
Generally speaking, Haven is a show that requires truckloads of suspension of disbelief, and “Crush” decided to just run with that notion, because there were a few major plot points floated that I knew would NEVER come to pass. The good news is that didn’t make the episode any less enjoyable because everybody tried really hard to sell me something even I was never going to buy it.
We begin not with the scene we expect as Duke buries Wade out in the middle of nowhere and finds himself at a loss for words. In town, Jennifer comes into work and Vince excitedly shares that he’s narrowed down a handful of families in Haven who could be her parents. Then Dave comes in and starts talking about “Cabot’s journal” and Vince shushes him. Duke arrives and Jennifer asks him how everything went and he quickly segues from small talk to asking her to move out of the Cape Rouge because he’s leaving Haven (SOD #1). She’s upset and annoyed as he rails that he’s tired of saving everyone but Duke’s not up for debate on the issue.
Back at Audrey’s, we do NOT get the spooning scene from the promo (DAMN YOU!). Instead, we pick up with Nathan making breakfast as Audrey cuddles up to him and they wonder why they waited so long. They talk about it being a side effect of Haven residency and kiss a little bit before Vince comes calling. Nathan sneaks out the back and down the stairs while Audrey turns Vince away upstairs. He heads back down and finds Nathan, who lies that he’s looking for Duke, and scolds him for not speeding things along with Lexie. He tells him time is of the essence because the Troubles are changing.
Duke is walking on a neighborhood street when suddenly everything starts collapsing in on itself. A girl comes out into the street with her ball and Duke is infuriated he has to save her but he does it anyway. His friend Driscoll shows up and surveys the scene with him and then the Teagues stroll up rambling incoherently and Duke realizes they have the bends. So they put together pretty quickly that they’re dealing with a deep sea trouble and the Teagues have a clock on them until they’re dead from the decompression (SOD #2).
Nathan and Audrey show up at the scene with the ME and she tells then it’s definitely a decompression thing. Over at the docks, Duke and Driscoll have loaded the Teagues into a decompression chamber to get their heads right. Audrey and Nathan ID the point of origin that their Troubled person instigated a car accident witnessed by the Teagues, so they need to chat with the brothers. They go to talk to them and run into Duke, who’s not inclined to help them and rails at them the same way he did Jennifer about being DONE. Audrey immediately wonders aloud to Nathan if Duke is onto them. They don’t have long to ponder it when everything goes haywire and they realize Driscoll is now Troubled, which is unheard of because he is from an original unTroubled Haven family.
He tells them to lock him in the tank and then everything resets and Audrey asks him if he was attacked. He says he woke up that morning in a ditch. Audrey asks him to take off his shirt and finds the telltale Roswell hand on his torso. Then Driscoll starts worrying about his brother and we shoot over to the town park where said brother, Aiden (Halifax native Craig Olejnik from The Listener) is sleeping on a park bench when a Haven PD officer wakes him and he argues with her and then the decompression thing kicks in and he kills her and a couple of people in the park.
Nathan, Audrey, and Driscoll arrive in time to see what’s happening but they can’t get close enough to tell him how to stop it. They pull back and Nathan calls Duke repeatedly. Duke is out in the field at his brother’s grave and he finally angrily answers the phone and Driscoll tells him to come. When Duke gets there, Driscoll asks him to kill him and he says no. He and Nathan get into it and Duke takes a swing at him, busting open Nathan’s lip. Nathan pulls back waiting for the hulk and it doesn’t happen and Nathan realizes Duke isn’t Troubled anymore. Nathan calls him on it, Duke reiterates the DONEness and leaves.

Nathan and Audrey talk as the Trouble spreads and they realize the hospital generator could blow up, causing mass casualties. He says they can solve this now if she kills him but she’s not having it. Driscoll says they need pressurized suits and as they wonder where to get them, a smile creeps across Audrey’s face and we see that Duke has returned with exactly what they need.
