• Home
  • Movies
  • Music
  • TV
  • Video Games
  • Wrestling
  • Topics
  • Latest Comments
Search
Cult of Whatever logo
  • Movies
    Featured
    • The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton as James Bond

      The Living Daylights is still awesome, thirty-five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 28, 2022
      Movie Blogs
    Recent
    • Elvis: Austin Butler

      REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • The Black Phone: Ethan Hawke as The Grabber

      REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 25, 2022
    • Jurassic World Dominion Logo

      REVIEW: Jurassic World Dominion – Here we go again…again

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Three Men and a Baby: Tom Selleck and Ted Danson

      Three Men and a Baby is still awesome thirty five years later

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 31, 2022
    • The Bob's Burgers Movie Poster

      REVIEW: Bob’s Burgers The Movie is Bob’s Burgers The Show, which means it’s great

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 28, 2022
    • Top Gun Maverick: Tom Cruise

      REVIEW: Top Gun Maverick is a sequel that soars!

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 27, 2022
  • Music
    Random
    • Queen II Album Cover

      On Queen's The Miracle, and the importance of track ordering

      By Matthew Martin
      | February 16, 2021
      Music Blogs
    Recent
    • The Beatles: Get Back

      What GET BACK reveals about the Beatles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 15, 2021
    • Simon And Garfunkel at Feyenoord Stadium in Rotterdam1982

      The Boxer is a song about being conned

      By Matthew Martin
      | July 4, 2021
    • Lady Gaga: Chromatica Album Cover

      Lady Gaga’s discography is totally out of order

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 3, 2021
    • Michael Jackson Thriller Album Cover

      Thirty years ago music fans said “Nevermind” to Michael Jackson

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 21, 2021
    • Linda Paul Mccartney 1976

      50 years ago, McCartney dropped “Lennon” and went solo…

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 5, 2020
    • Beatles Usa 1964

      50 years ago the Beatles said “The End”

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 31, 2019
  • TV
    Featured
    • Nancy Drew S03e01: Kennedy McMann as Nancy

      Nancy Drew S03E01 Review: The Warning of the Frozen Heart - Uh-oh!

      By Salome G
      | October 10, 2021
      TV Blogs
    Recent
    • Riverdale S06e18: Camila Mendes as Veronica Lodge

      Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e04: Heather Hemmens and Sherri Saum as Maria and Mimi DeLuca

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03e03: Katja Herbers and Aasif Mandvi as Kristen Bouchard and Ben Shakir

      Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01e03: kinaaldá Ceremony

      Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04e03: Sibongile Mlambo, Lily Cowles and Michael Trevino as Anatsa, Isobel and Kyle

      Roswell, New Mexico S04E03 Review: Subterranean Homesick Alien – Treading water?

      By Salome G
      | June 23, 2022
    • Obi-Wan Kenobi Series: Ewan McGregor and Vivien Lyra Blair as Obi-Wan and Leia

      REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
  • Video Games
    Featured
    • Arkham Knight

      Batman: Arkham Knight - A fitting end to a trilogy

      By Tom Farr
      | July 18, 2015
      Video Game Reviews
    Recent
    • Legend Of Zelda

      Can a Legend of Zelda movie work?

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 6, 2022
    • Super Mario 64

      Which system had the better launch: A battle of four Nintendo consoles

      By Matthew Martin
      | December 1, 2021
    • Luigi's Mansion

      Happy twentieth to Nintendo’s underrated gem, the Gamecube

      By Matthew Martin
      | November 18, 2021
    • Metroid Dread

      Metroid Dread – Post Game analysis and sequel needs

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 29, 2021
    • Mario Headphones

      The SNES Turns 30: A look at some of the system’s best soundtracks

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 22, 2021
    • Metroid Dread Poster

      REVIEW: Metroid Dread reawakens the old gamer in me

      By Matthew Martin
      | October 11, 2021
  • Wrestling
    Featured
    • Wwe Payback 2017 Poster 2

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE Payback 2017

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 30, 2017
      WWE Blogs
    Recent
    • AEW Double or Nothing 2022: CM Punk vs Adam Page

      REVIEW: AEW Double or Nothing 2022 delivered an up-and-down show

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • MJF on AEW Dynamite 17th November 2021

      Getting AEW to the next level…

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 29, 2022
    • Raw 210501: Triple H and Stephanie McMahon

      May 21, 2001 – A (forgotten) date that will live in WWE infamy

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 39 Logo

      Your WAY TOO EARLY predictions for WWE WrestleMania 39!

