Warning: Spoiler Alert
Welcome back to the future, as we return to the FOX series “Wayward Pines,” once again this Summer. Here’s what we know as certainty, it’s been over three years since the deaths of FBI Agent Ethan Burke and the town’s founder Dr. David Pilcher. The First Generation Of Wayward Pines now call the shots and they lack any compassion and never allow any deviance from the rules. Jason Higgins now runs the town with an iron fist, encouraged by his significant other Kerry Campbell and his former teacher Megan Fisher. Although we believed Fisher perished in the season one finale, she survived although she’s now restricted to a wheelchair.
Higgins’ obsessed with trying to follow the example of Pilcher, however he’s dealing with a far larger band of Rebels than Pilcher did. That Rebel contingent’s lead by former FBI Agent Kate Hewson and her second in command is none other than Ethan’s son Ben. Their camp seems to be outside of Wayward Pines, perhaps indicating that their mortal enemies “The Abbies” may have vacated the area.
However our story opens on one of the Hawaiian Islands, in our current time-period. We meet a new couple Dr. Theo Yedlin and his wife Rebecca, who seem to be going through a rough stage in their relationship, as they sit on the beach and watch the ocean. Theo heads to the bar and orders himself a beer, when a stranger sitting at the other end of the bar says it appears a tropical storm’s heading their way. He says their only choice is to sit it out and tells Yedlin the next round’s on him.
Although the generous man’s a stranger to Theo, we recognize him immediately. He’s our old pal Sheriff Pope sent to the island by David Pilcher to acquire Yedlin for use in their future community. Pope and Theo keep the alcohol flowing and Pope starts telling the doctor about his vision of the future of humanity. The future lawman says that change’s coming, that humanities headed for an evolutionary transition.
We fast-forward later into the evening and Pope asks Theo, that if the doctor had a chance to save one thousand people, by putting them down but realizing he could revive them magically in the future? Once again we fast-forward as the pair are now totally wasted. Poe says that he’s a great judge of people and he tells Theo that he’s a great man and he’s going to save a lot of lives.
Our next scene shows us Theo being revived in his cryogenic chamber and he finally wakes up in an ornately furnished room. He’s on a couch and an attractive young woman’s sitting a few feet away in a chair. Yedlin’s disoriented and embarrassed and it takes him a couple of attempts to get off the couch and standup. He tries to get the young woman, Kerry Campbell to tell him what happened to him and she smiles. She says he must have forgotten about the tropical storm, however he’s in Wayward Pines and his wife will arrive shortly. She then says he’s needed at the hospital.
When they arrive at the facility Theo sees Kate Hewson lying unconscious on a gurney and Jason Higgins standing nearby. He tells Yedlin that the patient has a bullet lodged at the base of her spine and Theo tells Higgins that the woman’s septic and asks why she’s been left unattended. Higgins responds that the town’s former doctor died and that’s why they sent for him. He then tells Theo that the doctor’s boss at Mass General said that Yedlin was the man they needed.
Once Higgins mentioned Yedlin’s supervisor’s name, Theo bought into the legitimacy of the project. Higgins explained the town as a secret Government project, to examine the effects of a post-war environment. He said everybody in the town were volunteers, Yedlin responds he didn’t volunteer. Higgins says Theo’s wife Rebecca’s on her way and once he completed the surgery, they’d be sent home.
While the procedure takes place Higgins meets with Campbell and she tells him they lost another member of The First Generation to the Rebels. Higgins realizes that Xander Beck’s the traitor, then Campbell informs Jason that two more members The First Generation died that morning. Higgins walks over to a whiteboard covered with photos including a large image of Ben Burke and out of frustration he asks aloud Ben where are you? We then become aware there’s another person in the room as we hear Megan Fisher’s voice.
Although many fans of the series hoped Fisher met her demise in the first season finale, the director of the Wayward Pines Academy survived the night of destruction, though now wheelchair bound. However she still maintains a Svengali like influence over her former students. When Higgins’ puts himself down for not being the effective leader that Pilcher was Megan counters that Jason’s fighting a far tougher situation than Pilcher faced.
The procedure succeeds and Theo gets a chance to talk with his patient. Hewson tries to convey to Theo that things aren’t as they seem and that Jason lied to him. Yedlin then sees that Kate’s handcuffed to her bed and soon after Higgins enters the room and tells Theo that he’s headed to the Wayward Pines Hotel. He’ll stay there until Rebecca arrives.
Theo’s driven to the Hotel by a young man named Mario, who seems to be the town’s new sheriff, although he’s never referred to by the title. Yedlin finds out that Mario’s never left the confines of his town, Mario explaining he believes he best serves humanity by staying in town.
After parking the vehicle, Yedlin and Mario start walking to the hotel when they see a young woman being forcibly escorted by two members of The First Generation Of Wayward Pines. Her young son follows them out of the building and asks his mother where she’s going and one of the Goon Squad roughly pushes the young boy away. Theo attempts to intercede, but he’s quickly told to stay out of it. We then realize the young woman’s Ruby, former waitress at the diner and part of Kate’s original band of Rebels. She smiles at her son and tells him she’ll be home soon, the Goon that pushed the child earlier suddenly turns kind and tells the boy he’s going to buy him some candy and they reenter the building.
