What went from Olsen to Ellen

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Teacup episodes 1-4!

Peacock’s new Stephen King-endorsed horror television series Cup of tea unraveled a mystery at breakneck speed and introduced far more questions than answers at the end of episode 4. The basic premise of the show was established at the end of Cup of tea episode 2, while episodes 3 and 4 introduced a few new players to the isolated farm setting, each with questionable intentions. So far Cup of tea it created tension with distrust and paranoia, both due to the invisible threat beyond the blue line and due to pre-existing relationships between the neighbors trapped on the Chenoweth farm in Georgia.

Episodes 3 and 4 of Cup of tea saw Meryl and Nicholas become more familiar with the entity that inhabits Arlo’s mind, known as “Harbinger” due to his constant warnings. Harbinger may have introduced a way for everyone trapped on the Chenoweth farm to cross the blue line safely, but its dangerous parameters leave plenty of reason for doubt. Meanwhile, a task force officer named Lieutenant Olsen entered the farm from the other side of the blue line. Although he claims to be an ally, Maggie’s own doubts and the masked man’s warning not to trust anyone cast doubt on his intentions.

Who and what Lieutenant Olsen really is

The mysterious police officer revealed his true nature at the end of episode 4

While the trapped residents of the Chenoweth Farm do their best to solve the mystery of the blue line, someone new arrives at the farm. The man identifies himself as Lieutenant Olsena Birmingham police officer who is at the farm on behalf of a task force that travels and deals with what he describes as “situations” like the one the Chenoweths and their neighbors find themselves in. Olsen is heavily armed and is able to pass through the blue line without protection or a mask and, as Valeria notes, he doesn’t “look like a liar”, much to Maggie’s dismay.

Maggie is skeptical of Olsen, who makes it clear that he is looking for Arlo, as he contacted Mrs. Navarro in the woods. It also provides details about the force outside the blue line, which is a “focused vibration” that decimates complex organisms. Although he claims to be there to help, Maggie is justifiably suspicious and lures Olsen to her barn’s haystack, confronts him, and knocks him out. While he’s tied up, Maggie and Valeria leave Ellen with Olsen’s gun to take care of himand he tricks her into getting closer to him.

As she approaches, Olsen opens her mouth wide and something passes from Olsen to Ellen, just like what happened between Arlo and Mrs. Navarro in the forest. It is implied that although the entity sharing Arlo Harbinger’s mind is benevolent, the entity that possessed Olsen and passed it on to Ellen Chenoweth is MurderousHarbinger’s malevolent counterpart who actively seeks to capture him as he passes from person to person.

What Arlo, Meryl and Nicholas discover in the forest

According to Harbinger, it could be the key to their survival

Harbinger/Arlo takes Meryl and Nicholas into the forest, where they discover a strange crater surrounded by dead animals. That’s where Harbinger reveals his origin: he came from space and is, in theory, an alien. This would explain his seemingly supernatural abilities and why he speaks in disjointed English words – they are the only words he has learned to effectively communicate his point of view. In the crater, the trio find a puddle of a strange rainbow-colored liquid, which Harbinger insists they put in a jar to take with them.

Harbinger reveals in episode 4 that everyone needs to drink the liquid to cross the blue line. However, he also notes that it is a type of poison, and drinking too much of it will also result in death. The trio then encounter the masked man with the whiteboard, who asks for the pot of liquid before crossing the line to get it himself. Nicholas stabs him in self-defense, and as Meryl tries to stop the bleeding, his face and name are revealed. His name is McNab, and he already knows Harbinger and is trying to help him.

What Ruben and James found on the Navarros farm

Both men are apparently in real danger

Ruben and James travel to the farm of the Chenoweths’ close neighbors, the Navarros. At the farm, they find a bloodbath with every member of the Navarro family killed in horrific circumstances, though not in the same brutal way as Claire Kelly, who crossed the blue line. As James investigates the house, he is pulled into the basement and captured by an unidentified man wearing a gas mask like McNabwho ponders whether to kill James at that moment.

It is clear that Cup of tea is echoing, if not paying direct homage to, the plot of The thingJohn Carpenter’s iconic 1982 science fiction horror film, based on a 1938 novel by John W. Campbell, Jr. Cup of tea They are able to pass from person to person while maintaining that person’s appearance, sowing deep paranoia and distrust among an isolated group of acquaintances. This is almost a direct copy of the plot of The thingin which a group of scientists isolated on an Antarctic base try to discern which of them has been replaced by an alien entity.

Finally, Ruben breaks away from James to investigate the Navarros’ grain silo, which is surrounded by their three dogs who bark at him. Inside, he discovers and is enchanted by a glowing tree that radiates color and light. Although no other information is given about the tree or its nature, the color of the rainbow indicates that in fact, it may be the source of the rainbow liquid that Harbinger claims will keep everyone on the farm safe of the dangers beyond the blue line.