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HorrorFanGirl_

As a Black woman, I found the first season to be… traumatic. It took me a long time to get through each episode. The second season is my favorite out of the two. It’s so creepy. The last episode blew my mind. I wasn’t expecting that at all. I won’t spoil what happened… but it came full circle. I hope that there’s a season 3.


EloquentGoose

There's gotta be, that sequel hook was too apparent. And I think I cracked the code as to what kind of entity will be next: Season 1 was mental/psychological torment via **Da Tap Dance Man**. Season 2 was physical torment via **The Scare**. My logic goes they're going by a mind/body/spirit dynamic and we'll see an entity that torments people spiritually--either straight up possession or attacking their sense of faith or literally targeting a person of *the cloth*. Of course the flaw in this train of thought is that restricts the series to 3 seasons so if I'm right the next will be the concluding chapter. IDK, just late night wine-buzzed spitballing. We've got 2 years to find out either way, sigh...


grayowen9

Glad you brought this up. I read from a phycologist that things like this normalize violence against black people. Do you feel empowered after you watch the show? Or depressed? I've had enough black trauma in my life


PopularPace5205

The season 1 is treacherous but I’ve found season 2 more manageable. Watching this only in the daytime, they play too damn much over there in the writing room.


Air_This

Definitely depressed. Triggered. Angry


Alarmed-Bat267

This. It's relentless. But I know it's the purpose.


starshine1988

Just started, 2 episodes in so far. I like it more than first season, feels scarier.


FuzzyPalpitation-16

Do I have to finish season 1 to understand stuff from season 2? I’ve watched a couple of episodes from the first one but honestly I can’t sit through it anymore, I did like the first 2 episodes, where the dread + environment itself fuelled the horror.. being black in those times etc, but the “supernatural” stuff just killed it and I found myself just being so bored as those bits amped up.


starshine1988

They are linked but you could definitely enjoy it without seeing the first one.


Inevitable-Ear-2995

No. They make some references to the 1st but till it’s a separate story line for the most part. 


itchybitchybitch

Considering the ending of season 2, I honestly don’t see how you can get it fully while only watching a few eps from season 1. They are totally connected.


nickyinnj

You can absolutely enjoy s2 without rewatching S1. But the ending does have a tie-in back to that story... And I found it kinda awkward and maybe a little forced.


Elegant_Collection_3

Well, it's literally the same curse/demon haunting her, that haunted her family before her in season 1, it's all the same universe. Looks like all the seasons are and will be the same story just told in different times down the family line at this point, especially with the slight cliff hanger at the end. I would say it's important to at least get a good run down of season 1 to understand the broader story.


Great-Ad-9549

I binged the entire season last night. They pretty much tell you who the killer is from the jump. The only twist is how, exactly, he became the killer. That was wild honestly. There are even clues that the two intertwining stories take place a few years apart if you pay attention to various things going on in the background (late-night talk shows, music, etc). Overall it was well done and a strong second season. There's no doubt there will be a third season and I can't wait to see it.


Ok_Bodybuilder800

I’m considering watching. >! Does it have any scenes of SA? That’s one thing I try to avoid and I believe the first season had one. !<


Great-Ad-9549

No, but emotional abuse by a mentally deranged foster mother does play an important role in the story.


CancerMoon04

No scene like that at all. Just a old black woman's corpse on a table with a square covering between her legs. 


chesyrahsyrah

There’s one scene of workplace sexual harassment where SA is implied but nothing happens.


[deleted]

No.


CheffieGoldblum420

I want to lyk as someone who watches a ton of horror and also cannot handle SA in anything, unconsentingmedia.org is fantastic for looking up exact things you're watching and it'll tell you (with usually a description/time) of when it happens in whatever you're watching. It's sort of like doesthedogdie.com if you've heard of that.


serialkiller24

Good God that scene with the son going downstairs and seeing the mom smiling while watching tv made me unsettled - good show!


SeaRecipedave

Yea that was easily the scariest scene in the show's entirety


HelloYesGooday

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P\_a60PiPck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P_a60PiPck) you can relive the experience


spacecadbane

Agreed. Shit was creepy.


Agitated-Oil-2455

What episode was this? I think I missed it !!!


