A Rock And A Farway – A young Victor (Eli Arsenault) greets the day as he emerges from an underground cellar, with his eponymous Disco metal lunch box. Taking in his surrounding, the youngster’s good spirits are brought to an abrupt end when he discovers the trail to town strewn with desecrated corpses.

Colony House Present Day – Victor (Scott McCord) works on a crude Crayola depiction of a nearby sleeping Julie Matthews (Hannah Cheramy). Awaking with a startle, she sees what he is doing. He goes on a rant about forgetting and later remembering dreams only to discover they’re real events from the past. He gives her the photo before departing. Trudy (Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks) asks for her pillow back. Julie explains her possession of the item with a mixture of embarrassment and recoil. Trudy describes the pillow as her personal security blanket. Julie figures Trudy’s lack of hostility stems from her going through her belongings while she slept. Unabashedly wearing the shirt, it appears that sharing will big a big part of life at the Colony House.

Matthew’s Home – Jim Matthews (Eion Bailey) discovers Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sadino Moreno) resting on the dining table. He suggests a light would lighten the dark atmosphere. She advises against it since this is her favorite time of the day. After recalling her crying all night, he agrees when she has another emotional breakdown. She asks if he believes it is a form of punishment. She explains how they’re utilizing a dead woman’s mug and living where a child died. Ethan Matthews (Simon Webster) voices his concern over her well-being. He admits to missing Julie. Jim tells him about the community breakfast at the diner. She stays behind to do a bit of unpacking.

Outside The Matthew’s Home – The Matthew’s new home, adjacent to “the box” is being cleared by Boyd (Harold Perrineau). Frank’s corpse is loaded onto a makeshift cart. As Boyd passes the house, he encounters a smiling Ethan and Jim. Boyd claims to be hauling supplies while shooing them off to the diner for breakfast. They are immediately greeted by Sara Myers (Avery Konrad) who escorts them to the VIP section. She mentions his heroic adventure in the woods. Jim shows his appreciation.

The Parish – Boyd instructs Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder) to bury Frank with his family. Father Khatri asks when he will return for service. Smirking, Boyd asks if he will tell his congregation that he wanted Frank killed. Boyd asks him to return the cart before leaving.

In The Woods – Deputy Kenny (Ricky He) joins Jade (David Alpay) at the underground cellar. Jade escorts him down into the cellar while explaining his vivid hallucinations. Kenny suggests it is the stress of being in a bizarre place. Jade assures him that he is sane. Kenny says there is something he should see at the police station.

The Diner – Tian Chen Liu (Elizabeth Moy) delivers pancakes to Ethan. Wasting no time digging in, he asks if this is their new home. Jim says it is only temporary. Thinking of the detour as an adventure, Ethan’s young mind tries to relate the experience to the hero’s quest Norman went on in the “Lake of Tears.” Explaining how it feels like Thomas is there, Ethan says may be able to help him save the kingdom. While Jim is in the restroom, Victor claims the trees moved four inches closer. Showing Ethan a picture, he asks if this is who he saw in the woods. Ethan confirms it is him. When Jim returns, he scolds Victor for what he said to Ethan.

Colony House – Fatima (Pegah Ghafoori) admits to struggling to cope when she first arrived at the Colony House. She claims it got easier once she determined how to get her clothes back from Trudy. Escorting her outside to the clothesline, she shows her an Armani shirt. She explains how he belonged to a cross-dancing Duluth, Charlie with exceptional taste in fashion. She says laundry detail has its perks because you get the first pick of clothing. Tabitha drops off a sweater to Julie. They seem to get getting along okay until she suggests telling Donna it was a mistake choosing to live there. Frustrated, Julie rushes away as Tabitha stresses the importance of family. Julie finds her comment strange since the trip was intended to reveal their divorce plans. She reminds her that she has two other kids besides Thomas who is gone. Fatima intervenes by introducing herself to Tabitha.

Police Station – Kenny explains the world map to Jade. Each pin indicates the direction a resident was coming from. Kenny and his parents arrived from Austin, Texas while Kristi (Chloe Van Landschoot) came from Detroit. The topic is eventually switched to the “escape room.” Jade suggests someone is behind their being trapped in the town. He guarantees to find the answer. Kenny warns it will drive in loco in the process. The static on the radio grabs Jade’s attention.

