The Hourglass (episode)

## The Hourglass

**The Hourglass** is the sixth episode of the second season of AMC's *NOS4A2*. It is also the sixteenth episode of the series overall.

## Synopsis

Maggie puts herself in danger attempting to take a dark Strong Creative off the board; Vic and Lou work to repair Vic's Knife; Linda and Chris grapple with Vic's gift; Wayne makes a mysterious friend.

## Plot

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Jonathan Beckett, known by fellow Strong Creatives as "The Hourglass Man", approaches Doctor Gregory outside of the hospital and asks for a moment of his time before instructing him to kill Vic McQueen. And so, Doctor Gregory heads inside, grabs a needle containing an unknown substance and injects it into Vic’s blood bag, as she lays unconscious on the hospital bed. Maggie, who sits at Vic’s bedside, tries to inform the doctor that the nurses have already checked on Vic, but he is unresponsive. Suspecting that something is wrong, Maggie rips the IV out of Vic’s arm and then chases after Doctor Gregory, who locks himself inside a closet and objects himself with the needle. Maggie breaks the glass window and forces her way inside. She asks the doctor why he did this. In his final words, he asks Maggie to help him.

Linda scolds the FBI for failing to protect Vic given the recent try at her life. She demands they do better. Meanwhile, just inside the room, Vic wakes up. She gets dressed, determined to find Wayne, as no one else can. Vic tells Linda that she has a gift. With her Triumph, she can find Wayne. Vic reminds her mother of Sharon Smith, who she used her gift to find eight years ago. Linda believes that Vic is delusional, telling her to either get back in bed or she’ll have her evaluated. Vic chooses the former.

Wayne wakes up in the back of the Wraith on the road to Christmasland. Manx is aware that he has his phone and tells him to call his mother if that’s what he wants. Wayne calls Vic’s phone, but as Manx suspected, she didn’t answer. Manx tells Wayne that his mother only cares for herself and no one else. Craig's burned and disfigured ghost appears to Wayne and tells him that Vic will come for him. He tells Wayne that he was a friend of his mom’s. Manx proceeds to tell Wayne how he knows what's best for him. Unbeknownst to Manx, Wayne is talking to Craig.

Chitra visits Tabitha to ensure that she’s been getting rest, which she hasn’t. After what went down in the church between Tabitha and Bing, they’re superior officer, Daltry, wishes to speak with Tabitha. Chitra fears the worst for Tabitha, given that she moved on a known fugitive, in an unsecure location alone. Chitra wishes Tabitha the best of luck and then leaves, passing Maggie on her way out. Maggie tells Tabitha that her actions were brave, but Tabitha retorts they were stupid. Maggie recalls the two agents that tried to kill Chris and the doctor that just tried to kill Vic. She suspects this to be the work of another Strong Creative who has aligned himself with Manx. Though it’s risky, Maggie wants to use her Tiles to find him. Tabitha advises Maggie against it given that she’s prone to seizures, but Maggie goes through with it nonetheless.

With the help of her Tiles, Maggie tracks the Hourglass Man to the Providence Hotel. The lights flicker as she enters, gaining his attention. He approaches Maggie at the bar and offers to buy her a drink. He remarks that he normally has to travel to Parnassus to enjoy the company of other Strong Creatives. He wonders if fate brought them together. Maggie tells him about her Tiles and how they tell her everything she needs to know. He suspects that Maggie’s loved ones don’t like her using her gifts and what's why they met. He tells Maggie that they’re hard to love. People fear them. He compares toning down their gifts to declawing a cat; it being downright cruel. Maggie then asks to see his gift. Jonathan reveals his Hourglass to Maggie.

Linda finds Chris getting dressed and gives him a long hug. She tells Chris that Vic has been cleared to go home, but Linda is worries that Vic's having a breakdown given that she believes she can find Wayne with her motorcycle. Chris, however, believes that she can. He saw with his own eyes as Manx took Wayne and drove off in the Wraith. Chris knows how insane it sounds, but Vic is special. Linda refuses to believe that their daughter is magic, asking how a mother could miss something like that. Nevertheless, Chris proposes that they listen to what Vic has to say.

