This is part 1 of the podcast for the mid-season finale. Because there was so much going on, part 2 will be released the first week of January,  when we will return with new bi-weekly podcasts during the hellatus. The actual review starts after news at 7:00.

For Your Convenience: Haven Origins Episodes are on the Official Haven Herald Tumblr.

I decided to go old school with this episode and also write about it. It has been a minute since I’ve done that. Of course I still have the usual notes and quotes at the end. Enjoy. If you like me including a review like this let me know and maybe I’ll bring it back for the next season.

Random Notes
Quotes

Kudos to Emily Rose for her brilliant portrayal of Mara and Audrey Parker this season.

From the beginning of the season, fans were concerned there would be a lack of Audrey and there was in the beginning. But you distracted us from that absence with your portrayal of Mara. She was the character who made a roller coaster out of our feelings. Fans hated her, loved her, or were shocked by her and sometimes all at the same time! That would not have been possible without your superb acting. On top of that you were in practically every scene this season and that could not have been easy. I mean playing one character isn’t easy but you played two! So thank you! You were fantastic in both roles.

Kudos also to Matt McGuiness, writer of the mid-season finale, Chosen.

This episode felt like a classic Haven episode. You had a little bit of everything. Action, Comedy, Romance, story advancement, and a trouble that needed solving. It is an episode that is in my top 10, probably my top 5 once I can actually think about everything clearly.

I have watched this episode so many times already and I still feel as if I haven’t seen everything. Let’s see what I can talk about.

Dwight/Charlotte:

As annoyed as I am with Dwight, I did feel bad for the guy.

He was played from the beginning by Charlotte. Sure she cared for him but she always knew she was going to just love him and leave him. Dwight’s still unlucky in love. And for that I feel bad..:( I recognize that Dwight only wants what’s best for the town but he doesn’t fully have a grasp on the issue. He says it himself. He tried to help Joe but that’s Audrey’s thing. Therefore you should get help from the people whose “thing” it is. *shrug* Just saying.

Charlotte

So many questions!!! Besides being an answer genie, there is still an air of mystery about Ms. Charlotte Cross. If that’s even really your name!!

Sure she is Mara’s mom and she’s from the other world but who are you, Charlotte? Who are you that you were able to have people sent to find your daughter and William AND execute a punishment that affects the lives of a small town? Why didn’t you just keep her in the barn if it meant that the troubles stayed away? And why would you make the solution to solving the troubles be the sacrifice of someone who loves her?! So. Many. Questions.

The last thing I will say is that Charlotte is right. She is a dunderhead when it comes to the real world. :p You don’t just call people copies! Have some tact!

Vince/Dave

I don’t even know what to say about this part of the story. Croatoan has to play some part of a larger role in the next half of the season. I’d be surprised if it didn’t. I have no idea how this connects. I mean I have thoughts and theories but nothing shareable yet. But awesome to see the brothers Teagues working together. 🙂

Duke

Duke’s acts in this episode were the opposite of selfish. Dwight better think twice before he accuses Duke of that again. Poor Duke. Unwillingly used by Mara to hurt the people in his hometown. Willing to sacrifice his own life to end the threat of Mara AND prevent anyone else from being hurt because of him.  The bad guy with a heart of gold is just a good guy.

I’m glad he didn’t have to die but now the troubles have been released and I cannot imagine the guilt he will feel in this next half. :-/ And what does it all mean? Now that he’s been set off, are there any more troubles within him?  These are going to be some of the worst troubles Haven has ever seen. Will he have to go back to the ways of his family trouble and help end some of them? Eric Balfour continues to shine in this role. I can’t imagine anyone else playing Duke Crocker.

Audrey vs. Mara

YES! YES! YES! This confrontation was something fans had been waiting for since we learned that both Audrey and Mara were sticking around. It was everything we wanted. The verbal sparring, the catching of the punch by Audrey, the sucker punch by Mara. Can you imagine if Audrey had been healthy?! Ha!

