Tweetable Takeaway: #WaywardPines flounders with a laughable twist at the end.
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Airtime: Thursdays on FOX 9/8 central.
By: Jeff Iblings, Contributor
I’m not sure how to really talk about WAYWARD PINES any more. The disdain I feel for this show is greater than anything I’ve experienced in a really long time. Getting through the final episode was basically a hate-watching extravaganza, and the twist at the end (because with Shyamalan there’s always a twist) was laughable at best.
When we last left Wayward Pines, Pilcher had turned off the power for the town and the “abbies” were climbing over the fence. The reason he does this is because like with what happened to group A, he decided group B is a failure, and wants to purge the town of all of the residents so he can begin again with group C. Once the town is crawling with monsters, Pam and Pilcher find themselves at odds. She knows these people. She likes these people. But Pilcher takes her lack of enthusiasm as an opportunity to put her and most of the others back into deep freeze.
Meanwhile Ethan tries to save the entire town. He, Kate, and many others gather all of the weapons up and begin defending the town. They’re soon overpowered, so everyone goes to the underground tunnels under lot 33 for safety. It turns out the tunnels lead to Pilcher’s mountain top fortress, so Ethan and the others head there to take over and fix the problem Pilcher started.
Remember the “Year Ones” plot they plopped into the second to last episode? Well, they are all gathering to wait in the “ark” Pilcher has set aside for them. It’s filled with enough food, water, and weapons to last for a long time. This is where those brainwashed by Mrs. Fischer take refuge.
Of course the abbies get into the bunker, and Ethan and Kate start shuttling people up an elevator to save them. There isn’t enough room so they have to do it in shifts. When the “abbies” start climbing up the elevator shaft, Ethan sacrifices himself and blows himself, the “abbies”, and the elevator to smithereens to save everyone. In the explosion Ben takes a chunk of debris to the head and blacks out.
One of the guards un-thaws Pam, and she kills Pilcher. Her and Kate decide to start the town over with clarity and openness. It looks like they’ll run the place together.
Here’s where the shitty twist takes over:
Ben comes to in the hospital in Wayward Pines, only to find things even worse than when Pilcher was in charge. Amy is his nurse and she tells him 3 years have passed. The “Year Ones” have somehow overthrown the adults and put them all back into a cryogenic frozen state. There’s a huge statue of Pilcher in the park, and Ben now finds himself treading the same ground Ethan did.
Here’s a picture of me after the finale:
More thoughts:
- How in the hell are you going to pick the two least interesting and compelling characters in the entire show (Ben and Amy) and set them up for a second season? Who gives a shit? I know I don’t. You couldn’t pay me enough to watch anymore of this, and in fact, this show has almost done me in for broadcast television. Nearly all of it sucks. Do you want quality stories and wonderful characters? If so avoid 99% of broadcast television like the plague.
- The show was so ridden with cliché and convenient plot devices that I frequently rolled my eyes. It had such promise when it started. The pilot was really pretty good, but it was squandered by midseason, and everything else felt like half assed, tires spinning in mud stupidity afterwards.
- I won’t be sticking around if Wayward Pines gets picked up for another season, and I suggest you don’t either. There’s far too much wonderful television being made to waste your time on this trite and pointless show.
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For six months out of the year Jeff is holed up in his home with nothing to do but shovel snow, watch television, write, and dream of warmer climates. Twitter: @OfSoundnVision
Keep up with all of Jeff’s Wayward Pines reviews here.
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