Castle Rock - Filter

"Filter" doesn't necessarily give us a hell of lot but does offer some context to the yet-to-be-named character of Skarsgård, who tells Pangborn he's not the Devil. But at the very end of "Filter", Skarsgård tells Pangborn that he shouldn't have left him in Warden Lacy's trunk. In the previous episode, there was a flashback revealing Pangborn, much younger, pulling over Lacy, hearing the banging in the trunk, seeing Skarsgård (who, despite 30 years, hasn't aged), and yet not interfering, leaving "the kid" in there. Arriving at Ruth's after a successful search for Lacy's car in an auto junkyard, Pangborn isn't prepared for blood on Skarsgård's hand, panicked and rushing into the house, finding it in disarray with bloody handprints and drops leaving us with that unknown of her condition. The series has been building to this, although to the extent of what damage Skarsgård would cause to those close to Deaver wasn't quite sure. Deaver was too busy learning from Molly that *they* killed his adoptive father, finding Skarsgård in his temporary stay (in the supply house where the pastor often kept a lot of items and stored junk) eyeballing intensely a recording in the woods, and finding himself stuck in a "quiet room" inside an RV of two "associates" of his deceased adoptive father's (Willie (Rory Culkin) and Odin (CJ Jones)). Molly's admission of *their* guilt not only stuns Henry but leaves him considering her crazy, not willing to accept that he was just as involved in the demise of Matthew as she was. He decides to carry Skarsgård to a mental institution, Juniper Hill (a long-standing King story location), not knowing that doing so would result in violence and escapees! And when Henry notices the recording from Matthew of him as a kid, following him into the woods as Skarsgård seems transfixed, it inspires him to visit those same steps, using the footage as a type of map, eventually locating "members of Matthew's church", Willie, translator for and follower of Odin, a deaf "auditory specialist". This "special meeting", well it is quite bizarre as the conversation by Odin to Henry speaks on Voices from God and cutting through the "schisma" in order to truly hear without too much noise intrusively interrupting the message...hence, the quiet room with polyurethane foam. Odin goes into some jargon on audio and all that, knowing Henry is suffering in his right ear with agonizing, piercing sound...it is one of those surreal moments that takes you aback. Deaver trapped in the quiet room, receiving colorful visions that aren't coherent, seems to find himself further and further down the rabbit hole. His son comes to visit, playing chess with Ruth who remains in and out of dementia, often confusing present with the past...the frustration Henry suffers makes so much sense and the ache of Alan is palpable. The fire making its way to town remains a topic of conversation.

3.5/5