Thanks to some new tech, I can finally use my Hulu account again. As such, I can dive back into "Castle Rock". While it has been some time since I watched season one, the fact that this is an anthology series means that we're given a new arc with a new cast of characters.
One of the main characters is none other than Annie Wilkes. Lizzy Caplan plays a younger version of the character here and she does a very good job of it. There are shades of Kathy Bates' iconic take, but she is also able to put her own mark on it. This is helped by the writing, which gives her a more layered and sympathetic motivation.
She's still a dangerous psychotic, and while she is a fugitive, she keeps a low profile and manages to keep her issues at bay by pilfering anti-psychotics from various hospitals where she works as a temp nurse.
Her main reason for doing this is her daughter, Joy. It turns out that Annie is a quite good, albeit unconventional, mother. She has her daughter's best interests at heart and genuinely does everything she can to give the girl a good life.
As a result, they are the best part of the episode. Seeing secluded Joy find a group of friends was nice to see. Annie herself also gets some of the episode's highlights. The scene when she comes clean after getting caught stealing meds was really quite heartwarming. Credit where it's due, though, the doctor empathizing with her and agreeing to work with her to get her the medicine she needs helped seal the deal.
Annie gets another highlight when she is confronted by Ace Merrill (yeah, this season seems to have much stronger ties to the King-verse than the first season.) I don't want to spoil it, but it's freaking awesome.
The whole mall/Merrill family rivalry wasn't the most compelling stuff, but it does play a pretty important role in the plot.
The episode is also more grounded than the first season. There isn't that foreboding atmosphere and the episode is very light on supernatural elements. There's talk of witches and satanists being a part of the town's history (this season appears to take place in Salem's Lot as opposed to Castle Rock itself) but that seems more like background information. While we're on the topic, it is a little peculiar that the show relocated, but it is an iconic King town and it still has the dark and troubled past, so it's not that much of a deviation. This also puts some distance between the two story arcs so that you're not constantly wondering where various season 1 characters are.
Seeing as the episode needs to set up the key players, the lack of horror elements makes sense. In Annie's and Joy's cases, it worked to the episode's favor.
This was a solid opening. The cast is strong and it was well paced. It does seem like a lot was wrapped up. On the one hand, that's a good thing, but at the same time, I'm not sure where the plot can go. I guess I'll just have to watch and find out.
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