Wayward Pines (TV Series) Cycle (2015) User Reviews

Fine finale ,, i believe the series overall has a bit of success for fox.

[Aktham_Tashtush · 7/10 · 23 July 2015]

The finale was so full of thrill and excitement , honestly it was one of a few episodes on the series with that amount of unpredictability and jumpy scenes especially in the final couple of ones.

Yep, they bring out all the secrets and let the citizens of Wayward Pines deal with it ,, events got so fast from the end of last episode till this moment ... with weirdly sad sacrificial Rituals on some main characters .. :P

The series Overall was good , average in the first 3 episodes but really peaked after the 4th and the 5th episodes.

I don't really know what Fox is about to do for the next season that is if there will be one "news i'v read states that they'll end the show here",, but they left us with so many mysteries and vague stories to wonder about.. and i do think that the series was a success for fox.

Season One

[zkonedog · 8/10 · 30 June 2019]

The FOX network has a strange history with mystery/scifi shows. The X-Files practically gave the fledgling network life, yet they are also notorious for cutting shows down that still have solid audiences (Firefly; Fringe) or promoting shows ad naseum and then pulling the plug before they can even get going (Alcatraz; Almost Human). Combined with the fact that notoriously "hit big or miss big" director M. Night Shyamalan was at the helm, I honestly had no idea what to expect from "Wayward Pines". What I found was that if (as a viewer) you can throw caution to the wind and expect something crazy and mysterious, this is a show that will thrill you in nearly every episode.

Because the show is such a giant mystery, I can't give too much away in terms of plot. The basic premise is that Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) gets involved in a car crash while on a mission to find fellow agent Kate Hewson (Carla Gugino). When he wakes up, he discovers himself in the small, "cozy" community of Wayward Pines...where not everything (or anything) is quite as it seems and there doesn't seem to be any immediate way to leave. A mysterious, tough-talking sheriff (Terrance Howard) and a friendly female confidant (Juliette Lewis) seem to be Ethan's only hope of figuring out exactly what is up with this weird town. Then, in another "accident", Ethan's wife Theresa (Shannyn Sossamon) and son Ben (Charlie Tahan) show up in Wayward Pines, and the stakes get raised even further.

The main advice I can give anyone watching Wayward Pines is to stick with it for at least 3-4 episodes (if you are at all intrigued) before passing judgement. For the first two episodes, I didn't know what to think, but then I realized that this is pretty much the hallmark of the show. It pulls no punches and knows no bounds in terms of crazy plot twists and character developments. Characters can be killed off at a moment's notice, and by the end of the series the plot described above is almost completely moot, as so much is covered in just ten episodes. So, make sure to give it a fair shake.

For those of you who especially love mysteries, Wayward Pines definitely is full-to-bursting in that department. Nearly every episode is packed with twists and turns and huge reveals. Though not nearly as ambitious as a show like The X-Files, Wayward Pines gives off a similar vibe in its fearlessness with plots and characters.

Kudos must also be given to three other actors I haven't even mentioned yet: Toby Jones is his usual odd self in a pivotal role, Sarah Jeffrey is charming/innocent as a love interest for young Ben, and Hope Davis plays a school teacher who I really can't say any more about (!)

Simply put, if you like mysteries and you like solid science fiction, I think you will take to Wayward Pines as much as I did. I really liked how FOX (right from the get-go) advertised this as a "event miniseries" and likely not a long-running affair. I suppose the ending is ambiguous enough to continue on at some point, but I think part of the reason the series succeeded in the first place is because the writers/producers were able to go "all out" for ten episodes and not have to worry about getting cancelled or jerked around by the network. I would be perfectly fine with these episodes standing alone as a great mystery story.

A depressing end for a great show

[redmaxdrive · 6/10 · 25 July 2015]

I wasn't sure what to make of Wayward Pines at first. It seemed like a standard missing-persons story centered around a Secret Service agent and his family. The show sucked me in with the force of a hurricane and would not let go. Imagine my surprise in later episodes when I learned the truth.

I was shocked to learn that the series was set in the early 41st century, exactly two thousand and fourteen years from now. The world had changed so much and humanity had devolved into atavistic creatures known as aberrations, or "Abbies." Wayward Pines was the only bastion of human civilization left on Earth. Some of the townspeople were creepy, Sheriff Pope and Nurse Pam being the prime examples.

As the story went on, I found myself liking Pam more and becoming more disturbed by Dr. Pilcher's facade of altruism twisting into the kind of megalomania that gave rise to dictators such as Hitler. Right before he died, he said that his ideas would live on and he was right. The First Generation took control of the town (I'd love to know how) and returned to the brutal reckonings of anyone who disobeyed the rules. It depresses me to say this, but if perpetuating such evil is the only way humanity could survive, then maybe it doesn't deserve to.

I took one good thing away from this experience. Much like Syfy's Dune miniseries, Wayward Pines got me interested in reading the books that inspired it. Here's hoping that they'll have a more optimistic ending.

Bad Finale

[oldgearhead · 22 July 2015]

Wow, I was really into this series. The anticipation of the finale was so great that I re-read the Wayward Pines trilogy over the preceding weekend.

I had accepted the liberties/license taken which is typical of adaptations. Most changes were minor and forgivable. Not so, with the episode 10.

spoiler alert - This episode was so greatly different as to trivialize the entire storyline. There wasn't enough time in a single episode to put the book's conclusion in place, but what we got was nowhere near the author's original story.

