Deron Generally
Deron GenerallyCastle Rock
HULU
Season 1 Episode 7
The Queen
The latest episode of Castle Rock is all about Ruth Deaver. After the cliffhanger at the end of the last episode where we wondered what happened to Ruth we get to see the events of the series through her eyes. Sissy Spacek delivers an amazing performance in this episode.
Episode 7 of Castle Rock does something really interesting with the narrative. Taking its cue from the conversation Ruth has with her grandson in the last episode, the viewer gets to see the significance of the chess pieces and what they symbolize as Ruth moves throughout her home and throughout her memories. At the same time, the Kid come into the home as well and we get to see that there is no denying where this Kid lies on the good/bad spectrum anymore, especially considering what he does to Juniper Hills.
Ruth finds herself fluctuating between her memories and we get a better insight into the personality of her late husband. Of all the episodes of the series so far, this one is the most visually creepy of them. There are several moments where the viewer is just as confused about when and where they are as Ruth and that connection to the character on that level makes Ruth’s journey in the episode all the more harrowing. You feel for her in this episode and Sissy Spacek delivers an unbelievable performance in the role. There is never a moment where you don’t feel like she committed to the emotion of the character and every revelation draws in the viewer.
There are so many great moments and performances in this episode and the fact that it manages to connect so seamlessly to the first episode and others makes it a great experience that I had to actually watch twice to fully enjoy. This is an amazing episode that ends with one of the most poignant and tragic points the series has delivered so far including the death of a Stephen King character.
Castle Rock S01XE07
