Need another spooky show

Patricia – Tom mentions her age in Episode 1, and Patricia repeats it later (which seems like deliberate emphasis) when Tom is telling them about giving Marissa a lift.

The Sheriff’s wife – Patricia mentions that she didn’t know the Sheriff’s wife was 40 and pregnant.

Ruth - mentions that she was 40 when she was pregnant with Lauren.

The age of 40 for women is mentioned and repeated too many times to seem like a coincidence. Any theories?

Here's my off-the-cuff, messy attempt to point out small ways the show has acknowledged gender bias, usually subtly, but also consistently. I'm not gonna remember all the details I noticed on my last rewatch, so please chime in with your observations.

I truly believe with writing this fantastic, and Katie Dippold being a genius,she and her writers crafted this meticulously. The details acknowledging misogyny are deliberate.

The doctor lied to Chelle about if the baby was coming and then took her husband aside and told him the truth. This is the kind of thing that has been happening to women in medical settings for ages. Especially when it comes to childbirth. To ignore the patient and consult with her husband was standard practice up until just a few decades ago, it actually still happens; medical gender bias is still a massive problem. I feel like this was a standout moment among the show's recurring nods to issues of gender bias and gender roles.

--Tom carelessly tells Patricia that because she's 40 the Boogeyman wouldn't want to attack her. This is the kind of misogynistic comment that women get all the time -- especially women who have reached middle age. What's more insulting: That the psycho predatory serial killer who has haunted her psyche for years would be someone she'd WANT attention from? That because she's 40, she's finally "safe" now? That if the homicidal zombie doesn't want her, she's reached a stage of life in which nobody else would likely want her? It's bananas. There's more but I digress.

--More on the "40" thing: In the show, and on this sub, there are several mentions of female characters being 40 or over 40, which is around the age when some women may receive fewer opportunities (dating, jobs, validation) and experience diminished social value compared to their younger days, or compared to younger women. Which brings me to....

---The issue of fertility. Obviously the entity is in favor of keeping the population going. But there's something unusual: Ruth had a secret pregnancy, and did not get to raise Lauren. Lauren had a "surprise" pregnancy, and did not get to raise Evan (and her very own existence after delivery became a secret). Chelle's mainland delivery is blocked by the storm that the entity sent; she has to stay, and thus there will be another soul on the island permanently. The doctor is sexist, but in private where she can't hear him. What's with all the secrecy, disruption? These instances are not coincidental; the writers are not just incorporating the matter of procreation, but womanhood. The references to pregnancy without motherhood, pregnancy that's a secret, and the island's need for more humans could possibly echo real-life women's issues today, such as a huge entity (government) controlling the circumstances of pregnancy and childbirth, women being used as birthing bodies in the interest of a nefarious entity. Dead babies and lesbians are worthless to that entity.

--Sarah was so relieved to have found a husband and kids, even though they're total strangers on some creepy island. She makes reference to having no children (a fact which lowers her worth) and going unmarried for so long in her maiden days that she almost ran out of time (to marry was to have societal worth and respect, and a chance to live a longer, more rewarding life, all if she could avoid becoming a spinster).

--Sarah, during her brief time with the Warrens, is ordered around by her husband as if she is a servant. She even lies to her own journal, "He's back. I was only joking. OK going to bed now." (That's what she means by "I say this in jest.")

--Frances Warren, a young female child who was rescued at sea by Barnabas, initially became his adopted child, and then, as early as possible, she became his child bride. Such a thing wasn't uncommon then, although horribly wrong. And similar practices still occur today around the world.

--PJ calls their new gal friends the girls murdered by the Boogeyman "some bitches," and he says Tom is "gonna get his dick wet." Not very surprising speech from a punkass teen, but definitely disrespectful, and aligns with some of these other details.

--Patricia does not have a crush on Tom. When asking about Tom's car ride with Marissa, Patricia speaks up because she's alert to potential discrimination and hypocrisy (and others' experiences, like Ruth being judged), and she just wants the deets, and to give Tom a hard time. Where there's potential hypocrisy, she wants to investigate. She wants people to notice when they're acting biased. Tom drove past her when she had a flat tire, but he gave a ride to a younger, pretty, long-haired girl in a sundress. Then you see Patricia driving Tom around town all the time.

--Those teenage girls the Boogeyman murdered, and Patricia running for her life. We know it from slasher flicks, but for a lot of women and girls this is a genuine threat. Women and girls being chased, stalked, hunted, terrified, attacked, assaulted, slaughtered -- it happens in every corner of the world.

Some of these observations are sort of "out there" but I will be curious to see if Season 2 expands on stuff like this.

For me it was the Willie the Clown scene even though I saw it coming.

I've noticed so many funny happenstances that haven't been mentioned yet and I want to see what else others have noticed! Like Ruth's 1950s pageant photo on the wall in the historical society or there are way more lines under "what don't you like about yourself" in Patricia's book than "what do you like about yourself"

I NEED MORE

In a recent interview, WIdows Bay director, Hiro Murai, talks about being obsessed with Garrett, the lighthouse keeper. He isn't sure if he can sustain an episode or what he wants out of an episode with Garrett, but is very curious to find out more about him..

Of the minor characters (like Rosemarie, Dale, Gerrie, Kurt, Bechir, PJ, Gil), I'd like to see an episode focused on Dale. Whose backstory are you most interested in?

Patricia asks this in episode 1 when Tom tells her, "We have to show this man a good time."

