The Mosquito Coast (Season 2), Episode 8: The Mosquito Coast, streaming on Apple TV+, has, by now, become an exhausting drama. The family survival thriller is wearing thin in terms of the components that initially made it intriguing. While being on the run as a unit, the family members start becoming distant to the point they evaluate their place in this very unit. The idealistic reasons why Allie Fox is making his family have this transitory life have now started to feel a little plastic since much of the commentary is so on-the-face that it almost feels like Tyler Durden from Fight Club is giving a monologue against capitalism.
While it tonally works in the film, it does not elaborate enough on the delusional mentality that this family patriarch is in.
The Mosquito Coast (Season 2) Episode 8 Recap
Dead Totems
Directed by Marisol Adler, the eighth episode titled ‘Dead Totems’ tries to take us further into the journey of the Fox family and its gradual disintegration. Dina (Logan Polish) has a heated argument with Allie (Justin Theroux) about his skewed motives that do not let her or Charlie (Gabriel Bateman) the lives like ordinary people. She seems determined to leave the place on her own, and Allie senses her strong belief in it. Now, she goes out with her local friend, Adolfo (Alejandro Akara), on a date. She asks him if he will be scolded by Isela (Natalia Cordova-Buckley) for not staying within the boundaries. He does not pay heed to it and takes her to a nearby town on a boat.
Meanwhile, Margot (Melissa George) has a conversation with JJ Raban (Matt McCoy), asking for complete immunity in exchange for information on Allie. He finds it too big of an ask, and she wonders whether that is a decision of the entire NSA or just his. She then asks Allie if he had a conversation about the gun, and he seems to be stalling it. He instead rushes out in a hurry for his work and does not give detailed information on an escape plan. He then goes through the rainforest to see what Guillermo’s (Daniel Raymont) men are doing in the jungle. On his way, he destroys one of the cameras attached to a tree.
Back at their base, Margot gets closer to Richard (Ariyon Bakare), perhaps because he seems like a good alternative to Allie for her and the kids’ escape. She sees his phone with his child’s photo on the screensaver. He notes making a choice not to be present in the kid’s life and choosing this idealist vocation. However, he assures her that he will not ruin her life the way he did before and that he will take the necessary steps to ensure that. Still, he denies helping her and mentions it is a way actually to protect her. Meanwhile, Dina reaches the town with Adolfo, and he drives his car to a local fair.
She opens up about wanting to be a normal girl with an average life instead of the chaotic & transitory one that they lived. While he shows her a local church, she mentions that she is not religious. But her beliefs seem to be rooted more in Allie’s way of thinking and not what she chose for herself. Later, at the fair, she enjoys dancing with him, which she has never done before. She asks a local about a nearby airport and gets a bit of information that can help her escape plan.
Allie walks up to the waterbody, where he notices a sound coming from some locals. While hiding, he sees the smugglers working there, looting the sidelines for Guillermo. He sees one of them brutally killed over a minor argument. He leaves the place and then follows the men to another location, which is where Charlie bumps into him. The kid notes that he has come to these places before and seen these people. While Allie seems slightly pissed at first, he then shares the details about Guillermo, for whom those men are working. Around the same time, William (Ian Hart) arrives in the forest in his car and, after looking around, calls Guillermo to inform him that Allie is not either at the jetty or Casa Roja.
Meanwhile, Allie mentions the working of Sandpiper of how it can use the data about a particular thing, be it a person or even a bird, and is able to predict its future. He then shows a nearby bird and mentions how his algorithm can correctly predict its following location. Charlie, on the other hand, believes that behavior can be random and cannot be traced solely based on data. Allie shuts him up in his usual style while also denying Charlie’s deduction that having such control over choice can actually make them a cult.
Isela takes Richard to Guillermo’s men and warns him to keep the visit short. While she shares her knowledge about his past, Margot breaks into Richard’s place and goes through his personal stuff. She finds documents, photos, and whatnot and takes pictures of every single thing. In the end, she stumbles upon fake passports he made of himself under fake names. Then she sees one with her photo with the name of Judy Masterson. When he reaches there, he realizes that Margot must have broken into his place. He thinks that also because of what Isela tells him about Margot and Allie’s broken relationship.
Margot understands that it must be his plan to run with her. She confronts him about it and asks him to take her as a partner in his escape plan since she has no other choice. She persuades him to agree with her proposal finally. She also seems ready with detonators, which she hands him over. Meanwhile, Allie keeps asserting the negative aspects of capitalism on Charlie. While he makes clever arguments with the knowledge he has about their situation, he keeps diverting his attention to make his mission seem noble.
He soon speaks about the gun incident with Richard, and Charlie takes him back to the situation in the town where he killed a man. While Allie wants to speak about Richard, Charlie is confused why he does not want to talk about that victim. Allie justifies the killing of that earlier man as a necessity for the family’s safety and notes how shooting Richard is not a sane choice since it would mess up his life and his plan. While Charlie points out it is the first step of colonialism, Allie tries to justify his word in some way.
The Mosquito Coast (Season 2) Episode 8 Ending Explained
In the town, Dina and Adolfo speak about her previous relationship with a guy named Josh. Later, he takes her to his place, and while he is out, he steals his keys and tries running away. Adolfo catches that at the right moment and goes up to stop her since she selfishly went on to do it without thinking about him, who would get jailed for the stolen car. She pleads to him, noting that she has no other choice. He then decides to help her himself and drives her away.
In the forest, Allie and Charlie keep a watch on Guillermo’s men to see what they are up to. Soon after they leave, Allie enters their base, and Charlie follows him despite him having told him not to. While Charlie thinks it is just farm stuff, he denies it, and soon they find evidence of the smuggled drugs. Allie takes photos of it, and then they leave. He decides to use these photos in exchange for an ask or two.
Allie and Charlie return to their place, and Margot asks them where they have been. Allie chooses not to share any detail about their trip. When Charlie leaves the house, Allie mentions that he spoke about the incident with Richard but not about being ready for escape. Meanwhile, Charlie finds a letter left by Dina, who mentions being angry at both parents for not thinking about how she wanted to live her life. She ends the letter with an apology to Charlie. While she is on her way out of the transitory lifestyle with her family, it is yet to be seen what happens with the plans for Charlie and Margot’s escape.
