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THEM (2021)

 THEM (2021)
type
TVTItem
 THEM (2021)
label
THEM (2021)
 THEM (2021)
page
Them2021
 THEM (2021)
comment
THEM is a 2021 series on Amazon Prime, created by Marvin Little and executive-produced by Lena Waithe.The first season, Covenant, set in the 1950s, follows the Emory family, Livia "Lucky" Emory (Deborah Ayorinde) and Henry Emory (Ashley Thomas), a loving African-American couple and their two daughters, Ruby Lee Emory (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Gracie Emory (Melody Hurd) as they move from North Carolina to an all-white neighborhood in Los Angeles. However, its soon made clear that their new home brings its own brand of trouble.Compare Lovecraft Country and Jordan Peele's Get Out! and Us.Should not be confused with the 1954 sci-fi horror movie Them! and the 2006 French horror film Them.
 THEM (2021)
fetched
2023-06-20T21:05:19Z
 THEM (2021)
parsed
2023-06-20T21:05:19Z
 THEM (2021)
processingComment
Dropped link to AnAesop: Not a Feature - IGNORE
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to CallBack: Not a Feature - ITEM
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to ColdOpening: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to ContentWarning: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to Insidious: Not a Feature - ITEM
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to PeterPan: Not a Feature - ITEM
 THEM (2021)
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Dropped link to TheEndJustifiesTheMeans: Not a Feature - UNKNOWN
 THEM (2021)
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ColdOpening
 THEM (2021)
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ContentWarning
 THEM (2021)
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TheEndJustifiesTheMeans
 THEM (2021)
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DBTropes
 THEM (2021) / int_123b8833
type
Trigger
 THEM (2021) / int_123b8833
comment
Trigger: Lucky gets triggered when Gracie Jean sings to her the same song that the creepy old woman sang to her in the Cold Opening, aggressively grabbing her and slapping her, though she immediately apologizes and is horrified by what she's done. At the end of the first episode, after Sergeant is found dead and Ruby Lee wakes up with scratch marks on her neck, Lucky flashbacks to the unwelcoming stares they got when they arrived and pulls out her gun, waving it around on her lawn and screaming at the neighbors to stay out of their home.
 THEM (2021) / int_123b8833
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THEM (2021) / int_123b8833
 THEM (2021) / int_141a6acb
type
Madness Mantra
 THEM (2021) / int_141a6acb
comment
Gracie's teacher lets her recite the pledge in front of the class and tries to calm her and the class down when she hesitates and goes Madness Mantra during the pledge. However, she thinks that Gracie is just "not ready" for this class yet.
 THEM (2021) / int_141a6acb
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THEM (2021) / int_141a6acb
 THEM (2021) / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 THEM (2021) / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: The real estate agent explains to Henry and Lucky that "covenants are no longer enforceable" when telling them that despite the contract reading "no persons of Negro blood" can own the house — in other words, it's dated.
 THEM (2021) / int_18d15922
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THEM (2021) / int_18d15922
 THEM (2021) / int_192853e5
type
Repetitive Audio Glitch
 THEM (2021) / int_192853e5
comment
Repetitive Audio Glitch: The various trailers and clips are backed by "Windmills of Your Mind" by Sting, only for the song to start glitching at the "your" of the Title Drop and the music becomes more frantic as more disturbing and unsettling scenes are shown.
 THEM (2021) / int_192853e5
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THEM (2021) / int_192853e5
 THEM (2021) / int_1fc8335e
type
Deal with the Devil
 THEM (2021) / int_1fc8335e
comment
Epps's Deal with the Devil that caused the story in the first place.
 THEM (2021) / int_1fc8335e
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THEM (2021) / int_1fc8335e
 THEM (2021) / int_20989d05
type
Parents as People
 THEM (2021) / int_20989d05
comment
Parents as People: Lucky is traumatized by what happened in North Carolina, leading to her being overly aggressive or zoning out whenever she feels she and/or her family is being attacked. In the flashback at the start of the second episode, Henry throws a plate of pie that his daughter had made at the wall, as the sweet smell of the pie triggered his PTSD from being experimented on in the war - mustard gas, apparently, smells sweet. He feels guilty about it afterwards.
