Summary
The Boroughs makes all of the necessary introductions in “Welcome to the Boroughs”, letting the audience get used to the setting and characters.
If it wasn’t obvious out of the gate that Episode 1 of The Boroughs is all about introductions, it’ll become clear pretty quickly. The episode is titled “Welcome to the Boroughs”, which is a bit of a giveaway. It introduces the audience to the main character, and the main character to the setting, gives us the outline of a supernatural mystery to solve, and checks in on all the neighbours. It’s everything you want and need to get you into a show without giving too much – anything, really – away.
And you’re best off entering with that idea in mind. This show’s in no rush, and not just because it’s about retirees. We need this time to settle in and ponder the implications. And that’s exactly what we’re going to do here, since there are plenty of things that we probably need to be paying a fair bit of attention to.
The Owl Is in the Walls
In the obligatory creepy cold open, we meet Grace and Edward, albeit with some distance between them. They’re married, but while Grace is still living in her quaint little home in the titular retirement village, Edward is elsewhere, the implication being that his mind has deteriorated to such an extent that he needs 24/7 care. Grace doesn’t take his repeated insistence that “the owl is in the walls” especially seriously. Perhaps she should.
To prove the point, Grace is summarily attacked by a weird-looking, spindly creature that descends from the ceiling. I wouldn’t quite describe it as an owl, though. Either way, as she tries to escape and scream for help, she’s dragged back inside, and the door slams with such force that the doorknob falls off. Make a note of that.
Meet Sam Cooper
Subsequent to this, The Boroughs introduces us to our protagonist, Sam Cooper, a widowed engineer who is moving into the Boroughs entirely against his will. He’s dropped off by his daughter, Claire, and her husband, Neil, who don’t exactly love the idea, but their hands are kind of tied. Sam’s late wife, Lilly, had wanted to retire in the Boroughs, and her sudden death by stroke means that Sam is now bound up in a contract he can’t get out of.
The Boroughs seems nice, but then again, it’s supposed to. Sam is greeted by his transition manager, Kayleigh, whose help he doesn’t want, and introduced to the facility’s all-powerful AI assistant, Seraphim, which we should probably keep an eye on. To prove a point, Sam rips Seraphim from the wall. Oh, and pretty soon into his stay, his doorknob falls off.
This is because Sam is living in Grace’s house. Her husband, Edward, is living in the Manor, the Boroughs’ long-term care facility for people who require a bit more help and attention. There’s zero mention of any many-legged monsters. Give it time.
Meet the Neighbors
The Boroughs is presided over by its CEO, Blaine Shaw, and his wife, Anneliese, both of whom Sam is introduced to via an intro package when he finally gets his TV on. He also meets his next-door neighbour, Jack, who turns up unannounced with a six-pack and invites him to a welcome barbecue thrown in his honour. Sam isn’t inclined to socialise, but Jack – a rare singleton in the Boroughs, which makes him a bit of a commodity – is pretty compelling.
We also meet Sam’s other neighbors, who include Renee and a married couple, Art and Judy. Art is a bit of a weed-smoking golfing hippy, and Judy is a former journalist who can’t quite let her old profession go. She has already looked up Sam’s backstory before he has even unpacked his belongings.
Not that Sam plans on staying. His first order of business is taking his new golf cart to the headquarters of the facility to speak to Blaine about getting out of his contract, but it becomes clear, thanks to a flashback to Lilly’s demise that brings him to his knees, that Sam is struggling with pretty intense grief.
Introducing the Mysteries
Naturally, one of the primary mandates of The Boroughs Episode 1 is introducing all the weird stuff we need to be keeping an eye on. We’ve already had the cold open, Seraphim – which I’m sure will turn out to be up to no good – and the kind of bureaucratic red tape that seems to ensure that anyone who comes to the Boroughs never leaves. But there’s more to be going on with.
Firstly, there has been a spate of quartz robberies. This is raised by Renee to Boroughs security chief Hank and his new trainee, Paz, only the latter of whom takes it seriously since it’s easy to dismiss the concerns of older folks as failing memories. But the quartz will definitely be important.
Perhaps most notably, though, Sam gets back home to find Edward in his house, banging on the walls. He’s looking for the owl that supposedly lives in there. When Sam tries to intervene, Edward slashes Sam in the arm, demands that he give Grace back, and screams, “He’s one of them!” as he’s dragged away by security. One of whom?
Sam Decides to Stay
Sam gets a bit more explanation about Edward from Blaine himself when he goes to see him at the Manor, where Edward spends most of his time. Apparently, he has a rare neurological condition called Maxwell’s, for which there’s no cure. Sam’s moved by Edward’s plight and agrees not to call the Sheriff’s office – the only official law enforcement anywhere near the Boroughs – if he’s allowed out of his contract. Blaine is already one step ahead and has drawn up the necessary paperwork. All Sam has to do is sign.
He won’t, though, obviously. Blaine struck a chord. Sam doesn’t have anywhere else to go. His wife is dead, and his daughter has her own life. So, he accepts Jack’s invitation and stops by the barbecue to meet his neighbors. It’s a nice getting-to-know-you session during which it’s revealed – to the audience and to Sam, who puts the pieces together – that Jack and Judy are having an affair. But Sam still struggles to socialise on account of Lilly’s demise, of which he’s reminded at every opportunity.
Either way, Sam decides to stay. He even calls Blaine to let him know before unpacking his belongings and settling in, including fixing his doorknob. That night, though, he hears an alarm going off and goes to investigate. The sound leads him to Jack’s house, which he breaks into. Inside, he finds a strange creature, the same one from the cold open, hovering over Jack’s corpse. When it leaps at him, Sam thwacks it with a hammer he brought along, and the creature escapes. But who’s going to believe an old man in a retirement village who claims to have seen a monster?
RELATED:
