WARNING! Spoilers for NOS4A2 ahead
On July 12, 2020, Jami O’Brien’s supernatural television series NOS4A2 premiered the season 2, episode 4, “The Lake House”, which featured a strange mental connection shared between Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto) and Bruce Wayne McQueen. The series is adapted from Joe Hill’s novel of the same name and deviates slightly from the source material. While the characters and premise remain the same, season 2 introduces a new method that Charlie Manx uses to manifest his terrifying creative powers. He is able to make a mental connection with Bruce Wayne McQueen through the gift of a candy cane.
The episode picks up on Victoria “Vic” McQueen’s (Ashleigh Cummings) discovery that Manx is not dead and is coming after her son Bruce. While she is entirely unaware of the fact that he has gifted the young boy with a candy cane, he is fully aware of the dangers that come with the strong creative and his inscape known as Christmasland. In “The Lake House”, Manx makes contact with the boy through his dreams because of the physical connection they share from the candy cane. Manx then manipulates Bruce into revealing their location so that he can rescue the boy from a life of misery. Bruce tells him that they are at the lake house.
When “The Lake House” ended on a monumental cliffhanger, it left fans questioning why Bruce would even accept the candy cane from Manx and how it's even possible for him to create such a connection in the first place. It is unclear if strong creatives can have multiple inscapes, or if this is a power that stems from his pre-existing one. Regardless, it showcased an all new threat, adding to the danger of the already menacing Charlie Manx.
What The Mental Connection & Candy Cane Could Mean
Due to the fact that the mental connection between Manx and Bruce is not explored further in the episode, it is assumed that it's a one-time only occurrence. Yet, season 1 detailed Manx’s ability to control and manipulate children throughout the first ten episodes by using candy canes. He gifts them to children, then lures them to their death in Christmasland. This could mean that he has multiple knives that work in tandem to assist in his single inscape, just as Jolene July had her roller skates and wheelchair. The Rolls Royce Wraith transports him and the children to the physical inscape, but the candy canes get the children into the vehicle alongside his charismatic and manipulative behavior.
The mental connection speaks to a larger piece of the Charlie Manx puzzle. He is a distraught and tormented man who wants nothing more than bring joy to children’s lives, but he also feeds on them to maintain his youth. In season 2, episode 2, “The Good Father,” the origin story of Manx reveals that he has always fed off of others, whether it’s through money or work. When he is unable to convince his wife to stay with him, he grows angry and threatens to kill them all; this leads to the creation of Christmasland. Therefore, the candy canes are a tool of manipulation that ensures that Manx gets his way.
As season 2 progresses, it may be that audiences will see other creatives gain multiple knives at once or at different times just like Charlie Manx and Jolene July. On July 19, 2020, NOS4A2 picks back up on where “The Lake House” left off and will reveal what exactly happens next for the McQueen family and Charlie Manx.