This episode doesn't quite capture the magic of its predecessor, but it does offer up some solid character development. There isn't much in the way of plot progression, but it does seem like things are starting to move forward.
We appear to get an answer to the question of who killed Henry's dad. On the one hand, wrapping that up to move on to other plot points would make sense. On the other, the way they did it was too easy. This seems like something that should be a major wham moment and the reveal didn't do that.
The opening scene of child-Molly pulling out the father's respirator is a chilling one. I got flashbacks to that scene in "Breaking Bad" when Walt let Jane die, but it's undermined by the quickness of the reveal. More than that, I don't buy it. The way Molly's ability works, I could easily see this being a fake out. She sees and feels what others do, so I wouldn't be surprised if this was just her seeing herself in the killer's shoes. If nothing else, she seems to think she did it, so there's some emotional drama there, but I still feel like something else is going on.
The episode does benefit from a strong performance by Melanie Lynskey. It allows us to connect to and empathize with the character, even with her quirks, supernatural ability, and emotional issues. Had the episode been devoid of that, this would have felt like a waste of time.
Oddly enough, there are times when the show's horror element seems to get in the way. That "trial" scene when Molly is trying to score some drugs comes out of nowhere and has no real bearing on the plot. It's somewhat unnerving, but it also feels like "weirdness for weirdness' sake". I know the town is supposed to be off, but it felt out of place. If nothing else, they should have built up to it better because it's jarring. The fact that nothing much is really said of it after only makes it worse.
Once again, Skarsgard leaves a hell of an impression. It's amazing how he's able to do so much with so little. He only has a handful of lines, but his scene with Henry near the end of the episode manages to be one of the episode's highlights and acts as a potential omen of things to come.
All in all, this was another impressive showing. It wasn't quite as captivating as its predecessor, but what it did, it did well. From what I've read, the show only gets better. Considering how good the show has been thus far, I can't wait to see what happens as we move further into the season.
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