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Wayward Pines: A Reckoning

"Is this really what you want?"

A penultimate episode, in which a lot of penultimate-y things happened.

Ethan did so many clever things in this episode. Shooting out the tires to crush the Abbie under the dump truck. Fooling Pilcher into thinking he was on board now and ready to 'reckon' Kate. Making sure he had the undivided attention of pretty much the entire populace before telling them all the truth about Wayward Pines, live, so that Pilcher couldn't stop it. And even having Kate's people in the audience to back him up with the evidence, giving us a little "I am Spartacus"-like moment.

Pilcher's response was homicidal. He turned off the power, which will let the Abbies in for an all-you-can-eat buffet. He's going to sacrifice the current inhabitants of the town and, I assume, start over with Group C? Pretty darn cold, Pilcher. Clearly, this megalomaniac and petty dictator needs to go down.

I honestly didn't think Ethan would ever be able to 'reckon' anyone, so I knew something else was going to happen. And it was about time that we learned what was going on with Plot 33, which had a Lost-like ladder going down and a secret room with a whole lot of video journal evidence. We know now what happened to Ethan's boss, Adam Hassler. His video journal was dated September 4020, which is eight years ago Wayward Pines Time. He was in what was left of San Francisco (loved the visual of the Golden Gate Bridge half underwater). Is Adam still alive?

So you make the kids feel important, and they're going to start acting important. And unfortunately, homicidal. Where did Jason Higgins from class one of the Academy come from, though? He popped into the story and almost immediately broke into the jail with his little gang and committed mass murder of Kate's incarcerated resistance people, including her husband. A shocking scene because you don't think it's going to happen, you think someone, namely Ethan our hero, will stop it, but he doesn't. But I kept thinking, where did this guy come from? He wasn't in a previous episode. Don't you need to know a character a little better for something that extreme to work?

I was happy about them doing all three books in ten episodes, but now I'm starting to think maybe we're getting through too much too fast and the audience is getting a little cheated in order to get to this point. But this was still an exciting episode, and I'm looking forward to the finale. Anyone know if we're getting a second season?

Bits:

— The Wayward Pines Academy kids clapping in unison was slightly creepy. And Amy might die. Sad for Ben. Although she's a bit too much of a pod person for me.

— Speaking of pod people, absolutely loved Theresa slapping Megan Fisher, who is just the queen of the Wayward Pines pod people.

— Pam continued to be surprisingly sympathetic, and by now it's obvious that she's working against her brother. She knew that Ethan had told Theresa the truth, and that Theresa hadn't believed him, so she helped them both with that key card.

— I was surprised that Harold didn't get eaten. And surprised again that he didn't see the Abbies. And then I was sad that he was killed, and we're not getting any more Reed Diamond in this series.

— The sheriff's assistant Arlene was just awesome in this episode. She told the homicidal kids to skeee-daddle, and I really thought she was going to succeed in keeping them out, too. The sheriff's office might consider investing in doors that aren't glass.

— Kate said Jason bought a toy soldier from herself and Harold. This week's Most Obvious Symbolism.

Quotes:

Ethan: "Harold, if I want to kill somebody, I'm gonna shoot 'em. I'm not gonna eat 'em."

Ben: "I'm sorry that my dad failed this town."
Et tu, Ben?

Kate: "Someone's going to kill me. I'd rather it be you."

Three out of four toy soldiers,

Billie
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Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

14 comments:

  1. There won't be a second season apparently:

    http://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/wayward-pines-no-season-two-for-fox-tv-show-27485/
    http://seriable.com/wayward-pines-cancelled-by-fox-after-one-season/

    I haven't watched yet though. Is it worth it?

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  2. Thanks, Kanye.

    I've been enjoying it as a nice summer diversion and the ratings have been good, which is why I've assumed we'd get a second season. But I'm not sure if I can wholeheartedly recommend it to everyone. Especially since we don't seem to be getting a lot of comments from our readers.

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  3. Thanks! I actually am looking for a short summer diversion, so that might do it. Although, reading the first paragraph of your first review, plus perusing this one and seeing the characters' names are 'Kate', 'Ben' and 'Ethan', hmmm... seriously M Night Shyamalan?

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  4. Kayne, and sorry for misspelling your name in the last comment, I just spent a few minutes thinking about it. The reason I kept reading the unsatisfying book series, and no spoilers here (although if you've been reading my WP reviews, there isn't much more in the way of spoiling I can do), is that I found the *idea* of Wayward Pines interesting. I think the series has treated the story better than the original books did, and I was looking forward to the possibility of a second season in which they would use the Wayward Pines universe as a jumping off point. Oh, well.

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  5. My husband and I are watching this show and quite enjoying it. The 1st episode was so so but it has gradually improved and gives you enough each week to come back for more. We live in Australia and it is winter here, and we are rapidly running out of anything decent to watch, so this has filled a gap. It has certainly improved as its gone on, and you find out what is actually going on in the town. It has been enjoyable to watch but doesn't stand up to too close an analysis. Looking forward with interest to the final episode. Will Ethan save the town?????

