S01.E08: The Friendliest Place On Earth

[Tara Ariano]

An explosion on Main Street leaves two key residents of Wayward Pines in critical condition. As Ethan works to determine who's responsible for this horrific act, Harold opts out of the covert operation he and Kate were planning. Meanwhile, Nurse Pam questions surveillance engineers to make sure no workers are making false reports.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Where did all these other hospital personnel come from ?  There was over a half dozen people working there just hanging out -- in the late evening no less -- to respond to Ben and Amy's injuries.  Where have they been all this time ?  Of course, Ben and Amy are going to be just fine.  I like when Ethan asked Nurse Pam if the doctor was really a doctor ?  And since he is an "actual doctor", how come Nurse Pam had to stitch up her own nose when Ethan broke it ?  Even with all these other nurses around, one of them could have done it for her.  That makes no sense.

 

So the guy that Harold is treating in the woods, Eric, was pinned between the dumpster and Ethan's truck -- no wonder he doesn't look well.  The only problem -- you look back at the crash with the dumpster and Ethan's truck, there were 3 guys at the dumpster and none of them were pinned between truck and the dumpster.  In fact the guy that was "supposedly" injured flung himself away from the dumpster before the impact even occurred  -- so, how exactly did he hurt himself falling down when he limped off with the other two.  It certainly didn't appear to be a fatal wound.  I'm surprised to see that the hotel clerk is one of the rebels.

 

Pilcher isn't handling the truck bombing and the possible harm to the children well. so Nurse Pam suggests they hold a festival to cheer everyone up and remind them of how precious life is in WP (precious,that is, except for all the reckonings).

 

While sleeping in the jail cell, Kate dreams about her time in a rubber room with Dr. Jenkins/Pilcher -- and she knew about the fence and the chip in her leg, and was losing it since she had been in that room for two months.

 

The real estate office receptionist who was going to leave town is back at the coffee shop, so I guess she didn't get very far.

Ruby the barista seems to be having a bad day -- she's late for work and then she gets a phone call and is told to announce a fellowship gathering with mandatory attendance.  Looks like Ruby is one of the rebels, as she picks pine needles out of her hair.  And Pilcher notices that as well, and goes back to the mountain and discovers that Ruby's chip is at her house.  Pilcher starts tracking who else has taken out their chips, and turns paranoid that the internal team of 24 responsible for surveillance have turned on him.  Nurse Pam conducts interviews to find who may be the traitor -- and finds one guy, Reggie, who is sympathetic to the WP townsfolk and admits to not reporting stuff.

 

Ethan confronts Kate about the bomb and how it nearly killed Ben, which causes Kate to confirm that the bomb was meant for the fence but discloses nothing else.

 

After Ben wakes up and Theresa goes to check on Amy, Mrs. Fisher uses the opportunity to have a little chat with Ben.  Mrs. Fisher tries to pin the truck bombing on Ethan for letting Harold go free -- and then she throws shade on Ethan for fucking up and being lenient, and starts pushing the 'clear laws and severe punishment' credo.

 

After Eric dies, Harold and another rebel start digging his grave in the woods, but Nameless Rebel # 2 says that they can't bury him in WP that he needs to be buried in free soil outside the fence.  Why exactly ?  When none of the WP townsfolk has set foot outside of the fence in the history of WP.

 

Harold and Nameless Rebel #2 decide to steal a dump truck to break through the fence.  Which means that stealing the dump truck and plowing it through the fence was never a Plan C for the rebels, Rebel # 2 just came up with it on the spot.  I guess Ford isn't a sponsor of the show, because the Ford logo has been replaced by a Wayward Pines logo on the grill of the truck (really ?).

 

Wow, they really put that Fellowship Gathering together quickly.  They've got popcorn and pretzels and roasted corn and balloons.  Ruby tells the hotel clerk that Ted didn't make it -- how the hell did Ted get killed but Ben and Amy survived that explosion, let alone that Ted had been burned over 90% of his body if the explosion barely took out the left rear corner of the truck ? 

 

Ben has drunk Mrs. Fisher's kool-aid -- and places all the blame for the bombing on Ethan and his bad police work, and his relationship with Kate.  At least Theresa picked up on the fact that it's likely Mrs. Fisher spoon-feeding Ben info.  And Ethan letting the perp go way back in 2014 (on orders from higher ups) is what caused "the Easter bombings" in DC and LA at the same time that killed 621 people.  And the guilt over letting the guy go (even though he was following orders) is what drove him into the arms of Kate.  Whatever.

 

Nurse Pam flat out lies to Pilcher about Reggie -- and Pilcher knows that Pam is lying.  He tells her that he would hate to have to punish someone internal.  Why is Pam helping the rebels when she has appeared to be doing everything but that for the entire series ?

 

Theresa confronts Mrs. Fisher about manipulating Ben and Mrs. Fisher accuses Theresa of being paranoid.  Meanwhile, Pilcher confronts Kate in jail, and she tells him that she knows who he is, that she remembers.  Pilcher tells her that you can have freedom or safety, but not both.

 

While having tea in his office with Pam, Pilcher calls security on Reggie.  Pam confesses that she also lied to him, and all of a sudden Pam has tremendous sympathy for the WP townsfolk.  Pilcher decides "no more killing" and puts Reggie back in the freezer, with everyone in the mountain bearing witness.  Per the date on Reggie's capsule, it is October 27, 4028.  Here's a question -- if WP has been active for 14 years, how is Reggie -- a beloved member of the internal staff -- only 26 years old ?  Did they only defrost him recently, because that makes no sense ?  They would have defrosted all the volunteers immediately to have a full workforce to rebuild the town.

