Wayward Pines “Where Paradise Is Home” 

Ethan: “How do I get out of here?”

Sheriff Pope: “You don’t.”

What a strange and frightening little town. What seems like a small, idyllic setting for raising or starting a family or growing old is turning into a nightmare for secret service agent Ethan Burke. He wakes up in the middle of the woods and walks into town. He’s informed that he’s in Wayward Pines, Idaho before he collapses.

What we learn over the course of the episode is that Ethan has a concussion and a few cracked ribs. While we assum he was in a car accident – because that’s what Ethan’s memory seems to show us – Adam Hassler and the rest of the team back in Seattle find no traces of his DNA in the car. It took them two days to identify Stallings because he was burned so badly. But where is Ethan? Hassler assures Ethan’s wife Teresa he doesn’t know, but we find out he’s lying. That and everything else we learn in this episode makes me so curious about what’s going on both in and outside of Wayward Pines.

Let’s talk about Ethan for a moment, because I love that he’s the main character. We’ve got someone who may be an unreliable narrator: he’s got a history of mental illness and has had a breakdown in the past. He’s had hallucinations before, so what’s to say he’s not hearing and/or seeing things now? Even though Kate indicates that he’s ok mentally, how are we supposed to know what’s true? For now, I’m willing to believe that everything that happens to Ethan is what’s actually going on. Until we get clues that he’s having an episode, I’m totally willing to believe his version of events.

But one thing that’s apparent right now is that time might be moving strangely in Wayward Pines. Beverly thinks it’s 2000, when it’s actually 2014. Ethan says he saw Kate five weeks ago. At the time she was 27 and single; now she’s 39 and married. So we’ve got Beverly who’s experiencing time very slowly and Kate who’s experiencing time very quickly.

I’m glad Ethan’s got an ally in Beverly because he needs one and hopefully she’s help him find out what’s really going on. Kate’s afraid to talk to him because they’re being observed, but Beverly seems to be on his side. She helps him escape from Pam, but before that she led him to the house on first avenue where Evans was tortured and killed. The Sheriff doesn’t seem as interested in that crime as he should be, does he? He’s pretty passionate about that rum raisin ice cream, though.

So what do you think is going on? Why aren’t there any crickets there? What has Ethan done to end up in Wayward Pines? Why are they trying to break his mind? How did Kate and Bill Evans stumble into this town? What did Evans do to end up dead in that house? What did Hassler put into motion to get Ethan there? Why can’t anyone leave? Who’s watching them?

I can’t wait to start getting answers to all these questions and I’m willing to be patient as we go on this journey with Ethan.

If you need something to tide you over before episode 2, check out my preview of the series. I talked to Reed Diamond and Tim Griffin as well as EP Donald De Line at WonderCon 2015 about their characters and what we can expect to see in the next few episodes.

Wayward Pines airs Thursdays at 9/8c on FOX.