Episode 7 begins with the arrival of winter and Penelope’s (Megan Stott) realization that she has yet to face any challenge like the one that lies ahead. Already running low on supplies, firewood, wildlife, and foraging appear to be non-existent with snow already thick on the ground. During one particular outing, she has a near-deadly encounter with a cougar that she ultimately has to kill. Although she does not walk away unharmed and her injuries practically immobilize her for what appears to be several days, the puma is a blessing in disguise of protein. Despite her injuries, she will manage to salvage the meat.
As time passes Penelope’s injuries only prove more debilitating. Although she gets plenty of rest and clots the wounds, she considers calling home after a vivid hallucinogenic dream one evening. While looking at her phone, she’ll speak to herself about the first time she read ‘Into The Wild,’ and thought the main character was an idiot for letting himself die on a bus while he was right next to civilization. She admits that she was completely wrong and now understands.
Despite the depressing outlook, she will eventually pull herself together with the realization that she ultimately made the choice to be where she is. This revelation inspires her to hike the twenty-five miles to town and get what she needs to recover. She also makes herself the promise that she will return to camp. Several seconds later, Penelope will be shown on the outskirts of what appears to be a small town, getting ready to cross a main road. As she is crossing the road a speed pickup comes barreling down on her and just as it is about to make impact, she wakes in her cabin, suggesting that the entire encounter was a dream.
The following morning, the episode begins with Penelope giving her camp a final goodbye and beginning her hike.
Penelope Review
I really enjoyed this short, sweet, and straight-to-the-point episode. It basically set out to prove a purpose and accomplished it without fluff or unneeded filler. A lot of today’s series could learn something from this episode. That said, the dark scenes were a bit too dark. I am sure one could adjust their settings to make the content more watchable, but that shouldn’t be needed. Other than that, the episode deserves a 6 out of 10.
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