Haven: Morbidity Review

Haven rises over its Troubles to bring the best episode of the season. Here is our review.

Ebola strikes the tiny town of Haven, Maine! No, no that didn’t happen, but it may as well have. The entire episode wasn’t comprised of each character running in and out of various doors while screaming in a panic at the top of their lungs — but it may as well have been. There was a lot happening this week. Arguably, way, way too much. But Haven is a show that thrives on excess, and the cast (heck, the town itself) rose to the occasion and it wound up being one of the strongest episodes this season.

I know — them’s fighting words, and yet, I stand by them. I was (as I’m sure many of you were) curious to see the fallout in a world where both Audrey and Mara exist. Although only morsels were planted and explored this week, they were every bit as juicy as I’d hoped would be the case. I kind of adore that Audrey is having a literal existential crisis. Now that she’s separated from Mara she’s got to figure out who — and what — she is…and if it’s anything other than the “husk” that transported Mara from age to age.

Because we know and care about Audrey as a character it’s natural that we WANT her to be her own special self, but bit by bit the show is taking away the things that make her who she is. She’s no longer immune to the Troubles. This doesn’t just make her job more difficult, it also changes the nature of her relationship with Nathan. It’s only been glanced upon, but a huge part of Nathan and Audrey’s connection is his ability to actually feel her. That’s gone. There are going to be ramifications, no matter how much it was downplayed this week in the face of the other problem cropping up for Audrey: She can’t cure Troubles anymore. Figures this would happen the week that the featured Trouble is a gnarly, bloodied, and spooky disappearing and reappearing man in a teddy bear suit. Deliciously gross.

Bit by bit, Mara is stripping everything away from Audrey — the consequences have already started to rear their ugly heads. Not only if she feeling vastly insecure, but Mara’s manipulative powers have also enabled her to gain a measure of allegiance with Duke which is, you know, A TERRIBLE THING. Lines have been drawn and not all parties involved have realized that’s the case — Nathan and Audrey have no idea that they run the risk of losing Duke.

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This was plenty to chew on, and then you toss Dwight trying to distract the doc from the CDC as she grapples with the Troubles-specific Staph infection and you’ve got even more tasty morsels to enjoy. It’s nice to see Dwight behaving, you know, not like an old lady or a crotchety old man and to see him get the potential for a little loving — to have the complication of the fact that the woman he’s vibing on could also reveal the truth about Haven to the world makes it that much more compelling.

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Rating:

4 out of 5