The penultimate episode of the season has a lot to live up to. Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld Season 1 has been a thoroughly delightful and somewhat gory supernatural adventure with thoughtful depth. In Episode 12 “Moonie Phases,” Jentry (Ali Wong) is positioned to find her mother, Moonie Chau (Lucy Liu), and restore the memories the Cheng Mogui stole as collateral 15 years ago.
Having learned Moonie’s location from the Cheng-less Mogui, Jentry opens a portal directly to an adorable little bungalow in the suburbs of Dallas. She approaches the house, trying out various ways to introduce herself to her mother. Suddenly, the door opens, and Moonie’s standing there. Jentry manages a garbled sort of opening, but Moonie greets her by name.
Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld, “Moonie Phases”
Flashback to the moment after the Cheng Mogui took Moonie’s memories. From her perspective, she has no idea who she is. She wakes up lying on the ground hearing baby Jentry’s cries and Gugu (Lori Tan Chinn) weeping and apologizing over Peng’s (Jimmy O. Wang) body. Moonie doesn’t know any of them. She panics and runs away from Gugu when she tries to explain.
Finding a key to a locker, she finds a satchel full of money, a knife, and fake IDs at the train station. She assumed she’d killed the man on the ground. She took a train to Dallas and bought the house Jentry found her living in.
Over the years, she worked and made a life for herself. In her spare time, she painted portraits of herself with Peng and baby Jentry. Feeling there was something she was subconsciously holding onto, she researched recent deaths and found a memorial for Moonie and Peng Chau. She even visited her own grave and saw a young Jentry and Gugu paying their respects. Knowing Gugu saw her leave alive the night she lost her memories, she wondered why she was lying about Moonie being dead.
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She followed Gugu and Jentry as they ran their errands in Riverfork. When she accidentally meets Jentry, Jentry recognizes her with shock. Jentry’s powers suddenly manifest and that is the beginning of the Great Fire.
Restoring the Past
Jentry gives Moonie the strand of shèn pearls. Offering her mom the option of not taking back her memories and just moving on with her life, she points out the memories contain a lot of painful ones. Feeling awkward and selfish for wanting a mom, Jentry tries to leave. Moonie stops her and says that she’d like to be her mother.
Jentry takes Moonie back to Gugu’s house where Gugu prepares herbs for a tea to help Moonie stay centered as the memories return. Ed (Bowen Yang) interprets Gugu’s warnings about the dangers of the ritual in colorful ways, worrying Moonie and irritating Jentry.
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Jentry tells Moonie she doesn’t need to do this just for her. Moonie assures Jentry it’s not just for her. She wants her memories back because it’s who she really is and she wants that person back.
She drinks the tea and Gugu lays the pearls around her neck. They take hold and she convulses as the memories flood her mind. She relives the major moments in her life. As the final memories sink in, a third eye opens on her forehead. Stumbling away from the couch, she falls to her knees and looks up at the wall of photos. She turns to Jentry with tears in her eyes and greets her with a Chinese endearment. They hug, sobbing.
Gugu floats over and welcomes Moonie back. Moonie grimaces, seeing Gugu and remembering her from the night they confronted Cheng. She begins to accuse Gugu of causing all this trouble but passes out.
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She wakes up on the couch two days later with Ed babysitting her. He takes a selfie with her to send to Jentry as proof of life.
My Mom’s in Town
At school, Jentry gets the selfie text and smiles. Stella (Cristina Milizia) isn’t smiling since Mr. Wheeler (Sean Allan Krill) has refused their lock-in event because they’re short a parent chaperone. Jentry mentions her mom’s in town and could probably help. The event is back on.
Michael (AJ Beckles) and Stella rush over to Jentry to congratulate her. She shares that it’s been a lot but having her mom back is great. Stella heads off to organize the lock-in. Michael gets called away by Alison (Stephanie Sheh) to look at cupcake designs.
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At home, Ed’s insistent that Moonie eat something. To distract him, she knocks over a bag of rice, knowing that jiangshis are compelled to count rice grains. While he’s counting, she sneaks up to Gugu’s study. She pets the guardian statues into submission and they grant her entry. After snooping a bit, she finds the puzzle box Gugu stores her keepsakes of Peng and Moonie in — the coin contract as well as dragon scales. Gugu catches her looking through the items. Moonie palms the photograph of her family and shuts the box quickly.
She confronts Gugu over the fact she can find obscure weaponry from all over the world but couldn’t track Moonie down when she was living a few hours away. Gugu says that she looked but couldn’t find her and wanted Jentry to move on as she grew older. Moonie accuses her of only caring for Jentry when it suits her and voices the intention to take over now that she’s back. Leaving the study, she finds Jentry outside, having heard the whole argument. Jentry says she understands although she seems a bit sad they don’t get along.
Dream Team
Montage of Jentry and Moonie catching up on lost time. They work together to create a banner for the lock-in event. Stella loves it. As they head home for a few items before the lock-in, Jentry spots Michael and Alison competing on a dance video game. Moonie makes a snarky comment but Jentry says he’s allowed to be happy with whomever. She’s not completely cool with it though. In the shadows behind them, the Mogui-possessed Ox-Head lurks.
Moonie and Jentry are trying Peng’s favorite ice cream flavor, bubble gum. Jentry can’t believe it. Moonie tells her about her dad, all his quirks, and how he was her best friend. Now that he’s gone, Moonie wants to take Jentry wherever she wants to go. Jentry hesitant to just leave Gugu. Moonie understands there’s a strong bond between them but explains how living in that house hurts her. She tells Jentry that she can’t stay in Riverfork.
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Jentry tries to defend Gugu by saying she’s done good things too. Moonie points out that Gugu’s never let Jentry choose her own path. As her mother, Moonie accepts whatever Jentry chooses but urges her to choose what’s good for her, not for Gugu. They hug. Moonie hears Peng’s voice say, “We have to protect her,” and sees him standing over Jentry’s crib, his eyes glowing unnaturally. She pushes him away in the vision but pushes Jentry in real life, dropping her ice cream. Making an excuse about memories settling in, she tells Jentry she’ll meet her at the lock-in.
A Wandering Soul
Left alone, she goes to clean up the dropped ice cream, but a glowing bubble catches her eye and she follows it to the cemetery. It leads her to her and Peng’s headstones and then takes the form of Peng. She rushes forward to him although he warns her to stay back. Ox Head/Mogui ensnares her in chains and demands that she deliver the Yellow Emperor’s powers as she promised 15 years before. She refuses. The Mogui vows that if she doesn’t agree to this new contract, it’ll force her to watch Peng being tortured every minute of every day. If she fulfills the contract, the Mogui will bring Peng back to life and reunite Jentry’s family. Weeping, Moonie breathes on the contract coin, effectively signing it. The Mogui bursts out of Ox Head’s body and rushes at her.
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At home, Jentry and Ed head out for the lock-in. Once again, Gugu’s made tons of homemade Chinese food for Jentry to share at the event. Before Jentry leaves, Gugu asks if she’d like to do something together soon. She offers to help Moonie move out of Dallas. Jentry tells her about their plans to move to Seoul. Gugu is sad to hear that Jentry doesn’t want to live with her anymore but understands she needs to be with her mother.
After Jentry leaves, Gugu sighs. When the door opens again, she is surprised that it’s Moonie. The Moonie Mogui stabs Gugu with Ox Head’s trident. Gloating, it goes upstairs before heading to the school for the lock-in.
Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld is streaming now on Netflix.
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