Wayward Pines - S1E8 - The Friendliest Place on Earth
Previously on Wayward Pines, ‘Betrayal’
T-N-T S.O.S
Ethan rushes Ben into the hospital, which is suddenly filled with nurses and doctors. I guess they only work the night shifts. Ethan remembers he’s in Fuckeryville and questions whether the man about to treat his son is a real doctor. “Of course, he is!” Pam replies like it’s the most ridiculous thing in the world for someone in Wayward Pines to not be what they appear.
Once Ben is resting in his room, Theresa is brought in. Pam coos assurances before the doctor enters and gives Ben a TV diagnosis: He’s okay, but they won’t know how okay until he wakes up and that needs to be within 24 hours to make all the difference. DASSIT. No, report on his actual injuries. But this is good enough for Theresa, who we already established is getting dumber by the episode.
Pilcher rushes into the hospital and Pam pulls him aside to reassure “Dr. Jenkins” that the children are fine. What kind of bomb was that? How was it supposed to take out the fence when it couldn’t even kill two teenagers when it exploded RIGHT NEXT TO THEM? Pilcher devises a gas leak cover story and Pam suggests a solution straight out of The Vampire Diaries playbook: Let’s have a town party to ease fears!
Harold and the Insurgents (not a cover band)
Harold sits in the woods with one unconscious insurgent and one who’s awake. I thought the knocked out guy was Mr. UPS (Ted), who they somehow managed to rescue from the truck explosion, because it was the most ineffective bomb ever. But when another man arrives, Harold tells him knocked out dude got caught between a truck and a dumpster. When did this happen?
New guy gives a status report: 4 people were captured, 2 got away, and Kate’s ass is in jail. Ruby, an ally, had to leave because she couldn’t afford to be late for work. He’d like to stay and chat, but he ain’t tryna get reckoned so he reckons he’ll take his ass back home. Harold’s companion wants to leave, but Harold insists they stick to the plan and wait it out. Besides, knocked out guy has bad internal bleeding and shouldn’t be moved.
You know that saying about a guilty man sleeping in jail because he knows he’s been caught? Kate’s ass is knocked all the way out in her cell, dreaming of a time when she first arrived in Wayward Pines. She was kept in a padded cell, in a straightjacket, because she insisted the town was fake and she didn’t belong there. “Dr. Jenkins” is disappointed and leaves her to Pam, who injects her in the neck.
Rumors
As townspeople clean up the mess from the bomb, several residents are in the diner talking about what might have happened - other than a gas leak. “Dr. Jenkins” enjoys his breakfast and listens in on the convos. Ruby, the waitress, rushes in just as Arlene (receptionist at the police station) is speculating it must have been a bomb. She asks “Dr. Jenkins” for his thoughts and he warns everyone to stop spreading rumors. The phone rings and the whole diner freezes. Ruby answers and announces to everyone there’s a mandatory fellowship meeting. Pilcher notices as Ruby pulls a twig from her hair.
Pilcher heads for the compound where he asks for a bead on Ruby’s tracker. It says she’s home in bed, but when they view her bedroom camera, she’s not there. She must have removed her chip last night and forgotten to take it with her. Pilcher wonders how many more people are “home in bed.”
Ethan confronts Kate about Harold’s whereabouts. He’s kinda annoyed they almost killed his son. Kate insists that wasn’t the plan. We get more “You need to believe me!” and “You’re brainwashed!” Ethan says he’d take Kate to see the monsters for herself, but they don’t have that kind of time. WHY NOT? What else do you have BUT time? If you show her, she will tell you where the others are with more bombs!
There’s a Fox in the Compound
In Pilcher’s office, he informs Pam that Ruby is a traitor. Pam asks if he’s told Ethan to lock her up, but he wants to get their own house in order first. 24-hour surveillance yet these insurgents have managed to meet and makes bombs. That’s what I’ve been saying! Pam doesn’t think anyone at the compound would be disloyal, but agrees to launch an investigation to put his fears to rest.
Pam questions several people on surveillance duty. The first two are all about that spying life. The third guy, Reggie, folds quickly, and admits that he sometimes ignores conversations when people ask questions about what the fuck is going on. He feels they have the right to ask questions every now and again. It’s human nature. And sometimes, he deletes the videos when that happens. I’m guessing Reggie has never witnessed a reckoning. Pam lets him get back to work and Pilcher watches it all play out via a monitor.
Creepy-Ass Fisher
Ben wakes up so I guess he’s gonna live. Yawn. He asks Theresa about Amy and if she’ll go check to make sure she’s okay. When she leaves, Mrs. Fisher slips into his room. This lady is a fucking creep. He apologizes for sneaking out, but she’s cool with that. She’s there to poison Ben against his father, again. Ethan let Harold go because Harold is Kate’s husband and then Harold blew up the truck. She admits that she and Ethan don’t see eye-to-eye on how these things should be handled. She basically calls Ethan a pussy and inflates Ben’s ego, telling him he needs to speak up as the survivor of a terrorist attack. Seriously, how fucking far is Amy’s room?
