Tag Archives: Audrey

Review: Shorn tresses and small troubles in Haven

“I’d rather stab you in the crotch than dance with you.”

“Don’t you have a blowup doll for this?”

Oh, Mara. The super-sarcastic villain of Season 5 who is always quick to cut down poor Nathan and assure him that Audrey is never coming back. Those were just two of the insults the devious dame hurled towards our hero during Thursday’s newest, “Spotlight.” And while the spotlight may literally have referred to Duke’s former female partner-in-crime whose Trouble–getting stressed led to concentrating light through her body and burning stuff and people in the vicinity–but it figuratively meant Nathan and Mara being most of the focus of Episode 3.

The knowledge that Audrey is still alive and buried behind Mara’s psyche had Nathan trucking her off to the family cottage (after some help from Duke) hidden far in the Maine woods away from the police and The Guard who were looking for them both. My initial thought that we would be treated to some kind of an exorcism were in fact mentioned by Mara, but Nathan was just content to sit and mostly let his captive sound off. The mental chess match seemed to go in Mara’s favour when she used her feminine wiles–and Audrey’s memories of the two getting jiggy–to tease Nathan. There was some heavy smooching (it never got to X-rated), just enough to tease Audrey out, who begged Nathan not to give up and to treat Mara as if she was Audrey. It would give her the strength to fight the interloper.

That was working like a charm until Duke showed up to tell Nathan that Dwight and The Guard were on their trail. And then things, story-wise, veered off a bit. Duke–who I think shaved his locks as a final goodbye to Jennifer–started coughing up blood. Mara’s prognosis? Duke was so packed with accumulated Troubles that he was about to explode. She, of course, could help by removing some smaller, less destructive Troubles from him in order to let off some of the pressure inside. The fact Duke and Nathan believed her and cottoned to her plan befuddled me a bit. Why would they trust someone who has brought nothing but pain and sorry to Haven since she set foot in it? Clearly Mara has an ulterior motive, but I guess desperate times call for just such measures. It just rang a little false for me, especially after the emotional butt-kicking Nathan has been handed so far this season.

Haven airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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Haven’s Lucas Bryant takes control in Season 5

As part of Haven‘s cast, Lucas Bryant has to deal with a lot of unsurety contained in every script. What mysterious Trouble will befall another person living in town? What evil will his character, Nathan Wuornos, face? Will he and Duke Crocker (Eric Balfour) get along? And will Nathan and Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) ever become the couple he yearns them to be?

With all of that hanging over his head for the past four seasons–a super-sized Season 5 returns to Showcase tonight–Bryant is taking control of the situation in one small way, albeit one behind the cameras instead of in front.

“I’m going to be directing my first episode of Haven this year, at the end of September,” he reveals. The Elmira, Ont., native has been shadowing directors and sitting in on pre- and post-production meetings as he could since Day 1 on the fantasy series. As an actor he finds it illuminating and helpful to understanding the minutiae of a television shoot, like how taking three steps outside of a predetermined spot on the set can affect production for hours.

“That is why I should just stand on my spot, shut up and say my words!” he jokes. Bryant will be in control for one episode as a director, but Haven‘s scripts continue to offer disarray and confusion. The Season 4 finale concluded with bad boy William (Colin Ferguson) going through a mystical doorway, Duke bleeding from his eyes, Jennifer (Emma Lahana) in distress and Audrey’s original persona, Mara, taking control over Nathan’s lady love. Haven‘s writers and producers continue to throw up road blocks in the budding relationship between Nathan and Audrey and you can’t help but wonder why the former just doesn’t cut ties with the latter and move on. The thought has certainly crossed Bryant’s mind more than once.

“Sometimes I get frustrated and I think, ‘Really?? This guy is just going to keep doing this? He’s not going to decide he’s going to try something else?'” he says. “However, I love Nathan for that. One of the great joys is that he has such dunderheaded conviction that there is nothing that can stop his faith in this woman and their love.”

Haven‘s two-hour return airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on Showcase. Haven‘s regular timeslot resumes next Thursday at 10 p.m. ET on Showcase.

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