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  6. I am actually enjoying the series. I haven't read the books (mainly because I didn't know about them), but I think each episode is a little bit better. I really liked how things are going, and I believe they won't be able to save the town, however, I need to comment: David Pilcher is a freaking psychotic person. I actually believe he may have let the abbies in on the first lot of survivors too.

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  7. Leila, I was thinking that, too (about Pilcher deliberately letting the Abbies in to kill Group A). Because everyone just killing themselves makes no sense. Some might, but certainly not all.

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  8. I'm sorry, but every episode I see of this show just gets me more infuriated. Pilcher, a psychiatrist, seems to have NO knowledge of the mental and emotional state of the human kind. Lying, and not telling the truth, is IMO always lethal. And telling the teenagers, and not the grown-ups, is outright psychological abuse. That makes the poor teenagers feel the need to take care of their parents and make grown up desicions (which they are not mature enough to do). So...of course...we get a teenager murdering the prisoners.
    For me that is lazy and outright insulting writing, I guess the books were not that great, and the show producers didn't bother to correct the psychological errors.

    I feel frustrated, because I love sci-fi shows, and this wasn't it for me. I get irritated when shows are based on lies, or, not telling the whole truth, something I find a lot of these days in American shows. Is this an American thing?, I wonder...
    I don't know...I, myself, an American, who moved to Europe when I was 10, have kinda lost my American background (and my English sucks these days). But I am seriously wondering. Just saw the latest ep of Teen Wolf, a show I really like, but the whole ep was about not telling the truth (or what you know)...sigh. Can anyone explain this to me? Is this an American thing...or is it just lazy writers trying to make more suspense?

    I'm glad Wayward Pines won't get another season. I will watch the conclusion next week, and I will be relieved that this show will probably be completely forgotten in a year or two.

    To tie in with previous comments, I'd say:
    I certainly not recommend Wayward Pines. I've been watching other summer shows that are so-so or OK-ish, or rather good. So I would recommend instead - Sense8, Tyrant, Stitchers, Mr Robot, Dominion, Killjoys, Dark Matter, The Whispers, and if you can get it - the fabulous show Humans.

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  9. FWIW, I like Dark Matter a lot, and Mr. Robot is very clever although I don't think it's for me. Sense8's pilot put me to sleep, and Killjoys just turned me off so I didn't try a second episode.

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  10. Fascinating. I just love that's there's so much diversity out there right now to suit all tastes, even within "genre" fare! I haven't been watching Wayward Pines at all (not my usual jam), and I'm having nearly the opposite reaction to all the shows you just mentioned, Billie. :) Dark Matter is currently our least favorite of the Sci-Fi Friday lot --- though we like it enough to keep watching --- and we immediately took to Killjoys after the pilot. (I generally find the Killjoys characters and their dynamics more engaging than the blank slates on Dark Matter.) For the moment, I'm seriously loving the insanity and unreliable narrator paranoia of Mr. Robot, and I ended up mainlining Sense8 after watching the pilot. (I was going to give it a pass, but then decided to go ahead and try it, and it wasn't what I expected all at from the initial reviews. I found myself getting quite attached to the characters and completely sucked into their adventures. Binge pacing was probably a plus on that front.) We're also digging Humans. Really unsettling, but not too heavy.

    Overall, it's pretty awesome that there are so many SF/F/H options on the "dial" this summer!

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  11. I've watched the first 6 eps of WP and I'm entertained so far. Not many new ideas - if not nil - but being 10 eps only, it's fine with me.

    Might I suggest The Passage by Justin Cronin and Silo by Hugh Howey as readings that probably 10000000x better than the WP books (which I haven't read, but the reviews aren't too favorable...). You probably read those thoough.

    I think it's silly to watch Humans, when you have the real deal in Real Humans (Äkta människor). Just get a blu-ray/dvd!

    And I still think you should watch Utopia Billie :)

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  12. I think it's silly to watch Humans, when you have the real deal in Real Humans (Äkta människor). Just get a blu-ray/dvd!

    But we only have a one-DVD-at-a-time plan, and right now we're using that to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender! :) And, sadly, my library does not appear to carry Real Humans. So I, for one, am happy to have a chance to view the English-language remake as part of my weekly sci-fi diet.

    Remakes (if decently done) can be a great way to get greater exposure for a good story, especially when you are doing it in a different language. I really enjoyed the first season of the French series The Returned, but I'm cool with anyone that enjoyed the English-language remake which aired on USA. Subtitles aren't for everyone, and if the remake gave more people a chance to experience and enjoy the story, I'm all for it. (Even if it apparently wasn't enough people to get the English version a second season.)

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  13. Minor edit: the English-language version of The Returned aired on A&E, not USA. Erg. I know it really doesn't matter to the overall discussion, but I hate when I make those errors. Oh for an edit function!

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  14. Jess: completely understand your points about remakes, but I would also like to speak up for Akta Manniskor, which is one of the best SF series I've ever seen, period. For anybody who is able to see it, I couldn't recommend it more.

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