These scenes alone are why you have to acknowledge the work of Emily Rose. She played both parts in these scenes (with the help of her friend Kirsty, playing opposite of her). This means they shot the scene with her as Audrey, she goes and changes costumes, hair, makeup, etc., then comes back and they shoot her as Mara. Keeping in mind that they have to shoot different angles for each character she’s playing. Exhausting!! So let’s also acknowledge all the crew & special effects folks who were helped make this magic happen! Thanks!!

Nathan/Audrey

Need I say more? I guess I’ll say something. It was great to see how far the Nathan/Audrey relationship has come. In the past, each of them made the decision to sacrifice themselves individually without consulting the other. Here, you have an actual conversation about it, a reluctant acceptance of the decision from both of them, and support for one another. Emily and Lucas Bryant always, without fail, make you feel the love between these two characters and it was never more felt than their heartbreaking conversation and the emotional reunion scene. Thanks Matt McGuiness for taking us through the emotions and for rewarding our trust by treating these two characters so well. 😀

Mara/Charlotte

I’ll admit when I first saw Charlotte trying to talk with Mara and convince her she needed help, I thought she was crazy. Then I realized that she was just a mother trying to reach her daughter. I was actually riveted by their conversation because Charlotte brought out a side of Mara we had NEVER seen before. She was actually vulnerable! I loved watching this scene though and could watch it over and over and over again.

Of course while this conversation did answer some questions, it also added more to the list. Like, who is Mara’s daddy?! And man, Mama Charlotte must have really not liked William to trap him in the barn without parole or was there more to it?

Welcome to Hellatus – Now what?!

Duke’s trouble-bomb went off and some of the worst troubles Haven has ever seen has been released. My first thought was, “Well there’s some job security for Nathan and Audrey.” My second thought was Duke better be alive but I quickly dismissed that thought because without Duke we would not have our trio.

Charlotte’s confirmed that Mara, the maker of the troubles is now dead. So are our Haven-savers left to only fight the troubles? Will they be the founders of a new group to rival the Guard? Do we call them the Trouble-fighters? Trouble-stoppers? Any suggestions?

How does Croatoan play into everything? So far we know Dave, Jennifer, Audrey (Mara), and Agent Howard came from the other world. Did anyone else? For why? And how does what we see in Haven Origins connect to everything?

It seems like Audrey is back and healed and good. Can we be sure of that though? I’m going to go on a limb and imagine she is because giving her another side effect for existing seems a little redundant.

The Rings! I still have questions!! Every member of Charlotte’s family has it. Charlotte has one and Audrey has Sarah’s which was originally Mara’s. So whose ring does Nathan have? It came from Garland but who did Garland get it from because it could not have been Garland. He was troubled. Hmmmm.

ONLY HUNDREDS MORE!

Wrap Up

This episode marks the mid-season finale. The second half of the season will air in 2015 but no official announcement has been made as to when. It could be Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter. All we know is that it will air some time next year.  While we wait, keep watching Haven and gather your thoughts and theories. This is also the perfect time to get your friends hooked on the show. Remember they can catch up on Netflix and get themselves ready for the next half. 😀  I will still be posting on RevisitingHaven and Amy S. and I will be doing our podcast on a biweekly basis during hellatus. We have some fun stuff coming up so stay tuned.

KUDOS AND THANKS TO THE ENTIRE CAST AND CREW FOR AN AWESOME 1ST HALF!!!

Random Notes:

• Love that this ep began immediately after the last ep ended.
• Charlotte wasn’t kidding when she said she was a dunderhead. Don’t call Audrey a copy! Have some tact woman!
• Every episode needs to have a little Gloria!
• Kudos to Emily Rose for playing both Audrey and Mara so freakin’ well. I mean seriously. These two characters are so different!
• The kids should have listened to their teacher and gotten off the boat, not inside the boat
• What do these visions of Dave’s mean!!!
• Dang it Dwight. You brought Charlotte into all this. Look at you passing her off to Nathan. :p
• This Nathan/Audrey scene was heart-wrenching. LOVED IT. Beautifully written.
• I would have been one of those extra kids. Even if I would have frozen in that cold water.
• Well played Duke.
• Yes Dwight, that is Audrey’s thing. 😉
• Audrey still has it!
• Okay, as mad as I was at Dwight, I do feel bad for the lug.
• I love that Charlotte calls Mara dove. I don’t know why, but I really do.
• Look at Audrey being badass and catching that punch Mara throws!!
• These last 12 minutes of the show were riveting. I could not tear my eyes away.
• Shawn Pierce I loved what you did with the Nathan/Audrey reunion scene. Beautiful.
• Loved the special effects and score for that last few minutes. It felt very ominous!
• How does Croatoan play into all of this?!
• Welcome to hellatus.

