By popular demand — plus my own excitement that people already seem so into it — I've decided to start doing weekly reviews of Widow's Bay, starting with this week's third episode. Thoughts on "The Inaugural Swim" — with spoilers — coming up just as soon as I give a ride to an age-appropriate woman...
Alan Sepinwall
A lot of what I would have had to say about the first two episodes is in my review of the season as a whole. But among the things I appreciated about them — beyond the incredible design of the Daddy's Home board game — is how everything always feels at least five degrees off center, on both the comedy and horror sides. It's not always a belly laugh kind of show, but jokes tend to arrive at odd angles, where the delivery is either drier or stranger than you would expect. And the horror material sneaks up on you, beyond just basic jump scares.
That oddity is in full effect in "The Inaugural Swim." Jokes like a street sign being vandalized to read "Dickhole Street" could be basic silliness. But the way Evan — Tom's chief suspect for the crime — pretends to act dismayed by it is perfect. It's not too exaggerated, but it's also not too convincing. It's just enough for Evan to let his dad know that he did it, but in a manner that gives him full deniability. Or consider the return of the running gag where Patricia gets annoyed whenever Tom talks about a woman's age. Kate O'Flynn underplays it perfectly each time.