 THEM (2021) / int_20989d05
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THEM (2021) / int_20989d05
 THEM (2021) / int_21d70919
type
Crapsack World
 THEM (2021) / int_21d70919
comment
Crapsack World: The United States has a feel of this for the Emorys as they flee the openly racist Deep South for a place where racism is just as prevalent but in a more respectable and upmarket area. Unfortunately Truth in Television as much of America was like this for black people at this time in the 50s.
 THEM (2021) / int_21d70919
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THEM (2021) / int_21d70919
 THEM (2021) / int_22a27b19
type
Alpha Bitch
 THEM (2021) / int_22a27b19
comment
Alpha Bitch: Betty is the adult version of this, being the leader of the neighborhood's white women and has connections with other groups like school PTAs and being driven out of self-righteousness to drive the Emorys out of her racially-pure neighborhood. In the first episode, both Henry and Lucky mutter to themselves upon seeing Betty and her posse intimidating them from across the street that she's a "dumbass bitch".
 THEM (2021) / int_22a27b19
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THEM (2021) / int_22a27b19
 THEM (2021) / int_267ce120
type
Dirty Old Man
 THEM (2021) / int_267ce120
comment
Dirty Old Man: Played for Horror in the flashbacks, where it's revealed that Lucky was raped by a white man old enough to be her father. Betty was sexually abused by her father, which may have left her infertile.
 THEM (2021) / int_267ce120
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THEM (2021) / int_267ce120
 THEM (2021) / int_319e4a2f
type
Even Evil Has Standards
 THEM (2021) / int_319e4a2f
comment
Even Evil Has Standards: Clarke, Betty's husband, participates in her and their friends' racist activities against the Emorys, though he objects to throwing rocks through their windows when coming up with ways to drive the family out because he's worried they may hit one of the kids. He isn't as outwardly racist as them, though it still doesn't change the fact that he's still racist.
 THEM (2021) / int_319e4a2f
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 THEM (2021)
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THEM (2021) / int_319e4a2f
 THEM (2021) / int_3aec9e5e
type
Properly Paranoid
 THEM (2021) / int_3aec9e5e
comment
Properly Paranoid: In their first night in the house, Lucky loads up their guns in case the white people get "squirrelly".
 THEM (2021) / int_3aec9e5e
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THEM (2021) / int_3aec9e5e
 THEM (2021) / int_3b79029a
type
Crapsaccharine World
 THEM (2021) / int_3b79029a
comment
Crapsaccharine World: The Emorys new neighbourhood in Compton is depicted as this, being a perfectly manicured and seemingly respectable, sunny Stepford Suburbia where damn near all of the neighbours are vindictive racists with dark racists.
 THEM (2021) / int_3b79029a
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THEM (2021) / int_3b79029a
 THEM (2021) / int_3d455888
type
Then Let Me Be Evil
 THEM (2021) / int_3d455888
comment
Then Let Me Be Evil: Epps when the Devil makes him an offer of eternal life and power. Henry nearly slips into this but Lucky pulls him back from the brink.
 THEM (2021) / int_3d455888
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 THEM (2021) / int_3d455888
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 THEM (2021)
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THEM (2021) / int_3d455888
 THEM (2021) / int_40cc0c7e
type
Bittersweet Ending
 THEM (2021) / int_40cc0c7e
comment
Bittersweet Ending: Lucky rescues her family and makes amends with them, they come to terms with their traumas, and defeat Epps and his goons. However, they still have to contend with an entire neighborhood of whites and an armed squad of cops who literally want them dead for killing Earl, beating up Marty, Betty's disappearance, and maybe the bizarreness of the Emorys' property being surrounded in a sudden magic fire.
