by Sherry Lipp

Wayward Pines S1 Ep10 Kate and Ethan

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

The season one finale of Wayward Pines begs the question – is it worth it? All of the citizens were taken against their will to live a life they didn’t want in a world where there’s nothing left except their make-believe town. So far no one has pondered the question as to whether the human race was really meant to go on or if we are just destined to become blood-thirsty abbies. Is a life of total oppression worth it?

Pam begs those behind the scenes of Wayward Pines to help save the town.Is it enough to have the basics of a “happy” life? The people do get married, have children, a job, a nice house, and there seems to be plenty of food (though I do question how they could possibly have such a supply of everything). But, there’s something to be said for freedom. They can’t jump in their car and drive across the country, vacation in Europe, or even go to the beach. Real careers are in short supply and forget about choosing a college. There’s one choice for everything and that’s no choice at all.

So is having everything you need enough? There are plenty of people in the world who don’t have that, so should anyone in Wayward Pines really complain? It’s not a simple answer, which is what I really liked about Wayward Pines. As soon as I think one way about something and opposite thought creeps into the back of my mind. Granted, reckonings and total loss of privacy is not right. Being taken from your life is not right, but is it so bad to be the last survivors of the human race? And is there any other way?

Here are some of my favorite things about the Season One finale –

The cool:

The abbie takeover didn’t turn into The Walking Dead: I thought they might be headed for a life that was all about surviving the abbies, but that was just a small component of the episode and the outcome.

Wayward Pines S1 Ep10 Abbies

 

Pilcher the martyr: As much as we might have wanted to see Pilcher (Toby Jones) dead, I knew as soon as it happened that his supporters would see it as a sacrifice for the “greater good.” It was a sign of what was to come.

So much for happy endings: Unlike Pilcher, Ethan’s (Matt Dillon) sacrifice was taken for treason rather than heroism. What’s worse it seems as though it was almost for nothing. Yes, he presumably saved people from the abbies, but not from the brainwashed First Generation.

After her betrayal, David places Pam back into a suspended state.

Welcome to the Twilight Zone: Three years later Ben (Charlie Tahan) wakes up in the Wayward Pines hospital to a grown up Amy (Sarah Jeffery) who tells him to be quiet because “they’re listening.” And we immediately know nothing has changed. Pilcher got what he wanted after all. Somehow the First Generation took over and created a group C. As Ben wanders through town he sees what appears to be happy people, but we know appearances in Wayward Pines can be deceiving. A statue of Pilcher and an effigy of Ethan serve as reminders that staying in line is the only way to stay alive. It’s chilling and leaves us wanting more. Another revolution, this time led by Ben? Maybe, but Ben could easily give up. Staying alive is better, right?

The not so cool:

Why did Pilcher think Ethan would be a good addition to the town? We know Ethan was put there because he was asking too many questions about Kate (Carla Gugino) and his partner. We also know Theresa (Shannyn Sossamon) and Ben were brought in because they were asking about Ehtan, but why were they all woken up? It seemed like Pilcher thought Ethan would serve some sort of purpose, but I don’t think Pilcher’s intentions were ever completely brought to light. I really want to know more about how the people were chosen and why.

Everyone escapes the elevator except for Ethan.

Final thoughts:

Is Wayward Pines destined to an endless cycle of destruction and rebirth? I want to know how many people they have frozen in time. At first I had been confused thinking Pilcher and Pope (Terrence Howard) were going back and forth, but I now realize everything happened before they went to sleep for 2000 years. It obviously took years to gather all of the people and they were woken up in the future at different times. So will another group of insurgents form that have to be purged? Will all the children really just blindly follow the rules to maintain Pilcher’s master plan?

P.S. – Did you catch the new teaser for The X-Files during the episode?

P.P.S. – The commercials for M. Night Shyamalan’s new film The Visit looked pretty crazy. It’s been a while since he’s had a good movie – I have hope for this one.

Sherry Lipp
Sherry is a writer/blogger specializing in entertainment and food writing. You can find her gluten and grain-free food articles at scdforlife.com.

One thought on “TV Review: Wayward Pines Season One Episode 10 “Cycle”

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.