LaKeith Stanfield’s Dark Fantasy Series Is Still Apple TV’s Strangest Fever Dream

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Every storyteller, regardless of whether they’re writing a book, a screenplay, or something else, has to find the right balance between what happens in the story and its deeper meaning. It’s easy to get this wrong. A story that focuses too much on plot can feel predictable and empty, while one that dwells too much on its themes can be confusing or preachy. A recent example is the TV show The Changeling, which struggled with this balance and left many viewers feeling lost.

Despite being strange and sometimes confusing, The Changeling, starring LaKeith Stanfield, is still a worthwhile watch. The show often felt like a surreal dream and ended with many unanswered questions, but it was undeniably ambitious. When it was at its best, it was a creepy and intelligent series that offered something truly original. In an era dominated by reboots, sequels, and adaptations, that originality deserves recognition.

The Changeling Preyed on Fears All New Parents Experience

Kelly Marcel, the writer behind all three Venom films, teamed up with novelist and comic book author Victor LaValle to adapt his award-winning fantasy/horror novel for the screen. It was only a matter of time before the story made it to television, and LaValle readily agreed when Marcel asked him to help expand the novel into an eight-episode series.

Marcel didn’t change the basic story of The Changeling, but enhanced it with clever and unusual additions, making it more intricate and expansive. At its heart, the Apple TV+ show remains a story about the anxieties all new parents feel when their baby arrives. It centers on Apollo Kagwa (Stanfield) and his wife, Emma Valentine (Clark Backo), and the birth of their son, Brian.

Apollo and Emma both grew up with difficult childhoods. They named their son, Brian, after Apollo’s father, who wasn’t around much, and they were both committed to giving Brian the loving childhood they missed. Sadly, things quickly became difficult when Emma started showing signs of postpartum depression. It wasn’t just a struggle to connect with her baby; Emma became convinced that Brian wasn’t a normal child.

Of course, nobody believes her when she talks about this, but her anxiety is getting worse because she keeps receiving strange texts. The texts show pictures of her and Apollo with someone she thinks is the actual Brian. It’s incredibly frustrating, because the photos vanish before she can show them to anyone, and she starts to lose her grip on reality.

It’s Deeply Unsettling Even Before the Series Falls Down the Rabbit Hole

The second episode ends with a shocking reveal: the story is about to take a very dark and disturbing turn. This is a point of no return, and viewers who continue watching may find themselves profoundly affected. The shock comes when Apollo’s wife suddenly attacks him, then commits an unimaginable act while he can do nothing to stop her.

In a shocking and heartbreaking turn of events, Emma kills their baby and disappears, leaving Apollo completely shattered. Consumed by grief and rage, he embarks on a quest for revenge, even confronting her at her workplace with a gun, threatening her life for her actions. This is already deeply upsetting and potentially triggering content, especially for new parents – but the story takes an even stranger turn from here.

Apollo’s pursuit of Emma leads him to North Brother Island, a deserted island in New York City’s East River. There, he discovers a community of women who share Emma’s traumatic past. They are guided by a woman named Cal, who believes their babies were taken as offerings to a supernatural being.

According to legend, if a baby was stolen, it would be replaced with a creature called a changeling, but a mother would eventually realize the switch because the changeling wasn’t her own child. Cal then explains that Emma used to be one of them, but she left to continue searching for the real Brian, believing he’s still out there.

Apollo suddenly understands his wife wasn’t struggling with postpartum depression, and she was right all along about Brian not being her biological child. She felt completely alone and like no one, not even her husband, believed her, which led her to take drastic action. This realization deeply shakes Apollo, as he always thought he was a supportive husband, but now sees he failed to truly listen to her when she needed him most.

According to LaValle, the character is compelled to accept the truth. He realizes he wasn’t paying attention and must now deal with the consequences. As Apollo becomes aware of the strange and disturbing things happening to his family, he’s forced to think beyond himself and become the person he needs to be.

The Show Hinted at a Second Season That Seems Increasingly Unlikely to be Made

Now, Apollo is fully committed to finding his wife and son, and he’s even willing to confront a terrifying, ancient troll from the stories of his childhood to do so. The story, which started as a mystery about a man searching for his wife after a terrible event, takes a surprising turn by the end.

The story includes bizarre details, like a creature biting Apollo’s finger at a gravesite and a glowing-eyed monster hidden near North Brother Island. It’s a bold move for a show to change so much as it goes along, especially since many questions remain unanswered and a planned second season now seems doubtful.

What can we learn from a show like The Changeling? After receiving harsh reviews and failing to attract many viewers, it seemed the show was either too complex or tried to do too much, ultimately preventing it from coming together as a cohesive and enjoyable experience.

The show struggled to effectively blend its story with its underlying message, and viewers noticed, even if they couldn’t quite explain why. As a result, despite a small dedicated fanbase, a continuation of the story with Apollo, Emma, and Brian is highly unlikely, especially since the first season came out two years ago.

Ultimately, Marcel achieved her intention with the surprisingly odd ending, which she confessed was designed to leave audiences bewildered. She and LaValle also hoped viewers would see the many unresolved questions, sudden shifts in tone, and incomplete memories from the earlier episodes as clues pointing towards a larger picture, rather than simply as confusing detours that didn’t make sense.

The show received harsh criticism, with reviewers claiming it was constantly bordering on ridiculousness. They felt it completely lost its way in the final episode, effectively ending its run.

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2026-01-17 01:40