The shocker comes later ninth episode Widow’s Bay— including a cliffhanger that the audience can’t really tell for sure Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys) will deal with the game-changing information he just received – fans are counting down the hours until the finale arrives on Wednesday. (Technically, the way Apple TV broadcasts its shows, it’s Tuesday night, though officially June 17th is coming.)
Not surprisingly, creators of the show will not whisper a word of spoiler ahead of time. But they’ll still be teasing their jubilant fans Widow’s Bay second season renewal news“We hope you enjoyed your time!” you can expect from the final.
Here’s a final warning to turn the boat around in case you don’t get caught.
In the ninth episode, “Emergency Shelter”, Tom, Patricia and Wyck obtain a full-scale genealogy from Rosemary, tracing Richard Warren’s bloodline from the 1600s to present-day Widow’s Bay. It turns out that octogenarian Ruth, who works as Tom’s assistant, is the only remaining descendant of the town’s founder. Therefore, he is the only reason the island is still cursed.
There is disagreement about what to do with this information. Wyck thinks they should kill Ruth (in the least brutal way possible, of course). Patricia is angry that she is even being reviewed. Tom’s top priority is keeping his son Evan safe. But we don’t know how that will play out when he leaves town hall at the end of the episode. However, we can guess that he went to Ruth’s house.
New The Hollywood Reporter feature, creator, showrunner and executive producer Katie Dippold; director and executive producer Hiro Murai; and Rhys (who is also an executive producer) talked about episode nine with a few small snippets about episode 10.
With the apocalyptic storm building outside as the trio dissects Rosemary’s family tree, the pacing of “Emergency Shelter” was carefully considered. “Katie said, ‘It feels right for us to be in this high-stakes storm of the century mode, and then all of a sudden we have to sit through an eight-minute presentation on a projector.’ Murai said.
The payoff, of course, is that Ruth—a sweet old woman by all accounts—is all that’s stopping Widow’s Bay from shaking off the evil that has clung to her for centuries.
“I said to Hiro, ‘This is the most intense drama I’ve done in a long time,'” Rhys said of the finale in particular. “I’m behind (the Netflix thriller). Animal and meand I was like “This feels heavier than that!” But as a result, the drama grows and becomes richer.”
And that’s exactly how Dippold approached it all Widow’s Bay. “The heart of the show as I see it is: I think life is a nightmare. It’s just a nightmare (…) The reason I’m a comedy writer is because I feel that way, and I’ve always been an anxious person, and so if I’m upset about something or something terrible and someone makes a risque joke that makes me laugh, that’s my favorite feeling in the world.”
“That’s what the show is for me. Just as you’re scared and you feel bad, something makes you laugh because that’s life – the ridiculous absurdity of life.”
The Widow’s Bay The finale will be on Apple TV next week. Praise be to the lord of the sea: season two is officially on its way.
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