 

Harold backs out on the plan to drive the truck through the fence, so Rebel # 2 and the body of Eric are headed for the fence, while Ethan catches Harold.  Rebel # 2 drives the truck through the gate in the fence -- and the truck stops in the middle of the gate.  As Rebel # 2 (seriously, I've got no idea what this guy's name is) celebrates with the body of Eric that they are finally free outside the fence, they are set upon by a group of Abbies who start eating them -- karma is a bit of a bitch sometimes.

 

That fence gate looked pretty flimsy -- sure it was electrified, but you would think they would have made it out of thicker steel than that.

 

I still find it hard to believe that there are that many top-level predators roaming the woods right outside the fence.  Because with that many around, I would think the food chain would be seriously out of balance since the abbies eat everything.  Sure, they recently had a nice snack of Sheriff Pope, but I would think the abbies would have to keep moving on after killing everything in a certain area.

[Free]

 

Ben has drunk Mrs. Fisher's kool-aid -- and places all the blame for the bombing on Ethan and his bad police work, and his relationship with Kate.

 

He was already buying into her every word since he went to school, this kid will buy into anything.

 

 

Pilcher isn't handling the truck bombing and the possible harm to the children well. so Nurse Pam suggests they hold a festival to cheer everyone up and remind them of how precious life is in WP (precious,that is, except for all the reckonings).

 

With people this dumb and out of touch, it's no wonder the rebels can easily meet in secret and come up with stupid plans that end up backfiring.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Free

[Ronin Jackson]

At this point Pilcher and Ethan both have the same immediate motive... preventing the rebel group from taking down the wall. The best way to go about that is to convince the leader that their actions are a threat to the town and all of humanity. But Pilcher sticks to his dogma about how it'll destroy the town if anyone knows, even if it's apparent it could destroy the town if he insists on keeping this woman in the dark. And the best argument Ethan's got is "I'm your partner... trust me". Nothing about how strange an anomoly it is that his teenage son she knew 12 years ago isn't a grown ass man yet.

It bothers me when characters behave stupidly to service the plot. Neither of these characters are supposed to be stupid. Pilcher is supposed to be some kind of genius and Ethan supposed to be capable. There are so many ways these characters could have more intelligently pursued their central motivation and still failed. That they failed by acting illogically and out of character just smacks of lazy writing.

[grandemocha]

It was supposed to be a serious moment, but since I don't give a damn about Ben I must admit that I laughed my ass off at Ethan asking "Is this guy a real doctor?". 

 

Man, Kate is one tough woman. Everything she went through with Pilcher, Pam, and she is still holding it together. Never thought I'd be rooting for her and Harold over Ethan, but I am at this point. I'm liking Theresa alot more tonight too after she straight up told off crazy hypno teacher. 

Edited July 10, 2015 by grandemocha

[SienaBG]

People hello. Am I the only one who sees the oddest thing of today's episode ? Why didn't nobody guard the fence ? The guy just came with the car and smashed into it. I mean, you could ask the same question for the whole time the WP exists, but after the first attack, wasn't that the first thing they should have done ?

[Primetimer]

Wayward Pines tells us who watches the watchmen, and also what dweebs the watchmen are.

Read the story

[Tabasco Cat]

The old disappearing backpack trick! "We'll keep on going until we get to San Francisco," and Harold has his large backpack strapped on standing in the open door of the truck. "We'll be drinking beers by morning", and abracadabra! Poof! The backpack is gone!

[blueiris]

Quick question - how are some of you seeing the eps so early n the day???  Am I missing a secret portal?  Cause at this point I'd like to just get the last two eps over with as soon as possible to get this shlockfest over with.  Ben - "you're a hero now!"  Please no!  Maybe they'll make him the sheriff after he reckons his father.

[Tabasco Cat]

Also, let's blame the sex truck explosion on a gas leak. Because, of course, the town has to have a utilities infrastructure that includes both electric AND gas.

 

I thought the episode review by Alex Zeidel was one of the funniest things I've seen all year. I got way more enjoyment reading that than I'll ever get watching this show to the bitter end.

[HunterHunted]

Just think that if Ethan, Pilcher, or Sheriff Pope had just walked the rebels to the wall, given them a canteen of water, some rations, maybe a machete to fend for themselves, and said you're free to go and free to stay, Wayward Pines would probably not be in this situation. Especially if the Wayward Pines leadership overdid it about the prep needed for beyond the wall like giving them Geiger counters and anything else that makes it seem like it's the end of the world outside of those walls. It took these folks 20 years to rebel even while being terrorized in their town. If the people who were doing the terrorizing seem more frightened by what's beyond the wall, at least some of the rebels would instantly reconsider.

One of the watcher true believers mentioned having a husband and kids. Why wouldn't Pam and Pilcher seed in some of the true believers into Wayward Pines? They know the truth. As long as they are discrete, they can both spy and realign the community back to Pilcher way. And if some of overt cameras start to disappear, Wayward Pines would feel a little less oppressive.

I don't know if it's the prospect of potential teen second base action or the head trauma, but Ben really is all in. I know Kate's involvement doesn't help because Ben has a teenager's understanding of nuance and subtlety.

