Castle Rock (TV Series) Romans (2018) User Reviews

Great season, disappointing finale.

[jpedroml · 6/10 · 14 September 2018]

Overall I think this was a great season, with episodes like The Queen and Henry Deaver standing out. This is definitely a show to keep an eye on. But the finale was so disappointing. So many questions left unanswered, seems lazy to me. The cut to "one year later" was one of the most frustrating moments of an episode I had recently. It just seems like they couldn't be bothered explaining things. Great season, disappointing finale.

Hated the ending

[coolliegal4 · 7/10 · 12 September 2018]

The tension was so great throughout the episode and I get that they want to leave room for the second season by leaving the ending that way but it was just too dull compared to what already happened. Where's the climax?! Two points taken away for that but the rest of the episode was very interesting. I am disappointed that this is how it ended. No creativity in the last couple minutes compared to the greater moments this show has had.

The creativity was lacking so much at the end that it looked like they didn't know how to end it and it came off a little corny as well. That took away from the mood and tension of the show.

And I am not paid to write this, I watch it at 12 am Wednesday's because I can't wait to watch it.

Open the mind gate.

[godlikaura · 10/10 · 20 September 2018]

I can't understand the other bad reviews for this episode but to me it was a classically, perfect Stephen King finale. It explained everything that the constant reader/watcher needed to know but left the end unfinished. Or did it? The references to other books in SK's arsenal are all over the place. The main reference throughout the series could very well be a door to another world, maybe middle earth. The birds flocking and crashing brings The Other Half to mind. Young Henry, following his steps back in the snow to elude his father has The Shinning written all over it, which brings me to IT. Not only was the Henry in this series the same actor as Pennywise but near the very end when the camera scans the cell where Henry is, I could see the clown smile on his face. I loved the series and I loved the beginning, middle and ending. I thought it was brilliant. I will re-watch the series because I know I must have missed many things along the way. It's all about the journey.

Michael Thibaudeau

What?

[Marynewcomb2013 · 8 September 2018]

This is September 8 2018 as I write this and there have already been 15 people who have given this episode stars & it HASN'T EVEN AIRED YET!!! Let's those of us know the truth about these "positive" ratings!!

Season One

[zkonedog · 6/10 · 30 June 2019]

The first season of Castle Rock features 10 episodes. The first two are excellent and the last two are excellent. Everything in the middle? Confusingly plotted (at best) or outright boring (at worst).

Without getting into any major spoilers, the show begins when lawyer Henry Deaver (Andre Holland) is called back to his old home town of Castle Rock when a young man, dubbed The Kid (Bill Skarsgard), is found trapped in a sub-basement of Shawshank Prison. Now back in town, Henry meets with people he hasn't seen in quite tom time, including mother Ruth (Sissy Spacek)--now "shacked up" with former sheriff Alan Pangborn (Scott Glenn)--, childhood friend Molly (Melanie Lynskey), and Jackie Torrance (Jane Levy), whose last name Stephen King fans will well recognize. Henry has a vague memory of something momentous that happened in his childhood, and through the course of the series he slowly puts all the pieces together.

Here's the crux of how much you will likely enjoy Castle Rock: how negatively will you react when the show abruptly departs from the scenario set up in episodes one and two? Because in eps 3-8, it is almost a completely different show. Instead of the mystery of the town and Henry's "Kid", it seems to bounce around to a number of topics only loosely connected to each other. By about the 3/4 mark, I was honestly starting to tire of the show altogether.

Fortunately, episode nine hits and changes the game entirely (if albeit a bit too late to save this overall season). THAT was the type of episode (as well as the finale) that I wanted this show to be all along, filled with mystery, suspense, and hinting at the paranormal (much like the King books themselves).

So, with the ending of this first season, I am in a bit of a weird place with Castle Rock. Though I can't give this effort any more than three stars (4/10 isn't a great successful episode ratio), I am tremendously excited for the path it seems to have set itself upon. This whole scenario has very much a "Fringe"-esque vibe to me (another Bad Robot production) in that it struggles to find its storytelling footing and then absolutely takes off when it does.

The series has already been renewed for a second go-round on Hulu (and ends here accordingly, with many loose ends), and I will anxiously await to see if the strong finish to S1 rolls over into further episodes.

At first i hated the finale but then I realized how brilliant it was

[weho-40149 · 10/10 · 15 September 2018]

I was very excited about the finale , I couldn't wait ... I remember that I read all the reviews ( all were negative about how disappointing the finale was ) so I got disappointed without even watching it .

