TV Review: Swamp Thing Season 1 Episode 2

Swamp Thing Season 1 Episode 2 “Worlds Apart”

Directed By: Len Wiseman

Starring: Crystal Reed, Andy Bean, Derek Mears, Will Patton, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Beals, Kevin Durand, Maria Sten, Henderson Wade, Jeryl Prescott, Ian Ziering

Rating: TV-MA

Runtime: 51 minutes

Swamp Thing is canceled. Yes, you read that right, Swamp Thing is canceled. Word came down just a few days after the first episode premiered, and days before the second episode aired. It sucks, it really does. The first episode is really good, and (spoiler alert) so is episode two.

If you didn’t see episode one and are for some reason reading a review for episode two, here’s a small breakdown. Abby Arcane, a CDC doctor returns to her hometown investigating a strange illness spreading around. She meets Alec Holland, a scientist independently studying the same outbreak. Together, they find a mysterious box in the swamp, and that’s when (spoiler) Alec Holland is shot. He’s seemingly dead. Seemingly.  As he floats in the swamp, plant life starts surrounding him, turning Alec Holland into the Swamp Thing.

This episode starts off pretty much where episode one ended. Abby Arcane is out in the swamps with the police, searching for Alec Holland, but they dismiss her. Elsewhere Susie Coyle (patient zero for the green flu) has dreams of Swamp Thing in distress. She escapes her hospital room and goes to find him. In the swamp, Susie is witness to two men killing a game warden, who catches them pulling up a box of accelerant from the swamp. Searching for her patient, Abby finds Susie in the swamp, next to the Swamp Thing.

A lot of stuff happens in this episode. In the first few minutes, we get some really nice, creepy shots of Swamp Thing. It’s a lot more than the small glimpse from the first episode. And it involves him ripping chunks of foliage off of his head. It’s… a bit gruesome. Not that I’m complaining, it adds to the horror elements of the show. There are also a few jumpscare moments, which I’m not too big a fan of in general. But I watched this episode with someone else, and they’re effective. Derek Mears is great as the Swamp Thing. He’s big, he’s monstrous and he moves like it. There are some hints of emotion behind him at some points. A+ performance from him.

The rest of the cast is also fantastic. Crystal Reed is a great lead, and the more “minor” characters around her are too. And then you’ve got Will Patton who shines a lot more in this episode. He’s the perfect corrupt southern businessman, being sweet to Abby Arcane in one scene, and very threatening in another. Plus, we finally see Kevin Durand as Jason Woodrue, and Ian Ziering pops up in a scene as Daniel Cassidy. Durand is always a treat whenever he pops up, and there’s some cool stuff that (I think) we’ll see with Ziering later in the series.

One of my minor complaints about the first episode is that no one really sounded southern to me. The universe heard me, apparently, and sent my small criticism back in time. There are a few minor characters with strong southern accents. I know the show is over before it ever really got started. We’ll probably never know the real reason why. But this is a show that you should be watching. The first episode is good, this episode is even better than that.