‘The Mosquito Coast’ Recap: ‘Least Concern Species’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 202 of ‘The Mosquito Coast’. To revisit the season two premiere, click here.
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One thing that fans of the Apple TV+ series, The Mosquito Coast, can agree upon, is that the Fox family is a supremely dysfunctional and shattered family unit. After all, the children’s upbringing was predicated on fear and the sometimes-selfish nature of their parents, instilled a real fracture within the family unit. To the point where it seems as though, this family will never get along, nor will they ever truly be there for one another. Since it took monumental effort for them to even come together to take part in that powerful rescue in the season one finale of the show. Which is why, this week’s episode of the series was so supremely surprising.
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Simply because ‘Least Concern Species’ saw the impossible come into play. In that, for the first time ever, the Fox family actually acted like a family unit. One that had each other’s back through and through and went the extra mile to ensure the safety of one another and that came to fruition, through yet another crisis for this family. For while they chugged on down the river toward their mysterious final destination, they encountered a nasty storm. One that taxed the boat like never before and prompted a bold move on Margot’s part. Because the current and the garbage engine on this scow, brought forth a collision that ripped open the hull, prompting her slam the vessel into the riverbank to stop their progress and keep water out.

A move that worked but left the family in a tough spot the next day. For the first plan to get the boat back on track and repaired, failed and Allie… came down with a severe illness. One that involved a parasite delivered via mosquito. Which in turn, left everyone in a dark place. Because unity or no, dad was the leader of this outfit and had all the ideas and with him down, no one was certain how to proceed. Which prompted Margot to bring the family together and demand their best and in doing so, Charlie dug deep into his memory banks from his powerhouse studying and offered up the possibility of finding the exact medication to combat this parasite, at a nearby oil rig while Dina… realized she could probably fix this boat. 

Which led to a pair of powerful quests. One with mother and son as they headed to the oil rig and bonded along the way. Since Margot was a great mother in this instance and worked to help her baby boy heal from what he’d recently seen, all before coming across what they needed at an oil rig that had clearly seen some hard violence and Dina… well with a little quiet time, she figured out how to patch the hull and get the boat seaworthy again. Allowing for this family to celebrate their first real win in a long time and heal their father and get underway and finally… work as one and feel like a real family. One that could have a future where life is normal(ish) and loving and healthier than it’s ever been. Provided of course… one key element comes into play.

Specifically… Allie. Because despite healing nicely and being kind when he regained consciousness from his hideous bug bite, he still hinted at life going back to the miserable way that divided the family in the first place. But if they can convince him otherwise, the sky could be the limit here. But while we wait to see if that talk can happen and learn where the heck this family is going… we can celebrate one uplifting tale. Because it was genuinely nice to see Margot be a mom and see this family not on icy grounds and work toward a better tomorrow. Because better days are all we’ve ever wanted for them, and all we can hope for now, is that their final destination will teach them that this family is capable of wonders when the nonsense is out of the way. Until next time.

To learn more about Margot’s journey in season two, check out our interview with Actor Melissa George, who plays Margot, right here.

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