Night Mares Season 2
- cepmurphywrites
- 10 hours ago
- 5 min read
By Paul Leone
In our world, this show does not exist - but in another world, you can find DVD boxsets right next to Aella the Amazon and The Van Helsing Mysteries...
LAST TIME... The Brophy sisters, Anne (Emily Beecham) and Maggie (Molly C. Quinn), and their allies investigate paranormal mysteries in the weird west of 1870s California! One of their recurring antagonists are the high-society Sphinx Club, led by the sinister Thaddeus and Gloria Clarke (Terry O’Quinn and Rachel Nichols) - and now the Club is investigating the lost relics of Atlantis itself...
Almost a year passed between “The Talon” and the season two premiere. For fans, the only events of note were a couple of panels at San Diego Comic Con 2018 and The Silver Gun, a tie-in novel by Peter David. Although the events of the novel aren’t considered canon, the gun in question does appear in the show and ends up in King Brady’s (Demore Barnes) extremely capable hands. Things picked up once the new season premiered, though.
In season two, we are introduced to the Atlantis metaplot that dominates the show going forward. Night Mares’ version of Atlantis is rooted into Plato's allegory, but only very loosely in that the show's Atlantis is also an ancient empire that tried to conquer the entire world (long before Greece or even Egypt existed) before being destroyed – by whom, exactly, the show never really answered (giving rise to endless fan theories and fanfics about mysterious Atlantis and its even more mysterious enemies). The season culminates in the Sphinx Club locating and plundering an Atlantean tomb, thus gaining the first of three artifacts the Clarkes need to achieve their ultimate goal. It also sees significant character growth, especially for Anne and gunslinger Zidaan (Lewis Tan), who grow ever closer to each other, and Savage Sam Henderson (Nick Frost) as he leaves his season one alcoholism and depression behind as he embraces his calling as a monster hunter.
The season opens with "The Auction", in which an intact Atlantean map up for auction draws attention from the Clarkes as well as a range of other well-heeled types. Historical author Ambrose Bierce (Ben Browder) appears again, while Maggie, Sister Isabel (Tania Raymonde), and King investigate a haunted mine that turns out to be something of a Scooby Doo plot.
Next is "Goengsi" which is about a Chinese vampire fixated on unfortunate socialite and Sphinx member Hannah Visser (Leighton Meester) for some reason. King Brady and Zidaan’s Uncle Wahbo (a gleeful James Hong) help resolve the situation. Meanwhile, Anne and Maggie consult a peculiar old antiquarian, Miss Greta (Linda Hunt), about the Atlantean map from the previous episode. Miss Greta is a bit of a cliche of the ‘supernatural expert who might be supernatural’ sort, but it’s Linda Hunt, so she’s a fan favorite. One wishes she made more than two appearances!
"Devil's Hoof Hill" features Katie McGrath in a scenery-chewing turn as villainess Mary Burke, seeking to use her supernatural power to become rich and get under Anne's skin (not necessarily in that order). In the B story, Sister Isabel consults with Father Hugh Taunton, a visiting English priest and supernatural expert played by Michael Shanks and based on real-life Jesuit Father Herbert Thurston. Father Hugh was a popular character who didn’t return, although Shanks did as a director (“The Infernal Engine’ and “Shadow of the Ghost”).
This is followed by the two-part episode "Ghost Quelling Society" in which we are introduced to a group of Taoist occultists not unlike the Brody Sisters and company. They are led by a trio of elders (played by Daniel Wu, Byron Mann and Wai Ching Ho), the former and latter of whom Uncle Wahbo vouched for. Shockingly, the elder that Uncle Wahbo doesn't know turned out to be in cahoots with the Sphinx Club, who use the Ghost Quelling Society to take out some of their competition, risk free, and then aim to wipe out the Society after – they accomplish the former, but not the latter, and the traitor pays for his crimes.
In "Dust Devils," Mary and Zidaan are beset by the titular phenomenon (here said to actually be a minor sort of demonic imp) as they travel through the mountains east of San Francisco. It is heavy on atmosphere and romantic tension, but a little light on plot. The B story involves King and Sam trying to keep up with a visiting gambler trying to escape the ghosts of his past. The gambler, ‘Sawbones’ Donny MacArthur, is played with panache by Josh Holloway and clearly inspired by Val Kilmer's fantastic Doc Holliday.
Episode seven, "Encounter at Hangman Hill," is a memorable one and a fan favorite. The Sphinx Club, while experimenting with a newly discovered Atlantean device, accidentally summoned a carnivorous dinosaur which runs wild before Zidaan and the Sphinx's enforcer Tim Poole (Max Martini) and Zidaan are able to take the poor confused thing out; the B story focused on Hannah having to chaperone the eccentric Emperor Norton (Michael Emerson in a comedic turn between his more serious roles on Person of Interest and Evil) for the day.
"The Infernal Engine" is an episode with a main plot where spiritualism meets science meets Atlantis, and Sister Isabel must contend with a mad scientist being employed by the Sphinx Club as a gold finder while Zidaan and King try to convince a fellow gunslinger and Civil War veteran, Hal Wheeler (Clé Bennett), against going after Poole over a past misdeed.
In "The Anglosophy Club, " Hannah, prompted by her friend Mabel (guest star Michelle Trachtenberg), joins a new social club only to discover they're diabolical racists. Her protests lead to her being chosen as the next sacrifice, and ironically it's Poole who saves her when he guns down the leaders of the rival club; Hannah's friend survives the episode, but their friendship decidedly does not. Following on that, "The Hidden Circle" sees Maggie and Ambrose Bierce attend a seance organized by Miss Greta; Bierce, unnerved by what he experiences, leaves for England (as he did in reality, presumably not because of supernatural circumstances). Browder was open to return, but his commitment to the new show Vampire$ (which would later see him joined by Quinn as his daughter Annabelle Felix) prevented it.
The season ends with a two-part episode titled "Old Man Mountain." In it, the Sphinx Club, along with their new friend Mary Burke, explore an Atlantean tomb beneath Old Man Mountain (the Old Man being the occupant of the tomb). The episode also unveils the previously charming Clarkes as murderous devil-worshipers when Mary is betrayed by her new allies. They sacrifice her in order to revive the occupant of the tomb – who is soon thereafter blown up thanks to Sam and Zidaan. In the last scene of the season, we see the Clarkes gloating despite their apparent defeat – they got the McGuffin they really wanted…
Next time... "ONLY A MIRACLE CAN SAVE US NOW!"
Paul Leone is an author who, among other works, wrote the book In and Out of the Reich for Sea Lion.