SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Anna Pigeon Season 1, Episode 5.
Anna Pigeon Episode 5 threw viewers for a loop as much as its title character. “The Rope” was another narrative pivot for the USA show, with some fans asking how Anna ended up trapped underground. But that not knowing was the point, and an interesting one at that.
If the series has done one thing so far, it’s break procedural molds. “The Rope” told a non-linear story, with Anna as an unreliable narrator, having no initial memory of how she got into her potentially fatal predicament. But what made the episode by Noelle Carbone work so well was the whodunit once again being a secondary question. As in the series premiere, there was an element of false jeopardy, since Anna Pigeon needs its title character to survive the season. But that became irrelevant because isolating Anna and casting her as that unreliable narrator made the episode a true character study.
Over the course of “The Rope,” through flashbacks and not, audiences got to see how much Anna changed since her husband Zach’s death. Parts of the episode didn’t cast her in a flattering light, while others showed a deep emotional vulnerability that’s never healed. Viewers got a fuller picture of her—something they wouldn’t have gotten from Anna in any normal circumstance—and her uncertainty prompted them to question her just as much as she questioned herself. The best protagonists are complex, and Episode 5 fully embraced the chaos of Anna Pigeon.
If the audience had known who pushed Anna into that hole, at least part of their attention would always be devoted to asking if that person would be caught, especially if the responsible party was connected to her nemesis Jeremiah Paulson. Not knowing kept the audience’s focus on Anna herself and in a sense, put them in her position. And on the flip side, it also ensured everyone else’s half of the story didn’t turn predictably maudlin.
The subplot of “The Rope” was quite clearly Jesse realizing that his feelings for Anna are serious. But instead of him just nervously hand-wringing or somehow becoming an inexplicable action hero to save her, audiences were treated to Jesse and Zoey Bear Child forming a team—as they’re the two who have been most impacted by Anna. Watching them work together was a great example of the positive impact she’s had on other people, in contrast to the self-doubt she’s experiencing. And it gave actors Cooper Levy and Paulina Alexis more to do. If Carbone had just written a standard “hero in distress” story, fans would’ve been paying more attention to if Jesse and Zoey had found the next clue, or how far behind they were. Instead, the episode provided a sense of how much Anna means to the rest of the characters, even if she hasn’t realized it yet.
Beyond the character work, “The Rope” ending on a cliffhanger—with Anna finding her way back but her attacker still at large—is a solid way to start the second half of Anna Pigeon Season 1. Is the person who could’ve killed her indeed working for Jeremiah, as the preview for Episode 6 hints? If so, that’s a huge step forward on their inevitable collision course. If not, that’s actually more frightening, because it could be anyone. It also throws down the gauntlet for Anna with herself; she has to get right with herself by the end of the season, too. There’s only so long that the “tragic past” card works for any TV character before the audience wants to see growth. Episode 5 puts everything out in front of Anna so that she can make those steps forward.
In less than a half-dozen episodes, Anna Pigeon has taken plenty of risks. And that’s commendable for a series in its first season, trying to build an audience and earn a second-season renewal. These are the kinds of story challenges that could’ve been thrown out in Season 2, but the writers and even the actors aren’t wasting time. And no matter how “The Rope” gets resolved, there’s something for the audience to get excited about. Whether it delivers an immediate resolution in Episode 6 or just lights the fire for the big showdown everyone knows is coming, there’s going to be change. There will be answers, both procedural and personal. And that’s why “The Rope” is so effective: because it sets up a cliffhanger it can absolutely pay off not only now, but in the rest of the season.
Anna Pigeon airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on USA. Photo Credit: Michelle Faye/Courtesy of Versant Media.
Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.
