“Castle Rock’s” finale “Romans” wraps up season one by ending exactly how and where it all began. That is not to say that the beginning was a flashback of the actual ending of the whole season, but it was very clearly foreshadowing the end. Jackie Torrance (recurring character and a reference to “The Shining”) puts it best in the mid-credits scene when she says, “best place to finish a [story]is where it started.” The beginning of this last episode of the season starts with the very first scene that introduced the audience to Henry Deaver. In this scene, Henry is trying to convince a jury not to sentence his then client to death. Henry talks about reasonable doubt and how much doubt is enough to spare someone’s life; in this episode, viewers find out this is not just him sweet-talking to win a case. Henry does, in fact, doubt and question everything including his own conscious decisions.
The season begins with Henry trying to get The Kid out of a cage he was locked in for no apparent reason, which is followed by justice along with compensation for the rest of the season. By the end of “Romans,” Henry has taken it upon himself to lock The Kid back up in the very same cage he was found.
The voice in the woods is calling and no one is leaving Castle Rock alive. @castlerockhulu
Fans have seen both The Kids in cages in parallel universes; in this episode, viewers will see them together in the same cage interacting, each having an ambiguous understanding of what the other is or rather what they are not. Cages are a major theme of this season and, especially, the last episode. “Everyone in this town has some sin or regret . . . some cage of his own making” says Henry Deaver in a voice-over. The titular town (Castle Rock) itself can be considered as some sort of metaphorical cage. This is because no one ever really leaves this town alive, and if they do, they are pulled back by some forces the show has not yet made clear.
Wendell comes to visit for a few days and gets on a bus to go back only to change his mind mid-ride immediately returning. Henry Deaver left the town because he was shunned by the whole community and he only comes back for brief stays but by the end of this episode, he and his son, Wendell, have settled in his childhood home. The writers keep the audience guessing about who is in the cage, which cage, which universe, who built which cage and so on.
However, the finale did not answer all the questions this season brought up. It does not offer a simple resolution to all the conflicts introduced, which works perfectly. All of the season’s cliffhangers could not be resolved in one episode. One thing this episode made crystal clear is what actually happened to Matthew Deaver at Castle Lake, and that alone is worth watching the whole episode. The biggest reveal everyone was waiting for was The Kid’s real identity, but even though not knowing by the end of the season was a bit of a letdown, it is just as satisfying to look forward to more complex answers next season. The audience also has to understand that the whole season took place in only one year, but The Kid was locked up in the cage for 27 years. Even though viewers do not yet know who he is, they understand bits of his personality about who he might be and might not be. It is evident that the writers are revealing information slowly, not telling everything all at once. The ending is up for interpretation, but that does not mean viewers should not expect a clear and true version of events in the upcoming seasons as the writers explore other characters and storylines.
