Welcome to another episode of My Comic Universe’s Movie & TV show Popcorn Feed! Join our hosts Steve and Brian as they talk about the new Stephen King series, Castle Rock. Please check out our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for up dates and news. We are very excited about this episode and we great really in-depth on this first season.
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Production
Castle Rock was created by JJ Abrams & Stephen King. Abrams production company Bad Robot has produced several successful TV series. Including Alias, Person of Interest, Lost, Fringe, and Westworld.
Bad Robot Productions has quite a track record for blockbuster movies. Such as Cloverfield, Super 8, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars Ep. 7&9, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation.
What is Castle Rock about?
Hulu’s Castle Rock is a psychological horror series set in the Stephen King multiverse in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. After an unknown young man is found in an abandoned part of Shawshank Prison. Henry Deaver, a defense attorney who specializes in getting inmates off of death row, is called upon to provide counsel to the anonymous victim. The story centers around Henry Deaver, played by Andre Holland. Who left Castle Rock as a boy when his adopted father was killed under suspicious circumstances. Years after his sudden disappearance, Henry Dever returns to his hometown. Many residents of Castle Rock have long believed that Henry was the one responsible for his fathers death, despite a lack of evidence.
Bill Skarsgard plays The Kid, the unknown prisoner found in Shawshank. He appears to have a supernatural presence. Disaster follows him everywhere he goes. Part of the show’s mystery involves figuring out who he is and why he was locked away deep within Shawshank’s walls. Another layer of the shows mystery is the dark underbelly of Castle Rock itself. Also unraveling the town’s dark secrets. As well as the secrets of the shows supporting characters, played by such greats as Scott Glenn, Sissy Spacek, and Terry O’Quinn.
Castle Rock and The Stephen King Universe
The fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine has been used repeatedly throughout Stephen King’s career. Cujo, The Dark Half, It, Needful Things, the novella The Body, and several short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption have either been set there or contained references to Castle Rock.
In the first episode there is reference to the curse of the Shawshank Wardens. Dale Lacy isn’t the first Shawshank Warden to take his life. Once Lacy’s successor Warden Porter enters her office, one of the guards points out the bullet hole left in the wall by Warden Norton when he killed himself. Norton was the Warden when Andy Dufresne escaped in The Shawshank Redemption.
Just before killing himself, Warden Lacy plays the same piece of music that Andy Dufresne played in The Shawshank Redemption over the prisons PA system when he locked himself in the Wardens office.
Within the same episode, Henry finds himself flipping through old newspaper clippings. An article talks about several rabid dogs attacking people in the town. Stephen Kings book Cujo was about a rabid dog that terrorized a small town.
Family names also play a major role in Stephen King novels and Castle Rock used three familiar names from Stephen Kings work The Body which later became Stand By Me. In the first episode Henry Deaver was defending a woman named Leanne Chambers. Who was accused of killing her abusive husband Richard. Upon meeting Molly’s character, she was buying drugs from a young man named Dean Merrill. Then in the 4th episode, Henry is investigating a man named Vince Desjardins in connection with Henry’s disappearance as a young boy. Richard Chambers, John “Ace” Merrill, and Vince Desjardins were all part of the gang of bullies that plagued the heroes of The Body.
There is also a reference to The Green Mile in the first episode. The Kid sees a mouse dart out of a hole in a Shawshank hallway. At first it looks like The Kid is just following the mouse with his eyes. But then it appears as though he is guiding the mouse towards a trap. Where its neck is broken after trying to get a piece of cheese. While not a direct reference, it seems to be a nod to the mouse Mr. Jingles from The Green Mile.
Another reference worth mentioning is Jackie Torrance. Who is the niece of Jack Torrance, the alcoholic writer who tries to murder his family in Stephen King’s The Shining. In episode 5 when Jackie meets the kid she tells him about her families background. Also how she changed her name from Diane to Jackie to piss off her parents, who refused to talk to her about her uncle Jack.
Season 1 Finale
The Castle Rock season finale begins with Molly telling Henry what she has recently learned from The Kid about their intersecting lives and realities. Shortly thereafter both The Kid and Henry are arrested as suspects in the recent deaths that have been plaguing the town. The Kid tries explaining to Henry that bad things that follow him wherever he goes is because he is an anomaly in their current reality. The two must go to Castle Lake before the strange sounds in the woods, which signifies their two worlds colliding disappears. As more strange deaths happen at the Castle Rock jail, where the inmates slaughter civilians and officers alike. Henry and The Kid escape in the confusion and The Kid forces Henry to go to Castle Lake at gunpoint. While in the woods, Henry begins remembering his experience with his father in 1991, including the fact that he pushed Preacher Deaver off a cliff for planning to kill Henry’s mother Ruth. Henry is able to overpower The Kid and takes him prisoner once again.
A year later, it’s Christmas 2019 and we see Henry is now working as a lawyer in Castle Rock and living in his childhood home. His mother Ruth passed away in February. She was buried with Alan. Molly is now a successful real estate agent in the Florida Keys, and Henry has once again imprisoned The Kid in a now abandoned Shawshank Prison. Unable to accept what The Kid has told him about there being multiple realities. In a post credit scene, we see Jackie Torrance telling a friend she is planning a trip out west to research her families ax-killing history at the Overlook Hotel.
A few interesting points worth noting;
> The Kid is an anomaly to this reality.
> The sound, signifies realities colliding with one another.
> Henry begins to remember killing his father. The truth is out there.
> Castle Rock riots!
> Henry’s take down of The Kid seemed very quick.
> One year later Henry imprisoned The Kid at the now abandoned Shawshank Prison.
> Jackie Torrance heads west!
Waiting for Castle Rock Season 2!
Recommendation : Avengers Infinity War
This month’s recommendation is Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johanson. The Avengers and their allies must be willing to make the ultimate sacrifice as they attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his onslaught of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe as we know it.
This film has everything Marvel fans have been waiting for. It’s as action packed as it is funny. For a film that has over 70 characters in it from the last 18 Marvel films, Infinity War does a great job of telling a compelling story. That doesn’t feel like it’s trying to do too much in a single film. You’ll laugh, you’ll probably cry too, and you won’t be able to wait for Avengers 4 to come out to see the riveting conclusion to this epic saga.
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Thank you so much for the recap. Loved all of the SK connections you revealed. One suggestion. Check out Patriot on Prime. Terry OQuin is terrific in it.
Thanks for checking out our website! Thanks for the recommendation, we will check that out right away.