Flashbacks
Episode 3 of Typewriter sees us hit the midway point of the series and inject some flashbacks to proceedings to help flesh out some of the backstory for our main antagonistic threat. The episode starts in Sultanpore in 1950. Aunty Charu comes to see Deven as he’s very ill. He’s refusing medication because he doesn’t trust his sons and wants her to set him free, which she agrees to do by placing her hand on his chest. Her son later asks her about her powers but she tells him she will teach it to him when he is older and ready. Back in the present day, Sam is having nightmares about what she saw and of Jenny coming to kill her. The next day, Jenny finds out about James’ death in the newspaper and, realizing that she was the last person to talk to him, begins to worry. Her worry is well placed too, especially given the police are also realizing that all three murders have a connection to her. Back in 1950, Deven’s sons confront Charu as their dad has left everything to her in his will and they want her arrested. They want to teach her a lesson and begin calling her a witch. However, she insists that she hasn’t done anything. To make matters worse, Charu’s son is being hit by Deven’s sons too. They call his mum a beggar and tattoo his arm. In the present, Sam decides to confront Jenny about her killing James. She denies having anything to do with it, but Sam tells her that some ghosts can take the shape of anyone they want. Sam also explains that she needs her help to find her Mother as she believes she could also be a ghost. Jenny decides to visit the police station again and asks if she is a suspect. Ravi tells her she isn’t but wants to know what James and her talked about before his death. Ravi then talks to Sam about what has been happening with Jenny, but he doesn’t believe her ghost stories. He makes her apologize and as she does, Jenny tells her she understands as she has also lost her Mother when she was little. Back in 1950, Charu confronts the men who have hurt her son. The men start hitting them which prompts Charu to use her power to kill one, squeezing his heart using her telepathy. Later that night, Charu packs her and her Son’s things ready to run away. However, the people from the village set her house on fire. This results in Charu telling her son that nobody cared that she tried to do good things and that bad will always triumph over good. She orders him to be bad and build an army to help. After whispering in his ear, she throws him out the window and tells him to run. The episode then ends with one of Deven’s son’s shooting her. The third chapter doesn’t quite have the same urgency as the last one, however the constant flashbacks to the past do help set the scene for the next episodes, giving us enough development to the story to keep us coming back for more. The switches between the past and present are done pretty smoothly too but as mentioned before, there are some similarities to Stranger Things and, at a push, you could even compare Ravi and Sam to Hopper and Eleven. At the halfway point, Typewriter has been quite entertaining but hasn’t quite reached the same heights as other thriller and horrors like The Haunting On Hill House or even fellow Indian horror Ghoul. Still, there’s certainly enough enjoyment to be had with this one making it worth persevering with for now.
