The Changeling Season 1 Episode 4 Review: The Wise Ones
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, The Changeling being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The Changeling Season 1 Episode 4, “The Wise Ones,” slowly unravels a mystery as Apollo investigates a group of witches who could be tied to Emma’s disappearance. Dana Gonzales directs from a script penned by Kelly Marcel.
“The Wise Ones” is a slight dip from The Chandling Season 1 Episode 3, nor is it quite as emotionally charged. That said, LaKeith Stanfield continues to carry the series on his back with his compelling, impactful work. He boasts an incredibly magnetic screen presence that draws you in and holds your attention. We feel for Apollo and his predicament. We also feel his pain and bottomless grief, which Stanfield conveys effortlessly.
Malcolm Barrett proves to be a solid support system for Stanfield, offering a few moments of levity in a deeply dramatic narrative. However, Samuel Herring steals the show as the enigmatic William Wheeler, who we learn more about this week.
Herring injects William with intrigue and nuance. His motivations are murky at best, even when he reveals the supposed truth while trapped with Apollo in The Wise Ones’ headquarters. Herring delivers some beautiful emotional moments and makes for a fun scene partner for Stanfield’s Apollo.
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of “The Wise Ones” is that The Changeling hasn’t decided what kind of show it wants to be. While last week gave us an amalgam of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror (if only a smidgen), this week’s episode backtracks altogether. The subject matter involves witches — one would assume we’d see magic.
The only magic we’re privy to is when Cal makes the puppet talk. This moment confirms something fans might have suspected last week: baby Brian was never real. He was the result of a glamour. The question is, who cast said glamour?
Unfortunately, what should’ve been a bombshell reveal doesn’t quite land with the intended impact. William’s secret connection to Apollo resonates better because of Herring’s and Stanfield’s performances. But even the final reveal in the last minutes of the episode — that if Apollo doesn’t help William, everyone on the island will die — stumbles and sputters. There’s something about these so-called “plot twists” that just isn’t connecting.
“The Wise Ones” creates a plethora of questions, while the plot doesn’t provide any answers to the previous ones. You’d think Marcel would at least tie a thread or two as we progress instead of making it nigh on impossible for audiences to piece together the mystery. After all, this is a puzzle box series, and there should be some clues for viewers to dissect. Instead, we’re left with nothing.
Thankfully, Stanfield’s stirring performance keeps us glued to the screen. All the elements and ingredients are there for a groundbreaking, surreal TV experience. However, “The Wise Ones” veers away from the potential we saw in the first three episodes, seemingly not committing to any of the explored genres therein. It’s a bewildering choice. Here’s hoping the next four episodes answer our countless questions, make decisive storytelling moves, and catapult the narrative forward.
Stray Observations:
- I still don’t 100 percent trust William. Firstly, he lied to Apollo about his intentions regarding their visit to The Wise Ones. Secondly, he seems to be turning Apollo against Patrice. How do we know William didn’t pretend to post as Patrice in that social media group to sow seeds of discord?
- How did Apollo not drown in that fountain? Similarly, how did William survive that beatdown? I wonder if The Wise Ones have some sort of protective force field that fortifies the human body or keeps a person alive as long as possible for torture purposes.
- Seeing Apollo’s MetroCard in his wallet brought back memories from my time in NYC.
- Blue appears frequently in this show’s color palette. In “The Wise Ones,” Apollo and William wear blue, representing trust, loyalty, security, responsibility, confidence, peace, honesty, and reliability. It has a calming effect. The series also utilizes water as a metaphor for the hidden depths of humanity — how the world isn’t always what we see on the surface.
- I’m curious to see how Norway factors into this narrative. Firstly, we have the Norwegian ship that miraculously survived a storm in the pilot’s opening moments. Then, that Norwegian photographer put Emma’s nude photo in a museum. Now, we learn William’s family is Norwegian. What does it all mean?
- Those flashbacks with Emma and Apollo are gorgeous. As I mentioned in last week’s review, the cinematography in their dating scenes looks like artwork I want on my walls.
What did you think of this episode of The Changeling? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Melody McCune
Hello! My name is Melody and I love TV! Maybe too much. I'm the Managing Editor for a small entertainment site called Geek Girl Authority and an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles. Additionally, I have bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. I love cheese. I love lamp.