We get our first glimpse of Ben, sitting at a table in the Rebel’s base of operation talking with Xander. Beck’s telling Ben that the Rebels are driving Higgins crazy as they keep eliminating Jason’s soldiers. Burke’s not satisfied with that though, saying the only way to make changes is to get inside the operation.
Theo enters his sparse hotel room and opens a plastic bag with his belongings inside of it. He sees his wedding ring and we get another flashback from Hawaii. Turns out that the hurdle in the Yedlin’s marriage concerns whether or not they should have a baby. We’re not told which partner favors bringing a child into the world, but Theo says to Rebecca that she knew what he was when they first met. She responds that’s why she fell in love with him.
Returning to his present, Yedlin tries opening one of his hotel windows but finds it’s sealed shut. Xander soon arrives and removes the nails outside the window that kept occupants from opening it. He tells Theo he’s getting him out of there and the two escape.
Higgins goes to question Hewson, he tells her he could have let her die and she asks why he didn’t. Jason says because she’s the Rebel leader and he wants Ben’s location and Kate just scoffs at him. She replies Higgins killed her husband and she’s not about to help him. Jason says that he’s just trying to follow the principles that Pilcher put in place, Hewson laughs at him and tells him his problem’s his refusal to evolve. He leaves the room in disgust.
He meets again with Kerry and he says he believes the only way he can gain back control’s through another Reckoning. Campbell says the residents aren’t going to love him for that, however Fisher interrupts her. Megan says Jason’s got to send a message, Higgins nods his head and says clear and severe.
Xander asks Theo if Kate talked to Jason and asked what she said, but Yedlin told him he didn’t know. He then asked if Hewson said anything to him and Theo said she mentioned Group C. He then says to Beck he just wants to go home, Xander opens a gate that leads to the town square and tells Theo he is home. Noticing the crowd gathering for the Reckoning, Beck tells Yedlin they should leave as Yedlin won’t want to see this.
Higgins strides onto the podium and grabs a microphone, so his words are not only heard by the crowd, his voice gets transmitted over the town’s radio station. Kate hears his words lying in her hospital bed, while Ben and some of his followers are gathered in a UPS truck, listening on their radio. Jason apologizes for not being the leader that Pilcher was, then says the time for bloodshed’s over. He offers a general amnesty for any of the Rebels that surrender, he then asks that Ben and his followers come to the square and lay down their weapons. He waits for a bit then walks off the podium, shaking his head and telling Campbell he tried.
We watch two men in uniform open the back of a van and two men and Ruby come out with their hands bound and lead to the podium. Jason says he offered a peaceful solution, but he’s now forced to do what Pilcher would have done and the three captives are forced to their knees on the podium. He goes up to Ruby, puts his hand on her shoulder and when she remains silent Mario puts a bullet in the back of her head.
Yedlin starts to charge the podium but gets intercepted by some soldiers. Just then we see Rebecca’s in the crowd and she calls to her husband. Theo’s taken into custody and then Jason says enough and stands behind one of the two men and puts the pistol against his head. Suddenly Ben’s voice rings through the air, he says you want to stop the killing we’re here and we surrender. They put their guns on the ground and Higgins barks out, take them.
A huge group’s taken to a detention center, among them Theo and Rebecca. The couple hug and Yedlin pleads with his wife to leave the town and says it’s not safe. Just then Mario summons Theo and Xander and says Jason wants to speak with them immediately. Rebecca tells her husband she’ll wait for him.
Jason tells the two men the rebellion’s over and he’d like the pair to join him on the mountain for a meal and discuss the future for the town. Theo says Higgins needs to let him know everything that’ s going on and Jason says he will and to get into the car. Xander’s handcuffed and put into the back of a van where Ben’s sitting there with handcuffs as well.
Megan heads to Kate’s hospital room so she can pour salt in the wound. Fisher says that it’s time to put aside their differences and work as a team. She then notices that Hewson’s pain medication’s low and starts to inject more with a syringe she puts into the IV tube connected to Kate’s arm. However Kate had picked the lock on the handcuff chained to the bedpost and she jumps out of bed, throws Fisher to the ground and kneels over her with a razor pressed against Megan’s throat.
Fisher says you just can’t get along and suddenly we see the madness in Hewson’s eyes. She talks about man’s achievements through time. She says we were capable of so much, but now it’s your world and your future and she says she doesn’t want any part of it. She then takes the blade and slits her own throat and when she dies she’s laying right next to a blood covered Fisher.
Mario drives Theo to the top of the mountain right in front of the electric fence that guards the town. Yedlin asks what’s on the other side of the fence, Mario knocks him out with a slug to the jaw then opens the gate and puts a large rock on the accelerator. The van goes into the woods and tips over. When Theo regain consciousness, he’s horrified by what he sees. The Abbies run en-masse towards the van and one of them cracks the windshield, however instead of going after Yedlin they try to climb the electric fence. Just like lemmings rushing into the sea, the Abbies keep attacking the fence and getting electrocuted. See you next week!
