‘The Mosquito Coast’ Recap: ‘The Damage Done’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two premiere of ‘The Mosquito Coast’. To revisit the season finale, click here.
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We harbor some fascinating beliefs regarding people that are about to become or have recently become parents. For instance, we believe that if they were unfocused individuals in life or lost in some form or fashion… or wild in nature as well, prior to learning that parenthood is about to happen… that having a child will change them. As though seeing that tiny life in front of them and holding that wee one in their arms, will transform and make them a better person. One that is hellbent on being the best person they can be in every way imaginable. For that is a fundamental that keeps humanity going and striving toward a better tomorrow. Or rather… so we would like to think. For in reality… those beliefs aren’t one-hundred percent true.

For while some parents do indeed shape up and buckle down to properly raise their baby and be a role model for them… they are still human and still make mistakes and still have flaws and some parents are downright awful to their children and create more harm than they should and some… operate in a grey area. Where they do questionable things but try and do the right thing… with mixed results and this reality about parents and parenting are top of mind today, simply because it was put on full display in the season two premiere of The Mosquito Coast on Apple TV+. For when we catch up with the Fox family in ‘The Damage Done’ a short while after the events of the season one finale, they were heading south on their boat and unfortunately for Margot and Allie, their children had a lot of questions about their past and why their family was on the run and shockingly, Allie thought perhaps the time had arrived for them to learn why everyone was on a boat and hiding from their former lives.

Which as it turned out… related to some selfish and poor choices on Allie’s part. Because back in the day, when life was something far different for this family and Dina and Charlie were young and impressionable… Allie and Margot were in the midst of separation and at one another’s throats about their future as a couple and the company that Margot was keeping. For Allie’s desire for control and his ego couldn’t handle such matters and eventually… that prompted him to use his new invention, a bit of software that could peer into any record of any person on the planet, to explore whom he thought to be his usurper as a husband and lover. Which in turn got him into a lot of hot water with the NSA and that of course… was why the family was on the run. An admission that the kids… didn’t fully buy. Because it didn’t seem as though one selfish choice of that low caliber would offend the government that badly, much less warrant risking life and limb to travel to new countries.

Concerns that were of course… justified. Since we also came to learn that Allie didn’t tell them the complete story. In that, doing that research revealed that this man wasn’t the ‘usurper’, he was an activist that reignited Margot’s desire to teach the world proper lessons on taking care of the planet that takes care of us. To the point where she and her friend were prepared to send an explosive message to a company that didn’t hold to that ideal and sadly… that plan went sideways. For there was an innocent involved in the explosion, one that Margot tried to save. But their passing and Allie’s misstep, was enough to put the heat on the both of them and keeping that part of the truth from the kids brought forth quite the internal conflict for Margot. Because that has been eating at her for some time because of the good within her and the motherly instinct she wants to indulge, but at the same time... she knows such a bombshell could cause more harm than good. 

But what matters more… is that this journey hammered home the central theme nicely. Because Allie obviously didn’t let go of his ego and need for control when becoming a dad, and Margot didn’t find new and less dangerous ways to make the world a better place for her kids. They just… stayed in that grey, where they were eager to do what must be done to satisfy their needs, regardless of the cost… while trying to do their best to be good parents that inspire. The only questions that now remain are… what will become of that delicate balance if and when the kids finally learn the truth? And what will Margot do with this eating at her soul? Time will tell of course, but this is a fascinating way to set up the second season of this brilliant show. Since it implies new challenges and a potential reckoning for a family… that continues to struggle to find their way forward in life in a positive and peaceful manner. Until next time.

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