Wayward Pines “Choices” 

So, what caused the genetic mutation that resulted in humans evolving into Aberrations? We did, of course. Back in the late 1990s Pilcher discovered that as we were changing our environment, it was changing us as well. There was a small but significant mutation in the population. Based on this, Pilcher realized he needed to do something drastic so he started trying to build his ark.

But Pilcher discovered people are resistant to change unless there is immediate danger that effects them directly. Because it was taking too long to convince people, he decided to persuade them in a different way. That was Pope’s original purpose and the reason people started disappearing. The Secret Service and others started catching on – but only to the people who started going missing. They had no idea that Pilcher was hiding money and funneling into his experimentations with cryonics.

What gave Pilcher the right to choose these people? He points out that there are a million variables we have no control over. Ethan calls that fate. Well, what about the leaders who institute the draft or make their citizens serve their country in some other way? What about all the other choices we have no control over? No one has ever lived their lives entirely defined by their own choices. But it’s interesting because Pilcher sees this is a burden. He knows he’s had to make terrible choices and live with some horrible consequences, but he saved humanity from extinction.

Pilcher knew it was time to wake Ethan up because the people of Wayward Pines need someone good to look up to, someone who will make things better. Ethan tells him it’s time for the surveillance and public executions to stop. But without a government or an army, they have no means of control. Ethan’s committed to keeping these people safe, even from Pilcher.

What’s Pilcher waiting for? Who or what will usher in the new age of Enlightenment? The new generation, but he wants to wait for them to come of age. Young minds adapt better, aren’t tethered to the past. They (in theory) can handle the truth. But we’ve already seen how all this knowledge is effecting Ben and it isn’t good. Are the other kids having a better time of it or are they hiding how they really feel as well? It’s a lot to take in. I think anyone of any age would have trouble.

The Faction

Pilcher doesn’t know the size of the group, but he knows they mean to take the wall down and try to escape. We know at least Kate, Harold and Ted are members of this group and that Harold’s built a bomb. Harold’s got a fiancée on the outside, but he and Kate are in this together. Are they worried about killing innocents? Sure, but they’re tired of living in fear and Peter’s death was the last straw.

What is Plot 33?

It might be what really got Peter McCall killed, not some random graffiti. But what is it? Why is this prime real estate undeveloped? Henrietta tells Theresa to let it go unless she wants to end up dead as well. But Theresa wants to find a way out and if she thinks this might be a clue that helps her get out of Wayward Pines, of course she’s going to explore it.

Questions

I wonder how many people like Pope Pilcher had working for him. It’s unclear just how many people are “sleeping,” but it’s a lot and most of them didn’t go willingly. I’m assuming Pilcher took people from every part of the country. And if he did anywhere near the amount of research on them that he did on Pope before he got recruited, that’s impressive. A lot of people go missing, but things only tend to get complicated when those missing people are “important.”

So Pilcher and his followers – sorry, volunteers – essentially froze themselves for 2,000 years. How the heck are they traveling back in time? We’ve seen current-day Pilcher talking to 2014 Hassler. Peter McCall told Ethan about a younger version of Pam he saw sometime in the early 2000s. So, how and why is that happening?

Now we know why Kate is 13 years older than the last time Ethan saw her. But what about Beverly? She thought it was 1999. If Pilcher and the volunteers have been hibernating since the late 1990s and it took 2 years to build Wayward Pines plus whatever amount of time it took Group A to kill themselves off, how does that make sense for her timeline?

Pilcher’s right when he says the concept of time is the problem. It worked against him and it’s confusing me. I’m not complaining, though. I’m still extremely invested in this mystery and I’m sure we’ll get more answers, along with more questions.

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