Friday, June 12, 2015

Wayward Pines, Season One, Episode Three: Our Town, Our Law


Beverley's body continues to hang on display and a child places a flower next to her body, as Beverley's body releases her urine. Pope gives a speech about how fortunate the citizens are because they protect each other, even sometimes from each other, in order to avoid their way of life being endangered.  Pope then admits that being sheriff is difficult but having the support and trust of the people gathered there tonight, is what keeps him going. Pope encourages the citizens to recite the rules of the town. Pope and the citizens start to chant, "work hard, be happy, enjoy your life in Wayward Pines." Pam has her true believer face on and chants along with everyone else.

While Pope has been holding court, Ethan has been trying to make his way out of town.  The search continues for Ethan.

Kate and Harold are back home and she heads into the kitchen to make a cup of tea, to help with what they're feeling.  Kate soon realizes that she is not alone in the kitchen.  Ethan tells Kate that he fell in love with her because she is fearless and strong but adds that what he saw tonight is evil.  Ethan however is certain that Kate isn't evil.  Kate offers Ethan a cup of tea which he refuses and instead asks her to come with him.  Kate simply says that Beverley was reckoned because she broke the rules. Ethan calls what happened to Beverley murder and adds that Kate sat there and watched.  When the kettle goes off, Kate whispers to Ethan that they didn't turn him in, only Beverley.  Unfortunately, Burke told everyone that Kate did turn them in as a warning because they are supposed to police their neighbours. Kate acknowledges that there's blood on her hands but warns Ethan that there are no second chances in Wayward Pines and he got one.  Kate hands Ethan his tracking chip and warns him to hold onto it, so that they won't know he took it out.  Kate's phone starts to ring and Ethan asks if she is going to answer but Kate is certain that the call is not for her.  Ethan again asks Kate to come with him but she simply warns Ethan that he will never make it out of Wayward Pines alive.

The next day, Ethan makes his way through the woods to the house where he found Bill's body.  Ethan marches inside and this time he finds Beverley hanging from the rafters.  Ethan takes her down and promises Beverley that he will find her daughter and tell her how much her mother loved her and how hard Beverley fought to get back to her.  Ethan covers up Beverley with a bit of lace.

Ben and Theresa have arrived in Boise.  Ben is incredulous that they are actually chasing after his father and wonders if driving 500 miles to find Ethan is futile.  Theresa says that it's strange that his father hasn't called but Ben suggests that Ethan is avoiding them.  Theresa makes it clear that what is going on between her and Ethan, is between her and Ethan and has nothing to do with Ben. Theresa finishes by asking Bill to never say Kate's name again, before getting out of the car.

Ethan has made his way to Beverley's old house.  When he walks inside, he finds it completely empty, with all traces of Beverley completely erased.  Peter McCall, the real estate agent in Wayward Pines, enters and Ethan is forced to hide. Peter tells the workers that they have a new family moving in today and that they should start upstairs.  When Peter sees Ethan, he whispers that Ethan is to remain silent.  Ethan takes the hint and heads outside, where he sees a delivery truck moving through the neighbourhood.  Ethan takes note of the license plate which says Wayward Pines, instead of a state.

Theresa speaks with a receptionist to try to find information on Ethan. Theresa explains her suspicion that Ethan is with Kate and immediately gains sympathy.  The receptionist agrees to check out if an informal inquiry has been stared on Ethan.  The moment the receptionist leaves her desk, Kate uses Ethan's ID to access the computer and uses Ben to stand guard.  Theresa learns that Ethan's last submitted receipt was at a gas station in small town Idaho.  Theresa and Ben decide to leave when they notice the receptionist on her way back to her desk.

Back at the Seattle Office, a member of the Secret Service calls someone in Wayward Pines and reports that Theresa used Ethan's ID to log into their files and might be making her way to Wayward Pines.

Ben and Theresa stop at the gas station to find out if anyone there has any memory of Ethan,.Theresa learns that he was with another guy and they both looked like they were going to a funeral.  A young boy pipes up that there was an accident near Wayward Pines.  Theresa thanks them for their help and leaves.  Theresa doesn't get far because she is pulled over by Pope.  On his way to Theresa's car, Pope leaves a trail of oil.  Pope informs Theresa that she has an oil leak and invites her to step out of the car to see for herself, ordering Ben to stay in the car.  Pope offers to tighten a valve so that Theresa doesn't breakdown.  Theresa is quick to say yes.  When Pope has the hood up, he snipes a wire which causes the car to leak some kind of fluid.   Theresa thanks Pope for his help and leaves with Ben.

