Swamp Thing season 1, episode 10 review: Loose Ends

“I was never Alec Holland.” Spoilers for Swamp Thing season 1, episode 10 follow.

Swamp Thing has escaped from the hands of Avery Sunderland and Jason Woodrue, but that doesn’t mean he’s free yet. Still being hunted by the Conclave, he must protect himself.

But after Abby learns about the truth about Alec Holland, she heads back to Marais in her attempts to help protect everyone around her.

Love is the reason

One wouldn’t think so in a show titled Swamp Thing, but nearly every motivation for every character in the show has been because of love. Different forms of love for every character, but love nonetheless. And in this final episode, these motivations have never been more apparent, especially in the cases of Woodrue and Abby.

In the capacity of the show, Woodrue has never been an outright villain like he’s been, and continues to be, in the comics. Here, he’s simply a socially maligned man simply looking to save his ailing wife. It’s a tragedy based around both his love and his lack of self-control that completely goes off the deep-end in this episode. Previously, you’ve been able to feel empathy for him, and you’re still able to, but most of it has gone out the window because of his actions in this episode. And really, that’s all thanks to the excellent performance by Kevin Durand. The performance is heightened just enough to make it clear that Woodrue had a psychotic break, but still subtle enough to feel like the same character.

Honestly though, the main use of love as a motivation stems from Abby and Alec. It’s been established from the beginning that these two have a connection. Now, here at the end, with all the secrets out in the open, it’s clear that the connection never died. Sadly though, while the chemistry is great and Crystal Reed gives a great performance, the show hasn’t developed why these two love each other the way they do in such a short amount of time. It might be because of behind-the-scenes issues that this wasn’t as developed as it could have been, which seems plausible, but the net result is still the same. Their love is the motivation for what they do in this episode and throughout the series and, while it is developed a bit, it’s not developed enough.

Monsters awaken

Other than love, this show has had another major theme to it — monsters. Who are the true monsters that surround us? This is a question that has been posed before in plenty of other shows, films, novels, etc. However, Swamp Thing does go about it in a different way that, while doesn’t feel completely new, works well within the context of the show.

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Pretty much, this show gives us definitive answers as to who the monsters are if you didn’t already know. Avery Sunderland and Jason Woodrue are the true monsters of the show if this episode is anything to go by, which it should be as it is the final episode. They are monsters of their own making because of the choices they have made. Yes, Woodrue had bad things happen to him, but everything after his wife’s diagnosis comes from his own volition. Avery on the other hand, is a monster simply because that’s who he is.

Whereas Alec Holland/Swamp Thing, the actual “monster” of the show, is shown to be what he is, simply a broken man protecting himself. Nothing that happens to him comes from his own actions, but rather the actions of others, making for a true tragedy. Yet he’s the one deemed the monster for his appearance and defense of himself. It’s a tried and true horror method that hearkens all the way back to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, as well as the 1931 film. Swamp Thing seems to be pulling directly from those while forging its own way in this episode and, because of that, really tugs at the heartstrings when it comes to Alec Holland, especially during the final scene of the series.

Science and the supernatural

One thing this show never had the time to fully dive into was the supernatural side of the Swamp Thing mythos. Sure, we got mentions of The Green, an appearance of The Rot, as well as Blue Devil in episode nine, but it never really had time to really dive into that world, which is probably the most disappointing thing about this episode, the waste of potential.

This episode is going to be maligned by many, including this writer, for behind-the-scenes problems that many will likely not know the truth about for a while. For now though, the hints and mentions of the world beyond our own just seemed like wasted potential that we won’t see. It’s hard not to attribute that disappointment to this episode either because of what we do see in this episode.

We see Woodrue beginning to access The Green, Blue Devil finally escaping Marais, and even Alec Holland returns from beyond the grave for a moment, which is reminiscent of Saga of the Swamp Thing No. 28. All of these things are handled extremely well within the actual episode itself, and you can’t be mad with the execution. However, frustration runs deep when you won’t be able to see more of this excellently handled show.

As an episode of Swamp Thing, this is a really, really solid episode. However, as a finale, it’s extremely disappointing.