The dispositions of most of the principal characters were completely different. As was the disposition of the entire town. The changes seem to be in place in order to force a second season. Even FOX found this to be a bad idea and decided to NOT fund a second season. Good Call, FOX.

Episode 10 was a corruption, an abomination, an aberration. Episode 10 should have been titled - ABBIE.

We now take a little detour to Racoon City, the evil residence, before saying a warm farewell to Wayward Pines

[quincytheodore · 7/10 · 23 July 2015]

The finale ends up with lots of bangs, this is by far the most action oriented episode of the season. It clearly has some production level but honestly is also a bit mixed since at times it's becoming like a zombie video game. Citizens who were previously jittery on edge are now literally taking arms, brandishing shotguns and fire axes.

Its rural exodus spans across the once quiet city to underground tunnel and eventually the secret facility. I couldn't shun the heavy resemblances to Resident Evil games. It doesn't that mean it's bad, the finale gives more thrills in cinematic fashion. The show needs a conclusion, and for most parts it wraps things up accordingly to the medium it works with.

The most prevalent issue is the mystery atmosphere has diminished. Abbies as a threat works better without being overly exposed. The mysticism is weaker but the creatures are presented with good effect and design. A few redemption scenes are shown, they are befitting of an end despite not all that shocking. There's a bit of strange twist on the ending as it possesses more questions than answers, which is contradictory to many other elements it tries to conclude.

Looking back, Wayward Pines is a strong series. It has balanced sci-fi and mystery aspects pretty consistently throughout its ten episodes. The acting from Matt Dillon as the lead is good, although the ladies shine amazingly. Shannyn Sossamon and Mellisa Leo are fantastic, furthermore the supporting cast are surprisingly very capable.

It may not be luxuriously polished, but still a thoroughly pleasant and enjoyable stay.

A Huge Disappointment

[moviewizguy · 4/10 · 28 July 2015]

I was on board with Wayward Pines from episode 1. I loved the weird and darkly humorous tone of the show, and that all star cast is just the cherry on top. Sure, the show isn't on par with Breaking Bad or Game of Thrones, but it was surprisingly entertaining for a limited summer series. Then the mystery was revealed in episode 5, and my jaw dropped. What a ballsy and unique way to structure a story, to pull back the curtain halfway through the show! Of course, showrunner Chad Hodge has a lot to owe to Blake Crouch, the writer of the novels in which the show is adapted from. On top of that, the fact that Hodge went into this knowing he only had ten episodes to tell this story, from beginning, middle, and end, provided a bright light at the end of the tunnel that most mystery-based shows, like Lost, did not. As the audience, we knew we weren't going to have to wait 5+ seasons for the jaw-dropping reveal only to have the show try to answer every other question we may have along the way.

Fast-forward to episode 10. To say that the finale was a huge disappointment is an understatement. I got to speak to Chad Hodge after viewing episode 5, praising him on how fantastic it was. Yes, the episode was filled with exposition, but the way the episode cut between the three Burke family members learning different facets of the truth was clever writing on Hodge's part. He seemed to be overjoyed with what he pulled off, and he should be. But what conjured Hodge to end the show the way that he did is a bit of a mystery itself. There wasn't a worse ending for the show. To have the First Generation kids take over the town and make WP the way that it was from episode 1 seemed like a slap in the face. I felt cheated. The idea behind it makes sense: The kids were put on a pedestal, and they felt empowered by Pilcher to run the town the way he did before he was killed off. Narratively speaking, however, it makes little sense to end the show in such a bleak and contrived way.

First of all, the whole First Generation thing wasn't developed enough for it to be plausible for a bunch of kids to overtake the adults. So you're telling me these frat guys managed to take over Theresa and Pam's intelligence, on top of all the security guards they had? Yeah, right. Additionally, to have Jason survive the gunshot from episode 9 was ridiculous. Overall, there weren't enough setups or foreshadowing that pointed to an unhappy ending for WP. Secondly, the show, from episode 1, built towards hope. It built towards Ethan and the town overcoming Pilcher's oppression to build a better future for WP. Why, after all that, end the show with the town getting back to the way it started? Why spend 10 weeks watching the show only to have us go back to square one? Why did Hodge decide to end the show in such an underwhelming and unsatisfying way after weeks of consistently good episodes? That, perhaps, is a mystery that will never be explained.

Guns Don't Kill People Children Do

[greenwhich · 1/10 · 25 July 2015]

Children of the Corniness!

Can somebody please tell me how those children have gained doctorates in nursing school at the fine age of like 15, and at the same age they have mastered their PHD's in engineering and metallurgy. Seen by them constructing carousels, statues, healing the comatose. I get it, than they put the adults into stasis, after they had hung the rest up as jack-lanterns, because they got too big for Littletown.

Meanwhile the mutants all had trackers implanted into them, watch all those red little dots. Seriously did they like breed any implanted tracking chips as well? Will the leads go and get cloned, or something else for jumping this sinking ship?

Please cancel this video game, it probably turns out to be some kind of windows 10, or something, because it really stinks. I doubt it, because Fox like to run at least 3 of their seasons first, OMG just NO don't.

what the heck

[bond-666 · 2/10 · 25 September 2020]

After the previous episode, I've expexted a blast. I have no idea why and how it gone so wrong. The ending is a big let down, Ethan's sacrifice dosent make any sense at all. I dont know what went wrong. But I have no interest for season 2