Widow’s Bay Season 1 Episode 3 Review: The Sea Hag Threatens Tom’s Inaugural Swim

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

Welcome back to Widow’s Bay!

Are you ready for the inaugural swim? I’m not a great swimmer, and the ocean scares the hell out of me, so I think I’ll sit this one out.

But my gosh, is Tom game for just about anything right now? I have to hand it to him. He’s taking this tourism stuff very seriously.

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

I need to understand more about Tom and his time in Widow’s Bay. He’s been living here since Evan was born, long enough to have experienced the island’s eccentricities.

Can we assume that the difference is that until now, the horrors only arrive when you leave the island, and that Tom has shaken up the snow globe, so to speak, by bringing visitors to the island?

Because it’s the first time in who knows how long that tourists are visiting the island, and all hell is breaking loose.

The timeline of them is a little suspect, too. How do we know that tourists are, in fact, tourists?

Tom met Marissa before he attempted to pick up the Sea Hag, so she was already hunting him before he was scratched by her.

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Let’s assume that she is, indeed, hunting him specifically because he’s mucking with their island happiness. 

We know that years ago, things got pretty hairy on the island at times, and by staying put and not upsetting the apple cart, things must have died down. 

After all, Tom has been raising Evan on the island for almost two decades, and he’s still in the dark about the island’s mysteries. 

Could his grief after losing his wife have been so deep that he ignored all the talk about the island? Did he chalk up all the talk to his neighbors wanting to keep the tall tales alive for some reason?

We know he eventually ran for mayor, and it seemed to have been done with the purpose of improving life in Widow’s Bay through tourism. 

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Yet the talk about people never stepping foot off the place, or, when they did, dying on the mainland, had to have been discussed at least once in his presence over the last 17 years. 

I know, I know. It’s just a TV show. But the story matters, and I’m trying to understand it. That’s what we do here at TV Fanatic. We dig deep, theorize, predict, and try to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

Were there forces keeping Tom down that have somehow given him access to see again, to be open to the possibilities that things are not the same in Widow’s Bay as they are elsewhere?

Try thinking about what it must have been like for Tom living there after his wife died. He had no one, and the dating pool never expanded. 

No wonder he was so eager to reach out to Marissa and test the waters of dating again. 

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Marissa didn’t need much enticing to begin making and picking up on signals with Tom. And when he kept missing connections with her, she was persistent.

Now we know why, but for a little while there, it seemed like a good thing.

I wonder if we’ll ever know how Marissa understood enough about Tom to lure him as a needy tourist, or why she later drifted back into her Sea Hag persona long enough to scratch him. 

Why didn’t she scratch him earlier? The goal would have been the same. And as a monster of the island, he was threatening her lifestyle. 

Will this be enough to get through to Tom that the island’s history has merit? That it’s real and not just a bunch of stories people tell to pass the time?

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

I laughed seeing the sheriff’s notes when Tom called:

Old Woman
Possibly damp
Faster than an old woman should be!

He didn’t seem phased by the description, suggesting that Tom’s not alone in his disbelief that the island’s history could have real consequences in the present.

The events of Widow’s Bay Season 1 Episode 3 led Tom right to Wyck. It’s funny that when the shit hits the fan, Wyck is his go-to, but when Wyck tries explaining things, Tom scoffs at it.

I assume his scoffing days might be over. At least, I hope they are. If not, I’d think he’s more deranged for ignoring facts than the people who keep repeating them.

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Everything Wyck said came true, and when his life was almost snuffed out, right betwixt his thighs like Wyck said, it was Wyck who saved him.

And when it was all over and he asked, “Why is this happening?” the way Wyck said, “I don’t know. You just survive it,” almost brought a tear to my eye.

Stephen Root is a master of moments. He knows when to make Wyck seem somewhat deranged and conspiracy-laden, and he knew that in that moment, Wyck had to just be a man, offering a hand to another who needed it.

If a genuine friendship isn’t born from that encounter, I’m going to be pissed. Tom needs a genuine friend, one who isn’t working for him or holding secrets.

Even Reverend Byrce is holding back.

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Why was he darting through the woods and peeking into a well from which Samira herself could have crawled out? Did he call Tom before or after that experience?

And yes, there is evil afoot. But what did Bryce hear? The church bells? Why is he sorry?

The episode closed with the sheriff calling for backup to the Sunset Cocktails celebration (I think). I know he said cocktails, and while it’s long past sunset by the time the credits roll, the festivities could still be in full swing.

I feel bad for Evan and his friends, too. It’s embarrassing to be side-eyed when it’s revealed you’ve never left the island. But when Reverend Bryce emerged looking stunned and talking evil, I thought, “You don’t have that kind of fun in Boston, do you???”

Who knows what is next? 

(Apple TV/Screenshot)

Widow’s Bay Season 1 Episode 4 is titled “Beach Reads,” and the logline is: Make sure you pack a good read for the beach! (We do not recommend self-help books on the island.)

It doesn’t seem like we’ll get a front-row seat to whatever mayhem the sheriff is experiencing, but you never know. 

If all goes well on our spring vacation at Widow’s Bay, every episode will keep us on our toes and running for our lives.

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