 THEM (2021) / int_40cc0c7e
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THEM (2021) / int_40cc0c7e
 THEM (2021) / int_424c9a9b
type
Cold-Blooded Torture
 THEM (2021) / int_424c9a9b
comment
The eighth and ninth episodes have content warnings for graphic violence. Both episodes have Cold-Blooded Torture scenes.
 THEM (2021) / int_424c9a9b
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THEM (2021) / int_424c9a9b
 THEM (2021) / int_4fa637b0
type
Surprisingly Creepy Moment
 THEM (2021) / int_4fa637b0
comment
Surprisingly Creepy Moment: The Cold Opening suddenly ends with the exposition, in red ink, that "The following takes place in 10 days." and we transition to the creepy intro.
 THEM (2021) / int_4fa637b0
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THEM (2021) / int_4fa637b0
 THEM (2021) / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 THEM (2021) / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: Lucky and Chester were home alone and attacked in a home invasion without anyone to help them, and the season ends with Henry, Ruby, and Gracie being home alone and attacked in a home invasion until Lucky rescues them and helps them defeat their ghosts.
 THEM (2021) / int_5313c266
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THEM (2021) / int_5313c266
 THEM (2021) / int_53c9fc92
type
Flashback
 THEM (2021) / int_53c9fc92
comment
Flashback: We get flashbacks to 1947 in North Carolina, seeing what drove the Emorys to move to California.
 THEM (2021) / int_53c9fc92
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 THEM (2021) / int_53c9fc92
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THEM (2021) / int_53c9fc92
 THEM (2021) / int_567ae714
type
Imaginary Enemy
 THEM (2021) / int_567ae714
comment
Imaginary Enemy: Ruby Lee sees a monstrous lady named Miss Vera in her dreams. She attacks her in her dreams and Ruby claims she was the one who killed Sergeant.
 THEM (2021) / int_567ae714
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THEM (2021) / int_567ae714
 THEM (2021) / int_611a1a5e
type
Nosy Neighbor
 THEM (2021) / int_611a1a5e
comment
Nosy Neighbor: Betty, who is shown before the Emorys move in to have regularly bothered the real estate agent and is the self-righteous leader of the racist white neighbors.
 THEM (2021) / int_611a1a5e
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THEM (2021) / int_611a1a5e
 THEM (2021) / int_62434fe2
type
Sanity Slippage
 THEM (2021) / int_62434fe2
comment
Sanity Slippage: The entire family is terrorized by their own monsters who prey on their racial traumas and vulnerabilities, driving to murderous degrees and paranoid insanity.
 THEM (2021) / int_62434fe2
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 THEM (2021) / int_62434fe2
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THEM (2021) / int_62434fe2
 THEM (2021) / int_627264e0
type
Death Glare
 THEM (2021) / int_627264e0
comment
Kids join in on the adults making death glares at the Emorys.
 THEM (2021) / int_627264e0
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 THEM (2021) / int_627264e0
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THEM (2021) / int_627264e0
 THEM (2021) / int_63389b0b
type
Kids Are Cruel
 THEM (2021) / int_63389b0b
comment
Kids Are Cruel: Kids join in on the adults making death glares at the Emorys. Ruby Lee's classmates make fun of her by acting like monkeys around her. The teacher punishes her for starting it. Lucky catches a boy named Tommy urinating on the sheets she hung to dry and he attempts to pull a stick on her. The neighbors see this as her trying to attack an "angel", as Betty puts it. Gracie Jean is the only black kid in her class and is also given strange stares and the cold shoulder by her classmates. They also laugh at her when she stops reciting the pledge.
 THEM (2021) / int_63389b0b
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THEM (2021) / int_63389b0b
 THEM (2021) / int_63d861f8
type
Even Evil Has Loved Ones
 THEM (2021) / int_63d861f8
comment
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Deconstructed as Marty sees the Emorys as a threat to his family, future children and community. Epps also had a son who died but unlike Lucky who recovered from her Sanity Slippage and devoted herself to caring for her living family, Epps let it madden him into misanthropy.
 THEM (2021) / int_63d861f8
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THEM (2021) / int_63d861f8
 THEM (2021) / int_6ec4232f
type
Casting Gag
 THEM (2021) / int_6ec4232f
comment
Casting Gag: Shahadi Wright Joseph once again plays the eldest daughter in an African-American family being terrorized by monstrously violent people.
 THEM (2021) / int_6ec4232f
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THEM (2021) / int_6ec4232f
 THEM (2021) / int_6f7f2dac
type
Senior Creep
 THEM (2021) / int_6f7f2dac
comment
Senior Creep: In the opening scene, Lucky meets an old white woman who creepily asks if she can take her baby Chester.
 THEM (2021) / int_6f7f2dac
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THEM (2021) / int_6f7f2dac
 THEM (2021) / int_729c69f3
type
Politically Incorrect Villain
 THEM (2021) / int_729c69f3
comment
Politically Incorrect Villain: The official summary states that the Emorys, an African-American family, have moved into an all-white neighborhood in California from South Carolina during the Second Great Migration. In the official trailer, Betty gathers the neighbors to torment the Emorys together to drive them out of town, with Ruby Lee being mocked for being a "monkey" and the Emorys discovering their porch is filled with lynched dolls of black people. It's a concern by Betty and the housing committee that property values might go up because white people don't want to live in neighborhoods with new colored people. The committee specifically mentions Japanese Americans, Mexican Americans, and African Americans as the major colored populations that are making their work a struggle. There's also casual misogyny, with Helen (the Emorys' real estate agent) being the only woman in the housing committee and being told by her male counterparts upon making a radical statement about how they should make competitive property values that she better stay in her place if she wants to keep being a lucky woman with a job.
 THEM (2021) / int_729c69f3
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 THEM (2021)
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THEM (2021) / int_729c69f3
 THEM (2021) / int_72cdfc33
type
Big Bad Ensemble
 THEM (2021) / int_72cdfc33
comment
Big Bad Ensemble: Betty, Miss Vera, Da Tap Dance Man, Doris, and the Black Hat Man. Betty leads the racists against the Emorys, Miss Vera tells Gracie about what happened to Chester, Da Tap Dance Man mocks Henry and encourages him to give into his anger, Mrs. Johnson/Black Hat Man wants Lucky to kill herself and her family because being black is sinful according to him, and Doris wants to strip Ruby of her identity as a black girl into a white girl. All are trying to drive the family crazy.
 THEM (2021) / int_72cdfc33
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THEM (2021) / int_72cdfc33
 THEM (2021) / int_7a143509
type
Shell-Shocked Veteran
 THEM (2021) / int_7a143509
comment
Henry himself was in WWII and is a high-functioning Shell-Shocked Veteran as a result.
 THEM (2021) / int_7a143509
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 THEM (2021) / int_7a143509
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 THEM (2021)
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THEM (2021) / int_7a143509
 THEM (2021) / int_7b71737e
type
Closet Gay
 THEM (2021) / int_7b71737e
comment
It's implied that Clarke is a Closet Gay, yet rather than display intersectionality with blacks and other people-of-color, he only does the minimal and chooses to continue hiding away because if he knows that if he says anything, he's next.
 THEM (2021) / int_7b71737e
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THEM (2021) / int_7b71737e
 THEM (2021) / int_7d7c8e54
type
Being Watched
 THEM (2021) / int_7d7c8e54
comment
Being Watched: In the first trailer, Betty and the neighbors lounge on her lawn closely together to watch the Emorys from across the street.
 THEM (2021) / int_7d7c8e54
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THEM (2021) / int_7d7c8e54
 THEM (2021) / int_7e07f634
type
Paranoia Fuel
 THEM (2021) / int_7e07f634
comment
Paranoia Fuel: The official synopsis describes what the Emorys are going through as "terror". Indeed, the promotional material makes it unclear if which horrors they're being subjected to by the town are real or paranoia-induced — the "Hair on Fire" sneak peek confirms that Henry is getting hallucinations.
