What happens in Chapter 9 of the Underground Railroad?
- “Chapter 9: Indiana Winter”, the almost feature-length penultimate episode of The Underground Railroad, begins — after a brief cold open with Ridgeway firing up the cleansing fires of his homestead’s forge — with Cora being reunited with first Ellis and then Royal.
How did Cora get to Indiana?
Cora’s rescuers, led by a freeborn black man named Royal, take her through the underground railroad to a farm in Indiana. Upon arriving in Indiana, Cora takes up residence at a farm owned by John Valentine, a light-skinned African man who uses his white appearance to improve the plight of Africans in America.
Who is Valentine in the Underground Railroad?
One night John Valentine, the owner of the farm, arrives and visits with her. She says she is afraid Mingo’s plan to reduce the population on the farm means she will have to leave. Valentine and Cora have both witnessed growing hostility from whites in town.
Was Indiana part of the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad in Indiana was part of a larger, unofficial, and loosely-connected network of groups and individuals who aided and facilitated the escape of runaway slaves from the southern United States. It is not known how many fugitive slaves escaped through Indiana on their journey to Michigan and Canada.
Was there really a Valentine farm in Indiana?
The article uses the novel’s example of Valentine Farm, a fictional 1850s black settlement in Indiana where protagonist Cora lands after her rescue from a fugitive slave catcher by Royal, a freeborn black radical and railroad agent.
What happened to Lovey in the Underground Railroad?
She secretly decides to join Cora and Caesar’s escape mission but she is captured early in the journey by hog hunters who return her to Randall, where she is killed by being impaled by a metal spike, her body left on display to discourage others who think of trying to escape.
What happened to Royal in Underground Railroad?
In the end, Royal is killed and a grief-stricken Cora is caught again by Ridgeway. Ridgeway forces Cora to take him to an Underground Railroad station, but as they climb down the entrance’s rope ladder she pulls Ridgeway off and they fall to the ground.
Is Caesar alive in Underground Railroad?
While the show doesn’t show us what happens after their encounter, Caesar comes to Cora in a dream later, confirming to viewers that he was killed. In the novel, Caesar faces a similar fate of being killed following his capture, though instead of Ridgeway and Homer, he is killed by an angry mob.
Where is Valentine farm?
Valentine Farm is at 162 North Road. A Valentine Farm Conservation Center sign marks the entrance to the parking lot approximately. 8 miles from US-2.
When did Indiana end slavery?
Despite slavery and indentures becoming illegal in 1816 due to the state constitution, the 1820 federal census listed 190 slaves in Indiana.
What ended the Underground Railroad?
On January 1st, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation liberating slaves in Confederate states. After the war ended, the 13th amendment to the Constitution was approved in 1865 which abolished slavery in the entire United States and therefore was the end of the Underground Railroad.
When did the Underground Railroad end?
End of the Line The Underground Railroad ceased operations about 1863, during the Civil War. In reality, its work moved aboveground as part of the Union effort against the Confederacy.
Does the Underground Railroad still exist?
It includes four buildings, two of which were used by Harriet Tubman. Ashtabula County had over thirty known Underground Railroad stations, or safehouses, and many more conductors. Nearly two-thirds of those sites still stand today.
Is the Underground Railroad show a true story?
Adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-award-winning novel, The Underground Railroad is based on harrowing true events. The ten-parter tells the story of escaped slave, Cora, who grew up on The Randall plantation in Georgia.
On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad : Coles’s On Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad Chapter 10 Summary & Analysis
IndianaSummary Royal, a freeborn black man, is in charge of transporting Cora to a farm in Indiana, where she is rescued by a group of African-American men. Royal and his accomplice Red had traveled to Tennessee in order to rescue Justin, another runaway slave who was traveling with them as the third person. When Royal learned that Cora had been taken into captivity by Ridgeway, he decided to postpone their return to Indiana in order to rescue her as well. Once in Indiana, Cora settles on a farm owned by John Valentine, a light-skinned African man who utilizes his white look to advocate for the cause of Africans in the United States of America.
