When the end credits roll on Widow’s Bay‘s Season 1 finale, the sound of those eight church bell chimes will still be ringing in viewers’ heads, along with a bunch of burning questions.
Don’t get me wrong, Episode 10 delivered some crucial answers. We now know that Tom’s (Matthew Rhys) son Evan (Kingston Rumi Southwick) — not Ruth (K Callan) — is the last living descendant of founder Richard Warren (Hamish Linklater), and that the curse won’t end unless he dies. And we know that the island demands one life for each church bell toll, which means eight lives must be sacrificed in Season 2 to save the rest of Widow’s Bay’s residents.
When we leave Tom in the finale, he’s in the calm after and before the next storm. So we can’t wait to see what Season 2 of Katie Dippold’s hit Apple TV horror-comedy.
As we embark on the agonizing wait for Widow’s Bay Season 2, I’ve compiled a list of burning questions that will live rent free in my brain. These are, by no means, all the questions viewers have about this thought-provoking series, and we don’t need everything explained. Part of Widow’s Bay‘s fun lies in the mystery! But let’s kick off a running list of questions that’s sure to grow longer with each and every rewatch. Shall we?
Is Ruth Still Alive?
Yes, Ruth sipped Tom’s toxic tea and was on the receiving end of a bullet from Bechir’s gun, but when Widow’s Bay Season 1 ended, she was still alive and Tom called on Bechir to help him get her to a doctor. Since I’m confident she survives into Season 2, the question now is will she be able to keep her affair and descendants’ identities a secret from inevitably inquiring minds like Bechir?
Will Tom Follow In Richard Warren’s Footsteps And Honor The Pact?
“The bad times will not end until the covenant is honored, and honored fully. Life for life, the island will make its needs known. One soul for each bell toll.” Eight bell tolls means the island wants eight more sacrifices come Season 2. Though we’d like to believe that Tom would never knowingly try to take someone’s life, he already has. He tried to take Ruth out and failed. And that was before he knew his son was Warren’s last living descendant. Because he can’t stop the curse, he’ll have to learn to live with it. So what lengths will he go to now to ensure Evan’s safety and protect as many people on the island as he can? Only time will tell.
What Happened To The “Offerings” Committee?
Once upon a time, as film reels in the Town Hall emergency shelter revealed to Dale, Widow’s Bay had a rigorous peer selection process to select the island’s sacrifices. “Maybe you’ve committed a crime, or owe a debt to society, or have been found wanting in some way… you’ll never know… Accept your fate and take pride,” the video explained. So when did that committee disband? And could it return? Will Dale share what he learned with his colleagues? And what other crucial information lies in that storm shelter?
Will Bechir And His Wife Chelle Become Parents On The Island?
When we last saw Bechir’s wife Chelle, she was having contractions seven weeks early and preparing for labor. Meanwhile, her husband was desperately trying to kill the woman believed to be Richard Warren’s last living descendant so he could break the curse and save his child from a life confined to the island. He failed to do so, and we didn’t see Chelle have her baby yet. So what fate awaits the couple in Season 2? Is Bechir here to stay against his will?
WTF Is This Evil Entity? We Want Lore Galore!
Naturally, THE Widow’s Bay question is WTF is the evil entity haunting the island and killing its people? And Episode 6, which flashed back to the 1700s and introduced us to OG founder/Lord Island Protector Richard Warren, was a great way to flesh out the town’s history. And the historical society and stories passed around town give greater insight into Widow’s Bay’s lore. That said, there’s still a lot we don’t know! Tell us more about the first brutal winter that led to Warren’s pact. Tell us more about the town history. (Who was the mysterious 43rd passenger who embarked by sea to the island?!) And I loved getting some insight into Tom’s parents, childhood, and Lauren relationship, so tell us more about the characters’ lives prior to the premiere.
Are The Bell Tolls Counting Down To Something? And Is That Door Opening Up?
At the start of Episode 2, the church bells chimed nine times. But in the finale, once nine people were sacrificed, it rang eight times. Is that a random number? Or will the island demand one fewer sacrifice until it reaches zero and potentially returns to “a peaceful slumber”? I also noticed in the finale, that terrifying door in the torture chamber room believed to house the island’s evil entity was cracked open significantly wider than it was when we first saw it at the end of the premiere. So will it keep opening up as more people dies? What happens if it does? And will Evan tell Tom what he experienced down there?
What’s The Tea On Ruth’s Old Flames?
As Ruth was killing time while her tea steeped for 27 minutes, she took Tom on a trip down memory lane and flipped through a photo album that featured photos of men from her past. She said her old boyfriend Alfred “got bit by an animal and became that animal,” which…we’re going to need more on! And she also shouted out former mayor Howard the Coward. “He was a decent man. I was surprised when he left, but people get scared,” she explained. So, uh…what happened to Howard? Did he leave the island himself or was he sacrificed? In general, the 84-year-old Ruth is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the town, so hopefully if (when!) she survives Tom can turn to her for more information.