[grandemocha]

 

Cause at this point I'd like to just get the last two eps over with as soon as possible to get this shlockfest over with.

You could just read the summaries of the last two episodes instead of wasting 90 minutes of your time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Strangely enough, I think by Kate's rebel group having to work amongst themselves for years and slowly try to plan their escape will somehow make them more resilient when they discover the truth of the outside world and the abbies. Instead of just being told immediately, they've worked for years to try and get out. Might be to their benefit. Goodness knows Kate has clearly undergone psychological abuse and drugging, I think she could adjust.

 

 

It took these folks 20 years to rebel even while being terrorized in their town.

It hasn't been 20 years. Just a bit less than 12. It seems like the rebel group started with Kate and even that didn't begin until she was out of the padded room and straight jacket. 

Edited July 10, 2015 by grandemocha

[slothgirl]

Harold and Nameless Rebel #2 decide to steal a dump truck to break through the fence.  Which means that stealing the dump truck and plowing it through the fence was never a Plan C for the rebels, Rebel # 2 just came up with it on the spot.

 

Nurse Pam flat out lies to Pilcher about Reggie -- and Pilcher knows that Pam is lying.  He tells her that he would hate to have to punish someone internal.  Why is Pam helping the rebels when she has appeared to be doing everything but that for the entire series ?

 

While having tea in his office with Pam, Pilcher calls security on Reggie.  Pam confesses that she also lied to him, and all of a sudden Pam has tremendous sympathy for the WP townsfolk.  Pilcher decides "no more killing" and puts Reggie back in the freezer, with everyone in the mountain bearing witness.  Per the date on Reggie's capsule, it is October 27, 4028.  Here's a question -- if WP has been active for 14 years, how is Reggie -- a beloved member of the internal staff -- only 26 years old ?  Did they only defrost him recently, because that makes no sense ?  They would have defrosted all the volunteers immediately to have a full workforce to rebuild the town.

 

Harold backs out on the plan to drive the truck through the fence, so Rebel # 2 and the body of Eric are headed for the fence, while Ethan catches Harold.  Rebel # 2 drives the truck through the gate in the fence -- and the truck stops in the middle of the gate. 

Stealing the truck and driving it though the fence was so damn easy, you gotta wonder why they didn't just do that ages ago.

 

Melissa Leo is so good that I can buy all this character shifting and believe there's more to her than what we see on the surface. I just hope she actually does have depth in the story and it isn't just Leo's ability to sell anything due to her acting chops.

 

Of course, it could be that she just cares a whole lot more about the "family" in the bunker and didn't want to see one of them "reckoned". I dont think Reggie was trying to aid a rebellion and I think Pam didn't believe that to be the case either. I do get the impression that Pam has realized that her brother is a whackadoodle.

 

My guess is that they have been augmenting their survellance staff over time as the population of WP grew. Chances are, the volunteers are not only limited, but are also all in a narrow age range when frozen. They need to stagger the thawing to make the volunteer population last. The so called 1st generation (which makes no sense, but whatever) is still too young to take over that role.

[Shermie]

With his big forehead, droopy jowls and pinched expression, Pincher looks like Brain of Pinky and the Brain. Does that make Pam Pinky?

One is a genius, the other insane...

[Valny]

I enjoyed this show much more when we didn't know what the hell WP was all about. Now I'm just kind of casually watching or doing stuff around the house while watching.
Damn, I was hoping dopey Ben wouldn't make it(don't get me started on that bomb) but I knew they'd never kill him off.
Just two more eps to go! I can make it!

Edited July 10, 2015 by Valny

[thuganomics85]

So, Ben is basically fine, but Amy now complains about a headache?  Yep, I'm calling it: her injury will end up being worse then they thought, and she's either going to die or be put out of commission. This is going to set Ben off, which I'm so not looking forward too, because I was already getting annoyed with him tonight.  Dude is letting Hope Davis play him like a fiddle.  What an idiot.

 

Meanwhile, Pilcher is just losing his damn mind now.  You know things have gone south, when fucking Pam of all people is like "You need to lay off the crazy pills, brother!"  He thinks one of the surveillance is a mole for the rebellion, so he has Pam investigate.  She doesn't find any, but they do find out that one was being too lax with residents asking questions, so Pilcher has him... buried alive?  I wasn't sure what they were doing with him.  Either way, Pilcher is kind of being an idiot now.  At this point, things are getting worse, and I just can't see why he doesn't realize that it would be better off to at least try and tell everyone the truth, because if not, they are still going to go down the same path as Group A, but maybe even worse.

 

I usually love Carla Gugino, but I thought the flashback scenes with the straight-jacket, were pretty bad.  Just too hammy and not in a good way.

 

There was one line in particular, where Matt Dillon honestly sounded exactly like his brother, Kevin Dillon, and it just started cracking me up.  I was just picturing Johnny Drama from Entourage in Wayward Pines.  And then I quickly came to the conclusion that that Johnny Drama wouldn't make it past a day before getting executed, and I moved on from there.

 

You know, Harold: I get being loyal to your wife and everything, but if you are going to go back for her and you know that the sheriff wants your ass, maybe, just maybe, stay off the roads.  That way you won't get caught, pistol-whipped, and handcuffed to a tree.

 

Rebel Dude does get the truck through the wall, but now got offed by the creatures.  Should be fun!

