Castle Rock (TV Series) The Queen (2018) User Reviews

Pure greatness

[coolliegal4 · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

This episode was so sad and well done. The fear was portrayed very well here. What I like about this show is that they do horror in so many different ways. Almost every episode has a different genre of horror; they don't try to scare you the same way in each one. This was an intense episode!

Beautifully Amazing

[hamilton0887 · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

Honestly one of the most beautiful episodes of any series I've ever seen. Greatness from start to finish. Beautiful story, beautifully told and the ending couldnt have been more apropos.

Just WOW!

[mahlanamariem · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

I have never written a review before but this episode is review worthy. There is one negative review on this episode and I believe that user just didn't want to understand the episode because there is no possible way it was only a 1 star episode! The story was absolutely magnificent and the way it was shot and the way the story was told was nothing short of a masterpiece. I had chills the entire time!! I am going to watch it again right now because that's how fantastic it was!

Perfect!

[tudorgadalean · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

This is, without a doubt, one of the best TV episodes ever. A masterpiece in cinematography, photography, sound design, storytelling and acting. Everyone is talking about how Amy Adams should get an Emmy. If they watched Sissy Spacek's performance in this episode they would know that she is 'The Queen'. Far superior. Castle Rock always had a Leftovers vibe, but in this episode they went full Leftovers. And they actually managed to equal the best episodes in that series. And this is high praise coming from me, considering that after 6 months (in total time) of watching TV shows, The Leftovers is still my favourite one. Absolutely amazing! I hope Castle Rock continues to deliver.

Incredible!

[brentkingery-937-541108 · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

I don't usually write reviews for just an episode but this episode scared me and was so beautifully acted and shot so beautifully! I still have tears running down my face while typing this! Not to be dramatic! But the gorgeous song that end with (On the Nature of Daylight by Max Richter) just tore into me! Some people get older and loose there ability to act but Sissy Spacik is incredible in this episode! She runs the whole thing! And to do a episode like this it's so easy to lose the audience but I was engrossed the whole time holding my breath! Right when they wanted me to then balling my eyes out right when they wanted me too! She deserves a Emmy nomination just for this episode!

Wow

[addy-berry · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

Best episode by far.. so different from all the other episodes, amazing story telling, so chilling and sad. They took a big risk on this episode and it payed off big. I couldn't believe how touched I felt at the end. More episodes like this please.

Utterly phenomenal. This is the only time I've cried since 5th grade.

[nicholasogle-08766 · 19 September 2018]

I'm not one for writing reviews, and in fact this is my first (and probably only) review I'll ever write. But I just wanted, needed to share with people how utterly phenomenal this episode is. i'm Currently in the process of changing all my ratings on IMDb, making everything one or two stars lower. Because if this episode gets a ten star rating from me, then everything else I've rated a 10 so far should drop 1. I don't think I've ever seen a piece of filmmaking as amazing as this. This is the first time I can safely say that there is not a single aspect of this episode that isn't phenomenal in every sense of the word. From the performance to the writing to the way the whole thing ties back to it's beginnings in a beautiful mosaic, as I would call it. This was a perfect self-contained episode. Not a millisecond longer than it needed to be, and the story is told in an amazing way, perfectly capturing Ruth's view of life. The end was amazing and I'll be honest, this didn't feel like a TV episode, it felt like a movie. And a movie that is better than any others I've seen at that. Seriously, watch the show, if for nothing else, to see this episode. None of the other episodes even scrape the bottom of the barrel of this one by the way. This is the only thing I've rated a 10 on this website, and I would give it way higher if I could. Trust me this episode lives up to that rating in every way, shape or form.

A Masterpiece

[troyfilmregi · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

It's a great script but an incredibly difficult task to film. Nevertheless, Greg Yaitanes manages to show the inside of Ruth's desperate mind as she flees through her many and horrendous realities.

I found myself sitting with my hands folded at the end in pure fear of what would come. I'm not easily scared.

I think this must be the best single episode of a TV series I've ever seen.

And, I'm back in to "Castle Rock," thanks to "The Queen

[WVHokie · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

This hour (plus?) totally made me believe in this show again after too many should-have-been-better episodes. I shed many tears while watching - Sissy Spacek deserves an Emmy nod for this episode alone.....and its exploration on the terror of dementia (but not in an unnecessarily scenery-chewing way) adds an additional layer to the the idea of being "afraid" during a show (especially since there have been so few genuine scares in this allegedly "scary" show."

But no matter for this one - for a show that still seems to be struggling to determine exactly what it is, the producers/writers/actors combined to create an episode to use all that has occurred to date to create a singular episode that is TV at its best (the episode title? Perfection.) and well done to all concerned....and, oh, will I miss the wonderful Scott Glenn as Alan Pangborn.