She also attends school alongside the farm’s children as well as with former slaves who are pursuing a higher degree.
After an escaped slave who was near death landed on their doorstep, John and his wife, Gloria (whose freedom he acquired after meeting her on a plantation), decided to dedicate their property to abolitionist activities.
The majority of fugitives that travel through the farm eventually make their way to Canada or another location after they have healed and prepared for their next voyage.
- Cora is unsuccessful.
- Similarly to her experience in South Carolina, Cora is unsure whether or not she should continue north.
- Cora begins to develop feelings for Royal, who continues to work for the underground railroad out of the Valentine farm, which serves as a base of operations.
- He eventually brings her to an abandoned station of the underground railroad that is nearby.
- Royal informs her that he is unsure of the direction the route will take them.
- The author recounts that even though his home was destroyed, he managed to flee north and continue his job with the underground railroad network.
- Sam has received word that Terrance Randall has passed away.
A weekly meeting of the Valentine community is held, which includes feasting, dancing, and special performances by musicians, poets, and public speakers.
Mingo, who purchased his and his family’s freedom, is dissatisfied with Valentine’s treatment of fleeing slaves, and he is concerned that the existence of individuals like Cora is causing whites to get enraged.
Mingo makes the decision to create a discussion between himself and Lander in order to prove his point.
They ransack the property and set fire to the farmhouse, murdering or kidnapping everybody they come across along the way.
Royal’s final words to Cora are, “Go to the abandoned underground railroad station and find out where it leads.” Cora attempts to flee, but she is apprehended by Ridgeway and Homer.
Analysis Cora’s disastrous separation with Valentine is foreshadowed throughout this chapter.
However, there are many subtle foreshadowing instances that occur before this.
Cora is informed by him that she may be the one who discovers the truth.
After all, her internal debate over whether or not to continue traveling from Indiana is similar to the internal debate she had with herself in South Carolina, suggesting that the outcome this time will be the same: she will stay as long as she is able, until fate forces her to leave her current location.
- The option to flee is perhaps more enticing in this situation than it was in South Carolina earlier this year.
- Royal offers to accompany her to Canada.
- Cora’s urge to stop jogging, on the other hand, is much stronger than it was earlier.
- Cora grew up in South Carolina and has remained there ever since.
- Despite the fact that Lander’s claim that everyone should be accepted at Valentine is sympathetic, even Cora realizes that it is imprecise and may not be practical.
- Lander’s point of view appears to be desirable in Cora’s eyes.
It is this conflict in Valentine that reflects an ongoing discussion among free African Americans in antebellum America over the need of “respectability.” A number of people asserted that if Africans born free and legally freed learned to conduct themselves as respected members of white society, they would be able to demonstrate to white Americans that African races were not inferior to white races and, as a result, improve treatment for all blacks overall (and especially for themselves).
Others replied that adhering to the standards of white society was a means of validating the merits of those regulations in the first place.
Because of this, free blacks would be seen just as culpable in the institution of slavery as free white people were.
One of the reasons why many Southern states were concerned about the education of blacks was that it increased the probability of intellectual, articulate, anti-establishment voices like Lander’s being produced and heard in their communities.
During the episode, a character on Valentine says to Cora, “Master once told me that the only thing more deadly than an assassination attempt was an assassination attempt with a book.”
The Underground Railroad Chapter 10: Indiana Summary and Analysis
Cora finds herself again at a schoolhouse, this time surrounded by youngsters who are far more advanced in their letter formation than she is. Georgina, the instructor, is originally from Delaware. Cora and Georgina are initially antagonistic toward one another, but after a few months on the Valentine farm, the two become friends. Cora has also formed a bond with Molly, a ten-year-old girl who lives with her mother in a cabin on the property, where Cora spends her days. The two of them join the throngs of people gathered around the barbecue: a large Saturday roast was slated for that evening, which would be prepared by Jimmy, an elderly farmer who had escaped to the farm from North Carolina.
