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Into The Dark: Pilgrim features intriguing Easter egg from Pooka

By Paul Zuniga

Into The Dark -- "Pilgrim" - Episode 114 -- Inspired by true events: In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the ÒactorsÓ refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude. Anna (Courtney Henggeler), shown. (Photo by: Patrick Wymore/Hulu)
Into The Dark -- "Pilgrim" - Episode 114 -- Inspired by true events: In an attempt to remind her family of their privilege and help them bond, Ms. Anna Barker invites Pilgrim reenactors to stay with them over Thanksgiving. When the ÒactorsÓ refuse to break character, the Barker family learns that there is such a thing as too much gratitude. Anna (Courtney Henggeler), shown. (Photo by: Patrick Wymore/Hulu) /
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The focus of Into The Dark: Pilgrim was mostly about the Thanksgiving holiday but the episode’s producers also found the time to place a surprising Easter egg in it. What could this nod mean for the future?

In the Thanksgiving-themed episode, the main characters of Into The Dark: Pilgrim spend a good portion of the movie bickering. Each member of the mixed family finds something intolerable about their situation so they’re all a bit tense in close quarters, well everyone except the young Tate (Antonio Raul Corbo).

Joey (Reign Edwards) and Anna (Courtney Henggeler) seem to have the most disagreements with each other so it doesn’t surprise us when Joey ditches her new stepmother to go back to her room. On the way there, she stops by Tate’s room to check on him. Everything appears fine and he’s simply playing as a kid would be. Joey then tucks him in and says goodnight to her little brother. But as soon as she walks out of the room, a toy on Tate’s bookshelf chimes on. This wouldn’t be particularly important, it’s just that the doll turns out to be a Pooka.

For those who don’t recognize it, the Pooka doll played a pivotal role in the third episode of season 1. There haven’t been too many recognizable Easter eggs in seasons 1 or 2, which makes the appearance of a Pooka doll all the more interesting. What’s more, is the toy sitting on Tate’s shelf might not have been the only Easter egg from “Pooka” to be included in the November episode.

Into The Dark — “Pooka” – A struggling actor gets a holiday season job as a Christmas character in a plush suit to promote the hottest toy of the year, ÒPooka.Ó At first itÕs a fun and friendly distraction, but he slowly develops two personalities–one when heÕs in the suit, and one thatÕs outside it–as Pooka slowly starts to take possession of him. This unconventional monster movie is directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, the visionary behind the acclaimed 2016 Kaiju film COLOSSAL. (Photo by: Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP/Hulu)
Into The Dark — “Pooka” – A struggling actor gets a holiday season job as a Christmas character in a plush suit to promote the hottest toy of the year, ÒPooka.Ó At first itÕs a fun and friendly distraction, but he slowly develops two personalities–one when heÕs in the suit, and one thatÕs outside it–as Pooka slowly starts to take possession of him. This unconventional monster movie is directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, the visionary behind the acclaimed 2016 Kaiju film COLOSSAL. (Photo by: Richard Foreman, Jr. SMPSP/Hulu) /

Additional nod to Into The Dark: Pooka towards the back half of Pilgrim?

Towards the episode’s end, the Pilgrim re-enactors have Anna and the rest of her family at their mercy. They’ve built a torture device for dunking Joey and a small shed for what we assume holds lots more barbaric tools. The shed is worth pointing out because of the visual effect used to emphasize the scene’s ominous backdrop.

A red glow emanating from behind the shed door can be seen in the background but the structure never seems to play a role in the debacle. Mind you, the red glow looked awfully similar to an effect used in several scenes from Pooka. This could turn out to be a mere coincidence, but after seeing the Pooka doll on Tate’s shelf, my money is on the shed being another Easter egg.

Additionally, the presence of an item from Pooka appearing in Pilgrim suggests that the various tales happen in a shared universe. If that’s the case, we could see some exciting crossovers in the near future. For all we know, seasons 1 and 2 are setting the groundwork for more tangible connections to be made in season 3. That is assuming Hulu renews Into The Dark for additional episodes.

Did you catch any other Easter Eggs in this month’s Into The Dark episode? Let us know in the comments.

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