First things first, there are plenty of spoilers here, so be careful!
The second episode of Wayward Pines ended on a pretty intense cliffhanger. We witnessed a town-wide manhunt as the residents of Wayward Pines searched in the dark for Burke and Beverly. We then saw Sheriff Pope slice open Beverly’s throat while the entire town gathered and watched, with some of the residents clearly enjoying the bloody spectacle. Episode three, “Our Town, Our Law,” begins at this point, and Pope gives what he probably thinks is an inspirational speech about love and support in front of Beverly’s corpse, but it’s just creepy. In fact, the majority of the episode is spent diving into Pope’s character and his clearly flawed personality. After Pope’s little powwow, the manhunt, or the Reckoning, resumes, with Waywardians (that’s what I’ll be calling them now) hot on Burke’s trail.
This is where my first real problem with the show starts. Pines has had a few flaws and plot holes here and there, but none as prevalent as this one. Burke is able to hide out in the forest, and then just a few moments later, nobody cares about finding him any more. He shows up at Kate’s house and confronts her about the evil nature of the town, and then just leaves, and nobody could give two Idaho spuds about what he does for the remainder of the night. It seems to me that if an entire town was hunting a man down in order to kill him, they might actually put forth a concerted effort to do just that. It might seem like a minor detail since the episode continues on strong, but it just felt like some poor writing.
Jumping over to the real world, or just the world outside of Wayward Pines, Theresa and Ben arrive in Boise to begin their search for Burke, either to help him or to catch him in bed with Kate Hewson. They visit the Boise Secret Service Field Office, and after a bit of barely believable computer wizardry by Theresa, the mother/son duo heads off to Wayward. But on their way into town, they’re stopped by, guess who? Pope. He sabotages their vehicle under the guise of the helpful police officer routine, and that’s the last we see of the Burkes until they wake up in Wayward Pines.
Cut back to Ethan, and finally we start to get some answers about what’s going on in Wayward. Well, not actual answers, but some pretty bold clues at least. Ethan discovers a giant warehouse facility where the town’s food is stored. He also discovers a huge room full of cars, including his wife’s battered vehicle. What? Just as he is about to get some answers for himself, Pope interrupts him and knocks him out. This guy, for real, just won’t quit. But it’s really nice to start getting some guidance as to the sinister goings on in Wayward, because up until now, nothing has really been explained, and we’re one third through the series.
The rest of the episode continues with Burke meeting up with his family for the first time in who knows how long, and Pope just generally being a creep and a dick to everyone, especially the Burkes. Theresa and Ben try to sneak out of town, not knowing how useless that endeavour will be. Pope (of course), tripping on power, shows up and not only stops them from leaving, but decides he’s had enough of the family, and is about to kill Theresa when Ethan and Ben intervene and kill Pope. Now things get really good! Ethan takes Pope’s keys and is able to open up the electric fence, thinking he has found a way for his family to escape. But as the gate opens, we barely see some kind of hideous monster run in and drag Pope’s body out past the gate. What?! Monsters? What is going on in this town?!
“Our Town, Our Law” started off a bit slow for me and had some weak moments near the beginning, but I’m so glad that the show is already getting right down to the nitty gritty, and delivering some epic cliffhangers. You can usually tell the overall quality of a show by this point, and while Pines isn’t nearly as good as some of its sci-fi/thriller brethren, I’m excited to see what the next seven episodes can deliver. The story really is a great one, and the mysteries, thrills, and chills have just begun! Buckle up, because paradise isn’t what it seems.
[signoff2]