- Molly and her mother, Sybil, had escaped from a ruthless master some years before.
- They take up their sewing to do as they wait for dinner to be served.
- She has not received any information about what happened to her own mother, Mabel: when she first came on the Valentine farm, she inquired of everyone she met to see whether they were familiar with her.
- That evening, a potluck dinner is hosted outside the large multi-purpose meeting building.
- The farm is home to over a hundred individuals, including around fifty children, which is a significant amount.
- During the meeting, Gloria Valentine serves as the moderator while her husband, John, is in Chicago meeting with a bank representative to renegotiate a loan for the farm.
- He paid for her freedom, and the two were married nearly shortly after.
Mingosi sits in the front row, advocating for a reduction in the number of runaways taken in by the Valentine farm in order to lessen the risk of white vengeance against them.
Sybil and Cora, on the other hand, are not fond of or trust him.
He writes poetry, and Cora doesn’t like for it, nor does she care for the dance that follows.
She departs the festivities and returns to her hut in the woods.
Cora has been anxious about him while he has been out on a mission with the Underground Railroad for a couple of days.
Cora receives a gift from Royal, which is a newly released almanac, which he pulls from his luggage.
Elijah Lander, a free black man from the North who had received an education, delivered a speech to the farm’s occupants about the challenge of finding one’s place in the world after slavery.
They went on a picnic in a meadow to relax.
On the way back, Royal takes the buggy down a side lane to show her an ancient, abandoned Underground Railroad station that had been abandoned years before.
Ridgeway and the dying Boseman were shackled to the wagon and kept blinded while they journeyed to the Tennessee station of the Underground Railroad, where they were to be executed.
He was reared in Connecticut by freeborn parents who had moved there from New York City when he was young.
He happened to meet Eugene Wheeler, a well-known white abolitionist lawyer, by coincidence and promptly became his assistant.
It was while on his most recent railroad expedition in Tennessee when he came face to face with Cora.
Royal informs her what she may anticipate from the Valentine farm when they are riding on the freshly painted train that transported them out of Tennessee.
The pair kept her freedom as well as their marriage a secret from the public.
A few days later, a fugitive called Margaret showed up at his door, and she died of a fever a few days after that.
His land was transformed into a station on the Underground Railroad.
White immigrants were drawn to Indiana’s unpopulated area by the promise of a better life.
The political conflicts among the town, as well as the white settlers’ rising disdain for the black farm, were not included in Royal’s summation of events.
Cora gradually became used to the rhythms and labors of the farm throughout the first month.
Sama arrives at Cora’s door one day when she is working on the farm.
Sam intends to travel to California in the near future.
In his dying days, he grew obsessed with catching Cora, increasing the amount of money he was willing to pay for her capture.
Cora inquires of Sam about Ridgeway, who has become a social pariah since Cora’s departure from Tennessee.
Sam stays long enough to take part in the corn shucking bee, which he enjoys.
Royal informs Cora that she is now free as a result of Terrance’s death, and that no family member would look for her in the same manner he did.
The evening draws to a conclusion with Mingo taking first place in the shucking bee.
Cora spends a lot of time in the library, and she occasionally brings Molly with her.
John Valentine comes to the library with her one day and they become fast friends.
Over the last few months, the number of racist outbursts from white settlers near the property has grown.
When Cora realizes that Valentine is fatigued, she calls out to him.
Cora is moved to tears by the gift.
As she expresses her regret for allowing herself to be raped, Royal assures her that her suffering is not her fault, and that her adversaries will all face justice at the appropriate time.
In the meeting house the following evening, they take up a position in the first row, right close to Mingo and his family.
The speeches begin, with Valentine serving as the emcee, and he seems uneasy.
They must safeguard their ties with white people if they are to continue their mission for black uplift and advancement.
He contends that they must proceed as a group to achieve success.
They must make every effort to keep the miracle going.
He shoots Royal three times in the back as he runs up to him and approaches.