 THEM (2021) / int_7e07f634
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THEM (2021) / int_7e07f634
 THEM (2021) / int_7e680062
type
Aspect Ratio Switch
 THEM (2021) / int_7e680062
comment
Aspect Ratio Switch: The aspect ratio changes during Gracie Jean's nightmare sequence at the end of the first episode.
 THEM (2021) / int_7e680062
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THEM (2021) / int_7e680062
 THEM (2021) / int_7fb70f7d
type
God and Satan Are Both Jerks
 THEM (2021) / int_7fb70f7d
comment
God and Satan Are Both Jerks: Miles/Satan is behind the supernatural terrors of the show, but both Lucky and the villain Hiram Epps question the mercy of a God that would let their children get killed.
 THEM (2021) / int_7fb70f7d
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THEM (2021) / int_7fb70f7d
 THEM (2021) / int_90e31482
type
Laser-Guided Karma
 THEM (2021) / int_90e31482
comment
Miles, aka: the Devil, tells Epps that if he fails to destroy one black person who lives on the land then his suffering in Hell will be tenfold. Laser-Guided Karma promised at this point!
 THEM (2021) / int_90e31482
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THEM (2021) / int_90e31482
 THEM (2021) / int_91672d3e
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Children Are Innocent
 THEM (2021) / int_91672d3e
comment
Children Are Innocent: Henry and Lucky believe Gracie Jean claiming to see a Miss Vera is just one of her imaginary friends, and Henry is worried that this is going to lead to trouble with the white folks, as shown when she tries to explain to the police that Miss Vera was in their house.
 THEM (2021) / int_91672d3e
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THEM (2021) / int_91672d3e
 THEM (2021) / int_95b7c400
type
Faux Affably Evil
 THEM (2021) / int_95b7c400
comment
Faux Affably Evil: Most of the villains on the show are good at pretending to be polite whilst delivering stealth insults. Each of the ghosts with the exception of Black Hat Man initially pretends to be a friend to the family member they are haunting. Even Black Hat Man promises to reunite Lucky and Chester in death if she surrenders to him, presumably with the intention of telling the rest of the family that he will reunite them all in death if they follow suit. Lucky is having none of it.
 THEM (2021) / int_95b7c400
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THEM (2021) / int_95b7c400
 THEM (2021) / int_9b9d2629
type
Evil Will Fail
 THEM (2021) / int_9b9d2629
comment
Evil Will Fail: The neighbours fail to drive the Emorys out of Compton and the ghosts fail in driving them insane. Good conquers evil.
 THEM (2021) / int_9b9d2629
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THEM (2021) / int_9b9d2629
 THEM (2021) / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 THEM (2021) / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: Betty notices that the kitchen wallpaper is getting loose on the corners and makes a Rousing Speech comparing colored people to mold — it easily festers and is hard to get scrub off, ruining whatever it grew on. She later gets frustrated enough that she rips off the wallpaper and reveals the entire wall is covered in mold. Miles, aka: the Devil, tells Epps that if he fails to destroy one black person who lives on the land then his suffering in Hell will be tenfold. Laser-Guided Karma promised at this point!
 THEM (2021) / int_9d12bbc1
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Double-Meaning Title
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Double-Meaning Title: A covenant is an agreement, like a promise, a deal, or a responsibility. It can also be used in a legal context and a religious context. The outdated legal covenants that unfairly restricted black people from owning houses in certain areas. The laws at the time that segregated white people from people of color and enforce racial discrimination. Lucky and Epps's grief over failing their covenant to protect their children. The parent's covenant of protecting their family, which is what drives various characters. Epps's Deal with the Devil that caused the story in the first place. Epps's covenant to Martha and Grafton that he would safely host them in Eidolon, and the breaking of that covenant. Betty and Clarke's marriage or "covenant" breaking due to a lack of commitment between them, like the both of them cheating on each other and Clarke stealing her money.
