If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Concerned for the safety of Amma, Camille puts her own life in jeopardy as she gets closer to the truth behind the shocking mysteries surrounding the Wind Gap killings. (HBO)
Writers: Marti Noxon and Gillian Flynn
Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 49mins
Airs: Sundays at 9pm on HBO Canada (Canada)/HBO (United States)
Well that was a tad disappointing but it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as the slower pace of most of the episodes that preceded this one made the season finale feel rushed. The last episode made Adora the newest suspect in the murder of the girls and foreshadowed a showdown between Preaker and her mother. Unfortunately, this did not happen for the most part, unless you count an awkward family dinner scene where Preaker and Adora staring bullets at one another (since they both knew what was really going on). The rest of the family prepared for her return and saved a place for her, presumably so Adora could poison Preaker so she can take care of her and so Amma could get away. However, Amma was under her mother’s spell.
While Preaker was in bed under the care of her mother, the police were interrogating John Keene who wouldn’t crack under the pressure they were placing on him. Richard still didn’t think that he was the killer. Meanwhile, Preaker wanted Amma to get Richard for help for which she refused as she did not want to hurt Adora. With Adora nearby, watching Preaker and Amma try to survive was tense. Preaker tried to get Adora to confess to what she did but Adora didn’t bite. Adora was just happy that she could finally take care of her eldest daughter.
Richard eventually came to help but was stopped at the door by Alan while a weak and desperate Preaker cried for help. She was later saved as police lights started to flash through the windows and Richard came back with Curry and the rest of the police. They searched the house and found the pliers used to remove the dead girls’ teeth. Adora couldn’t have pulled the teeth out on her own so the police believed that she could have had an accomplice. Preaker and Amma were taken to the hospital and from there, they returned to St. Louis together where they built a life for one another while Adora was sent to prison. Preaker has moved on from her past but she was still aware of it as she was now focused on raising Amma.
Amma had since made a new friend after moving to St. Louis but one day, Preaker got a visit from her mother who informed Preaker that her daughter was missing. They had a fight recently. After finding part of Amma’s model of their old home, Preaker noticed something off with the model and found teeth. Of course Amma had to show up, telling her not to tell mamma. The episode featured mid and post credit scenes showing Amma killing the three girls and assuming the mantle of The Woman in White. It would’ve been better if they had left it open-ended.
Overall, this was still a decent episode despite the subpar ending that started off promising but then fizzled out with one more unnecessary twist at the end that undoes Preaker’s character arc over the season. Because of the pacing of the season, the ending did not have quite the impact as it could have. While the path it took was clear, it did not feel earned. The first 2/3 of the episode was tense while Preaker and Amma were at the mercy of Adora. It would have been nice to stay there a little longer instead of the epilogue so to speak. It’s also sad that there will not be a season 2 as the unanswered questions at the end will leave some viewers disappointed. Regardless of the series’ faults, the acting throughout the season, especially in this episode from Amy Adams and Patricia Clarkson, has been top notch and their performances alone were well worth the watch.
Score: 7.5/10
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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.
