Castle Rock (2018)

:

Season 2
  • Network: HULU
  • Series Premiere Date: Jul 25, 2018
Season #: 2, 1, 1
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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Critic Reviews

  1. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Kristen Baldwin
    Oct 15, 2019
    91
    What follows is a propulsive story that encompasses not only Annie Wilkes’ origins, but a haunted burial ground, the Battle of Mogadishu, reanimated corpses, and Tim Robbins growling through a sharp-cheddar Maine accent as Ace’s cancer-stricken father, Pop Merrill. ... Every revelation about the character feels both urgent and canon-correct. ... [Lizzy Caplan] does a remarkable job portraying Castle Rock’s reimagined Annie. Her performance is masterfully physical.
  2. Collider
    Reviewed by: Dave Trumbore
    Oct 23, 2019
    80
    This cast starts off strong as we get two competing narratives that quickly meld together in ways that only King and Castle Rock can pull off.
  3. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Oct 22, 2019
    80
    The season two narrative of “Castle Rock” quickly affirms itself as its own story, a narrative about people running from their past, grabbing for things as they fall. And, once again, the team behind “Castle Rock” prove to be masterful with casting and performance.
  5. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Ben Travers
    Oct 23, 2019
    75
    “Castle Rock” Season 2 hasn’t quite found the tour de force episode its predecessor did, but we’re still in the early goings. What’s here is still effective, affecting, and original — despite appearances. With more stories to tell, “Castle Rock” continues to prove there are many ways to tell them.
  6. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Liam Mathews
    Oct 15, 2019
    75
    The show is thoughtfully written by showrunners Sam Shaw and Dustin Thomason, who have a knack for character and an ear for Kingian dialogue, and the gifted cast gives it everything they have.
  7. Salon
    Reviewed by: Melanie McFarland
    Oct 29, 2019
    70
    Mythology-rich details may bewitch Stephen King superfans, but for the average viewer this is a lot of lumps to be stuffing into too-small Spanx. Even so — recall the warning about anthology series — there is just enough mystery afoot to keep the viewer interested. Caplan, is unsettlingly good as Annie, giving a performance that can be emotionally poignant in one scene and petrifying in another, turning on a dime in an instant.
  8. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Nov 6, 2019
    50
    The clash between grounded psychological horror and bump-in-the-night monster mania delivers fewer shivers than shrugs of confusion. [28 Oct - 10 Nov 2019, p.9]
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  9. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Steven Scaife
    Oct 23, 2019
    50
    Opting for more recognizable, overt King references hasn’t enriched the show’s storytelling so much as clarified the gap between the author’s best work and this TV imitation.
  10. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Daniel Fienberg
    Oct 22, 2019
    50
    I can't tell if the new season is over-reaching, under-reaching or if the Annie Wilkes of it all is just overshadowing the story to an unanticipated degree.

Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Best TV Season of 2019

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 2 out of 21
  1. asmanraj
    Nov 16, 2019
    10
    I thought the first season was strictly okay. I watched it because I'm a horror fanatic, but I thought it was far from captivating. However,I thought the first season was strictly okay. I watched it because I'm a horror fanatic, but I thought it was far from captivating. However, the second season is absolutely riveting so far, mostly thanks to Lizzy Caplan and her fascinating character. I also appreciate how the show acknowledges the presence of Somalis in Maine. I've watched the first six episodes and I can't wait for the next one.… Full Review »
  2. Davrosdaleks1
    Jan 4, 2020
    6
    Half of this I rather liked, but the other half didn't work for me.

    Let me cover the overlapping parts first. What I like about this season    Half of this I rather liked, but the other half didn't work for me.

    Let me cover the overlapping parts first. What I like about this season is that the pacing is a lot better than its predecessor. It took a cue from season 2 of Fargo and added a higher character count in order to fill things up.

    However, I did miss the more eerier and crazier feel from the first. Don't get me wrong, the threat in here is decent and scary.

    I felt that like the last season the ending was weak.

    Now I'll focus on the two halves: I liked the part involving the residents and community of Castle Rock. We are introduced to complex drama and tension within an extended family and a growing struggle between Ace Merrill (Paul Sparks), who has inherited his uncle's business hold on the town, and his uncle's foster son Abdi Howlwadaag (Barkhad Abdi), who along with the town's Syrian immigrants are building their own economic area. There is just a lot of strong backstory to this.

    Tim Robbins plays Pop Merill and he hands down has the best role. It's too bad you don't see Robbins in stuff a lot these days. Merrill is a great character, an intelligent man and the most powerful in town, who is having everything slip from his fingers.

    What I wasn't fond of were the parts with Annie Wilkes (played by Master of Sex's Lizzy Caplan), the antagonist from Stephen King's Misery. The problem is that this known character doesn't work that well when given an expanded role and becomes a main focus. The show tries to replicate her traits from the film with Kathy Bates, but they are limited. I got tired of seeing her repeatedly say the word "dirty-birds" and getting unreasonably upset with people. Her storyline didn't have as much going for it, except for the episode on her background which was really well done. You can tell where things are going pretty early on. It doesn't help that more focus is given to Wilkes than the rest of the cast.

    I can see some people liking this more than me. Just temper expectations.    … Full Review »
  3. kgiverso
    Oct 25, 2019
    8
    Season two builds tension much like the film "Misery" did, but it is surrounded by other content from King's work.
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