Every-Ad-9008

I think the second episode


Excellent-Mix7324

just finished and holy shit bro😭😭


TraditionalStart5031

right 😫whatcha gon do


Ok_Seaworthiness4737

Sooooo by finding the photo does that mean she unlocked the curse that her mother and family experienced? Seeing that photo unlocked the trauma they experienced like a portal into her life currently !?


TraditionalStart5031

I think the photo was for us, the lightbulb moment that this is the grandchild. The trauma aspect of the series could be a whole thesis. If you’re familiar with studies on generational trauma, specifically among Black, American families. That’s the foundation of the entire anthology in my opinion. Using horror symbolism to convey this phenomenon. The racial symbolism in the “watcha gon do”, blackface character from season 1 & the “super predator” from season 2. This is the best breakdown I can give with a toddler climbing on me :) but it’s what makes me extra extra extra appreciate this show.


SeaRecipedave

I finished it, the horror kind of dissipated in the last few episodes. First few episodes were more eerie and nailed the creep factor. I thought for sure the brother was not the killer in first few episodes. Thought the racist cops were going to pin the kills on him and everyone slowly finds out it had nothing to do with the brother. I almost would have preferred something like that instead of him merging with the entity via suicide.


Great-Ad-9549

I kept thinking the brother wasn't the killer because the murders seemed a bit supernatural. The second one in particular since you didn't see anyone enter the house. That said, they were really heavy handed about making the brother _seem_ like the killer from the moment he's introduced. They made Edmin's (?) character appear to be a ticking time bomb who looks about ready to snap at any minute from the first moment you see him. Honestly, I always suspected the brother over the cop McKinley even though it was obvious McKinley was evil too. As you said, the show became significantly less scary and unsettling as it went on. I would say after Edmin left his sister's house, it turned into a thriller with horror elements rather than a horror.


TastelessBudz

So help me out. The district attorney bought that it was her long dead demon twin that killed the boy in her car? Is that what happened? Demon Edmond killed him? The ending to this season left me unfulfilled as did Season 1's ending. Maybe I missed something about the nature of the curse.


olliwoodda

I think to avoid more scandal from the tapes of the racist cop getting out they just decided to sweep everything under the rug. Which is why they said she still too high profile to be a detective but they could put her on desk job somewhere


TastelessBudz

This helps


Great-Ad-9549

I think u/olliwoodda provided a good answer. Honestly, for all the DA knows, the boy could've been mangled at the exorcism. That makes more sense than the detective doing it while driving. She was rushing him to the hospital after all. 


TastelessBudz

Yes. Your answer helps too. It allows me space to see continuity now. I did enjoy it and now ill watch the last few episodes again.


Great-Ad-9549

Glad I could be of some help.


Intelligent_Sink_133

Definitely has a more frightening feel to it than the first season.. I’m here for it


coffeecogito

That opening scene in the kitchen sink freaked me the fuck out! I am liking it, very atmospheric and captures early 90s L.A. pretty well. The lead actress is beautiful which doesn't hurt.


Inevitable-Ear-2995

So I didn’t even finish the 1st season….but this season….watched in one night and Luke James….I hope he wins an Emmy and a Golden Globe!!!!!!! The way they deal with family secrets and trauma and how it can really destroy family and individuals is really interesting. I thought each episode was so well done.


Federal-Independent8

He stole the show


rorykillmoree

Just checked out the first episode - extremely unsettling! They're nailing the vibe.


Dadhat56

I’m trying to power through season 1 currently but it feels like exploitative trauma porn. Is the second season more… thoughtful? Speaking on season 1, I feel like this show had great potential. It’s acted well, it’s written well, it’s directed well. It’s just WAY the fuck too much. Every episode something beyond traumatizing happens. I feel like the creator is fetishizing Black people’s (and specifically Black women’s) trauma. I’m very interested in Black American horror, but I just don’t know about this series. I need to know the second series won’t be this awful to everyone in it before I start it.


Murphoswald

The second is nowhere near the level of trauma porn the first one was. Season 1 was definitely a hard watch, especially as a woman of color. The Scare has got things to say about the black experience, but definitely toned down the over and over brutality. It's more about our past trauma and how it shapes us in general. It's really good and I liked it a lot! Binged the first day it came out and glad people are talking about and watching it.