Cora sobs, her head resting on her lap as she clutches Royal’s body.
Cora runs out of the meeting place, looking for someone she recognizes. Ridgeway jumps on her and drags her away. In the background, Homer smiles with Cora and informs Ridgeway that he overheard Royal describe a tunnel of the Underground Railroad while standing by his side.
Analysis
This chapter is extremely important in the novel because of the way it depicts the concept of freedom. Throughout the previous chapters, readers have followed Cora as she journeys through calamity after catastrophe in her pursuit of freedom and independence. We also learn about her hopes and desires for the future, which include the unnamed face of a future spouse, children, and a peaceful house. Cora discovers a certain amount of independence on the Valentine farm, where she and the other members of the Valentine family labor together for the sake of the community.
- Each and every person’s effort is essential.
- Every single one of these responsibilities occurred on the Randall plantation as well.
- Cora comes to discover that labor may be a lovely thing.
- However, Cora’s role in this free society remains a source of consternation for the time being.
- Trauma has this impact on the body.
- She is unable to relax now, despite the fact that she is at a location where she should be able to do so.
- The farm’s doomed future is likewise predicted in gloomy fashion throughout the chapter.
He hints that she might need to use it in the future, implying that there may come a day when Cora would be forced to run once more.
Even the book itself alludes to the farm’s doom, referring to the tragic meeting as the “last gathering” of the farm ahead of time (279).
Despite the pain she has endured, her identity as a stray is beginning to disappear as time passes.
Cora and Royal are shown holding one other in Cora’s cabin bed, which is a sweet sight.
It is through her voice that Ajarry and Mabel come to life once more.
Despite the fact that the Valentine farm, as well as Cora’s blossoming romance with Royal, are eventually destroyed, this period is critical in Cora’s recovery from her trauma.
‘Underground Railroad’: William Jackson Harper on Royal and Cora’s ‘Uneasy Pairing’ and Valentine Farm’s Fate
The following piece, which was first published on May 15, includes spoilers for episodes 9 and 10 of “The Underground Railroad.” William Jackson Harper, a former cast member of “The Good Place,” takes on a completely different character in Barry Jenkins’ limited series “The Underground Railroad,” which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on Friday. Harper’s fans may be surprised by his performance. On the basis of its subject matter alone, the series is obviously darker than the Mike Schur comedy, but Harper’s character — that of free Black man and Underground Railroad conductor, Royal — is one who appears to be more at ease and calm than the neurotic philosophy professor Chidi Anagonye that he played on “The Good Place.” And it is with this mentality and confidence that escaped slave Cora (Thuso Mbedu) is eventually able to feel secure and safe after beginning a new life on Valentine Farm in Indiana, where Royal and other born-free Black people live and work side by side.
However, it is only a short time after Cora and Royal make their relationship official that his life, as well as the lives of many others, is cut short in a massacre at Valentine Farm, which is perpetrated by white men who are fearful of the threat that these free Black people could pose to their society.
- When it comes to Cora and Royal’s love connection, and what it’s like for an escaped slave and a born-free Black person to be in a relationship at the period when “The Underground Railroad” takes place, how would you describe it?
- I believe that he is attracted to her right away.
- And that is truly the crux of the matter.
- Due to the fact that they originate from two very different civilizations, it is an extremely uncomfortable match for a long time.
- It must have been terrifying for you to be on set filming the Valentine Farm slaughter sequence, a vicious onslaught that ends with the murder of Royal, while he and Cora are attempting to flee?
- It was clearly really triggering for me, and I found myself blinded by wrath at several points throughout the course of filming those particular sequences.
- It’s a fascinating phenomenon.
I often say, “It’s never really an issue until someone else makes it a problem,” which is my sort of quick response to everything.
But it’s not like I walk around the world seeking for signs that everything is about to come crashing down.
It has been profitable and safe for an extremely, extremely long period of time.
The oddity you’re referring to is the exact time you’re describing.
And that was certainly not what everyone had anticipated.