[Free]

 

You could just read the summaries of the last two episodes instead of wasting 90 minutes of your time? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

It's 2 more episodes left, which isn't that much left if you made it this far, you can drop it after the season is over if it does continue.

 

 

Quick question - how are some of you seeing the eps so early n the day???  Am I missing a secret portal?  Cause at this point I'd like to just get the last two eps over with as soon as possible to get this shlockfest over with.  Ben - "you're a hero now!"  Please no!  Maybe they'll make him the sheriff after he reckons his father.

 

It airs in other countries, which is why it's leaked online much earlier than the regular US airing.  You can try and find it online as it usually appears earlier in the day depending on your time zone and where you're from.

[legaleagle53]

So, Ben is basically fine, but Amy now complains about a headache?  Yep, I'm calling it: her injury will end up being worse then they thought, and she's either going to die or be put out of commission. This is going to set Ben off, which I'm so not looking forward too, because I was already getting annoyed with him tonight.  Dude is letting Hope Davis play him like a fiddle.  What an idiot.

 

Meanwhile, Pilcher is just losing his damn mind now.  You know things have gone south, when fucking Pam of all people is like "You need to lay off the crazy pills, brother!"  He thinks one of the surveillance is a mole for the rebellion, so he has Pam investigate.  She doesn't find any, but they do find out that one was being too lax with residents asking questions, so Pilcher has him... buried alive?  I wasn't sure what they were doing with him.

 

 

 

They were putting him back into cryostasis.  Pilcher himself declared that there would be no "reckonings" of internal personnel -- they would simply be put back into cold storage to be re-integrated at some time later in the future.

[alias1]

Well, I actually thought they should have explained some of what we saw tonight earlier in the show.  Like when Kate was in a straight jacket.  And the bombing that Ethan blamed himself for. It's too late now for me to care about any of that. 

[Free]

Well, I actually thought they should have explained some of what we saw tonight earlier in the show.  Like when Kate was in a straight jacket.  And the bombing that Ethan blamed himself for. It's too late now for me to care about any of that. 

 

Way too late, it's a problem that I figured would happen after the big game changer twist in ep. 5, everything else feels so trivial by comparison.  I would've been more interested during the build phase when WP was still a mystery.

[Actionmage]

so Pilcher has him... buried alive?  I wasn't sure what they were doing with him.

 

Good to know it wasn't just me.  It looked like they filled the chamber with black dirt. or flaky potting soil or something like that.  I saw nothing that looked like liquid or icy or "cooling liquid" or what have you.  When Pilcher and the True Believers were defrosted in that earlier episode, they seemed to come out of the containers relatively clean, not dirty. Unless we have cryo-tech that looks like dirt and "melts" after its "expiration date."

 

I am going to have to read up on Klimt. Pilcher has a handful of those pieces, in addition to others. Maybe there is something about the painter that spoke to Doc Pilcher, not so much the pieces themselves?

 

Who is ready for a Theresa v. Megan rumble? I am. If that bitch (and anyone trying to tear my family apart knowingly is) thinks she can just whatever? I would happily knock that thought, in that head of hers, around until it came out some hole.

 

As other posters noted, due to Kate's ordeals and ability to keep her sense of self, I am rooting for the Rebel Alliance.   

 

And yes, Doc Pilcher, all the injuries and deaths were preventable-- by you! So just get into your little dirt nap capsule and have a think, alright?

 

Just two more and I can treat this like Under The Dome. Cool premise, not great execution.

[grandemocha]

 

And the bombing that Ethan blamed himself for. It's too late now for me to care about any of that.

This was explained perfectly fine in 1x01 and 1x02. What else did we need to know? Clearly Ethan felt guilty about the bombings and felt like he was responsible which was noted by the way he memorized the names of the victims. He turned to Kate for the affair as a coping mechanism because he could be open with her about it all and not Theresa. Enough said IMO. Who cares about the bomber's name? It's irrelevant.

 

As for Kate, if we had learned she was psychoanalyzed by Pilcher and tortured by Pam with drugs early on, people would have complained about too much info too soon. It couldn't have even possibly been revealed until after 1x05 when we learned Kate wasn't an obedient little citizen, and that's when we officially met Pilcher as himself and not Jenkins. Tonight was 1x08. It could have been stuck in the last episode and they could have removed some of the boring teen stuff.

Edited July 10, 2015 by grandemocha

[kat165]

I'm almost actively hating this show and can't wait for it to end. I've stuck it out this far so I will watch the last 2 eps. It is so poorly written. Things that were hinted at in the beginning weren't followed up on (lazy, sloppy writing) and everything everyone's mentioned above my post. So many plot holes. And so totally depressing. I went into this thinking it would be a nice little mystery, but the abbies and the whole dystopian nature is just bumming me out. You couldn't pay me to read the books.

Edited July 10, 2015 by kat165

[Free]

 

Enough said IMO. Who cares about the bomber's name? It's irrelevant.

 

That's the whole problem, it's all irrelevant especially after the big twist and the rebel storyline happening no matter the outcome.

[grandemocha]

 

That's the whole problem, it's all irrelevant especially after the big twist and the rebel storyline happening no matter the outcome.

Meh, agree to disagree. I like Kate's character much more now than I did in the beginning. I'm actively rooting for her to succeed (obviously not for her to get eaten outside the walls, but just to get the actual truth.) The flashbacks/dreams she had helped me with that because it really drove home (for me) why she so desperately wants to get out after being fucked over by Hassler (IMO that message Kate said she got from him was a set up, he's on Pilcher's side and he sent her there on purpose) , Pilcher, and Pam. 

