Contributor: J.M.
Written by Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn
Directed by Shawn Piller
Well, after a weaker transitional episode, the writers pulled out all the stops, laid waste to the status quo, and drastically altered the landscape for the fourth season of “Haven” after the breakneck-paced season finale. All season I have been critical of the execution of the Skinwalker/Bolt Gun Killer plot, and very disappointed with a lack of follow up on the anti-Troubled sentiment following the death of the Rev in the second season finale. But I have to give credit to the writers for setting up the answers to the Troubles and then actually delivering on them, but still leaving a lot more information out there to be discovered.
The episode begins with a conversation with Agent Howard. The revelations he gives are in line with what has been shown to the viewer’s already: he represents the manifestation of the Barn, Audrey’s caretaker while she stays in the Barn to keep the Troubles at bay. The Barn itself is not just a barn, but some kind of amplifier for her non-Trouble, which keeps them at bay but she has to come out every 27 years to recharge on love. This is recognized by nearly everyone in the situation as a band-aid solution, and much of the episode is devoted to the mad scramble to find some way out of the fact that has apparently gone on for hundreds of years: Audrey has to go into the Barn, to die, and come back to keep the Troubles at bay.
Complicating this search is the pressure placed by the Guard and Arla on Audrey to get her into the Barn or fulfill various pieces of their agenda. The presence of James Cogan is a complicating factor, as it is believed that he has something to do with ending the Troubles. Ultimately though, it is shown that this is just a fabrication by Arla to try and manipulate the situation to get back to her husband. The Guard, on the other hand, is determined to get Audrey back in the Barn, and is willing to do just about anything to get her in there. This tension is further heightened by the cracks appearing in Audrey’s support system: Vince takes the Guard’s position, while Dave wants to deal with the Troubles once and for all. The tone is very bleak, and that is heightened by the impending destruction of Haven by the meteor storm, Howard’s attitude, and the sense that they are only fighting inevitability.
One of the weaknesses of this particular plot is twofold, and they are both ones that I’ve highlighted before: the Guard lacks a concrete face to really heighten their sense of menace. They aren’t directly opposed to the Rev’s group from last season, and they only slightly impact the agenda of our group, so they don’t function as a particularly fearsome antagonist. The Cogan storyline, on the other hand, is a casualty of the lack of development of the characters of James and Arla Cogan; literally the only thing we know about James is that he was the Colorado Kid and is the son of Sarah and Nathan, and that Arla is an obsessive serial killer who is in love with James. There is no emotional investment in their storyline. But ironically enough these seem not to matter at all here, where they should matter the most. The pacing of the episode is so breakneck and focused on the relationships between the five main characters and answering the questions that these concerns recede in the face of the unrelenting quest to keep Audrey out of the Barn.
The breaking down of the status quo was also revealed when Vince is the head of the Guard. The revelation was pretty earth shattering, and puts a whole new spin on the Teagues’ personal history and their interactions with Audrey and Nathan. Duke is understandably hugely suspicious and hostile given the prophecy about his death at the hand of the Guard, but it’s revealed that the only thing that has kept him alive was Vince’s guidance to stay away from him. Ultimately, Nathan rashly decides that shooting Howard would solve the problem after an emotional scene where Audrey decides to go in the Barn. Whatever happened, it has left Nathan alone as the Hunter meteor storm rains down damage on Haven.
The writers did a great job of answering the questions that the characters asked, rather than the viewers. We are presented with definite information on the nature of the Troubles, the Barn, and the Skinwalker, but there is still a lot of territory to be covered and any issues that could have been had with the execution of the plot up to this point, but moving forward I’m really looking forward to seeing what the writers have in store.
Score: 9/10
