'The Mist' Recap: 'Over the River and Through the Woods'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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Sometimes you simply have to be patient with a freshman show as it finds its legs and it would seem that kind of patience needs to apply to Spike’s adaptation of The Mist. Because this show has spent a fair chunk of its inaugural year finding itself and its storytelling style and despite the fact that it’s had its highs and its lows, and polarized the fans accordingly due to that, it really does seem as though this show is finally starting to figure out how to walk that fine line when it comes to telling a sprawling horror story.
 
After all, a couple of weeks ago it delivered a powerhouse ‘loss of innocence’ tale with Kevin having to deal with his past and the grim situation with his brother and last week’s story took the time to truly give us some decent insight into The Mist and how it works and this week, well the series decided to build upon a concept that was only touched upon in that titular last episode; the notion that this disaster is starting to tear down the walls of societal norms, and it did that in impressive style because ‘Over the River and Through the Woods’ brought out the worst in mankind and it made for one chilling episode.
 
If anything, there were really two key storylines that showed how the The Mist is starting to break everyone under its proverbial thumb, and the first one of note took place at the church, where Father Romanov faced the consequences for allowing Link to harm Mrs. Raven and the beat down he receives leaves Romanov wondering what kind of man he’s become in the midst of this disaster. He seems to firmly believe he has lost his way as a servant of God and in order to reclaim his mantle as a Savior of Humanity, he challenges Mrs. Raven to a religious duel, where they will both step out into The Mist and the first one back…is clearly the blessed one. Unfortunately for the Padre, there is no salvation waiting for him out there, giving Mrs. Raven complete control of the church and all the souls within its walls, and it was quite incredible to see the Good Father fall from grace in this fashion.
 
But while a crisis of faith was fascinating to watch, there was more darkness to be found inside the mall. Where food is beginning to run low, forcing tensions to run high and while that would be the easy way out for the show to create chaos, it took the whole mess one step further by having Lila’s mother step up to the plate…and sow seeds of discontent amongst these hungry and desperate people. She’s trying to convince everyone that Eve’s camp has extra food they’re not sharing, which is most likely a lie, but it’s obvious now that this mom wants to inflict pain upon others, specifically Eve and Alex, for the loss of her daughter and all she needs to do is bide her time, because once the food runs out…there’s a fair chance these people will listen to her and follow her lead…
 
Those two storylines alone would have made this episode chilling and foreboding but it was nice that the powers that be even peppered in a bonus thread of darkness with the serial killer in the Psych Ward that Kevin’s group ran into, and really, that plot line was designed to show how Kevin is growing in this mini apocalypse and finding comfort in doing what must be done, so in a weird way…that was the only ‘hopeful’ storyline of the night but when all is said and done, I have to admit, this show really is starting to impress me. It’s not perfect by any means, but it is figuring out how to tell an ugly story and with three episodes left in season one, there’s a fair chance it’s only going to get darker from here on out and I can’t wait to see what new nightmares The Mist will deliver our way come next week. Until then.

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