'The Mist' Recap: 'Show and Tell'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

The slow and methodical approach to horror, is becoming quite the lost art form. Because in this day and age, it's all about the jump scare, or the gore, to terrify the audience and quite frankly, it's a shame that the slow burn isn't quite what it used to be. There's something to be said about taking one's time to properly build up suspense and terror and allow it to unfold before our eyes in uncomfortable and unsettling fashion, and as luck would have it...the slow approach to scares is clearly something that The Mist is going to try and resurrect.

Because last night's episode, 'Show and Tell', focused on that classic approach, giving us merely a sample of the forthcoming collapse of order in a world trapped beneath this mysterious Mist and the first stand out story that reflected that slow and methodical approach from last night...was Mrs. Raven's. Because for the past two weeks, we've all been wondering what this crisis will do to her now fragile mind and last night's story answered that question...it will shatter her to her core. After all, Mrs. Raven found herself mentally prepared to die, and she figured the best way to do that was to walk into The Mist and let whatever happens, happen. But a good Samaritan in the church tries to stop her, only to succumb to the horrors of the unknown in gruesome and brutal fashion, and to make matters worse, the awful things she and everyone that came outside to rescue her witnessed, seems to have invigorated her and given her faith in something none of us understand.  

Mrs. Raven's story was merely the tip of the iceberg however, because over at the mall, the pressure and constraints of the unknown, combined with the discovery that the people who committed suicide were Army soldiers, helped to amplify the fear already growing behind the scenes. The military's involvement in this mystery in any capacity has people worried and because of that, and the dumb actions of a pair of employees from the local game store, people are now calling for law and order; which leads the Mall Manager, Gus Redfield, to try and create a set of rules for everyone to live by. But, Eve has none of that, considering that what Gus is proposing will keep her daughter near the boy that hurt her (a claim he ever so creepily denied in this tale), and she sets up her own rival camp within the mall to keep her daughter safe, and to give her options if by chance things go south inside the mall.

But perhaps what fascinated me the most in this particular episode, was The Mist itself. The series hasn't done a heck of lot with it, outside of establishing the fact that it is dangerous of course. But in a way The Mist is a living character as well, and this story finally gave us a little more insight into how it works. Now, we've heard hints over the past couple of weeks that The Mist will thicken when a human is present, but this episode gave us our first good look at that, making this collection of moisture all the more creepy. It's as if by thickening it signals to whatever horrors await in the shadows that a meal, or breeding vessel in this case, is ready for the taking and I find it equally as fascinating that to date, we've only seen an abundance of bugs in The Mist, which makes me wonder how long before the really scary stuff steps into the limelight. Either way, it was cool to see how interactive The Mist truly is, and it's eerie to know that it's waiting patiently for more victims to step into its humid web. 

Regardless, three weeks into this show, I really am appreciating the fact that it is taking its time to tell its story. It seemed at first that such a move might be a detriment, but we are truly seeing the fear settle into people's souls as the weeks progress and already they're starting to show signs of wear and tear and distress and outright aggression. It means that man will indeed be the true monster as the story rolls on and I really am looking forward to seeing what other creatures await in The Mist itself since the series is clearly taking its time with that too. Either way, this is starting to become quite the psychological horror story, and I'm also appreciative of the fact that there's a real claustrophobic feel hanging over the story as well. I'm hooked for certain, and the wait to see what happens next week and what other horrors await us in The Mist, will be a tough one. Until next time.

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