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Karma Houdini
 THEM (2021) / int_a70223
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The Emorys left North Carolina to move on from a traumatic home invasion by four white people (who were also impossible to track down), who raped Lucky and killed Chester in front of her when she was home alone with him.
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Deliberate Values Dissonance
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Deliberate Values Dissonance: This being 1950's America and the show being about an African American family's struggle in it (and then some), what do you think? Obviously, now-offensive racial terms like Negro, Mongoloid, Jap, etc. are thrown around casually and used in disdain, and calling people the N-word or a faggot are only seen as harsher but true by straight white people. It's implied that Clarke is a Closet Gay, yet rather than display intersectionality with blacks and other people-of-color, he only does the minimal and chooses to continue hiding away because if he knows that if he says anything, he's next. Betty has doubts about leading the racists against the Emorys because she knows people will won't take a female leader seriously, and when she's forced to make a Rousing Speech in place of Clarke, she thinks it was embarrassing despite everyone surprisingly being all for it even if she is a woman. Speaking of feminism, a more sympathetic case can be seen with Helen, who gets talked down by her older male colleagues for suggesting an idea and told she should not let her womanly instincts bring down her career.
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Rousing Speech
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Betty has doubts about leading the racists against the Emorys because she knows people will won't take a female leader seriously, and when she's forced to make a Rousing Speech in place of Clarke, she thinks it was embarrassing despite everyone surprisingly being all for it even if she is a woman.
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Soundtrack Dissonance
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Soundtrack Dissonance: In the first episode, Judy Garland's song plays as the Emorys arrive in Compton, but the song becomes distorted at the lyrics "It's all so peaceful on the other side." when Henry and Lucky notice their neighbors are all white and staring at them. The dreamy '50's music is offset by the uncomfortable atmosphere that the Emorys are enduring. "Dream a Little Dream of Me" plays in the finale's Cold Opening, playing over Lucky's nightmare sequence of her family arriving in their neighborhood while being glared and screamed slurs at by the entire neighborhood.
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Playing with Syringes
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Playing with Syringes: In the first trailer, a shot of a syringe briefly appears.
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Rage Against the Heavens
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Hiram Epps lost his son, though we never find out how, although this triggers his Rage Against the Heavens and subsequent temptation by the Devil, causing his Face–Heel Turn from Nice Guy to Sinister Minister.
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Tantrum Throwing
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Tantrum Throwing: In the "Mold on Wallpaper" clip, a frustrated Betty has a silent meltdown over a small tear in her house's wallpaper, revealing that there's mold beneath the wall and a lot of it when she rips open the tear.
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Jump Scare
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Jump Scare: Lucky is wandering the hallways at work when a crazed, growling, red-faced black man suddenly jumps at the window in front of him.
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Satan
 THEM (2021) / int_c3bafbce
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Played straight with Miles, who is always present whenever something goes wrong in the episode in which he appears, never speaks a word, grins evilly when two people are lynched and set on fire and ultimately turns out to be Satan.
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 THEM (2021) / int_c3c18143
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Hope Spot
 THEM (2021) / int_c3c18143
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Hope Spot: It seems Ruby is able to make at least one friend at school... except she's actually her personal demon, tormenting her and feeding on her vulnerabilities to make her go crazy before killing her. At the end of the eighth episode, the Emorys finally decide to book it... and then Henry discovers Lucky took Chester's coffin with them, leading to him hesitating and having Lucky be sent to the asylum.
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Felony Misdemeanor
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At the start of the second episode, the lead cop calmly points out to Betty that Lucky may have been a threat to the neighborhood when she was waving her gun around in the lawn, but once Henry took her inside, she stopped being a threat. He then calls down his more aggressive subordinates from restraining the Emorys and allows the family to explain what happened. However, later that episode, he tells Lucky after she stays on the bus too long that she's making it hard for him to be "on her side" and that she has to make other people "feel safe" if she wants to feel safe.
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And Your Little Dog, Too!
