Summary
Episode 2 provides context to Miles’ past in a chapter that feeds the viewers more information as it builds up the tension.
This recap of Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor episode 2, “The Pupil” contains significant spoilers.
We recapped the whole series — check out the archive.
The opening
After the events of the opening episode, Dani has a task on her hands to bond with the children and also create some discipline in a house that is clearly haunted. Episode 2, “The Pupil”, shows Dani’s willingness to make her arrangement work.
Hannah Grose has to always mop the same flop due to muddy prints going to the forbidden wing caused by the children. Dani dresses down the children due to their prank the previous night — she forgives them but does not believe that the door would not open. Suddenly, Miles grabs the doll from under the drawers and throws it down the trash chute. Dani tells Miles to mop up as a punishment.
Of course, there’s a cellar scene
If The Haunting of Bly Manor is not making you feel a tiny bit spooked by now, then episode 2 will surely get your imagination activated a little.
Dani wants to go the cellar to find the doll — Flora does not want to go down in the cellar as she feels it is “dreadful”. And predictably, as Dani heads down, she realizes that the light does not work — that’s until she turns the bulb. The doll is perfectly upright on the cellar floor. As Dani heads back up, there’s a pile of dolls in the corner — one of the heads move.
6 months earlier for Miles
And alas, the horror series finally gives us some background, some context to a character to start jigsawing the pieces together and give the audience a sense of how we got here.
A flashback is given to the audience — it’s 6 months earlier and Miles is at school after the Christmas break. The teacher talks about the freedom of choice that was given to them by God. After the lesson, the teacher wants to talk to Miles and he gives him a letter from home — it’s his first day at boarding school. The teacher tells him it is a safe place for questions.
During a break, Miles climbs a tree despite his friend Hooper telling him to get down. As he gets higher, Miles hears white noise and then faints and falls from the tree. He broke his wrist. Afterward, Miles claims he fell and did not jump.
6 months earlier — why did the fight happen?
The next day, Miles ends up in a fight and he puts Hooper in a chokehold and nearly kills him. Father Stack wants to understand why Miles started the fight — he tells him that he’s had to deal with death far more than a child should; he explains that his parents are in a better place. Miles does not feel that it is fair that his parents are not coming back — he asks why the “bad ones” come back. In the middle of the night, Father Stack sees that his bird is dead — Miles has killed it.
The next day, the school at least wants an apology — they tell him that an animal is dead because of him. Miles tells Father Stack and the school officials that he wish he did more to the bird and that he thinks he should have cut off its head. It’s revealed that the letter he got from Flora said: “Come home”.
This explains homeschooling and Dani feeling like she can make a difference — it’s also making Miles look hella creepy.
The glasses that get Dani upset
The Haunting of Bly Manor episode 2 teases Dani’s past more — she’s haunted by it and something is holding her back. The audience is not getting a true sense of her genuine persona.
Back to the core story and Dani is impressed by how tidy Miles’ room is. Afterward, Dani gets emotional as Flora is wearing glasses that were on Dani’s bedside. Flora claims they were already broken. Dani hyperventilates and leaves the house. Jamie checks if she’s okay. She does her best to cheer her up and tells Dani that she’s doing a good job. Dani goes to the bathroom and sees the figure in the mirror again and she quickly looks away.
The strange apology by Miles
We’ve established that Miles has something creepy about him but this scene sends a chill down your spine.
Miles apologizes to Dani for the prank. She gives her roses and then whispers in her ear that Flora misses Miss Jessel a lot and that it gets draining finding ways to entertain her. He then uses a finger to tuck one of Dani’s hairs behind her ear. Afterward, Jamie is fuming that Miles cut the roses up and made a mess.
The ending
At night, Dani has a surprise for the children and wants to play a game. They agree to play hide and seek — why Dani would agree to this when she’s already been traumatized by the children does not make sense at all.
The children hide and Dani looks for them in the dark manor. When she walks in one room, a woman is in the background who walks away. While Dani still looks, she finds a family photo and looks at it. She then hears music and she’s now in the forbidden part of the house where the parents used to live. She sees a music box with a ballerina on top — meanwhile, Flora is humming “O Willow Waly”. As she hums, a figure in the background hums with her. Flora tells the figure behind her to be quiet.
This confirms that Flora can see the ghosts.
Miles suddenly gets up behind Dani to scare her — he then starts choking her and runs off. Dani does not want to play and she’s suddenly shaken as she calls for both children (it’s not surprising that she regrets suggesting this game). When she looks in a mirror she sees a man reflecting, not her. She runs outside spooked and threatens to call the police. Dani then looks inside the house and Miles collapses in the window. She warns Hannah that she saw the same man from the parapet. As Miles wakes up, he sees the same man in the window.
The Haunting of Bly Manor episode 2 provides context to Miles’ past in a chapter that feeds the viewers more information as it builds up the tension.
The Bly Manor Diary
- In the kitchen, Hannah Grose looks at a crack in the tiles. She asks Jamie to have a look at it.
- The staff of the house talks about the new au pair. Jamie asks Owen if she finds Dani pretty and teases him.
- The phone rings and when Flora answers, there is no-one there.