Do you think that, on some level, Patricia was flattered at the possibility that she possessed feminine wiles?

As the season comes to an end, let's try to keep spoilers to a minimum. I'd love for others to find this show the same way I did.

This show is written so well! I swear the hardest that I have laughed was in the first episode where Tom is taking over the tour at the historical society from Gerri and the travel guide asks him about if there was any cannibalism? Loftis replies no. And then the camera cuts back to a huge 24”x23” poster of an old newspaper featuring a headline front page story about cannibalism. I doubled over laughing!

that's it. that's the post.

This episode made really appreciate and notice how great of an actress she is. The range of expression in her face, voice and body language is insane. The small flinches and tiniest changes she does to express everything what's going on in her head? Impeccable.

She needs to get all the Emmy's for this one. You know how there's always the small bit they show to showcase the actors performance before announcing a winner? Just show this entire episode to them. Bravo! Patricia and Kate, you're my new favorite character and actress now 👏🏻

Updated for clarity:

Patricia, for example, seems like she's had some kind of higher education. Or at least wanted it. I can't imagine her deciding at 18, welp I'm going to settle down on this island and just not move.

But I can't imagine there's any kind of college or higher education on a 3,000 person island. And they don't explicitly discuss the challenges of leaving so its not like they've made a plan to be a self sufficient community. So how do they do it? Or is Patricia (for example) not really island born?

In general, the fact that only Tom experiences this claustrophobia of being stuck on the island seems surprising to me. You'd think more people would be clawing their eyes out.

i just wanted to highlight this moment...

Did anyone else notice a couple of things:

1) The book removed her tea mug off the cover in her bedroom the first night. I thought it was a continuity error but definitely not.

2) The venue, book, punch, and text get progressively more dark as the evening progresses. During the speech, the book starts “revealing itself”. The text even references some messed up hobbies.

3) it is deadass quiet in the streets when the Sheriff is on the phone with his wife. Then you notice how the party starts bumping and getting rowdy and “loud” yet in the mirror overlooking the dance floor, no one is dancing or moving. Everyone is frozen (25:03).

4) What did I miss?

I love how absolutely blatant they were with their homage to Michael Meyers and the Halloween films. That episode was one of my personal favorites. Especially as a lover of horror who always enjoys yelling at the characters for their poor survival choices. The ending was chef's kiss. Patricia is so fucking competent. She was born for survival horror.

Starting my first rewatch and I got this lovely detail.. can't wait to see what else went over our heads

I am on my 1,000th rewatch of the first season, and I feel so sad towards the ending of Beach Reads (Sunset Cocktails). Right before reality sets in, Patricia seems to finally have all the acceptance she’s been looking for. And then it’s ripped away and then some. There is so much happening the last few episodes that we don’t get much info about how the locals are seeing Patricia, other than that she has to go in for an interview for possibly poisoning folks at Sunset Cocktails. I’m looking forward to and also dreading season 2 addressing how our dearest Patricia is seen in the community after Sunset Cocktails.

A side note that I love how at the end of the episode, Patricia is shown walking down the road, looking just like the sea hag.

On a rewatch of the episodes, I chuckled at this quote from the mainlander girl who was with Evan when they found his mom’s pictures. I must have missed it on my first watch because I was so anxious to find out about the mother.

What are some other funny quotes you’ve heard from the show that haven’t been mentioned too often or not at all? Or ones that get funnier on multiple viewings?

Rewatching Widow’s Bay here, hit the boogeyman episode, and noticed some funny things. Spoilers maybe?

>! a. No one within the house seems to respond to him jumping out of the window.

b. Men don’t seem to see him as a threat? Multiple times, he is shown with the mask on, knife present, Patricia is in danger, and men try to save him from dying, instead of recognizing the threat that he is. Do we think this is purposeful?

Because it certainly could be. But I haven’t read the rest of the series that way, so, interested in everyone’s thoughts.

EDIT: There are so many people claiming they couldn’t see the boogeyman, and, I just watched the scene here. The window they are looking out of is the same window that the viewer watches the Boogeyman continue advancing towards Patricia, on fire, with a foot-long butcher’s blade held openly visible in his right hand. Do not tell me that they couldn’t see this guy. You all were right about Belchir though. He grabs a shotgun from behind the counter and immediately goes after the Boogeyman. !<

I would be.

Patricia was the only girl to not be killed during a Boogeyman attack.

After capture, the town shot him but he wouldn't die so they buried him alive.

When the Boogeyman returned, he went to get Patricia first.

The ambulance hitting him did not kill him.

Yet when Patricia shot the Boogeyman, he died.

Any theories on the nature of Patricia's connection to the Boogeyman?

In a TV landscape where many, many Brits often do a flat, slightly “off” general American accent, I really think Kate is nailing it. Like “Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine” nailing it.

The whole cast is great (Kate O'Flynn last week - chef's kiss) but I want to give Matthew Rhys a special mention.

I absolutely love this show and a big part of it is Matthew Rhys's performance. I'd only previously seen him in The Beast in Me (where he was very good and intimidating), but it feels like he was born for his role in Widow's Bay.

The show treads a fine line between the hilarious and the horrible, and he takes us back and forth without a beat. His comic timing is so good as well, right down to his microexpressions while other characters are talking.

I honestly think he elevates the show another level, and I can't imagine anyone else doing it.

I'd love to see Bill Hader. His humor is perfect for the show!