They suit up and hike down to the square. Nathan’s suit line gets caught on a bench and ruptures and Duke turns back to help him get out of the park while Audrey goes on ahead alone and talks to Aiden. She calms him down and tells him he needs to control this for his son.
Up at the road, Duke gets Nathan to safety and they take off their helmets and Nathan confirms in a statement more than a question that Duke killed Wade. Duke says he didn’t have a choice. Nathan tells him he’s a hero whether he wants to be or not, and Duke laughs that he’s not the first person to tell him that. Nathan asks him who, and Duke says it was someone much cuter than him.
Meanwhile, Jennifer’s gone through her list of families and succeeded only in gathering a box of belongings (with a telltale previously-seen book), and she’s the only one who’s seen a super creepy crab with human eyes. She goes back to the Cape Rouge after Duke calls her to apologize and before she can return rail on him he swoops in and kisses her and she kisses him back. He scoops her up and carries her off to the bedroom.

Duke’s conversation with Nathan also sparks a conversation back at Audrey’s apartment between Audrey and Nathan where they very genuinely discuss that she should kill him now because it would solve everybody’s problems before they escalate any further. He puts his gun in her hand, the same way he did on the bluff, and tells her it’s the most loving thing she can do and they both cry and tell each other they love each other and she levels the gun at his heart.
Back on the Cape Rouge, Jennifer and Duke talk and kiss and she tells him about Vince’s news about her family. The Teagues comes in right on cue and she’s mortified that they’re busted because she’s only wearing Duke’s shirt and Duke’s just pissed. The Teagues could care less about all that–they have news! Vince has read Sebastian Cabot’s journal, which confirms a really old school plague-ish time in Haven when a door opened and they’re excited that’s not what’s happening now because one of the portents is a crab with human eyes and then Jennifer torpedoes that brief moment of relief with her news.
They load up to go tell Audrey and Nathan and then linger on the stairs below her apartment to flip through the journal some more (as you do) and talk about how the portents indicate a reversal–that what they thought would be their salvation is now their doom. Duke realizes that means Audrey can’t kill Nathan and says as much out loud and then Vince twigs to the name slip. Before Duke can explain, a shot rings out upstairs and they all look shocked. (SOD #3)
Let the garment rending begin!
I will admit that I’m the crusty bitch who laughed out loud when the entire gang stopped at the bottom of the stairs because I knew exactly what was coming. But I also know full well Nathan and Lucas Bryant aren’t going anywhere so it’s just an elaborately constructed chain yank by (the no good, very bad) TPTB to wind folks up. I’ve talked before about my friend from The X-Files years who genuinely worried every time they seemd to kill Mulder to the point that it became a running “Oh my God, they killed Mulder!” kind of joke.
I no more believe that Audrey pulled the trigger on Nathan than I believed that Duke would leave Haven or that he wouldn’t end up with Jennifer.
But the proposal of all of those things was handled really lovely.
So what does all this mean? First, we have a new bigger, bad, and the Tweedles are just phase one. Next week’s episode is called “William,” so it’s a safe bet he’s phase two. We also have the mystery of where Jennifer came from resolved but not the what and the who, so the question becomes, is she Troubled, too, or is she another traveler?
I loved that we got exactly what I wanted out of a Nathan and Duke heart to heart and that Nathan had that discussion with him before Audrey did. I liked that Duke was just finally fed up with his recent run of doing the right thing for no reward. That he put it out there for Jennifer that he wasn’t and isn’t always so magnanimous in an effort to push her away was an interesting play (which I knew wouldn’t work). I like that Duke really had a come to Jesus about all of this, and Eric Balfour touched on it when we chatted with him in September–that Duke would have a wide-ranging arc this season, and it’s coming to pass. Duke might’ve always wanted to do the right thing before, but he didn’t always execute on the desire. Now he is, but he’s not at peace with being that guy, either. I like that he has Jennifer to help him sort that out.