Nonetheless, in order to just sort of muddle through life, you must try to keep your head as high as possible in the clouds of positivity.
And the same is true for Cora and Royal; they arrive in a specific location, but life has other plans for us, and that is simply the way it is.
Although Royal is already dead by the time the episode ends, Cora reflects about the day he taught her how to use a gun in order to obtain the courage she needs to murder slave catcher Ridgeway in the last scene (Joel Edgerton).
Were you aware that it would play such a crucial role in Cora’s tale immediately following Royal’s death, and that you and your colleagues, Barry and Thuso, would have to do so again?
To be quite honest, the moment when I’m teaching Cora how to shoot is just a moment in which I believe she is in need of learning how to shoot.
And knowing how to protect oneself in this environment is an important aspect of being a free person, especially if you are a Black person who is free.
I believe it is about reacting to the situation as it arises.
I believe it is far better to just state that something occurred and let the tale to do the rest of the work for you.
I believe this also contributes to its greater effectiveness.
And it actually went through a number of different versions of how the last chapter would unfold, and the way that it played out was definitely a pleasant surprise. “The Underground Railroad” is currently available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video.
The Underground Railroad in Indiana
Mary Schons contributed to this article. The 20th of June, 2019 is a Thursday. For 30 years before to the American Civil War, enslaved African Americans utilized the Underground Railroad to gain their freedom, a network known as the Underground Railroad (1861-1865). The “railroad” employed a variety of routes to transport people from slave-supporting states in the South to “free” states in the North and Canada. Sometimes abolitionists, or persons who were opposed to slavery, were responsible for organizing routes for the Underground Railroad.
- There was a great deal of activity on the Underground Railroad in the states that bordered the Ohio River, which served as a boundary between slave and free states.
- Not everyone in Indiana supported the emancipation of enslaved people.
- Because Indiana was a part of the Underground Railroad, its narrative is the tale of all states that had a role in it.
- However, while some people did have secret chambers in their homes or carriages, the great bulk of the Underground Railroad consisted of individuals surreptitiously assisting slaves who were attempting to flee slavery in whatever manner they were able to.
- The persons that were enslaved were referred to as “passengers.” “Stations” were private residences or commercial establishments where passengers and conductors seeking freedom might take refuge.
- If a new owner supported slavery, or if the residence was revealed to be a station on the Underground Railroad, passengers and conductors were obliged to locate a new station or move on somewhere.
- Only a small number of people kept records of this hidden activity in order to protect homeowners and others seeking freedom who required assistance.
People who were found assisting those who had fled slavery faced arrest and imprisonment.
No one knows exactly how the Underground Railroad received its name, nor does anybody care.
Another version of the story assigns the name to a freedom-seeker who was apprehended in Washington, D.C., in the year 1839.
A third narrative connects the name to an enslaved man called Tice Davids, who made the decision to pursue his freedom in 1831, according to the legend.
Unfortunately, there was no boat available to take us over the river.
His enslaver returned to Kentucky without him, claiming that Davids had vanished while traveling on a “underground railroad.” To put it another way, the name “Underground Railroad” had been widely accepted by the mid-1840s.
According to Article 6 of the Northwest Ordinance, slavery was prohibited north of the Ohio River; however, the rule did not apply to enslaved persons who were already residing in the region.
Slavery was a common feature of life in the Northwest Territories at the time.
Indiana was established as a territory in 1800, with future United States PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison serving as the area’s first territorial governor.
Harrison and his followers also believed that permitting slavery in Indiana would increase the state’s population.
Their petition was refused by Congress.
The “contract holder” has the authority to determine how long the victim must be held in slavery.
When Indiana became a state in 1816, its stateConstitutioncontained wording that was comparable to Article 6 of the Northwest Ordinance—new enslaved persons were not permitted, but existing enslaved people were allowed to continue in their current state of enslavement.
The term “slave” was still used to describe some Hoosiers as late as the 1820 census.
