Dead End
Episode 6 of Panic Season 1 begins with Heather in hospital. She survived the fire after all, staggering out the house and collapsing on the floor. Bishop is there with Natalie, but Sergeant Langley has concerns. Given how many kids were at the scene, she believes this is part of Panic. Interestingly, Dodge’s Mother is actually “in on this” and talks to Dodge about the game. Anyway, John shows up too and speaks to Heather in private, seeing straight through her façade of this being a party. He knows it could well be linked to Panic and promises to watch her like a hawk from now on. With Little Bill dead and the house burned to a cinder, he’s convinced that this is all part of this game. John deliberates on what Bill mentioned before about Abby (when he failed to bring him in for questioning) and believes his body could have been planted in the house. This could have been an elaborate way of shutting him up before spilling secrets about Abby. A week passes and still there’s no word from the judges. Heather starts to get angsty, wondering whether the game is over or not. During this down-time, Natalie heads over to see Dodge, getting friendly with Dayna and learning more about his past. With a bedroom bathed in black, Dodge opens up and admits that his father hung himself. This eventually leads to the pair sleeping together. Back home, Heather doesn’t really seem too traumatized by her experiences (in the novel she actually quit the games because she was so scared) and notices betting slips on the table. It’s all to do with the upcoming Derby but the numbers are familiar. They’re the same sort of numbers from the notes she found at the farm. Given these betting slips are linked to Bo, he could well be part of all this. This plays on Heather’s mind too, and she heads to the derby, feeding back the news to Natalie that she believes someone is betting on the games. While they’re in the crowd though, they discuss love interests with Natalie pleading with her friend to open up and admit the truth about how she feels to Bishop. The demolition derby ends and Ray wins, of course. After the show, his brother Luke arrives and stirs things up. He tells Dodge not to be scared but the newcomer shrugs off his antagonizing, claiming he’s going to win Panic. Elsewhere, Sergeant Langley continues her investigation, turning her attention to Shay. It turns out Judges can play in the games and Jimmy was actually one of the judges last year. This helps them get “closer to the action” as long as they don’t go all the way. However, it seems the gun planted during the Russian Roulette game was actually not supposed to be real. Shay was the second judge back then and she tells Langley that someone planted that gun. Could it have been Hunt Kenny? Well, he was playing them too so it could well all be linked. Alas, the plot thickens. Well, the next challenge is due to begin with Dodge in the lead. They receive word of where they need to meet, and prepare to update Heather too. However, she’s busy with Bishop, opening up and admitting the truth about how he feels. Eventually the pair look close to kissing but they’re interrupted by word that Lily is in trouble. It turns out she threw Bo’s cigarettes away and the man screamed at her, prompting Lily to hurry away in shock. When Heather heads home, she finds her Mother and Bo snorting drugs. He grabs Heather round the throat after she throws the tray on the floor, prompting Sherri to smash a bottle across Bo’s head. She pleads with her daughter to get out, shutting the door so he can’t hurt her. With Heather a no-show thanks to family issues, the others all gather together and prepare for their next task. Only, this happens to involve blindfolds. Bishop however, leaves in the middle of the night but he’s unaware he’s being tailed by Shawna. She notices him digging, burying a lockbox and hiding it under a barrel. What could be inside?
The Episode Review
Panic returns with another dramatic chapter, one that sees the issues after the fire turn toward the back-end of these challenges. Now it seems clear that everything is gearing up for this final and last year’s judges are revealed to be Jimmy and Shay. It appears like a lot of people are involved in this Panic game, with betting potentially a large part of this. It could well be that there’s a massive underground hierarchy involved here, with lots of betting and high-stake gamblers, but we’ll have to wait and see if that comes to fruition. In the meantime, the show continues to spin its teen drama alongside the Panic game, with Natalie and Dodge growing closer together. Likewise, Bishop and Heather finally open up and speak their piece, leading to the pair almost – ALMOST – kissing at the end before being interrupted. The ending certainly leaves the door wide open for more though, with a big ol’ cliffhanger to whet the appetite.
