Wayward Pines (2015) s02e01 – Enemy Lines

The season two premiere opens with Charlie Tahan, set up as the new lead in last season’s finale, narrating a recap of the first season. It’s a terrible recap, writing-wise. It does not bode well.

But then the first real scene is Jason Patric in Hawaii, in the middle of a spat with wife Nimrat Kaur, heading down to the bar and happening to meet Terrence Howard. Howard apparently got to go to fabulous vacation spots to kidnap people and put them in cryosleep for two thousand years. Good for him.

It’s an overwritten scene, but Patric and Howard are both good, so it’s mostly fine. Howard leading Patric into the bushes to knock him unconscious is a little much, but otherwise, it’s okay. Patric’s immediately a strong lead.

One fade out later, Patric wakes up in the fifth millennium, and he’s confused. A severe young woman, Kacey Rohl, tells him they need to get to the hospital so he can perform surgery. “Where am I?” Patric asks. “‘Wayward Pines,’” Rohl says. Cue opening titles and the new regular cast list, which suggests a lot of people who seemed like they’d be back aren’t back.

Instead, fascist white boy murderer Tom Stevens has been promoted to regular. And Hope Davis, who very clearly died last season, gets the “with” credit. Djimon Hounsou gets the “and” credit, suggesting “Wayward Pines” is finally getting some Black people, but he doesn’t actually appear in this episode. Though Christopher Meyer is Black, and he gets a lot to do, it’s mainly carting Patric around town and being a really good little boot-stepper.

There are some familiar names in the special guest star list: Tahan, Carla Gugino, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, and Greta Lee. Last season, Lee was a fourth-tier recurring character but a reasonably recognizable one. Fallon Hogan’s the awesome secretary; she’s barely in this episode. Tahan and Gugino get full arcs, though Gugino’s confined to a hospital bed (she’s Patric’s mystery patient), and Tahan’s barely in the episode like they just weren’t willing to pay his rate. Adult John Connor has more presence in T2.

Gugino’s around for the first season transition wrap-up. The show’s done a three year-jump ahead from where the main action left off, though last season’s cliffhanger was a jump ahead tease. So now we find out Gugino led a resistance against Howard, who militarized his Neo-Nazi sidekicks, and they rule “Wayward Pines” with an iron fist. And Davis, now in a wheelchair (she’s so nasty the monsters wouldn’t eat her), whispering in his ear. But Howard and Rohl are a couple, which complicates things a little.

Patric finds himself in this bewildering setting–Lord of the Flies with girls and guns—and isn’t sure what’s going on, especially not when they keep promising he’ll see wife Kaur in just a scene or two.

It’s a very different show than season one. It feels like a sequel from another production company, which is doing a much better job. The regular cast isn’t anywhere near as expensive (Patric and Davis are the only real names). Howard’s an A-number one creep, but in a good way (think evil Wesley Crusher).

But the other big chance is Patric. Well, Patric and the audience knowing what’s happening to Patric and not them discovering it all simultaneously. Patric’s a great lead.

There are problems, of course. Even though the show’s very different from when M. Night Shyamalan directed the pilot, episode director David Petrarca brings back his terrible framing techniques. And the writing’s way too dismissive on Gugino.

But the teenage fascist dictatorship stuff? It’s “just genre,” but in a good way.

Or maybe it’s just all worth it for a Jason Patric TV show.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e10 – Cycle

This season finale has four credited writers. First, there are the Duffer Brothers, Matt and Ross, who certainly haven’t been credited on the show’s worst episodes. Then there’s show creator Chad Hodge, who has been credited on the show’s worst episode. And finally, there’s source novel series author Blake Crouch, who’s had some credits and is below the Duffers but nowhere near the Hodge drecks.

It’s funny because most of the episode is action. It’s either technology suspense action with Melissa Leo realizing brother Toby Jones is going to feed all the people he doesn’t like to buff Gollum monsters, and she’s got to try to get the security system back on. Michael Crichton action, basically.

