'Castle Rock' Episode 10: 'Romans'

At long last we reach the end of Castle Rock's first season.  It's been an interesting ride, to say the least?  Does the conclusion follow through, or does it botch like many other shows and stories have before?

All in all, I think this was a satisfactory conclusion.  It tied up a lot of loose ends whilst also keeping the viewer engaged.  The performances are all top notch and there are some real highlights peppered throughout.

The scene between Ruth and Molly on the bridge is tense and unsettling, but also heartbreaking in its own way.  You can't help but feel bad for both characters and the situations that they're in.

I also rather enjoyed the conversation between the two Henry Deavers in the prison cell.  The two have shared scenes before, but with the recent reveal (and Henry himself learning about it) it puts their interaction into a completely different and very surreal light.

It seemed like the episode wasn't sure what to do with "the Kid".  After a whole episode of giving him a sympathetic backstory and a simple motivation (to get home, I guess all that monument talk was just posturing?) the episode actually throws out some hints that maybe he's lying.  He seems to have no qualms about using his abilities to trigger a slaughter as a way to help them escape (something even Henry Prime is mortified to see unfold) and there's a shot of him near the end as some sort of demon.  It could be Henry mentally coming up with a justification for what he does, but then again, maybe not.  In either case, you get why he does what he ends up doing. 

The downside to this series being noted as an anthology is that answers may not actually be given.  It seems like season 2 is moving on to a completely different story.  That could easily work, but hopefully the events and characters we've followed thus far aren't completely forgotten.  They worked rather well and it would be nice to continue following them as the show progressed.

I did find it surprising how the episode managed to tie up loose ends that seemed completely forgotten.  We see what happens to the new warden as well as Shawshank Prison itself.  I'm sure if the characters had been left unmentioned, some viewers would have sounded the alarm, but it was pretty jarring to see them jump back into the narrative at the last second.

As noted before, this was a solid resolution.  It wrapped things up about as neatly as one could expect.  There wasn't any sense of frustration as there have been with other finales.  The closest it came was with the time jump at the end.  It initially gives off a feeling of anti-climax, but there's no way to do the big reveal without it, so it was kind of necessary. 

While it's a shame that season 2 will likely be independent, I'm still looking forward to it.  I rather enjoyed this outing.  It's a shame that it took so long to get through.  Hopefully, I don't fall into that trap with season 2, but I always go in with that attitude and, well, here we are.  We'll see.

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'Castle Rock' Episode 9: 'Henry Deaver'

As the season comes to its penultimate episode, answers are given to many of the show's burning questions.  Unlike say, "Lost", this won't leave you screaming obscenities at the screen and calling out how lame it all felt.  This is actually quite well done.

First things first, the central focus of this story is "the Kid" and how he came to be.  Who is he? Where did he come from?  It turns out that he actually answered the question waaay back in the first episode.  He's Henry Deaver (if the episode's title didn't spoil that fact, the episode's recap of the plot so far will pretty much give it away.)  Now I had this spoiled by reading both TvTropes and Wikipedia.  I can't help but wonder if that reveal line would have packed more punch if I wasn't aware of it ahead of time.  Some twists still work, but this one didn't put a whole lot of emphasis on it, so maybe they weren't banking on that being such a mind-blower.

More specifically, he's the Henry Deaver of an alternate reality.  We see this through a flashback that accounts for most of the episode.  As with any alternate reality or timeline, there are differences to be sure, but the similarities were the more fascinating part.  Heck, even the way this episode plays out is very similar to how the show's story has unfolded over in the "Prime" universe.

Both involved someone deemed "the Kid" (this time, it's young Henry of our world, explaining what happened when he went missing as a child) who was trapped in a cage for years as a result of being thought a devil and was only discovered after their captor killed themselves.  Juniper Hill burns down both times and it seems the woods and the Schisma still play a role in things.  It's trippy and intriguing just how much these two universes mirror each other on so many levels.

On other fronts, it was nice to see Skarsgard actually get a chance to converse and show emotions.  Here we see him happy, well adjusted, and easy going.  He's married and is even planning on building a family.  It's a stark contrast to what we've seen in earlier episodes.  Hopefully we'll see more of that in the next episode.

Speaking of, there are still a few questions to be answered, leaving viewers some incentive to tune in for the finale.  Still, this did provide a lot of information and did it in an engaging way.  It managed to cram a lot into just one hour and that's not easy.  This easily could have come off as clunky or out of left field, but instead, it worked very well.  It's definitely a highlight for the season as a whole in my opinion.  Maybe not as good as "The Queen", but still pretty impressive in its own right.  The finale has quite a bit of momentum built up, hopefully it can follow through.