      By Matthew Martin
      | April 20, 2022
    • WWE WrestleMania 38 Poster

      Your SO OF COURSE preview of WWE WRESTLEMANIA 38!

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 30, 2022
    • Wrestlemania 31 Paige Aj Lee 2

      BOOK REVIEW: The Women of WrestleMania is a balanced take on an under-valued slice of history

      By Matthew Martin
      | March 16, 2022
  • Topics
    • site logo
    Latest
    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical - Spooky chaos!
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama - Emotional?
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex - Contrived?
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K'e - Swoon!
    • REVIEW: ELVIS beautifully mythologizes the King of Rock and Roll
    • REVIEW: THE BLACK PHONE is a flat, dull, rushed non-horror movie
    • Latest Comments

    Wayward Pines: What was great and what left me frustrated

    By Tom Farr
    | August 10, 2015
    TV Blogs

    Warning: Spoilers ahead if you haven’t watched Wayward Pines.

    Now that Wayward Pines, Fox’s surprise hit show of the summer, is over, fans are left wondering about where the story goes next. Actually, at the time of this writing, they’re wondering if there will even be a future for the show. After all, the show, which was developed by M. Night Shyamalan and Chad Hodge, was intended to be only a one season show to cover the events in Blake Crouch’s original trilogy of books that the show was based on.

    However, if the show was meant to be a self-contained ten-episode series of only one season, then the show’s creators should really give us an explanation for the show’s ending. The show ended with more questions than answers and definitely seemed to allude to a second season, yet, at the time of this writing, Fox still hasn’t made any announcement about whether or not the show will go on to a second season.

    Wayward Pines

    I decided to check out Wayward Pines after seeing M. Night Shyamalan tweet about it for several months before the show came out. I’ve been a fan of Shyamalan ever since The Sixth Sense, though I’ll admit that I haven’t seen any of his movies after The Happening. I thought it might be interesting to see a show developed for television by M. Night Shyamalan, so I decided to give it a try.

    The beginning of the series introduces us to U.S. Secret Service Agent Ethan Burke, who wakes up in a hospital in the strange town of Wayward Pines after a car accident. He’s separated from his family and he discovers that one of his fellow agents, Kate Hewson, who he was sent to find, has been living in Wayward Pines for several years. Ethan can’t contact the outside world and he’s quickly making enemies. People in Wayward Pines are forbidden to discuss their past lives before they came to Wayward Pines, and Ethan is surprised to discover that anyone who asks about their past is reckoned, or executed, in front of the entire town.

    Wayward Pines Matt Dillon

    I have to admit that after watching the first episode, I was only mildly intrigued and wasn’t sure if I was ready to commit to watching all ten episodes. But I came back, and the second episode was pretty good. Ethan discovers more mysteries about the town and about his partner Bill Evans, who is lying dead in a shed on the outskirts of town. Somehow the times that people have been in Wayward Pines, or at least believe they’ve been in Wayward Pines, don’t seem to add up. Beverly, the waitress played by Juliette Lewis who tries to help Ethan, believes it is the year 2000 when it’s actually the year 2015. She’s desperate to escape to see her daughter again, but dies tragically at the end of episode two for mentioning that little detail of her past.

    Beverly’s death and the fact that a character who seemed to be important could die so early in the series intrigued me more. Episode three saw another character death, but it was the mysterious creature from outside the walls of Wayward Pines that dragged Sheriff Pope’s body out that made this seem to be more than just a show about a strange town. What exactly is outside the high walls of Wayward Pines?

    Ethan’s family finds him in Wayward Pines, so it seems that there is a way into the town, but once you’re in, you’re there to stay. The high walls are a curious element of the town, especially when it seems like Ethan’s wife and son just drove into town, yet there doesn’t seem to be a way to drive into town.