Or it’s suspense monster action with Shannyn Sossamon and Charlie Tahan hiding from a monster in a dark hospital.

Or it’s bang-bang monster action with Matt Dillon and Carla Gugino shooting at the monsters.

Lots of writer credits for a string of very basic action sequences.

Tim Hunter’s back directing and not great at any of it. The suspense action is fine, but when he gets to the sci-fi stuff (cryogenics and whatnot), he’s lost. Some of it’s the show’s production design looking good for 1982, but some of it’s Hunter.

The episode’s got a big twist ending coming after killing off many regular cast members. Less than halfway through, and it’s clear lots of opening credits names and frequent special guest stars won’t be back for another “Pines.” The character farewells range peak at middling, though none are terrible. The second twist ending changes the impact of a few of them. Not a great way to finish out the season.

Gugino and Leo give the best performances. Not Gugino’s best in the series, but closer to it than lately, and probably Leo’s best. The show did a successful character rehab on Leo, one of its few accomplishments.

Unfortunately, the four credited writers can’t come up with very many good excuses. Given the circumstances, one of the main characters who isn’t coming back goes out in a particularly nonsensical manner. Though there’s a deus ex machina in the form of a falling brick; it’s not like “Wayward Pines” tries very hard.

What’s particularly strange is the disconnect between how characters act and how other characters talk about them acting. It feels a little like some actors shot their scenes before the rewrites came in. Or the writing is oblivious, or the actors are failing. Or flailing. Though no one really flails this time, which is nice. Not many people get an arc—not even Jones, who’s full Bond villain now—and, if they do, it’s an action arc. The show’s ostensible protagonists, Dillon, Sossamon, and Tahan, are indistinguishable action movie tropes.

There’s some good acting from Barclay Hope as Hope Davis’s reluctantly concerned husband. Davis does have an arc this episode, actually. It’s an incredibly narratively problematic one, not dissimilar to how the show treated the last regular guest star, Terrence Howard.

After ten episodes, “Wayward Pines” has fewer stakes than a commercial for a disaster movie. But maybe next season’s acting, writing, and directing will be better. It’s going to be an entirely different show, the finale promises; pretty please, give us another try.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e09 – A Reckoning

Second-to-last episode of the season, and it turns out “Wayward Pines” has waited this long to introduce the fascist teenagers who want to shoot the normies. Tom Stevens plays the leader. He’s both too much and just the right amount of despicably intense. Unfortunately, the show doesn’t really know what to do with him—introducing him this late—but there is a great scene where sheriff’s secretary Siobhan Fallon Hogan stares him down. It’s nice for Fallon Hogan to finally get something to do on the show, despite the “terrorized woman” trope.

Thanks to Hope Davis riling up the teenagers—with Charlie Tahan’s help in shitting on his dad, Matt Dillon—Stevens and his bros are going to execute Carla Gugino and her friends. They’re all locked up in the police station, where they sit around moping; Gugino assures them Dillon isn’t going to execute them in town square, but we’ve already seen what happens a few hours later—Dillon’s going to execute them in the town square.

The episode starts with a recap (making sure to remind viewers Tim Griffin was on the show at one point so he can “appear” later on), which ends with the monsters about to breach the wall. The action then cuts to Dillon and his gallows, finally ready to embrace his position as killer sheriff. You’d think he’d have been more worried about the breached wall.

And he will be, after the opening titles, when the show turns back the clock a day. It’s a very traditional narrative device, but it’s a little weak for “Wayward Pines,” which spent the first four episodes spinning the narrative around from twist and gimmick to twist and gimmick. Also, there’s no “twenty-four hours earlier” title card, which would’ve helped. But, just to confirm, the show’s taking itself seriously enough.

