‘Widow’s Bay’ Ends With One Last Surge of Delightful Dread

Widow’s Bay arrived on Apple TV with minimal fanfare and soon established itself as a show unique not just to the streamer, but across the television landscape. Katie Dippold‘s horror comedy fully delivers on both of those descriptors, being genuinely scary and genuinely hilarious.

It has unique characters, and that goes for its core cast as well as the supporting players—not to mention the weirdos who wander in to make a big impression in one or two scenes. Its setting is undeniably strange yet also cozy and familiar, a quaint New England town that has nearly every worst-case scenario and disaster you can imagine woven into its history.

The only thing we didn’t like about the season finale (which is fittingly titled “We Hope You Enjoyed Your Time!” and runs 48 minutes, a stretch longer than the usual episode length) is its arrival means we won’t be getting our weekly dose of Widow’s Bay anymore. However, we will begin counting down immediately to season two, which is thankfully officially on the way.

Last week’s episode, “Emergency Shelter,” ended with the big reveal that Ruth—the sweet but scatter-brained elderly woman who works as Tom’s assistant—is the last living descendant of Richard Warren. Wyck, Patricia, and Tom grappled with the unpleasant realization that once Ruth’s gone, the curse will end.

Wyck thought murder was justified given the circumstances; Patricia was horrified by the idea. But Tom made it clear he would handle it—and in the Widow’s Bay finale, we see him agonize about what to do as an apocalyptic storm rages across the island.

First, he checks Ruth’s medical records, hoping for something grim like cancer. No dice. There is a note about reminding her not to mix Oxycodone with Valium, which makes Tom pause for a moment.

Then, Tom drives through the thunder and rain to Ruth’s house. “You don’t have to do this,” Patricia pleads, her voice crackling over the radio. (In the background, Wyck chimes in: “Yes, you do!)

Tom’s response to Patricia is “Keep them in the shelter and keep an eye on my son.” We don’t know his plan—and neither does he—when he steps into Ruth’s house and finds her bopping along on her treadmill.

She’s surprised and delighted to see him. She assumes he’s driven over to escort her to the shelter. Thinking quickly, he points out that the roads are so flooded they should probably just stay put. She smiles and agrees, saying, “We’ve weathered storms together before, haven’t we?”

Back at the town hall, Patricia is rummaging through the emergency supplies stashed in the shelter. For an island so prone to disaster