Resurrection: Will review

This Resurrection review contains spoilers.

Agent Bellamy tells Sherriff Fred in the first scene of ]“Will” that a new strain of the flu has affected six Arcadians, all “Returned”—who seem to be the only ones affected by it. Maggie examines Jacob and Margaret, finding them in clean health. Somehow, after learning what we did about Margaret last week, it feels as if she’s behind the sickness, if not literally, at least symbolically.

Fred shows Bellamy the bone he found in his family’s factory and admits that there was a Langston Furniture factory fire in the 1930s and twelve people died; the Langstons invented a story about a car accident to protect themselves, but the dead came back to dissent. Fred dissenting against Bellamy’s cry that the truth must be heard seemed a step back for the progression of newly moral Fred, but it could’ve been Margaret influencing Fred: “We have to protect our own.”

Carl hears about Arthur Holmes disappearing from Maggie’s clinic and hopes that this flu is a way to rid himself of his dreadful brother Mikey. He seems relieved that Mikey’s sickness, if ignored, could end his suffering. One can’t help but to sympathize with Carl, a genuine person torn between helping his own flesh and blood and his sanity/dignity.

Elaine invites Maggie to drinks with her mother. In a scene that should have been awkward, it was actually sweet to see Maggie and her mother get the girls’ night out they never did. Barbara is a tough character to like, but she died younger than Maggie is now; the affair was a decision made by an immature and mixed-up barely-adult. It’s tough to dislike her after watching “Will.”

After the bonding that Maggie and Barbara experience, it’s no surprise when Barbara seduces Fred. It’s even less of a surprise when Margaret shows up the next day and becomes rigor mortis stiff at the sight of Barbara with Fred. Special notice must be made of Matt Craven’s acting this episode before, during, and after he and his ex-wife—ahem—reconnect; to go from melancholy, to confusion, to grief, to peace, to joy, loving Barbara but still destroyed by her infidelity, all in the span of a few scenes with almost no dialogue is deserving of commendation.

I personally loved the scene where Jacob comes downstairs for church. Lucille tells him to change and Jacob sasses and whines; only when Margaret demands it does Jacob go back upstairs to change. It’s just another situation where it’s incredibly clear where Jacob’s allegiance lies.

Bellamy accosts Margaret about the bones in the factory that Fred told him about, saying he thinks she’s the one who dumped them into the river. Finally, someone stands up to her! Margaret insists that the past will stay in the past. It was chilling to hear Margaret say that Bellamy’s secret is, “Safe with [her].” Which secret exactly is she referring to?

The tension between Maggie and Bellamy is fantastic this week; in the span of a few scenes, Bellamy admits to turning in the bones to the government, walks in on Maggie showering, and comes within a breath of telling her he’s a “Returned.” It feels more and more as if we’re being set up for a Bellamy revelation that will turn the series on its axis.

Pastor Tom returns home to find that Rachael is unresponsive and blood drips from her nostrils. As Maggie tells Margaret that Fred and Barbara are happy, Rachael is rushed into Maggie’s clinic. Bellamy calls his boss, who seems to think that the illness could rid them of the “Returned” problem forever, so she doesn’t plan to help. With the country rapt in Ebola fear, this week’s episode was even more frightening than I’m sure it was originally meant to be.

Margaret, taking things into her own malevolent puppeteer hands, asks Barbara to go for a walk. This sets in motion an intriguing parallel editing montage that begins to answer one question that has plagued viewers since Caleb Richards evaporated from a jail cell: Where do the vanishing “Returned” go?

Carl, with tears pouring down his face, wracked with guilt, refuses to help Mikey even as he begins to choke on his own blood. On their walk, Margaret beats Barbara down, telling her how ashamed she must be, how Maggie grew up better without her. Here’s where the intriguing logic of Resurrection comes into play; Margaret says they “Returned” to be punished for their sins but Barbara tearfully admits she thought it was a second chance. The dual possibilities of their views, both understandable and logical, makes an intriguing question of faith. Margaret tells Barbara that to truly be gone, one has to let go. Barbara disappears in seconds. Simultaneously, Mikey chokes to death on the couch, both he and the blood stains left behind vanishing into thin air. Even Barbara’s clinic blood sample vials are empty.

Moments later, Bellamy seems to be choking as well. He finds that he too is bleeding from the mouth. Bellamy leaves, looking for answers, but he doesn’t get far before he’s overcome with the illness. The trailers for next week reveal that Bellamy realizes he’s been dead since the 1930s, and was already a “Returned” when the series began. However, Bellamy died as a kid, so it seems that the “Returned” do age. Or maybe there’s some other explanation?

We didn’t learn much with “Will” other than the fact that Caleb Richards won’t—or now, at least, he shouldn’t—be making a surprise return; the vanishing “Returned” are gone for good. However, the “letting go” aspect seems a little too hokey, and a bit of a let-down. It makes Margaret less malicious, more of a ferry across the River Styx than a wicked vigilante with a scythe cutting down the “demons.” “Will” was a disappointment, personally. Having lost 2.5 million viewers since the Season Two premiere, and even more from Season One, it seems that I’m not alone in wanting some solid answers, and fast.

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