Everybody must see this masterpiece!

[matiasbockerman · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

It was a bold move To direct this kind of episode, this could have failed, but it does succesfull To be one of the most many-sided episode in the tv history . It's beautiful, terrifying and Well acted and directed. Hopefully series keep this touch till the end.

Absolute Masterpiece

[mvh0003 · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

I have never written a review on here before, but this episode was such a cinematic masterpiece I had to come on here and create an account for it. I am completely blown away at how well done this episode was- so beautiful and tragic. I wish all the episodes so far had been on this level!! Well done to everyone behind this episode, well done.

No words for how great this is

[adin-42077 · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

This episode made me go completely out of my way to recover my long forgotten password for my imdb account just so I could leave this review of how much I loved this episode. A beautifully morbid take on Ruth and her experiences, it renewed my love for the series.

Good, not great

[zenmateisshite · 7/10 · 29 August 2018]

I see very conflicting reviews here and while the majority are 10 (only a handful of 9s and 8s which is very weird), there are a few who did not like or understand this episode - and I totally get that.

First time I saw it I felt it was boring and not very much related to the progression of the story - slept through half on the scenes if not more and did not get all the way through to the ending. However I felt I needed to give it another chance (just a gut feeling) before I discard this show entirely.

Second time I watched it just now, it still felt a bit boring and very slow paced unlike the other episodes so far. Again I slept through a third of it but got all the way to the end this time.

I have to say I am glad I gave it another chance because it did provide something new, some flavor to the show. Is the theme of time and how we perceive it anything new? no - it has been done and over done many times before - but this episode is a different, original way to look at it.

I have a feeling it will be pivotal to the storyline. Going to watch the next episode now.

PS: no, it is not that I did not understand it the first time, it just bored me to sleep and I'm glad I endured it for a second time, but I agree with the other reviews who felt it was slow and disjointed. PPS: I respect Carrie but her accent and voice helped put me to sleep. PPPS: while most of the casting is great, Bill; a 28 baby-faced man playing a 38 baby-faced man was a clear miss. I can see JJ being the cause of this stupid mistake.

The Queen

[bobcobb301 · 4/10 · 24 August 2018]

You could tell this would be an episode the internet loved, but I found it to be pretty boring.

Part Sharp Objects, part every other Stephen King show, this Ruth-heavy episode just did not do it for me. It was a step back to a show that was rounding into form in the last few episodes.

A dark mind unravelled

[visualmagic · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

A journey into the dark corners of dementia interwoven with the characters and history of Castle Rock expertly delivered in chilling fashion.

Castle Rock - The Queen

[Scarecrow-88 · 10/10 · 24 August 2018]

This is not over-exaggerating just because I have thought Castle Rock has just been a gem of the summer television season, but seriously "The Queen" is a masterpiece. And Sissy Spacek is beyond a revelation...this is some of the best work of a storied, underrated career. She's so off-the-charts good, spending nearly an hour with her moving about the past and present, whether trapped in a mind's confusion or actually tripping back and forth through time, is incredible. The comparisons to "Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind" are certainly spot-on, but in this episode's case, it includes memories of a character that hadn't really been elaborated in full detail-or at least in full description with face, presence, and words giving us an indication that he was deteriorating seemingly also-Matthew, her husband/pastor. Wendell was sent out to the mall, it seems, and The Kid is revealed (if this is accurate or mind's tricks, that is up for interpretation) a bit differently, even smiling, making Ruthie food, starting her bath, putting on a romantic song, and dancing! This is the kind of episode that can't be experienced just once; there is just so much here that needs digesting, absorbing, contemplating, dwelling-on, sleeping on, thinking about, and chewing on. Just how Ruthie in a tub in a nice conversation with Henry (as a child) changes when Matthew enters the bathroom to snidely balk about her nakedness, asking their son if he said his prayers...the tone of the room shifting is quite revealing. The picnic where the gun is pulled out by Matthew as he tells a nervous Ruthie and bewildered Henry about "hearing the voice of God" or the funeral where she can't seem to squeeze out of the congregating masses, in bed with Alan as the two share a warm banter, the relief when she grabs a hold of her "bread crumbs" chess pieces as they take her out of one memory to "the present", although past and present converge so much that Alan arrives at her door hearing the gunshots that will kill him in the future. The inability to escape her husband despite the packed suitcase, the combination to the safe where the bullets supposedly are told to her by "the kid", Wendell leaving her puzzingly with "the kid" despite every reason not to, Ruthie trying to hide with gun in hand after locating the bullets in the suitcase of the buried dead dog when ultimately firing upon who she thinks is a threat but is Alan; there is just so much to take in and let sink in. This episode is challenging but rewarding, maddening but exhilarating, disorienting but enriching. Go out of your way to see it, if just for Spacek and Caleel Harris (as young Henry) who deserves mention, too. The scene where Harris begs mom not to let him go to the woods with Matthew, to pretend that he has fever or the look on his face when Matthew arrives in the bathroom...Harris is a revelation as the kid who just wants to grow up in a functional environment. The trip in the woods, particularly, and the ominous scenes with Skarsgård and Spacek in the house (if it is indeed actually "the kid" or someone else...he sure seems to know a lot Matthew does!) are alone serious highlights that make the episode must-see. But if you are a Spacek fan, this is a significant role in her career...a real treasure left for future audiences to savor. What you see within the "experience" of Ruthie could be interpreted in any number of ways and how Skarsgård is used opens up even more possibilities to consider.

