Quick Recap

This week’s episode picks up where episode 5 left off. Hippolyta and Dee travel to the ruins of the mansion. She finds proof that George was there, confirming her doubts about his death. Later, Hippolyta finally gets the orrery working and she discovers a secret compartment. It contains a key and a set of coordinates. She follows them to an old observatory. She discovers some sort of machine and gets it started up, but just before she can use it two cops find her there.

Leti has the same dream Tic had about the burning mansion with the added detail of being pregnant. The pair compare dreams and conclude that the book Hannah is carrying is the Book of Names. They make a plan to meet one of Tic’s distant relatives in St. Louis to get information on the book’s whereabouts. They think they’ll be able to use it to defeat Christina. They go to Montrose’s place to get information about the relative and discover him with Sammy. He finally admits to being gay. Tic doesn’t react well.

Ruby finally sees what’s in the basement. Christina has the remains of the real William and Nell, using their blood for the transformation potion. She demands answers and Christina tells her everything, including Leti’s involvement.

Tic and Leti head over to Hippolyta’s place to borrow Woody, but Hippolyta’s already on her way out and she refuses to change her plans. She leaves Dee in Ruby’s care. Tic has to take the bus to St. Louis, but Leti decides to stay and reconcile with her sister. Leti apologizes and the two seem to patch things up. Ruby jokes that Leti might be pregnant and she leaves the room in a panic. She inadvertently finds the missing orrery and calls Tic. Ruby overhears the conversation.

Hippolyta is transported to a mysterious planet and is approached by two android-like beings. She wakes up in a white room, completely naked with strange glowing devices implanted in her wrists. Another android-like being, this one with the face and hair of a black woman, approaches her. Hippolyta tries to escape but fails. She attempts a second escape and is stopped by the android. She is transported to a Paris stage, dancing back up for Josephine Baker.

In Paris, Hippolyta finally lets loose. She has a heart-to-heart with Josephine and she embraces her feelings about racism. She’s transported to a tribe of African warrior women where she trains for battle. Here she embraces and harnesses her anger before being transported again. This time she ends up home in bed with George. She tells him everything she never had a chance to say. This time she takes him with her when she teleports to yet another place. They end up in a land much like the one Dee draws in her Orithyia Blue comics.

Hippolyta meets again with the android woman, floating in space. She declines an invitation to join her, choosing to return to her own dimension to be with her daughter. Back at the observatory, Tic comes out of the wormhole. He holds a book, Lovecraft Country, written by George Freeman.

Review

It seems like each episode is wilder and more exciting than the last. This week Hippolyta went on an interdimensional journey of self-discovery. I’ve been feeling so bad for Hippolyta. She’s been dismissed and lied to nonstop, treated like some delicate flower who can’t handle any controversy. Hippolyta finally got her turn in the sun and she didn’t disappoint.

All season we’ve seen Hippolyta’s love of astronomy. She stole the orrery from Leti’s during the party and she’s been obsessed ever since. During her trip to Braithwaite Manor, she discovers a symbol among the ruins that matches a symbol etched on the orrery. Driven by her desire to get to the bottom of her husband’s murder, she follows the coordinates hidden inside. I was in awe of her as she figured out how to operate that machine. Her mastery of math and physics is staggering. I wonder if the character was based on Mary Jackson, Katherine G. Johnson, or Dorothy Vaughn, black women who were integral in America’s first manned mission to the moon.

I didn’t think Christina could shock me anymore after her big reveal in episode 5, turns out I was wrong. The girl had not one, but two dead bodies in her basement. Her reasons for keeping William’s body make sense, but having Dell’s as well is just beyond suspect. Like she knew all along that she would seduce Ruby.

Tic’s discovery about his father was heartbreaking to watch. Montrose has kept his sexuality a secret for a long time. His fear of discovery is understandable. This definitely wasn’t how he wanted his son to find out. I was disappointed in Tic, but it seems his reaction was more complicated than that. Tic reveals the terrible abuse inflicted by his father for the third time this season. He feels betrayed. These two have a lot more healing to do.

Speaking of healing, Leti and Ruby made up, finally, and it was so sweet. Leti showed some real maturity in owning up to her mistakes. She’s still keeping secrets though. Notice how she didn’t mention being pregnant in her dream, or when she called Tic about the orrery? It’s understandable. She’s been through a lot since moving back to the Southside.

Hippolyta’s journey through space (and time?) was the best part of the episode. According to her, it proved the many worlds theory correct. I loved watching her become her best, most authentic self. The world is hard on black women (I know because I’m a black woman). Even more so for a black woman living in Jim Crow era America. Hippolyta admits to feeling small and less than because of how white people treat her, and later she admits to her husband that he made her feel like that too. Through her time spent in different iterations of our world she was able to become the woman she wanted to be, without the undue influences of racism and sexism. I want to know where I can find one of those fancy wormholes.

We have no idea where the wormhole sent Tic, but he seemed really scared when he got out. We’ll have to wait until next week to find out what happened. But since the book he had was written by his uncle, it might be a safe assumption that he ran into George, wherever he was.

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Check out the trailer below to get a sneak peek at next week’s episode.