Legendary horror writer Stephen King has amassed quite a collection of iconic, terrifying stories over the years and, luckily for horror fans, it seems they’re all coming back to Hulu just in time for Halloween. The streaming service’s original series Castle Rock is back for its second season and this time, it’s bringing some extra misery with it.
Lizzy Caplan has joined the cast of the series to play the iconic character Annie Wilkes, who was originally portrayed by Kathy Bates in the 1990 film Misery.
Before getting into season two too much, let me first get this out of the way. Those of you who were left on the edge of your seat at the end of season one and have been waiting for what feels like forever to have all of your questions answered, I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re going to have to wait a little while longer.
Season two doesn’t exactly pick up where one left off. In fact, Wilkes is the main focus of this new season and her story doesn’t appear, at least in the early going, to have all that much to do with the story of season one. Instead, we watch as she tries to escape her dark and mysterious while protecting her daughter from the ghost she’s trying to outrun and any new ones she might create along the way.
It would be hard for me to go any further without first mentioning Caplan’s performance. She’s perfect. She manages to bring an iconic horror/thriller character back to life and do so in a way that doesn’t just feel like she’s doing an impression of Bates. Castle Rock has a way of really pushing its characters, and therefore the actors who portray them, to the brink and Caplan is more than up for the challenge.
As for the show itself, I can understand being disappointed by the lack of immediate and obvious connection to season one, but this new season creates its own fascinating new story that has the potential to surpass its predecessor. Plus, there are plenty of tie ins and nods to the first season so just hold tight. I have faith it will all come together in the end.
Admittedly, I’m a sucker for a shared universe. Castle Rock tying all of King’s stories together was more than enough to get me interested right from day one. Obviously, Misery isn’t the only famous King story to make its way into this new season. There are plenty of other elements for King fans to pick up on and I’m very excited to see what’s still to come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bytPaQ5I8U
Overall, season two of Castle Rock is definitely worth a watch this Halloween season. Again, if you’re looking for answers to you previous questions, just be patient. Otherwise, this is a fantastically creepy series for anyone to enjoy, but especially fans of King’s iconic brand of horror. Fair warning, it does get a bit gruesome at times, but I suppose that’s expected with King’s work.
Castle Rock season two premieres on Hulu October 23.