The Mist - S1E8 - The Law of Nature

Previously on The Mist, “Over the River and Through the Woods”

Am I entertained by The Mist each week? Yes. Does any of it make much sense? Not really. Do I like any of the characters? Absolutely not. The one half-way decent person is Gus, and his biggest transgression (prior to this week) is hiding food in his office. But since I wouldn’t share food with these shady-ass people, I didn’t hold that against him.

Since Alex refuses to tell anyone (especially her mother) that she has doubts about the rape, everything in the mall is about to go to shit. Shelley sees Alex and Jay kissing so she tells her group that Alex is clearly the problem. Her reasoning is that Alex lied about the rape and is connected to the mist in some way; it’s why it didn’t take her, but killed Shelley’s daughter. With one day’s worth of food left — but fear and paranoia to spare — some folks are starting to believe that getting rid of Alex will free them.

I was pleasantly surprised when Shelley admits to Gus that she knows Alex is innocent; she’s just jealous Alex survived. I thought we wouldn’t be going the predictable torches and pitchforks route. Wrong. Shelley has no intention of telling the group she’s lying, but she will tell them that Gus has food hidden in his office. To save himself, Gus kills her and then blames Shelley’s murder on Alex. Torches and pitchforks, here we come!

Things get truly disturbing when Connor admits to Nathalie that he believes Jay raped Alex because he did such a poor job of raising him. Nathalie convinces Connor and two others that they should go to the mall to take care of Jay so that nature’s balance will be restored. They lock the ones who declined to go in the church, and then set it on fire..

But, what; there’s more.

So, remember how I’ve been saying that the Alex rape storyline has been poorly handled, mainly because it’s clear we’re supposed to believe the rape didn’t happen and therefore be okay with Alex still being attracted to Jay? Remember how I said the only word we had that it occurred was Adrian’s and that his willingness to lie on Mia so quickly made me doubt everything he says?

Well, I was right!

Since the entire season seems to be about keeping Kevin away from that mall, he and the others make a pit stop at Adrian’s house so Adrian can check on his parents. While he does that, Brian and Mia go off to find gas, and end up having sex. As you do. While Kevin waits in the car, he’s approached by Vic, who is surprisingly still alive. Kevin offers him shelter in the car and Vic tells him everything at the mall is banana pancakes.

Inside, Adrian finds his father quietly eating dinner and eagerly eats the food he’s offered right out of the pot. Of course, he throws it all up immediately after finding his mother’s corpse on the sofa. The birds in the mist killed her days ago. With his mother no longer able to provide interference, Adrian’s father proceeds to say the worst things imaginable, including that he never loved his son. Adrian kills him with a shotgun, and then fakes an injury when Kevin comes in. He claims he killed him in self defense.

Kevin believes Adrian, despite Adrian’s manic insistence that Kevin means he’s a part of his family with Eve and Alex. It’s only when Kevin finds the same drug Alex was given the night she was raped that he pieces it together. Adrian raped Alex and blamed it on Jay. He tries to kill Kevin, but only knocks him out. When Adrian runs to the car he tells the others his father shot Kevin in the face, and that they need to get to the mall because he promised Kevin he’d look after his family.

Everyone has lost their damn minds.