Wayward Humanity

"I warned you that revealing the truth would be the death of Wayward Pines, but you wouldn't listen." — David Pilcher, "Wayward Pines"

If you tried to explain "Wayward Pines" to someone, they'd probably think you'd gone mad. It's a TV show, and it makes sense if you watch it, but just try explaining it to someone. I had that experience near the end of episode nine, as my wife asked what I was watching. Then she asked what it was about. Then she looked at me with a mixture of confusion and bewilderment after I told her.

It's not an easy show to describe. And sometimes it wasn't an easy show to watch. But it was fascinating, creepy, and compelling.

FOX insists it was a one-time mini-series. That makes sense since it's been on the shelf for at least a year. Long enough for Terrence Howard and Juliette Lewis — who appear in early episodes of "Wayward Pines" — to star in shows that finished a first season and are already shooting a second.

It's easy to wonder if FOX struggled with the series, too. After all, they waited a long time to put it out and were definitive that the series wouldn't get a second season, though it drew decent numbers for summer and has a dedicated fan base.

Maybe that's because they don't see where it can go. I must admit, I was excited by the idea of a 10-episode limited series. That's what "Under the Dome" was originally supposed to be on CBS, but it drew decent ratings and has been renewed two times. Now it struggles creatively — so I've heard, I gave up on it just a couple episodes into season two — and is no longer on solid ratings ground.

The same would be true of "Wayward Pines," I think. It has an interesting and specific story, one that worked beautifully over 10 episodes but would falter over multiple seasons, I think. Where does it really have left to go? Who would carry the series? Those aren't easy questions to answer after that finale.

In the end, I found "Wayward Pines" interesting and fun, and you can't ask for much more during this summer TV season.