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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