Castle Rock Season 1 Episode 9: Henry Deaver Review

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

Synopsis: A world beyond these walls. (IMDB)

Writers: Vinnie Wilheim and Scott Brown

Director: Julie Ann Robinson

Rating: TV-MA

Running Time: 45mins

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

After a quick detour in the last episode, we are back to getting some more answers to the mysteries that have been plaguing this season. Questions that have yet to be answered include: “What happened to Deaver while he went missing?” and “Who is The Kid?”. Those questions were finally answered in this episode in a way that is befitting the series. Of course that answer is inter-diversionary travel. We all knew that the town of Castle Rock was special but maybe it isn’t as special as we once thought. The penultimate episode started with Matthew Deaver reciting his sort of manifesto, citing all the bad things that have happened within Castle Rock and how he was somehow doing God’s bidding similar to Warden Lacy.

This episode was a little different from the others in that it presented us with an alternate universe that placed different characters in different situations. The Kid was Deaver (but we’ll still call him The Kid here to make it less confusing) in this universe but instead of being a lawyer, he was a doctor working on a cure to Alzheimer’s for his ailing mother who was still Ruth. Instead of staying with Matthew, Ruth left him for Pangborn and now the two were living in Florida. The Kid got a call to come home to Castle Rock after Matthew committed suicide. Soon after returning home, he found a young Deaver (from the other universe) locked in a cage in the basement, similar to how the Kid was.

Young Deaver seemed aware of his surroundings and also heard a voice that was calling him to the woods. The Kid found even more tapes of Matthew, talking about Castle Rock and how Young Deaver knew all these details about him and his life. Matthew had a different interpretation about it, like his son had come back to him. Matthew had Young Deaver for a while, it seemed like, until he finally blew his brains out. Meanwhile in this universe, Strand was an outgoing city councilor. The two listened to more tapes together.

Young Deaver became a problem as he set fire to an institution he was being kept and killed 7 people. The Kid and Strand tried to get through to Young Deaver but he was suffering from the schisma and needed to return to the woods. Once Strand touched Young Deaver, she received a series of visions of her life with him from the other universe. Strand convinced the police to let Young Deaver go home with her and The Kid. On the way to her home, they lost Zalewski (now a police officer) and brought him to the woods. Strand chased after Young Deaver while Zalewski caught up.

Now here comes the freaky part. Young Deaver and Strand eventually reached a gateway to another dimension where he saw visions of all the bad things that happened in Castle Rock. As they ran further into the forest, Strand was hit and killed by one of Zalewski’s warning shots. She wanted The Kid to help Young Deaver so he ran into the gateway and reached the other dimension.

Young Deaver was saved by Pangborn on the lake while The Kid got captured by Lacy while wandering around the forest, trying to find a way back to his dimension.

Overall, this was a great episode that answered most of the questions that have plagued this season so far. The Kid is actually Deaver but from another similar dimension which was why he knew so much. The other Deaver spent time in another dimension while missing. Though why doesn’t The Kid age or Deaver remember anything from the other dimension? Most importantly, how does this all fit together with the schisma? That is the only real mystery that remains and hopefully the finale will give us the satisfying conclusion we all deserve.

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.