I love that Audrey and Nathan are together and the morning after wasn’t a breakfast of regret and sorrow. That came later. They went on about their case without it being weird–except when he took her hand after scoping they weren’t watched and she pulled away because of what he was suggesting she do. The scene at the end was terrifically heartfelt as they had the conversation they’d avoided about what it meant on a larger cosmic scale if the Troubles ended. Nathan talks about Duke killing Wade and Driscoll being willing to die for his brother and those were just one-to-one fixes whereas this would be one to many. It was a slow, sweet scene (designed to time out with the gang downstairs) and it was just lovely work from Lucas Bryant and Emily Rose. Even if I didn’t believe it.
The only other thing that’s crossed my mind, and again, y’all know I do not traffic in spoilers, so this is 100% conjecture–I hope we don’t find out that ALL of this season so far has been a rug pull and that we’re still in the barn, or that we’re going to reset to a prior point in time and undo the entire season. Good will only gets you so far, and the Haven fandom are intensely loyal, so I really hope that’s not where we’re going. I want to trust that what we’ve been shown, and the secrets we’ve been let in on, are real. But I’m getting a vibe I can’t quite put my finger on.
Only five episodes left this season! And I just realized today this season began and will end on a Friday the 13th. Make of that what you will.
Heather M
Related posts
Classics
George R. Olson, Tim Rozon, and Sarah Levy Talk the SurrealEstate S2 Finale
[Spoilers for the SurrealEstate Season 2 finale.] How’s everyone doing after the finale? As we close out the second season of SurrealEstate, some of our merry band of misfits are scattering to the winds–Zooey to law school, Phil to the Vatican, and Augie back to his think tank with Rochelle,…
Previewing SurrealEstate Season 2 Finale + Revisiting the Season with George R. Olson
[Warning; General spoilers ahead.] Strap in, SurrealEstate fam, because we’ve arrived at the Season 2 finale, and it’s a doozy. As we saw in the closing moments of last week’s episode, Susan is back. But because we have one more episode left, it’s not as simple as all that, as…
Tyler Hynes Talks Through His Eight-Film Hallmark Holiday Library
Things you realize when you have to re-record your shows on a new DVR – just how many Hallmark movies your people have done. Fan favorite – and one of ours – Tyler Hynes has done eight Christmas movies for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries since 2018. Alongside…
Spencer Creaghan Talks About Creating SurrealEstate’s Signature Sound
SurrealEstate is winding down its second season, with two episodes left, and just as in Season 1, Spencer Creaghan’s music continues to be a character unto itself. And every week, he shares tidbits with the fans via his s social media channels, something he started to help give them an…
Andrew Walker Talks Christmas Island and the Magical Hallmark Community
[Warning: Spoilers for Christmas Island.] Now that the Screen Actors Guild strike has been resolved, we’re able to resume regularly scheduled programming and interview our favorites and yours. Up first, earlier today, I spoke with Andrew Walker about Christmas Island, which premiered last weekend and encores tonight and through the…
George Olson and Danishka Esterhazy Talk SurrealEstate “I Put a Spell on You”
[Warning: Spoilers for the episode.] Tonight’s fun new SurrealEstate found Luke caught up in an especially bewitching woman, Kay, played by Tara Yelland, Susan trapped in her house, and Zooey learning the ropes. In the next part of my conversation with showrunner George R. Olson and producing director Danishka Esterhazy,…
Danishka Esterhazy Talks SurrealEstate: “The Butler Didn’t”
[Warning: General spoilers for the episode]. Tonight’s new SurrealEstate, “The Butler Didn’t,” follows the team as they investigate the years-earlier mysterious death of a woman whose ghost now reenacts her hanging by dropping over the banister from the second floor to terrify anyone on the landing or at the bottom…
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk the From Season 2 finale
[Warning: Spoilers for the season finale.] How’s everyone doing after that finale? While we wait and wonder and hope for a third season announcement, soon, here’s what Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders had to say about their parts of the finale, and where they hope they get to go next….
