Aahana Swrup
The horror-comedy series ‘Widow’s Bay’ transports the viewers to the titular coastal town, where some new, inexplicable supernatural danger awaits around every other corner. Episodes 6 and 7, respectively titled ‘Our History’ and ‘Seasickness,’ delve into the island’s past, bringing the narrative of Richard Warren to the forefront. The latter, Widow’s Bay’s first mayor and founder, leads a peculiar life, which attracts the distrust of his fellow villagers. Still, Saras Westcott, a mainlander who is brought to the bay to be Warren’s bride, tries to remain optimistic about the new life she is stepping into. However, things take a drastic turn when she takes a peek into her husband’s more dangerous and devilish affairs. Yet, even after a coup and a burial, it seems Warren’s story wouldn’t be over for centuries to come. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Sarah Westcott’s New Loveless Marriage
In 1702, after surpassing her weddable years, Sarah Westcott resigns herself to a life of spinsterhood. That is, until a marriage offer arrives from the recently settled island of Widow’s Bay. As it turns out, Mayor Richard Warren, a widower with three kids, is in need of a wife. Thus, Sarah finds herself journeying to the island town. Before the wedding, she meets Pastor Collins, who extends his friendship and guidance to her. Her marriage gets off to a clumsy start when her husband leaves her alone on the wedding night to deal with some business. That same night, she spies on her husband in the living room, seemingly in a possessed trance. Afterward, as her days on the island grow in number, she learns more troubling details about the community.
Apparently, a plague is making its way through the town, driving the infected to madness. Back at home, Sarah eavesdrops on a conversation about the same between her husband and Ezra Lowery, who confronts Warren about the rumors regarding his communion with the island. The accusations ruffle certain feathers for the mayor, who eventually ends up murdering the other man. His wife, traumatized by the events, manages to hide away in her bed and feign sleep. The next morning, she finds the hallway where the murder had taken place entirely spotless. Furthermore, she stumbles upon a secret underground chamber, where the murder weapon seems to have been stashed. Consequently, having seen enough, she decides to finally seek out outside help and knocks on Pastor Collins’ door.
The Insurrection Against Mayor Warren
When Sarah shares her concerns with Pastor Collins, she learns that the town already has its own reservations about her husband. Many of the villagers believe Warren is in covenant with the Devil. Therefore, he asks her to leave the front door of the house unlatched at night so that a group of men can assassinate the mayor. The following night, Sarah follows the instructions. However, even after the armed men enter the home and stab Warren, the latter refuses to die. Sarah, who witnesses the assassination attempt, becomes convinced that her husband is indeed in cahoots with something evil. Yet, her scope of escape diminishes when her husband puts the house on lockdown for fear of another attack.
In the absence of a clear way out, Sarah ends up going down to the underground cellar. Eventually, though a maze of tunnels, she manages to find her way out into the town. Immediately, she runs to the Church, seeking Pastor Collins’ help. She tells them about Warren’s apparent immortality and insists that they must carry out another attack to destroy him. Unfortunately for her, the town seems to have another plan, one which involves her return to the house. Collins and the others want her to return home and mix some poison in her husband’s drink to leave him defenseless. Once the job is done, they assure her that a ferry will arrive to take her away from the town.
The following night, Sarah follows the plan and drugs her husband as instructed. Once Warren realizes what is happening, he tries to choke her to death. Nevertheless, his eldest son, who detests him for killing his birth mother, comes to the woman’s rescue and knocks out his father. Afterward, Sarah and the kids escape from the house to get to the boat in the dark of the night. Once at the docks, they run into another problem when an infected woman tries to hijack their dinghy. Nonetheless, Sarah manages to fight her off and take the kids out into the sea. Meanwhile, Collins and the other villagers tie up Warren and prepare him for his demise. The mayor protests and reveals that the town would die without him holding up his end of a mysterious bargain. In the end, his warnings are ignored, and Warren is buried alive.
Warren’s Exhumed Coffin Reveals Something Unexpected
Back in the present day, Tom finally recovers from the otherworldly effects of the magic mushroom. In the late night hour, he receives a peculiar phone call from Patricia and Wyck, urging his presence in the historical society. After the duo read Sarah Westcott’s diary entry, describing a locket around her husband’s neck, they decided to find the trinket, believing it might hold answers about the curse on the town. However, once they dug up Warren’s grave, they made an entirely unbelievable discovery: Richard Warren is alive. The centuries have ghastly aged him, but haven’t killed him quite yet. Although Wyck and Patricia had tried to talk to him, he only seemed interested in talking to the current head of the town, aka, Tom.
When the two mayors meet, Tom learns that Warren had indeed made a deal with something evil. He had done so in order to save the town from the harsh winter and ensuing famine, the same one that sent many townsfolk toward cannibalism. The old mayor came into contact with this presence after eating a mushroom. His recollection remains starkly similar ot the experience Tom underwent after his own hallucinogenic trip. Afterward, Warren reveals that since he’s the one who made a covenant with evil, his life is the thing that has bound the town to its curse. Since his children all died young, after trying to leave the island with Sarah, he believes that his own death will finally free the town from the curse’s clutches.
Tom and Wyck Undertake a Mission Out to the Sea
Time has proven that Warren cannot die of any natural means, be it violence or aging. Yet, he believes that he can use the mechanics of the curse against it. For a long time, the town’s folklore has declared that those born on the island can never leave it without meeting a fatal end. It’s the same reason, Tom’s son, Evan, has never left Widow’s Bay. Therefore, the old mayor devises a plan that involves taking him out into the sea and crossing the imaginary border that seals the Bay-born residents’ fate. Initially, Wyck is unenthused by the plan because he believes faring out to sea with inexperienced Tom and unreliable Warren is a recipe for disaster. Ultimately, he agrees to the plan with the promise that the 300+ year old mayor has to be in his coffin.
Tom manages to sell the idea to Warren by promising him that he would be let out of the coffin once on the boat. For the same reason, once the trio gets out to the sea, he ends up feeling bad about the old mayor and lets him out of his confinement. Initially, all seems fine as the latter enjoys some food and singing on the deck, while Wyck steers the boat towards his doom. However, Warren inevitably grows disillusioned by the reality of his self-sacrifice. No longer willing to die, he attacks Tom and Wyck. Thus, as the boat jets toward the border, a fight breaks out on the deck. Eventually, the two manage to get Warren back in his coffin, a few feet away from the border. In the last few moments, Tom manages to kick Wyck off the board with a lifesaver, ensuring he doesn’t cross the border and meet the same fate as the old mayor. In the end, Warren dies, Wyck is safe, and the town’s future begins to look up.
Read More: Is Widow’s Bay Based on a True Story?
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