Excuse me, Anna Pigeon, why are you so rude to us?
Most of Anna Pigeon Season 1 Episode 8 was a depressing, tragic ride, but in the last minute or so, the series goes for the jugular by harming Anna Pigeon’s very own human version of a Golden Retriever.
Fine, we’ll ride at dawn for Jesse Garland, and I have some theories, but alas, let’s dive into the full hour!
We should’ve known it’d be a strong showing for Jesse when it was he who stumbled into a dead body rather than Anna herself.
It’s taking a bit of time — if there’s one consistent critique of the series thus far, it’s that it hasn’t fully fleshed out the secondary characters very much, so that we get to know more about them beyond how they fit into Anna’s life in a scene.
“The Death Grin” gives us a great deal about Jesse, adding depth, and it also gives Frieda a bit more to do with her connection to sweet Buck, our murder victim.
And it was nice to spend more time with both characters, especially having Anna and Frieda share scenes and feed off one another during the case, and having Jesse feel like he has a world of his own, beyond just Anna.
Buck’s body washing ashore was disturbing, and the fish with it, but it immediately left you with the sneaking suspicion that there was far more to those elements than met the eye. Sneaky Anna Pigeon weaving in another major plot point, I’m sure.
Buck’s death was so clearly not a suicide, as it didn’t seem like he took enough precautions to guarantee that he’d actually drown in the first place.
But when it came down to figuring out he had something in his system to cause paralysis, that screamed poisoning more than an innovative way to kill oneself.
What we got was a complicated familial situation that ultimately ended up being more depressing and tragic.
Because what we got amid all of this was a pregnant teenager whose baby was essentially stolen from her in one of those maternal homes that people would ship their “wayward daughters” off to when they didn’t want to deal with the scandal.
A dead mother because no matter the decade, maternal healthcare in the States is abysmal, and childbirth truly is one of the most dangerous things a person can endure and ultimately lead to their death.
And a really bright, talented, genuinely kind man who merely wanted to know the truth about his origins, some form of connection, and just a longing for family.
Mavis just exploited all of that. She exploited the death of her friend whom she was envious of by convincing herself that a crusade against these maternal homes was about something righteous and not just opportunity.
And she exploited Buck by convincing a young man who was looking for answers, truth, family, and connection — and lying to him so she could build her art career.
Then, instead of even considering that she had a nice run of lying to the public and profiting off of a story that wasn’t hers, she killed this man to keep her secret.
What made it even worse was knowing that Mavis was dying anyway. She was cleaning up this exhibition and this idea of her legacy when she wouldn’t even be around much anymore — and she killed a man she pretended was her son, whom she did seem to care about on some level.
Anna Pigeon can seem lighthearted on the surface because it has a quirky vibe, and the sweeping scenery and bright, natural lighting give off a certain feel, but the series can be unexpectedly heavy and dark at times.
Buck’s death was such a tragedy, and it was sadder when you realized that he didn’t get justice. Mavis got to take her own life after confessing to Anna, but none of it really means anything, does it?
Her daughter still hated her for a selfishness that had nothing to do with genuinely loving Buck more, because in the end he was just a meal ticket.
Her boy toy of 20 years helped her cover it all up, but he gets to go back to his unsuspecting wife and child, who now feel more like consolation prizes than anything.
Frieda lost a good friend who actually inspired her and encouraged her to pursue her creative writing. Buck’s a good man whose life was cut short over the selfishness of others around him.
But the case, like many, did seem to impact Anna a great deal because, despite her more overt flaws, she saw bits of herself in Mavis. She’s a woman who never got over the death of her husband, her first real love.
And she couldn’t properly commit to the younger man in front of her, who did want to be with her — wanted a full life, family, and the works. But she couldn’t get out of her own way to give a man she cared about what he wanted from her.
He wasn’t her love, just “a great lay,” and it was sad that he didn’t get to be with the woman he loved the way he desired, so he pursued the life he wanted with someone else, except that poor woman was just what? A replacement? A consolation prize?
He was still working and sleeping with Mavis the whole time.
Anna found her time with Mavis to be really confronting, especially in light of her recent situation with Jesse and even Stanton.
Right now, she doesn’t think she can give Jesse what he needs and deserves, and it hurts too much. She’s too terrified of feeling responsible for anyone after she feels she let her husband down and blames herself in part for Zach’s death.
That’s a lot of trauma she needs to work out and work through. It’s also one of the primary reasons why I’m more okay with her and Jesse taking a beat. He’s wholly invested and ready to give her the world.
He lays it all out there, apparently because it’s the Gen Z thing to do.
But while it may be true that Anna’s Millennial heart has her hiding her feelings and crying behind closed doors, she won’t be fully ready for a healthy relationship until she finds the proper closure and heals from her last one.
Maybe that’s what makes me one of the minority of people who were thrilled to hear about this job opportunity for Jesse in Arizona. Setting aside that he’d be working alongside a gorgeous ex, it seems like geology is something he genuinely had a passion for.
It also seems like he allowed a bad relationship to derail his career path. I guess Jesse isn’t all that different from Anna when it comes to running from things; he just may hide it a bit better.
I think Jesse has an opportunity to at least consider what it would be like to pursue his own passions. Anna cares about him enough to want that for him, too.
Of course, things will change now since he got shot.
Well, that was a shocking and heartbreaking development, and our only bright side is that it looks like he may have just gotten hit in the shoulder area, so he’ll live.
No way would Anna Pigeon kill another man in her life whom she cares about. Maybe this will also kick her into gear a bit.
She’s not the common denominator in bad things happening to people she cares about, and this proves that whether she’s with Jesse or not, she’s not preventing or sparing him from anything.
They’re such a dramatic couple, aren’t they? She gets abducted, drugged, and left in a cave. He gets shot. I’m pretty sure I have a playlist that embodies whatever the hell is going on between those two lovers.
But Jesse was onto something by discovering that there are significant amounts of sulfuric acid in the river, and that the land is likely being poisoned too.
It’s small enough now, maybe, that only the animals are affected. But humans are next, I’m sure.
That takes us back to Jeremiah, right? I can’t prove it yet, but he’s definitely behind this, and he, or someone connected to him, may be behind shooting Jesse to shut him up before he exposed something major.
Also, I’m still trying to figure out where Manny falls into all of this. The poor guy put in his resignation because he still can’t wrap his head around what Bethany did, and facing Anna seems too awkward and difficult.
But we don’t know the extent of his dynamic with Jeremiah right now. And I can’t wait to figure all of that out, too.
Over to you, Anna Pigeon Fanatics. Did that ending shock you? Let’s discuss!
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