Wayward Pines
Season 1 Episode 3: “Our Town, Our Law”
Directed by Zal Batmanglij
Written and Created by Chad Hodge
Starring Matt Dillion, Carla Gugino, Toby Jones, Shannyn Sossamon, Melissa Leo, Hope Davis, Reed Diamond, Terrence Howard
FOX
Air Date: Thursday, May 28th, 2015, 9:00pm

In only three episodes, Wayward Pines has got me more twisted than a LOST/X-Files crossover. Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) is trapped in this tiny Idaho town, caged by a giant electric fence, and a horde of Stepford Wives-like residents. His only ally is Bev (Juliette Lewis), who has been trapped in the town over a year. Together, they plot an escape, but things go awry when Bev breaks Wayward Pines rules and discusses her past (a daughter). Soon, the whole town has her strung up Kangaroo Court style, and evil Sheriff Pope (Terrence Howard) kills her.

Spoiler alert for this week’s episode.

This week’s episode focuses on the juxtaposition between Ethan’s determination to escape, and his wife and son’s determination to find him, and the truth about his disappearance.

With Bev’s body hanging behind him, Sheriff Pope leads the town in a chanting of the rules and values of Wayward Pines. “Don’t discuss the past. Don’t discuss your life before. Be happy.” Some, like Nurse Pam (Melissa Leo), are fully into it, while Kate (Carla Gugino) and her husband Harry (Reed Diamond), seem conflicted.

With nowhere to go, Burke ends up back at Kate’s house looking for answers. She tells him, “You’ll never make it out alive.” Gugino is such a good actress. It’s amazing she hasn’t had more prominent lead roles. In those six words she conveys both a sadness and a threatening truthfulness. Dillon, in his 5th (5th!) decade acting, still hides his 51 years behind a youthful mug. But with Burke you can see paranoia, madness, and confidence growing all at once. His simple response to her, “Watch me.”

Theresa (Shannyn Sossamon) and Ben (Charlie Tahan) hack into his Secret Service account (way too easily), and track his receipts back to a convenience store a few miles from Wayward Pines. Their journey there is halted by Sheriff Pope, who acting like a helpful lawman, sabotages their car. Ethan, meanwhile, sneaks into a food delivery van in hopes of riding out of the Pines, only to become locked in some massive factory where Pope meets him there and knocks him out. That man is EVERYWHERE!

When Burke awakes, he finds his family has been moved into Bev’s house. When he presses Pope and Nurse Pam for answers, we get this ominous back and forth:

Burke: “Come on! This isn’t some ordinary town, you know that!”
Nurse Pam: “You’re very right about that, it isn’t some ordinary town… it’s an extraordinary town.”

Just then, a phone call alerts Pam to ease the Sheriff off. Dillon’s calmness means a temporary victory, “I’m sorry, I’m talking to the wrong people, you’re not in charge here.”

Burke is able to reunite with his family, but his desire to find answers presses him to follow Kate for a walk in the woods. Terrence Howard manages to up the creepy factor AGAIN by showing up at the new Burke residence to harass Theresa. When Ben comes back to alert her that Ethan was off with Kate, they decide to leave, only to be stopped and threatened by… oh just take a guess. The final showdown in the last 5 minutes makes just great TV, with out of nowhere surprises, and a final “WHAT THE F*CK!?” moment that you’ll want to re-watch on the DVR.

Wayward Pines, after three episodes, continues to draw me in deeper to the mysterious plot. What is Wayward Pines? A government experiment? A figment of the characters’ imaginations? Why has Kate been there 12 years when to Ethan, only five months have gone by since he last saw her? What the hell happened in those last few seconds? Shows like this produce water cooler discussion and intrigue. The problem is… that in the post-LOST world I’ve grown skeptical that ANY of these questions will ever get answered. It’s why I loved LOST in season 1, and quickly grew tired and bored midway through season 2. Being that there is source material here, I’m fairly confident the show will produce. And the cast makes it so enjoyable. This week, the star was Terrence Howard. He’s so creepy, he makes ice cream terrifying.

Wayward Pines Episode 3 “Our Town, Our Law“ premieres Thursday night, May 28th at 9:00pm ET on FOX.

Videos

The cast and crew of WAYWARD PINES tease the thrilling third episode.

The mysteries are unfolding in WAYWARD PINES and something is very wrong.

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