Castle Rock Review: Romans (Season 1 Episode 10)

Castle Rock Season 1 Episode 10, “Romans,” closes out the season in an exceptionally Stephen King way — which is simultaneously a good and bad thing.

Beyond having an excellent handle on terror and mood, one of the things that fans recognize most readily about King is the way in which many of his stories operate. At the beginning of one of his novels, he’ll present a concept that is entirely intriguing.

The trouble with his works often comes when it becomes clear that he never quite figured out how to wrap up the story and ultimately presents a conclusion that feels rather cobbled together. In that way, Castle Rock isn’t just set within the universe of King but is, in its very essence, a King property.

The season started off strong, with someone found in a cage under a prison. There you have the intriguing conceit. As the season goes along, you start to wonder if this Kid is, in fact, The Devil. The story picks up steam as you constantly flip back and forth on whether The Kid is a malevolent force or not.

Then you get to “Romans.” In the finale, after already setting up on Castle Rock Season 1 Episode 9 that The Kid had an entire normal life in an alternate universe, the show abruptly switches back to the idea of The Kid being a demon and offers no substantive answer either way.

While it’s fun to wonder if perhaps being in a universe that isn’t your own can corrupt you on a fundamental level, this is a conclusion that largely feels cheap.

It might be one thing if the show had built up to that idea more successfully. But this seems so suddenly thrust upon us that it honestly makes us wonder if the writers had any idea what they were doing at all here.

That’s a shame, too, because so much of this first season did work really well. That’s where it helps to think of this season like a King novel. The ending might feel like a mess and a half, but you still have an entire chunk of the novel (or season, in this case) that is genuinely effective.

None of this is to say that “Romans” is a strictly bad episode, or that its ending is a bad one. It’s simply a just-okay one, and this series had previously led us to believe that it was interested in being more than just serviceable. It let us believe that it was good — possibly great — and to end as anything other than that somehow feels like a betrayal.

It would almost have stung less if the show had gone from good to bad throughout the season. Instead, it opts for mediocrity, which is so much more of a slap in the face. At least if it had become bad, you’d know it had swung wide and missed, instead of not swinging at all.

What did you think of the season finale of Castle Rock? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Reviewer Rating:

User Rating:

 

Castle Rock airs Wednesdays on Hulu.

Follow us on Twitter @telltaleTV_

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!