Warning: This article contains slight spoilers for Channel Zero.

“Beware the Cannibals,” the mid-season episode for “No-End House,” keeps Margot at its center. Understandably, as she seems to be the primary audience stand-in/protagonist and picks up where her wariness-inducing tete-a-tete with her newly returned father left off. In her periphery, the show starts to peel back a little more of the surface on the overarching mythos of the season, helped along by some enjoyably gross-out body horror shots and the hints of some intriguing creature design to come.

Altogether, the episode hinges on a cleverly unnerving script from Don Mancini and Erica Saleh and I’m glad to say my querying if they would maintain the good grasp on pacing bore fruit. There were, it should be said, a few odd pacing jumps attempting to tie in previous elements that had been left mostly untouched, while still maintaining forward motion.

On the whole, this episode displayed a well-executed shift into higher stakes from the previous episode’s slower, steadier creep factor. This is a promising sign if the latter half of the season is able to maintain this sense of momentum and bring each subplot to a satisfying conclusion.

Unfortunately, some of this is slightly undercut by one or two moments where you can’t quite tell if there’s a deliberately unsettling ambiance or just a really obvious green screen. Other than that though, the soundtrack, visuals, and general atmosphere remain effectively tense and with our ensemble cast reuniting, the acting seems to have matched up again with the strength of the set pieces.

That said, some of the mysterious elements and layers newly introduced in this episode don’t seem to have roots in much. One can assume subsequent episodes will tie them in more securely, but for now, sequences like Margot and Jules stumbling into what looks like a Russian primary school seem more jarring and confusing than ominous. In the absence of context, this feels more reminiscent of season one’s clunky anxiety about losing control of one’s children to the television, here it seems to tug the strings of a McCarthyist Red Scare and sits oddly out of step for now.

Still, by and large, the balance of starting to pick apart the premise and raising new questions is appropriately compelling. I am particularly intrigued by this season’s clear interest in what you remember, what you want to remember, and what you forget or wish you could. The midway point of the season is a good point at which to drive home the central theme around which the various plot threads revolve and “Beware the Cannibals” sticks this particular landing.

In the meantime, the little we know about JT, the even less we know about the increasingly suspicious Seth, and the open-ended question that is Jules’ situation, is enough to inspire both cautious hope and deep-seated wariness all at once. Each of these turning points set the tone meaningfully for what is no doubt to follow, and my hope is that these individual threads will continue to knit ever-closer together as the season’s second half starts to build toward its climax.

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Also, if you’d like to join the Phenixx Gaming team, check out our recruitment article for details on working with us.

Phenixx Gaming is proud to be a Humble Partner! Purchases made through our affiliate links support our writers and charity!

Channel Zero

8.8

Score

8.8/10

Pros

• Unsettling Ambiance
• Increasingly Compelling Core Cast
• Overall Solid Balance of Questions and Answers

Cons

• Some Visual Effects Feel a Little Under-Budgeted
• A few Narrative Jumps that Don't Quite Make Sense Yet