    Episode 5 was the game changer. As Ethan travels outside the town’s walls and his son sits through orientation at the academy, they simultaneously learn the truth about Wayward Pines, and I have to say I didn’t expect it. M. Night Shyamalan is known for surprising twists in his movies, but this show is based off the books by Blake Crouch, so it’s actually Crouch’s twist. Wayward Pines and the people who live there are the last remnant of humanity. The creatures outside the town are what humanity devolved into over the last two thousand years. It is the year 4023 and the citizens of Wayward Pines were frozen for the last two thousand years before they were woken up and introduced into the society of Wayward Pines.

    Wayward Pines Abbies

    That episode was the clincher for me. I knew I’d finish the rest of the series because I needed to know what would happen to this town that housed the only remaining humans on Earth. The rest of the season was a power struggle between those who believe they’ve been trapped in Wayward Pines and just want to escape back to their regular lives and those who know that there are no regular lives outside of Wayward Pines anymore.

    The season finale revealed who the real good guys are and who the real bad guys are in the show, and it’s plenty surprising. I won’t give away the ending, but I will say that it ended openly. There’s clearly more to the story.

    And that’s the frustrating part. If the show would have ended with a clear wrap-up of everything that was setup in the first several episodes of the show, I would’ve been happy. But it didn’t end that way. It ended leaning forward. You might say that it didn’t even end. If the show’s creators intended for it to be a one-season show, why end it in a way that seems to promise a second season?

    Maybe they were hoping Fox would give them a second season. Plenty of people want to see the story go on. But until Fox gives the word, we’re left with a show that has no clear ending.

    Overall, Wayward Pines was a solid storytelling effort. The narrative pace was quick, but it suited the story well. The cast was excellent as well. As M. Night Shyamalan’s first foray into television, this was undoubtedly a success. Here’s to hoping the series continues.

    Share this article:

    Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit

    Tags

    M. Night ShyamalanWayward Pines

    COMMENTS

    Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

    Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

    Subscribe
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    Notify of
    guest
    Connect withD
    I allow to create an account
    When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
    DisagreeAgree
    guest
    1 Comment
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    Sam Gold
    Sam Gold
    6 years ago

    So, no thoughts on the terrible dialogue, gaping plot holes or impossibly stilted acting skills of Mr. Dillon?

    0
    Reply

    You might also like

    • Wayward Pines: What an M. Night Shyamalan TV series looks like

      By Tom Farr
      | July 1, 2015
    • The Visit: Will this be a return to early M. Night Shyamalan?

      By Tom Farr
      | April 28, 2015
    • Is Sleepy Hollow our generation’s X-Files?

      By Louise MacGregor
      | March 12, 2015
    • Constantine: Towards the end of days

      By Allan Calder
      | April 1, 2015

    FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

    TV Topics

    Recommended for you

    • Riverdale S06E18 Review: Biblical – Spooky chaos!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Roswell, New Mexico S04E04 Review: Dear Mama – Emotional?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Dark Winds S01E03 Review: K’e – Swoon!

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • Evil S03E03 Review: The Demon of Sex – Contrived?

      By Salome G
      | June 29, 2022
    • REVIEW: Obi-Wan Kenobi had a good season and little else

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 22, 2022
    • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds – Episodes 6-7 review (the best and the not-so best)

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 18, 2022
    • The Orville season three review part 1 (episodes 1-2 bring ups and downs)

      By Matthew Martin
      | June 12, 2022
    • Stranger Things S04 Part 1 Review: Almost perfect!

      By Salome G
      | June 5, 2022
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Every episode ranked! (Part 5/5)

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 30, 2022
    • The Flight Attendant S02E08 Review: Backwards and Forwards – A satisfying conclusion

      By Salome G
      | May 27, 2022
    • Star Trek Picard Season 2 (not a review but a rant)

      By Matthew Martin
      | May 10, 2022
    • On a scale of 1 to really messed up, how well does The Boys translate to the small screen?

      By Jason Collins
      | March 15, 2022
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Affiliate Disclosure
    • Cookie Policy and Settings
    • Terms of Use
    • Photo Credits
    • RSS
    All Cult of Whatever articles, logos, illustrations and graphics are copyright CultOfWhatever.com. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. © 2021 CultOfWhatever. All Rights Reserved.
    • facebook
    • twitter
    wpDiscuz