"People Say "It Wasn't Me, It Was This Place". They'd Be Right..."
Perhaps the most difficult episode of a debut series is arguably the curtain raiser's successor, an episode which is tasked with following on from plot points freshly spouted in the opening chapter whilst attempting to develop the tone of what that particular series is ultimately heading for in a manner which is intriguing to explore from the point of view of an audience whose journey through the series has only just begun. With Castle Rock's opening hour a delicate, slow-burning creep-fest, the same sensibility can be said for episode two, a shortened forty-five minutes which develops and introduces new characters from the titular town whilst beginning to throw in a wide range of Stephen King flavoured Easter eggs as it slowly builds its' way around the central mystery at the heart of the narrative so far. Whether it be blink and you'll miss them nods to Cujo during the discovery of a past local newspaper headline, or the voice-over of Terry O'Quin's former warden, Dale Lacy, referring to Stand By Me with the discovery of a body on the tracks, episode two of Castle Rock begins to explore the fun the show can have in wetting the appetite of eager King fans dedicated to hunt out every single reference the show decides to flaunt no matter how cryptic and hidden such a nod could be.
With the opening title card for the episode a mirage of King's written word, one which focuses on famous phrases from Kings' most iconic novels to date, "Habeas Corpus" begins where the previous episode concluded, with Bill Skarsgård's "The Kid" supposed paranormal abilities being exercised within the heart of Shawshank, resulting in Noel Fisher's (Red) prison guard, Dennis, urging Andre Holland's Deaver to obey the wishes of the prison's most recent and ambiguous resident as quickly as possible. With Skarsgård's eyes undoubtedly being the star of the show so far, the devil symbolism which hovers over his character is elevated heavily with the sudden strange death of an inmate and a letter left behind by the former warden whose lengthy incarceration of "The Kid" seems duly justified considering the evil Skarsgård's character seems to hold within. With horror aficionado Jane Levy (Evil Dead, Don't Breathe) being introduced as Jackie Torrance, the familiar surname immediately pricks the ears as does her character's almost encyclopedic knowledge of the town, resulting in a quickfire history lesson regarding Deaver's mysterious disappearance as a child and the unexplained death of his foster parent which still haunts the town in the present day, and whilst at times the episode sacrifices clever writing for the overuse of swearing, episode two of Castle Rock remains a compelling, mysterious horror fan's dream with a splendid soundtrack and committed performers resulting in a second chapter which continues the strength of the show's debut.
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