(White people were exempt from this requirement.) Indiana’s 1851 Constitution prohibited blacks from voting, serving in the military, or testifying in any trial in which a white person was accused of a crime.
All three pathways eventually went to Michigan and subsequently to Canada, although they took different routes.
Lewis Harding said in a 1915 history of Decatur County, Indiana, that the county was a spot where three roads came together after crossing the Ohio River at separate points in the county.
assisted the escaped slaves in every way imaginable,” he adds, using the injunction as an example.
As Harding says, “the sympathies of the majority of the residents of this nation were with the escaped slave and his rescuer.” Historians now feel that the path to independence resembled a spider’s web rather than three independent pathways to freedom.
While traveling, they had to avoid organized networks of patrolmen who grabbed freedom-seekers and held them hostage for ransom money.
Known as the “President of the Underground Railroad,” Coffin is credited for bringing slavery to Indiana in 1826.
In his memoir, Reminiscences, Coffin tells the story of two girls who escaped Tennessee and sought refuge with their grandparents in the Indiana county of Randolph.
They were not, however, destined to live in safety.
When the alarm went off, it attracted the majority of the settlement’s black people together in a single location.
Unknown to them, an uncle of the two girls rode up on his horse at the same time the enslaver was being held at bay by the grandmother’scorn knife.
They were not given any authorization to enter the premises or search for items, according to him.” The uncle remained at the doorway for as long as he could to continue the dispute with the enslaver.
According to the account, the girls were disguised as guys and sneaked past the crowd to where two horses were waiting for them.
The girls were able to make it to Coffin’s residence without incident.
Eliza Harris’s Indefatigable Escape Indiana is the scene of one of the most famous slave escapes in history, which took place in the state of Indiana.
Harris made the snap decision to flee to Canada with her infant son in tow.
There were no bridges, and there was no way for a raft to get through the thick ice.
Moving from one ice floe to another while carrying her child, she eventually made it to the other end.
Eliza, in fact, is the name of the character who travels across the frigid Ohio.
In order to recover from their ordeal, Harris and her child traveled to Levi Coffin’s Fountain City residence.
In 1854, Levi and Catherine Coffin were on a visit to Canada with their daughter when a woman approached Catherine and introduced herself.
God’s blessings on you!” It was Eliza Harris, who had safely migrated to Chatham, Ontario, Canada, when the call came through.
Illustration provided courtesy of The Library of Congress is a federal government institution that collects and organizes information.
Examine the list of locations to determine if any are in your immediate vicinity.
But it was carried out according to a completely other set of rules.
.
Levi Coffin’s Reminiscences, published in 1880abet Help is a verb that refers to assisting in the committing of a crime.
abolitionist A person who is opposed to slavery as a noun.
authority Making choices is the responsibility of a nounperson or organization.
The payment of a fine or the performance of a contract under the terms of an agreement constitutes a bond, which is an unenforceable agreement.
cattle Andoxen are nouncows.
The American Civil War The American Civil War was fought between the Union (north) and the Confederacy between 1860 and 1865.
conductor A person who escorted slaves to safety and freedom on the Underground Railroad was known as a guide.
The House of Representatives and the Senate are the two chambers of the United States Congress.
convictVerb to find someone guilty of committing a criminal offense.
Municipality is a type of political entity that is smaller than a state or province, but often larger than a city, town, or other municipality.
defendantNounperson or entity who has been accused of committing a crime or engaging in other misconduct.
economy The production, distribution, and consumption of commodities and services are all referred to as a system.
enslave acquainted with the verbto completely control Adjectivewell-known.
forbidVerb to ban or prohibit something.
fugitive a noun or an adjective that has gotten away from the law or another limitation a system or order established by a country, a state, or any other political body; government Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American writer and abolitionist activist who lived from 1811 to 1896.
Nouna huge, flat sheet of ice that is floating on the surface of a body of water.
labor is a noun that refers to work or employment.
Throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the term negronoun was frequently used to refer to persons of African descent.