Masterpiece!

[estepankova · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

So moving, showing the fear which we all have and try not to think about it and thrilling at the same time. Very different from other episodes, but definitely for good. I don't have enough words for Sissy Spacek acting, she was brilliant.

Should win Emmy (or two)

[riddle13 · 10/10 · 28 September 2018]

This was one of the most powerful hours of television I have ever watched. They finally showed us why Sissy Spacek was cast in this series, having all the loose threads of the previous episodes tie together into the life of this one woman. Her performance is both scare-inducing and heart-breaking, her soulful eyes carrying the audience through the sad life of a cursed woman. This episode also felt the most "Stephen King" of the show so far, as his focus on the internal consciousness of cursed individuals drives many of his tales.

Incredible Emotional Journey I am Stunned!

[mattbowski · 10/10 · 23 August 2018]

I haven't written a review on here in a long time but I'm laid awake at 5am still pondering this episode. Castle Rock has been a good show so far but this episode was something special!

You'll rarely get a tear out of me but I was legit almost crying at the end. Sissy Spacek gabe such a haunting performance here proving she is an amazing actress.

She drives this episode back and forward through time, through Ruth's mind, her fears, her story and it is tragic. The way it unfolds from start to finish is just mesmerising. I loved the Leftovers and this episode have me those type of feels again. To top it off it even has music from Max Richter the song you will know from a couple of great movies.

All round brilliant work and this has given me hope that Castle Rock can grow into one hell of a show, although I have my doubts they'll be able to achieve anything as great as this.

Sissy Spacek astonishing throughout and deserves an Emmy for this!!

Outstanding

[jordansmith-92432 · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

This episode was truly remarkable in both actors performance and story editing...l was truly moved and horrified. I salute all involved in this Shakespeare episode of horror

Easily one of the best episodes of TV I've watched

[XTheXXTruthX · 10/10 · 28 February 2019]

A devastating and incredibly well put together epsisode which has elevated the show up another notch.

I was waracked with tension for the entire episode.

This series has turned out far better than expected.

Though-provoking. Terrifying. Heartbreaking.

[emcatt1234 · 10/10 · 26 September 2018]

I made an IMDB account just to review this episode, because I was on the edge of my seat for the entire episode. It's truly an incredible piece of cinematography (and acted so well) that takes you through a whole range of emotions in such a short span of time. A fascinating take on so many huge topics - time, fear, memory, the nature of reality, abuse, aging, death and mental illness - done in the most tasteful and profound way. Can't applaud it enough.

Disorienting, beautiful, horrifying

[bobgordon13 · 4 October 2018]

This might be one of the single greatest hours of television I've ever watched. I've never watched anything that made me feel exactly like what I imagine dementia must feel like. We follow Sissy Spacick's character through key points in her life, floating seamlessly between youth and old age. The entire episode seems dreamlike, but with a distinct logic and inevitably tragic outcome. "Castle Rock" is a great homage for Stephen King fans like me, but this episode might just be the best one so far.

Boring, annoying

[Danuvius01 · 3/10 · 16 September 2018]

The worst episode. Half of it just repeats scenes from the previous one. This is the episode that almost every TV series has, you wish everyone would be dead by the end, but you have to struggle through.

What an amazing episode

[stevorino0 · 10/10 · 28 August 2018]

Occasionally, t.v. shows will depart from their standard style of structure and storytelling and give viewer something completely out of the ordinary.. a completely novel episode. This is exactly what Castle Rock did in episode 7, easily the best and most impactful episode of the season. I won't give much away, because discovering the episode's gems and style is part of the experience. But the way it swings us through time and imagination is almost hypnotic, and reminds me of some of the better parts of David Lynch's work. I knew by end of episode this was an instant classic. I expect they will return to more conventional means of story telling in future episodes, but this detour into the abstract was a well designed change of pace. I truly do appreciate when showrunners take these big risks and bold approaches, because it gives us a treat like this.