I am shook.
Picking up right where we left off, Haylie is being dropped off at the Sheriff station by the guards who found her near the (impossible) fence. Still wearing her Farrell made shoes, she marches inside and swoops in to ruin Matt’s day like a glorious eagle of vengeance. While he sits and stutters, she rages about his actual murdering of innocent children, and promises her jars of poisoned water will end his career.
She realises the fence was never to keep the Farrell in, but keep out anyone else who would see the carnage he was enacting.
Matt plays it safe and dumb and suggests she’s crazy and does everything he can to undermine her, but she’s going to test the water and then, she promises, he’s done.
Only once she leaves does he allow himself to look concerned.
Wade catches her leaving and insists she stay and talk, what with the open missing persons case he has on her and all. They bicker about when she’ll return to give a statement about ‘getting lost’ in the woods, and he leaves her with a sincere question about her well being.
Guys, that will hurt so much later.
If only you’d stayed, Haylie. If only you’d checked on her, Wade …
Wade stops by Matt’s office, mostly just to mentally poke and prod the clearly jittery man.
*Poke, poke, poooke*
Matt pushes the narrative that Haylie is crazy very, very hard but Wade extremely calmly and coldly says that no, Haylie seemed absolutely, completely fine to him …
Matt has his line though and he’s sticking to it. Wade leaves him to his meltdown.
Up the mountain the clan’s water and food reserves are running fatally low and runs to distant, untainted creeks and fields are being burned through too fast. Gwen is announcing her new plan. Moved by the impact they had on Haylie and her camera phone, Gwen wants to march a group down into town and make a plea to the townsfolk, directly. The more Losties who see the clan, take pictures on their phones, the more people realise the Farrell are real human people.
Excellent idea, honestly.
While she and the others do that, she goes on to explain, Big Foster will lead the boys on a massive food raid and steal water and flour from every store they can get to.
Hehehe.
Sally Anne wakes Hasil to the very grim news that Butch is skimming Hasil’s takings from the fight.
By like … $400 dollars. Butch, dude.
They confront him and he lowers himself even further by claiming he skims to pay for Frida’s transition treatments, and Frida shuts that shit right the fuck down. How dare he use her like that!
Really, Butch was just taking advantage of Hasil, who can’t read or count, so doesn’t know he’s being robbed. Butch … I am so disappointed. Sally Anne retrieves their money and Hasil leaves, dejected. Frida calls Butch pathetic and can’t even look at him.
‘Literally gtfo, creep’
Gwen is preparing for the run, and Big Foster arrives to worry and whine. Ugh, he’s gotten too comfortable now and he’s regressing. He thinks it’s dangerous for her to go down there, and then twists the argument into the baby.
He still insists on trying to be a father, but Gwen coldly and utterly shoots him down. She remembers how afraid of Big Foster she was and she won’t let him near this child or her, ever.
YAS! GIRL!
The only acceptable response to Thomas M. Wright turning up at your door.
Wade has gone to visit with Dana after their sexy, sexy date. He’s adorably awkward some more, and their chat ends on him dashing inside with her for a mid-afternoon quickie.
Gwen is still preparing, only this time it’s Lil Foster who has come to see her. He knows about the baby and he’s just as afraid their plan is a terrible idea. He is thoroughly traumatised by what happened down there. My heart. Asa could help him with this, just saying.
Gwen is still defending her plan and as seems to be the trend this week, their talk becomes a fight as well.
The emobidiment of ‘bruuuuuuuuuh’
It’s sad, because they can’t understand each others’ fears. She has no way of knowing what he went through, but he can’t know how she feels, as leader, having so much on her shoulders. If they could support each other, they’d do so well. She doesn’t even need him, per say, Gwen don’t need no man.
She needs a friend who isn’t just Emily, who isn’t as bold. Lil Fos isn’t afraid to challenge her; right now they’re on such different wavelengths that it’s the wrong challenges, so it just causes drama.
Phillup and the boys find a drunk, passed out Big Fos, clutching a handgun. They — and I –mutter ‘that bodes well’, or words to that effect, at the same time, but Big Fos isn’t out cold, and he stirs. They whine about the ‘don’t shoot first’ rule, and he tells them to ignore it and defend themselves if they have to.
Damn it, Big Fos! Though it’s worth noting, they don’t shoot first when it counts.
Lovely cousin Deborah finds Lil Fos and he has to break up with her. She’s genuinely crushed, because she is a sweet young woman who deserves good things. He’s very gentle about it and hugs her with real affection, though she knows he can’t, and probably never will get over Gwen. Especially not if there’s a baby.
Haylie is in her hotel room, finding that every nearby lab is refusing to take work from her. She knows Matt is behind it, and when she speaks of the Devil, he appears. He busts into her hotel room and keeps pushing the crazy narrative by suggesting she take a vacation, now. It’s actually … it’s threatening, now I think about it. She’s rightly afraid and puts herself between him and the water and, also smartly, is closest to the door.
She refuses and tells Matt it’s clear how scared he is, but can’t stop her voice shaking when she has to yell at him twice to make him leave.
As he goes, he picks up his dropped keys and manages to swipe what looks like her door keycard.
Oh no.
Haylie is rightly afraid and thinks fast. She cleans out her salt and pepper shakers and hides smaller samples of the water.
Oh girl, call Wade. Please.
Sally Anne is negotiating a fight for Hasil, demanding a pre-fight guarantee and more winnings. Fight Club guy cockily shoots her down and claims he no longer needs the draw of a Farrell, as he’s got another one.
Hasil and Sally observe the fighter who is wearing what amounts to a Hasil Costume, including a kilt and his own crappier version of Farrell tattoos.
Hasil marches into the middle of the fight and calls the guy out. The Faux-rrell tries to call him cousin, so Hasil breaks his nose open and knocks him spark out.
