Spike’s The Mist
Season 1, Episode 9: “The Waking Dream”
Directed by Nick Murphy
Written by Amanda Segel

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “The Law of Nature” – click here
* For a recap & review of the finale, “The Tenth Meal” – click here
After the last episode, all its horror, what will become of Kevin (Morgan Spector)? Left back at Adrian’s (Russell Posner) all alone – left BY Adrian. Mist pouring into the house. Lucky enough, he runs into Vic (Erik Knudsen) from the video store. He stayed behind, as the others believed Kevin dead. And man, is the poor guy ever in rough shape.
Meanwhile, Adrian is telling his tall tale to Jonah (Okezie Morro) and Mia (Danica Curcic). So, he piles it on, talking about his abusive father and how he killed Kevin. Over at the mall there’s even wilder stuff happening, particularly now that we know Jay (Luke Cosgrove) didn’t actually rape Alex (Gus Birney). He’s stuck in that room, locked away by Eve (Alyssa Sutherland). He keeps telling her he “didn‘t touch” Alex that night. Doesn’t help his own dad believes he raped her.
Down under the streets, in the sewer, Connor (Darren Pettie) leads Nathalie (Frances Conroy) and her new, faithful followers through the dark tunnels safely away from the mist. Although not all of them are overly thrilled.
Things are getting fucked up at the mall. Manager Gus (Isiah Whitlock Jr) killed that woman and now Alex is the scapegoat. This leaves Eve and only a few souls left against the “full panic” on the other side. People want the young girl to hang, believing her evil. They’re pushing Gus to take action.
Kevin and Vic are doing a “house hop” and going several houses up the street at a time, moving in steady stretches towards the mall. When they stop into one, they come across several military men dead on the floor.
The others get to the mall. Adrian heads in to find Alex and Eve, first practising his fake story, shedding fake tears to prepare for the lies he’ll tell them soon. Inside, mom’s collecting her daughter so they can figure a way to get away from there. At the same time Jonah and Mia go shopping for supplies.
In the sewer, one of the followers takes a fall and breaks his leg badly. Nathalie determines his “journey ends here.” Ah, we see how the religious fanatics, no matter what they believe in, are quick to dispel those who aren’t strong enough. Like basic eugenics. The coldness of Nathalie is stunning, added to the ruthless and sociopathic tendencies of Connor, who’ll do anything to aid her in worship of nature. Very chilling scene, as he leaves a wife and husband to die together in the tunnels with the rats.
When Adrian finally gets to Alex and Eve, he breaks the fabricated story. They’re naturally devastated. But as much as they’re hurting under this false shit, whenever Kevin manages to get back to his family there’s a world of hurt coming for this young dude. For now, he acts as if he’s their protector. Hideous. And in their time of need with the rest of the mall ready to execute Alex for yet another lie.
Note: I’ve already said this, probably a few times. The score in this series is FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! Particularly the excellent piano piece that recurs throughout the series which we hear during the sweet scene between Mia and Jonah. The notes have this beautiful, light feeling, yet underneath is a dark and sort of dreadful melody that wraps you up the longer it goes on, similar to the mist itself. Great work courtesy of Giona Ostinelli.
Jonah bumps into soldier boy Wes (Greg Hovanessian) while trying to grab a few things. They end up fighting, and Jonah gets put to sleep. Uh oh. This might start a whirlwind of a mess, seeing as how the people there in the mall are already halfway to psychosis.
Nathalie: “Death supports life”
Worse is happening in that house where Kevin and Vic stopped. Someone’s still there, and he’s got a gun. He holds them both up, worried they’re army, too. Eventually the situation calms down. He tells them the army’s up to bad things, as well as the fact he’s having trouble telling reality from hallucination. Thus begins a bit of a gunfight when Kevin’s positive it won’t end well if he doesn’t grab a gun. Then they’re able to take the guy down, long enough to grab a few things off the military corpses.
Only problem is, the guy in the house also has himself a grenade. Kevin scrambles, grabbing a dead body for cover. However, it’s only a bit of cover. He still takes a good beating. After that the cop Kevin encountered back awhile ago, his brother, they return in the mist that crowds the house through the shattered window. Others, as well. “The evil one is coming,” says the orderly from the hospital, dead and shambling at him. He also sees that double again, himself in the mist brandishing a weapon. The double stares and says: “I see you.”
Somehow, Kevin survives. But he’s got to keep moving. Oh, and Vic hasn’t taken off, either. He found the military vehicle that’ll take them to the mall.
Speaking of the mall, Alex is torn up over her dad. Adrian informs them he’s got a way to get them out of there, with his new friends. So, they’re set. I wonder if, like ships in the night, Kevin and his family will pass one another in their respective journeys. That’s if mom can help her daughter survive long enough. She leads Alex and Adrian through the back corridors. She hides a moment, before jumping out to fire a shot at one of the men. But she’s dropped the gun. They’re being driven further into a corner until Gus has them caught. Everything comes out now, they’ve found Jay in that locked room. Man, it’s getting scary.
Outside, Kevin pulls up. Finally arriving to look for his family. What he’ll find is a tangled knot of hysteria.
And Jonah, he’s tied to a chair. Wes and the military, they’ve been looking for him quite some time. Problem is our guy still can’t remember everything. Strangely, Wes gives him a salute: “I‘m just happy you‘re safe, sir.” WHO THE FUCK IS JONAH?????
Jesus, this series continually throws me for a loop! I never know what’ll happen, only the most broad strokes. Every episode consistently amps the energy, the disturbing elements, and of course the intense themes at play. “The Tenth Meal” is next week.