In the woods, the injured man dies. Harold and the other guy start to dig a grave for him, But then the other guy decides he wants to bury their friend in free soil, on the other side of the fence. Harold is like, “HOW SWAY?” I’ll tell you how: They break into a garage and steal a truck.
Fellowship Gathering
Everyone mills around in the middle of the street. There are sad clowns and sad banjo music. It looks cold as fuck. Ruby whispers to the guy from the woods that Ted - delivery truck guy - died in the hospital. He was burned on more than 90% of his body. Oh, so THAT’S where the bomb went. “Dr. Jenkins” tells Mayor Fisher he should get up on the sad stage and say a few words. He gets up there and starts talking that ying-yang until Ethan interrupts and tells everyone it was a bomb - not a gas leak - and the people responsible are still at large. So, maybe everyone should take their asses home to make his job a bit easier. Pilcher does not like that shit at all.
Calling Daddy Out
At the hospital, Ethan is happy to see Ben is awake… until Ben starts talking and accuses his father of playing favorites, which led to him getting blown out the side of a truck. There’s no mention of the fact that he shouldn’t have had his little ass out there to begin with and I really wish this show was brave enough to kill Ben. Theresa suspects it’s Mrs. Fisher talking, but Ethan says it doesn’t matter. He didn’t play favorites. Then Amy arrives and I’m like, “What a shitty bomb.”
Pilcher asks Pam if anyone in surveillance has been slipping and she says no one in surveillance is helping the insurgents. He’s all, “That’s not what I asked you.” She lies and says everyone is doing their job.
Ethan Comes Clean
In the waiting area of the hospital, Theresa expresses more doubt about Mrs. Fisher and Ethan comes clean about the “Easter Bombings” mentioned in episode one. He had the guy (just like he had Harold) and let him go (just like he did with Harold), and two bombs killed a bunch of people (nothing at all like what happened here). This was all classified back then, and he couldn’t tell her so he fucked Kate instead. She thanks him for finally telling her… 2,000 years later.
Theresa confronts Mrs. Fisher and tells her to keep her creepy ass away from her son. Fisher insists she’s just trying to help the children. Theresa repeats her demand and walks away. Mrs. Fisher looks up at the surveillance camera like, “This bitch.”
Ethan has been called into the truck depot and learns about the stolen truck. He quickly realizes the truck is the bomb.
Another Flashback
A few years have passed since Kate’s been in Wayward Pines. She’s in a session with Dr. Jenkins and telling him everything he wants to hear. He gives her a refill on a prescription, which she crumbles up after she leaves.
In present day, Dr. Jenkins visits her in jail and tells Kate about all the dead, missing, and injured because of her actions. He calls her a fanatic willing to do anything to get her way. She counters that he’s describing himself: David Pilcher. Oh, snap! She asks again what Wayward Pines is and he won’t tell. He insists keeping people in the dark will keep them alive.
Not Our Own
While Reggie is gripped up at his desk, Pilcher confronts Pam about her lies. She is cool with killing those in the dark, but they can’t start killing their own. She asks to be killed instead, but he says no one else is dying.
Then, everyone in the compound watches as poor Reggie is put back on ice. Pam shakes her head at her brother. Slitting throats is one thing, but this? Later, Pilcher gives everyone the See Something; Say Something speech.
Freedom!
Harold sees his friend (and the dead guy) off, refusing to leave Kate behind. The guy tells Harold he knows where to find him if he changes his mind. As Harold heads back to the woods, Ethan chases him down. He’s arrested, but says it’s too late for Ethan to do anything.
It’s suddenly nighttime when the insurgent crashes though the fence. He cradles his dead friend’s body and cries in relief. Then he and dead guy are promptly eaten by Abbies.
Welp.
Overall Thoughts:
You can tell from my snark this show is starting to work my nerves, but I’m still enjoying it. That said, it’s becoming increasingly more frustrating to watch Ethan try to stop the insurgents from blowing up the fence, thereby putting the last of humanity at risk, without doing something to prove to Kate and Harold (but mostly Kate) that he’s telling the truth.
If you don’t make them believe, they blow up the fence anyway. But if you show Kate something tangible (the Abby in the compound or the fact that Ben is still 16 when she thinks 12 years has passed since she last saw him), there’s a chance they won’t. And considering the fact that Ethan’s family is now involved, it really makes no damn sense that he doesn’t at least try.
Ethan and Theresa are using up any goodwill earned in the first six episodes by being uncharacteristically dumb. We’ll get into it more on the podcast this weekend.
