'Castle Rock' Season 2 Episode 7 Review: 'The Word' is well worth the wait as it explains the past in detail spelling doom for Annie
This review contains spoilers for 'Castle Rock' Season 2 Episode 7 'The Word'
'Castle Rock' finally brings in the two storylines together as the gripping episode sees Salem and Misery lock horns to offer insight on what exactly is happening at Castle Rock. There isn't a lot of Annie in 'The Word' and the past is explained in detail.
This comes across as a necessary tale to be told as it factors in Annie's (Lizzy Caplan) fate with Marsten House to just make the storyline intersting. The cliffhanger sets up an exciting Episode 8.
The episode starts off with New Jersusalem in 1619 with a woman named Amity standing at the altar of a church proclaiming the place is doomed and cursed. However, she begins to have epileptic attacks while starting to testify and is eventually cast out of the village.
Out in the woods, she encounters a hooded figure standing behind her and she catches a glimpse of the figure as the sun rises. Meanwhile, the present sees the town prepare for Castle Rock's 400th anniversary while Annie confesses the truth to the police.
Elsewhere, Pops (Tim Robbins) heads to Shawshank and learns that Ace (Paul Sparks) had visited the place earlier. Pop then confronts Ace surrounded by possessed townsfolk who warn him to leave the place only for him to visit Abdi (Barkhad Abdi) to warn him about Ace and his plan.
Meanwhile, discussions in Marsten House are all about "The Vessel" who is actually Annie and the plan is to use her body to bring Amity back to the present world. The episode rolls back in time again to Amity promising her lover that she will return in 400 years.
In what is a back and forth in time style of an episode, 'The Word' comes back to real time where Abdi witnesses the gory sight of three Crosses burning and turned upside down.
Ace draws the town closer to him by unveiling the prophetic statue from the past explaining the story on how it starts and ends with Castle Rock. 'The Word' manages to keep the suspense factor intact throughout the episode after setting the tone in the previous two episodes.
There is enough in the chapter to know that things look dicey and bleak for Annie before leaving the audience with a gasping cliffhanger. Yet another episode that falls into the "strong" category. How this ends is anybody's guess.
'Castle Rock' Season 2 Episode 8 will premiere on Hulu on November 27.