Warning: This article contains spoilers for Channel Zero.

Having reached the finale of “Butcher’s Block,” I can say that one of the consistent strengths of this season, and of Channel Zero in general, is its capacity to wield atmosphere to great effect. It’s a necessity for effective horror, but particularly as the season reaches its climax, with the final confrontation between our heroes and the Peach family approaching.

In particular, the tension is heightened by stark, unnerving jumps between the dreamy horror-fairytale ambiance of the Peach residence and the violent terror that it inflicts on the world outside. That said, this stage setting still seems to do a lot of legwork. It does so particularly in a season that seems unsure whether it wants to leave mysteries purposely unresolved, or lead the audience by the nose through expository dialogue.

One or the other, ostensibly, would be fine, but the curious tangle of both just makes the things the season refuses to answer stick out awkwardly. To the episode’s credit, though, it has managed to tie together some elements of the story that had previously felt a little awkwardly disjointed.

Rutger Hauer is particularly impressive in the closely-shot sequence of Joseph Peach discovering the bodies of his slain family members. It’s a scene that does some important work toward solidifying that the Peach patriarch’s violence and exploitation is so horrible because he’s fundamentally a human being from whom we should expect better. It differs from him being some inconceivable monster.

On the other side of the coin, there’s something very satisfying in the assembly of an “unlikely” band of heroes as the story reaches its central conflict. Not that the grouping is surprising, as such. However, I wish Diane (Paula Boudreau) had gotten to be more of a developed character that we could invest in. Zoe is the only one that vaguely resembles the archetypical “final girl,” and even she breaks this narrative rule on a number of levels.

Speaking of that central conflict, now that we see the Pestilent God in full, the creature design is gorgeous. It is another consistent selling point of Channel Zero’s behind the scenes work. As a reminder, the Pestilent God is the alien deity that the Peaches try to serve, with increasing desperation, to maintain their “dream”. Equally, I love the dizzying visuals and experimental video techniques that cement the Pestilent God’s alien and incomprehensible nature.

I do, however, have some mixed feelings about the Lovecraft-esque nihilism implied by the Pestilent God’s nature and actions. An unfathomable, untouchable creature to which an old, wealthy, white family sought to appeal (at the expense of everyone else) to preserve their ludicrous wealth and power? Sure, I buy it. There’s historical record.

Equally, it makes for a compelling enemy or emblem against which our heroes face off, assuming the takeaway is that they’re able to overcome it because they care. It would make sense because they are adamantly connected not just to each other but to the community that the Peaches have terrorized for so long.

Where it starts to fall apart, though, is in the denouement of Alice’s story. I can understand the desire to bring things back full circle to Alice and Zoe’s mother Nora in the hospital, and I think there’s value in affirming her humanity before the season’s end. Having Alice wind up in the hospital with her, though, fell a little flat and hollow for me. It felt a bit cheap despite all the impressive effect and camera work that preceded it.

Taken all together, the things that “Butcher’s Block” did well, it did very well. Additionally, as this episode embodies, where the season didn’t quite stick the landing, it threatened to undermine the clear and promising strengths.

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Channel Zero

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Unnerving atmosphere
• Great effects and visuals
• "Unlikely" band of heroes is an enjoyable turn

Cons

• Some ending notes ring a little hollow