Then I gave it a go yesterday... at episode 9 they give you something mind blowing then they take it away in the finale without any sort of confirmation ... so as any one else I was disappointed & I need to know... then after an hour I started to like the finale.

Here's why : 1) all episode 9 was the kid telling a story it wasn't a flashback.... so it's 50 50 ... if you were an evil immortal demon -ish you got to have a crazy story to just raise doubt in your enemy's heart ... remember Lacy & Henry are good men not cold stone killers .... and I think that the whole point of the season... it's about justice & doubt .. the audience are left with the same doubt that Henry have ... and I think it's brilliant.

We heard the kid's crazy story like Henry & Lacy did ... we saw what the kid can do as Henry did ( when the prisoners started the blood bath ) and we saw the true self of the kid in the woods as Henry did ... but still Henry did jump from world to another world after killing his dad ... and all the information the kid know about Henry's life .... so what we saw in the woods could be the kid old trapped soul or might not .... he could be a demon or could be just a trapped guy from another world which he doesn't belong in our time so that why ppl around him die ... but if that so why didn't lacy axed murdered his wife and killed him self the first day he captured the kid ?? That's bring us to the kid's creepy smile at the end ... is he playing a long game ?? He is an immortal being who could probably be bored ... so by lacy suicide he won the first round & now Henry's turn ?? But why wanting to go to the woods ?? Was he only using Henry's powers , he want to go somewhere??? And he needs the door !! Did he tailored a story about saving Henry & used what happened to Henry in the other world to convince him to help him ??? How do he know all these stuff?? Is he telepathic?? .. well maybe !!

I think he his a character from the dark tower or an immortal being from king's books ... I am not a king fan so I wouldn't know ... but I still have doubts in my heart and there is a big chance that the kid is an innocent guy who is trapped in another world & been held in a dark cage for nearly 3 decades and this alone could make you a monster .

I like the doubt , the uncertainty but as long as they answer all of the questions in the upcoming seasons , the finale is absolutely brilliant ... if the show ended without us knowing who the kid is then it's another " Lost " and I would have wasted my time again ... don't forget that lost's jj abrams is your involved in this project... leaving us with doubt & then answering them in future seasons is one brilliant thing & leaving unanswered questions because they don't know the answer is another thing and waste of our time ..

Time will tell & I hope they won't disappoint me .

7.5 A creative ending, but probably not what most wanted

[tsgamemaster · 7/10 · 20 June 2023]

This is a you decide type of ending

I didn't know how I felt about the season finale of Castle Rock at first. The episode before revealed a lot and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I had super high hopes for this episode. And now that I'v had some time, I gotta say that I really liked it. The protagonist to me was The Kid as he was trying to leave to prevent suffering to the town of Castle Rock, and I was mad that he had to be locked up again. And then I thought about it more and I realized a lot . He was evil. It's so obvious he's lying in the last episode I realized. He said something like " if you believe me" and then he takes Henry to the woods and turns into a monster type thing (which is proof he's evil). And then he got locked back in the cage and made his eye lazy (which pennywise does who's evil) and did a smile at the end. What do you think happened? He was going to kill Henry in the woods and continue killing people or he was telling the truth.

Good end to a season leaving me wanting season 2

[gabenight7 · 8/10 · 22 September 2018]

Maybe not as good as some other episode in the season but it was pretty good. I know other people complain about the ending but I feel it really matches the style of JJ Abrams and Stephen King to end like that. Can't wait for season 2!

Disappointed

[daveydundo · 7/10 · 12 September 2018]

Somewhat of a letdown after the great season. Episodes 7, 8, & 9 were all so spectacular that this one felt very dull by comparison. Didn't really give any sort of closure to the season and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I guess they get points for making me feel like a true Stephen King novel where in always disappointed in the ending.

Unsatisfying ending

[KikyNez · 5/10 · 13 September 2018]

So...

I was so hooked by the whole season. It was so full of Stephen King's vibes all over, with good mysteries and the kind of 'real lifes fears' that turn into supernatural horror, as usual in King's books. And I felt a lot of "The Dark Tower" elements to make this season a good one... Instead they wasted my time with this end.

But it let me down with this end.

SPOILER HERE...

SO, Adopted Henry ends up caging The Kid 'biological Henry' again, because of ... I am not sure why, and it is not explained either. The Kid saved Adopted Henry when he was 12 years old, and in return he caged him again, who knows why and for how long, in the very same place Lacy did, with the same treatmen. The Kid only wants to go home, and it is denied to him by Adopted Henry.

This would explain why in Castle Rock 'bad things happens', because they have an anomaly in this timeline. They have someone who doesn't belong to this alternate universe, and the those bad things grows in proportion to "The Schisma" growing in the verge of The Thinny in Castle Wood.

