SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Anna Pigeon Season 1, Episode 10.
It’s interesting that Anna Pigeon started with a big adventure episode, and yet the USA series’ first season ends relatively quietly. “SOS” has its share of action, but it ultimately boils down to Anna alone in the woods, rather than a typical big, full-cast finale. And while it’s not perfect, the hour reiterates why Anna is a character worth following.
Showrunner Morwyn Brebner, who also wrote the series premiere, takes a Most Dangerous Game-style approach to the finale. instead of Anna going on an all-out offensive against Jeremiah Paulson, Paulson and his buddies decide to hunt Anna. There have been other whole shows built around this premise of people being hunted for sport, so this isn’t new, but it feels quite full circle since the first episode started with a dead ranger in the park. And the most cynical of viewers will have an idea of how it’s going to end, since a Season 2 renewal was announced before the episode aired. There can’t be Season 2 if Anna is murdered at the end of Season 1.
It also means that for most of this episode, Tracy Spiridakos is on her own, with the other series regulars limited in their screen time. That’s the major down note of “SOS,” because finales are the time when viewers want to see all the characters band together. Even after Anna is out of harm’s way, she’s still on her own; she pays a quick visit to the bar and then heads out of town, a la Eric Bana at the end of Netflix‘s Untamed. It’s disappointing when the core cast has such great chemistry to end the season so separately.
But the flip side of that is because Spiridakos is in relative isolation, when the episode is focused on Anna (which is the majority of the time), fans can focus on how good her performance is and has been all season. Anna is still tough and brassy; her interactions with Jeremiah are perfectly snarky, as Spiridakos and Kim Coates have found that sweet spot between biting and almost playful. Yet Anna’s toughness comes with a cost; she wears her fear, her anger, her insecurity too, and Spiridakos gets to hit all those notes again. A lot of TV protagonists carry angst from a tragic element in their past, but what makes Anna different is that Spiridakos doesn’t lead with that or with needing to be tough. She routinely plays with all the shades of Anna, and in “SOS” there’s a little bit of everything—including some great stunt work. This is her best performance since Episode 5.
The supporting cast have their moments, albeit some much larger than others. Speaking of the cave story, the biggest scene belongs to Melanie Scrofano, who returns as Bethany—now using the surname Paulson—after the Episode 6 disaster. Bethany tells the county attorney that she began working for Jeremiah as an attempt to ingratiate herself with her family, and was subsequently threatened by her father. It’s up to each individual viewer to decide if they believe her. This scene does not make that plot twist any more convincing, but Scrofano certainly acquits herself well in it. If Bethany isn’t telling the truth, she’s doing a very good job of pretending. Scrofano’s pleased smirk when Bethany walks into what’s now her home could go either way: is she happy that she’s finally free of Jeremiah, or is she happy that she outlasted the father who didn’t want her? And is Bethany poised to be the villain next season? That would be an interesting twist.
There’s some banter between Jesse and Stanton, as the latter reveals that the former is now under investigation by the federal authorities after Jesse’s past spilled out, but Brebner knows when to put that aside and have them focus on Anna’s absence. Yes, it’s funny that they’re handcuffed together, but their quasi-rivalry shouldn’t get in the way of their characterization. And since audiences already know how astute Jesse can be after the cave story, it’d be particularly weird if he didn’t notice anything. But the two of them do, and Stanton’s quiet moment with Anna after she shoots Jeremiah is one of the episode’s best beats—not because of the love triangle, but for how human it is.
Viewers may be frustrated that the Anna Pigeon Season 1 finale does not completely close the book on the murder of Anna’s husband. They know who killed him, and it is incredibly awesome that Charlotte Sullivan (Rookie Blue, Chicago Fire, Law & Order: Organized Crime) gets more screen time as the mysterious Lady in Red. Sullivan is a great actor and her presence is a plus for Anna Pigeon. Amusingly, she and Ryan Northcott—who plays Anna’s boss Geoff—are portraying husband and wife in Season 2 of Netflix’s Little House on the Prairie remake. But there’s still a lot to be sorted out in Season 2 of Anna Pigeon, which could come back to bite Brebner and the creative team.
There’s nothing more frustrating in TV than an ongoing mytharc that goes on too long, and that extra waiting also increases the pressure to deliver a satisfying resolution. Hopefully Season 2 puts a period on Anna’s past, because there is only so much development the series can do if it’s not going to let her move forward. And that doesn’t necessarily mean romantically—the love triangle is fun, but it’s not all there is. One thing that last scene reminds the audience of is that Anna can also choose herself and work on herself.
There are also two completely trivial quirks in this episode: Anna leaving her front door open, thus allowing Piedmont to temporarily escape, and Anna using Comic Sans font for her anti-Jeremiah posters. Neither of these things matter, but one would think she’s had Piedmont long enough to know not to leave the door open, and Comic Sans is the most unserious font.
Those meaningless quibbles aside, “SOS” is a good, solid end to the first season of Anna Pigeon. It’s not as big of a season finale as it could have been, either plot-wise or emotionally. But it ends the Jeremiah Paulson problem, and it provides a showcase for both Anna as a character and Tracy Spiridakos as an actor. Now viewers can wait and wonder what Anna will do until she returns to the park—and the fact that they want to is proof that Anna Pigeon has been a success.
Anna Pigeon airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on USA. A Season 2 return date has not been announced. 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.