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And Your Little Dog, Too!: The Wendells and their friends discuss ways they could harass the Emorys and suggest giving their dog Sergeant a bleached bone. That night, Sergeant is found dead in the basement... but it wasn't by the neighbors.
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 THEM (2021) / int_c75df49a
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Shout-Out
 THEM (2021) / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: In the first episode, Henry jokes that a guy they see in town looks like Bela Lugosi and Lucky notes that he's seen too many movies. Also from the first episode, the Emorys drive by a theater showing Peter Pan, which places the story in 1953. Da Tap-Dance Man and Miss Vera in particularly look like ghosts out of Insidious or The Conjuring. The whole sequence in episode one and episode three depicting Lucky’s assault and Chester's murder is stylistically very reminiscent of Ari Aster's films, being filmed on a sunny day with a sickly, sepia font, featuring disturbing close-ups of faces and sickening violence.
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Freudian Excuse
 THEM (2021) / int_c868a42a
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Freudian Excuse: For the Black Hat Man, the death of his son. Betty Wendell is revealed to have been raped by her father.
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Interplay of Sex and Violence
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Interplay of Sex and Violence: Lucky is raped while Chester is being murdered.
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 THEM (2021) / int_cb70651c
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Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane
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Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The official synopsis describes the horrors that the family is subjected to as next-door and otherworldly. In the official trailer, Betty gets the other neighbors to help her harass the Emorys, though Gracie Jean says there's something wrong with this house, with the trailer then showing the monstrous blackface man...
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 THEM (2021) / int_cc7fae30
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Outside-Context Problem
 THEM (2021) / int_cc7fae30
comment
Outside-Context Problem: Nobody has any idea who George is, which is how he's able to lure Betty to his home, lock her up, and kill her without anyone knowing. This also leads to the neighbors accusing the Emorys of being responsible, leading to the climax of the season. Almost no one outside of the Emorys has any reason to believe something supernatural or paranormal is going on and assumes that the family is just crazy. In the finale, when the house gets surrounded by Epps' fire as Lucky marches in and the fire dies down after the demons are defeated, the neighborhood can only watch in bewilderment.
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 THEM (2021) / int_cf92fea8
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Cassandra Truth
 THEM (2021) / int_cf92fea8
comment
Cassandra Truth: Lucky warns Henry that there is something very wrong with the place and it’s not just the neighbours. Henry deep down knows that she’s right but initially refuses to confirm that he agrees because he knows she’s mentally unstable and fears for his own sanity.
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You Are Not Alone
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You Are Not Alone: Lucky helps her family overcome their demons by reaching out to each one of them and assuring them that they're in this together.
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Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
 THEM (2021) / int_d7b34c31
comment
Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": Livia Emory is always known by her nickname of Lucky, which becomes an increasingly Ironic Nickname as time goes on. Lampshaded by the Black Hat Man.
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 THEM (2021) / int_da53340
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Religious Horror
 THEM (2021) / int_da53340
comment
Religious Horror: The Black Hat Man is a Sinister Minister who works for the Devil yet still believes he is following God. He made a Deal with the Devil to make black people suffer, as the Devil drove him crazy and made him believe black people are literally monsters.
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Reasonable Authority Figure
 THEM (2021) / int_dca70c44
comment
Wheatley, while otherwise a Reasonable Authority Figure who is willing to attempt to see past races, is still a Noble Bigot with a Badge. After dealing with two incidents of Lucky presumably "disturbing the peace", Wheatley tells her that it's up to her and her family to make themselves safe by making their white neighbors feel safe — an ignorant statement since white people can find an excuse in anything no matter what the Emorys do.
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Mama Bear
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Mama Bear: Lucky has loaded guns in case the neighbors "get squirrelly", and she has no intent of giving any warnings. Lucky, in fact, is the one who saves their family from the Black Hat Man and his monsters in the end, fighting through their personal hells to rescue them from their demons.