Vic sits at Lou’s bedside. He wakes up, and she tells him that he had a heart attack. Lou asks about Wayne, and Vic informs him that the FBI lost Wayne’s phone signal. Lou questions how much time they have before Manx gets away. He tells her that together, they’ll fix her Triumph and save Wayne. Lou compares them to Han and Leia. And Vic’s bike to the Millennium Falcon.

Jonathan surmises that Maggie came looking for him because she seeks the company of someone like herself. Maggie asks that he show her what he’s capable of. Jonathan asks the bartender for a bottle of the finest bourbon and to put it on the house. He flips his Hourglass, the lights flicker, and the bartender does as told. He then flips his Hourglass back over and the bartender leaves. Like all Creatives, the use of Jonathan’s gift comes as a price. It causes his ears to bleed and dampens his memory. He can’t remember the first 20 years of his life. He then asks to see Maggie’s gift on display, though her gift causes seizures. Jonathan reveals to Maggie that he’s learned to mitigate the cost of his Hourglass and the last 20 years of his life are perfectly clear. He can teach Maggie, too. It’ll only cost her one question. And so, he invites Maggie upstairs.

There are two ways for a Strong Creative to mitigate the cost of their gift. Option A: hurt yourself. Option B: hurt someone else. Jonathan has explored both options. He has the scars to prove it from having burned himself with cigarettes. Maggie chooses the former and grabs her Tiles, as he whispers a question into her ear. She tells him that he might not like the answer, but he is prepared for whatever fate has in store for him. He asks for Maggie’s arm and burns her with a lit cigarette. He tells Maggie to harness the pain until it fills her up and only then to use her gift. Maggie does as instructed and asks her Tiles if John will achieve immortality. She’s amazed that she is seizure-free, but Johnathan is more concerned with the question of his immortality. The Tiles spell out "NO." He slams his fist onto the table, shattering the glass. As he walks into the back room, Maggie steals the Hourglass from his coat pocket.

Linda looks through all of Vic’s old drawings in her room. Vic enters and tells her that Chris and Lou went to go get her motorcycle and that they’ll need some place dry to work on it. Linda always thought that Vic spent too much time drawing. But the truth is, she never understood Vic. She was always so quiet and self-sufficient. Linda never felt that Vic needed her. Vic replies that she did need her mother. She still does. Linda asks Vic to tell her how her gift works. However, Vic doesn’t fully understand it herself. Linda then tells Vic that they can fix the bike in the kitchen.

Jonathan catches Maggie just as it seems she’s leaving. She claims that she was simply about to pour him another drink. Jonathan apologizes for scaring her earlier. He informs her that when he asks for a moment of someone’s time, he keeps his memory by taking their life. He thought that maybe he could also "bank" their time. He asks if Maggie is familiar with Charlie Manx. He’s unlocked the secret to immortality. Jonathan wishes to do the same. He tells Maggie to ask her Tiles again, as they have to be wrong, but she insists they’re always right. When she refuses, Jonathan decides that he’s going to make Maggie ask her Tiles. He reaches inside his coat pocket for his Hourglass but realizes that Maggie’s stolen it, as she sprints for the door. Jonathan stops Maggie and takes his Hourglass back.

He slams Maggie into a mirror and demands to know who she is. She came specifically for him and he wants to know why. Maggie reveals that she’s a friend of Vic McQueen, who is still alive and calls him a failed errand-boy. Jonathan throws Maggie across the couch and onto the floor. She grabs a piece of furniture and beats Jonathan over the head with it. They proceed to wrestle for control of his Hourglass. She grabs a shard of glass and stabs him in the abdomen. Maggie gets to her feet and steps on the Hourglass before walking out.