Quotes:

• Nathan: “Stop lying.”
  Charlotte: “I have. It’s the truth.”
  Dwight: “No, what?”
  Charlotte: “Mara. Is my daughter.”
  Dwight: “How? You’re too…”
  Charlotte: “I’m about 1100 in your years. Mara’s 600-ish.”
  Nathan: “Why should we believe you?”
  Charlotte: “You can feel me, Nathan. And how else would I possibly have this ring? I’ll tell you. Because everyone in my family has one including my daughter Mara who I need to see. That’s why I’m here.”
  Audrey: “Here. From where?”
  Charlotte: “See these two microscopes? They’re both made of similar parts, do similar things but were developed completely independently. And one is far more advanced. Like these microscopes, my world and yours, were developed independently, with mine more advanced and far away. And they must stay separated.
  Dwight: “Yeah. I agree.”
  Charlotte: “Dwight, I know I lied.”
  *Dwight stops Charlotte and has guards placed on her keepin her in her lab room*
  Charlotte: “You must believe me. My daughter is very dangerous, that’s why I’m here to take her away and hopefully undo whatever damage she’s done.”
• Duke: “I told you not to touch anything!”
• Duke: “Okay. Time for me to go see a doctor.”
• Nathan: “So the void separates our worlds?”
  Charlotte: “Like a DMZ. Not a place anyone should stay. Mara and William took aether from the void and brought it here.
  Audrey: “Why? Why would Mara bring the troubles here?”
  Charlotte: “For love. But it was misguided. When I found out, I tried to correct the situation. Make a punishment that yielded reparations and made my daughter realize the error of her ways.”
  Audrey: “So the barn? The barn stole personalities from Sarah, Lucy, and Audrey? To what? To teach your daughter a lesson?”
  Charlotte: “And to help all of you.”
  Nathan: “Can you fix what Mara’s done?”
  Charlotte: “I’ve been hoping to figure out what Mara has done. That’s why I chose to be a CDC officer. It allowed me to investigate troubled people.
  Nathan: “What about Audrey? Can you help her”
  Charlotte: “I’ve been trying, but I thought that on the inside, she was still Mara and not a copy. There can’t be a copy, not–not in one world.”
  Nathan: “So if you took Mara home, then Audrey would get better?
  Charlotte: “Possibly. Look, our best chance at fixing all of this, is if you bring Mara to me.”
  Nathan: “Then I will.”
• Duke: “Hey, I’m Duke Crocker.
  Charlotte: “Right. Hi.”
  Duke: “Look, I know that you helped Audrey and Dave Teagues.”
  Charlotte: “Yeah.”
  Duke: “I need you to help me too. You see, I have a lot of troubles in me and now it seems that I am…giving them out.”
  Charlotte: “What do you mean, giving them out?
  Duke: “These black tears come out of my eyes, and then they float onto people, and–and then they get a trouble.”
• Nathan: “You okay?”
  Audrey: “I’m just so cold.”
  Nathan: “Well, we did just meet your mother. Wow. Brr.”
• Mara: “Hello Audrey husk.”
  Audrey: “Mara.”
  Mara: “This is so weird.”
  Audrey: “Yeah.”
  Mara: “I’d say it’s like looking in a mirror, but you’re so pale and weak. And that haircut. No. No, no, no. Mm-mm. Bourbon?”
  Audrey: “No.”
  Mara: “And we have nothing in common.”
  Audrey: “Your mom. She wants to see you.”
  Mara: “I will not go and see her.”
  Audrey: “Why?”
