#NOS4A2 Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Bats

Saying goodbye is tough, and with no word on a renewal, NOS4A2 Season 2 Episode 10 left me wanting so much more from this fully-realized world.

Charlie Manx is dead. At least, that’s what we were led to believe.

His cremation would have been a pivotal scene, for sure, so the fact that we didn’t get to see that makes me think Zachary Quinto’s villain will pop up again at some point. 

Making Millie a full-fledged vampire killer was a heel-turn I didn’t expect, and I’m OK with it. It’s possible that Charlie will be able to communicate with his daughter via supernatural means.

It would have been nice to have some time with her living in the outside world before we got to her becoming a villain, but it means there will always be danger lurking for Vic and her family.

Vic has lost a lot. There’s no question about that, but in the end, her relationship with her mother is in a great place. Who would have thought that would happen?

Throughout all of this pain, there has been healing.

Whether the mother and daughter’s relationship will still be flourishing during the potential third season, I don’t know.

There seemed to be an emotional breakthrough with Mama McQueen learning everything that was happening. As for Vic, she’s not out of the woods yet.

Wayne may have been saved, but there’s still something supernatural going on with him, and it’s likely Vic’s next big hurdle could be saving her son from himself.

There’s a villainous side to the kid, as well as the loving side, as evidenced by his reactions throughout this final episode.

He’s flirting with darkness and longing for Christmasland, despite only spending a short time there. What about all of the other kids, though?

They were there for years, and even though their ornaments were broken, Wayne still has a bond with the place.

Will there be an army of children determined to avenge the death of Charlie?

That’s a convincing enough hook to me! What I didn’t expect was that Vic could control the bats in her Inscape.

It never crossed my mind, but it worked as a great way to take Charlie down.

Maggie surviving was the big surprise because she seemed destined for death from the get-go. She lost the love of her life but started to realize the thing she missed the most was the supernatural aspect of things.

Unfortunately, that meant it was the end of the line for her and Tabitha. I appreciated the nuances of their relationship, but there is no such thing as a happy ending on a show like this.

Maggie is ready to travel other Inscapes and meet more creative individuals, and that’s fine… for now. My concern is that she becomes too engrossed in that side of things and doesn’t make connections in the real world. She’s back in the library with her tiles, and ready to take on the world.

Vic wanting to live a stress-free life away from the supernatural is nothing but a pipe dream. With all of the pieces of the puzzle coming into play here, the more likely scenario is that Vic will reluctantly work with Maggie to try to find another Inscape to lock the kids in when they start killing.

It’s going to happen. There’s bound to be another significant time jump between seasons, but I’m not sure how the ages of the kids will play out.

Will Wayne even age? He was a vampire, but he’s back to the real world without those pesky teeth. There’s a lot about the mythology that comes into play here.

The series’ strength is in the way it manages to add a fresh and exciting spin on vampires. It’s like you need to forget everything you thought you knew about them to enjoy the series, and that’s a good thing.

As a season finale, “Bats” was successful in its attempt to conclude several long-running storylines, while planting the seeds for others to sprout down the line.

I wasn’t a huge fan of leaving out the supposed death scene, but it leaves an air of mystery for fans. It also gives the writers an inning if they decide to revive Charlie. It’s possible, you guys.

Many shows would close out the season with a pivotal character in peril, but it really was all about moving the pieces in different directions. 

It worked well, and I’m holding out hope for Vic and Maggie to hit the road to solve crimes in a similar vein to Supernatural. It may derive too much from the source material, but it would be a great way to switch gears. 

OK. That’s all I got. What about you, NOS4A2 fans?

Did you like the way Charlie was supposedly killed off?

Will Vic start working with Maggie?

Are you on board with Millie as the villain?

Do you think we should get a third season or did you like the way things were wrapped up?

Hit the comments below.

Remember you can watch NOS4A2 online right here via TV Fanatic.

Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.