‘Castle Rock’ Season 2 offers Stephen King’s psychotic nurse Annie Wilkes a chance at redemption as she protects her daughter
Devious, cunning and lethal, that's how Stephen King readers remember the nurse from hell, Annie Wilkes, the murderous antagonist from his 1987 novel 'Misery'.
The psychotic nurse holds author Paul Sheldon hostage after he suffers a serious accident. Initially, she keeps up a ruse of trying to nurse him back to health. However, as grim events unfold, Paul realizes that she's a serial killer, who has already committed more than 30 murders.
The book was a feast for psychological thriller lovers, and the film that released later starring Kathy Bates could make one wish to sleep with their eyes open at night.
Yet, no one knew exactly who Annie was, apart from the fact that she was a murderous nurse from Bakersfield and that she had a complicated relationship with her parents. Otherwise, the story of 'Misery' is told through the lens of the hapless author, Paul Sheldon.
Annie Wilkes gets a new lease of life in Hulu's show 'Castle Rock'. Yet, this is not the Annie we know. This is a terrified Annie, who is trying hard to keep her mental illness in control and protect her daughter, Joy (Elsie Fisher) from gloom and death in Castle Rock.
And yes, that means she can kill for her sake too. "I will do anything to protect you," Annie keeps reminding Joy. This is the human side of Annie, and it's as if the show is offering her a chance of redemption.
The season begins with a young Annie, who is completely blood-soaked, with a child in her arms. The story flashes forward to the present, where a seemingly chirpy Annie sings a song with her daughter, while they drive around the American countryside in a car.
As it is the Stephen King universe, singing the cheeriest of songs does not mean joy, it just makes you wonder about the next set of scares that the show will throw at you.
And then they have a car crash, right next to the grim town of 'Castle Rock'. It’s a town that spells death, as children have vanished and returned without any memory of their past while police officers have gone insane and shot prisoners.
There is a sense of unease around the town, and of course, that means Annie Wilkes or rather Annie Ingalls as she is named, is a perfect inhabitant. Apart from dealing with her daughter's growing suspicions, Annie is confronted by the grimy Merrill family.
Different elements from various stories of Stephen King are woven together, with Annie at the heart of it and steering it forward.
But how did this deeply troubled nurse become a diabolic murderer later? Currently, her main instinct is to protect her daughter Joy, to the extent, that she isolates her from the world around her.
Joy's concern about her mother's growing paranoia reaches a breaking point by the third episode, especially after Annie tells her how she killed "dirty man" Ace Merrill, and yet he returned to life. Joy ties her to the bed and forces her to take her medicines.
We feel a tinge of pity for this young mother, who is trying to medicate herself desperately, not to mention illegally. While being tied up, Annie relates the painful story of Joy’s birth, and how her father wanted nothing to do with her.
We see the real, broken and abandoned Annie, who is still haunted by her dark past. More than the horror and the sight of blood, it is the mother-daughter connection that tugs at your heartstrings.
A mother and daughter, who just have each other in a loveless world that can't make much time for them. While trying to cut herself free, Annie accidentally hurts Joy.
The episode ends with Joy running out in the rain, while Annie frantically looks for her. and she comes face-to-face with Ace.
Is Joy dead? If so, will this death spur Annie on to become the serial killer and frenzied murderer we know today? Going by the unpredictable nature of the show, she might just have some more redeeming qualities.
