The Wayward Pines season 2 premiere, “Enemy Lines,” introduced a new face to the not-so-idyllic town of Wayward Pines.
In the Wayward Pines season 1 finale, protagonist Ethan Burke sacrificed himself to save as many townspeople as he could from invading Abbies. Shortly after, most of the adults were placed back into suspended animation. That was in the year 4028. Three years later, Ben Burke, Ethan’s son, was awakened from stasis to discover the town was being ruled by the First Generation.
Season 2 picks up three months later. Ben has become the leader of the new rebellion in Wayward Pines, seeking to make sure his father’s death wasn’t in vain. Considering Ben wasn’t the most likable character in season 1, this is a development I quite like for him. There’s some interesting territory to explore there that I hope wasn’t cut short by the final moments of the episode — but more on that in a moment.
The town, meanwhile, is being led by Jason — who you may remember as the First Generation leader who shot Kate’s husband in the head with a shotgun in season 1 — and his lieutenant, Kerry. Oh, and they’re being advised by Megan Fisher, who was attacked by Abbies in the season 1 finale but apparently was only maimed, not killed. The First Generation, unsurprisingly, is trying to shut down the rebellion. To do so, they’ve imposed martial law on the town, including curfews and public reckonings. It’s all very Third Reich, down to the military uniform Jason sports.
This is all pretty familiar territory, despite years having passed since Ethan’s death. And that familiarity is a big sticking point of the first episode of the second season.
We do meet a new protagonist for the second season, Dr. Theo Yedlin, a member of Group C who was awakened for his medical expertise. But despite his different occupation from Ethan (doctor versus Secret Service agent), they have more in common than not. Both men were awakened to fill a need in the town, have strained marriages and react poorly to being clearly lied to by the higher ups in the town.
By the end of the first episode, Theo doesn’t know what’s going on yet — other than it’s not an experiment like
Jason said — and since it’s obvious he’ll survive the execution attempt that sent him outside the walls, I hope he’ll discover the truth pretty quickly. We followed Ethan’s journey to the truth in the first season, and his frustration with the town was relatable since we were trying to figure out what was going on as well.
However, we know what the deal is now; we’ve known since the middle of season 1, so I don’t want to spend a lot of time with a clueless protagonist trying to come to terms with the new status quo. We’ve been there with Ethan and we’re in the know now, so bring us something new.
I hope something new provides more exploration of Ben. I’m excited by the possibility of him leading a rebellion against the First Generation after his father’s death. However, Ben and his rebels surrendered in the first episode and Ben was sent outside the fence as a form of execution. Hopefully he survives this; I think there’s some interesting ground to be covered with Ben coming into his own as a rebel and a protagonist. However, were he to die, he wouldn’t even be the first season 1 character to be killed in season 2.
That distinction goes to Kate — and I’m definitely bummed about this. Kate was the reason Theo was awakened in the first place; she’d been shot during a conflict between the First Generation and the rebels. They needed her alive so she could give them information. She survived surgery and planted seeds of doubt in Theo, but once Ben and the others surrendered, Kate cut her own throat because she didn’t want to live in the world that the First Generation had created.
Kate was at the core of the rebellion against David Pilcher in the first season, so having her as a high-ranking rebellion member in season 2 made a lot of sense. Losing her so soon was disappointing since it would have been nice to see her — someone whose story we were already invested in — continue to fight for freedom. Though she gets a good parting shot at Jason, telling him that he hasn’t evolved with the world, her death feels like giving up. And perhaps it was; she likely thought Ben’s rebellion was her last chance, and if he was out of the picture, then there was no hope for her.
I’ll be curious to see where Wayward Pines goes this season, as the story is completely original with the entire trilogy having been adapted in the first season. There are interesting seeds being sewn for the new season, but at the same time, there is still quite a lot that’s familiar as well. And, as the cliche goes, familiarity breeds contempt.
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