  Mara: “If she really was your mother, you would know. But you can deliver a message for me. Tell mommy dearest to open a damn thinny so I can blow this clambake. Alone. Without her. She will say no, and when she does, you tell her that I’ve turned Duke Crocker into something…awesome. A concentration of new troubles that no one has ever seen. Now, a few of them have leaked out, but those are just farts in a dust storm.  If my mom doesn’t open a thinny and let me leave by the end of the day, Duke will blow. And Haven will see troubles that will make the last 500 years look like a square-dance. And two more things. One: Anyone kills me, he explodes. And, Two: You’re so pale. You really should wear more blush. Here’s some.”
  *Mara gives Audrey a blow to the head*
  “Oh! That feels like therapy!”
• Teacher: “I am so fired.”
• Nathan: “Sorry I wasn’t here. Maybe this is a good thing. We just tell Charlotte what she wants, and Mara leaves. What’s wrong?”
  Audrey: “What do you think Charlotte thinks of me?
  Nathan: “I don’t know. I don’t care. Do you?
  Audrey: “Yeah. I’m gonna go and talk to her.”
  Nathan: “Okay let’s go.”
  Audrey: “No. Alone.”
  Nathan: “Are you sure?”
  Audrey: “Besides, Dwight really needs you down at the docks. You should go. I’ll meet up with you later.”
• Audrey: “I spoke to Mara.”
  Charlotte: “Come in. Are you okay?”
  Audrey: “Just…no.”
  Charlotte: “This is so odd for me.”
  Audrey: “It is?”
  Charlotte: “You look exactly like my daughter.”
  Audrey: “But I’m not.”
  Charlotte: “No. Mara’s my daughter.”
  Audrey: “And whose daughter am I?”
  Charlotte: “I don’t know. The troubles’, maybe? I’m sorry. No one’s, I guess. So what did Mara say?”
  Audrey: “She doesn’t like you very much. She wants to go through a thinny, without you.”
  Charlotte: “Absolutely not. That can’t happen. She’s far too unstable.”
  Audrey: “She said if you don’t let her leave, she’s gonna blow up a trouble-bomb. Duke Crocker. Mara said that she did something to Duke and when he explodes, he’ll fill this town full of the worst troubles that anyone has ever seen. Unless you let her go into the void. Without you.”
  Charlotte: “Unfortunately, I believe she’s telling the truth about Duke. He came to see me.”
  Audrey: “He’s here?”
  Charlotte: “Come with me. I’ll show you.”
  *They find Duke MIA*
  Charlotte: “Duke? Duke. He left.”
  Audrey: “For where?”
  Charlotte: “I don’t know. But it doesn’t really matter because I can’t stop him from exploding, and I will never let Mara through a thinny alone. If it comes to it, Duke Crocker will explode.”
  Audrey: “Please. There must be something.”
  Charlotte: “Seems like you would do anything to save this town, Audrey.”
  Audrey: “I would. They’re my family.”
  Charlotte: “Then we might have one solution.”
• Duke: “You are gonna tell me right now. Or I am gonna beat you to death. With him.”
• Dwight: “She’s your responsibility now.”
• Nathan: “Are we going to let Mara go?”
  Charlotte: “No. It’s far too dangerous. For everyone.”
  Audrey: “There’s another way to get Mara to deactivate Duke.”
  Nathan: “What?”
  Charlotte: “Audrey will help Mara realize the terrible mistake she’s making.
  Nathan: “Audrey’s gonna talk Mara into stopping all this?”
  Charlotte: “No. Mara’s personality has been overlayed so many times that I think the goodness that is in Audrey has been leeched out of Mara. It must be returned.”
  Nathan: “What?”
  Audrey: “Nathan. Just listen to her, please.”
  Charlotte: “Audrey must be returned to Mara. When they’re recombined, I think Mara will choose to stop all of this.”
  Nathan: “Audrey was trapped in Mara before.”
  Charlotte: “I’m not talking about trapping Audrey in Mara. I’m talking about making Audrey part of Mara. The part she lost. The part that’s good. I can do that.”
  Nathan: “There’s got to be another way.”