Matthew’s Porch – Tabitha finds Jim on the porch when she arrives home. He informs her of the Crayola depiction of the “Boy in White.” She tells him about Julie’s suspicions of their looming divorce. He admits to scolding Victor before assuring him everything will be fine. Victor

Sharing their woes, the duo’s encounter turns hostile when Jim tells her that everything is going to be okay. In the kitchen, Ethan overhears the arguments, but his eavesdropping is soon broken up by Victor, knocking at the window. Victor approaches to ask Ethan to join him on a search for the “Boy in White.” Ethan tries to explain that he’s not supposed to leave. Victor explains how they have been chosen before telling him to leave his crutch behind and utilize a stick.

“The Box” – Boyd is reinforcing the wall when Father Khatri approaches with the cart. The priest suggests his berating of him makes him feel better about what happened to Frank but he shouldn’t blame himself. Boyd assures him it has nothing to do with Frank. Father Khatri claims to bury more bodies in a week than him in a year. It was Boyd that discovered the talisman, while also establishing some sort of order in the chaos. People stopped surviving and started living when Boyd showed up. Father Khatri apologizes for the price he paid but reminds him that he doesn’t have the luxury of self-loathing. He says the town needs him more than ever. Before leaving, he suggests not letting her death be for nothing.

In The Woods – Victor says he was starting to think the “Boy in White” was a figment of his imagination. He claims to have been a child when his first encounter took place as two cars arrived in town. Ethan asks how he got there. Victor’s hostility urges Ethan to tell him about his struggle with the loss of his brother, Thomas. When the “Boy in White” makes an appearance, they quietly follow him.

Matthew’s Home – Tabitha has now made her way indoors to cool down and is soon joined by a still-heated Jim. Tabitha can’t do it right now and says she’s going to take Ethan to visit with Julie. Going out the open backdoor, the two discover Ethan’s discarded crutch.

In The Woods – Ethan and Victor arrive at a Faraway Tree where the “Boy In White” seemingly vanished. After drawing a smiley face on a rock with chalk, Victor demonstrates how the Faraway Tree works. After the newly decorated rock is dropped inside the tree hollow, the rock falls out of the sky behind them. The rock bears the same smiley face. Victor explains the Faraway Tree can also transport humans in the same manner but the final destination is unknown. He says it could be nearby or far away. Tabitha and Jim search for Ethan in the woods when a German Shepherd barks which sounds like several dogs. Victor fires his gun into the air to scare the dog away. Ethan reunites with his concerned parents.

Irate, Jim reminds Victor of his ordering him to stay away from Ethan. Apologizing, Victor assures him that he would never harm Ethan. Tabitha pleas with Jim as Victors flees to the Colony House to find a particular sketch. He hallucinates about being young in a corpse-filed town with the “Boy in White” and German Shepherd.

The Box – Jim talks to Boy about Victor. Boyd suggests talking to Donna who has more authority over people living in the Colony Home. Jim shows him the sketch of the “Boy in White.” Boyd promises to speak with Donna about it to assure it doesn’t happen again. As Jim is leaving, Boyd invites him and his family to dinner.

Colony House – Fatima and Julie’s relationship grows closer. Ellis gives her own personal sleeping quarters with privacy curtains.

The Diner – Boyd treats Jim and his family to a special meal. He promises to speak with Ellis about keeping an eye on Julie. Tabitha expresses her appreciation. He says the residents are like family always looking out for each other. Sara invites Ethan to help serve the food. When the radio switches on, he claims it does it from time to time. Kenny pulls Boyd away to attend to a task elsewhere. She reminisces about their summer in Texas. Jim apologizes for his emotional inadequacies. Tabitha assures him that they will work it out together. Sara writes in pain, clutching her arm. It is later revealed, her arm is infested with parasites that speak to her through cryptic messages. The first cryptic message orders her to “kill the boy.” Glancing over at Ethan and back to her where there is no longer a message. She collapses on the floor. Boyd and Kenny rush over to help her.

Colony House – The occupants of the home watch as the whacko digs like a madman. Donna (Elizabeth Saunders) asks what he is up to. He says trying to get a head start before realizing he has dug four graves.

 

From Review

Many scenes felt trivial with minimal important information about the town, strange connections the residents share, and the unique way of life they’ve adapted to. The Matthew family disputing among themselves didn’t feel right. It fact, it felt a bit strained.

The show did a superb job of building on the mysterious while also revealing much more about the town’s longest-surviving residents. Seeing a different side of Boyd, Victor, and the good Father was very intriguing.

This episode deserves a 5 or 5.5. Get more From recaps here. Support Reel Mockery by clicking the link. Inquire about our scalable advertising by reaching out to customer service.