Into The Woods – Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau) and a shackled Sara Myers (Avery Konrad) inch their way through the vastly mysterious forest. She consistently asks questions about their destination. Feeling she is questioning his leadership, he grows more agitated as they arrive at the location where he discovered the talismans. Suggesting they make camp there, he admits to never traveling further into the woods. He certainly doesn’t want to push their luck any further with it being too close to sunset.

Town Diner – Deputy Kenny Liu (Ricky He) tells Tian Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy) that he plans to divide the residents into three groups. One group will be responsible for erecting the radio tower while the other groups will focus on the radio and power source. He tells her that Jade (David Alpay) will work alone before voicing his concern for his obsession with the insignia. He claims Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) has threatened to kill Jade. Victor (Scott McCord) is still missing. She describes him as “lazy” and “selfish” when Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) stops by to return the book they have been sharing.

Town Police Station – Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) thanks the Colony Home crew for their hard work. She questions Eric’s (Sam Vigneault) long face. He claims it is a genetic condition. She suggests a good night’s sleep will cure anything. Dale (Cliff Saunders) sarcastically says they’ll get to leave after the miraculous radio tower helps them reach Neverland. She tells him that it is important for them to have something to feel good about. Before departing, she marks 1 day on the “Nights without incident” board.

Matthews Home – As Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno) hauls more dirt from her basement, Jim calls from the kitchen to see if she wants some food. She announces that she’ll be right up. Ascending the stairs, she envisions herself in town before returning to the basement. After what seems like forever, she discovers Jim’s body hanging upside down. Jim’s screeches frighten her until she finds herself sitting on her bed. Jim and Ethan Matthews (Simon Webster) are sound asleep.

Town Police Station – Discovering Eric’s body hanging, Donna recalls his recent tower jokes.

Colony Home – Kenny fills Jim in on the progress. Jade is working in the kitchen. Seemingly pleased, Jim informs him of the need for more wood to erect the tower to scale above the dense forest canopy. Kenny suggests delegating the job of pulling wood from the barn to the others. Donna complains about it being a rough morning. When he mentions Eric, she says he isn’t available to work today.

Ellis Stevens (Corteon Moore) asks Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) if he can join her. She graciously welcomes the reprieve from wire stripping. They briefly discuss Eric. She voices her concerns about the tower not being a success. He tells her about the time when Boyd returned from Afghanistan. Boyd best described his experience as returning home from an extended stay on another planet. He says the most difficult part is discovering what changed, the circumstance or the individual. She questions what their relationship will be like when they return home.

In The Woods – Sara and Boyd push through the woods. He carves arrows into the trees as a direct reminder. She mentions the loop theory. He admits to having no idea but promises to find out. He asks if the voices mislead her to kill Bin-Qian Liu (Simon Sunn) and nearly, Ethan. She refuses to discuss it until he reminds her of how he answered her questions. He asks what the voices said to make her believe killing Ethan was a good idea. She claims they threatened to end Nathan Myers’s (Paul Zinno) life if she refused to do it. She says they told her that two vehicles would arrive and it could result in everyone’s death. She asks why he didn’t put her in “the box.” He assures her that the town can make good people do terrible things.

Matthews Home – Ethan, and Julie (Hannah Cheramy) have Victor’s sketches spread out on the dining table. Ethan points out that laid out in the correct order, they depict a story that reveals the next part of their quest. Tabitha suggests it may be inappropriate for a boy his age. Julie changes the subject by asking about Jim’s tower. Ethan continues to work on the arrangement of the sketches. Tabitha suggests playing “When I Get Home I Will…” She tells them that she will order Giovelli’s entire menu. Julie says the first thing she will do is ring up her friend. He admits to hoping they are still happy when they return home.

Colony Home – Jim and Jade discuss the town’s old battery supply. They are concerned the good batteries will drain within a few hours. Jim suggests utilizing the vehicles to keep the batteries charged. Jade questions what the insignia could tell them. Jim scolds him for not focusing on the tower, instead of the insignia or getting high. Jade reminds him of the town not being “Gilligan’s Island.

Donna attempts to enjoy some personal time when Kenny intrudes. She admits to appreciating that Boyd minds his own business before asking if he is sheriff will he dole out advice all over town. He offers a shoulder to lean on. He says they are going to collect wood from the barn. Going to the basement, she returns with an axe. While Jim and Kenny try to calm her, she denies being a psychopath. She assures them that the axe will render better wood than a rotten barn. Taking a few more swings and vocally relieving herself, she realizes that she’s become a spectacle.

