Wayward Pines Episode 2 “Don’t Discuss Your Life Before” Review

Questions. That’s the word I would use to describe the first two episodes of Wayward Pines. The mysteries keep piling up, and the answers are few and far between. So what kind of trouble has Burke got himself into this time? Some spoilers ahead!

The first episode spent a lot of time introducing characters and establishing backstory, which allowed the second episode, “Don’t Discuss Your Life Before,” to get right into the meat of the story. Having discovered that Wayward Pines is anything but paradise, Ethan Burke decides to escape the creepy town, with the help of his sole friend, Beverley the bartender. But, considering the giant electric fence with signs warning of death if you try to escape, maybe this isn’t the best idea. Sheriff Pope continues his tour de force of jackassery by assaulting Burke for trying to leave the town, impeding Burke’s investigation of the death of Agent Evans, and eating more of his beloved rum raisin ice cream. I never thought that someone could be a total scumbag just for eating an ice cream cone, but Pope proved me wrong.

Wayward Pines Episode 2 Pope

Speaking of characters trying to screw with Burke, we are treated to a short and hilarious scene with everyone’s favorite flamboyant hotel worker, but let’s not forget about Pam. She doesn’t appear nearly as much in this episode, but is still her overly creepy self. She even shows a bit of the overt sexuality that consumes her character in the novel. While she isn’t as much of a threat to Burke in this episode as she was in the first, she still is pretty freaky, and, like Pope, tries to derail Burke’s investigation.

“Don’t Discuss Your Life Before” takes place almost entirely within the town of Wayward Pines, meaning that very little is shown of life outside the town. Theresa Burke decides to go to Boise to try to find Ethan, thinking that he is either dead, or has run off with his ex-lover/partner Kate Hewson. But other than that, not much else goes on outside the town. I really enjoyed that, because it brought a lot more focus to the eerie events within town.

OK, spoiler time. Episode 2 dishes out a lot of questions, but answers one huge one. If you’ve been wondering how Pope, Pam, and others have been able to seemingly know where Burke is at all times, it’s because they do, in fact, know. Every resident of Wayward Pines has a microchip implanted into their body that pings off of cameras and microphones around town, revealing their exact location at any given moment. This chilling revelation, combined with a discovery of the rules of the town, provide some much needed answers. What are the rules, you ask? Don’t try to leave, don’t talk about your life before Wayward Pines, and always answer the phone if it rings.


I wish that the rules had been introduced earlier on, especially the one about the phones. It all just seemed very obvious that something bad would happen regarding the phones once they were mentioned. It would have been nice to have that little piece of knowledge tucked away in the back of my mind, rather than right on the forefront. So, in an absolutely frightening scene, when literally every phone in town starts to ring simultaneously, instead of thinking “yep, better answer the phone,” you think, “oh man, that’s right! There’s a creepy phone rule.”

But regardless, the phones ring each resident is told to hunt down Burke and any of his sympathizers, and deliver them to the town square. The manhunt is easily the best scene in the series so far, and as Burke watches a major character’s life end from the window of an empty apartment, you can’t help but wonder what kind of sinister secrets this town has.


If I had to summarize “Don’t Discuss Your Life Before” in just a few words, I would call it “creepy good.” It starts off a bit slow, and there’s a lot of nothing going on for the first portion of the episode. But it resumes the lightning-fast pace of the Pilot after a short period of time, and ends a chilling and disturbing cliffhanger. How will Burke survive an entire town-sized mob of bloodthirsty citizens? I guess we’ll find out next week!

What did you think of “Don’t Discuss Your Life Before,” the second episode of Wayward Pines? What do you think is going on? Is Burke dead? Is he caught in an alternate dimension? Is the whole town a figment of his imagination? Let us know what you think!

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