As a horror/thriller enthusiast, the idea of THEM was highly intriguing, especially coming off the heels of Jordan Peele's Get Out and Us. Despite Us and THEM both following Black families and having Shahadi Wright Joseph in a lead role, the actual bodies of work are unrelated.
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THEM is the brainchild of Little Marvin and follows the Emory family— Henry (Ashley Thomas) an engineer, Lucky (the stunning Deborah Ayorinde) a housewife, high school teenager, Ruby (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and young kindergartener Gracie (Melody Hurd). Amazon describes THEM as "a limited anthology series that explores terror in America. The first season, 1950s-set COVENANT centers around a Black family who move from North Carolina to [a then all-white Compton] during the period known as The Great Migration. The family’s idyllic home becomes ground zero where malevolent forces, next door and otherworldly, threaten to taunt, ravage and destroy them."
The 10-episode discourse tells the story of the Emorys' first 10 days in Compton and begins with a level of mystery as Lucky is seen with her baby, Chester, who is presumably only a few months old, in the Emorys' countryside home. A terrifying white woman (Dale Dickey) walks onto her property and begins to sing the racist parlor song, "Old Black Joe." The woman then tells Lucky she noticed her husband and two daughters left "bout an hour ago," and asks if she "can have" her baby. The scene cuts to the Emory family— no baby in sight— driving to their new home in California and we don't find out what happens until the utterly disturbing fifth episode.
There are several problems with THEM, but the most infuriating part is the thrill that white supremacists get from tormenting Black people. Every neighbor, led by Betty Wendell (Alison Pill), has one goal— to drive the Emorys out— using several known racists slurs and tactics. The entire first half can be glossed over, but episode 5, "COVENANT I." is where questions need to be asked, particularly, "how did we get here?"
Trigger warning: sexual assault
To make a long story short, the white woman from the series' opening scene breaks into Lucky's home with two white men. Lucky hides her baby. She is then violently raped while her child is tossed back and forth in a sack until he begins bleeding from his brain and dies.
The show's creator, Little Marvin admitted that the premise for this episode came to him in a dream. He told the Los Angeles Times, "What I’ve come to realize is that I wanted a scene that would rip through the screen, grab the viewer by the jugular and force them to contend with a history of violence against Black bodies in this country. If I did that in a way that you’ve seen before — like an act of police brutality or a slave narrative — that in some way creates a distance or a salve for a viewer. ‘I’ve seen it before.’ But this is so abominable it defies you to see it that way."
The latter half of the series is just as gruesome and taunting. Angelica Jade Bastién penned an incredibly eloquent review of the series that breaks down nuances we can't even begin to touch. However, if you've gotten this far and still decide to watch THEM, best of luck. Or throw on something that highlights Black joy, not trauma.
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