Mr. Hager: HAVEN Has Missed Opportunities [UPDATED]

UPDATE: As of 12 October, Haven has been greenlit for a third season! Read more at Variety.

It is difficult to say what gives Haven its appeal. The writing swings from ‘okay’ to ‘very good;’ all of the characters are depressingly dour to varying degrees; and the over-arching story moves slowly enough that it is hard to keep hope that everything will end happily.

Still, there is something about this little Maine town that keeps me coming back for more. For those that have not seen Haven — based on Stephen King’s “The Colorado Kid” — this New England town has a secret, or rather, secrets. Among Haven’s residents are many families affected by “the Troubles,” paranormal afflictions that manifest themselves differently in each family. Some can control plants, others are water-breathing, another can raise the dead, and so forth. When one of these Troubled people kills someone (either purposefully or accidentally), it is up to FBI Agent Audrey Parker and police Chief Nathan Wournos to investigate and save the day.

This premise lends quite handily to a ‘flavor of the week’ story structure very reminiscent of The X-Files. During the course of these weekly adventures we learn bit-by-bit the deep, dark past of the Troubles. As it turns out, Parker is a part of this past; you see, she has been to Haven before. Thirty years earlier Lucy Ripley, a woman looking exactly like Parker, appeared in Haven to help the Troubled.

The second season opened as Agent Parker and Chief Wournos were engaged in a standoff with…another Agent Parker. Suddenly all the audience knew about Parker was called into question; who was the real Audrey Parker?

It was a very intriguing opening that promised to add more complexity to the Parker storyline. However, as the ‘new’ Parker lost all memory of her identity, the ‘old’ Parker accepted too quickly that the new Parker was the real Parker. What looked to be an interesting season-long arc was handled in just a few episodes and aside from Parker’s occasional comments that she is not the real Parker, the ‘new’ Parker storyline appears to have been either forgotten or put on the back burner.

Another effort to complicate the Parker storyline also ended nearly as quickly as it began. Throughout the series the writers have played off the romantic tension between Parker and Wournos and in an effort to create more conflict on this front a new romantic interest was introduced in Haven’s new mayor, Chris Brody. Parker, being the only person in town immune to Brody’s Trouble (becoming irresistibly likable to anyone who makes eye contact with him), caught Brody’s interest. Their brief relationship always felt a bit forced and unnatural to the rest of the series. Much like the two Parker storyline it ended as quickly as it began and was subsequently forgotten.

The rest of the season saw the deepening of divisions in the town of Haven between those who were Troubled and those who were not. Led by Reverend Driscoll, the normal people of Haven became increasingly bold in their efforts to first subvert, then outright hunt the Troubled. One episode did delve more into Driscoll’s past as the Reverend learns that his wife did not die, but rather, ran off with one of the Troubled residents. It was a crucial bit of backstory that not only underscored Driscoll’s bitterness, but also served to enhance his hatred of the Troubled.

Driscoll’s rise came to an abrupt end as Parker was forced to kill him to protect a Troubled girl in a later episode. Her decision had lasting repercussions as Driscoll became a martyr for the normal residents. One man most affected by the Reverend’s death was Duke Crocker, a local smuggler with a tenuous relationship with Chief Wournos.

Crocker’s path was rather chaotic this season, beginning with the return of his wife Evi. At first it appeared she was back with best intention, helping Crocker investigate his past and search for clues about the identity of the man with the tattoo in his visions who would ultimately kill him. It became quickly apparent to the viewer, though, that she was not to be trusted. Things came to a head when Crocker discovered that Evi was working with the Reverend. Though she insisted that she was working with Driscoll to help Crocker learn about his past and his role in the future of Haven, it took her sacrifice by a sniper’s bullet to get Cocker to believe that she thought she was acting in his best interest.

For a time it looked like Crocker had blamed the Troubled for Evi’s death as he joined Driscoll’s camp. This move created tension between Crocker and Parker, who to this point had become fairly close friends. When Crocker revealed to Parker his plans to use Driscoll for information things seemed to improve. Much of that progress was lost, however, when Parker pulled the trigger before Crocker could get the information.

The biggest revelations came in the last two episodes of the season, as we learned that Audrey Parker’s destiny is to help the Troubled much as she did thirty years ago. We also learned that Crocker’s father hunted the Troubled and left instructions for him to do the same. Crocker also learns that Lucy Ripley killed his father and his father wants Crocker to exact revenge. It is also Chief Wournos’ job to stop Crocker in what appears to be a generations-old conflict.

In the final minutes of the finale Parker was abducted and Wournos, believing Crocker was following through on his father’s wishes, confronts him on his boat. Crocker denied involvement, yet a scuffle ensued. Held to the ground at gunpoint, Crocker saw a fresh tattoo on Wournos’ arm; it was the same tattoo Crocker saw in his vision. The season ended as Crocker reached for his gun and the sound of a single gunshot was heard.

Crocker’s character continues to be the most complex and interesting as his past is revealed and events continue to divide his loyalties. Parker and Wournos, as the lead characters, are surprisingly flat in terms of their development. While Parker continues to investigate her true identity this storyline is not returned to often enough to hold interest; the writers also missed a wonderful opportunity to make Parker’s character more complex by delving more into the two Parkers storyline. Wournos’ character is finally explored more deeply in the finale as he meets the specter of the former chief, the man who raised Wournos as his own son. There have been moments when Wournos’ feelings for Parker have been hinted at but they were not confronted until the finale. The spirit tells his son that he has to protect Parker and therefore cannot afford to love her; if the writers seize onto the inner conflict inherent in this, Wournos’ character should improve in future episodes.

Overall it was an enjoyable season and it was nice to finally have some questions answered and people’s purposes revealed, while introducing new questions at the same time.

Haven is in an odd place on SyFy; airing on Fridays after wrestling, it sits apart from the network’s other serial dramas. Though the ratings were lower than any of the ‘Powerful Mondays’ shows, Haven has still performed well. While there has not been official word of a third season renewal, its lower production costs compared to fated Eureka gives Haven a better shot at coming back [EDIT: Haven was renewed after this article was published.] Haven also fits in with SyFy’s new trend of airing paranormal shows over sci-fi. With the success of shows like Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness, the programming swing from science fiction to ‘weird’ seems to be a lasting change (for better or worse).

Haven, like its residents, sits at a crossroads. Should it get another season and should the writers capitalize on the conflict within and between the characters, Haven could well elevate itself from Friday night filler to primetime contender.