What Really Happened To Lauren?
In Episode 8, Tom revealed that his late wife Lauren had a preeclampsia-induced stroke and was never herself again. “It did something to her brain, to her mind. And it affected her behavior. She wasn’t safe to be around, and so I had to commit her to the home,” Tom told Evan, revealing that Lauren died two years later of a brain aneurysm.
In the premiere, the New York Times reporter talked about someone’s cousin who went to the mainland and died of a heart attack a month later, and a woman named Marsha Dogan who died of a stroke a day after she stepped on the mainland. So what really happened to these people? Is there more to Lauren’s story we have yet to learn? And was she alive so long after her brush with death because she was a Warren? And are their more hidden truths in the letters she wrote Evan?
While her words about keys, scorpions in her brain, and an awful mail man didn’t sound very coherent, neither did her claim that “Everyone has two mothers. A mother and a secret mother.” But it was! In the finale, Ruth revealed that she used to visit her daughter at Old Home as often as she could and told Lauren she was her “secret mommy.” So what else can we learn from her experience and the insights she left behind?
What The Hell Is In Tom’s Basement?
Speaking of Lauren’s letters, when Tom arrives home and sees Evan holding a stack, he says, “You went through the basement?” Evan says, “No I went through your trunk. What the hell is in the basement?” And we second that burning question!
Is There Any Hope For Wyck And Gerrie?
Widow’s Bay absolutely doesn’t need romance to be an incredible success. And I imagine it’s hard to find love in a place that hopeless as horrors rage on. But hey! Rihanna said it’s possible! So we can’t help rooting for it when we see people like Wyck and his high school sweetheart Gerrie. In Episode 7, Wyck implied that they grew apart after the death of Wyck’s best friend and Gerrie’s brother Mark Doyle. But Wyck still has feelings for her, even though she’s happily married to a man who seems incredibly nice. So is all hope lost?! We’ll have to wait and see. (For anyone shipping Tom and Patricia, Kate O’Flynn shed some light on their relationship dynamic here.)
Do Teeth And Eyes Hold Greater Significance?
In Widow’s Bay’s first 10 episodes it’s hard not to take note of all the eye and teeth mentions. Perhaps they hold no greater significance, but in Episode 6, we learned the first man to fall ill from the plague had “eyes yellow with spoiled moons,” then he went mad and shoved his fingers in his wife’s eye sockets. Shep Clark’s eyes turned white before he attacked. As Tom’s wife was having a stroke she lost dight in her eyes. The cursed island mushroom allows people to experience “Truesight” by opening their third eye. When Reverend Bryce was tripping he wrote “MY EYE IS OPEN” and when Tom was tripping he wrote “When I turn around everyone close their eyes” on the whiteboard.
Then there’s the teeth! In addition to the TEETH board game at the inn, Gerrie said that when the settlers arrived on Widow’s Bay is was a blank canvas “Except for the teeth.” Hmm… say more!
Have We Taken Our Last Mushroom Trip?
The cursed mushroom only grows local on the island, and played a key role in Richard Warren flashbacks. Tom took a trip of his own in hopes of finding secrets of the island, and relived the traumas related to his wife. But what’s the deal with them? Was that our last Widow’s Bay mushroom trip? Or will someone consume more in hopes of confronting the evil entity again? And when everyone tripping on mushrooms draws what appears to be a hand, are they actually drawing the island? Which is semi-hand shaped!?
Will We See More Of These Divas?
Widow’s Bay is a 10/10 show. But if we got more Dale and Rosemary in Season 2, it could easily become an 11/10 show.
Is Age More Than Just A Number?
One premiere question I had that I don’t think we’ve ever answered is what’s the deal with age on the island? When Shep was in the hospital Patricia told him she learned her biological age was 28, which wouldn’t be so weird except the revelation was immediately followed by Tom reading Shep’s medical chart and seeing his age listed as 37. So what’s the deal?!
Is There More To That Wolf Calendar?
The wolf calendar in Tom’s office that randomly featured a car crash photo for the month of July lives rent free in my mind. Tell me everything, Katie Dippold.
Why Is Richard Warren’s Statue Headless?
File Under: Deal With It Later, I know! But I’m still curious!
Where Are Patricia’s Paintings And Poems?
In the first two episodes Patricia is sad that her poem doesn’t make the Widow’s Bay brochure, and she asks Tom if he told the NYT reporter about her paintings. So let us see Patricia’s art! We want to support our queen!
What Else Have We Missed?
Widow’s Bay is all about the details, be it board games, books, paintings, or Easter Eggs. So what else have we missed? Drop your rewatch revelations below.
How Is Martha’s Vineyard Holding Up?
Considering Widow’s Bay is the next Martha’s Vineyard and the show has big “Fuck Cape Cod!” energy, we’re just wondering how the OG New England island destination’s ego is holding up.
Stay tuned for more Widow’s Bay coverage from Decider.