Widow’s Bay Recap: My Eye Is Open

by

Following the shocking death of Reverend Bryce at the end of last week’s Widow’s Bay, Tom, Wyck, and Patricia investigate his office, hoping to find out why he suddenly took his own life. They discover a number of partially burned documents and a chilling message carved into his desk: “My eye is open,” suggesting he witnessed something before he died. Tom then finds that Bryce repeatedly called two numbers the night he died. One was Tom’s, but the mayor was busy fending off a Sea Hag and didn’t answer. The other number is unknown, and the trio decides to call it.

“Would you like an appointment?” says a voice on the other end.

“Yes, I would,” Patricia said with confidence, completely unaware of what the appointment even was.

Bryce must really respect this person, given how much he’s been trying to contact them. Perhaps they know what happened to Bryce, and might even understand why Widow’s Bay has such a dark history.

Just kidding! It turns out this mysterious figure is actually a man named Todd O’Connor, who claims to be a shaman. He’s brilliantly portrayed by comedian Chris Fleming, who resembles a younger version of magician Doug Henning and seems to have unlimited access to Harry Styles’s cast-off clothes. For those in the audience familiar with Fleming’s stand-up, the reveal is a real highlight. It even makes you wonder: could the entire backstory of the island just be something people invented after taking psychedelic mushrooms?

Tom, Wyck, and Patricia also found some unusual mushrooms in Bryce’s office. Todd identified them as “truesight,” a local mushroom from Widow’s Bay that forces you to go wherever you need to, even if you don’t want to. He described it as like “LASIK for your third eye” – something that powerfully opens your mind.

Wyck suggests someone use truesight to figure out what happened to Bryce. However, Todd, likely affected by something from his messy apothecary, mistakenly believes Tom is Wyck. This leads to a comical misunderstanding – Tom drinks a whole mug of truesight tea, gets incredibly high, and becomes unable to lead. This is particularly bad timing, as he’s trying to impose a curfew on the Fourth of July, and everyone is furious.

After that, the episode, playfully named “What to Expect on Your Trip,” mostly follows Tom’s experience as he’s plagued by strange sounds and voices, sees unsettling faces, loses consciousness, and then abruptly finds himself in unfamiliar places with no memory of how he arrived. A particularly memorable scene is when he wakes up holding a marker, only to discover he’d written “When I turn around, everyone close your eyes” on a whiteboard – in a completely empty room. Matthew Rhys delivers a consistently excellent and haunting performance throughout.

In “Widow’s Bay,” Tom is made incredibly sensitive to his surroundings while simultaneously being treated like a child by those around him – Patricia even tells him to color with crayons. This combination effectively transforms him into Wyck, a character who appears slightly unhinged due to his belief that something is amiss with the owls. It’s worth noting that Tom doesn’t actually see any owls, but he does nearly sit on Bridgit, Todd’s fifty-year-old alligator.

Reading “What to Expect on Your Trip” is a wild ride because things are constantly surprising you – it’s hilarious, but also makes you think about the deeper mysteries of the island and especially its founder. I was on the edge of my seat when Wyck found a letter in Bryce’s office and brought it to Gerrie – turns out they have a history! She carefully brushed off the ash, and the letter revealed a really haunting message. It said the writer didn’t understand the curse on the island, but believed its power was tied to a cylinder her husband always wore. She was terrified, writing about who might harm her, and fearing her own death was near. It was all so dramatic, but she ended it by saying she was just joking, and then signed off. It was incredibly unsettling!

Gerrie discovers the page is from the diary of Sarah Westcott Warren, the wife of Richard Warren, Widow’s Bay’s first mayor and a figure known as the Lord Island Protector. Official records paint Richard Warren as a great leader, but this diary entry tells a different story. However, the entry ends strangely, with Sarah writing, “Just kidding about my husband being a murderer! Oh well, time for bed!”

It’s not surprising that Richard Warren might not be as heroic as history portrays him. That’s simply how historical narratives develop – they evolve into legends, then become accepted as fact, shaping our understanding of the past. But history is often unreliable – even Thomas Jefferson recognized that – and the stories we tell about ourselves are too. It’s actually quite fitting that Widow’s Bay highlights this in an episode set during Fourth of July fireworks. What’s more American than turning a flawed historical figure into a hero?

This episode, penned by Colton Dunn – you might recognize him as Garrett from Superstore – and directed by Andrew DeYoung (known for Friendship and The Chair Company), is full of examples of people trying to make bad things look good. It starts with Todd, who has a very inflated ego.

Patricia was shocked when she discovered Todd, a classmate from high school, was selling drugs. “You’re a drug dealer?” she exclaimed.

“No, no,” he corrects her. “Please. I’m a shaman.”

Patricia, calmly, referring to an item on the table: “Is that cocaine?”

