HAVEN “Business As Usual” Review

HAVEN “Business As Usual” Season 2, Episode 11 – There have been so many incredible new developments recently that have contributed to the mythology of Haven that it’s starting to seem like the background of this mysterious town is finally within our grasp. Still, with the rumblings of a war between the Troubled and the non-troubled civilians brewing, understanding Haven‘s unusual history may take a back seat to calming the present day conflict.

Although there was already unrest among the Haven townsfolk, Audrey killing the Rev stirred the town into frenzied action. The Troubled were organizing a meeting to discuss how to protect themselves from civilian backlash, while the non-troubled civilians seemed to be at their limit and reacting to the fact that the Troubled are dealt with outside of the normal legal system in Haven. As Patrick Grolsh put it, the “freaks walk free” in Haven.

I appreciated the conversations between Nathan and Audrey that addressed the issue of “bending the law.” A side effect of the Troubles in Haven is that a lot of uninvolved bystanders die. Many times the Troubled are aware that their issues are causing harm to others and rather than seek help in the authorities, they run or hide. The supernatural aside, I’ve often wondered if those deaths would fall within the realm of involuntary manslaughter. Normal civilians would not be exempt from the legal system if they were directly responsible for someone’s death no matter how unintentional. In Haven, the Trouble are treated differently and we never really find out what happens to the families of the people who were the collateral damage of the Troubles in Haven. It seems to me that both the Troubled and the regular townspeople of Haven have something to be worried about.

Among the conversations between Nathan and Audrey, I loved that Nathan told Audrey that she wasn’t just his partner anymore. When he gave her the address for Lucy Ripley, she reciprocated his sentiment and one upped it with a rushed kiss on her way out. Not the most romantic moment, but still pretty great.

Audrey’s conversation with Lucy completely blew all my old theories out of the water about who Audrey was. Much in the same way Audrey was imprinted with Audrey Parker’s memories, she had been imprinted with Lucy Ripley’s memories 27 years before. When she ran into Lucy 27 years ago, she told her everything and made her promise to keep her story a secret, saying that she had witnessed something terrible and that she had found a way to stop the Troubles in Haven. Lucy told Audrey that Simon Cocker had come to her place shortly after Lucy escaped all those years ago and tried to tell her that he might be able to help Lucy, but that she didn’t tell him anything because she had a bad feeling about him.

Duke discovering that Evy had returned the small silver Crocker box triggered an entire chain of events that had Dwight working alongside Duke and set Vince and Dave against one another. It’s still not entirely clear why Vince was frightened by the mysterious box or why Dave was determined to set things in motion to get Haven to “face reality,” but it appears that the larger of the two boxes that Simon Crocker left behind held a secret that may have unlocked Duke’s Trouble or perhaps an ability that would allow him to combat the Troubled.

Duke’s ability allowed him to sense the threat of Dwight’s attack and return a blow that sent Dwight flying off the deck of the Cape Rouge. Whatever the details of his Trouble/ability are, he definitely looked a little bit like a superhero in that scene. At the meeting for the Haven Troubled, Dwight tells Vince that Duke had cut him and although Vince doesn’t react in a way that makes it seem like an issue that needs to be addressed immediately, he implies that being cut by Duke would mean something more than a couple stitches at the local doctor’s office.

Probably the biggest reveal of the night related to Duke’s father’s cryptic box was a note that he left for Duke in the final pages of a book within the box saying that if he didn’t survive, Duke must take on his father’s mission to kill “her.” The pages were clipped together with photos of Audrey as Lucy Ripley. The question is now, why?

This was a great episode of Haven and I’m looking forward to more mystery and more answers in what will undoubtedly be a really intense season finale next week.