In its fifth week, Castle Rock continued to creep audiences out with unsettling imagery, moments of disturbing violence, and a serving of political commentary. But, as mentioned above, this is week four of ten… and the lack of answers is starting to create more tension than the show itself.
This episode, titled “Harvest,” found Bill Skarsgård’s mysterious The Kid finally being released from jail, creating a (false, naturally) sense that the problems in Castle Rock are over. But as Henry tries to leave while dealing with a mysterious health problem, and Alan prepares to receive an honor from the town, things start to get… weird(er). The problem, of course, is that these sequences are just that: weird… but not much else.
It’s not that Castle Rock isn’t well made. One well-directed sequence chronicled a violent encounter between a dysfunctional family in an absolutely brutal way, without actually showing a single frame of violence, which made it all the more disturbing. Another dramatic moment found a major character’s life suddenly in jeopardy and, to the show’s credit, the thought of them killing this person off felt wholly believable. And, of course, the acting is uniformly terrific throughout the whole ensemble. Skarsgård is particularly impressive, managing to creep out viewers while also adding interesting layers to his character – he’s more than just a villain, or so it would appear.
But, at this point in the series, the show is just frustratingly vague. Multiple sequences in this week’s episode feel random, with characters being thrown together and forced to interact, with virtually no consequences to the overall story. And, while Skarsgård’s nameless character is certainly a mysterious villain, the show fails to clarify how we’re supposed to feel about him in a way that is annoying, not interesting. One extended sequence seems to make us think we should sympathize with him, but others make it appear like he is unquestionably a force of evil. In fact, one character has flat-out entertained the idea he could be the devil. So, what exactly is going on here? And, when the show finally explains that, will it be a case of too little, too late?
It’s not that slow storytelling is a bad thing; HBO’s Sharp Objects, for example, has taken its time when telling its story. But, that series introduces new themes and concepts in each week’s episode. Castle Rock continues to explore the same territory, and only lightly treads its feet into those themes. As interesting as Castle Rock may be, it’s simply hard to believe that the writers will be able to pull this all off with more than half of their season already over. Hopefully, they’ll be able to prove me wrong.
Overall rating: 5 out of 10.
