Wayward Pines (2015) s02e06 – City Upon a Hill

Vincenzo Natali directs this episode. I’ve never seen any of his movies, but he’s far and away the best director of the season so far. He even knows how to do a Toby Jones cameo—as few lines as possible, as short of a scene as possible.

Jones shows up at the beginning for a flashback to before the construction of “Wayward Pines.” He’s in a helicopter gunship, shooting at the monsters in the forest as they frolic and tend to their young. They’re in the way of the wall, and so he has them shot dead.

Can’t imagine why they don’t like the humans.

Natali does a great job with the primordial bliss sequence, but where he really shows off is during the action sequence in the present. The monsters have gotten fire, and they’re burning down the town’s cornfields, so all the able-bodied civilians have to firefight while the soldiers provide cover. There’s a startling thirty-five killed, which ends up just showing how disposable the humans are in the show. Though they don’t even bother to track any of the casualties’ stories.

Well, not if they’re not special guest stars.

This episode has Tim Griffin’s flashbacks pre-season one, when he’s setting up Matt Dillon (and possibly Carla Gugino), so he can get together with Shannyn Sossamon. Sossamon returns for a really lousy final appearance; “Wayward Pines: Season One” had an absolutely disastrous plot outline. In season two, Sossamon ends up with the poopiest end of that stick.

Even worse, Griffin’s got scenes without his glue-on beard, which means it can’t do his acting for him. Instead, he’s got to try to keep up with… well, Hope Davis, sure, but Griffin can’t even successfully stalk Sossamon when he’s inserted into scenes from season one. Real lazy.

However, it’s another “Wayward Pines” where someone on the writing staff heard my dismay from the future and had someone comment on the Nazi uniforms all the bros wear. Unfortunately, it’s Josh Helman making the observation to Christopher Meyer. Helman’s white, Meyer’s Black, and the scene has Meyer defending Nazi uniforms (ignorantly because they wouldn’t have been taught world history or the Nazis being bad). Since “Wayward Pines” is a Fox show… makes you wonder if the News department made some requests.

Also, it turns out Helman is supposed to be playing a scoundrel a la Han Solo, which just makes the whole thing worse. Helman is better than Griffin in this episode. Griffin without his fake beard is worse than Helman; a surprise, but also maybe not. What they really needed was a glue-on beard for Helman.

There are a lot of scenes at the hospital—Hassler and Sossamon are both injured—and Amitai Marmorstein gets some great scenes with Jason Patric. Marmorstein’s such a good twerp, and Patric finally fully engages, leading to some great moments.

Other plot points include Kacey Rohl going a little Lady Macbeth with Tom Stevens, who’s doubting his chosen one status as the world literally burns thanks to his policies (making him more self-aware than, what, ninety-five percent of politicians), and then Davis and Patric doing some tests on the captured female creature. Turns out their brains are big in all the right places.

There’s a soft cliffhanger, but it’s also clear “Pines” is gearing up for the final arc. Everything is very dramatic, very consequential. We’ll see if they do better than last time. Regardless, I hope Natali’s back for more episodes.

Wayward Pines (2015) s02e02 – Blood Harvest

Djimon Hounsou arrives this episode as the town farmer. He’s supposedly a protege of first-season villain Toby Jones, though there’s no explanation why he wasn’t around before. It stands out, of course, because Jones’s villain was pretty plainly racist; the whole project—in the first season—was about breeding white babies. In the second season, the show’s definitely gotten the note about having some Black characters; though, so far, they’re all villains.

The episode begins with a surprise resolution to last episode’s cliffhanger. Little Nazi-in-charge Tom Stevens (who’s actually great as an evil little shit) broke his promise to Jason Patric and Charlie Tahan and sent them out beyond the wall to let the monsters eat them. Only the monsters ignore them to instead pile up against the fence, which electrocutes them dead until the bodies get high enough to jump over.

I’m ninety percent sure I’ve seen the same device used somewhere else, but it’s a solid device and effective here.

Stevens gets all his teen stormtroopers in trucks and drives out to fend off the invasion. He brings his girlfriend, Kacey Rohl, along with him, which results in her getting almost immediately injured and Stevens needing Patric back from the monster side of the wall.