Overall, it’s definitely one of the better episodes. Some of the moments are cheap, but there’s a lot of good acting in them. The show finally lets Gugino and Shannyn Sossamon in on the secret, which immensely helps their characters and performances. “Wayward Pines” has enough problem with a single narrative distance; trying to maintain a half dozen have been a disaster.

Credited to Duffer Brothers Matt and Ross, the script gets a lot done. It would’ve been better if they hadn’t had to do so much—the insurgency is only two episodes old, and they’re resolving that storyline, but they’ve also got to insert the teenage Neo-Nazis into it. Whoever wrote the season outline did a lousy job.

Speaking of significant immediate changes—Melissa Leo. She plays her part totally straight now, no more Southern Gothic Nurse Ratched, but given how she acts around Sossamon, there’s this implication she only acted so weird in front of Dillon at the beginning of the season. I mean, there were some other scenes, but it’s like someone finally told them to stop using M. Night Shyamalan’s performance direction guidelines.

Thank goodness.

There’s a lot more with Toby Jones getting even jerkier; he’s turned out to be an even worse Bond villain than it seemed like he’d be earlier, and he seemed like he was going to be bad.

Nimród Antal directs, which is a downgrade from his theatrical work, but okay. I was expecting a little more, however. Definitely not the gimmicky structure.

There’s a good cliffhanger, and the stage is set for an intense finale. It only took “Wayward Pines” three-quarters of its season to get compelling, but it’s finally arrived.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e08 – The Friendliest Place on Earth

Tim Hunter directs this episode, which is notable for a couple reasons. First, it means he’s been directing Matt Dillon for almost as long as Dillon’s wife on “Pines,” Shannyn Sossamon, has been alive. Hunter directed Dillon in 1982’s Tex (but also wrote Dillon’s 1979 Over the Edge); Sossamon was one when Edge came out.

Second, Hunter knows how to direct actors, which is kind of new for “Pines.” Shame it happens eighty percent of the way through the season, but better than never? There’s a terrific sequence for Melissa Leo, who’s seemingly no longer in Nurse Ratched mode.

Leo’s got one of the episode’s subplots; more and more paranoid and less and less compelling Toby Jones has her interviewing the surveillance team to see who’s giving aid to the insurgents in town. Anyone with any melanin in their skin seems to work in surveillance and not get to repopulate the planet, instead of leaving Hope Davis to cultivate the white stock of the future.

Davis has a little to do in Charlie Tahan’s recovery subplot, trying to turn Tahan against dad Dillon. She wants Tahan to tell Dillon to start executing the insurgents, something Dillon doesn’t want to do. Tahan might be recovering from a near-fatal explosion, but he’s still a dim bulb; still so’s everyone else on the show. It’s part of the conceit.

However, when Tahan confronts Dillon, Dillon tells him a teenage football anecdote because he never talks to his kid. So, it’s not like the material isn’t there for Tahan’s character arc; the show just doesn’t know how to do it. The episode’s got three credited scripters: Patrick Aison, Rob Fresco, and source novel author Blake Crouch. Apparently, none of them thought Dillon needed a father arc.

He spends most of the episode trying to find Reed Diamond, who’s still on the run after last episode’s terror attacks. He and a red shirt (maybe Toby Levins) are going to break through the wall in a stolen dumpster truck; it takes a good while for Dillon to find out about the stolen truck (he’s then chasing that lead), which suggests “Wayward Pines”’s omnipresent security systems only operate when a particular scene needs contriving.

The other big subplot is Carla Gugino sitting in her jail cell thinking about the past, including her relationship with Jones, who posed as her therapist for years. It’s a not-good shoehorning of an existing character relationship; the subplot culminates in a showdown between them, where Gugino’s able to reclaim some acting mediocrity since Jones is so inert.