Scott McCord and Elizabeth Saunders Talk From Season 2 + A Season Finale Preview
[Warning: General spoilers ahead.] It all comes down this, #FROMily. As Sunday’s episode wraps up Season 2, we begin with the aftermath of the terrifying onset of seemingly simultaneous attacks on Julie, Marielle, and Randall, which accelerate the “We gotta get out of this place” of it all. Sara comes…
Alison Sweeney Talks About What’s Next for Hannah and Mike After Carrot Cake Murder: A Hannah Swensen Mystery
[Warning: Spoilers for Carrot Cake Murder.] Everybody OK after that Hannah Swensen Mystery twist? Thankfully, our favorite crime-solving couple is still on speaking term, even if they’re on a break (hopefully not that kind of break). Most importantly, we already know this isn’t the last film in the series. No…
What They Said: Three Revealing Conversations from Survivor’s Remorse “Closure”
WARNING: Spoilers for Survivor’s Remorse “Closure” The latest episode of Starz’s Survivor’s Remorse featured conversations that showed characters really digging deep into their thoughts, emotions and motivations.
Two Takes: The Catch “The Knock-Off”
Who can you trust? If this episode of The Catch was any indication, the answer is just about nobody. Betrayal was running rampant as Felicity (Shivani Ghai) arose from the dead to seduce-con Margot, Gretchen (Maria Thayer, Gotham, The Mindy Project) played gold-hearted Alice 2.0 before swindling Ethan, Tessa jumped…
What They Said: Top 3 Quotable Moments from Preacher “El Valero”
Both Quincannon and Jesse refuse to give up on what they each think is rightfully theirs. While Jesse is struggling to face the consequences of his actions, Quincannon has laid his past demons to rest and is hellbent on moving forward and putting Annville on the map again. Despite a…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Supergirl “Worlds Finest”
Oh, Supergirl. That ending was cold. But I can’t hate on you because the latest episode has quickly become one of my favorites.
What They Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Black Sails “XXIII”
The dialogue in “XXIII” is phenomenal. It’s always a fun ride when Black Sails carries its viewers along without giving them the chance to catch their breath. When an episode moves at this unforgiving pace, there is no chance for a breather nor is there a respite from the information…
What Lucifer Said: Favorite quotes from Supernatural “O Brother, Where Art Thou?”
Supernatural episodes are almost always funny but thanks to the dialogue and a certain man speaking said dialogue, I laughed a lot during “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” You know, when I wasn’t busy fearing for Sam’s life or wondering what in the world was going on with Dean and…
What They Said: The Flash, “Legends Of Today” and Arrow, “Legends Of Yesterday”
Two nights of Arrow + The Flash = what more could we ask for?! I don’t know what it is about blending these shows, but I can’t help but feel that every time they come together, they somehow become greater than the sum of their parts. And that’s saying a lot…
What they Said: Top 4 Quotable Moments from Graceland “Little Bo Bleep”
Shoot outs. Fake outs. And long-awaited revelations. “Little Bo Bleep” was a jam-packed episode that wrapped up some loose ends and totally frayed others. Â It finally gave us one Sarkissian in jail and pulled back the curtain on Briggs’ master plan, but it also set up Jakes for a world…
What They Said: Favorite Quotes from Poldark “Part 4”
“What have I told you, I don’t require my wife to crochet and sip tea, but I do require her to remember she’s not a beast of burden.†No, I’m not talking about The Rolling Stones! I have to admit though, just for a second, the lyrics popped into my…
3 Moments of Goodness from Brooklyn Nine-Nine “Johnny and Dora”
The most satisfying part of this season’s finale has to the Jake and Amy kiss. Well, they kiss three times but the last one is the best one — and it means something. The Charles and Rosa dynamic was also great. I love how she’s convinced he doesn’t know anything…