During the American Civil War, the North was comprised of states that backed the United States (Union).
A portion of the modern-day states of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota belonged to the Northwest Territory at the time of its creation.
The Ohio River is the greatest tributary of the Mississippi River, with a length of 1,580 kilometers (981 miles).
passenger A fugitive slave seeking freedom on the Underground Railroad is referred to as a noun.
Requests are made verbally, and are frequently accompanied by a document signed by the respondents.
prominentAdjectivethat is significant or stands out.
recover from an accident or strenuous activityVerb to recover from an injury or rigorous activity repeal a verb that means to reverse or reject anything that was previously guaranteed rouse a verb that means to awaken or make active.
Slavery is a noun that refers to the act of owning another human being or being owned by another human being (also known as servitude).
South During the American Civil War, the Confederate States of America (Confederacy) was backed or sympathized with by a huge number of states.
Supreme CourtNounin the United States, the highest judicial authority on questions of national or constitutional significance.
terminology A noungroup of words that are employed in a particular topic area.
Nounland that is protected against invaders by an animal, a person, or the government.
the southern hemisphere Geographic and political territory in the south-eastern and south-central sections of the United States that includes all of the states that sided with the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
unconstitutional Adjective that refers to a violation of the laws of the United States Constitution.
9th President of the United States of America, William Henry HarrisonNoun (1773-1841). (1841). word-of-mouth Informal communication, sometimes known as rumor or rumor mill. NounA official order issued by a government or other authoritative body.
Media Credits
With the exception of promotional graphics, which normally link to another page that carries the media credit, all audio, artwork, photos, and videos are attributed beneath the media asset they are associated with. In the case of media, the Rights Holder is the individual or group that gets credited.
Writer
Mary Schons is a writer who lives in New York City.
Editors
Kara West, Emdash Editing, Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
Producer
Kara West, Emdash Editing, Jeannie Evers, and Emdash Publishing
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The Underground Railroad Recap: The Grandest Delusion
Photograph courtesy of Atsushi Nishijima/Amazon This episode is heartbreaking, but it is also the greatest cinematically thus far – it has the sense of a whole film. Cora is welcomed with not one, but two welcome returns from Royal, who has been away on a mission for an unknown period of time. Ellis has returned to Royal with a familiar face: it’s Royal himself! Cora’s driver from South Carolina to North Carolina was a maintenance worker who was on the job. The couple, who are expecting their first child, are staying at Valentine farm before continuing their journey west, having heard good things about it for years.
Cora’s testimony is prompted by Royal’s homecoming, her dream, and the Railroad’s repeated requests for people’s testimonies, and she ultimately shares her own.
The fact that Mingo is outraged by this, but Gloria supports Cora by saying, “We all know the tale – you worked hard and saved your money, and you were able to free yourself and your family from slavery.” “But what about those who are unable?” This new piece of knowledge contextualizes Mingo’s commitments, causing him to appear less conservative than he was in the previous episode: he believes that his hard-won freedom is in jeopardy because of the government’s actions.
- The entire episode builds up to a heated debate between Mingo and John Valentine, following which everyone on the farm will vote on whether to stay or travel west, and Gloria defers the discussion concerning Cora’s future on the farm until then.
- They don’t have a different opinion of her than they had before.
- Many of the males engage in a corn-shucking bee in which they are divided into two teams: the “elders” and the “whippersnappers,” respectively.
- That they aren’t represented as nemeses here, that they are really interested in figuring out what’s best for everyone, and that they are having a moment of camaraderie on the farm, seems crucial to me.
- Following the progression of the farm group via several couples, one of the most unusual and entrancing displays of intimacy I’ve ever witnessed on television (along by Debussy’s timeless “Clair de Lune”) is revealed.
- Cora pushes her palm into the middle of Royal’s chest and holds it there.
- Since the beginning.
- After then, it’s the next morning.
- Some developments occur for Mingo, Royal, and Cora, as well as for Ridgeway, as the discussion draws nearer to its conclusion.