What else… Shannyn Sossamon is just playing concerned mom, waiting around the hospital with Tahan. Though she does find out why Dillon had to have an affair with Gugino—Dillon needed someone with classified clearance to make his sads go away. It’s a really lazy finish to a nothing-burger plotline. And then short scenes for Siobhan Fallon Hogan and Teryl Rothery, who gossip about what’s going on in town a couple times.

The cliffhanger’s pretty good and, even though Dillon’s a lousy investigator, his performance isn’t his worst. As usual, Diamond seems comfortable getting through hacky material; maybe he should’ve been lead.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e07 – Betrayal

Thanks to the insurgency plotline—and who gets put in danger—this episode’s more compelling than most. Also, there’s less Toby Jones, which helps a whole bunch. Plus, Melissa Leo stops acting hacky around Matt Dillon, another plus.

The episode begins with Dillon telling Shannyn Sossamon about how they live two thousand years in the future, and there are monsters and whatever. She thinks he got brainwashed. At no point does Dillon talk to son Charlie Tahan, who Dillon knows knows about the future thing because Dillon’s a bad dad, and “Wayward Pines” never has honest scenes between its characters.

Dillon’s uptick, performance-wise, is apparently over. He’s not as bad as he’s been at one point or another, but he’s entirely unconvincing as an investigator. Meanwhile, Carla Gugino—now revealed to be the insurgency leader—is only slightly better than last episode’s lows. However, the show addresses Gugino as being entirely unreliable previously; she doesn’t really answer Dillon about why she lied, just making a lot of noise.

She and her husband, Reed Diamond, are going to blow up the wall and escape. Despite the entire town being under video surveillance, Dillon has to wait to catch everyone in the act. Otherwise, the timing can’t go wrong, and people can’t get hurt. Makes you wonder how Terrence Howard would’ve dealt with it.

Fertility is a big subplot, including Hope Davis giving a lecture about how it’s the teenagers’ responsibility to have sex early and have sex often. They seem to be pairing them off—turns out Sarah Jeffrey lied to Tahan earlier, and Davis did assign Jeffrey to befriend and seduce him if possible—instead of having dudes stud, which makes sense for birth defects, I guess. Down the road anyway.

Melissa Leo’s also got a fertility subplot; she’s checking in on the married couples about their pregnancies or lack thereof. She interviews Diamond and Gugino and clarifies “Wayward Pines” wants some very white babies born. More amusingly, Leo tells Diamond (aged forty-nine) and Gugino (aged forty-four) they’re the perfect age to have a baby, which seems weird.

One of the bad guys—I mean, the insurgents are murderous bad guys, indifferent to collateral damage—Andrew Jenkins is awful. It kind of helps to have worse supporting actors than your principals, something “Wayward Pines” should’ve exercised from go.

Another of the bad guys, Ian Tracey, is fine. He stands out because I thought he was the guy from Blink, but he’s actually one of the bad guys from Stakeout.

Anyway.

“Wayward Pines” is a mess and not good, but still far better than I’d have thought by this point in the season.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e06 – Choices

“Wayward Pines” makes a lot more sense now. Not because of the revelations in this episode, but because of what’s better and what’s worse. Well, who’s better and who’s worse. Unfortunately, the show’s got no idea when it’s good or what makes it good.

Also, can’t forget–the racism’s intentional. More on that delightful aspect in a bit.

The episode opens with Toby Jones standing amid a wrecked downtown “Wayward Pines.” Something terrible has happened, and since Jones hasn’t started talking yet, it’s not his acting. It soon will be. Jones will get a lot to do in this episode—including numerous flashbacks to when he was a rich genius who no one paid any attention—and he’s lousy.

However, we also get Melissa Leo acting a lot better. Turns out her regular characterization on “Pines” is her acting like Nurse Ratched to keep the townsfolk in line. Her regular medical professional, sister to genius with a plan Jones is a lot better. Not great, but not profoundly terrible and borderline incompetent.

