'Castle Rock' Season 2 Episode 6 portrays the heartbreaking tale of two broken mothers vying for the love of their daughter
"I'm not normal, Joy. There's a whole lot wrong with me and very little right, But the thing that keeps me on the right side on the double yellow line, is knowing how to love one thing. And that's you."
The latest episode of 'Castle Rock' from Season 2 dropped on Hulu on November 12, and it was not an easy episode to sit through. And for the first time, the discomfort and pain did not come from watching grueling murders (there were those too) but it came from seeing the sheer wretched tale of two completely broken mothers, trying to get their elusive child, Joy (Elsie Fisher). The show has explored the ideas of dysfunctional parents and troubled children, but this episode hit upon the pangs of motherly love, suffering and lack of closure and how it finally eats into the characters.
In the previous episode, Joy had called her biological mother, Rita, who has had a terrible 15 years after Annie stabbed her and ran away with Joy. Rita rushes to see Joy and tells her the sordid tale, and Joy is broken and torn between two mothers. But 'Castle Rock' does not stop twisting the knife there, just yet. A wearied and devastated Annie Wilkes (Lizzy Caplan) finally confesses the whole truth to Joy. She has a sense of self-awareness as she admits to knowing that she is not 'normal'. But she stresses that there is only one thing that she has known, and that's how to love Joy. This motherly love and emotion is what brought back Annie from the edge of a precipice, before she considered ending her life completely.
She tells Joy, 'You saved me.' It is a brilliant and heartbreaking scene and you cannot help but feel an unexplained rush of emotion for this wavered, lost and panic-stricken woman, who has succumbed to her demons.
Rita is a former shell of herself. After Joy tells her that she can't accompany her, Rita has a meltdown and decides to put an end to Annie's tale. However, she isn't a killer either, and the constant flashbacks, as well as the shaking fingers, say it all. The episode has a devastating ending. Yet, Annie's motherly love for Joy shrouds every aspect of her being and she decides to take a shocking step.
Meanwhile, the body snatchers are at work, while Nadia is coming to terms with her new reality. Yet, these monsters were just in the background of the episode as the emotions were playing demons in this one. What will happen in the next episode of 'Castle Rock?' Will Annie fall into Ace Merrill's (Paul Sparks) sinister plans? It will be curious to see how this paves the way for Stephen King's 'Misery'. Right now, the show's twists and turns are so unpredictable, at this point, we're not even sure if the current Annie Wilkes will end up being the psychotic nurse from hell who takes author Paul Sheldon captive in 'Misery'.
This season of 'Castle Rock' is not so much about the demons outside that are lurking to snatch you, but the ones that torture us from inside. It's about the fraying end of sanity, brokenness, loss, grief, and the few shreds of happiness in all the chaos and mud. And what happens when even that is taken from you? 'Castle Rock' is also about finally owning up to your past and facing it, taking the bull by the horns. One way or the other, you have to finally face it. 'Castle Rock' also has several layers in this season. While the previous season just made you deeply queasy and uncomfortable, this season is all about tugging at your heartstrings with a horror score in the background. The show is just getting better with each episode, and it remains to be seen what happens next.
'Castle Rock' aired on Hulu on November 12.