At least this is what I get from this ending.

END OF SPOILERS

This is the second serie I see a waste of a very good protrayed Bill Skarsgaar's character, ending him in a not a clever end (being Roman Godfrey's Hemlock Grove the first) wasted in a bad anti-climax.

Don't get me wrong, I love anti-climax endings when they are well treated, full of things that could get me talking about it for a long (for instance Frank Darabont's "The Mist" or "Carrie" from 1976).

This finale try to be clever, and Kingsonian, giving us an anti-climax. And it is not. It lets more questions than answers (very un-King, let say) and with a mild cliffhanger for Jackie Torrance, that was a waste of a character in the entire season.

I'll give it 5/10 just because Sissy Spacek and Bill Sgarsgaard.

I hope next season do it better.

Watch at your own risk.

Funny...

[Contrefaire · 9/10 · 18 April 2020]

How so many didn't really follow the story. Few series in such a long time has both gripped me and left me wondering, wanting to see what comes next and actually wanting to follow the whole season through. The ending to top it off explains more than most want to see it seems, it is a cherry on top of a well dressed cake. It is small but it ties it together, it leaves you wanting more yet it is what you get. All in all the ending is what disappoints the most, yet for me I left satiated. It is not what is left in the end, it is what preceded it all. Not everything has to be a cake on a cake, not everything has to be handed to you just to fill your stomach. It is that dessert to finish it off leaving you to feel either bitter or sweet and it was a bit of both for me. That hint at the end just left me smiling, knowing there was both more and less to the story.

You might not agree but it left me with much to ponder and I was glad.

Wanted more out of the ending.

[jwwalrath-227-85487 · 7/10 · 13 September 2018]

I am not a fan of here-we-go-again/it-ends-like-it-starts endings. Not to mention you're still doubting whether the kid was telling the truth or not. Cursed uncertainty. Wouldn't be so bad if this was a movie, but I put several hours into what didn't amount to much.

Too bad, because the rest of the episode was pretty good. Solid character work and some freaky stuff.

What a letdown!

[greatattractor-99855 · 4/10 · 12 September 2018]

After having me hooked throughout the entire season, this last ep of season 1 brought back memories of the huuuuge disappointment I felt when Lost crashlanded all those years ago (but that was even worse, of course, being the ending of the entire show). There was little drama here, not a lot made sense and nothing was answered, really. I had this sinking feeling in my stomach early on that, my God, is this another example of them making it up as they go along? I hope not, but this episode was really disappointing, a major let-down. Season two have a lot to live up to.

Underrated AF

[theeintumor · 9/10 · 1 July 2022]

This episode ended this season nicely (granted its been a few months since I watched this episode), and people reviewed it so low because they wanted the season to tie every single plot point up nicely and the show did something cool by leaving some stuff up to interpretation.

Dissapointing ending

[marce_simioni · 13 September 2018]

I am a Stephen King fan, but this ending left a lot of questions unanswered, so people can choose what to believe. It should have ended in episode 9, that was the best one of the season.

Romans

[bobcobb301 · 6/10 · 13 September 2018]

Castle Rock ended up as a decent show when on paper I think we all expected a truly great show. The ending really lacked the big climactic moment we were hoping for. The Kid went down way too easily, with the only threat being seeing him briefly as some sort of creature.

This show never explained why Castle Rock was such a dangerous place, they just kept having narrations about it, hoping we would buy in.

"It's just zigs and zags, forks in the river, always changing, always the same."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 8 February 2023]

So, there you have it right there in my summary line, spoken by Ruth Deaver (Sissy Spacek) to Molly Strand (Melanie Lynskey) as she was about to jump off the bridge for a second time. Although it wasn't evident at the outset, the entire series hinged on the existence of alternate realities and timelines that had their nexus point somewhere in the woods of Castle Rock. Many reviewers for this episode disparage it for not making any sense and leaving questions unanswered, but for anyone paying attention, the story reached a precise conclusion. You may not like it, and personally, I would have preferred one in which The Kid (Bill Skarsgård) made it back to his own reality, but as viewers we don't get that option. I think the real identity of The Kid was revealed in this story. It occurred with the Kid lying down in the cemetery, thrown to the ground by the cops and about to be arrested along with Henry Deaver (André Holland). Looking at the headstone he reads the inscription 'Deaver Boy', for the unnamed baby who died in childbirth in one of his alternate timelines. Henry's voiceover narration to conclude the story summed things up as he ponders his future as an attorney in Castle Rock - "Most of us are trapped here for a reason". It was a commentary both about his place in the world and the freakish uncertainty of the human condition.

