'The Mist' Recap: 'The Tenth Meal'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

I have to admit that when I settled in to watch last night’s season one finale of The Mist, I was filled with anticipation. After all, if there’s one thing I’ve been waiting for with baited breath when it comes to this series, it’s been for the story to simply let loose in incredible fashion and deliver a tale that holds nothing back, allowing for sheer terror and disturbing moments to come to the forefront of this saga and thankfully, ‘The Tenth Meal’ did not disappoint when it comes to that.
 
Because this episode delivered on all those things, in ways quite frankly that I didn’t expect. Case in point…the surprisingly twisted fact we learned about Alex and Jay, in that…Sheriff Heisel is Alex’s real father which means that yes, for some time now Alex has been attracted to her half-brother and that’s an uncomfortable twist that I didn’t expect the show to bring to fruition in the slightest, but kudos to it for throwing caution to the wind and going with it regardless, and that was really the beginning when it comes to the wild places that this episode went.
 
Since in addition to that surprising turn, we were also witness to the final evolution of the madness in the mall, since Gus was more than willing to let the Sheriff have access to his son in order to complete his plans to have Eve and Alex exiled from the mall and when that titular moment arrived, well it was nothing short of a horror show. Mob mentality ruled, and any shred of humanity all but disappeared as everyone in the mall thirsted to watch Alex and Eve suffer a horrible death within the confines of The Mist, which is what made the end of this storyline so supremely satisfying.

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​Because eventually Kevin and Mia were caught up in the madness, and also forced out of the mall, a move that saw the end of Jay and the realization from his father that he made a terrible mistake in following Mrs. Raven’s rantings, all before Kevin…exacted some powerful revenge. He took his ride and slammed it into the main doors of the mall, letting The Mist in and the resulting carnage that came from that was nothing short of spectacular. Everyone’s worst fears came to life, and ugly people were punished in a poetic way for their actions and perhaps the most satisfying death of all when it comes to this, belonged to Mrs. Raven…who finally found her peace in the midst of this chaos.
 
But while this episode had an opportunity to follow the path of the book and end the story in ambiguous fashion, it once again took us for a left turn by leaving us with a pair of wonderful cliffhangers. One unresolved thread left Jonah and his subordinate on their way back to Arrowhead with a badly bruised and beaten (and unfortunately alive) Adrian in tow, leaving us with more questions than answers when it comes to Jonah’s identity, and of course I have to make mention of those final moments of the episode where we discovered that the military is feeding The Mist with what appears to be some unlucky prisoners. 
 
In the end, however…I really did enjoy this episode. It wrapped up several plot threads in neat and tidy fashion, all while setting the stage for a second season. I love the fact that the mystery of The Mist continues to grow since feeding it is quite the interesting twist to the mythos and that also implies that the world may indeed be thriving and chugging along beyond The Mist’s reach. Either way, I’m quite happy this series found its proverbial stride as the season progressed and it would seem from this finale, that if The Mist gets a second season, it’s going to take us to some supremely disturbing places. So, here’s to hoping season two gets the green light and we get to see exactly what this series is capable of… 

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