Seizing an opportunity to escape, Ethan hops into the back of the truck when the driver leaves to make a delivery.  The truck doesn't travel far before stopping.  Ethan looks out the back window and when he doesn't see anything, he chooses to get out of the truck.  Ethan finds himself inside some sort of giant factory.  When an alarm of sorts goes off, Ethan takes off running and hides as he watches a cube van pull in. Ethan manages to find the car he was a passenger in when he got into the accident that led him to Wayward Pines.  Now we know where there is no DNA in the car that the Secret Service has.  Ethan finds a plastic bag with his name on it, holding his effects.  When the lights suddenly go out, Ethan hunkers down and tears into the bag and finds a picture of him and Theresa.  Suddenly, the window of the car he is sitting in is broken by Pope, who injects Ethan with something.  Ethan gets out of the car and a fight starts between him and Pope.  The sedative starts to take effect and Ethan tries to get away from Pope, with Pope laughing about there being nowhere to go. Finally, Ethan collapses to the ground, as Pope say that he doesn't know what they see in him.

Ethan awakes to a ringing phone.  When he answers it, Ethan is informed that his family was just discharged from the hospital.  Ethan asks where his family is but the woman hangs up the phone.  Ethan leaves the room to look for his family and learns that he is inside the hospital.  Ethan approaches Nurse Pam, and asks for Ben and Theresa, and is told that they are safe and sound at home.  Nurse Pam snarks that the house is free because the prior occupant had a sore throat.


Ethan makes his way to Beverley's old house and finds that it is now furnished and his family is waiting inside. The little family hugs and kisses relieved to be together.  Neither Theresa or Ben have any idea how they got to Wayward Pines but they do remember that the car had a car leak.  It seems that Peter picked Ben and Theresa up at the hospital and told them that this is where Ethan lives now. Peter enters the room and welcomes the Burke family home.

Ethan confronts Peter about the house belonging to Beverley but Peter says that the house is his now and like all of the houses in Wayward Pines, comes with a state of the art security system.  Peter looks up at the fire alarm and wishes Ethan good luck.  When Peter leaves, Ethan asks for a moment alone with Theresa, to tell her that Wayward Pines isn't safe.  Ethan asks to know what Theresa remembers and she talks about the car leaking oil and Pope pulling them over.  The phone starts to ring and when Teresa reaches for it, Ethan knocks it over, telling her not to answer any phones. Ethan says that he has to leave and asks Theresa to stay in the house with Ben, begging her to trust him on this.

Ben is sitting outside on the stoop, when the same kid who warned Ethan about trying to leave town rides by and welcomes him to Wayward Pines, using Ben's first and last name.  Ethan head outside and asks Ben to stay close to the house and take care of his mother.  Ben is not pleased that his father is leaving.

Ethan makes his way to the police station to warn Pope to stay away from his family and finds him talking to nurse Pam. Pam tells Ethan that they just want him to have a happy life in Wayward Pines. Ethan asks if this is why the town is surrounded by a massive electrical fence, why people aren't allowed to talk about the past and why they hold public executions.  Ethan brings up the last place he saw Pope and says that Wayward Pines is no ordinary town.  Pope tells Ethan to find his place and follow the rules, or he can keep searching and find what's behind door number three. Pope adds that the Burkes would be safer if they follow the rules. The phone rings and Pam answers it and then dismisses Pope.  Ethan asks who is on the phone and when he gets no answer, Ethan says that neither Pam or  Pope are in charge.

Ben wants to leave the house, so Theresa reminds him that Ethan wanted them to stay close to home. Ben asks what they are supposed to do because there is no wifi or television, and the phone's don't make any outgoing calls.  Ben asks how long they are going to be there and calls their situation house arrest.

Ethan is making his way through the town and runs into Jenkins, who tells Ethan that everyone is doing the best that they can.  Ethan walks off in frustration, as Jenkins follows, begging him to stop trying to leave because not many people in Wayward can say that they have their family with them like Ethan can. Jenkins argues that Wayward Pines needs someone like Ethan, someone good. Jenkins begs Ethan to stay but Ethan responds that he cannot because he doesn't live in Wayward Pines.  Ethan walks off leaving Jenkins behind.

Ethan walks past his newly acquired home and Ben sees him from a window.  Not content to stay inside any longer, Ben decides to follow his father.

Ethan meets with Kate in the woods and informs her that Theresa and Ben are there. Kate is shocked by this and asks if Theresa knows that she is there. When Ethan says no, Kate reminds him that Wayward Pines is a small town and that people talk.  What they don't know is that they were spotted by Ben.