In The Woods – Sara brings up Boyd’s wife. She says he and Nathan like to care for others but he is much gruffer. She claims Nathan wouldn’t have appreciated what they are doing. He believed pushing too hard for answers would have repercussions. A noise similar to wind chimes grabs her attention. They follow the noise to a tree of hanging bottles. He utilizes a stick to bring down one of the bottles when she is overwrought with pain. Collapsing on the ground, she appears to have a seizure.

Town Bar – Tom (Reid Price) asks Donna about the tower. Ignoring his question, he points out that it is her first visit to the bar. She insults his distilling methods before admitting she is there to get some peace. Kenny asks if she is bothered by Eric’s death. She describes the way Eric went out on his own terms as admirable. They briefly discuss the tower. She reminds him of it not being grade school where all the students receive a trophy. She suggests he had no idea what life was like before Boyd and the talisman. She says the town was a functioning community until they all got caught up in “Mr. Wizard.” Now, no one wants to acknowledge what will happen when their attempts fail. He asks if sitting idle while the monsters hunt them down is better. She says at least the monsters don’t conceal their true identity or intentions. She says the Colony House was special, losing the camaraderie is a major blow. She assures him that she will be back in the game tomorrow.

Ellis informs Jim of Donna’s outburst. After a bit of chit-chat, Jim says he needs to get back to work. Ellis says the CB coil and wiring are going well. Jim admits to feeling little progress was made today before saying it is common with engineering projects.

In Town – Kenny encounters a dejected Kristi outside the police station. She tells him that her relationship with Eric had grown over the past few months. His celiac disease resulted in many hospital visits to treat bloating and dehydration. She claims he refused to cut carbohydrates out of his diet. Eric helped her acclimate to the town. She voices concern about the impact of the tower if it fails. He promises to not do anything rash. After a quick hug, they depart.

Liu Residence – As Tian and Jade put the finishing touches on dinner, he admits to not being able to understand people. He feels pressure when people want answers to questions with no answers. He says his genius is a bit much to handle. She complains about his constant whining. She asks if the lack of electricity is upsetting him before flipping the light switch. She assures him that the electrical problem is much more than one man can solve.

Matthews Residence – Julie confronts Jim about the tower. She admits to knowing the project isn’t going well. He questions her sudden optimism before suggesting it has something to do with Ethan’s comment about their arrival in town was fate. She tells him to give up the tower and help them with the hole. Taking the bucket, they quickly retreat to the basement when the corridor light flickers.

In The Woods – Fully dark now in the woods, Sara and Boyd bed down for the night in their makeshift camp. Asking where they are, she says he is concerned about her not waking. He informs her that “1864” was written on the paper in the bottle. He says there is a similar paper in each of the bottles. She warns the voice she heard during the attack warns they need to go back. She says the voice told her to tell “Mr. Fish and Loves” that she was wrong. Their tent comes under attack.

Matthews Basement – Ethan tells Jim about Victor’s sketches while hoisting a bucket of dirt from the hole via a handmade pulley system. With scarecrows, spiders, and bogeymen, Ethan suggests they are on a quest when Tabitha’s shovel strikes something hard.

In The Woods – When the struggle ends, Boyd notices the talisman came loose. Frantically searching, it only takes mere seconds to reattach it to the rope hanging in the center of the tent. She tells him that they shouldn’t have come here. Something inside the tent illuminates and dims like a lighthouse beacon.

 

From Review

Compared to the previous episode, “Into The Woods” felt a lot like filler to me. It’s certainly not that the content wasn’t entirely unimportant, but a lot of it seemed impactful. The whole episode was centered on Eric’s suicide, but even that felt almost meaningless. This is not to say that it wasn’t interesting to see how the residents might respond when pushed beyond their limits, but a lot of it felt needless. Boyd and Sara’s journey didn’t feel like it gave much until the end of the episode. With her revelation of knowing his nickname, the attack, and the strobe light, there is no question that the town has magical properties of some sort.

I felt it was important to see Donna break down. It’s not only good to see how a leader reacts in the face of adversity, but also to see the avenues they choose to overcome it, as well as who steps in to help. Even more revealing was the cause of her breakdown was tied more toward the potential for success rather than failure. As always, it felt that the episode did a decent job of building the suspense for the next episode. For that, I would give this one a sold 5.5.

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