Eddie’s (Aaron Paul) been traveling a crazy road since defecting from Meyerism: He hasn’t pulled out of the belief system completely, and as we see in Wednesday’s (March 22) episode of “The Path,” his climb to R8 hits a snag.
The timing of his climb lines up with the Movement’s yearly “Restitution” phase: Relinquishing sins of the past to move into the fall renewed, everyone must face their past transgressions head-on. And while Cal’s (Hugh Dancy) concerns may lie heavily in the identity of Mary’s (Emma Greenwell) unborn baby, the real kicker lies in Sarah’s (Michelle Monaghan) recent life choices.
Instead of following through on her promise to dig deeper into Marshall’s (Tracy Howe) poisoned water problem, the Movement all but turned their back on the issue. If the episode’s opening dream sequence isn’t a clear sign of Sarah’s guilt, we don’t know what is: Taking the poisoned bacon motif to heart, she soon discovered the cows weren’t the only victims of the tainted water — Marshall Small is dead. From tainted meat to shady morals, Meyerism’s poison goes straight to the bone.
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They can send their past into the ocean with the best of intentions, but as Hulu’s advertising campaign clearly states: Nothing stays buried on “The Path.” From Cal’s murder and Sarah’s blackmail to Hawk’s (Kyle Allen) cheating and Abe’s (Rockmond Dunbar) secret identity… Each member of this odd family unit can do their best to wash away their indiscretions, but everything will eventually come into the light.
“The Light” is a term used a lot on “The Path.” And while Cal and Sarah deal with their relationship’s new sexual component, Eddie begins seeing the error of his ways: To really move forward and accept The Light, he needs to sever all ties to Sarah. His family seems permanently shattered, each member’s life a tributary slipping further away from an emotional center long-since gone… But it’s possible that one day, the Lane family will come together healed.
And this is what makes Eddie’s “Restitution” the hardest: His transgression is his defection — and leaving his family behind is too much to bear. It’s this difficult realization that nearly makes Eddie turn his back on all his progress… Of course, right up until Richard (Clark Middleton) exposes the one sin Sarah hoped to relinquish: That new sexual component in her relationship with Cal.
First Hawk, and now Cal’s after his wife? If ever there was a clear motivator to get back on the straight-and-narrow, it’d be revenge: And Eddie’s hurt enough to focus his energies into something positive, fulfilling Steven Meyer’s (Keir Dullea) dream in the process. He may not like it — and it may be the most difficult thing he’s ever done — but Eddie may just be ready to shock the system, and take over Meyerism once and for all.
Season 2 of “The Path” streams every Wednesday on Hulu. The finale will arrive April 12.