This is a review. Thus, it is likely to contain spoilers. If you haven’t, as yet, found yourself at liberty to view this episode then consider yourself apprised of the potential jeopardy and proceed at your peril.
While I am aware that the show is based on a series of books by Blake Crouch, I have not read them and do not intend to until this show has ended. I will be reviewing the show solely on its own merits, not as an adaptation.
I was consumed by a really interesting question during this week’s episode of Wayward Pines (I know, I was surprised as well). The question was this: Why the hell is Ethan Burke a Secret Service agent?
I don’t mean existentially or his own personal path to service, I mean in this particular story why does it make sense for him to be a Secret Service agent specifically, as opposed to an FBI agent or a U.S. Marshal? To be honest, I don’t really know what the Secret Service does besides protect the President and other important government leaders (note: I did Google it after writing this paragraph but I’ll get to that in a moment). However, I DO know what each division does in movies and on television. Because I have seen Sneakers, I know that the CIA can’t operate inside the U.S. and the FBI can. Thanks to In the Line of Fire, I know that the Secret Service are easily fooled by fake beards and that they let agents continue working long after they have passed their physical peak. Justified taught me that Marshals investigate whatever crime they want and pretty much shoot anyone they want. Out of all those, doesn’t it make more sense for Ethan, as a character, to be a Marshal? Or, at the very least, an FBI agent? You could even give him a ‘former Navy SEAL’ backstory if you want.
For those curious, the real Secret Service does indeed protect the President as well as many other important leaders, and in addition they are primarily chartered to investigate financial crimes. While shows and films have long played fast and loose with the purview of law enforcement characters, knowing the real responsibilities of the Service makes Ethan’s vague skillset and history seem even more ridiculous.
What is really ridiculous is that nothing in the 42 minutes of this episode jarred the question of Ethan’s occupation from my mind.
Let’s get to the good stuff. The episode opens with a very good action scene. The wall has been breached and one Abby after another squeezes through the gap, only to be killed by Ethan. Apparently, the television version of the Secret Service puts their agents through some serious shotgun training because Ethan is a surgeon with that thing. It’s an exciting scene, well thought out and well staged. It gave me some momentary hope that the show was on an upswing.
Okay, now that the good is out of the way, let’s get to the not-so-good.
Our characters have gotten thinner and thinner as the weeks have gone on. It has been a glaring problem, but despite their lack of depth, they have generally stayed within reasonably boundaries. This week it seemed as if the writers introduced entirely new characters but were stuck with the same cast, so they just ran with it. Nurse Pam has gone from the show’s most sinister sister to the show’s sympathetic side-changer. Her betrayal of her brother seems to be only a matter of time at this point. Of course, that will only happen because David Pilcher has gone from mild-mannered scientist who hates violence and only hurts people when he has no other choice, to a power-crazed megalomaniac who will gladly wipe out humanity rather than lose control of his town. From the beginning, Pilcher has been single-minded about his goal to preserve humanity. In point of fact, the extraordinary lengths that he has gone to have been entirely focused on keeping our species in the food chain so for him to be willing to wipe out the entire population out of misplaced rage simply doesn’t fit with his character. Granted, he has a whole mountain full of sleepers with which to re-populate Pines, but it is still an abrupt and jarring tonal shift for the character. Worse, it is a swing too wide for even the amazing Toby Jones to sell completely. I’m not sure that anyone could.
What drives Pilcher to his transformation is so ludicrous that I hesitate to even delve into it. The show continues to pile contrivance upon contrivance as Amy slips into a coma, Ben rallies his classmates, Theresa plays Detective and Ethan finally figures out how to make someone believe anything that he says.
Ben’s subplot has always been a non-starter and I pray that last night’s cringe-inducing speech to his classmates is the beginning of the end for that storyline. In most ways, Ben has only existed to make the audience despise his teacher, so perhaps seeing Mrs. Fisher get her comeuppance at episode’s end will allow both us and the show to move on.