Midnight Texas – Pilot

By starrymag | July 31, 2017

By: Nicole Dintelman

 

 

This week NBC unveiled its newest supernatural drama “Midnight Texas.” It delivered everything it promised: vampires, witches, psychics, ghosts and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much going on in this show when the episode is over you’re left with your mouth hanging open. We’re going to break the pilot down for you and hopefully, you’ll love the show as much as we do!

 

This episode starts with Manfred (Francois Arnaud) greeting a woman named Rachel (Kat Sawyer) and he lets her know that his fee has gone up. She lets him know that he’s worth every penny. Okay, let’s start off by saying Manfred is a psychic, as I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. Rachel is there to channel her husband. Once Manfred is able to reach her husband, Rachel lets him know that she’s seeing someone. Her husband isn’t down with that and appears in the room. Yes, we said appears. Then, he jumps into Manfred and threatens Rachel while Manfred tries to regain control of his body. We think that’s a little more than Rachel was bargaining for.

 

Manfred gets a call from a threatening sounding man wanting money, which causes him to flee Dallas. His Grandma (Joanne Camp) appears in the RV and tells him that he needs to settle down and says that he’ll be safe in Midnight, Texas. He tells her that that would mean a lot more coming from someone who wasn’t dead. Manfred rolls into town in his RV and gets stares from the townsfolk. He pulls up in front of a pawnshop and gets out of the RV and his door is almost taken off by another car. The redhead that gets out is carrying a case and he asks her if she’s a musician pawning a trumpet. She tells him that he nailed it.

 

Manfred goes into the pawn shop apprehensively and is hearing voices. Apparently, this is part of his gift. He’s greeted by pawnshop owner Bobo Winthrop (Dylan Bruce). Bobo shows him to where he’ll be staying and tells him that he checked him out before he arrived. Manfred tells him that he hopes it’s not a problem. Bobo tells him, no, actually he was hoping he could help him out. His fiance Aubrey (Shannon Lorance) walked out on him. Manfred interrupts him and tells him it’s not real, he just tells people what they want to hear. Bad liar.

 

Manfred heads to the local restaurant to grab dinner and meets Creek (Sarah Ramos) who says that she lives behind the Gas-N-Go with her dad and little brother. Creek takes Manfred to the Midnighters room. It’s the room where the residents of the town eat. The main dining room is for the ranchers and people from a nearby town eat. This really is the smallest town in Texas. Tomorrow is the annual fall picnic. In the Midnighters room, Manfred meets Olivia (Arielle Kebbel) and Lemuel Bridges (Peter Mensah). Lemuel has the bluest eyes we have ever seen. Creek asks Manfred if he eats beef and he tells her that he wouldn’t have moved to Texas if he didn’t. She asks him if he trusts her and he says no, but he’ll let her pick out his dinner.

 

Manfred joins Olivia and Lemuel and Lemuel tells that him that he lives under the pawn shop and works the night shift. Creek tells the other waitress, Madonna (Kellee Stewart), that Manfred is hot and interesting. Madonna tells her that he’s hot and interesting because he’s new, but he’s one of them. Creek says that he will fit in just fine. Someone in the dining room starts to grab Creek and Lemuel all of the sudden apologizes to Manfred then slams his head on the table. All of the sudden he releases him and tells him it’s been awhile since he’s eaten.

 

Manfred asks Lemuel asks him what he is exactly and Lemuel tells him he’s a vampire. He hands Manfred a drink and tells him to drink it and he’ll feel better. Manfred tells Lemuel that he’s usually the freak in the room. Creek brings Manfred his pot roast and asks him if he wants to go to the picnic with her tomorrow. He tells her he’s not sure, he has a full day of driving. Lemuel tells Manfred he’ll feel better in the morning. He says that Midnight is very different in the daylight.

 

The picnic is hoping and Olivia catches Fiji (Parisa Fitz-Henley) staring at Bobo while he’s grilling and asks her why doesn’t she just jump him already. Fiji tells her that she’s just admiring his cooking technique. Olivia is upset that Creek brought the new guy. Olivia seems to be the town mean girl. There’s a dog barking like crazy and Fiji is wondering what the dog is going on about. Creek asks Manfred if he’s happy he came and all of the sudden Fiji screams. Bobo finds Aubrey dead washed up on the riverbank. Life’s a picnic until a body washes up.

 

Creek’s brother, Connor (John-Paul Howard), called and reported the body. While doing so Aubrey turns and looked at Manfred. Creepy. The Sheriff arrives and tells them that the deputies will be around to get statements within the next couple days and nobody should leave town. Where’s Sheriff Forbes when you need her? Chalk this up to an animal attack and be done! Officer Tina Gomez (Lora Martinez-Cunningham) is questioning Manfred and asks him why would he move to Midnight and he tells her because it’s quiet. She says that she lives in Davey. She’d never live in Midnight. She’s surprised this kind of thing hasn’t happened here before.

 

Manfred asks the Officer Gomez what kind of thing and she tells him a cult murder. He turns around and looks at Fiji and she tells him that some people say she’s a witch or a lesbian. Manfred tells her she could be both. Officer Gomez says that she wouldn’t be surprised to find a skin suit in the pawn shop. The Sheriff is questioning Bobo and asks him why he didn’t report Aubrey missing since she’s been gone for two weeks. Bobo tells him because he thought she walked out. They had a fight and she left.

 

Olivia says that Bobo better shut up before he says something he can’t take back. She says that even dead Aubrey is trouble. Manfred wakes up to find Aubrey in his room and it filled with water. He tells her that she doesn’t belong there. She writes help on the window and he tells her that if it means that she’ll go away, but he’s going to do it his way. Bobo is watching the video of when he proposed to Aubrey. Aubrey is much prettier alive than dead. Fiji comes in and tells him that she brought him breakfast. He tells her that he can’t eat and she just offers to keep him company.

 

Manfred goes to the church to get holy water and is caught by the Reverend (Yul Vazquez). While Fiji and Bobo are talking Sheriff Livingstone (Sean Bridgers) shows up again with the results of the coroner’s report. Aubrey was shot, but the official cause of death was drowning. He also tells Bobo that her real name was Aubrey Hamilton Lowrey. She was married to someone else – to Peter Lowrey who just got out of prison and in a gang. The Sheriff tells them that if he shows up there to call them and not take matters into his own hands.

 

Back at Manfred’s, there’s Ouija Boards and holy water and he’s getting ready to call some spirits. Well, Aubrey’s at least. He uses the Ouija Board to communicate with her. She spells out a word for him before other spirits start invading the room. Manfred has opened the gate and now everyone wants in. He’s completely lost control and dives out of the room before he’s overtaken by one of the angry spirits. Manfred hangs the eye of protection on his bedroom door in hopes to keep the spirits in there and keep them out of the rest of the house.

 

The next day Sheriff Livingstone goes to question Reverend Sheehan. He tells him he didn’t see him at the picnic. The Rev tells him he doesn’t eat BBQ. The Sheriff asks if Aubrey ever came in and Rev Sheehan says that she came in and prayed, but she wanted to talk to God, not to him. Meanwhile, Officer Gomez is questioning Fiji. Fiji tells her that Aubrey was nice enough and Officer Gomez asks Fiji if she thinks that even though Aubrey lied about everything. Fiji says that she thought she was sweet until she found out she was duplicitous.

 

The nail salon is in the tattoo parlor in this town. The Sheriff questions Joe (Jason Lewis), the tattoo artist, and Chuy (Bernardo Saracino), the nail artist. They tell the sheriff that she didn’t like their lifestyle, but she liked the way they did her nails. Joe says that he didn’t judge her because that’s the Christian way. Officer Gomez goes to see Manfred again. Manfred asks why she’s questioning him again when he just moved to town and didn’t even know her. Officer Gomez tells him because he’s acting suspicious and he lies to people for a living. Manfred tells her that he doesn’t like to people for a living and says that he can prove it. He then asks her if “Pecados” means anything to her.

