‘Castle Rock’ Season 1, Episode 5 ‘Harvest’ Recap: Sirens Blazing

Following the aftermath of the Shawshank Massacre, Castle Rock and its residents face greater dangers. Meanwhile, the freedom one receives spells certain doom for the town. While the protagonists meet the trouble head-on, other problems spring up out of nowhere. As they try to deal with these separately, they fail to see the more significant threat that stands right beside them.

In this week’s episode of Castle Rock, the town faces a fast-spreading wildfire. Despite his injuries, Henry Deaver (André Holland) still tries to do his job for The Prisoner, now The Kid (Bill Skarsgård), set free from prison. During the town’s memorial for Warden Lacy (Terry O’Quinn), Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek) makes a bold attempt on her life. In the midst of the tragedies the town faces, Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey) senses The Kid’s relation to everything happening.

Harbinger

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With The Kid’s admission to a hospital put on hold, Molly offers to house The Kid at her business firm’s building. That evening, The Kid claims one of his first victims. A family’s birthday celebration ends tragically as The Kid trespasses into their house. The next day, The Kid meets Jackie (Jane Levy), who takes him out for a drive. However, The Kid’s reign of terror does not stop there.

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The town hosts a memorial for the late Warden as well as the fallen correctional officers. Despite the smoke that the wildfire brought, some of its residents still show up. As Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn) made his speech, he was interrupted by a dog who kept barking at Ruth. Alan struggles to continue his speech when suddenly, he notices Ruth, missing from her seat.

During the town’s memorial, Ruth jumps off the newly opened Alan Pangborn memorial bridge. Henry rushes to the rescue as he jumped into the river as well. Before this, Ruth senses that something terrible is about to happen. While Ruth recovers at the hospital, Molly finally catches up to Jackie and The Kid. As The Kid stood on top of an old shirt factory, Molly hears the pain of the entire town when she tries to reach out to The Kid.

When The Kid was finally asleep, Molly takes him to Henry’s house. Upon Henry’s arrival, Molly opens up to him about what she found out about The Kid. However, The Kid’s awakening prevented them from discussing it any further. As Molly left, Henry lets The Kid stay at his father’s old garage. Back at the bridge, Alan tries to drink his problems away. However, when their house’s security system sends him a video of The Kid, Alan rushes back home.

Alan confronts The Kid in the middle of the woods. Although Alan points a gun at him, The Kid shows no fear. In fact, he even offers to help Ruth with her nightly paranoia episodes. Still, Alan points the gun without shaking. However,  The Kid tries to intimidate him, seeing how Alan does not realize what is happening.

The backstory on how The Kid arrived at Shawshank gave us insight into Alan’s involvement in the situation. Also, The Kid’s freedom brought the town to its knees almost immediately. Numerous scenes opened with loud sirens, troubling noises, and radios airing the town’s worsening condition. The next episodes might show how The Kid will bring the city further into its tragic past. Unless Henry, Molly, and Alan need to do something about The Kid, Castle Rock and its residents might lose themselves into the evil they desperately tried to escape.

Castle Rock continues next Wednesday, August 15th, with “Filter” on Hulu.