Sally Anne turns to Fight Club guy like ‘Whelp!’
‘Let’s talk about appearance fees’
LOVE.
Gwen addresses the clan before they leave and tells them to remain united. They don’t know what they’ll face, but they’ll do it together.
They set out, guided by firelight, easily climbing over the (impossible) fence.
In another part of the camp, Big Foster and the Soggy Bottom Boys load up trucks and ATV’s, and tear out as dawn approaches.
‘Witness Meeeeeee’
At dawn, Gwen’s group reaches the town and march down the main road. They look incredible, otherworldly and proud as they nod greetings at the gathering townsfolk.
Big Foster and his crew roll into town and hide, waiting for it to be safe. They briefly pass Hasil, warn him off, but naturally he chases after them.
hiiiiiiiiii Hasil!
byyeeeeeeeeee Hasil
Gwen draws up and addresses the large crowd, calling for mercy and aid. As she predicted, she’s being recorded on phones. She talks about the poisoning and poor little, dead Silas. When one angry driver yells at them to get out of the road, others shout him down tell the clan to keep talking.
It’s pretty damned effective. Gwen is tiny but glowing with pregnancy, strong and sympathetic, cutting a strikingly ancient figure against the modern town.
Deputies arrive and there’s tension; Wade arrives and calms things down.
With all the cops distracted the raider crew splits up to hit three different stores, easily disarming guards and playing things very cool.
Wade is speaking with Gwen and hears about the poisoning .
The robberies are going as well as they can be, then Wade gets the radio call about them all.
‘Ooooh you assholes’
He knows exactly what Gwen’s done and the look he gives her is fantastic, but brilliantly she’s just like ‘Well, we’ve said our bit, peace out, latah’, and they just leave as quickly as they came.
HAAA!
Wade and the other cops rush out to deal with the three armed robberies, but for the most part it’s too late. Except for Phil’Up and some others who are still in the supermarket looting water and flour. One of the cousins wants to steal some booze but even Phil’Up thinks it’s dumb. While they’re distracted, a guard gets the drop on them and holds a gun on them. The cousin is skilfully scare-talking the guy down but they also miss some … jumped up civilian with a gun, I guess, who enters the store.
Just as the cousin disarms and knocks out the guard, this asshole starts shooting and things fall apart fast.
The Farrell fire back, missing, thank god, and this dipshit shoots the prone guard lying on the ground. Fucking … dumbass. The cousins are pinned down with no real line of escape but then Hasil slips into the store and sneaks up being the would be hero. He knocks the man flat out, and lingers while the cousins finish their raid. Hopefully, he leaves before the cops arrive but we’ll be damned if we get to see it.
Here he comes to save the daaaaaaaaaay
With time running out, Big Fos orders some cousins with a truck absolutely stuffed with supplies to go. They peel out and Big Foster, on the faster ATV, leads Wade on a chase through town. Wade knows the town as well as Big Foster knows the woods and easily keeps pace, turning off his sirens so he can sneak up on Big Foster.
He manages to knock him entirely off his ATV and has him dead to rights at gun point. He starts to arrest him for Breece, but Big Foster is warning Wade will have to kill him if he wants to take him, and it’s clear Wade isn’t ready to do that yet. They bicker a little, which is pretty fucking funny in the middle of all this tension, calling each other shit cowards to my endless delight.
Out of nowhere, Lil Foster tears down a road leading to the woods on a beautiful customised bike we saw him uncover from some hiding spot earlier on. He is just glorious. He draws a sawn off on Wade, and promises it’s only Wade’s help in his escape that’s stopped him from firing already. He doesn’t actually care if Wade kills Big Fos, but Wade just wants to know why they can’t stay away and leave people in peace. That’s all anyone wants.
Big Foster says it’ll happen when the courtesy is returned. Nice point.
Wade keeps making empty promises to kill Big Foster, but Big Fos is getting on the back of his son’s bike and hauling off. Wade fires one shot in the air and calls the fleeing man a coward. The Farrell are gone.
‘Get on, Loser. We’re going shopping’
When he gets home, Ledda is watching the news on the clan’s visit. He tells her about Big Foster, Breece’s killer. She’s glad he didn’t shoot the man and when he worries he can’t be the one to fix everything, reassures him he can. The fact he did the right thing when he could have shot Big Foster proves that. Oh, Ledda. I’m so glad you’re not dying.
Wade gets a call suddenly and rushes out.
Guys … this is fucking brutal.
He’s at the hotel, in Haylie’s room. She’s been found dead. Hanging from the shower rail.
Fuck.
I am bowled over by that ending. Give me a second to talk about it.
Gwen’s plan was genius. The raids went better than expected, but the really important part was the effect this will have. Gwen’s more shrewdly aware of how Down Town life works than I’ve given her credit for and it was great to see her get to pull off something so huge with minimal fallout. Apart from that one guard who did get shot, though.
Lil Foster has clearly chosen to return to the fold, or seems to have, which is a relief. I’ve missed him just being … around, in scenes. And I want to see if Gwen will be more open to letting him be a dad. Not that she has to, he’d just be a great one and a good person for the baby to have in their life. But, poor Deborah. I’d like to see her happy. Please.
And now … okay. Poor Haylie. I was watching this with the BF in the room and he told me he full expected that to happen after hearing the earlier scenes. I didn’t. I do now, watching the scene back. My first watch I thought he just stole her keys so he could get the samples. It shouldn’t surprise me a man willing to poison hundreds of people would strangle one, but I was shocked.
If only Wade had called her, or she had called Wade, or … just … anything.
What an ending. That’s a bold and stunning move and I can’t wait to see where this goes.
In memory of Haylie, a terrifying badass, GedGedYah.
