Take Three: Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark: Season 1, Episode 3 “Sting Like a Bee” (B)

This was a perfectly adequate episode, but also the last one I’ll be watching right now since this show just isn’t at the top of my watchlist right now. I still think that Brooklynn Prince is excellent and that this is absolutely the right role for her, and the narrative is also becoming more interesting as we learn more about the dark past of this town. Michael Weston is an actor who often plays affable characters but is also very well-known for his portrayal of the kidnapper who traumatized and terrorized Michael C. Hall’s David on “Six Feet Under.” Frank seemed friendly enough as he took care of Matt’s father, but pulling them over after they got turned away from the prison revealed his much darker side. Matt got more drunk than he’s apparently ever been after confronting him at the bar, and when Matt realized that he had proof that Frank had lied, things turned violent as the episode closed out. Bridget may have a better understanding of her husband’s mindset now, but she doesn’t know the people the way he does. Hilde circumventing the rules to videochat with the inmate who wanted to speak with her was clever if a bit far-fetched, and him calling Kim by name as she rushed over to turn the call off was another reminder of just how small this town is. Izzy stood up for herself when her not-so-brave deserter tried to apologize, but she seemed okay with his admittedly embarrassing story about having been bitten by a poodle.

Round Two: Home Before Dark

Home Before Dark: Season 1, Episode 2 “Never Be the Same” (B)

I’m wary of picking up new shows simply because they’re an investment, and that’s doubly true of streaming series since they drop all their episodes at once, which makes me immediately way behind. But I found this pilot to be very strong, and I’m very happy that “The Florida Project” star Brooklynn Prince is doing something like this as the next step of her career. This show definitely has an air of very serious mystery to it that suggests it’s made for adults rather than an audience of preteens that might enjoy seeing their peers on screen. Much is played for laughs, like the principal falling asleep while supervising detention, but then it gets brought back to the real threat of adults coming after these kids and putting their lives in danger. And it’s not just Hilde – Izzy got up to her own misadventures in the woods and got to come home flaunting her parents’ concern for her safety. Unsurprisingly, Matt wasn’t entirely forthcoming with his family about why he left home, and Bridget got to experience the implications of that as she saw the entire town shut her out along with her youngest child. Kim showing up and being addressed by her first name by Matt eliminated one suspect, but I doubt she’ll be an ally just yet. I couldn’t peg who her portrayer was in the first episode, and now that I know that it’s Joelle Carter from “Justified,” I wish it was a slightly better role for her. I’ll continue watching this show for a bit, but I’m not sure I’ll stick with it through the end of the season.

Pilot Review: Home Before Dark

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.