The Mist Series Finale Left More Questions Than Survivors – Episode 10 Recap and Review

The Mist finale has come and gone and everything points to the writers wanting a season 2, but at this point we can’t see that happening. Viewership for the premiere started a little over the 0.6 million mark, but the series wasn’t even able to hold 0.5 million viewers hostage for the finale.

Viewership aside, we have split feelings on the finale. It provided two sides of satisfying justice we’ve waited all season to see, but also killed off a few good characters while letting others slip by unharmed in situations they should’ve died in. And let’s not forget that unnecessary reveal no one asked for or needed, it just wouldn’t be an episode of The Mist without one.

Let’s start with the most storyline we’ve wanted resolved since episode one that went out in a fizzle:

Jonah, aka Bryan, aka “Sir”:

After being captured by our military friend in the mall in the ninth episode and the awkward, “Sir,” reveal last episode we get an exit for Jonah’s storyline without a proper explanation.

We learn he was involved in Project Arrowhead and the doctor he thought he remembered being tortured by actually saved him through the experiments. We also learn he out ranks the man we’ve been suspicious of all season.  Unfortunately, our love for Jonah is left damaged when Mia finds them and Jonah decides to leave with him while leaving Mia behind. Mia stole the show with a well acted performance but was overshadowed by one painful plot hole: this guy didn’t intend on finding Jonah here, and if they just walked out to an escape route or vehicle the guy new about, why was he waiting in the mall for no reason? No logical sense to the conclusion of that storyline, but Mia heads back to find Kevin who she’d split up with Scooby Doo style after a short reunion.

Oh Kevin.

While searching for his family, Kevin found Adrian first.

In the most satisfying display of rage Kevin beats the tar out of his daughter’s rapist and a seasons long with hunt ends in him leaving Adrian for dead and not killing him fully, to go save his family when Adrian reveals they’re abouht to be forced out into the Mist by the mall mob, but we are confident that he didn’t make it out of the mall alive.

Unfortunately, Kevin didn’t make it to the group in near enough to me to reveal the truth about Adrian, and Nathalie and Connor arrived in enough time to talk to Gus and force Jay out into the Mist. It was almost heart breaking seeing Connor not only fail his son, but also the mob in the mall by providing no hope after they’d finally thought aid had come, down to when he the Mist doesn’t instantly dissipate and his doubt consumes him and he seems to realize his wrong decision.

With the mall mob at the end of their rations and fully convinces no hope is coming, they finally fully turn on Eve and Alex. Kimi does attempt to come to their aid and gets up on the fountain attempting a speech to appeal to the mob and away then from death sentencing people, but she dies doing the right thing when security guard Kyle shoots her with the gun Eve dropped after shooting him in the last episode. It was one of the sadder deaths this episode, as she was one of the few characters who was keeping her morale compass calibrated this season.

Everything delays just long enough for Kevin to reach the mob and reunite with his family. He isn’t very good at explaining the Adrian situation and has no proof Alex didn’t kill Shelley, but he was still running on adrenaline from beating Adrian and finding his family and sucker punches Kyle who doesn’t even shoot him! Kevin has more than nine lives on this series.

On a last cry for help Eve drops the most inconsequential piece of truth all season: Connor is Alex’s biological father and technically Jay’s half sister. Gasp. This does nothing to influence anyone [Alex still calls Kevin dad and they’re all more concerned with survival than a who-banged-who 17 years ago] and the Copelands are forced out of the mall, accompanied by Mia, naturally.

The four take off for the car until Alex gets caught up in the Mist. Eve and Kevin turn back for her while Mia continues on for the vehicle [remember she already beat her demons once, so presumably she can last longer before something new manifests].

Jay ends up coming out of nowhere and saving Alex, AGAIN. Unfortunately, no one saves Jay, but Mia brings the car [and Vic] to save the Copelands.

Before riding for safety into the Mist consumed sunset, Kevin rolls the dice and lands a d20 on revenge. In one of the most satisfying moves of the series, he takes their military vehicle and only means of survival, throws it in reverse, and rams through the malls doors. The mob runs but are quickly overtaken by the Mist pouring in.

We get a few satisfying deaths,

and a few sad ones,

 but in a  shocking turn an almost likable Connor helps get the vehicle unstuck and escapes with our crew. They ride out and happen upon a train in the distance and decide to follow it to the station, hoping to catch a ride and hopefully get into a mist free zone.

They keep pace with the train (just burning through that vital fuel!), And pull into the station before the train and hide behind a wall with their lights off. They don’t get what they expected when the train opens and inmates pour out, herded by military personnel. Unlike the movie, where the government comes to the rescue at the last second, the government seems to be much more insidious in Spike’s adaptation, and Kevin points out the trye horror that not only was the government not coming to save them from the Mist, but they were feeding it.

Was the twist shocking? Not overly, but it finally moved our characters to immediate danger and discovery, but it all seems too little too late with a second season unlikely. We are curious to see how the writers would continue with our group and would love more explanation on Arrowhead and Jonah’s involvement, but a second season would be nothing like the first and we don’t know that the writing could transition properly into open world where petty dramas wouldn’t matter.

Maybe we’ll get a graphic novel just following Arrowhead, but we aren’t holding our breath and the series will likely fade into obscurity with the rest of summer tv.