Disappointing- sad but true

[Wortgefechte · 7/10 · 28 July 2022]

I like complicated stories. I like sad endings. I like open endings and giving the viewer/reader the chance to fantasize. BUT I can't deny, I found it very disappointing seeing Nic in the cage again. 10h for that? Really? This is like having s*e*x without ever coming- After a while it gets frustrating. That's not the recipe of a good story. You have to give the Audience something. JUST something. Not everything - okay. But something. That could be an explanation. A clue. A good hint. The AHA-moment. Don't wait for that. They will not give u anything for your patience.

IMDb says Nic will be up for 2 more episodes. I will watch them and pray for some solution in his case - without much hope. But after that I am out.

It's not the place, it's us

[zoricaristevska · 8/10 · 5 October 2018]

Even though the majority of viewers share the same opinion - that the season's finale was lousy compared to the rest of the episodes, I totally disagree. One must see the whole show as a one piece, not just simply compare one episode to another, because everything is closely connected, every detail has meaning. For example, the kid's actions or self revelations in the finale. I really can't fathom why some of the fans are disappointed. I liked the narration in the end where black Henry says that locations aren't at fault for some peoples' actions. Everyone answers for themselves. I think the main message of this season is that you can't kill evil, you can just try to keep it at bay or tamed. Like the immortal kid in the cage.

Good Watch but a disappointing finale, with many questions!

[braxtontyler · 6/10 · 7 February 2023]

Too many loose ends that even with rewinding confusing parts still couldn't make sense of what was happening.

1. How did Molly have such powerful abilities?

2. If Nic Cage is really just an anomaly then what's with people being so fearful of him. If people get close to him and die or commit murders how did Lacy stay alive so long only to commit suicide far away from the prison decades later?

3. Why did Lacy tell Nic Cage to ask for Henry Deaver when he finally gets rescued from the cage?

4. What is the correlation between Lacy & Henry Deavers' dad both men religious, both choosing to build a cage and imprison someone in it?

5. Did Henry Deavers' dad build the cage before the kid claiming to be his adopted son from another world arrived or after?

6. How old was Nic Cage in his world as his parents were never shown and he seemed to be around the same age as Molly who looked to be around late 40s yet he's described as a kid in the other world but looks no different in either world except for a shoulder deformity?

7. Why did Nic Cage spend so many episodes being weird, awkward and aloof, when Adopted henry deaver had been imprisoned he was able to communicate pretty well?

Although it was a good watch, Many things just didn't make sense to me.

Major disappointment.

[twinjosh1 · 1/10 · 12 September 2018]

We've been strung along for 9 episodes to be left without any answers. What a shameful ending to a promising show.

"It wasn't me, it was this place"

[matiasbockerman · 10/10 · 12 September 2018]

First of all : narrative is driven by voice-over from Henry at the beginning and the end is like a candy on cake. This final episode is mindblowing experience, mixed emotions between sadness and fear. Final five minutes was very touching and terryfying at the same time. Very few series could done it better...This was a one of the best tv episodes entire tv history, absolutely beautifully directed, music and soundeffects kick up to very tense atmosphere to top. Acting is Definately Worth of couple emmys, but the very best thing here was how this episode was written. It leaves nice cliffhanger here. What can I say? So long sweet dreams....

Such a bad ending

[ansk95 · 1/10 · 12 September 2018]

The ending doesn't provide any clear answers but just hoodwinks. While it's fun for the stephan king fans, the general viewers will get alienated from the shows because we don't want to keep on scratching our head in the end.

Why All This Hue & Cry? Absolutely Loved It!

[Movie_Evangelist · 10/10 · 14 September 2018]

I don't understand what people are trying to complain here, what's all this whining about, have you watched/read Stephen King for the first time. The episode was a perfect ending to a great show which has the potential to be an all time great. As regards people having confusion in the plot, I can't help saying that they then know very little about the Stephen King's Universe so as to say. Advise- Start watching/reading the other titles already please. You don't always get closure in the final episodes of shows like these. It's ofen the penultimate episode. So, please soak it in and stop crying out like babies. From where I see, as a long time Stephen King's fan, I know it's perfectly set up for Season 2.

Quintessential King

[writer41 · 9/10 · 25 October 2020]

Last ep. of Season 1. LOTS of negative reviews. But to me, it was the bloody icing on the cake. Quintessential Stephen King. The finale left questions to a lot of viewers. But if you follow the story and the religious connotations, and know King, you will LOVE what I feel was just a whisper of ambiguity