Lovecraft Country: Every Movie & Song Reference In Episode 6
WARNING! Spoilers for Lovecraft Country episode 6, "Meet Me In Daegu" & episode 7, "I Am" ahead
In Lovecraft Country season 1, episode 6, "Meet Me In Daegu", there were several movie and song references that hint at the future of the HBO show. When Lovecraft Country introduced Ji-Ah (Jamie Chung), Misha Green's show took an unexpected turn towards Korean mythology, war, and the creatures that haunt Atticus "Tic" Freeman (Jonathan Majors) even when he's thousands of miles from home. The majority of "Meet Me In Daegu" focused on Ji-Ah, who has a love for Judy Garland and musicals.
When the audience first sees her, Ji-Ah is enjoying a showing of Judy Garland's 1944 movie, Meet Me In St. Louis, which is about a young woman and her family from the summer of 1903 to the spring of 1904. When "The Trolley Song" comes on, she joyfully rises from her seat to sing and dance in an empty theater. Judy Garland was known as a Hollywood starlet during its golden era. Garland is famously recognized for her portrayal of Dorothy Gale in The Wizard Of Oz. As time has passed, Garland has been remembered as a celebrity with astounding talent who was taken advantage of. She vocalized feeling stuck in the machinery of the movie industry, and suffered a fatal overdose at the age of 47.
While these facts about Garland may seem insignificant to Ji-Ah's story, they are entirely relevant and indicative of her deep feelings toward her current situation. As a mythological nine-tailed fox called a kumiho, she must complete her goal of attaining 99 souls before she can be freed. Ji-Ah finds solace in Garland's songs, but her character also reflects the life of a woman who's being controlled and is stuck in an unrelenting system from which she cannot escape. When Lovecraft Country season 1, episode 7, "I Am", premiered, it revealed an even deeper significance to "Meet Me In Daegu", as well as its song and movie references.
As Ji-Ah's story continues throughout "Meet Me In Daegu," it is revealed that she and Atticus share more similarities than they do differences. They both feel trapped in their respective environments, which deeply reflects the real life of Judy Garland. Even more significant, the title of episode 6 is a direct reference to the movie Meet Me In St. Louis. In episode 7, "I Am", St. Louis plays a major role in Atticus's discovery of his familial past. While he previously believed his mother was the only surviving member of the Tulsa, Oklahoma massacre of 1921 that targeted Black people, it's revealed that there was another surviving member of his maternal family in St. Louis, Missouri.
This is one of the many ways Lovecraft Country brilliantly weaves in popular culture to foreshadow and tie in future events. As "Meet Me In Daegu" reaches its end, Ji-Ah goes to meet a mudang to discuss what happened after she saw Atticus's future as well as to speak on her desire to cease taking the souls of men. While walking to meet the shaman, "Judy Speaks" plays in the background. The audio recording was initially meant to assist Garland in writing her autobiography but, due to her unexpected and tragic death, it now serves as a time capsule of the trauma she experienced in Hollywood. This is meant to draw further connections between Ji-Ah and Garland, who are unable to escape their fate.
Undoubtedly, Ji-Ah will make a reappearance to draw Atticus either closer or further from the fate she witnessed. The show is filled with popular culture references and historically significant moments in time that tie together to create a cohesive sci-fi horror story about Black lives in America. With the addition of Ji-Ah in Lovecraft Country episode 6, "Meet Me In Daegu", a deeper story with meaningful song and movie references was introduced—how they'll connect remains to be seen.