 

Sheriff Livingstone, Officer Gomez and Manfred are on a crosswalk over the “Acequia de Pecados” and the Sheriff tells Manfred that he’s heard of departments consulting psychics, but he’s never put much stock in it. Manfred says that his grandmother did it all the time. Officer Gomez says that she has a magic eight ball and maybe she should shake it. The divers then found a gun and Manfred asks Officer Gomez if her eight ball does that. When the Sheriff drops Manfred off Olivia is watching.

 

Olivia comes knocking on Manfred’s door and knocks him out. She is seriously not one you want to mess with. We’re over here having Lexi flashbacks! Fiji comes to Olivia’s and catches Olivia with her kidnapping victim. Then Lemur wakes up from his slumber and also finds Manfred tied to a chair in his underwear. Not sure why he’s in his underwear but we’ll go with it. Olivia wants to know why he picked Midnight and if he works for the police. Olivia also asks if her dad sent him. Say what? Manfred is just as caught off guard by that question as we are.

 

Lemur says he’s getting bored and hungry. Manfred finally tells them that he’s there because his grandmother got a psychic feeling that he’d be safe there and they’re usually spot on. Lemur asks: “Gypsy Xylda. How’s she doing”? Manfred is surprised that Lemur knows his grandmother, but tells him that she died a year ago from throat cancer. Manfred tells them that Xylda ran scams and owed people money and now he wants it from them. Lemur tells Olivia to untie him, he’s one of them.

 

While Manfred is getting dressed, Lemur tells him the history of Midnight. He says that Midnight has been a haven for the supernatural for centuries. Some move on but some make it home. The veil between the living and the dead is awfully thin in Midnight, Fiji says. Manfred says that he just wants to get home and Lemur apologizes for the trouble. Two disturbing looking guys come into the pawn shop. Bobo jumps up and asks if they are there looking for him. They accuse him of stealing guns and money. Lemur and Olivia come in and save the day. Not sure what these guys are talking about but hopefully we’ll find out.

 

Creek is working at the Gas-N-Go when Manfred goes in for beer and milk. Her dad catches him flirting with her and puts an end to it really quick. He tells Manfred pleasantries better be all he was making with his daughter. On his way home, Manfred spots something in the back of the Reverend’s truck dripping blood and the Rev digging a hole. Manfred gets a scary call from the guy who wants money again and the guy tells him that he knows he’s in Texas. He tells him that he knows he’s in Dallas and he’s getting closer. Try again, scary dude.

 

Manfred gets a knock at his door and is surprised but happy to see Creek standing there. She came to apologize for her dad. Manfred invites her in for a beer. He tells her that Midnight is nothing like he thought. Creek tells him that it makes for some good stories though. Creek says that she knows what Lem is and he’s not the only one with secrets. She says that Joe watches over everyone, then we see Joe sprout wings out of his back. Fiji, we already know is a witch of some kind, but what we didn’t know is she has a talking cat. Yes, we said talking cat!

 

Olivia, Creek says, has more secrets than anyone. Olivia has a secret room filled with a huge gun arsenal. Creek says that Midnight is weird but it’s home. Manfred says that he’s never lived in any one place for very long and Creek says that he fits in there pretty well. Creek asks him to give her a reading and he tells her to give him her hand. Creek tells Manfred if he’s going to kiss her now would be a good time when they see flashing lights from Sheriff cars.

 

They’ve come to arrest Bobo for Aubrey’s murder. His fingerprints are on the murder weapon. The residents of Midnight block the road and Fiji begins to crush the car so they can’t leave. The Rev tells her not to do it this way they have to be smart and starting tomorrow he’ll be unavailable for a few days due to the full moon. Werewolf maybe? Manfred says he’ll help any way he can. Fiji releases the car and they’re able to leave with Bobo. Manfred walks back to his house and the entire thing is now filled with spirits and illuminated red. Hope he’s okay sleeping in the trailer.