[Free]

Meh, agree to disagree. I like Kate's character much more now than I did in the beginning. I'm actively rooting for her to succeed (obviously not for her to get eaten outside the walls, but just to get the actual truth.) The flashbacks/dreams she had helped me with that because it really drove home (for me) why she so desperately wants to get out after being fucked over by Hassler (IMO that message Kate said she got from him was a set up, he's on Pilcher's side and he sent her there on purpose) , Pilcher, and Pam. 

 

The problem is the outcome doesn't matter, we, the audience, already know the truth, so constantly keeping them in the dark doesn't change their hopeless situation either way.  It's just a battle between the dumb crazies vs the dumb rebels and it doesn't matter which side 'wins'.  We can get a bajillion sob stories from these people and it really doesn't matter knowing what we know, especially this late into the season.

[Tabasco Cat]

When Pam went to get Pilcher some pie and he picked up the phone and asked for Security, I thought he wanted them to arrest Pam. He was snippy to her this episode. He had some resentment toward her in one of the earlier flashbacks, calling her a "drug addict". I think he will turn on Pam as sure as what they showed in the preview is definitely not going to happen next week.

Edited July 10, 2015 by Tabasco Cat

[grandemocha]

 

The problem is the outcome doesn't matter, we, the audience, already know the truth, so constantly keeping them in the dark doesn't change their hopeless situation either way.

...Okay. But I am fine with that personally. Obviously the truth was revealed to us (and Ethan) in episode 5. But Kate, Harold, and the other rebels still don't know. Yeah, the situation is likely hopeless. But they want the truth and until they get it, they will continue to try to escape. I didn't see it as a sob story, it just was additional character depth for me. Like the bit about how Harold (thinks he has still) a fiancee out in the real world. It makes the characters more than just boring caricatures for me. 

 

The reality of the situation isn't going to change no matter what. It is 4028 and predators want to eat them all alive. But so be it, Kate and the rebels will have to come to terms with the truth in their own ways and meanwhile I am rooting for them. 

[Free]

...Okay. But I am fine with that personally. Obviously the truth was revealed to us (and Ethan) in episode 5. But Kate, Harold, and the other rebels still don't know. Yeah, the situation is likely hopeless. But they want the truth and until they get it, they will continue to try to escape. I didn't see it as a sob story, it just was additional character depth for me. Like the bit about how Harold (thinks he has still) a fiancee out in the real world. It makes the characters more than just boring caricatures for me. 

 

The reality of the situation isn't going to change no matter what. It is 4028 and predators want to eat them all alive. But so be it, Kate and the rebels will have to come to terms with the truth in their own ways and meanwhile I am rooting for them. 

 

But that also points to bigger problem with the 'keeping people in the dark' trope.  Whether or not they know won't matter either way in the story or the show because the outcome would be bleak either way.

[CarpeDiem54]

Whatever happened to that vacant lot with the mystery metal trapdoor?

ottoDbusdriver - I love your recaps!

[ottoDbusdriver]

Whatever happened to that vacant lot with the mystery metal trapdoor?

 

Good question that I also forgot about -- it seems to have been completely dropped after addressing twice in the last two episodes.  Now the $64,000 question is -- if Theresa goes back to Lot 33, will she pass by a woman walking a dog and a guy carrying a briefcase as she walks down the sidewalk ?  As has happened the both times she has gone there.

 

Thanks for the kudos @CarpeDiem54

[Actionmage]

Clearly Ethan felt guilty about the bombings and felt like he was responsible which was noted by the way he memorized the names of the victims.

 

Yes, in the first two episodes, it was set up that Ethan felt gut-churning, potentially family-demolishing guilt. Why he felt that, besides the obvious, would help us in the audience get a better handle on Ethan's character- as in mental/emotional make up- earlier in the proceedings.

 

That he blindly followed orders to the detriment of 621 lives would have underlined his need to find his fellow agents and keep civilians safe. The reveal of Pilcher choosing people who "deserved" a second chance would have earned nods from some of us in the audience. Knowing that Ethan is a workhorse that will travel to the ends of the world to catch his quarry would be highlighted. We already knew he was dogged, but that he was able to find his Ossama and was ready to bring him to the States when he chose to obey the direct order of his boss(es) and let the prime suspect go? Ethan's buying in to Pilcher's story while supposedly not on their side would have felt, imo, more like how Kate was presented tonight. Ethan just took a different path to that state. Only, Kate was abused by Pilcher and Pam so they really shouldn't have trusted Kate with a pink eraser, let alone expected her to pop babies out with a stranger.

 

I would have appreciated the Kate flashbacks a bit earlier too. We would have known for sure that she wasn't some pod person, or at least known she was an awesome agent for keeping things unreal for a dozen years or so while helping lead an underground rebellion. ( Still, I wonder about the narcing on Beverly. Personal grudge?  Just a part of their protective covering? It would have been nice to hear something about that. Not an episode's worth, just a couple of lines about why tattle on Beverly.)

 

I also am not happy with how Ethan gets to cause all sorts of headaches and chaos for Pam and Pope, but ends up sheriff, yet Kate has to endure a straightjacket, drugs, mental and psychological torture, and who know what all else for quite probably the exact same damn things! Plus, she has the expectation, along with everyone else, of making babies with a person who is not her chosen Significant Other. Ethan's got his damn pissy family there right along with him! (I do like Matt Dillon; it's the writing for Ethan that can drive me bazoo.)

[janie jones]

One of the watcher true believers mentioned having a husband and kids. Why wouldn't Pam and Pilcher seed in some of the true believers into Wayward Pines? They know the truth. As long as they are discrete, they can both spy and realign the community back to Pilcher way. And if some of overt cameras start to disappear, Wayward Pines would feel a little less oppressive.

That's one thing that bothered me in this episode.  So there are these people having babies in the bunker.  Why aren't they The First Generation?  Are they just planning to have these two societies living separately for the rest of time?  It doesn't make any sense.  Or once Wayward Pines becomes "self-sufficient" like they for some reason believe it has the ability to, will these people just move into town?  In that case, then why (as I as well as others have asked) don't they just have the volunteers be the Wayward Pines citizens?

 

 

 

Why is Pam helping the rebels when she has appeared to be doing everything but that for the entire series ?

I don't think Pam is helping the rebels; I think she's sympathizing with the prisoners.  Which isn't surprising, since she seems to be friends with some of them.

 

Plus, she has the expectation, along with everyone else, of making babies with a person who is not her chosen Significant Other.

Are people's marriages arranged?  I mean I know those two teenagers are being encouraged to get together, but I never got the impression that they made people get married.  I can see the two of them getting married to keep up appearances.

 

So, I can't stand Hope Davis's mannerisms.  I've never seen her in anything else that I can recall (I looked her up and I've seen her in stuff, but I don't remember her), so I'm wondering, is it the character or her?  I also can't stand how her hair is always falling forward.  I have long hair too and I can't stand when my hair is like that.  It makes me think she hates her ears.

Edited July 10, 2015 by janie jones

[juliet73]

This show just gets worse and worse each week! At this point, I'm just watching so I can come on here and read all of your comments - they are way more entertaining than this show. I know this is a minor detail, but it's really bugging me, why does Pilcher write scripts for Kate? Why doesn't he just give her the pills? And do they really have Lexapro 2000 years in the future?

[memememe76]

The reality of the situation isn't going to change no matter what. It is 4028 and predators want to eat them all alive. But so be it, Kate and the rebels will have to come to terms with the truth in their own ways and meanwhile I am rooting for them. 

 

I root for them too. I want Kate and Theresa to rule everything. Theresa's utter hatred for the teacher is so fantastic. Actually, I think the show does an excellent job with the female characters. Less so with the men. But I am still really digging this show.

[Accidental Martyr]

Stealing the truck and driving it though the fence was so damn easy, you gotta wonder why they didn't just do that ages ago.

Yeah, for a place with a few hundred people who are supposedly under 24 hr. surveillance, it sure was easy to steal a (2000 year-old) dump truck and drive it through the fence.

[Tabasco Cat]

Yeah, for a place with a few hundred people who are supposedly under 24 hr. surveillance, it sure was easy to steal a (2000 year-old) dump truck and drive it through the fence.

 

The supreme irony is that in a show with plot holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through, the literal driving of a big truck through a hole was not one of them.

 

It's a continuity error, not a plot hole, but it still bothers me how sloppy it was when Harold is bailing on his buddy and going back to Kate that his pretty big backpack just disappears while he's backing out of the plan.

[jhlipton]

Pilcher isn't handling the truck bombing and the possible harm to the children well. so Nurse Pam suggests they hold a festival to cheer everyone up and remind them of how precious life is in WP (precious,that is, except for all the reckonings). Wow, they really put that Fellowship Gathering together quickly.  They've got popcorn and pretzels and roasted corn and balloons.

Nurse Pam conducts interviews to find who may be the traitor -- and finds one guy, Reggie, who is sympathetic to the WP townsfolk and admits to not reporting stuff.

 

Pilcher tells her that you can have freedom or safety, but not both.

 

That fence gate looked pretty flimsy -- sure it was electrified, but you would think they would have made it out of thicker steel than that.

 

I still find it hard to believe that there are that many top-level predators roaming the woods right outside the fence.

 

 The festival was not only put together quickly (by the townsfolk, not the bunkerites!), but a fair number of people seemed to be having fun at a "mandatory gathering". Which, no.

They still don't know who wiped the tapes of the rebel digging out their chip. Because that's something even Reggie wouldn't have overlooked. SMH

And the Hypno-Teach say "leniency or 'clear and severe'". Because dumb-ass Ben has never heard of misdemeanors, felonies and death penalty cases. "False binaries" (or whatever they're called) t the rescue! SMH

I would have thought that the fence was made of concrete. Ya, know like any real fence in this day and age would be.

The Abbies are under Pilcher's control!

 

Also, let's blame the sex truck explosion on a gas leak. Because, of course, the town has to have a utilities infrastructure that includes both electric AND gas.

A gas leak when the asphalt isn't even damaged! Why not say Ted was drunk, hit something, and the truck caught fire?

 

From the recap:

[ben] looks like the puppet from Interpol's "Evil" music video, only with less expression.

He really does! LOL

 

The woman -- let's call her Denise -- tells Pam she loves it when Wayward Pines citizens "let something juicy slip."

Her name is Gina.

 

=======================================================

 

I just realized that Pilcher and Pam had Kate locked up for 12 years (give or take) and then just let her go, without any special surveillance (like watching the "Reggies", for instance)?  "I'm sure she's fine now!"

Edited July 10, 2015 by jhlipton

[Chicago Redshirt]

Not that this show deserves fanwanking, or that fanwanking is capable of narrowing the many, many plot holes of the show, but I will give it the old college try.

 

Where did all these other hospital personnel come from ?

 

The Waywardians could have increased hospital staffing in response to the increased threat of rebel activity/had people brought in on-call in response to the explosion.

 

And since he is an "actual doctor", how come Nurse Pam had to stitch up her own nose when Ethan broke it ?

 

Pam is a do-it-yourself kind of girl. I mean, hypothetically, she could have gone to the nerve center and had her brother or any of the other doctors stitch it up.

 

Why is Pam helping the rebels when she has appeared to be doing everything but that for the entire series ?

 

I don't think this is supposed to be Pam "helping the rebels" so much as Pam wanting to protect one of the nerve center people.

 

We're to believe that in the 14 years of running Wayward Pines 2.0 and X number of years of Wayward Pines 1.0, none of the nerve center people has ever done anything wrong, or at least not wrong on this scale. And we're to believe that there's nothing in the meglomaniac Pilcher's playbook for punishments for nerve center people. And that reckonings are ok for townfolk, but cryosleep is good enough for nerve center people.

 

Of course, this leads to one of the big plot holes that really can't be explained away. We have this Big Brother society where people are chipped, videoed, and killed for stepping out of line. I could get that by trial and error over the course of a dozen years someone might be able to discover holes in the surveillance. But wholesale failures like there would have to be for the rebels to meet numerous times clandestinely, build two bombs, steal the truck, etc.? Especially after the nerve center folks are made aware there is an active terrorist cell? Either the nerve center volunteers are hopelessly incompetent, or Pilcher is right and someone was/is actively helping them from the inside. We're meant to believe, I think, that Reggie was not actively helping the rebels, just sympathetic to the point where he might blur or cut out pieces of video. 

 

After Eric dies, Harold and another rebel start digging his grave in the woods, but Nameless Rebel # 2 says that they can't bury him in WP that he needs to be buried in free soil outside the fence.  Why exactly ?  When none of the WP townsfolk has set foot outside of the fence in the history of WP.

 

Nameless Rebel #2 is convinced they will be able to bust free of the prison shortly, so why not? In fact, burying him inside the prison seems foolish, because the more time spent doing that, the more time you give the guards to catch up with you.

 

if WP has been active for 14 years, how is Reggie -- a beloved member of the internal staff -- only 26 years old ?  Did they only defrost him recently, because that makes no sense ?  They would have defrosted all the volunteers immediately to have a full workforce to rebuild the town.

 

I didn't catch his age, but he could be a natural-born survivor of Wayward Pines 1.0. Or they could have defrosted him to help build WP 2.0, then refrosted him. Or in his original frosting he could have been like 12.Or the premise that they would have needed to defrost all volunteers to build WP 2.0 might be invalid. They might have only needed/wanted to defrost people with certain skill sets, none of which Reggie possessed. (He certainly wasn't particularly good at his given job).

 

Good to know it wasn't just me.  It looked like they filled the chamber with black dirt. or flaky potting soil or something like that.  I saw nothing that looked like liquid or icy or "cooling liquid" or what have you.

 

It looked to me like coffee -- freeze-dried crystals!

[JenE4]

So not only is Ben not dead, but now he's going to be "the hero" of the first generation and give some big speech that will incite the masses against his father? We have so many different "sides" represented going into the final battle Royale that I don't know who will help whom:

1) Kate, Harold, and the other rebels who just want out

2) Ethan who just wants to capture the rebels to make up for the Easter Bombings lapse

3) Ben and Mrs. Fisher on the side of "clear and severe" against Ethan but also against the rebels, but basically just separate the kids from their parents so they can start procreating ASAP.

4) Theresa on the side of don't you take my child, creepy teacher!

5) David Pilcher who wants to severely punish the volunteers for breaking rules

6) Pam who has empathy for the volunteers and wants to protect them. And, after seeing one if their own be frozen (or buried?), we can assume a likely uprising of the volunteers with Pam.

7) Abbies who are on the side of "People are delicious!"

8) Wayward Pinesians who are currently in the dark but who could conceivably take any side and/or loose their minds like Group A.

9) Me on the side of "What's so important about the Beirgarten buffalo burgers and where does the food come from?!"

Edited July 10, 2015 by JenE4

[grandemocha]

 

( Still, I wonder about the narcing on Beverly. Personal grudge?  Just a part of their protective covering? It would have been nice to hear something about that. Not an episode's worth, just a couple of lines about why tattle on Beverly.)

They didn't snitch on Beverly. After Ethan showed up in Kate's house after the reckoning at the start of 1x03, she said it was Pope who did it and it was done as a warning to them. 

 

 

I just realized that Pilcher and Pam had Kate locked up for 12 years (give or take) and then just let her go, without any special surveillance (like watching the "Reggies", for instance)?  "I'm sure she's fine now!"

Wasn't 12 years. The flashback with Kate and the proto group of rebels meeting in private and discussing their pasts had Kate with the same short haircut she had when she first arrived in Wayward Pines. So she likely faked adjusting soon after the padded room scene we saw, met other like minded individuals, married Harold, and had to continue therapy sessions with Jenkins/Pilcher which we saw her with long hair. 

[theatremouse]

While sleeping in the jail cell, Kate dreams about her time in a rubber room with Dr. Jenkins/Pilcher -- and she knew about the fence and the chip in her leg, and was losing it since she had been in that room for two months.

At the time, I didn't think she meant she'd been in the room for two months. I thought she'd been in WP two months, knowing/thinking it was an experiment and/or test, and after some amount of that cracked and ended up in the room. Although I don't know enough about what sort of training she should have had if just being locked in the town she should've been likely to crack in that amount of time or if that's too short to have that kind of effect on her. So maybe she had been in the padded room for two months? Now I think it was unclear.

[marcee]

 Nothing about how strange an anomoly it is that his teenage son she knew 12 years ago isn't a grown ass man yet.

This just made me laugh so much. Thank you.

[Clanstarling]

Yeah, for a place with a few hundred people who are supposedly under 24 hr. surveillance, it sure was easy to steal a (2000 year-old) dump truck and drive it through the fence.

They put locator chips in people (though not deep enough to keep them from removing them)  but not in vehicles large enough to ram through fences? There's good planning.

 

But hey, if the Abbies get in, that will liven things up a bit. Maybe those who've been itching to go outside will now be all about getting the fence re-established.

 

Hope Davis' character gets on my last nerve - and given that Ben does as well, that makes for an especially irritating time for at least part of every show. But I do know that some teenagers will believe anything - though from my experience it tends to be what other teenagers tell them, not other adults. Especially one who is trying so hard to be perceived as cool (high fives, really?).

Edited July 10, 2015 by clanstarling

[Milburn Stone]

It's a continuity error, not a plot hole, but it still bothers me how sloppy it was when Harold is bailing on his buddy and going back to Kate that his pretty big backpack just disappears while he's backing out of the plan.

 

The thing that gets me when this sort of stuff happens is, I can imagine the director, the DP, and the "script girl" being preoccupied with other details to the point that human error occurs. But I can't figure out why the actor wouldn't call it to someone's attention. He's aware on a highly visceral, experiential level of the presence or absence of a backpack on his shoulders, you'd think.

[Free]

 

Hope Davis' character gets on my last nerve - and given that Ben does as well, that makes for an especially irritating time for at least part of every show. But I do know that some teenagers will believe anything - though from my experience it tends to be what other teenagers tell them, not other adults. Especially one who is trying so hard to be perceived as cool (high fives, really?).

 

Hence why I didn't care about the explosion or what happened.

[fishcakes]

 The Abbies are under Pilcher's control!

 

If this turned out to be true, it might be the only thing that would redeem the series for me. It would explain why when Ethan went over the fence, there was one Abbie quietly watching him from behind a tree, but not attacking or summoning the others; Pilcher wanted Ethan alive to use for his own purposes, so he ordered the Abbies to scare him but not kill him. It also makes all the giant plot holes and inconsistencies less important because everything that happened is just a function of Pilcher's power grab. Maybe it's 4028, maybe it isn't; it's all just happening in some version of Pilcher's basement, so it doesn't matter. I want the last scene of the series to be Pilcher having an afternoon tea meeting with the Abbies, who all speak with posh accents, and Pilcher doing a MWAH HA HA kind of laugh as the closing credits roll.

[Chicago Redshirt]

The "blindly following orders" aspect to Ethan's personality seems a huge retcon when you consider his actual actions in WP. He practically has disobeyed every single order put to him. 

 

Even saying that blowing off the rules when he didn't have any explanation for why they existed or who gave them, there's no good explanation for why he didn't follow the company line once he saw for his own eyes that Abbies existed and the world seemed to be a vast wasteland.

 

It would have made much more sense if Ethan were more of a rebel, and the one time he did what his supervisors told him, it led to the Easter bombings.

 

I do hate the development of "I only cheated because I had the sads that I couldn't explain to you because reasons. But I could to my partner. With my penis." 

Edited July 10, 2015 by Chicago Redshirt

[Clanstarling]

I do hate the development of "I only cheated because I had the sads that I couldn't explain to you because reasons. But I could to my partner. With my penis." 

Had to laugh. Well written CR. On the other hand, it's such a go-to because it is something that frequently happens in real life for similar reasons. I don't condone it, but I do understand that motivation. Stuff that feels good is comforting. Of course, he'd have been better off going for macaroni and cheese (cause it tastes good and is comforting).

[ottoDbusdriver]

The old disappearing backpack trick! "We'll keep on going until we get to San Francisco," and Harold has his large backpack strapped on standing in the open door of the truck. "We'll be drinking beers by morning", and abracadabra! Poof! The backpack is gone!

 

The thing that gets me when this sort of stuff happens is, I can imagine the director, the DP, and the "script girl" being preoccupied with other details to the point that human error occurs. But I can't figure out why the actor wouldn't call it to someone's attention. He's aware on a highly visceral, experiential level of the presence or absence of a backpack on his shoulders, you'd think.

 

I never noticed that the first time through at all -- went back and re-watched the backpack disappear mid-conversation.  It's not even like he tossed it on the ground by the truck, it was just gone.  So obviously the scenes after Harold leaves the dump truck they just went with it sans backpack -- I guess they only had the dump truck rented for the day, and they never discovered the continuity error until the next day so they just said "fuck it" and filmed the rest without the backpack. </snark>