Back in the home they have been assigned, Theresa goes to check on Ben and finds that he is gone. When Theresa rushes back downstairs, she finds Pope getting ice cream out of the freezer.  Pope questions if Theresa was told that he is helping Ethan with his case and asks if Ethan is home. Theresa lies and says that Ethan is upstairs sleeping.  Pope says that he is really there to see Theresa, to see how she is holding up after the accident.  Theresa excuses herself to find Ben for ice cream and Pope asks Theresa to thank him for saving her life.  Pope points out that Ethan has never thanked him,  despite receiving a lot of special treatment in Wayward Pines. Pope adds that he is out of patience with the Burks, causing Theresa to ask Pope to leave.  Pope casually fills up the bowl with more ice cream, saying that this is her house, as long as they remember that Wayward Pines is Pope's town.

Kate and Ethan make their way through the woods and Kate reveals that she thought Evans was dead because she didn't see him for a decade and then two years ago, she ran into him in the town coffee shop not having aged day.  Kate was stunned by both men, calling them a distant memory which came to life. Ethan points out that they were together five weeks ago but Kate replies that for her, it was a lot longer.  Kate says that it's been twelve years and she works in a toy store.  Kate admits that she has tried to figure it out, tried running, tried everything and that the only way to stay alive is to play along.

Ben reports back to his mother that he saw Ethan with Kate.

In the woods, Ethan asks about Felcher but is told by Kate that she has done this for years and cannot go down this road again. Ethan suggests that the Kate from five weeks ago wouldn't give up, not even after 12 years.  Ethan advises Kate to come and see him when she is ready to stop hiding.

When Ethan returns home, he finds Theresa and Ben gone and her wedding band on a table.  Theresa and Ben are trying to walk their way out of Wayward Pines when a car pulls up behind them.  Ben wonders if its Ethan but Theresa knows that Ethan doesn't have a car.  Pope flashes the sirens and Theresa and Ben take off into the woods.  They don't get far and run into the fence.  Pope gets out of his vehicle yelling about how Wayward Pines is his town and that Theresa and Ben need to ask his permission in order to leave. A struggle ensues, as Theresa tries to protect Ben from Pope.  Pope pulls his gun and punches Ben in the stomach saying that it's for Ethan.

Ethan is making his way down the road and he finds the place where Theresa and Ben left the main road.

Pope picks Ben off the ground and puts him in back of the truck saying that he in punishment.  Pope turns his attention to Theresa, but he is attacked from behind by Ethan.  Pope manages to get to his feet and points his gun at Ethan but Be,n long forgotten in the car, runs over Pope.  Ethan makes his way towards an injured Pope, who tells Ethan that he only thinks he wants to know the truth because the truth is worse than anything he can imagine. Ethan responds by shooting Pope in the head while Theresa encourages Ben to look the other way.  Ethan searches Pope, and takes his keys.  The gate lifts for a moment and some kind of creature takes Pope's body.  Horrible sounds are coming from behind the fence.  A panicked Theresa encourages Ethan to drive away.

It seems that for Kate, Evans arrived in town two years ago. It's heavily implied that Evans has not been missing that long for Ethan.  Also interesting is the fact that after a decade of not seeing him, Evans had not aged a day.  So this confirms that people do experience time differently for some reason in Wayward Pines.  Is there some sort of supernatural element keeping the residents young?

As I suspected in the last episode, despite the fact that both Pope and Pam are zealots for Wayward Pines, they don't have any real power.  Pam however seems to have more power than Pope because she was able to dismiss him.  Clearly, Pam wants more control and power and she is going to get even with Ethan for bashing her into a wall.  She is someone to watch out for.

Well Pope made it three episodes.  Of the two cast members of colour, Pope was clearly the most prominent.  Killing off Pope means that the writers have reduced the cast of colour in half and now only one minor character remains.  It effectively made the show Whiter, highlighting that Wayward Pines clearly has a problem with inclusion, given it's near overwhelming Whiteness, lack of any GLBT characters and no disabled characters.  Is there some reason why marginalized people aren't being selected to live in Wayward Pines? It far more likely that like many shows on television, the writers didn't want to bother to be inclusive.

Now that Theresa and Kate are in the same town clearly we are going to get some angst about Ethan's infidelity.  It has already caused Theresa to try and leave Ethan and the subject is a sore spot with Ben who cannot stop alluding to indirectly are bringing it up as an explanation for Ethan's answers.  My issue here is that with everything going on in Wayward Pines, what it doesn't need is relationship drama.  I hope whatever foray the writers decide to take into the Ethan/Kate/Theresa love triangle that it is short lived.

Okay, so a few really big things happened.  Ethan found himself inside a secret facility on what is probably the edge of town.  The answer to where all the cars have gone has been revealed because they are clearly being warehoused.  It suggests that majority of people end up in Wayward Pines after being told they have been in an accident. Then there's fact that when Pope was killed, some kind creature retrieved his body.  Okay. Are we dealing with aliens? What?  What the hell is controlling Wayward Pines and why?