  Charlotte: “There isn’t. Audrey isn’t sick because they’re both here. She’s sick because one life force split into two. This is our solution.”
  Nathan: “No.”
  Charlotte: “If we don’t do it and Mara gets in that void, she will destroy all of us.”
• Audrey: “Don’t be mad at me. I’m not giving up. I’m finishing. Do you remember how all of this started? We found that picture of Lucy and we thought that she was my mother. And then we finally find my mother and discover that I don’t even have one, so.”
  Nathan: “So what? Doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to live.”
  Audrey: “No, it doesn’t mean that.”
  Nathan: “Then why do this?”
  Audrey: “Because it’s what I want to do. Me. Audrey Parker.”
• Audrey: “Do you love me?”
  Nathan: “Yes.”
  Audrey: “Then let me do this. Let me save Haven. Let me save Duke and let me save you. Please. Find Mara. Don’t let her go through a thinny and destroy us all. I will stay here. I will help those kids. Please. Go and find her so we can do this.”
  *Nathan and Audrey kiss*
  Nathan: “Fine. I’ll find Mara. I’ll let Charlotte combine you, but you have to promise me that you will keep fighting to stay alive in there.”
  Audrey: “I don’t know if I could do that.”
  Nathan: “You can. You’re strong. Promise that you will keep fighting to save yourself too.”
  Audrey: “Nathan.”
  Nathan: “Promise me, Parker, because when this is done, I’m gonna get you back.
  Audrey: “I promise.”
  Nathan: “When it’s done, I’m gonna get you back.”
• Duke: “Alright, I have to ask.  Do you miss the toe?
  Mara: “Not really, no. Strappy summer sandals are out. I let my pedicure go to hell, anyway.”
• Duke: “You know, it’s ironic. I had you chained up here. I didn’t realize you were holding all the cards. But now…”
  Mara: “You hold all the cards now?
  Duke: “Oh, yeah. Full boat.”
• Duke: “I want a guarantee that I don’t trouble any more people. Ever.”
• Duke: “Through the thinny, into the void, and over the woods to grandmother’s house we go.”
• Dwight: “I tried to talk Joe down on the way here, but that’s your thing. You got this. No pressure.”
  Audrey: “No.”
• Charlotte: “Dwight?”
  Dwight: “Busy.”
  Charlotte: “No, Dwight. Please.”
  Dwight: “Okay. I just want to know one thing. All of that work we did-the blood tests, the genetic marker, was any of that real?
  Charlotte: “It was real. It was all real. I was trying to figure out what Mara had done.”
  Dwight: “Why should I believe you?
  Charlotte: “Because we were real. I care about you Dwight.”
  Dwight: “Were you ever planning on staying, or did you always know that some version of today was coming for me?
  Charlotte: “I always knew.”
  Dwight: “Well, in case you were wondering, today really sucked.”
• Gloria: “Well the cops told me to come and check out Mr. M-80. It was terrible.”
• Vince: “Don’t lose your nerve now.”
• Audrey: “We should wait for Nathan.”
  Charlotte: “Why? You want to say goodbye.”
• Audrey: “You said that when we combine, I won’t be inside Mara. I will be a part of Mara.
  Charlotte: “Yes, imagine a drop of white paint being mixed and swirled into a can of black paint. Gone, but still inside.”
  Audrey: “So  then Audrey Parker…will cease to exist. Will–will die?
  Charlotte: “Yes, she must.”
  Mara: “Damn straight.”
• Charlotte: “Mara. Hi, Dove.”
  Mara: “Hold that thought.”
• Mara: “Every time I see you, you make me uneasy. I get creeped out, like I’ve forgotten something important.”
  Audrey: “And every time I see you…it makes me want to vomit.”
• Mara: “Now, Mommy, ‘Hi?!’ 500 years and hi?”
  Charlotte: “Put the gun down. You don’t want to shoot me.”
  Mara: “I do.”
