Wayward Points S02E08: Secret Tunnels

"She's not a trophy."

***

What we already know:

• Margaret, the female Abby, broke out of containment, killed Mrs. Fisher (hooray) and is on the loose.
• Xander stole some weapons from the armory a few episodes ago. He didn't play a big role in last week's episode, but they teased this storyline to open the show.
• Relationship drama - Jason and Kerry had considered having children. Theo left Rebecca. Xander wants back in with his Wayward wife.
• Jason killed three Abbies that were being held in containment, greatly endangering Margaret's trust of humans.We also learned that the Abbies are hostile towards humanity because Pilcher and his men destroyed their settlement to create Wayward Pines.
• Theo's research showed that Margaret's brain is twice as large as a human's. Hassler says the brand on her palm means that she's the leader of the Abbies. The male Abbies are congregating around the Fence again, intending to free Margaret.

Wayward Points:

• MARGARET BUSTS LOOSE

• Margaret escapes the Complex, causing a complete shut-down of Wayward Pines. All citizens are ordered to remain indoors. Margaret leaves a trail of bread crumbs by killing a soldier, carrying him around on her shoulders and leaving a trail of blood to send any search parties in the wrong direction. Well, it worked, as Theo and Hassler wind up lost in the woods with Margaret running amok around town.
• Xander, Rebecca and others, including Frank and Arlene, formulate a plan to use the weapons Xander stole to help track down Margaret. Two rebels head out to search independently. They bump into several soldiers from the First Generation and, in their confusion, one of the rebels (Tom) and Mario (the African-American militia officer we have seen before) are shot. Tom dies and Mario is left in critical condition in the hospital, having PTSD-like panic attacks.
• Toward the end of the episode, Margaret has a showdown with Rebecca in the middle of a quiet street. It is implied that Margaret can sense that Rebecca is pregnant. A flashback shows the Settlement Abbies taking care of young babies. This seems to be a main source of the Abby hostility. Xander shoots Margaret in the arm to save Rebecca (and the baby) and Margaret scampers back off into the woods.
  
• Hassler tracks Margaret to an entrance to an underground drainage system. He has her at gunpoint but lets her go free, then follows her into the tunnel. Later, Jason orders the First Generation to collapse the pipe with grenades. Hassler escapes out the other end of the tunnel and immediately finds himself surrounded by Abbies. Marge calls off the hounds and Hassler walks away unharmed.
• Margaret stumbles off, further into the woods, and is shown struggling for life as the episode draws to a close.
• TROUBLE AT HOME

• Throughout the episode, Xander urges Rebecca to talk about their pre-existing relationship to Theo, but Theo hasn't been home in two days. We discover that Rebecca is carrying Xander's baby.
• Rebecca questions Kerry's relationship with Jason. Kerry counters by asking why Rebecca is with "him." Rebecca responds, "He's strong. He's interesting. He challenges me." Kerry says she was referring to Xander, not Theo. Rebecca says she was, too. Rebecca says she is not defined by either of her husbands and urges Kerry not to be defined by Jason, either.
• Jason has prepared a safe room at the Complex in which he, Kerry and their future posterity can re-enter cryo sleep in the event of a catastrophe. There is only room for them, not for the rest of the community. Kerry tells Jason that she sustained injuries earlier in the season which have resulted in her inability to have children. Jason is devastated by the news.
• THE PRIDEFUL PRINCE OF WAYWARD PINES
• Jason pays tribute to Mrs. Fisher (and gets surprisingly emotional) while speaking aloud to her dead body in the Complex. He hides his tears when a member of the First Generation interrupts his private moment with his late longtime mentor.
• Jason is not a great listener. She attempts twice to tell him that she cannot bear children, but he cuts her off both times before she finally tells him on her third attempt.

Who we met:

• The Rebels: A group of citizens aligned with Xander who decide to take matters into their own hands by using Xander's stolen guns to hunt for Margaret. One of them, Tom, is accidentally shot and killed by the First Generation.
• The Settlement Abbies: This name will refer to the colonized group of Abbies outside the Fence that were shown taking care of Margaret at the end of the episode.

What we learned:

• Dr. Yedlin's medical research showed that Kerry can not bear children.
• Rebecca is pregnant with Xander's child.
• "It's 'A-B-B-Y,' not 'A-B-B-I-E.'" Whoops.
• The number of Abbies outside the Fence has tripled. They are headed to a point where the Fence meets the eastern base of the mountain, which Rebecca deems as a weak spot in the geographical layout of the town. Xander and Rebecca theorize that the Abbies are using their large pits to dig in the woods a tunnel underneath the Fence.
• Margaret has a very good memory. She is constantly shown remembering her interactions with humans, neglecting to kill Frank, who she met innocently at the carousel, but tearing apart a man in military fatigues after remembering that the First Generation held her at gunpoint before locking her up in the Complex.
• Margaret appears to have some "sixth sense" that allows her to sense human pregnancy.

