 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
  |
This article's content is marked as Mature The page contains mature content that may include coarse language, sexual references, and/or graphic violent images which may be disturbing to some. Mature pages are recommended for those who are 18 years of age and older. If you are 18 years or older or are comfortable with graphic material, you are free to view this page. Otherwise, you should close this page and view another page. |
| “ | Whatcha gon' do? | „ |
| ~ Da Tap Dance Man's catchphrase. |
Da Tap Dance Man is the secondary antagonist of Covenant, the first season of the 2021 Amazon Prime horror anthology Them. He is a supernatural entity that appears to Henry Emory and encourages him to give into his rage and commit acts of violence.
He was portrayed by Jeremiah Birkett, who also portrayed Lee Garner in Lucifer and Bluebell in The 10th Kingdom.
Biography[]
Da Tap Dance Man's backstory is very ambiguous, but it can be assumed that, at some point, he made a deal with the devil to be immortal, so long as he assists The Black Hat Man in tormenting all Black people who move into the cursed Eidôlon grounds until they become insane. He preys on his victims' insecurity that white people view them as a "tap dancer" (sellout) at best, and a violent criminal at worst. To embody the caricature, he appears as a Black man wearing blackface in an old-timey tap dance performer's suit with disturbingly large pupils and missing several fingers, although it's later revealed that he's actually a white man wearing two layers of blackface.
Da Tap Dance Man claims to have been an enslaved African, who got his fingers sliced off as punishment for stealing peaches after a long day of forced labor, and has vengefully advocated for violence against white people ever since, although because he appears to be a white man in two layers of blackface, the veracity of this backstory is unknown.
When the African-American Emory family moves into the newly desegregated East Compton, California, which is revealed to be built on top of Eidôlon, Da Tap Dance Man appears to the family patriarch Henry Emory, stalking him at work and making scary faces at him from his home television screen. He later appears in person, sitting next to Henry on the couch and provokes his anger by reminding him of his white manager's condescending and unfair treatment of Henry, even though Henry is smarter and more competent them him.
Da Tap Dance Man continues provoking Henry by mockingly singing "whatcha gon' do?" until Henry arms himself with a gun and breaks into his manager Stu's home intending to shoot him. Henry is unable to shoot Stu because he isn't home, but is interrupted by Stu's racist neighbor, whom Henry knocks unconscious, much to the joy of Da Tap Dance Man. The two later hang out at a diner where Da Tap Dance Man eggs him on further; it becomes clear that white people are unable to see Da Tap Dance Man, and think that Henry is talking and laughing to himself.
When the Emory family's bigoted neighbor Betty Wendell, who has led a racist harassment campaign against the Emory family goes missing, the corrupt police sergeant Bull Wheatley pulls over Henry, who is still brainwashed by Da Tap Dance Man. When Wheatley begins asking questions about Henry's wife Lucky, and implying she may have had something to do with Betty's disappearance, Henry shoots Bull to death, which greatly amuses Da Tap Dance Man.
Da Tap Dance Man reappears when the Marty Dixon and Earl break into the Emory household and hold Henry as well as his two daughters captive. Marty interrogates Henry, convinced that he had something to do with Betty's kidnapping, and torture him for information. The torture escalates to Marty cutting off one of Henry's fingers, with Da Tap Dance Man sitting behind Marty laughing mockingly and showing his own mutilated hand. Marty and Earl attempt to hang Henry, but Ruby kills Earl with an axe, freeing Henry, who chases Marty outside and beats him as the other neighbors gather around.
Marty's wife pregnant wife Nat appears and calls Henry racial slurs, and Da Tap Dance Man appears behind her and attempts to goad Henry into shooting her pregnant belly, but Ruby and Grace snap him out of his trance before he can do it, and Henry runs into his house.
Da Tap Dance Man has a final confrontation with Henry in which he tortures Henry by forcing him to watch his late son Chester be murdered by a cruel old woman, and attempts to convince him to kill his neighbors. Lucky returns home and wakes him up, after which it is revealed that Da Tap Dance Man was sitting across from them, and attempts to brainwash Lucky and Henry into giving into their rage, but Henry instead decides he's above solving his problems with violence and shoots Da Tap Dance Man in his head, killing him. He then wipes the body's face, revealing a white man underneath, presumably symbolizing that the racial stereotypes that he represents is not of his making, but a product of racism.
In the stinger of the Season 2 finale, Da Tap Dance Man is revealed to have been revived through unknown means and returns to harass Dawn Reeve.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Covenant The Scare | ||