The Path May Lose Its Way

*Spoilers for season one of The Path*

Streaming media seems to be where it is at these days, auteurs are given greater creative freedom and aren't bogged down by the standard run time and censorship that conventional television stations have to adhere to. Some of the shows that they come out with are great, some are more questionable, but one thing that is certain is that viewers are lapping it up. When you think a streaming television service everyone's mind jumps firstly to Netflix and secondly to Amazon Instant Video, especially in the UK because they seem to be the only two major ones we have access to. There are actually others out there, including Hulu and I heard about one of it's latest offerings and was intrigued. The Path starring Aaron Paul, Hugh Dancy and Michelle Monaghan to name a few premiered in March and was quickly renewed so I had to check it out.

The Path follows the exploits of a "religious" movement *cough*cult*cough* called Meyerism, and although the creator has denied that Meyerism isn't inspired by Scientology it seems an awful lot like Scientology. Go ahead, flame me Scientology interweb dwellers. The protagonist Eddie Lane (Aaron Paul) begins to have doubts about his faith following a religious retreat in Peru, this is a complicated matter because his "religion" doesn't take kindly to people that doubt their faith, dubbing them deniers and ostracising them. Due to this he has a fear of speaking out as his devout wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) and children also belong to the "religion" and leaving the movement would mean also leaving his life with them, and this is the only life he knows. If matters weren't worse already he also has to tend with the cult leader Cal (Hugh Dancy) who has feelings for his wife and would do what he can to plant a wedge in between the two.

There are also external forces that are working to find out more about the organisation and take them down in the form of Detective Abe Gaines (Rockmond Dunbar) and Alison Kemp (Sarah Jones). The movement welcomes Gaines' attention through their disaster relief effort in New Hampshire, and he has a gut feeling that they are not just a group of helpful bystanders so decides to investigate. He decides to pay the registration fee and sign up to the movement, and although he does see them doing various good deeds he is still certain that it is a typical cult and the higher ups are involved in some wrong doing. Alison was a former member of the movement who's husband supposedly committed suicide so she is now on a one woman crusade to take down Meyerism, thus them labelling her a denier and trying to capture her. Through her assault on the movement she crosses paths with Eddie and Gaines in their respective quests the uncover the truth about Meyerism.

The series has an interesting premise, cults are a thing that have plagued humanity for millennia and I've always been fascinated by them. I understand that some people see major religions as cults, but I'm not going to discuss my views on that as I have a day job so I don't have the time. I've always wondered how people could be taken in by not just a person but an idea and be so indoctrinated that they can't see life outside of it. The Path portrays this as well as I have seen in the past few years and shows Cal as the main selling point for the movement. He is not the official leader but he is heading up that faction of the movement and I completely understand why people would buy into him. On the surface he is charismatic, forgiving, kind-hearted and reliable which is what makes him so attractive and I completely understand how he could brain wash the weak willed or the damaged and have them relying on him and the movement. I don't even see myself as damaged, especially not like some of the individuals we see here, yet seeing the persona he gives to the outside world he would probably be able to sign me up.

We also get to witness the followers need to be a part of something that they deem more important than anything else, something that elevates their status in their eyes. They see the light and they believe that the way they live enables them a better afterlife than ordinary civilians. It's interesting to see the different people who have come from different walks of life join the movement for the need of companionship, approval and the want of more from life. We have Eddie who's background remains shrouded other than him having a difficult upbringing and finding solace in the arms of Sarah and Meyerism. We have Sarah who was born and raised in the movement and can't see life outside it, although she does have deep love for her family she would turn away from them in a second if they left. We also have supporting characters like Mary Cox (Emma Greenwell) who's suffered from sexual abuse and drug addiction who Cal takes under his wing and they eventually end up in a toxic relationship. The series had a slow start and I almost didn't continue but the exploration of the psyche of an array of characters like these is one of the things that made the series so compelling and made me want to continue.

There are cracks in the organisation which Eddie and the viewers see, he is guided out of his undeniable faith through his realisation of them as well as his new found friendship with Alison. I was hopeful that he and Alison would aid Gaines in his quest to infiltrate the organisation and actually find out its deep and dark secrets and take it down. That's what I was expecting, and I'm not against being surprised but the tenth episode the show did a complete 180. The first nine episodes were working towards my original theory which was the primary reason I sought the show out to watch it but in episode ten it felt like they completely threw what had happened out of the window, it poses the question "Is Meyerism real?". It felt like a completely new genre.

Episode ten didn't just plant subtle hints about it which would make the viewer question what we've seen, which would be fine as television is known for misdirection to keep characters and viewers on their toes. Episode ten tells us Meyerism is real through events that occur in the episode, including Eddie's visions, Stephen Meyer's resurrection and the miraculous recovery of Gaines' daughter. Suddenly it's turned into a supernatural show which is not what I bought. I would welcome questioning whether the movement is founded, I don't welcome being told to ignore everything I've seen in the previous episodes. If there were hints at the beginning of the series then I wouldn't be as irked and more accepting of it but there weren't, this twist has come out of nowhere.

The episode wasn't completely terribly thanks to the story lines of the other characters. Naturally some suspicions have been cast upon Cal for his dubious deeds throughout the first season and it could be intriguing to see the power play between him and Sarah. The only problem is that the return of Stephen Meyer could mean we don't see the shift in hierarchy between the two or them quarrelling for control. Gaines having more faith in the movement could have also been another plus for the show if it wasn't for Eddie and Alison jumping back into team Meyerism. Now there's a chance we won't have anyone doubting or questioning the group which was one of it's unique selling points for me.

I'm used to being disappointed in shows that I've tried, but I will never get used to being annoyed. That means I've actually found it in myself to care about the show and the characters and possibly recommend it to others (which I did with The Path) before finishing the show. I was buying into the show and if it wasn't for episode ten they would've had me for years. I'm not saying that they can't have plot twists but with one like this there should have been more foreshadowing, now it seems that the writers just wanted to shock the audience rather than tell a story that they had pre-planned. Season two probably won't be around for another year or so so there is a chance I may get over it and try that out but I doubt it.

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