The penultimate episode of Lovecraft Country‘s first season aired on Sunday and took Atticus (Jonathan Majors), Leti (Jurnee Smollett), and Montrose (Michael K. Williams) back in time to 1921 to retrieve the Book of Names during the Tulsa Race Massacre. During the episode, Leti finds herself in Tic’s mother’s family home, which we know was burned down during the riots. While searching for the Book of Names, she’s confronted by Tic’s great-grandmother, who ultimately gives the book to Leti once she realizes who she is. She accepts that she must die in order for Atticus and Leti’s unborn baby to live, and Leti (who is currently unable to be harmed) watches as her baby’s great-great-grandmother burns alive. Unfortunately for Smollett, things went wrong while filming this moment.
“Leti may be invulnerable but Jurnee is not…the fire got a little too close in the Leti / Hattie scene…started burning my arm… Finished the take first and ran off the set screaming. @mishatrillxxl made me go to the hospital to have it looked at #thepriceofart,” Smollett wrote. You can check out a photo of her in the hospital below:
This isn’t the first time Smollet has shared behind-the-scenes content. Last week, she posted some fun bloody photos from “Jig-A-Bobo.” Smollett isn’t the only cast member to show off some BTS. Jamie Chung, who plays Ji-Ah, a Kumiho spirit who absorbs the souls of men, also shared a photo from her first episode.
Recently, Lovecraft Country‘s showrunner, Misha Green, revealed how she pitched the series to HBO.
“H.P. Lovecraft wrote some of the most celebrated pulp horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and weird stories of the last century,” Green’s notes read. “You’ve probably read something by him, or seen something influenced by him (anything by Guillermo del Toro). He even has an entire subsection of the genre named after him. Google ‘Lovecraftian horror’ and you’ll be scrolling for days.”
Lovecraft Country airs Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.