Wayward Lines:

• Voice over PA system: "Good citizens of Wayward Pines, this is the dawn of a new day. We must unite as one and stand together against our enemy. We will not let this threat outside our walls drive us into hiding. We will find peace in our normal way of life. This time will pass. Go to school. Work hard. Be happy. Enjoy your life in Wayward Pines."
• Theo, on trust between humans and Margaret: "That was destroyed in three gun shots."
• Voice over Complex PA system: "This is a Code Red. There has been a security breach in the lab. All personnel, get to your posts."
• Xander to Rebecca: "He'll know it's not his."
• Lucy to Frank: "Is this it? Are we dead?"
• Arlene to Rebecca: "You're a very well-informed hairstylist!"
• Arlene: "I watch birds. ... I mean, there aren't a lot of birds, but I like to watch them. I mean... It's not like I use them to watch my neighbors."
• Xander and Arlene: "I'll go get the binoculars." "They're in my bedroom..."
• Rebecca: "I am my own person, Kerry. You should be, too."
• Jason to Kerry: "This is our chance to survive. You and me, like Adam and Eve."
• Kerry to Jason: "I can't have children."
• Theo: "Shut up, Oscar."
• Mario to Theo: "I think that having a happy and productive life in Wayward Pines is the most important contribution I can make to the preservation of our species, sir."

The Rules:

• The void over the PA system tells citizens to go to school and quotes, "Work Hard. Be Happy. Enjoy Your Life in Wayward Pines."
• Kerry becomes upset when she learns that she cannot have children. Theo asks if this means that Jason will make her "disappear, like the others" who could not get pregnant.
• Phones ring to alert citizens of Margaret's escape. A phone is shown being answered while Arlene falls asleep in a hairstyling chair.
• One schoolmate mocks Frank for obeying the order to go inside. Frank responds, "It's what they said to do." Frank then disobeys the Rules by taking Lucy to see Rebecca.

Wayward Whines:

• At the end of Episode 7, Margaret clearly walks through the puddle of Mrs. Fisher's blood. Yet, when she is sneaking around the Complex in the opening this week, she leaves no footprints at all. (Maybe she got smart and washed her feet off.)

Wayward Signs:

• At Pines Theater: "WPA Recital, Mon- Fri 8 PM"
• The sign is later changed to say "PINES! A Musical Celebration"
• "Wayward Pines Barber, grooming & hairstyling"
• "Survival depends on you"
• "City Limits, Mile 2"

Easter eggs:

• The introduction to the episode, which had previously always been read by Theresa Burke or Mrs. Fisher was read in this episode by Kerry.
• For the first time, we actually see people riding the carousel on Main Street.
• ICE CREAM! An ice cream truck is shown driving around town. (RIP Sheriff Pope.) Also, Ice Cream Kid from Hassler's hallucination is briefly shown licking an ice cream cone inside his house.
• Frank reminds Lucy that "it's 'Pilcher,' not 'Pilchner.'" Rebecca referred to David as "Mr. Pilchner" when they met in a flashback several episodes ago.

What we don't know:

• What is wrong with the soil in Wayward Pines?
• How will Jason deal with Kerry's inability to get pregnant?
• What does the brand in Margaret's palm mean, if anything more than that she is the leader of the Abbies?
• If Margaret dies (unlikely), who will become the new leader of the Abbies?
• Is Ben Burke still alive?

Obituaries:

RIP Deployed Soldier (actual soldier not pictured)

Season 2: Episode 4 (presumably) - Episode 8

RIP Rebel Tom

Season 2: Episode 8

***

A bit of a slower episode this week, in my opinion, although it did drop a couple pregnancy bombs - that Rebecca is and that Kerry can't. Theo was as ill-tempered as ever, with tensions growing between himself and Xander - and with Rebecca seemingly choosing a side - so it will be interesting to see how that all shakes out. I'm guessing that the mild cliffhanger this week will light a fire under the Settlement Abbies' thirst for human blood and it looks like we're getting set up for a monumental war here in a couple weeks. If this is just a 10-episode arc, which I assume it is but am too afraid to verify on IMDb, that means we've got but two episodes left. Thoughts? Leave them in the comments section below. Peace.


Until next week,

Work hard and be happy.