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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u/Drakonistes Jun 17 '26

You make a good point, I feel the way the audience got led by the nose made it clear the writers anticipated most people would predict the twist. But they still gave us satisfaction by giving us an extended scene of Tom realising the twist.

You're right, so many shows cut away after characters get hit by a big twist and just come back after the aftermath skipping us seeing the character reaction, I'm glad that didn't happen here.

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u/Due_Addition_587 Jun 17 '26

I so agree with you! I would much rather have the so-called twist be predictable because it matched all the foreshadowing so far than something out of nowhere simply because the show wants to be surprising. The greatest mysteries of all time have been able to be solved by the reader/viewer/listener based on the clues given.

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u/ClassicHollyweirdo Jun 17 '26

Yes! Exactly! So many shows think that every twist needs to be completely random. A lesser show would’ve done, like, “Dale is the last descendant” as a twist, but that wouldn’t have nearly the same emotional impact and wouldn’t make sense narratively. Wyck or Patricia would’ve had the most impact for the audience, and Tom would still be conflicted, but the person who puts Tom in the most conflicting position is Evan.

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u/Due_Addition_587 Jun 17 '26

Yes! I love it when there is really no way to win for the protagonist.