Martin Carr reviews season 2 of Castle Rock…
For anyone who read my reviews on Castle Rock last year I thank you, for everyone else where were you? Imagine a world where Stephen King characters co-existed, intertwined and every single kink was there to draw drama from. Season one introduced us to that drawing together his characters in a heady mix of solid writing, character twists and pertinent on point social commentary. It was clever, bold, slow burning and pulsed with life. Critics both here and overseas heaped praise upon it and Castle Rock delivered until the final frame. Season two gives us more of the same but from another perspective packing in both fan service moments and some solid stand out performances.
Chief amongst these is that of Lizzie Caplan who has large shoes to fill as Annie Wilkes. Portrayed previously by Kathy Bates in Misery the season hinges on our investment, which Caplan garners early on with a measured performance of unpredictability. This total immersion is not overly reliant on quirky tics, bombastic outbursts or overt physicality, but instead reveals Wilkes to be a product of other factors. Undiagnosed conditions see her ostracised at school, isolated into puberty and fearsome in adulthood.
Lizzie Caplan makes her statement early on and quickly draws a line under that Oscar winning performance, sketching Annie as borderline psychotic but fully aware. Elsie Fisher as her daughter does as much of the heavy lifting in those early episodes trying to compete on screen with Caplan at full tilt. Their chemistry, conflict and obvious bond plays well as things escalate and past choices come home to roost. Elsewhere the other heavy hitter on board is Tim Robbins as Pop Merrill.
Carrying as much King baggage as anyone thanks to his acclaimed performance in The Shawshank Redemption, Robbins gives us a layered turn tinged with regret. Cantankerous, hard boiled and known throughout Jerusalem’s Lot for his business acumen Pop Merrill buries his secrets deep. With fingers in numerous pies and carrying multiple burdens he plays against type to ground events in opposition to Caplan.
As various strands from famous sources begin making inroads the dramatic ante gets upped and gruesome things occurs. However beyond the supernatural which haunts Jerusalem’s Lot there are topical issues being tackled in plain view. American incursions overseas and the repercussions of that involvement are just one of many threads Castle Rock decides to pull on. Combined with the personal impact on the individual manifested through PTSD, this show works hard to comment without pressing to preach.
Flashbacks also go some way to providing context and a mention should be reserved for Ruby Cruz who adds breadth to Caplan’s character as her younger self. Although that screen time is minimal Cruz captures the behavioural quirks, unpredictable devotion and crucial drama which makes the transition between scenes believable. There is some difficult stuff being asked of the actress in certain areas and her ability to carry that off whilst matching her contemporaries adds credence.
As with the opening season tension is carefully increased through character development and story rather than feeling formulaic. Revelations are intertwined with classic narrative reveals which offer up touchstones to King fans whilst appeasing first time audiences. For those who have yet to watch Castle Rock be aware season one has been available since last year through STARZPLAY on Amazon Prime. Well crafted, dramatically satisfying and far and away the best King anthology work for some time, Castle Rock comes highly recommended. With a wealth of stories at their disposal and the strength of this second season a third seems almost inevitability.
Season 2 of Castle Rock is available on STARZPLAY in the UK from February 13th.
Martin Carr
Originally published February 11, 2020. Updated February 12, 2020.