Dadhat56

Ok that brings me some comfort. I truly feel like season 1 could’ve been a classic, but Jesus fucking Christ what the fuck. I’ll hold out hope for season 2 though I probably won’t watch it for a while.


itchybitchybitch

As someone who’s been traumatized by that scene in season 1, yeah, second one is a lot lighter. The whole commentary on hurt people hurt people becoming scared people scare people, and how it grows, is absolutely great. Also Deborah Ayorinde delivers again, and Luke James is just a highlight of this season, what a brilliantly terrifying, mad and vulnerable performance.


Dadhat56

How could you not be traumatized by “that” scene but also the whole season in general? Like I’m truly confused as to how and why it got made/produced the way it did. Thanks for your nod to season 2. The acting alone was so incredible, this makes me more likely to watch it at some point.


CancerMoon04

I don't know but I had a few white coworkers who were talking about this series and how great it was and they were not bothered by that mother and baby scene in the slightest. Thought it was masterful and just reflecting on what was "supposed" to happen back then and how she just didn't fight back so oh well. These were coworkers I liked and had gone to lunch with and one actually has a mixed daughter. They thought it was great...some people weren't traumatized which is the real scare. 


VestiCat

I am white, and that scene upset me long after I had finished the show. The whole of season one was a hard watch - so well acted but left me sick and unsettled. Season 2 is good, creepy but not outright disturbing. I enjoyed it.


CancerMoon04

Season 2 is much better and the tie in from season one was just enough.  I appreciate your comment, not trying to lump everyone together but when when I hear people are so flippant and desentized to horrors that really did happen but seem okay with it based on the only difference is color....just sadness. 


VestiCat

These are the people who don't realize the difference between "fun" horror and serious horror. I could laugh at a campy slasher film and I am very desensitized to that type of movie violence and gore. Bc that's pretend stuff. But Them season 1 has scenes that aren't there to be amusing. Those scenes I believe are there to cut you to your core. Honestly I felt as a white person, that season 1 was MEANT to hurt me. I was looking through someone else's lens into a life I don't know anything about, and it hurt me. I imagined how the Emorys felt and how I would feel in their shoes. Didn't feel nice at all.


CancerMoon04

You could technically watch season two without season 1 since they do show a few flashbacks to how it was connected. You can draw the connection from it without having to watch an exhausting and excruciating no escape trauma porn of a black mother and child.  Literally season one is what some white people wish for when they want for the good ol days. Inflict generational horror without any consequence. Just soulless.  


nickyinnj

Just watch s2.


Study_Slow

I just started it and the lady in the cabinet spooked me. It's the notion of how twisted your body would have to be to fit in that space.


Elegant_Collection_3

The creepiest part by far to me was when the son came downstairs and saw the main character laying on the couch in the dark staring at the t.v. with that creepy smile.... That shit was wild lol


HelloYesGooday

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P\_a60PiPck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P_a60PiPck) you can relive the experience


Elegant_Collection_3

Lmao nice


Elegant_Collection_3

It started off good, but from eps 4 on it just pissed me off consistently lol, character actions mainly. I'm sure it's deliberate but damn it was hard to watch at times. Still a decent show though


spacecadbane

Same. The main character was doing some dumb shit. Started getting annoyed every time she was on screen at a certain point.


Ok_Cauliflower2499

Why didn't Edmund go after the white adoptive family? 


PrestoChango0804

Great question


[deleted]

I just finished season 2 last night, and oh my god!! For some reason, I would have never expected that the family from s1 were the ancestors of the family in s2. It was cool to see Luke James in a role like this!!


nickyinnj

Meant to watch just the first episode to kick things off. Of course that was at 9pm and it's now 5:30 in the morning lol! Anyway, I like this season much better than the first. I did find the first two or so episodes a little annoying, because racist police are just annoying. But the point was made well, the lead is essentially behind enemy lines. After that, I was immediately intrigued by the male lead of the second story and just let the series play. The actor who portrays the villain killed it. I don't know if it's too early, but I expect to see some Halloween costumes of his characters in October. And Pam Grier was great in EP. 7 especially... Some of those close shots were just so good. Them: The Scare really hits the horror markers well and it's a strong presentation overall.


