The Terror: Infamy (2×03) Gaman Review

Chester sits with the rest of the internment camp as they watch a John Wayne movie being dubbed real-time for their enjoyment. However, as Wayne guns down another cowboy the image turns into Wilson Yoshida. Chester cannot bear to watch this and heads outside to stand under the ever-watchful eye of the camp’s spotlight. Here’s what went down in “Gaman.”

The camps have brought a bit of normalcy to the lives of its residents as the women garden and the men build a fence to protect them from the ancient demons lurking the grounds. Unfortunately, Chester and Luz are dealing with their own demons in the form of the other Japanese-Americans at the camp. Chester is being blamed for the supernatural events occurring around them including the death of Wilson Yoshida which continues to haunt him.

However, it is Luz’s judgment from the older women in the camp that causes the most issue. Luckily, she manages to confide in Amy who is the only one to take her side. Through all these hardships, Chester decides to enlist in the army as an overseas translator, but things take a turn when the elderly men are returned to the camp.

It is obvious that these three men have been through mistreatment at the other camp as the feel disconnected from their families. Asako tends to her scarred husband in a touching, heartfelt way that allows them to connect over their disapproval of Chester’s child.

During lunch, Furuya becomes possessed by the images of swallows, a recurring theme of the season so far, and attacks a fellow prisoner. Chester visits him later where they bond over imprisonment, but he sees Furuya also tell him to go just like Wilson. The next morning, Chester learns that Luz had ‘slipped’ that morning off the stairs, and he believes it is the evil catching up to him.

While this is happening, a soldier grabs Furuya and leads him to a forest where he is greeted by Yuko. Yuko reminds him that Furuya, and potentially some of the other older men, were responsible for whatever happened to her and she wants her repayment. She bites his lip and rips it from his face leaving him to die alone in the forest. Later, a group of children playing in the forest find Furuya’s body, increasing the bakemono’s kill count to three. However, Yuko is not done as when Luz begins bleeding her attending midwife is none other than the Japanese demon.

All in all this was a pretty disappointing episode. The characters become one-dimensional and boring as they recite cliches and expositionary dialogue. The show seems unable to blend its two main thematic elements: the atrocities put upon the Japanese American community and the horrors of Japanese folklore. The drama of Chester’s out of wedlock child seems inconsequential in comparison to their other issues and yet everyone is focused on the familial drama in these dark times. The only saving grace is the reveal of Yuko’s past and how that could be entangled with the community of Terminal Island.

• • • What is so special about Chester Nakayama?
    • Which ancient creature is attacking the prisoners?
    • What did the elderly men do to Yuko?
    • Why didn’t “it” attack Chester?
    • Will Chester get to have the family he dreams of?

What did you think of “Gaman”? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips