Castle Rock Season 1 Episode 2: Habeas Corpus Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: Henry gets a new client at Shawshank Prison. (IMDB)

Writers: Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason

Director: Michael Uppendahl

Rating: TV-MA

Running Time: 60mins

Airs: Wednesdays at 10pm on Space (Canada)/ Wednesdays on Hulu (United States)

Continuing what the first episode started, this new episode gave us more information but still left us wanting more. We are inching closer to the truth behind the many mysteries of Castle Rock and that’s okay since it has been so gripping to watch so far. This episode gave us more insight into Deaver’s disappearance and how the nameless man got to where he was.

In what will surely be shocking news, it was all the town’s fault. Though why that is the case remains to be seen, Warden Lacy told us through a series of narrations that he was on a mission from God to save the town from all of its sin. He believed that the devil was responsible and that the devil was the mysterious nameless man. We also saw him build the cell that the nameless man was eventually found in.

Lacy’s claims were mostly conjecture at this point but a few instances in this episode gave credence to those claims. In the last episode, Zalewski believed that he witnessed the nameless man escaped his cell and killed several correction officers. He then rightfully sounded the alarm, however, when he went to investigate, nothing had happened and the nameless man was still in his cell. Also, to try and get rid of him, the nameless man was placed in a cell with a skinhead. What looked to be a precarious situation wasn’t so precarious as the skinhead ignored the nameless man’s warning to not touch him and ended up dying of cancer.

The mysterious woman who had been following Deaver was a friend from childhood was a woman who believed she suffered from an undiagnosed psychic affliction named Molly Strand. They appeared to be friends when they were both young but it is unclear why she was following him now. She was connected to his initial disappearance, however, as she witnessed him enter a car with his father in the middle of the night. After Deaver’s father was found dead, she was interviewed by the police and claimed to not know anything. We don’t know what happened but according to a woman he befriended named Jackie Torrance (Jane Levy), Deaver learned that the town believed that the troubled Deaver pushed his father of a cliff and then reappeared 11 days later, claiming to not remember what happened. Deaver claimed that his father died at home three days after he was found.

In order to figure out the identity of his client, Deaver looked into Warden Lacy by visiting his blind wife Martha (Frances Conroy). There, he learned more about Lacy’s interest in the town as well as the fact that Lacy and his wife both knew his father. Unfortunately, he did not get any further when Martha discovered who he was and his reputation caught up to him. He then went to the only bar in town to try and run into someone from Shawshank. Deaver eventually ran into Zalewski who was reluctant to help any further due to what was at stake for him. Finally, he found a way back into Shawshank using a church program where Zalewski arranged for them to run into each other. Deaver and the nameless man had a quick face to face moment which was cut short before the man could declare Deaver as his lawyer. At least Deaver knows what the man looked like.

Finally, we found Lacy’s head in a forest and the narration from Lacy wasn’t narration and was just Pangborn reading a letter that Lacy had left for him. He knew about what Lacy was doing and about the nameless man. Why did Lacy leave him the note? Pangborn burned it after reading.

Overall, this was another great episode that gave us a little more answers but just enough to keep us wanting more. The series has been gripping to watch so far as the answers to its many mysteries are slowly revealed. Andre Holland as Deaver is compelling to watch and is well worth the price of admission. The many references to Stephen King’s work have been fun to uncover so far and it will be exciting to see what happens next.

Score: 9/10

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.