The season premiere seemed designed to ease the audience into the changes to “Haven” while bringing any new viewers up to speed, so it’s probably not surprising that the writers use this opportunity to delve a bit more into the background. In particular, we get a bit more clarification on how our Audrey/Lucy may have been fooled into believing that she was the real Audrey.
One of the things I’ve always liked about “Haven” is the cyclic nature of the story. From the beginning of the town, there have always been the afflicted, and every time, there is an extreme reaction from the community against them, usully driven by religious leaders. That history factors into this episode in some clever ways, even if the actual plot element of the children’s puzzle doesn’t quite add up for me.
Jackie’s curse is horrible enough to justify Nathan’s decision, in the end, to let Ian die with her stolen “ability”, thus letting her lead a normal life. It says a lot about Nathan, confirming his sense of morality. It’s also the pragmatic decision, since Nathan (for better or worse) is used to living with his curse. And as hinted in the episode, it does raise the hope that there could be a means of removing the curses from the “troubled”.
The episode also clarified Audrey/Lucy’s own unique status, which I somehow didn’t remember or recognize after the first season. I knew that she had the uncanny ability to understand how to help the “troubled”, but I didn’t catch on that she wasn’t affected by the curses. Or more accurately, the curses don’t appear to act on her, as if she’s not really there. A metaphor for her lack of a distinct identity, perhaps?
If there’s one weakness to the episode, it’s that the very minor subplot of Dave and Vince and the whole deal with Lucy is hardly discussed. I got the distinct feeling that this was an important clue, given the ominous undertones of the scene towards the end, but I can’t remember any of the previously revealed details. I can’t imagine it meant anything to newer viewers. Given the relative paucity of online resources for the show (something that shocks me, actually), it might have been better to include some context in the episode itself.
Writing: 2/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4
Final Rating: 7/10