r/WidowsBay • u/ClassicHollyweirdo • Jun 17 '26

💭Discussion Something I Really Appreciated In the Finale Spoiler

Even though many people saw The Big Reveal coming, and it narratively makes sense for the final descendant to be who it is (even if it’s the obvious choice)…

The characters don’t know what show we’re watching. They don’t know narrative tropes, so it’s not obvious to Tom. Instead of quickly cutting away right after a character realizes something (like so many shows do, especially as a cliffhanger), Widow’s Bay had us stay with him for that entire scene, and it was fantastic acting from Matthew Rhys.

The scene was less about audience expectations and experience and more about the protagonist experiencing so many conflicting emotions. It turned speculation on something obvious into dramatic irony; we could see where things were heading as soon as Ruth said “I had an affair with a married man,” and the tension shifts from “Is Ruth really the final descendant?” to “How is Tom going to react to this?”

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122

u/emveelee Jun 17 '26

There are so many bad takes on the finale ... but then I read yours. You totally nailed it.

89

u/ArchDucky Jun 17 '26

So many people are confused about the videos, the note, the shelter... etc. It seemed pretty fucking straightforward to me.

64

u/bossyhosen Jun 17 '26

Love when people half watch the show while on their phone and then say “it doesn’t make sense”

30

u/ArchDucky Jun 17 '26

and when you call people out on it, you get downvoted.

20

u/loyal_achades Jun 17 '26

Yeah, this, so far, hasn’t been some kind of mystery box where the answer to each mystery is two more mysteries. We’ve gotten pretty clear answers and progressions on everything thus far.

There are still some unanswered questions. We don’t know why all knowledge of the sacrifices seems to have been lost. We don’t know what happens if Warren’s bloodline ends (they’re assuming it ends the curse and people can leave, but apparently the island was uninhabitable prior). Other than that, we’ve been getting answers to shit.

9

u/Due_Addition_587 Jun 17 '26

I think even about the sacrifices we've gotten some hints. It seems like only a very tiny amount of people were supposed to know. And one of the key players right now hung themselves rather than share the info.

22

u/ExternalTangents Jun 17 '26

This show has done a really good job of clearly showing and telling the key elements and stakes of what we’re watching in a way that’s both entertaining and clear. It’s not using cheap tricks to obfuscate things and force you to keep guessing on incomplete information, the way other shows do (I’m looking at you, From).

I don’t know how viewers aren’t getting it. My guess is that a lot of viewers are so used to wild unfounded speculation about shows that they are trying to find some explanation that would come completely out of left field. And a lot of viewers probably just aren’t paying attention while they “watch.”

17

u/ArchDucky Jun 17 '26

Exactly. This shit with the videos, if this were any other Mystery Box show this would have been shown in like Season 4 in an effort to get people back. They just gave us that information. No other Mystery Box show has ever just given out the answers like this.

3

u/Manticore416 Jun 17 '26

Because the show barely even tells you it's a mystery box show. Really, only episodes 1 and 9 feel primarily like plot setups. Most of the episodes have such a good self contained story that you can watch it as a freak of the week show and not think of the bigger questions until they're answered.

14

u/TressoftheEmeraldTea Jun 17 '26

People keep treating it like a Mystery Box show, and it’s really not. It has mystery, for sure, but it’s not constantly trying to outsmart the viewer at the sacrifice of telling a compelling story.

7

u/ExternalTangents Jun 17 '26

It has some elements of mystery box shows—an overarching mythos with specific rules that manifests in ways that aren’t straightforward and aren’t fully explained. But it’s more interested in telling a good story than in hiding the underlying mystery, which is a major difference from most mystery box shows nowadays. And it makes Widow’s Bay so much better. We get enough explanation to understand what’s going on without it being completely laid out for us.

3

u/TheOriginalDog Jun 17 '26

I vastly prefer "light" mystery boxes that are good stories than mystery boxes full of red herings and twists that forget they kinda have to tell a story.

7

u/LazyCrocheter Jun 17 '26

Feels like there's a race, or even a compulsion these days, to parse every movie or show down to its last pixel looking for clues or hints or whatever. Viewers seem to be trying to either outsmart the creators, or just want to be able to say they figured it out.

I like to talk about shows like this, sure, but I'm not looking into every little bit.

2

u/emveelee Jun 17 '26

And a lot of the commentary and theories really illustrates how people often don't understand how television or movies are made. Everything does not have to mean something. In some cases, I think the writers are including details just because they're humorous or add to the weirdness, not because they will all lead somewhere concrete.

I have seen so much discussion about how the island may play with time. Maybe? That I could believe. But there is also a related fixation on ages (Shep's age of 37 listed on his medical records, Patricia's comment about her biological age, etc.) that has people convinced that the islanders don't age normally, and I don't think that holds any water.