‘Castle Rock’s Wicked Woods & More Crazy Moments from ‘Henry Deaver’
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 1 Episode of Castle Rock, “Henry Deaver.”]
Instead of just raising questions the latest episode of Hulu’s Castle Rock is finally providing answers… sort of.
The horror drama is flipping the script in “Henry Deaver,” taking everything fans know so far and creating a whole new dimension to the story. Last week viewers were introduced to some interesting innkeepers as Henry (André Holland) narrowly escaped death, and this week it was The Kid’s (Bill Skarsgård) turn to shine.
In this penultimate episode, confusion about space and time, The Kid’s identity, and more are explored. Below we take a deep dive into some of the biggest moments from the latest installment, but beware of spoilers ahead.
Who Is Henry Deaver?
During the opening of the episode, viewers are given a glimpse of The Kid’s life in present day Boston, and the first thought that comes to mind is how could this be possible? From experience, fans have come to expect the unexpected, but the origins of this mysterious character took a more solid shape in “Henry Deaver.”
Traveling to Castle Rock after the death of his father Matthew Deaver (Adam Rothenberg), The Kid/Henry’s conversations slowly reveal that Ruth (Sissy Spacek) is his mother and she’s living with Alan (Scott Glenn) — in this time Ruth escaped Matthew Deaver with her son to Boston hence the new location.
But what timeline is this exactly? The further the episode progresses the more complex the narrative is. It’s clear that there is some sort of time-travel involved as well as travel through dimensions, but more on that later.
Molly’s Involvement
Similar to the Henry Deaver fans know, The Kid’s version is also neighbors with Molly (Melanie Lynskey) who is a successful representative in Castle Rock — a far cry from her life as a drug using realtor. But it’s clear from a conversation with The Kid that she’s still connected to Henry in this reality, as he points out that she always knew when he was awake across the street even if the lights were out.
Ultimately, when The Kid discovers a young Henry confined to a cage in the basement of his father’s house, Molly gets involved as a town figure and friend. But this doesn’t bode well for her as the story leads to last week’s head scratcher that she’s dead. When young Henry describes a need to be in the woods she facilitates it by dodging police escort Officer Zalewski (Noel Fisher).
When the blurry reality that young Henry sees comes into focus for Molly, she pays the price with her life — but who’s to blame? The knife wielding girl seen in this blurry reality or Officer Zalewski? If it is the girl who killed Molly, then it could explain the bad luck of Castle Rock transcends time.
The Woods
Finally, viewers are given a reason behind everyone’s preoccupation with the woods of Castle Rock. When The Kid pulls out tapes from his father Matthew in this present timeline the story of how young Henry arrived there points out the alternating realities. From noting that Castle Rock looked different, was void of snow, and that he heard the voice of God. Henry — “changed but the same,” Matthew says in the tape.
But when Matthew construed this “returned” son as the devil, it calls into question Henry’s goodness — could he be the evil one? In the distorted reality of the woods, criminals, murder, suicide, and more abound all at once from different times. And earlier mentions about Molly’s connetion to Henry in prior episodes could explain the reason she killed him. If Molly was always connected to Henry in both times, it would mean that her experiences can transcend not just time, but also realities.
The woods are a hotbed for these bizarre occurrences and dark energy, hopefully viewers will learn more about how it’s all connected in the finale episode next week.
1991
By the episode’s end we end up in 1991, the day Henry is discovered by Alan Pangborn after he had gone missing for days. But The Kid was there now too, transported from his life in 2018. That’s where he claims to have been taken by Warden Lacy (Terry O’Quinn) days later only to be caged at Shawshank.
The innocence projected by this once menacing character is dissipated back in the current timeline fans were first introduced to in the premiere as he asks Molly if she believes him. Should she? Surely the answers will be given when the time comes, until then, let the theories run wild just like the woods of Castle Rock.
Castle Rock, Streaming Now, Hulu
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