Anna Pigeon’s ‘Hide + Seek’ Subverts Expectations and Nails It

Anna Pigeon Season 1, Episode 2, “Hide + Seek” Spoilers Ahead

After last week’s season premiere, “Track of the Cat,” Anna Pigeon does something fascinating with its second episode by subverting expectations. Directed by Lea Thompson, the show continues to be a visual feast while giving us glimpses into our main character’s life through puzzle pieces that are hopefully leading to a full picture.

On a show like Anna Pigeon, it’s easy to wonder how many types of unexpected cases we’ll get for the narrative to continue its procedural format. But interestingly, even if it wanted to slow things down and solely focus on the character journeys, I wouldn’t complain one bit. Give me a show with complex women any day and let me learn everything about them.

Anna Pigeon Episode 2 Makes a Point That There Are Two Sides to a Story

This week, Anna Pigeon Season 1, Episode 2, “Hide + Seek,” does something really interesting in how it touches on abandonment. Will a male eagle leave its mate alone forever? Is a father who’ll go to extremes to protect his kids in the wrong? What happens when he goes to prison? How do death and grief change the way a person continues to open up their heart?

When Anna comes across a father and son looking for a little girl, there are instant alarm bells because of the father’s aggression. The episode keeps us on the edge of our seats as it forces us to question whether these kids are safe with him and if there’s a bigger story than what we’re seeing. Anna’s digging uncovers the fact that they’re living in the park and likely have an on-site burial for the kids’ mother. The natural instinct is to assume that he must’ve killed her, but as a confession proves—it’s more complicated than that. Yes, he’s aggressive and likely not equipped to be the sole guardian of his kids, but he didn’t kill his wife. As we learn when their grandmother steps into the picture, their mother was dying from cancer, and her body was rejecting treatment, so he resorted to more natural remedies. And, as we also learn, he brought her to the park because she didn’t want to die in a hospital bed.

This case brings to our screens riveting motives to showcase desperation in the face of grief, and it does so by reminding us of how multifaceted human beings are. There’s duality here, and it works to make the episode more riveting.

What Do Anna’s Nightmares Represent?

As we see in the opening moments, Anna is still having nightmares about what’s presumably the night of her husband’s death. These small pieces we’re getting of him, coupled with her willingness to get to know Cooper Levy’s Jesse, are fascinating because it’s already so easy to want more insight. I have to wonder if there’s some reason we got these glimpses of him in an episode that essentially centers around how men treat women in various ways. Is he meant to be a foil to these men? Was he part of something more dangerous that we don’t know about yet? Either way, I can’t wait to find out.

Ultimately though, there’s still a lot to be concerned about. It doesn’t help that Kim Coates’ Jeremiah Paulson has his eye set on watching Anna fail, and while she’s our main character, so we know that won’t happen, it’s still agonizing. There’s something so sinister about him that’s almost like a caricature of a big bad villain, but Coates is often so great at layering antagonist roles that it’s riveting to see how he’ll continue to be a looming shadow over the park’s and Anna’s success.

What are your thoughts on Anna Pigeon Season 1, Episode 2, “Hide + Seek?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: Michelle Faye/USA Network