Todd, equally calmly: “Yes.”

To illustrate the powerful experiences truesight can create, Todd shows visitors a drawing his friend Brian made after taking the mushrooms. He explains that the drawing resembles “ancient religious symbols” and a kind of precise, complex geometric pattern that feels deeply meaningful. The drawing is simply an outline of Brian’s hand, which he traced. Interestingly, Tom later does the same thing while under the influence, echoing Brian’s experience.

The most ridiculous thing Todd does is call a small, messy room the ‘Peace Center.’ It’s really just a spare room with some quickly-put-up curtains and a mattress on the floor, which he pretends is for mindfulness. It’s like when I bought a cheap papasan chair and called it a ‘meditation circle’ – totally absurd.

Stories about the house are often exaggerated. For example, PJ claimed a serial killer nicknamed ‘The Boogeyman’ – who resembled Michael Myers from the movie Halloween – was buried in concrete under the house. PJ also said girls were receiving creepy phone calls from him, a detail that might have come from Patricia, whose stories aren’t always reliable. It’s hard to know what’s fact and fiction when it comes to the stories surrounding this place.

Throughout the episode, the mystery deepens around why the island’s inhabitants can’t leave. Evan questions his father about this, leading to a heated argument. Shortly after, while Tom is experiencing a disturbing hallucination, he sees a vision of himself and his pregnant wife, Lauren, on a ferry. Lauren suddenly begins to lose her eyesight, causing her distress. Later, Tom tells a doctor that something feels wrong with his wife. If this vision is accurate – and it appears to be – Tom has been dishonest with Evan about the circumstances of his mother’s death. She didn’t die in childbirth; something else happened, likely connected to her attempt to leave the island by ferry.

The ending of “What to Expect on Your Trip” leaves viewers wondering about a strange creature Tom seems to encounter – a shadowy figure similar to the smoke monster in Widow’s Bay. Is this being truly real, and could it be connected to what Reverend Bryce witnessed before his death? Or is it just a hallucination caused by the powerful mushrooms growing in the potentially haunted ground?

I have to wonder again: could the history of Widow’s Bay have been shaped entirely by the perspectives of white people, perhaps influenced by hallucinogenic mushrooms? I’m honestly not dismissing the possibility.

Loose Teeth

Sarah Westcott Warren’s diary suggests the source of the island’s curse is hidden inside a cylinder her husband, Tom, wears as a necklace. Tom, who is experiencing hallucinations, is fixated on a painting of Richard Warren where the cylinder is clearly visible, leading people to wonder what it contains—with some suspecting it might be mushrooms.

It turns out the actor playing Richard Warren is actually Hamish Linklater, who you might recognize from his role in Midnight Mass. And interestingly, the real Richard Warren was a passenger on the Mayflower and is a distant relative of Taylor Swift! Maybe we should get some dedicated Taylor Swift fans—known for solving puzzles—to help crack the mysteries of Widow’s Bay. They’d probably figure it all out very quickly!

Just a quick thought: Right before Sheriff Bechir stops Evan from going into the Boogeyman’s house, Evan briefly manages to open the door. It might be something to consider.

A special mention goes to Evan Loftis! It’s great how the writers have created a complex and well-developed character, avoiding the typical rebellious teen trope. Kingston Rumi Southwick is doing a fantastic job portraying the character’s inherent likability, even when he’s causing trouble. There’s a funny exchange where the character asks Sheriff Bechir, while being taken away, if he can shout an insult “for the girls.” The sheriff understandably says no, but can’t help but smile at the kid’s audacity.

The dynamic between Evan and his dad feels very real. Tom anticipates Evan will misbehave the moment he’s not being watched, and Evan knows his dad is too preoccupied to closely monitor him. Despite this, they both go through the motions of promising good behavior and supervision, immediately knowing the other won’t follow through. It’s a familiar pattern for any parent of a teenager.

The funniest moment this week happened in Widow’s Bay. The show has a knack for slipping in hilarious lines unexpectedly, and this episode’s standout came during Bryce’s funeral. The officiant deadpanned, “Just a reminder, speaking isn’t required.”

However, nothing beats Todd’s excuse: ‘I have to leave, because my girlfriend’s cat ran away.’ Seriously, we should all use the word ‘absconded’ more often!

However, even that witty line doesn’t compare to the funniest part of the episode: Todd’s final advice to a Tom who’s clearly under the influence. Todd tells him, “Whatever you do, don’t look in any mirrors,” and then reassuringly pats Tom on the shoulder, calling him “Wyck.”

He shut the door to the “Peace Center,” and the mirror on the back showed Tom standing there by himself. He looked completely panicked, almost like he was on cloud nine after a successful legal battle. Just remembering that moment makes me laugh uncontrollably. This show is incredible!

Read More

2026-05-20 17:03