How Jurnee Smollett’s Leti Lewis Became Lovecraft Country’s Biggest Hero

Jurnee Smollett’s character on Lovecraft Country, Leticia ‘Leti’ Lewis established herself as the show’s biggest hero to date in season 1, episode 3, “Holy Ghost”, which is a title she’s certainly earned. Ever since the series premiere, “Sundown”, she fearlessly pushed herself against societal expectations, defied cultural traditions, and made it known that her independence and autonomy was something she’d never diminish for anyone’s convenience.

One of the three main protagonists established in “Sundown” alongside her childhood friend Atticus (Jonathan Majors) and his uncle, George (Courtney B. Vance), Leti wasn’t afraid to set off on a trek across the country in the Jim Crow South on a rescue mission to save Atticus’s father, Montrose (Michael K. Williams). Even when they encountered both real and (presumed) fictional monsters through run-ins with racism and the Lovecraftian monsters known as Shoggoths, Leti didn’t flinch in her tenacious, vibrantly wild spirit that is known to come in handy in a tough situation. Really, Atticus and George both owe her their lives, as she drove their getaway car away from men with guns who were trying to run them out of town, and again when she managed to get them out of the situation with Shoggoths in the woods, which escalated into horrific, bloody conflict.

Leti’s shining moment came during the events depicted in “Holy Ghost”, where she purchased a house in an all-white neighborhood with the intention of using it as a boarding house for members of her community who needed a safe place to land. While Leti’s full backstory still has some mystery, she clearly comes from nothing and is a self-made woman; it was revealed at the end of “Holy Ghost” that Christina Braithwhite (Abbey Lee), who is associated with the dangerous Sons of Adam gave her the means to purchase the home, but the ambition and determination to stay against adversity was all Leti. Beyond that, the character rejects the position of women from her time, and sets herself apart from other final girls in horror movies and stereotypes of Black women in media.

Leti Proves Her Independence & Autonomy In Episode 3

After Leti’s new white neighbors line their cars up outside of her home and tie bricks to the horns, causing them to blare constantly, Leti takes matters into her own hands. She doesn’t turn to Tic or any other man for assistance. She instead takes matters—and a baseball bat—upon herself, smashes up the cars, and removes the bricks without a second thought. It’s her home, and she’s clearly keen on protecting it.

Not only was this a great moment for the show, but it was a moment that allowed Leti to establish herself to her own community and the one that would have her ousted by force, if necessary. It also shows that she doesn’t need a man to protect her, which is an oft-established trope for women in general, not just Black women, in media. While Tic and Leti are clearly playing at some level of romantic entanglement on Lovecraft Country, she isn’t relegated to “the love interest”, nor does she lean on him in difficult moments.

Later in the episode, she ends up asking for a medium to assist her in exorcising the disgruntled spirits in her home. It’s not only haunted by the restless spirits of Black people who were murdered by a white doctor, who previously owned the home, but by the doctor himself. Clearly, he’s not happy with a Black woman having purchased his home, either. The medium and Tic are both sidelined during the exorcism, but Leti steps in and—again—saves the day. She brings closure to the spirits, banishes the doctor, and it’s possible that her brush with death in episode 2, “Whitey’s On The Moon”, might have given her some kind of additional powers.

The beginning of Lovecraft Country season 1 made mention to Tic’s mysterious lineage, which led to the Sons of Adam, an exclusive, all-male order that is supposedly his birthright. Tic showed some power in “Whitey’s On The Moon” by bringing down the Sons’ lodge in Ardham, but he’s clearly not alone. Leti might have been shot and killed (then resurrected) by Samuel Braithwhite (Tony Goldwyn), but not even death can stop her.

Why A Black Female Protagonist Is So Important

The depiction of Black women in media has been scrutinized, and rightfully so, for years. Often depicted using stereotypes like the best friend, the sassy sidekick, or otherwise commodified rather than being given the spotlight (except in niche markets), Leti shows how it’s not difficult to make a complete, fully-realized character who is also a Black woman. Played brilliantly by Smollett, the character stands on her own and holds her own with the men, who are also commodified by the media for other reasons and do subvert this in Lovecraft Country as well. Showrunner Misha Green has her finger on the pulse of what people need to see, why diversity on television and in film is so important, and she and her cast clearly understand the importance of visibility because they’ve lived it.

Drawing from the aftermath of major events like the tragic passing of Black Panther‘s Chadwick Boseman, it’s clear that Black heroes are important to bring voices to the ongoing discussion that aren’t always offered a seat at the table. Not only are Black voices often lost in the shuffle instead of being put front and center, but also women of color are particularly absent. It’s here that Leti Lewis does the most good; she gives young women a role model for numerous reasons, and she also happens to be Black.

Leti’s Character Defies Cultural & Social Norms Of The Time

Often, when people think of the 1950s, when Lovecraft Country is set, they think of women being the housewives, caring for their family, being secondary to their husbands. It very much is like Pleasantville and other movies and TV shows that are either set in or directly from that era are the guiding force of what to expect from women in that time period—that’s the stereotype. Also, it was actually the case for many white women, but not so much for Black women. There was still existing misogyny and inequality regardless of community, but Black women, historically, often were at the forefront of major social movements in Black history. During the Civil Rights movements, many of its most prominent leaders—such as Rosa Parks, who started the Alabama Bus Boycotts—were women.

Really, Leti defies these norms for white characters, too. Since that’s the norm people see on television, especially in a romantic context, it seems foreign. Romantically speaking, she differs from women of the era in that after she and Tic have a brief, sexual encounter in a bathroom—where he takes her virginity—she not only doesn’t tell him and passes it off as her period having arrived early, but when she does disclose it to him later, she doesn’t act like it’s any real inconvenience. Traditionally, an event like this—especially given the time period—would be a prime opportunity for a character to dwell on the event and allow it to bring them into a deep, depressive spiral or see it become the catalyst to relentlessly pursue their love interest, for better or worse.

While Leti and Tic seem to have feelings for each other, there’s no sense of urgency. She’s got other things to focus on: a life, a boarding house, family troubles, and aspects of her personality that aren’t defined by her love interest. That’s part of what makes Lovecraft Country and Leti both so special—they force the audience to expect the unexpected, and are equally poised to make a real difference.

About The Author

Jack Wilhelmi
(581 Articles Published)

Jack Wilhelmi is the horror features editor at Screen Rant, and has been with the site since 2019. He is a lifelong fan of the horror genre, and loves any excuse to discuss genre-related topics, since none of his friends dare challenge him in horror trivia. He has been published on the independent horror blog Morbidly Beautiful, and has covered major genre film festivals such as Cinepocalypse in Chicago. He has also served as a judge for the Ax Wound Film Festival.

In his free time, he is a devoted dog dad to a high-spirited rescue pup named Peter Quill and enjoys volunteering with various animal rescue organizations. Jack likes to travel and explore dark tourism-related and other various haunted locations. He enjoys studying psychology, the paranormal, and will watch literally any schlocky B-movie on the planet for a laugh.

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