Wayward Pines - S1E2 - Don’t Discuss Your Life Before
Previously on Wayward Pines, ‘Where Paradise is Home’
Number One Suspect
Pope informs Ethan he can’t leave town and he is now their main suspect in Bob Evans’ death. Pope called the Secret Service and they’ve never heard of Ethan. Now, it’s clear Ethan realizes this is some straight-up bullshit, but he plays along and agrees to go back to his hotel room while Pope does his job.
At the hotel, Ethan questions the one employee about their lack of working computers and newspapers. He gives no real answer about the computers, but says the local paper hasn’t released an edition in weeks.
Ignoring Pope’s orders, Ethan breaks into the house where he found Bob’s body to find… Bob’s body. It’s still rotting way in that bed. Ethan finds a folded notebook in Bob’s sock, but he’s interrupted by a shotgun wielding Pope. Ethan points out the mud and leaves on Bob’s shoes and suggests he was killed elsewhere and brought to the house. Pope snaps back that he already included that bit of info in his official report. As for why the body is still marinating in the bed: forensics experts are on their way from Boise. Pope, again, instructs Ethan to keep his ass in his hotel room.
I don’t know where or when this town is supposed to be, but someone needs to get Sheriff Pope some hair care products cause that brother is struggling.
Town Rules
Of course, Ethan goes back to the bar and not his hotel room. Beverly turns up the radio behind the bar and invites Ethan to dance so she can whisper in his ear. She tells him she was supposed to escape with Bill - he had a plan to escape written in a notebook.
Next, he stops for an espresso and while the barista works, he uses the pay phone to call the field office and gets the same rude receptionist. He tricks her into admitting she’s not really at the field office, but she hangs up before he can get more info. He finds out from the barista that Kate works at the toy store so that’s his next stop.
Kate gives him more of that Stepford Wife act, but he’s not having it. He lays out everything that’s wrong with the situation (a lot!) and calls out the “funny money” everyone in town has been using. It’s old counterfeit cash. She dodges or straight up ignores everything he says, and suggests he visits Bill’s widow. Before he leaves, he notes the town rules by the door. Basically, don’t talk about your past, don’t try to leave, and always answer the phone.
At Bill’s house, his widow insists her husband wasn’t a secret service agent, but a landscaper. They had a newborn baby and her husband wasn’t murdered - he committed suicide in front of her.
Everybody Wants Answers
Perhaps hoping to get better answers - although I don’t see why - Ethan goes to the police station again. And again, Pope is more concerned with his ice cream and treating Ethan like a criminal than providing answers. He does tell him Bill’s body has been moved to the morgue, so that’s where Ethan heads next.
He just manages to pocket the notebook from Bill’s belongings before Nurse Pam comes in. She makes a totally inappropriate comment about him banging his wife when he reunites with her. He looks like he wants to slam her into another wall. In the hallway, two orderlies push gurneys into a room. On the gurneys: his wife and son! And chases after them, but finds Dr. Jenkins instead.
Jenkins once again tries to convince Ethan he’s seeing things due to the brain bleed. Did Ethan really see his family? Probably not since his wife, Theresa, is home, on the phone with Adam and asking for information on her missing husband. They’re keeping his disappearance on the low since it was a “classified” case he was working. She wants to know if her husband left her for Kate. Adam takes entirely too long to answer. So, she decides she’s going to Idaho to find him and her son refuses to stay behind.
Just Act Natural
Beverly takes Ethan to the cemetery where she extracts the chip placed in his leg to track his movements. She’s found that hanging out in one of the crypts is safe since the walls block the signal. He finally tells her the year is 2014, not 2000. She’s never heard of Obama and thinks Clinton is still president. She takes this news surprisingly well. The fact that she should be 54, but still looks to be in her 30s doesn’t hurt.
Beverly admits she was in such a fog when she woke up in Wayward Pines, she actually believed them when they told her this was her life. But then memories began to return and she knew it wasn’t. She kept her head down, went to work, and came home. Fear keeps everyone in line. She says Bill ditched her two days before they were supposed to leave. He was found and Pope cut Bill’s throat in front of the whole town. This does not dissuade Ethan. He’s going to use Bill’s notes and hand-drawn maps to get them out of there.
But first, they have to attend dinner at Kate’s house. Beverly doesn’t think it was a good idea to accept the invitation, but Ethan assures her he’s worked it into their plans to escape that night.
The Not-So-Great Escape
At dinner, Ethan excuses himself to use the bathroom, and checks for cameras. When he gets back to the table, Beverly has slipped up. She mentions having a daughter. Ethan tries to change the subject, but Kate urges Beverly to keep talking about her. She knows she messed up, so Beverly scurries to the bathroom where she leaves her chip as Ethan instructed. When she doesn’t come back to the table, Ethan goes to check on her and finds she left. He lies to their hosts, saying Beverly isn’t feeling well and he’s going to walk her home. After he’s gone, Kate’s husband asks if she thinks they’re going to run. Yes, she does.
Outside, Beverly is a mess. She has a daughter who lives in Portland with her mother and talking about her past is a big no-no. This is her second screw up of the day as she let it slip to Pam and the police reception that she’d talked to Ethan about how much he misses his wife.
When phones start ringing from inside all of the houses, Beverly loses it. She says the town is going to kill them. As lights come on in the homes, she and Ethan run for it. He tells her to head to the graveyard and he’ll catch up. They’ll leave as planned, but he’s going to distract the growing crowd from following her.
Of course, Beverly is caught and Ethan watches helplessly as Pope slits her throat in front of everyone. And just then, we see his wife and son have arrived in Idaho.
Overall Thoughts:
- Glad to see not everyone in the town is batshit. It’s one thing to play along to get along, it’s another to cheer as someone is getting their throat slit. A few in the crowd looked properly disgusted, including Kate’s “husband.”
- Ethan continues to make all the right moves. I like that he’s not being played as a hothead or stupid, which is typical in these types of shows.
- Shady Move of the Week: The barista totally drugged Ethan, right?
- Crazy Pinecone of the Week: Kate. She may have arrived in town as a federal agent, but she’s firmly about that Wayward Pines life now.
- Pope Line I Need to Hear Lucious Lyon Say: “This ice cream has been up to no good.”
