Wayward Pines

There's a rooted sense of dread when one is faced with unknown elements, the series plays with this isolation fright as Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) is stripped bare from money and communication to outside world. Ethan wakes up after a car accident and finds himself in a foreign small town where the citizens are persistently unaccommodating. While the scenery might look normal, the town has the vibe of lurking secret in every corner. This is definitely no tourist attraction.

Matt Dillon is a good leading actor, displaying confusion and occasional rage as he is lost in the bizarre city. Having no money, phone or decent help, his reactions are spot-on. At times he displays doubt of the reality as more questions pile up. Terrence Howard as Sheriff Pope looks decently antagonistic. Nothing more creepy when one is lost than unhelpful authority. Another notable performance is Mellisa Leo as Nurse Pam who is far from nurturing, goes beyond unhelpful and straight into perverse torturing nature.

Wayward Pines looks quaint most of the time, yet the cinematography presents a lingering uneasiness. Its rural view mixed with edges of forest has some resemblances to Silent Hill. It has a particular dark contrast befitting of detective thriller which strangely enough feels welcoming to the audience. Pacing is pretty quick as it switches back and forth between Ethan's ordeal and his friends' investigation of his whereabouts.

Mysteries are aplenty as it the show spreads them throughout the first episode. The show cleverly scatters hints for Ethan and the audiences to follow. They are presented with restraint and enough ambiguity to be unnerving yet not to the point of overbearing. These are enticing hooks for later episodes.

Wayward Pines opens its door with cold unsettling ambiance and cool noir visual. The mystery thriller certainly offers a presentable invitation for a longer stay.

After watching two seasons I have mixed feelings about Wayward Pines. It all started very promising with a lot of mysteries and questions. You constantly had that feeling of what's going on. The idea is good, but the unraveling of the story is just too quick. Normally I don't like stories where they try to drag it out as long as possible but in Wayward Pines I think they are going too fast. Season one could have been at least two or three seasons long. With all the mysteries you had, you could easily made more seasons and still be interesting. Now you get quick answers and it doesn't do any good to the series. The actors are okay without being great. All in all I had fun watching this series, but the beginning was just much better then the rest. If they make a third season I will probably watch it in the hope it gets better again.

The first season was good with good actors and a good script. In the second season all good actors have gone and the show became mediocre and boring. No wonder there was no 3rd season. 7/10 for 1st season, 4/10 for 2nd and 5/10 overall.

The first season of this show was absolutely great. I must admit I didn't have a clue what was going on (1st season) and not knowing made me watch even more. The 1st season was great it had you guessing in parts and wondering if what people was been told was true. Now the 2nd season was a major disappointment it felt rushed but also was dragging at the same time the story of season 2 was rubbish and just seems like power had gone to everyone head.

Only 2 seasons & I was on the edge of my seat for the finale. Feels like a huge let down, the network didn't have faith or the writers were boxed into a corner. I do miss the possibilities of the show.