REVIEW: ‘Lovecraft Country,’ Episode 6 – “Meet Me In Daegu”

Lovecraft Country Episode 6 features perhaps the biggest departure from the book and yet that ends up working to its advantage. “Meet Me In Daegu” flashes back to 1950 during Atticus’ (Jonathan Majors) time in the Korean War. There he meets a young nursing student named Ji-yah (Jamie Chung) and the two slowly fall in love. However, Ji-yah is hiding a secret; she is a kumiho, a mythical nine-tailed fox in Korean legends that often seduces men and kills them.

This episode sheds light on several events that have only been hinted at during the series. Ji-yah has been a presence throughout the series, as well as Atticus being changed by the war. Here we get to see exactly what happened to both of them and it’s utterly heartwrenching. Series creator Misha Green and co-writer Kevin Lau draw several parallels between the two; Atticus has a rough relationship with his father, while Ji-yah’s mother pushes her to keep killing men so that she can fully become human. They are also shaped by the horrors of war; Ji-yah loses a friend who is suspected to be a Communist sympathizer, and Atticus admits that he has done monstrous things in the service of his country.

In continuing with the series’ tradition of tackling certain tropes in genre stories, the episode presents its take on “human/monster romance”. Ji-yah’s abilities mean certain death for her potential suitors, as she is literally stealing their souls. She also plans to kill Atticus, believing he killed her friend. However, they connect over The Count of Monte Cristo and the films of Judy Garland while slowly connecting with each other. It culminates in a sequence where they make love for the first time. Unlike most love scenes in the series to date, director Helen Shaver films it with a slowly building intensity as Atticus and Ji-yah lose themselves in each other. Ji-yah also manages to keep herself from stealing Atticus’ soul, further showing that she truly loves him.

The series also continues to be a spotlight for actors to showcase their range. This episode puts its focus on Ji-yah and Chung delivers on every aspect. She gets to be seductive as she lures her victims to her doom. She acts rather timid, and then ultimately defiant toward her “mother”. And continuing another trend of the series, her chemistry with Majors is off the charts. Majors also gets to showcase a different side of Atticus as he falls in love for the first time and slowly discovers who he is.

The episode ends with a hint at Atticus’ fate, which was teased at the end of the previous episode. Whether it will come true remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ji-yah comes back toward the season’s end. There’s a lot of history between her and Atticus, and she’s still alive in the present day so she could potentially join the fight against Christina and the Sons of Adam.

“Meet Me In Daegu” takes the sharpest deviation from the source material, but still manages to tell a compelling story. It features a genuinely heartwarming and ultimately heartwrenching romance, and top-tier performances from Jonathan Majors and Jamie Chung. As the series’ threads continue to weave together, this episode may have provided some hints toward the eventual conclusion-and further insight into Atticus’ life.

Lovecraft Country Episode 6 is currently available to stream on HBO Max. New episodes air Sundays on HBO.