S02.E09: Caveat Emptor

[ferjy]

Airdate 2019.12.04

Pop confronts his old demons.

 

Edited December 5, 2019 by ferjy
Fixed wrong episode number.

[Starchild]

Should be 2.09.

Well I'm a little surprised that Pop just gave up like that, letting himself (and his memories) be taken.

But it looks like a bullet to the brain doesn't destroy the core memories, or Ace/Gus wouldn't have shot him in the head. So I guess Pop didn't have a choice once the bomb didn't work.

[ferjy]

This episode was classic Stephen King with the small group of survivors that are immune to the existing evil power. Maybe a nod to The Stand with the band of plague survivors battling evil Flagg.

I thought Pop was going to blow up Augustin to smithereens along with himself until I saw him remove that battery so the bomb wouldn’t go off. He also injected himself with a dose of Halidol, and put another vial in his pocket. Guess he’s hoping to be taken to their lair. The Halidol will probably keep him from being turned. Or at least completely turned. It will be interesting to see what his plan is. Should be good next week. I’m sure Tim Robbins will act the hell out of the part, he’s good in any role he plays.

Edited December 5, 2019 by ferjy

[phoenix780]

Tim Robbins has been my least favorite part of the show only because of his fame level and how that's pulled me out of the story at times, but he really is a great actor. That last scene between Pop and the doctor...brutal. All the other tension and violence, and that's the scene that I remember most. 

I'm not sure how I want this to end, assuming next week is the finale. They've managed to get me to care about these characters, so I want happy endings. I also know that happy endings wouldn't fit. I want answers too, about the "angel" and why some didn't hear the sound. But, I also want more story around these things without knowing exactly what's going on. 

I very much appreciated and enjoyed the scene with Annie and the guy tied to the bed. Great reference to how I know the character from before, but without feeling cheesy or overemphasizing the reference. 

[tennisgurl]

Its great seeing Tim Robbins really join the rest of the plot, the scene between Nadia and Pops was brutal, especially as Pops died soon after. Or something, given whats happened before, he might not be down for the count! He is probably hoping to get possessed and then fight his out the way that Chris momentarily did and take them down when he knows what their evil plan is. I also like how they are tying this season into last season, with The Kid/Angel and the creepy cursed history of the town, but while still focusing on this seasons cast and their plots. 

The whole "random bunch of people with dark pasts have to work together to escape infected" is a very King style story, and I also liked the brief journey into Misery land again with Annie and the possessed guy. Oh my God her shoving those needles into the guys eyes was nasty!!

[jenn31]

Tim Robbins has been my favorite part of the season mostly because he is such a great actor. His reference to Shawshank is good too. 

Personally I’m getting tired of Psycho Annie. The eye stabbing was a bit much. More shock value than anything. Annie from the book went into sudden rages against the writer because he was messing with Misery in her eyes, and was punishing him. Although not the best of rationales, she didn’t go psycho for no reason. 

I’m not sure that they’ll mention why some couldn’t hear the angel. I thought it was just a Stephen King norm they were after. Like someone said, similar to The Stand, it was never said why the survivors were immune to the plague. They were just the reluctant heroes left to fight evil. Just as these are the unaffected ones fighting the evil body snatchers. 

[Paloma]

On 12/4/2019 at 10:56 PM, ferjy said:

I thought Pop was going to blow up Augustin to smithereens along with himself until I saw him remove that battery so the bomb wouldn’t go off. He also injected himself with a dose of Halidol, and put another vial in his pocket. Guess he’s hoping to be taken to their lair. The Halidol will probably keep him from being turned. Or at least completely turned. It will be interesting to see what his plan is.

I completely missed both of these things! I just assumed that, when he put on the bomb vest, he planned to kill himself (along with Ace and any other possessed people who got inside) in order to buy Nadia, Abdi, and the others some time to escape. Then when it looked like he tried to detonate it, I assumed that either the detonator had gone bad or he had made a mistake when putting the vest together. I guess if I knew anything about bombs or more generally about technology, I might have realized he removed the battery intentionally. 

Although I did notice the Haldol bottles and think I remember him looking at them, I didn't see that he injected himself. But I may have looked away briefly because my dog was demanding attention and I had to get up and put treats in his Kong toy! In any case, I was somewhat confused about what was happening during the scenes where Pop and the others were preparing for the invasion.

[HotRats2112]

11 hours ago, jenn31 said:

Annie from the book went into sudden rages against the writer because he was messing with Misery in her eyes, and was punishing him. Although not the best of rationales, she didn’t go psycho for no reason. 

I think she went into a rage because she wants Joy back.  Like Misery she wasn't getting what she wanted and went bonko. 

My question is this.  Will this season end to set up the movie Misery?  I'm guessing Joy dies and Annie never leaves the area.

