Big Brother Is Watching You
Episode 3 of The Midwich Cuckoos begins two years after the births of these children. Some narration from Zoe confirms that everyone in Midwich has kept their mouths shut, pointing out that their worlds have grown smaller, and confined to this village. They’ve all got used to their lives being watched, with their children undoubtedly special for their ages. Everyone believes blindly that their lives are normal… until one morning when everything changes. Cue the start of this chapter! Jodie is still living at Paul’s, having given birth to a boy called Nathan. He’s about to start school at Midwich Prep, joined by all the other mysterious children. Interestingly, there’s another strange ripple with the electricity again, leading to all the kids heading outside together, meeting another little girl who happens to be part of their group. This is Sunny, the daughter of Amrita, who’s the woman Stewart was having an affair with. Sunny is picked up by Susannah and taken back to the McClean household for the time being. Susannah learns from Amrita that she and Stewart had an arrangement. He agreed to pay her money to stay away from their family. Somehow she – along with some of the other kids – have enhanced hearing and listen in to everything. “I want to see the others” Sunny eventually says, naming all the other kids who happen to be in Midwich. Doing some more tests, it would appear that these kids are somehow psychically linked, able to pick out the same picture on computer screens in Ward 300, the government-funded lab they’re taken to through their lives. The thing is, despite believing this is a choice, none of them have left and given how strictly they’ve been monitored, it seems unlikely they ever will. Zoe speaks to Amrita in confidence about this and tells her that if she wants to leave, she should do it now. Interestingly, Amrita also confirms that a man showed up a while back, allegedly claiming to be a doctor. He spoke to Sunny for an hour and then left. It would now appear that these kids are linked together like some sort of hive mind. Zoe and Sam’s child, Hannah, speaks to Sam later on and touches his face, telling him that only he loves her now, not Zoe. She next approaches her mother and telepathically forces Zoe’s hand above a saucepan on the stove, burning her. Outside, Sam speaks to Curtis while this is going on, who admits he’s only agreed to take in his special child “until the money runs out.” Jesus Christ, what a scumbag. In Midwich, things take a turn for the worst when Amrita speaks to Sarah, Stewart’s wife. As they talk, something strange happens. Sunny reaches out to Sarah and hugs her, whispering “mummy” while Amrita watches on, the lights crackling on and off just like before. That night, while Sunny sleeps, Amrita begins packing up all her daughter’s belongings, ready to leave. Sunny though, refuses to go. Elsewhere, Zoe shows up to see Susannah and tells her about Hannah’s telepathic power, hurting her. Zoe believes that Hannah’s hostility stems from her believing she’s a threat to the young girl. Susannah doesn’t seem to believe Zoe, chalking this up to some form of paranoia. When Zoe heads back home, Bryony is there waiting, wanting to know what happened in Ward 300. They have footage of her talking to Amrita and want to know what happened between them. Zoe claims she got lost and feigns ignorance, which surprisingly seems to work. Amrita leaves with Sunny, but all the kids bolt upright in bed when she does, watching out their windows. Down in the parking lot, Sunny causes all the car alarms to go off simultaneously. The next scene, we cut to her outside Charlotte’s window, where she makes herself at home with Stewart and Sarah. Apparently Amrita dropped her off but the truth is, she seems to have disappeared in that parking lot, with her bag on the seat and a voicemail telling Zoe that she’s leaving with Sunny. When Zoe heads upstairs to check on Hannah, she happens to be awake and watching from the bedroom. She looks at her mother and puts a finger to her lips, telling her chillingly to be quiet.
The Episode Review
Although this is slightly slower chapter compared to the first 2, The Midwich Cuckoos continues to deliver enthralling drama. With all the kids now a lot older (well I say a lot, it’s only really been 2 years!) and a slightly different dynamic to this chilling horror, the drama this time shifts across to more of an eerie mystery as we’re left to wonder quite what they may know – and what they’re keeping a secret. With the revelation that these kids are a hivemind or some sort, it would appear that aliens are the culprit here. The recurring motif from the first two episodes of the overhead shot of a circle (the horse spinning in circles and the motorized lawnmower turning) are missing this time, as the show slows and becomes much more of a character-driven ensemble. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, and the ending does hint that everything is going to pick up in the chapters to come. For now though, we’ll have to wait and see what the future has in store for us.
