SPOILERS for season 2 of AMC's NOS4A2

N0S4A2, the AMC television series based on the popular Joe Hill novel of the same name, explores more of villain Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto) and his human backstory in season 2.

Season 2 of AMC’s NOS4A2 continues the epic game of cat-and-mouse that takes place between Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings) and Charlie Manx. With nearly a decade passed since their last altercation, Vic thinks that she’s put the horrors of Charlie Manx behind her. When a slew of suspicious and familiar child kidnappings take place, Vic fears that the worst has happened—Charlie Manx is back and angrier than ever.

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Season 2 of NOS4A2 stays true to Joe Hill’s gripping novel and explores how much both Vic and Charlie have changed during the time between seasons. Vic’s life has settled into normalcy, but Charlie Manx’s fate becomes increasingly less final as Bing Partridge struggles to figure out the secrets behind Manx’s Wraith and how the two of them are deeply connected. NOS4A2 has elegantly illustrated that the Wraith’s condition directly affects Manx’s health, but season 2, episode 2, "Good Father", explains not only how Manx acquired the vehicle, but also how it marks his transformation into a monster.

NOS4A2: Charlie Manx's Human Backstory Explained

N0S4A2 Charlie Manx Daughter Christmasland Entrance

The stresses in Charlie Manx’s life begin once he finds love and begins to work on a family. The modest and optimistic man longs to provide for his family with his own chauffeur business, but the disapproval that he receives from his father-in-law begins to fester. The birth of Charlie’s daughter, Millie Manx, only creates greater money problems for the family. Charlie grows detached from his wife, and retreats into the comfort of juvenile fantasies which he tells his daughter. It’s here that the idea of Christmasland is born. Manx hasn’t yet become a vampire, but his dedication to this fantasy signals the beginning of the end.

The final straw for Manx’s marriage is when Charlie spends all of his family’s money on the Wraith. This selfish act finally provides Manx with some clarity, but it’s too late. Both Manx and his daughter agree to take his wife out of the picture so they can achieve their Christmas-laced dreams. Once she’s gone, nothing holds Charlie back from embracing his twisted fantasy and turning his back on what little humanity he has left. Charlie’s father-in-law stresses how important it is to seize opportunities rather than waiting for them to present themselves, which is exactly what he does with his haunted amusement park.

The horror television show's look into Manx’s past and family life is important to his current resurrection because it establishes just how important his daughter, Millie, is to him. It’s absolutely tragic that Manx’s current state is all the result or him trying to provide for his family, but it shines even more light on his need to regress into the safety of this childlike fantasy. Manx chooses to live in the delusion of Christmasland because it’s void of the responsibilities that broke him down in life. The fact that Millie remains in Christmasland as a link to Manx’s old life provides him with a justification for his behavior. However, Manx is now abusing his bond with his daughter in favor of bringing more youth to Christmasland. Now, he's driven more by the idea of a family than actually putting in the work to create one. NOS4A2’s Charlie Manx has become a monster, but even before this transformation he was lost and ill-prepared for life.

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