If Patric can save Rohl, he’ll get some semblance of a normal life again—a job as town doctor (they don’t have any others) and to live with wife Nimrat Kaur. Turns out Kaur’s got a bunch of secrets she hasn’t been telling Patric about, though he’s not ready to accept he’s living in a post-post-apocalyptic future where man-eating monsters are running around; so maybe he can’t handle her truths either.

Meanwhile, Shannyn Sossamon is back, trying to get Stevens to go out and get Tahan too. The little fascists’ only rule is they can’t kill each other, and Stevens is breaking that rule.

Sossamon being back makes almost no sense, given where things finished up last season and then with Tahan being an underground revolutionary. Apparently, since the first season, Sossamon’s gotten generally okay with living in military occupation as long as she gets her house. It’s unclear. Sossamon’s pretty good, though, albeit just in a “hysterical mom” part.

She’s got a scene opposite Kaur where it seems like Sossamon will have something to do with Patric and the new A plot, but nothing comes of it. It’s going to be interesting to see how “Wayward Pines” handles its guest stars and season one returnees.

Another returnee, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, finally gets a real scene, albeit one where she’s recovering from the electroshock therapy the kids do to keep her in line.

Patric’s good, Kaur’s good, Stevens is good. There’s a lot with Patric discovering how bad Stevens has been at caring for the townspeople, and Stevens hates Patric being right. Amitai Marmorstein’s awesome as this medical student who looks up to Patric.

Once again, there’s something almost schlocky to it, like “Pines: Season Two” is an Ozploitation flick instead of a vain attempt from Fox to get another “Lost” going. I expected the fascist teens in charge plot to stink, but they’re making it work.

Oh. Toby Jones is back for a cameo, looking markedly older than last season, which breaks the suspended animation conceit. But it’s fine; it’s first thing and over fast.

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.

Wayward Pines (2015) s01e03 – Our Town, Our Law

Despite a gory exit last episode, Juliette Lewis is still in the opening titles. It initially made me wonder if “Pines” is going to kill off a main actor every week and just leave them in the titles to remind who’s already gone. She shows up for a moment later, no lines; I wonder if she got paid for it.

It’s a better episode than the two previous ones. The writing’s still Chad Hodge and still insipid; Zal Batmanglij is the director, and Batmanglij has some good shots, which are the first good shots in “Wayward Pines.” There are still some bad CG composites, but there are only so many miracles competence can bring.

The plot’s a bit of a surprise, just because of how much they get done.

The episode opens with lead Matt Dillon—somewhat more comfortable as a TV star, but not much—recovering from last episode’s adventure and pestering ex-partner, ex-lover Carla Gugino, even though she tells him he’s in great danger and needs to chill out. He’s been given a second chance in “Wayward Pines,” he needs to take it.

Dillon’s arc for the first half of the episode involves trying to stow away in a food delivery van. It seems like it will have a predictable conclusion but actually doesn’t. Not in a good way.

The real plot of the episode is Dillon’s wife and son, Shannyn Sossamon, and Charlie Tahan, respectively, coming to town to look for him. Tahan’s convinced he’s run away with Gugino, which leads to some turmoil once Sossamon and Tahan find out Gugino’s there, and Dillon hasn’t provided them any context. They don’t realize they’re in a Stepford town; they just think Dillon ran out on them.

Meanwhile, sheriff Terrence Howard is getting more and more fed up with Dillon refusing to get with the program, despite all the chances Dillon’s getting. It boils over when even Sossamon is rude to Howard, and they all end up on the unpredictable collision course.

Also, a surprise is another of “Wayward Pines”’s secrets. The show’s very much doing the “It’s not just dragons… It’s zombies and dragons” approach to its mythology.

Howard lets loose this episode, performance-wise, which provides a lot of personality and actual tension. Sossamon’s better than she’s ever been before, Toby Jones has a good moment, Gugino’s solid. The end is a big twist, but the show’s definitely not as bad as it’s been to this point.

It’s not good—and it’s bitten off a lot to chew at this point—but it clearly could be worse.