The Haunting of Hill House breakdown: Season 1, episode 2-5

The Twin Thing

This is my favorite episode by far and honestly caught me by surprise. Up until this point, we only got to know Luke as a child with brief glimpses into his life as a drug-addicted grown-up. We also get to know the deep connection he and Nell share as twins with them having a spiritual bond, which explains why Luke woke up grabbing his neck in pain from the Nell dream.

The best part about this episode though is the exploration we see of Luke as a recovering addict and the steps he goes through to fight his demons in the real world and the spiritual. We’re also introduced to a new ghostly figure that specifically haunts Luke. It’s a tall figure that is elevated off the ground pushing himself along like a rowboat with his cane. The reason the apparition appears is that his mom found a bowler hat, which young Luke begs to keep. Well, little Luke soon regrets this choice as the entity floats room-to-room seeking his hat back. It’s honestly the most chilling executed vision of a ghost seen in a while.

The heart of the episode though is Luke’s redemption by fighting his demons. He achieves 90 days of sobriety and is on the 4th step of his recovery which is atoning for his sins and making them right. Problem is, his only friend in rehab has now fled the institution. On top of this, he knows something is wrong with Nell because of his twin intuition. He flees to go find his friend but she also screws him over when he tries to help her. Even worse, the ghost of the bowler hat man has reemerged and is following him through the city.

The writers then show the interesting parallel between drug addiction being a demon that creeps up on you as the bowler hat man, creepily floats up behind him. This entire sequence was so unsettling and clever. As he turns around to confront the apparition behind him, he’s greeted by a blinding light, and it’s his brother Steven driving up along with the woman who runs the rehab. Steve tells Luke that Nell committed suicide. At first, Luke is upset and shocked, but Luke grabbing his neck gains a confident look of knowledge. Luke says, “No she didn’t.”

The Bent-Neck Lady

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Which leads us to the halfway point of season 1 and it’s an absolutely devastating episode. Here we see the complete journey of Nell from the flashbacks of her youth leading all the way to her “suicide.” We see the very first encounter with the “Bent-Neck Lady” and how the entity has haunted her for years starting with a bedroom encounter as a child. It also shows how this leads to her having an issue with sleep paralysis as she gets older.

This leads to her getting help from a sleep technician named Arthur who she eventually falls in love with. As the episode pushes forward we witness the tragic events that befall in this relationship. Arthur moves in and knows how to save her when she gets sleep paralysis. The relationship grows so strong that eventually they get married– which we knew from earlier episodes. One night though, her sleep paralysis strikes again, and as he starts the process of trying to help her, he gets up to turn on the light, then he halts in place, head swiveling sideways mimicking the “Bent-Neck Lady” and has an aneurysm. With Nell being stuck in sleep paralysis, she can only watch as her husband dies in front of her. Plus, the “Bent-Neck Lady” has reemerged watching as well and maybe caused it.

After this tragedy, this sets off a long road that leads her returning to the Hill House. She now goes to a therapist to cope with her husband’s death and during one of the sessions, he says that visiting the home again may take away the power it has over her–psychologically speaking. He is so wrong. We then see all the events from the first episode, like her calling Steven and Shirley from the hotel, plus the phone call to her dad outside the Hill House as the inside of the haunted location comes to life with the lights turning on. We also see the porch flicker similarly to the Forever House in episode 2.

This is where everything starts going full crazy as Nell goes tumbling down the rabbit hole of Hill House. As she enters, we see two things 1) what Nell thinks is happening and 2) what’s actually happening. What Nell sees is a pleasant greeting from her family in childhood form. They greet her and tell her they’ve been waiting for her to get home. This leads to one of the family members guiding her to greet her mom–who is supposed to be dead. As they take her through the home, we get a brief glimpse of reality which shows no one around and she is walking by herself through the dark. When she finds her mom, she’s warm and welcoming the way she remembers her. Her mother then tells her that she can go put on her nightdress because it’s almost bedtime.

Once she does, the next few scenes play out like a terrifying version of the ending of Titanic. Her mom tells her now that she has her nightdress on, to come along because everyone is waiting for her. She follows her downstairs and at the bottom of the staircase is her entire family in ballroom attire. Everyone is so excited to see her. An embodiment of Luke is also there and tells her that he is clean because of her. But he holds a surprise, as he steps aside, there stands her dead husband Arthur alive and well. He takes her hand and they dance throughout the Hill House and as they do, we begin to see other people watching them–and they are not her family. Once they get to a certain room, Arthur stops dancing with her and kisses Nell. As he does, she opens her eyes, and he’s gone.

Olivia, her mom then tells her to come up the staircase because she is going to have a tea party with the children. Once she gets to the top, her mom offers her a locket necklace that she promised her as a child. Nell tearfully puts it on but something odd happens. She is suddenly transported outside the staircase with a rope around her neck. Panicking she looks at her mom and begs for help. Olivia tells her, “it’s time to wake up.” Nell falls and hangs herself but the nightmare isn’t over.  She finds herself screaming with her neck sideways in front of herself as an adult, then as a child– Like an elevator from hell, she keeps descending to every encounter from her past haunting her own self.  Nell was the “Bent-Neck Lady” the whole time.

Final Thoughts

The first five episodes play like a family drama focusing on each of the Crain siblings and the execution is hauntingly potent. Imagine if you will combining elements of This is Us and injecting them with the sinister horror of The Conjuring. It’s extremely effective and leaves images that stick with you long after each episode. The other aspect that I love Mike Flanagan does here is he frames camera shots that are purposely pushing the viewer to watch the background. It’s like he is wanting you to look over the shoulder of the characters for something hiding or watching. Overall, the first half of The Haunting of Hill House is terrifying, mindblowing and continues to be heartbreaking in the best way possible.

The Haunting of Hill House is now streaming on Netflix