DISCLAIMER: This recap of Teacup Season 1 Episode 6, “You Don’t Know What It Means to Win,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s hard to believe we only have two episodes left of Teacup, but here we are. “You Don’t Know What It Means to Win” is all about paranoia. Who’s possessed by the assassin? Can it simply hop into a host without the host being acutely aware of a passenger on board? Additionally, we learn about the assassins’ real objective: An alien invasion. It’s a bit run-of-the-mill for me regarding a Big Bad objective, but I’m curious to see how the series concludes. I also hope it leans more into the horror of it all instead of the sci-fi elements.
At least the performances are great.
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Teacup, “You Don’t Know What It Means to Win”
We open with Donald (Boris McGiver) arranging rocks for Claire’s burial site. He stops to watch what looks like another meteor making its way to Earth—probably more assassins, aka the “bad” aliens. We hear Ellen (Kathy Baker) tell Valeria (Diany Rodriguez) and Maggie (Yvonne Strahovski) about falling in love with her husband and her son, James. She seems to be normal. Is the assassin still inside her?
Ellen mentions that she’s no longer shaking, which Maggie attributes to an adrenaline rush. Then, Ellen admits to killing Olsen. Maggie reassures her that it’ll all be okay. She urges Maggie to stay put. Outside, we see James (Scott Speedman), Ruben (Chaske Spencer), Meryl (Emilie Bierre), Nicholas (Luciano Leroux) and Arlo (Caleb Dolden) return with an unconscious McNab (Rob Morgan) slung over a horse. Meanwhile, Ellen lays out a pocket knife, syringe and a vial of clear liquid on her bed.
Rainbow Poison
Next, Valeria washes Nicholas’s hands in the stables while the latter spirals, asserting he didn’t mean to stab McNab. He was trying to protect himself, Meryl and Arlo. Then, he mentions the jar full of rainbow poison (my new name for it), which gets Ruben’s attention. Nicholas tells his parents that if you consume just a little bit of it, you can cross the blue line. Ruben asks his son to take him to whatever remains of the rainbow poison.
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Meanwhile, Maggie and Meryl tend to McNab. Donald pulls James aside to tell the latter about his mother. They go to Olsen’s corpse on the top level of the barn. According to Ellen, Olsen broke free of his restraints and lunged at her. However, based on how he fell, Donald guesses that Olsen was sitting upright and fully restrained when Ellen shot him in the head.
James explains what he knows about the alien entities and how they hop from human host to human host. There’s the harbinger, aka the “good” alien inside Arlo, and the assassin, aka the “bad” alien currently inside Ellen.
Mending Fences
Next, while Nicholas leads them to the rainbow poison, Valeria learns that Ruben gave James those facial injuries. He knows about the affair. Valeria apologizes and explains that it has nothing to do with him or James. She just wasn’t feeling fulfilled. Valeria also insists she ended things with James. Nicholas calls his parents over to show them the smashed jar of rainbow poison. There’s just enough liquid for everyone to consume. Ruben looks transfixed. He’s clearly under its sway.
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Suddenly, a wolf appears. Ruben orders Nicholas to shoot the animal. Nicholas shakily raises his rifle, but when he fires, he misses the wolf. The creature lapped up almost all the rainbow poison. We see the wolf barrel across the blue line without turning into fleshy mush. Valeria and Ruben realize that it’s all true. Unfortunately, now they don’t have any rainbow poison, so they’re stuck. Before they leave the area, Nicholas finds McNab’s book full of notes about the aliens.
Later, Maggie asks Arlo about the harbinger’s mission. Arlo explains that the harbinger must find “the machine.” At this moment, McNab opens his eyes. Arlo adds that once he and the harbinger locate the machine, they must be very quiet so they don’t wake the other assassins. Yes, there are more than one. We learn that Arlo is the “on” switch for this machine. Once the machine is on, they must prepare for the invasion. It’s always an alien invasion.
A Confrontation
McNab snaps to his feet and brandishes his gun. Maggie puts Meryl and Arlo behind her. McNab claims he needs Arlo — they must go to the machine together to take out the remaining assassins. Donald overhears this and runs to the house to prepare for the worst (because it’s already here). He and James return to the vet clinic.
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Of course, Maggie refuses to let McNab take her son. James offers himself instead, citing that the harbinger could simply hop into his body. Maggie also isn’t keen on this idea. McNab insists that this won’t stop unless they kill the assassins. Otherwise, the aliens will take over the world. Donald barges into the room, freaking out McNab. He shoots Donald. Then, James tackles McNab and tries to pin him down. However, McNab slips away, running outside. Maggie checks on Donald and is relieved to discover he’s wearing a bulletproof vest.
Later that evening, James and Donald prepare to search for McNab and Ellen. Yes, Ellen is also missing. Maggie, Meryl and Arlo pile into the latter’s room. After this, James and Donald run into Ruben, Valeria and Nicholas. Nicholas heads inside the house to hunker down with the others.
Searching for Ellen and McNab
Inside, Maggie asks Arlo if the harbinger could leap into her body instead. Arlo shakes his head, citing that he needs Maggie to protect him. It won’t work the other way around. Nicholas knocks on the door and shows them McNab’s journal.
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The four adults outside split off — Ruben and Valeria search one area while James and Donald go elsewhere. Maggie hears a peculiar noise inside the house and leaves Arlo’s room to investigate. James has a scare in the vet clinic when he opens a cabinet to find, well, nothing, but Duke, Donald’s dog, pops in to say hello. Later, Donald finds Ellen in the barn, looking confused.
Everyone returns to the house. McNab is still nowhere to be found. They bind Ellen’s wrists in case the assassin is still inside her. Ellen claims she can’t hear its voice. Perhaps she’s alien-free. However, she also acknowledges that she could be the assassin and, therefore, lying through her teeth. Then, the group realizes that if the assassin doesn’t inhabit Ellen, it could be inside any of them.
To Drown Them
Thus, Maggie removes Ellen’s wrist restraints. She orders the kids to stay in the kitchen and keep their distance in case one of the adults has an internal roommate. Nicholas informs them that he found something in McNab’s journal. There is a way to free someone from the assassin. You must drown them. (Hence, the kiddie pool in episode five.)
Uh-oh.
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Teacup releases two new episodes weekly every Thursday on Peacock.
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
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