythology to explain why a spirit from so far away might pursue individuals across oceans to their new homes in America. The first season of the show was able to count on a sturdy plot derived from Simmons’ novel, but now that the series has turned into an anthology, showrunners have a whole new set of challenges. Un- like “American Horror Story,” which typically retains a num- ber of core cast members from season to season, “The Terror” anthology looks as if it will re- quire audiences to embrace an entirely new set of performers every year. On the other hand, if “The Terror: Infamy” is as success- ful as the original season was, there will be limitless opportu- nities for the show to expand and plunder mythology and folklore from around the world and throughout history. Find out if the anthology format is a good fit for this series when Season 2 premieres Monday, Aug. 12, on AMC.