Their part of the episode is telling Matt Dillon what’s really going on and showing him various things while Dillon confronts Jones about the cult-like nature of the program. Well, sort of confronts him about the cult-like nature. It’s a cult-like nature; Dillon identifies problems but doesn’t expressly say it’s a cult. But it’s culty.

Dillon’s better this episode, which would be great if it didn’t apparently mean Carla Gugino would be worse. This episode introduces a whole new plotline for Gugino and her husband, Reed Diamond (who inexplicably shaved), and it’s bad work from Gugino. It also means she’s entirely unreliable because the new plotline directly opposes what she told Dillon a few episodes ago. It also reveals things about now-departed guest stars, changing the context of their appearances and participation.

Without giving those actors the chance to act that plot.

Sigh.

Though having departed cast come back isn’t necessarily a good thing. Terrence Howard shows up to reveal before he was the “Wayward Pines” sheriff. He was a standard Black man with a hidden criminal history who peaked in elementary school—Jones recounts it to him—and needed a magnanimous, albeit megalomaniac rich white man to pull up his bootstraps for him.

At first you feel bad for Howard because he’s got to act opposite Jones. Then you feel bad because of the scenes’ content.

Meanwhile, Shannyn Sossamon—the only one in her family who doesn’t know the truth of “Wayward Pines”—investigates real estate mysteries and trades barbs with Gugino.

Son Charlie Tahan spends the episode staring out the window thinking about the last episode.

Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, and Brett Conrad get the script credit, which isn’t as bad as some of the worst episodes, but certainly isn’t turning the ship around. Though there’s only so much anyone can do once Jones starts talking. He’s awful.

Though someone included a great deep cut reference to Barry Lyndon in the episode, which really made me want to watch Barry Lyndon again and instead.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e05 – The Truth

There’s so much going on this episode I didn’t even realize Carla Gugino isn’t in it.

It’s a brand new day in “Wayward Pines,” with Shannyn Sossamon starting as a realtor—working with caricature male chauvinist pig Michael McShane, which is actually fine; the show couldn’t even manage caricatures before. Son Charlie Tahan is still in school, but he’s about to find out the capital T truth (hence the title) from intense, manipulative schoolmarm Hope Davis. Matt Dillon’s busy trying to escape to Boise to get help. His plot ties into Tahan’s, whereas Sossamon is separate. She’s living the ominous but mundane while Dillon’s in danger. Davis is explaining that danger to both Tahan and the audience.

This episode is where “Wayward Pines” pulls back the curtain to reveal what’s actually going on in the town. The kids get to know about it because they’re the future. Unfortunately, they need to keep it from their parents, who aren’t well-adjusted enough to cope.

It’s also where “Wayward Pines,” the show, explains why Wayward Pines, the town, is such a cracker-ville, and it’s not because they’re trying to mimic the racial demographics of real-life Idaho. Whether the show’s intentionally lily-white or if it’s just, you know, Hollywood, it ends up being a flex. I suppose the show could address the lack of diversity—there are no Black or brown students at the high school, so the future’s very white with maybe four Asian girls–but I don’t expect them to address it.

Maybe it’ll surprise me. If it’s not just another MacGuffin, the big reveal is a surprise. And has some interesting connotations for how all the pieces fit in the previous episodes with the timeline. They didn’t do it well; they could’ve leaned into the time disconnect much better, but… still. It was a surprise.

Dillon running through the woods with a gaggle of Gollums chasing him was not a surprise. It’s on par for the show.

The episode’s got an interesting creative team—James Foley directs, with the script credit going to novel writer and property creator Blake Crouch and then Matt Duffer and Ross Duffer (credited as The Duffer Brothers, which is obnoxious but whatever).

Foley’s direction’s okay. I was expecting more from him, but both he and the script focus the episode around Tahan, who gets a literal slide show exposition dump. If Davis had looked into the camera and asked, “Any questions,” it wouldn’t have been a surprise for how much they info dump. Also, the teen actors aren’t bad. Sarah Jeffery’s still good as Tahan’s new girlfriend, but he’s in class with Sarah Desjardins and Samuel Patrick Chu, who get a lot of reaction shots and sell them.

