In folklore, the devil’s hour is the period between 3am and 4am when ghosts and demons are at their most powerful. It’s associated with supernatural sightings and unexplainable behaviour, which is the premise of Prime Video’s new series The Devil’s Hour. Lucy (played by Jessica Raine) has woken up with a gasp every night at exactly 3.33am, often followed by a fright when her emotionless son Isaac (Benjamin Chivers) wordlessly steps out from the shadows. When Lucy’s name is connected to a series of murders, she’s thrust into a chaotic investigation centred on a reclusive nomad (Peter Capaldi) who claims he can provide the answers Lucy has been searching for her whole life.
Bringing together an all-star cast that includes Nikesh Patel and Phil Dunster, as well as Tom Moran, Sue Vertue, and Steven Moffat behind the camera, The Devil’s Hour weaves a chilling mystery about memory, responsibility, and the true cost of protecting the people we love. I was hooked from start to finish!
Saying that, the show revels in the unexplainable and takes its time — there are six episodes in total — answering any of its biggest mysteries. I had a lot of questions as I watched that I simply needed to know the answer to and think you will too.
WHY DOES LUCY WAKE UP AT 3:33AM?
This is the mystery that kicks off the whole show. Every night at 3:33am, Lucy wakes up from the same nightmare. She dreams about a woman putting a gun to her head. Some nights the woman pulls the trigger and Lucy wakes up when she hears the bang, but other nights the gun doesn’t fire, and the woman runs to comfort her daughter.
A doctor remarks that Lucy must have “a very unique circadian rhythm,” but Lucy is sure it’s something unnatural. She’s just not sure what that could be.
The name of the show and its release so close to Halloween alludes to a supernatural reason for Lucy’s dreams, especially when Isaac mentions seeing strange men standing where there are none, but other signs point to it being a symptom of schizophrenia. Lucy’s mum Sylvia (Barbara Marten) is schizophrenic and spends most of her days talking to people who aren’t there.
WHAT’S UP WITH ISAAC?
Creepy children are a staple of any good horror, and Isaac is a very creepy child. He never blinks, he only speaks when spoken to, he does whatever people tell him to without questioning it or having any reaction to it. Even Lucy is surprised when he cracks the smallest of smiles after hearing a joke.
It’s clear that this is all connected to Lucy’s dreams, but short of demonic possession it’s hard to say exactly how. And no, The Devil’s Hour deals in the unexplainable but it’s not the kind of show where kids are possessed.
Isaac’s parents are separated because his dad Mike (Phil Dunster) doesn’t love him. Mike’s efforts to be a part of his son’s life don’t last long, either, and soon he’s taking away Isaac’s dinner and pouring beer on his head just to test what he will and won’t react to. The show alternates between portraying Isaac as a normal but withdrawn kid and a haunted boy, adding to the layers and layers of mysteries and questions that are piled on top of each other.
WHO IS THE NOMAD?
The Devil’s Hour jumps between the present day and the near future, by which time Peter Capaldi’s character is being questioned by Lucy and DI Ravi Dhillon (Nikesh Patel). He claims to know Lucy, although she’s never met him before, and goes on and on about déjà vu and “remembering” the future.
“You’re starting to remember, Lucy, I know you are,” he says. “But you don’t want to trust those memories because they’re upside down, they’re back to front, they’re in reverse. Everyone can remember the past — how can you possibly remember the future?”
Combined with the conspiracy theory wall of newspaper clippings and scrawled notes that Ravi finds in his hideout, everything the nomad says makes him sound mad. At the same time, Lucy seems to trust him at least a little bit, so it’ll be interesting to see where the needle falls on his character.
WHAT HAPPENS TO LUCY AND RAVI?
In the near-future scenes, Lucy and Ravi are both badly injured. Lucy has a split lip and black eye, and Ravi’s so beaten up that his face is barely recognisable. It makes the scenes where they’re in danger hard to watch, because you know that almost any situation might turn very, very bad.
ARE LUCY AND RAVI GOING TO HOOK UP?
I’m not the only sensing crazy sexual tension between these two, am I? They’re both so beautiful and Ravi is so good with Isaac. It’s nice seeing Isaac being treated kindly by another adult — Lucy loves him so much and everyone else seems to either laugh at him or be afraid of him. The bar is so low, and we shouldn’t reward men for simply not being a jerk to children, but honestly, it makes Ravi seem like an even nicer guy. And he’s already incredibly sweet and compassionate to begin with.
HOW IS ALL OF THIS CONNECTED?
All my questions about The Devil’s Hour essentially come back to this one. Lucy’s dreams, waking up at 3.33am, Isaac’s behaviour, the nomad’s interrogation, and the string of murders are all clearly related, and the mystery is so delicious that I binged the show in two days just to get to the truth.
The Devil’s Hour is now streaming on Prime Video. Start your free 30-day Prime Video trial today.
