NOS4A2 returns this Sunday at 10/9c on AMC and BBC America. Based on the best-selling novel by Joe Hill, the series follows Vic McQueen (Ashleigh Cummings), a teenager from New England that uses art to escape from the realities of her broken home, and Charlie Manx (Zachary Quinto), a different kind of vampire who lives off the innocence and energy he steals from children. Vic and Manx's worlds collide in a fiery spectacle that robs them of everything they held dear.

The world of NOS4A2 is rich with lore and mystique. What's an inscape? A strong creative? A knife? Is Christmasland real? Where did we leave off at the end of Season 1? Read the below and refresh your memory before Season 2 returns this Sunday:

What Is a Strong Creative?

In Season 1, New England teenager Vic McQueen learns that she is a "Strong Creative": someone who can toe the line between the real world as we know it, and the "world of thought," which exists on the outskirts of reality in the imagination. Strong Creatives can access the "world of thought" with a significant object or totem, called a "knife" because it allows the user to cut through the fabric of reality to enter the world of thought. Each strong creative has their own special place in the world of thought, called an "inscape." When they access their inscape, it grants them a special power. For Vic, her inscape is the Shorter Way Bridge, and when she rides her beloved, run-down old dirt bike (her "knife") across it, it allows her to find lost things.

Watch Vic Use the Shorter Way Bridge for the First Time Here:

What Is Christmasland?

According to the immortal vampire, Charlie Manx, Christmasland is a place of magic and joy, where it's Christmas every day and unhappiness is against the law. In reality, Christmasland is Charlie Manx's inscape. When he uses his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith (his knife, which also bears the license plate NOS4A2) to bring a child to Christmasland, he sucks out their energy and innocence during the car ride to the gates of Christmasland — which in turn, allows him to live forever. Unfortunately for the kids, it leaves them as bloodthirsty, demon-like husks of their former selves, and they are locked in Christmasland forever. Charlie Manx can continue to heal all of his wounds and de-age himself, as long as he keeps bringing children to Christmasland.

Who are the Cast of NOS4A2?

In addition to the artistic, young Vic and sinister vampire Charlie Manx, NOS4A2 features a rich cast of characters. When Vic first starts using her Shorter Way Bridge, it brings her to Maggie (Jahkara Smith), another strong creative. Maggie's power is that she can ask any question, reach into her scrabble bag and try to assemble the answer. Maggie has been tracking the mysterious disappearances of children for a long time before she meets Vic, and she has her suspicions that another strong creative is involved. When a young friend of Vic's goes missing, Vic and Maggie team up to try to take down Manx.

 

A loner by nature, Vic only has two other friends: her childhood best friend, Craig, who loves Vic more than anything, and Bing Partridge (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson), a janitor at the school with whom Vic shares comics. However, Bing has sinister secrets of his own, which leads him to the side of Charlie Manx.

What Happened at the End of Season 1?

Charlie Manx kidnaps Craig (Dalton Harrod), Vic's best friend and new love, and endeavors to let the children of Christmasland feast on him. Vic uses the Shorter Way Bridge to travel to Colorado to save him — but it's a trap. Charlie gets the upper hand over Vic by throwing her dirt bike inside of the Shorter Way Bridge so that it's lost forever.

After being nearly burned alive inside of Manx's house, Vic escapes and teams up with local biker, Lou Carmody (Jonathan Langdon), to track down Manx and save Craig. At a gas station, Vic douses Manx's Wraith in gasoline and sets it alight. With his soul tied to the car, Manx immediately de-ages into his true age, over a hundred years old, and falls into a coma. Unfortunately, Vic loses something important as well: Craig is unable to escape the power of the Wraith and he dies in the fire.

Watch the Season 1 Showdown Between Vic and Manx here:

Where Did We Leave Our Characters?

At the end of Season 1, Vic has stopped Manx — for now. The vampire is lost in a coma, but Vic worries he will come back with a vengeance. She vows to stop him, no matter what — especially now that she's pregnant with her and Craig's child. She stays in Colorado with Lou Carmody, the stranger who risked everything to stand by her, and promises a better future for her child.

But Bing is on the hunt for the Wraith. How long will it take him to restore Manx's soul?

NOS4A2 returns this Sunday at 10/9c. Watch a sneak peek scene from the Season 2 Premiere here.

The cast and creators tease what's to come in this Look at Season 2. Then, catch up with our characters in this video of where we pick up with Vic, Maggie, Tabitha, Bing, and Manx eight years later.

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