Anatomy of Crystal Lake: Episode 3: Part III

Loss is a terrible thing to deal with and how one person deals with that loss is different from another. In Pamela's case, she is now beginning to understand that she may very well never find or see her son Jason again. Dealing with that realization is difficult, but channeling her loss into helping another child could be therapeutic, but also dangerous. For Pamela, her good intentions quickly devolve into chaos and murder.

SPOILERS...

For Episode 3: Part III, we start with a flashback with young Jason and his friend Grace hanging out in the woods and finding an old, abandoned shack. The shack is an interesting addition to the streaming series and definitely sets up to be what Jason will possibly be living in just like in Friday The 13th Part 2. 

In this scene, we discover how strong Jason and Grace's relationship is and why Grace was willing to stand up for Jason at camp before he disappeared and why Jason was willing to risk his life in the lake to help her. Inside the shack, an excited Jason tells Grace the structure could be their new hideout, a place where no one can upset them and they can stash items like food and other items.

Those fond memories fade quickly as Grace suddenly awakens and realizes she had been dreaming about the first discovery of the shack and understands she had fallen asleep there the night before after being kicked out of the camp party by Claudette.

After the opening of the episode, we end up back in downtown Crystal Lake and the locals are a bit upset about the decayed torso discovered in the woods in Episode 2. Officer Dorf unknowingly riles up the townspeople by divulging that the police believe a bear is responsible for killing the unknown victim. A bunch of people from town, including Dorf's dad and Enos, go out into the words to hunt for the bear. Eventually, in the hunting chaos later in the episode, Enos is accidentally shot and encounters Jason as he stands over him watching Enos bleed out.

Later, we find Sherrif Brooks at Pamela's house helping her decide what of Jason's items to remove as she copes with the fact that Jason will never return to her life and home. This sequence continues to showcase Linda Cardellini's great range as Pamela with the cycle of emotions from happiness to loss and now to acceptance. We also see the relationship between Brooks and Pamela strengthen as Levon is definitely looking for more from her than just friendship.

Afterwards, we find Ralph in the woods hunting. He is experiencing flashbacks to the war and hallucinates seeing dead soldiers. We now know he is a veteran and this scene lends more insight into his character and why he is a bit off putting, sometimes confused and, well, crazy. 

When Ralph returns to his home in the woods is where some of the best scenes in the episode take place. As Ralph cleans the animals he has retrieved from his traps, he senses someone is watching him. He is not wrong as Jason lurks nearby, observing, and eventually takes coveralls that were hanging on a drying line. It seems as though Jason has been studying Ralph which is sure to be explored more in later episodes. Ralph notices the clothing is gone from the line and now is sure something evil is living in the woods.

The underlying story of the mystery men who showed up to kidnap Pamela in Episode 1 continues as Sheriff Brooks finds the car of the two people Pam killed. The vehicle is discovered in another town, and the Sheriff eventually notices blood in the trunk of that car. With no real resources to help him in the small town of Crystal Lake, he enlists the help of his sister Briana, who works for a paper in the city, to help him identify who owns the car.

The third episode concludes with Pamela as her maternal instincts go into overdrive and reveals she is not necessarily ready to cope with the loss of Jason in a healthy manner. 

Jason's friend Grace gets into a fight with Claudette at school regarding their conversation about the day Jason disappeared as well as her shoe being used to break Barry's car window at the end of Episode 2. Because of that fight, Grace's mother Valerie is called to pick her up from school and Pam witnesses the mom hit Grace. Those maternal instincts kick in, and Pam offers help anytime Grace needs it.

Upset, angry, and still grieving for her loss, Pamela decides to confront Valerie about the treatment of her daughter Grace at the diner she works at. The conversation is contentious as Valerie hurls one final insult towards Pamela about Jason. This sets off the anger in Pam and she strikes Valerie with a meat tenderizer, separating her jaw, and then she stumbles headfirst into a deep fryer. Pam then sets the diner on fire to cover her tracks.

It seems as though Pamela went to that diner to offer Valerie an ultimatum and acted out exactly how she wanted, by killing Valerie to take over as the caregiver to Grace. Perhaps Pamela has really not let go of being a mother just yet and now she feels like she has protected Grace in a way she could not protect Jason.