  Charlotte: “Mara, I’ve had time to think.”
  Mara: “Yeah.”
  Charlotte: “And I might know why you’re so upset.”
  Mara: “Maybe because you locked me in this place for 500 years, while other people took over my body?”
  Charlotte: “No…because you blame yourself for what happened to Dad, because I was too busy trying to help you, not him, and we lost him.”
  Mara: “No! I blame you. You’re timid and stupid and jealous of the things I can do. And weak! And guess what? I’m not, and I am going to get Dad back.
  Charlotte: “At what cost?”
  Mara: “Doesn’t matter.
  Charlotte: “Does Duke matter?”
  Mara: “I needed to work with the aether. You may be afraid of it, but I’m not, and as for Duke, He’ll be fine. I turned his thing off, and we’re gonna go flying, and maybe I’ll turn another little part on.”
  Charlotte: “Mara, this whole situation has turned you into something you’re not, and it’s my fault. I beg you, please, let me help you. Let me make you whole again.”
  Mara: “I don’t want her.”
  Charlotte: “She’s not her, Dove. She’s you. You have to admit, there are parts of her that you respect. Parts that could make you better. Let me return them to you.”
• Duke: “Nathan.”
  Nathan: “I need Mara.”
  Duke: “Yeah? So do I. Goodbye Nathan.”
  Nathan: “Stop.”
  Duke: “I don’t have time for this.”
  Nathan: “Duke, Mara turned you into some kind of trouble bomb, and she–“
  Duke: “I know. That’s why I’m taking her to a thinny, an open one.”
  Nathan: “A what? You can’t let her through a thinny–“
  Duke: “I won’t. I’m gonna kill her right on the damn doorstep.”
  Nathan: “What?”
  Duke: “I need Mara to go with me to make sure that it is open so–so that I can go through. So that way I can explode inside the void so that I don’t kill anyone else with my trouble. That is why I need Mara. So why do you need her?”
  Nathan: “To save you. To save this town.”
  Duke: “To save Audrey? Are you sure you can do that?”
  Nathan: “Yes.”
• Charlotte: “It doesn’t have to be this way. You don’t have to be so angry. Do you like feeling like that?”
  Mara: “No, I just feel like this all the time.”
  Charlotte: “I am so sorry.”
  Mara: “Do you remember when I was little and we used to go swimming? With Dad?”
  Charlotte: “Yeah.”
  Mara: “I loved that. He would hold me in the water, and I felt safe.”
  Charlotte: “And you don’t feel safe anymore.”
  Mara: “No.”
  Charlotte: “And you need to feel that way again, don’t you.”
  Mara: “I do.”
  Charlotte: “Let me help you, Mara. Please. Let me make you feel better. Let me give you the part of you that you lost.”
• Duke: “You just don’t give up, do you?
  Nathan: “No.”
  Duke: “And you think that’s a good thing?
  Nathan: “Isn’t it?”
• Nathan: “I don’t want to lose you too, Duke.”
  Duke: “Thank you, that’s very sweet.”
• Nathan: “Mara.”
  Audrey: “It’s me.”
  Nathan: “Audrey?”
  Audrey: “Parker.”
• Nathan: “How?”
  Charlotte: “Mara was already destroyed by the loss of her father. I’ve been trying to rescue her from that tragedy, but today I realized I was just torturing her instead.”
  Nathan: “So you changed–you changed your daughter?”
  Charlotte: “I prefer to think of it as–as rescued. Audrey was how Mara once was, the daughter I loved.”
• Nathan: “Parker–“
  Audrey: “Yes, Yes! It’s me, Nathan!”
• Duke: “Uh, hello? So what the hell happens to me now?
  Charlotte: “Mara really did like you Duke. She said you two were going on a trip, and she said she turned you off. You should be okay.”
  Duke: “Just a tip. Next time just, you know, skip to the good part.”
• Nathan: “I can feel you again, Parker.”
  Audrey: “Good.”