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 THEM (2021) / int_e21715e8
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Subtext
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Subtext: The "Mold on Wallpaper" clip shows Betty, frustrated after watching Henry from the window, has a silent tantrum and rips open her living room wallpaper when she notices that a small tear showing mold behind it, revealing that the entire wall is covered in mold — it's quite an appropriate metaphor for a seemingly idyllic town revealing their violent and reprehensible nature towards African-Americans.
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Hate Sink
 THEM (2021) / int_e5fd8bc2
comment
Hate Sink: It would be shorter to list which villains aren't outright horrible — Helen, Clarke, and Bull. And even then, complete sympathy is avoided because Helen can be interpreted as just being pragmatic and experimental in the housing market, Clarke's allyship is limited to trying to hold off his wife and neighbors and running off (along with some shady things going on in his marriage), and Bull believes it's the Emorys' fault for not playing along if anything bad happens to them.
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 THEM (2021) / int_e796ce97
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Blackface
 THEM (2021) / int_e796ce97
comment
Blackface: At the end of the first trailer and throughout the "Down the Hallway" teaser, a man in blackface with large black pupils appears in the dark and on the television, threateningly and tauntingly asking "Whatcha gonna do?". This is Da Tap Dance Man, a spirit donned in frightening Blackface and resembles a caricature of a 1930s-1940s minstrel.
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No Ending
 THEM (2021) / int_ea2e9f2d
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No Ending: The first season ends with the family defeating their demons and walking outside to their angry neighborhood baffled as to what the hell the huge fire was and the cops pointing guns at the Emorys. The credits roll before we get any idea of what happens next.
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 THEM (2021) / int_f3d5d15f
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Creepy Child
 THEM (2021) / int_f3d5d15f
comment
Creepy Child: Subverted. Gracie Jean talks to an "imaginary friend" named Miss Vera, a fictitious character from a book she carries about how to be a Proper Lady. The entity within the house takes on the form of Miss Vera to speak to Gracie Jean and teach her a song that holds a dark significance for her mother. Gracie Jean also blacks out and starts chanting a Madness Mantra in front of the class when she sees Miss Vera outside the window. The subversion is that she's a perfectly well-adjusted young lady who is being tormented by the malevolent presence within East Compton as much as the rest of her family. Played straight with Miles, who is always present whenever something goes wrong in the episode in which he appears, never speaks a word, grins evilly when two people are lynched and set on fire and ultimately turns out to be Satan.
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I Just Want to Be Beautiful
 THEM (2021) / int_f65cce93
comment
I Just Want to Be Beautiful: Ruby's dilemma throughout the show. The racism she experienced has her believe that she is ugly because she is a Black girl. The Demons of Compton play on this by sending her one in the form of a pretty white teen girl named Doris to drive her to further hate herself. It almost works before she figures it out during the Season Finale.
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 THEM (2021) / int_fe6c146e
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The Corrupter
 THEM (2021) / int_fe6c146e
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The Corrupter: The demons goal. Each one targets a member of the Emory and other black families in Compton, and uses their trauma dealing with racism and other personal issues to drive them insane enough to commit horrible acts. The Emory family realizes this in the end and are able to defeat the demons because of it.
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 THEM (2021) / int_fed93e1b
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Dark and Troubled Past
 THEM (2021) / int_fed93e1b
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Dark and Troubled Past: Nearly all of the characters have this to some extent, even some of the villains. The Emorys left North Carolina to move on from a traumatic home invasion by four white people (who were also impossible to track down), who raped Lucky and killed Chester in front of her when she was home alone with him. Henry himself was in WWII and is a high-functioning Shell-Shocked Veteran as a result. Betty was molested by her father, while her mother did nothing to stop it. Hiram Epps lost his son, though we never find out how, although this triggers his Rage Against the Heavens and subsequent temptation by the Devil, causing his Face–Heel Turn from Nice Guy to Sinister Minister.
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Evil-Detecting Dog
 THEM (2021) / int_ff6ae1f6
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Evil-Detecting Dog: In the first episode, the family dog Sergeant suddenly runs towards the basement door and barks at something. Subverted when he ran up, licked and fussed the old woman who went on to murder Chester.
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