The finale begins with Penelope (Megan Stott) well into her hike into town. Despite her injuries and pained moans, she not only appears to be making good progress but is doing so with relative ease. It isn’t long before things take a complete 180 as her vision becomes blurry and she begins experiencing hallucinations. A distant rumbling of thunder suggests that things are about to get even worse, but Penelope never gets the chance to find out because a hallucination of her mother (Cynthia Geary) sends her running headfirst into a tree that renders her unconscious.

Penelope wakes in the hospital with a recently mended gash on her head and although the staff comes and goes while continuously recording her progress, her first conversation is with a Social Worker named Jen (Sulai Lopez). Jen tells her that she was discovered, nearly dead, four days ago by two hikers. Without any identifying information and the claims of having no friends and family, the medical staff has no idea what to do with her and that is apparently why Jen has been called in.

Penelope immediately becomes defensively withdrawn and continually asks for the medical bill but much to Penelope’s surprise, Jen is the furthest thing from pushy or nosey. As the conversation continues, it’s suggested that Jen is more than adept at dealing with runaways. She even throws Penelope for a loop when she admits to knowing that the name she gave the medical staff, Amber Johnson is a fake and she has likely been living in the woods. Despite all this, Jen promises no one is going to take any action without Penelope’s approval. Before leaving Penelope with a huge information packet on local free clinics, Planned Parenthood, and food banks, Jen offers her bus tokens, a set of clean clothes, and a hot meal that Penelope graciously accepts.

By the time Jen returns with the clothes, Penelope has eaten her offered meal and is more than ready to leave. It takes quite a bit of careful convincing and a promise to only call in the event of something dire, but Jen convinces Penelope to give her an emergency number. Jen attempts to build on that momentum by asking why Penelope doesn’t want her to contact anyone but she reveals nothing further. It is never revealed who Penelope uses as an emergency contact. Before the encounter ends, Penelope asks if Jen has a card but she claims giving it to her would be against regulations.

While making her way through the small town, a brief stop at a payphone suggests that Penelope is still considering calling home. Her stop is only brief and it isn’t long before she encounters an older man chopping firewood. He refuses her help but she doesn’t take no for an answer. The older man will introduce himself as Eugene (Stephen Kelsey) over a later meal of ground meat, rice, and stewed tomatoes. Much to her surprise, Eugene opens his couch and phone to her, after she does the dishes.

Penelope will eventually make a call but appears immensely relieved when it goes to the automated message that the recipient hasn’t yet set up their voicemailbox. It isn’t long after making the call that she returns to walking through the town. The absence of her backpack indicates that she likely plans to return to Eugene’s home. As the night approaches, Penelope will find herself in the Cascade Library. When the Librarian (Kate Bayley) gives her the 5-minute warning, she quickly logs onto her e-mail account to discover it bombarded with various messages.

For the most part, it’s unclear what Penelope is looking for until she begins a search for Peter (Rhenzy Feliz). After coming up empty, she’ll log into a social media platform. By the time she logs into her account and briefly checks her profile, she’ll have received the two-minute warning from the Librarian. After admiring a photo of her mother and father (Barry O’Neil) together, she notices a R.I.P. comment, along with several others that suggest they have died.

The episode ends with Penelope taking in the news of her parents’ potential death. It’s unclear if she is happy, saddened, or perhaps inspired by the revelation.

 

Penelope Review

Unfortunately, the ending felt very unfulfilling but I have to accredit the enigmatic approach. I’ve always thought that properly ending a good story would be one of the most difficult tasks. I’ve seen so many good series ruined by their endings, but before I get on a tangent, I personally feel that a good story will leave the viewer thinking about it long after its ending. That was accomplished here.

Did Penelope’s parents start telling people she died? Did the masses just start assuming she passed? Was there a reason the authorities might have assumed she died? More importantly, how will Penelope respond? If she wanted to erase her existence, this would be the perfect opportunity. Other than this and the ridiculous headfirst dive into the tree that rendered her unconscious the episode wasn’t completely bad. I’d give it a 5.4 out of 10.

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