I haven’t at all been secretive about how much I’ve loved Channel Zero: Candle Cove this season, and I think it definitely ranks among the best horror series to ever air on television. Unfortunately, this story has now reached an end (as season two will tell a completely different story for the anthology series), so let’s take a look at the season finale, “Welcome Home.”
The episode opens with a philosophical discussion on the nature of Long John Silver from Treasure Island, and we start to clearly see why Eddie made the choices that he did that set up the events of the series. Deep down, the heart of this story has largely been the relationship (even in “death”) between Mike and his brother, the conversations that we witness between the two tend to be incredibly impactful. Paul Schneider has been a godsend as Mike all season, and Luca Villacis consistently delivers a performance better than the large majority of child actors. You really feel the emotion and bond between the brothers (even in the darker moments), and it helps to sell the story being told.
“Welcome Home” is really the “scariest” episode of Candle Cove, but that’s a relative term when you consider the sense of dread that is present throughout the entire season. What I mean when I call it the scariest episode is that the frights and the horror is more in-your-face here than usual, but it works very well in context. A big reason for this probably has to do with the fact that the horror was more under the surface for the first five episodes (with increasingly noticeable exceptions), so putting everything up front in the finale offers a different sort of payoff than expected. For a series that loves to defy expectations the way that it does, I think this was the right move.
Can we talk about Mike going into the classroom with bloody-faced children? Dang, y’all. That’s a shot that’s going to give me nightmares. And what about Olivier de Sagazan as the Skin-Taker? If you thought the Tooth Child would be the most terrifying being of the season, I bet this one threw you for a loop. Congrats to the makeup and costume department for crafting this boy.
As much as I’ve loved the season (and I have loved the season), I always had a little doubt in the back of my mind that Candle Cove may not wrap in a good way. The biggest problem in so many horror projects is the ending, and the possibility for failure here was always present. I should have put more faith in Nick Antosca, though, because they absolutely stuck the landing. It’s pretty impressive that the ending was alluded to in the very first episode without really being noticeable, and it’s nice to see something like this end in a way that isn’t entirely predictable.
Another great aspect of the finale narratively was the confrontation between Marla and Frances. All season, we’ve seen how both women have tried to be a mother to the Painter twins, and we desperately needed payoff for both women. I was prepared in this review to say that Candle Cove‘s biggest (and one of its few) flaw was underusing Fiona Shaw, but “Welcome Home” corrected this tiny stumble. Frances’ story had to end the way that it did, and I’m glad the events played out this way.
Candle Cove has been a small-scale story all along, but that hasn’t stopped the production design from being as impressive as possible. “Welcome Home” features one of the best sets of the series in its “skin room,” and it makes me all the more excited to see what locations we’ll get to see during the next story.
The final act of the finale serves as a proper epilogue to the story of Candle Cove and just feels right for this season. It’s a bummer, sure, but I don’t think there was any other way that this could play out. Even to the end, Candle Cove never stopped making us feel uneasy.
“Welcome Home” was a wonderfully satisfying ending to the best horror series of the year. 2016 has really been a strong year for the genre, and Channel Zero has led the pack. Next season’s No-End House has a lot to live up to, but, if this freshman debut is any indication, we’re in for another wild ride.
What did you think of the finale of Channel Zero: Candle Cove? Are you going to tune in next season for No-End House? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
[Photo Credit: Syfy]
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