Edited December 6, 2019 by HotRats2112

[BonnieD]

Misery didn't take place in Castle Rock but someplace out rest (as I recall) so I agree Joy will die or perhaps be chosen as Amity's vessel? And at the end of it all, Annie will head west toward her destiny.

[Peppermint Patty]

1 hour ago, BonnieD said:

Misery didn't take place in Castle Rock but someplace out rest (as I recall) so I agree Joy will die or perhaps be chosen as Amity's vessel? And at the end of it all, Annie will head west toward her destiny.

I don't think this is taking place in the same universe as Misery. Remember, in the Stephen King multiverse, "there are other worlds than these." The Ace we see here is not the Ace from The Body/Stand by Me and Needful Things, for example. I think 2019 Annie Wilkes is in a different multiverse than 1987 Annie Wilkes from Misery.

The end of Season 1 lost me a bit, but this season grabbed me by the throat and drew me back in. I'm totally hooked. I really liked Paul Sparks in the Waco miniseries, but he really shines here.

[TheLotusFlower]

21 hours ago, jenn31 said:

Personally I’m getting tired of Psycho Annie. The eye stabbing was a bit much. More shock value than anything. Annie from the book went into sudden rages against the writer because he was messing with Misery in her eyes, and was punishing him. Although not the best of rationales, she didn’t go psycho for no reason. 

Annie (in both "Misery" and "Castle Rock") goes into rages when she doesn't get what she wants.  In this case, what she wants more than anything is to get Joy back.  So she isn't really going "psycho for no reason."  In her mind, she's killing the people she views as impeding her mission to be with Joy.

[jenn31]

1 hour ago, TheLotusFlower said:

Annie (in both "Misery" and "Castle Rock") goes into rages when she doesn't get what she wants.  In this case, what she wants more than anything is to get Joy back.  So she isn't really going "psycho for no reason."  In her mind, she's killing the people she views as impeding her mission to be with Joy.

Nope, I maintain it’s overkill and done for shock value. If she was on a mission to save Joy she wouldn’t have killed the one guy they had hold of that could give them info to help them save anyone. The subtler moments are better, like when she picked up the mallet and we all of course thought she’d go for his feet. The blatant stabbing in the eyes not so much. 

[TexasGal]

I was so excited to see Frances Conroy in the beginning, and then poof.  Maybe she’ll be back next week.

I missed Pop taking the battery out but did see him nab the bottles of haldol.  This season has been so good, I’m sad it’s almost over. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

On ‎12‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 7:56 PM, ferjy said:

thought Pop was going to blow up Augustin to smithereens along with himself until I saw him remove that battery so the bomb wouldn’t go off. He also injected himself with a dose of Halidol, and put another vial in his pocket. Guess he’s hoping to be taken to their lair.

I thought that too. Does he think they're going to leave the bomb jacket on him when they take him back to the lair? It would've been better if he blew himself and Augustin up since he seems to be the leader of the witches.

Did I miss something or did it show how Annie got away from the cop that grabbed her at the end of the last episode when she was trying to get away with Joy. Also, how did Annie and the other 2 get in the shop after Pop had closed all the windows and doors with security shutters?

Do we only get 1 more episode? This season has been so good.

[BigBlueMastiff]

On 12/7/2019 at 4:25 PM, foxfreakinmulder said:

Also, how did Annie and the other 2 get in the shop after Pop had closed all the windows and doors with security shutters?

That confused me too, it looked like they broke through a door.

[Clanstarling]

 

On 12/5/2019 at 6:18 AM, phoenix780 said:

I'm not sure how I want this to end, assuming next week is the finale. They've managed to get me to care about these characters, so I want happy endings. I also know that happy endings wouldn't fit. I want answers too, about the "angel" and why some didn't hear the sound. But, I also want more story around these things without knowing exactly what's going on.

I wouldn't be surprised if they only give a teeny bit of explanation about the angel/kid. That way, for season 3, they can wrap a different story around him.

On 12/5/2019 at 8:09 PM, jenn31 said:

I’m not sure that they’ll mention why some couldn’t hear the angel. I thought it was just a Stephen King norm they were after. Like someone said, similar to The Stand, it was never said why the survivors were immune to the plague. They were just the reluctant heroes left to fight evil. Just as these are the unaffected ones fighting the evil body snatchers. 

When they were interrogating the survivors, Pop asked Annie if she heard a sound (after a sound, which I heard), and she said no. I'm guessing they all have a bit of a hearing problem in a specific range. Kind of like the Andromeda Strain, where it was something simple and biological. Though never clearly stated in The Stand, even though they weren't able to figure out why they were immune, I think it was probably something simple and biological. Some people are inexplicably immune to some diseases. And I think King does like to play around with those anomalies.

Edited December 21, 2019 by Clanstarling