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: Gina Welch and Scott Brown
Director: Daniel Attias
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 60mins
Airs: Wednesdays at 10pm on Space (Canada)/ Wednesdays on Hulu (United States)
While there may not have been as many developments in terms of the plot this season in this episode, it added another wrinkle to the story. Focusing on Strand, we learned that she shared a special connection with Deaver. Perhaps the biggest development came at the beginning of the episode when we saw Strand (Deaver’s across the street neighbor BTW), walk across the street in the middle of the night into Deaver’s house, snuck into his parents’ room, and pulled out his dad’s breathing tube. She killed Deaver’s father.
Strand’s undiagnosed psychic affliction was on full display here. She basically could feel what everyone else felt but her connection seemed strongest with Deaver who amplified her powers. As we saw in the episode, Deaver’s relationship with his father wasn’t the strongest as he resented him for not being his real father. She also appeared to have a crush on him when they were kids. So by killing his father, was Strand protecting Deaver, wanted Deaver to herself, or maybe it was both?
Since we saw her for the first time, Strand has been trying to avoid Deaver but she could not avoid him any longer once he came across one of her real estate ads. Deaver then visited her at her office which did not surprise her as she sensed his arrival. She seemed to be accessing Deaver’s memories as we hear sound clips from the previous two episodes. Deaver asked for her help to sell his mother’s house, however, she refused because she was trying to get rid of him as quickly as possible, fully knowing the effect he had on her. She was also preparing for a local TV show appearance where she would promote her newest real estate project.
In the previous two episodes, we saw her buy drugs from a dealer named Dean Merrill (Charlie Tahan) but we now know it was because she was trying to repress her psychic powers. While she was preparing for her appearance, she ran out of drugs, however, when Merrill ran out, she found herself at a makeshift courtroom full of kids wearing masks. Her contact was there and as he was about to give her more drugs, the police came and arrested her. Deaver was coincidentally at the police station the following day, still looking into Lacy and getting nowhere, and was able to get Strand released. After she was released, she told him the truth about her condition though he didn’t quite take her seriously.
Deaver got Strand to her appearance in time but after getting flustered, she told the audience about the man being held at Shawshank. The nameless man at Shawshank had since been given the nickname of Nick. We still don’t know much about Nick, however, we do know that he’s pretty creep and this episode was just more of the same. Strand’s bombshell got Deaver a phone call from Warden Porter. They were willing to offer a $300,000 settlement in exchange for an NDA. Deaver didn’t think it was good enough and wanted to talk to Nick about it. Both Deaver and Nick finally got their face to face, however, Nick was still being weird by asking weird questions including one that his father asked him during a flashback when they were in the woods.
Twice in the episode, Strand has come home to her house being ransacked. She had also been haunted by Deaver’s father. When she returned to her ransacked home at the end of the episode, she believed she heard an intruder. When she went to investigate, she found a bloody man who appeared to be Deaver’s father. In a scary sequence, she tried to hide as he approached and then he disappeared.
Overall, this was another good episode that may not have advanced the plot this season but it was a showcase for Melanie Lynskey who delivered a great performance as Strand. Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd was great as well as Nick (I guess that’s what his name is for now). He can just do creepy like no other. Slowing down a little after the first two episodes was understandable though hopefully things will pick up in the next episode.
Score: 8.5/10
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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.
