Widow’s Bay finished its first season on Wednesday Apple TVand in its conclusion, entitled We Hope You Enjoy Your Time, which is layered a horror-comedy reveals a big trick up its sleeve. From the beginning of the show, Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) works tirelessly to transform his coastal town into the next Martha’s Vineyard. As the episodes progress, the show shows just how cursed this little fishing village is — and why tourists really shouldn’t go there.
Widows Bay is plagued by a hundred-year curse that makes those born on the island unable to travel, because if they try, they die. In addition, there is a torture chair found in the bowels of the storm defense in Widow’s Bay which shows that the history of this island is more disturbing than I thought. And I say this knowing full well that there was a maniacal boogeyman, a murderous clown and a Wicker Man death party featured throughout the season.
With the news that Widows Bay has been renewed for a second season, it’s important that we release some important details about the ending. I have to say that there are major spoilers ahead. If you’re not caught up on the Widow’s Bay season 1 finale, tread lightly.
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The first episode of the season, Emergency Shelter, found a supernatural nor’easter descending on the island. After all his hard work to attract tourists to Widow’s Bay, Loftis succeeded. Now, it looks like all of that could come crashing down unless he gets a fix.
A curse keeps ‘a curse
Hamish Linklater guest stars in Widow’s Bay.
Tom, Patricia (Katie O’Flynn) and Wyck (Stephen Root) came up with a disturbing response to their problems last week. It turns out that there was another descendant of Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater), the man who brought a curse to the island almost 300 years ago: the crippled man Tom and Wyck helped kill in episode 7.
It’s Ruth (K Callan), of all people, a kind lady who worked in the mayor’s office. Discovering her connection to Warren puts the trio on edge. Patricia resists the idea of abandoning him; Wyck, being Wyck, has no qualms about putting a woman out of her misery. Tom ends up taking Wyck’s side and, with some information about the drugs Ruth shouldn’t mix, goes to his house to do so.
I was expecting Ruth to reveal herself to be a monster, the same way Ingrid Kersh did in It: Chapter 2. However when Tom arrives at her house, she is greeted with kindness and an offer of tea and, after waiting 27 minutes for the drink to finish drinking, she sits down for an uncomfortable chat with him.
I thought the story would take this song. As predicted, it remained an emotional wall. Rhys’ ability as an actor really helped reveal that his dead wife, Lauren, was Ruth’s secret daughter – which means that Tom’s son, Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick), is another descendant of Richard Warren.
UK Callan stars in Widow’s Bay.
One down, one to go
Talk about a bombshell. Tom had done his best to put this curse behind him and made plans to get Evan off the island to enjoy a Red Sox game. He did not properly explain to his son that there is a curse: If he takes him off the island, he will die. Now that he’s got Evan’s real list, Tom has a tough job ahead of him. She will want to keep her son alive, no matter what, even if the answer to all their problems is to kill him.
After Tom gets the news from Ruth, he does everything in his power to wake her up and take her to the doctor since, yes, she really got drunk on her tea. Then, Sheriff Bechir arrives and shoots Ruth without hesitation. His reason? To save her unborn child from a cursed life of being trapped in Widow’s Bay for the rest of her life.
Tom didn’t tell Bechir any new information about Evan — even at gunpoint. Now, his mission has changed to turning Widow’s Bay into a tourist attraction to keep his son alive, no matter the cost.
Kingston Rumi Southwick stars in Widow’s Bay.
Things are getting religion-y
All the while Tom and Bechir were with Ruth, dealing with the chaos, Patricia and Wyck were doing their best to keep the townspeople and the group of tourists at the storm shelter from panicking. Office worker Dale (Jeff Hiller) challenges those plans when he finds some old videos — reminiscent of the ones the crew found on Lost — that walk viewers through the process of donating people to the island.
“For the rest of your life, the island will make its needs known,” said the man in the tie to the camera. Images of naked people with bags on their heads are shown, while happily informing the viewer that the more they fear adventure, the better they will taste on the island.
At the same time, Evan and his friends decide to explore and find a way out of the main area of the shelter. Where did they end up? A small creepy room with what looks like an old torture chair facing two large, heavy doors.
Before they can check, the man finds the children outside. But he has no luck. The door closed, locking the man inside. And just as soon as that happens, the storm stops, power returns to the shelter and Ruth, miraculously, arrives — even with a gunshot wound to the head.
The island got its food.
Where do things go from here?
The episode ends with Tom getting into his car with Evan to leave. Many questions are pending.
The biggest conflict I see playing out next season is Tom’s mission to keep Evan safe, which means shutting down the real family he’s discovered. How will Patricia or Wyck react when this information is finally revealed? More importantly, what will Sheriff Bechir do when he realizes that, after all this, he will not be able to get his child off the island?
Throughout this season, Widow’s Bay has sprinkled interesting breadcrumbs throughout the story, showing all kinds of supernatural weirdness connected to a deep-rooted curse. The revelation of a government-sanctioned plan to sacrifice citizens to keep the island happy opens another can of worms. What was the problem with that torture chamber? And how will people feed themselves on the island? Furthermore, how can this be stopped?
Here’s to hoping Widow’s Bay sticks around for a while, because there’s still a lot going on beneath the surface for us to discover. Until then, I’ll be counting down the days until the show returns for Season 2.