The guest star this episode is Scott Michael Campbell, who’s new to town and needs a house, so Sossamon shows him one. Their arc compliments Dillon and Tahan’s, but it’s got nothing to do on its own. Except give Melissa Leo a scene. She’s still not good, but she’s getting less dreadful as the series goes on. It’s still a weird miss for her.

Oh, and then Sossamon’s other scene has Tahan being really shitty to her because she wants him to listen to her and treat her with respect, and he doesn’t have to do it anymore since he’s in “Wayward Pines.” It’s interesting because Tahan’s “better” as a little shit than when he was a thoughtful kid, and also, he seriously doesn’t remember running someone over with a car two episodes ago. He really does think they’re in an ordinary little town, at least until Davis truth bombs him.

I’m not interested to see if they’ll make this material, post-reveal, good, but it’s a compelling hook. Four episodes is too long to wait for it, though. Especially those four episodes.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e04 – One of Our Senior Realtors Has Chosen to Retire

Okay, so it’s way too little, probably way too late, but “Wayward Pines” might rally into mediocrity. This episode plays like the first episode after a pilot, meaning the first three episodes of the season, with the movie stars and former movie stars, were just the setup. Now we’ve got the actual show, which seems to be about Matt Dillon, wife Shannyn Sossamon, and son Charlie Tahan living in the weird town, “Wayward Pines.”

Even though the sheriff tried to kill them and there’s a giant electrified fence around the place, it still takes Sossamon and Tahan a while to realize they’re in a strange place. Though Tahan never really groks it. Tahan was sixteen or seventeen during filming, and they never mention his age, but he comes off like a complete doofus. Or he’s just got PTSD from last episode, which is possible too.

This episode’s about Dillon becoming the new sheriff, Tahan going to school, and Sossamon confronting Carla Gugino about the affair Gugino had with Dillon. It was five weeks ago for Sossamon, Dillon, and Tahan and twelve years ago for Gugino. Thanks to these plot developments, Gugino all of a sudden starts giving the best performance on the show since she’s got some very layered emotions to essay.

There are still some problems, of course. Melissa Leo is still bad. Though not as bad as before. The episode’s got a new writer, not series creator Chad Hodge; instead, Steven Levenson gets the credit, and he’s an immediate improvement. And Zal Batmanglij is back directing, which is fine. Until the finale, anyway. After an unbelievably strong episode, they try to flush all the stakes down the toilet, then cliffhang on the swirl.

The supporting performances are better, too, with Hope Davis as Tahan’s creepy school teacher and Barclay Hope as her husband, the mayor. Hope tries to warn Dillon about the town instead of forcing him into compliance. It’s more effective.

The main guest star is Justin Kirk, who appeared briefly last episode as a realtor setting Dillon up with his new house. Kirk’s a social malcontent—something the previous episodes suggested was impossible—and Dillon’s got to protect him from the ominous forces at work. And Leo, who wants Dillon to slit his throat in town hall because Shirley Jackson doesn’t exist in this universe.

It helps seeing the ordinary people around town; it helps having Sossamon there to balance Dillon out. They really shouldn’t have drug out the pilot to almost two and a half hours. Or at least gotten M. Night Shyamalan to direct all of it so the badness could’ve been more uniform.

There’s a good scene or two for Siobhan Fallon Hogan, as Dillon’s secretary at the sheriff’s office, and Sarah Jeffrey’s decent as Tahan’s new, high school love interest. Unfortunately, Toby Jones seems entirely lost in the plot at this point, and Reed Diamond doesn’t have enough to do, but… this episode’s from a far better show than I ever thought “Wayward Pines” was going to be based on the first three.

It’s actually possible—albeit unlikely—it won’t be a waste of time now.