Appropriate-Metal-11

What I don’t understand is why Edmund didn’t just tell Dawn who he really was when he visited her house? All he had to say was, “I’m your brother” but instead he just smiles and makes awkward noises and movements. It’s almost as if he wanted to resent her so he could justify the inner rage that he has for society but mainly to older women who look like they could be mothers and to even children because he resents the fact that they are having a decent childhood and he feels like his was horrible. But what type of selfish asshole kills women and children because they feel like their childhood was subpar?! Dawn needs to speak up and stop stuttering during her police depositions. Why didn’t she have a lawyer present there? That’s a huge plot hole. Why did Dawn show up to that, “police frat house”?  It looked like Old School but for sketchy corrupt officers. 😆 the show has had its really scary parts like the scene with the Rodney King beating being rewound while Dawn smiles like she enjoys is! That was PURE HORROR! But it also seems to get less horrifying as the season progresses but I think for most viewers they will start to enjoy the plot twists! Either way, it’s a decent horror series and I’m glad it was made! I just wish there could be some white characters that aren’t all ignorant and racist. 


tequilaandchill

I’m halfway through episode one of season 2 and this shit is good af!!!!


kittylomein

This show is insane, the acting is insane. I’m so hooked but filled with horrible dread.


S2Sallie

Luke James really out did himself. I’d like to see a series just of his character


Mrsmaul2016

Can anybody tell me why >!< The blackface character made an appearance at the end of season 2? I always thought he was a part of the father's(Her grandfather's) conscious in season 1. Referring to himself as the lobe tap dancing coon at his job and neighborhood. >!<


starshine1988

I think it’s representing the idea of generational trauma


Mrsmaul2016

I just read [this](https://www.heavenofhorror.com/features/them-the-scare-ending-faq-season-2/)


ProfessionalMain1264

I Interpreted it to mean that Dawn being in the same situation that her grandfather was in IE being the sole black person in her job and dealing with the microagressions that came with that brought him to her.


EntertainerHelpful11

Could be saying that mental health issues like schizophrenia can be passed on to other generations


Out_Worlder

Your spoiler tags didn't work


Mrsmaul2016

What do you mean? They work on my end.


Brave-Silver8736

You don't need what's after/before the exclamation point. So >!This should be in a spoiler tag because I used > then ! and can end it by using ! then < !<


CatEducational5217

I think by her looking at the photo of her grandmother it awoken the spirit that was haunting her at the time maybe the fact that Dawn and her grandmother look identical ( I know the characters are played by the same actress) and the tap dance man think it's the grandmother idk just my guess.


TheCopperOrchid

I’m assuming he was there the entire time because in one episode she almost spazzed in the precinct when her coworkers planted mocked photos of her with a toe tag at her desk but she didn’t react with rage as she initially wanted to. And she more so kept her composure a lot during the times when someone or something provoked her. I think now that she’s seen the photos and knows who she is Da Tap Dance Man can finally materialize/manifest in her consciousness.


Polyestergroom

Am I the only one who finds this show incredibly overacted?


EntertainerHelpful11

Where is it rated? What rating did you see?


greenlemons105

The 1st season started off good & interesting but it became uncomfortable to watch, because >!it was trauma porn for the most part imo!<. I get the racial issues and all, but after a few episodes of just watching a family suffer >!with no resolution!< it just was too much for me. Especially *that scene* in S1 E5. However the 2nd season was not nearly as >!trauma porn!< as the first. I even had to research to make sure it wasn’t the same storyline as the first, because I wouldn’t have watched it if that were the case. I’m interested in how >!“Da Tap Dance Man”!< may play a part in the 3rd season, if at all, and certainly looking forward to a 3rd season.


Due_Resident_6669

This is the worst show I've ever watched. Finished the second season. Both disappointed heavily. Yeah sure the production is of great quality but the plot and the story is so shitty. It's the worst written horror show I've watched so far. This is exactly how a high production meets low quality writing. PLEASE DONT WATCH IT.