Widow’s Bay review
Cast: Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Jeff Hiller, K Callan, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Betty Gilpin
Creator: Katie Dippold
Number of Episodes: 10
Where to watch: Apple TV
Star rating: ★★★★★
Widow’s Bay, the new Apple TV show which just aired its season finale, is uncategorisable in the best possible way. In its nerve-wracking world, something always lurks beneath the surface. Part workplace comedy, part folk horror, Widow’s Bay is a show so remarkably original and irresistible that it sets the bar very high for the title of this year’s best show. I wanted to restart from episode one right after the jaw-dropping finale came to an end.
The premise
We enter Widow’s Bay through Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), a widower who’s determined to turn this lonely island into the next tourist attraction, and also build a better future for his teenage son (Kingston Rumi Southwick). At work, he is joined by a bunch of awkward misfits, chief among them being Patricia (Kate O’Flynn). She is a loner, a woman who has had her share of trauma that we will learn in one full-fledged episode.
However, as hard as Tom tries to make sure the folks keep up with their work and get rid of the tiny superstitions, something eerie happens. He is stopped to fetch more visitors. There are red herrings galore. Turns out, these stories are not mere hallucinations. There will be a lot more, from a centuries-long history of plague to mammoth clowns, and a sea hag that will try its best to scratch him and sit on his face. It will scare the daylights out of him.
But Tom just can’t keep embarrassing himself. The actor is a marvel in physical comedy, the kind where you are not sure whether to laugh at this man at one instant and then feel terribly scared for what’s coming next. Midway through the season, there’s an entire episode which revolves around Tom’s mind-altering, reality-bending trip after he accidentally consumes powerful local mushrooms. It is hysterically funny and eerily haunting.
What works
Widow’s Bay draws in images and references from several titles, be it Jaws or Halloween or even the works of Stephen King. But Katie Dippold’s creation only draws inspiration from them as a benchmark, and runs the mile to break through the conventional storytelling. The balance between horror and comedy is pitch-perfect, and the show’s most extraordinary aspect. Even as the situations worsen, we see these characters react in a way that always feel humane and real. And often, these people do not know better, acting in dumb and awkward ways. When Patricia is chased by a masked serial killer in town, she can only run for a while. Until she’s exasperated and would rather hold a second to catch a breath.
Each episode is a standalone piece in its own right- one which jumps back to retell the origin story set in 1702 (featuring a standout performance from Betty Gilpin), and another which has Patricia throw a cocktail party that nobody will forget. Acutely written and staged, this particular episode is a welcome change into the pace of the narrative, digging deeper into understanding Patricia. The anxiety, the meticulous and obsessive planning required to throw a party is in full display, as Patricia wants to feel validated. But then, the facade is torn apart as the disturbing reality sets in for a truly exhilarating denouement. Flynn is remarkable at its center, drawing the full breakdown of her mental state with morbidly funny authenticity.
Terrifying and terrific
Widow’s Bay runs with the energy of a free-spirited soul, willfully eager to try out a new road just to see where it leads. But this is no escapist fun. How incredible it is that the genre of horror-comedy is used as a narrative device of unpacking the manifestations of our insecurities, anxieties and loss. Tom is often a bumbling man who does not know better, but he is merely a product of a system that has produced this environment for him to survive. It all boils down to an achingly sad and disturbing finale, where Tom will be forced to come face-to-face with the horror he has tried to neglect so far. Creator and showrunner Katie Dippold and showrunner Hiro Murai present a showdown that suggests that he is merely a part of a community that is haunted by the sins of their ancestors.
Widow’s Bay is interested in questioning what’s buried in our past, and how much that shared history informs the present-day perchance for corruption. How the horrors persist despite everything life has to offer. It is scary, but unfair and deeply sad, but we continue to live with a laugh. Never settling down for easy answers, Widow’s Bay is terrific and terrifying in equal measure.