Particularly upset by Mingo’s assertion that he is not singular, Tom Hardman (Jim Klock) expresses his displeasure in the following way: His response to their question is, “There’s an entire farm of men like me.” When things get heated, Mingo invites them to the farm so that they may see how the argument is being conducted.
- “I’m not,” Mingo answers, firmly.
- Why haven’t they addressed her legal issues or purchased her freedom yet?
- “Everyone keeps telling me how special I am,” she continues, her voice tinged with annoyance.
- “What good is a farm full of freedom if only a select few are allowed to work on it?” Finally, Ridgeway and Homer make their way across the state of Tennessee to Indiana.
- In order to communicate with the Randall plantation, Ridgeway instructs Homer to send a telegraph, but the process takes much too long.
- Hardman and a buddy subsequently come upon Ridgeway and Homer and offer their assistance.
- In this room, every single one of your faces reminds me of that woman’s.” “When I glance around this room, every single one of your faces reminds me of that woman’s face.” This narrative ends prematurely since the inhabitants never get to vote, despite how optimistic the plot is.
As I mentioned above, I won’t quote too much from it because it’s intense and worth rewatching to appreciate the subtleties in their arguments as well as the back-and-forth as they respond to each other’s points.
“There are occasions when a beneficial illusion is preferable to a worthless fact,” Valentine asserts.
Keep hold to what is rightfully yours.” A group of white males steadily encircle the chapel while the argument continues, but we don’t notice them until the end.
Although the assailants in the church have been killed or forced away, the white men continue to surround the building.
When the shooting initially started, Judge Smith inquired as to why the guys were acting in this manner, and Hardman said, “He stated it himself.” He’s one of many men like him on the farm.
His first target is Royal, and the second target is Ridgeway before he has a chance to target Cora as well.
From the prologue, we know what will happen next: she leads him to the ghost tunnel, and the two of them plunge into the hole together.
When he raises his eyes to the light emanating from the trapdoor, she drags him off the rope and into the room.
His bones fracture as she slides off of him, breaking her fall and causing him to break his bones as well.
There is no ammunition in the gun Homer takes from Ridgeway’s body, and Cora does not bash anybody with a rock.
Molly, on the other hand, tracks her down and the two of them return to the tunnel.
Cora retrieves the rifle that Homer had left on the roof, and as she approaches Ridgeway, we see flashes of all the people she has lost as a result of his actions.
Barry Jenkins was in charge of writing this episode.
Not the world begging Cora to testify, only for her testimony to be taken negatively by Mingo and to result in her employment situation at the farm being jeopardized.
It wouldn’t hurt to refrain from bragging about how amazing you are compared to white males at every opportunity.” “But I am, Peyton,” Mingo says.
Despite the fact that Mingo is correct, it is this concept, this fear, that continues to fuel so much anti-Blackness to this day.
In order to check on Ridgeway after his fall, Homer takes the pistol from him and uses it on Cora.
When Cora and Molly return to the ghost tunnel, Cora takes up Royal’s rifle, which is a tiny bit of him, which she places at the head of the tunnel.
The mention of Cora’s mother is heartfelt, but Cora is irritated: “You’re a really wonderful woman, Olivia.” “Miss Cora, I’m sure your mother is very pleased with you.” The way Sybil taunts Cora about Royal and then gets back at her by telling Molly, “Your mom is just trying to marry me off so she can move Samson in here,” made me giggle out loud.
We’re not the same as before.
They’d have no idea you’d ever been confined in shackles.
They took one look at me and refused to accept that I might ever be free.” This is a fantastic exchange.
Even after reading the book and knowing that this moment was going to take place, I’m still disturbed by how much may be lost as a result of white supremacy and its danger of that dominance being threatened.
I’m really feeling the pain right now. Reading Railroad: Black Futures, edited by Jenna Wortham and curated by Kimberly Drew, is recommended. The Underground Railroad is a term used to describe a system of transportation that allows people to flee their homes. Recap: The Greatest Lie Ever Told