Vic and Linda enter the kitchen, as Lou and Chris bring in Vic’s bike piece by piece. She can’t believe this is all that’s left of her Triumph. Vic is losing faith that they’ll repair the bike in time to save Wayne. She asks Lou if he remembers the kid in the back of the Wraith when they crossed paths with Manx outside of Sam’s. Lou remembers. Vic fears that by the time she finds Wayne, he’ll be like Bradley. However, Lou assures her that Wayne is strong and that they’ll find him.

Manx pulls into a junkyard. They have a long journey ahead of them, so he’s making a pit stop. While the scar on Manx’s face is healing, it's still very noticeable. He tells Wayne that he needs to rest. They can sleep and dream of Christmasland. And when the sun rises again, it’ll be like Christmas morning. Manx then tells Wayne to go back to sleep, as he leaves the Wraith to secure the area. Wayne suddenly spits out a tooth covered in blood. He pockets it and notices a butterfly near the Wraith. It flies in through the window, and Wayne, uncharacteristically, rips it to pieces, smiling as he does so.

Tabitha meets with Daltry at headquarters. She broke protocol and lost the fugitive, putting herself at risk in the process. He’s aware that Vic McQueen is a friend of Maggie’s. Given Vic’s history of mental health issues and substance abuse, he surmises that Vic maybe had a mental breakdown after learning of Manx’s death and went on a killing spree before abducting Wayne. However, Tabitha argues in Vic’s defense, informing Daltry that Vic would never. Daltry doesn’t believe that Tabitha is equipped to handle the case and asks her to turn in her badge and gun.

Maggie returns home to find Tabitha crying on the couch. She informs Tabitha that she found the Hourglass Man and destroyed his Knife. Tabitha reveals that Daltry took her off the case, as well as her gun and badge. Maggie assures Tabitha that they’ll stop Manx without the FBI. Tabitha inquires about the burn mark on Maggie’s arm, leading Maggie to explain that she’s found a way to eliminate her seizures and use her Tiles whenever she wants. Tabitha isn’t supportive of this. Maggie becomes defensive. She reminds Tabitha that she spent years without her Tiles because she loved her. She always felt something was missing but now she can use her Tiles whenever she pleases, adding that burning herself is a small price to pay. She asks that Tabitha support her because she’s never going to stop using her gift ever again, not for anyone.

Manx awakens in the Wraith. His scar has healed. He looks back to Wayne and asks if he has to use the bathroom before they leave. He gets out to open Wayne’s door but is ambushed by Bing, who sprays him with gingerbread smoke. Within seconds, Manx is on the ground and unconscious. Bing proceeds to disrupt the engine of the Wraith before dragging Manx’s body away. Wayne watches from the Wraith as this unfolds. Craig appears and tells Wayne to call his mom again.

Linda pours the cops coffee, as Vic, Lou, and Chris work on the bike. Vic then gets a call from Wayne, who reveals he’s stuck in the back of the Wraith, in a junkyard. It’s too dark for Wayne to see exactly where he’s at. He begs Vic to rescue him, telling her that something is wrong with him, as he killed a butterfly. Vic tells Wayne to keep fighting and that she’ll be there before he knows it.

## Cast

* Olafur Darri Olafsson as Bing Partridge
* Jahkara Smith as Maggie Leigh
* Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Chris McQueen
* Virginia Kull as Linda McQueen
* Jonathan Langdon as Lou Carmody
* Ashley Romans as Tabitha Hutter
* Mattea Conforti as Millie Manx (credit only)
* Zachary Quinto as Charlie Manx
* Paul Schneider as Jonathan Beckett/The Hourglass
* Dalton Harrod as Craig Harrison
* Norm Lewis as Doctor Gregory
* Murphy Guyer as Daltry

Co-Starring* Sweta Keswani as Chitra Surinam
* Jaison Hunter as Bartender
* June Baboian as Nurse

## Trivia

* The Hourglass refers to the Strong Creative, Jonathan Beckett.

## Multimedia

### Videos

'I Have a Gift' Sneak Peek Ep. 206 NOS4A2'Call Your Mom' Talked About Scene Ep. 206 NOS4A2

## References

1. ↑ NOS4A2 - Episode 2.06 - The Hourglass - Press Release - SpoilerTV