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'Elevation' by Stephen King Novella Review

Contrary to what the cover of the book will tell you, this is not a novel.  Many a review on Amazon have pointed this out, and it's pretty obvious when you see the book yourself, but it still seems worth noting.  The book is only 150 pages and it's not even that large.  This is a novella that's being billed otherwise for reasons beyond my understanding.

Having some light, fast reading material does have its perks.  If you're a going on a decent length drive or flight, this will help pass the time.  I think the sticking point is the price.  $20 for the hardcover is pretty ridiculous.  Buying a used copy or getting it via e-book or Audible helps mitigate this to a certain extent, but it is something to take into consideration.

With that said, the story itself is...OK.  This was like a watered down version of "Thinner".  The main character is losing mass, but there's no explanation like there was with the aforementioned work.  There are some other tweaks so that it isn't a complete rehash, but it's hard to avoid the similarity.

Oddly enough, it's something of an afterthought.  No explanation is ever given and the main character doesn't really take pains to address it.  It undermines the tension, though it does give the book a way to stand apart from "Thinner".

The plot synopsis had me worried.  I was expecting the same heavy-handed political "commentary" that weakened "Insomnia".  Some reviewers have cited the book as heavy handed and preachy, but it's not nearly as bad in my opinion.  There's one scene where the main character picks a fight with a straw conservative, but that's about it. 

I think the biggest weakness here is the characters themselves.  Scott, the main character, and his doctor are the only two who feel like real people.  Dierdre is bizarrely antagonistic to the point where it doesn't seem natural.  It also undercuts any sympathy I might have for her plight.  Maybe her business is tanking because she's a terrible host? Just a thought.  She falls into that same trap as Hogarth has in Jessica Jones' second season where the character is incredibly unlikable to the point where it's a legitimate detriment.

Even her partner, Missy, doesn't come off much better.  She's a lot nicer, but her meekness gets taken to such an extreme that it doesn't feel natural.

On the flip side, the book isn't without poignancy.  When grudges are settled, the story focuses on Scott basically saying his goodbyes and getting his affairs in order.  It actually does manage to tug on the heartstrings rather effectively.

The ending itself may undercut this for some.  You could view it as symbolic and deep or just silly.  You might even see it as some weird mix of the two. 

This will pass the time well enough.  If you have a reading goal and you're behind schedule because you're busy as hell, this will help you close the gap.  I wouldn't call this a must-read by any stretch, but if you can nab a cheap copy or find one at a library, you could do a lot worse. 

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'Castle Rock' Episode 8: 'Past Perfect'

The last episode saw the Hulu series soar to new heights.  Can the follow up keep the momentum going? Let's find out.

So, remember that couple of prospective home buyers that Molly met a few episodes back?  They make a return.  It seems that, rather than retreat from the town's dark history, they decide to turn into the skid, as it were, and use Lacy's house as a gimmicky murder themed bed and breakfast.  Even Jackie notes that she had considered the idea, but never ran with it, and commends them for doing so.

At first, I thought it was weird to give such bit characters the spotlight, but they don't eat up too much of the episode's time and they serve their roles well enough.

With only two episodes remaining, this episode starts tying threads together.  You can sense that things are coming to a head and it works really well.  Hints are dropped here and there that are likely to pay off as we reach the season's end.

The Kid's continued cryptic dialogue can get frustrating.  It seems like he's abandoned his aforementioned desire to pay back wrongs done to him, but if he's trying to present a more benevolent side, he might want to consider not lurking around and being his usual creepy self.  It's fun to watch from the viewer's stand point, and Skarsgard is great as usual, but how he acts doesn't really mesh with his apparent newfound desire to get people to trust him.

It is also odd how quickly Henry finds himself in another dire situation.  After being held captive, he finds himself being threatened by the aforementioned family.  Granted, he stumbled into this, where the prior had him being lured out specifically, but having them back to back makes it more comical than it needed to be.  Thank God "The Queen" was there to act as something of a buffer.  Could you imagine if the plot had just ignored that and had Henry go from one group of hostile weirdos to the next?

Speaking of "The Queen", there is little mention of Alan's death.  You'd think the episode would spend more time on that, but he only gets a couple of lines worth of mention. The most notable instance is when Ruth tells Henry to get him in order to help clear up her legal troubles.  It stings, but considering the previous episode ended with her reuniting with him on their doorstep, you can't blame her for thinking he's still alive...Of course, her joy at seeing him alive was largely fueled by his recent death, so it's still arguable whether or not that makes any sense.

The show's atmosphere continues to be one of its strongest attributes.  The episode is very well shot, the lighting is effective, and the music helps add to it all.  You can almost feel yourself leaning forward as things start to ramp up.  The fact that this kicks into high gear in the show's final scenes makes it very binge-friendly. 

While it doesn't hit the heights of its predecessor, this episode still managed to be very engaging in its own right.  I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how things wrap up in the next two episodes.

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