In Bakersfield 1994, young Annie is having trouble at her cockadoodie school, bullied for struggling to read. Homeschooling is offered as a drastic alternative, and sets in motion a chain of tragic events.

What. An. Episode. Hands down the best hour of Castle Rock yet (this year or last year), it contains so much drama, filling in the narrative gaps, that it surely cannot be topped. Essentially the Annie Wilkes origins story from pre-teen to teen, this not only explains why she’s in this current predicament, but how she became the character she is. Her childhood is an oogie mess of contradictions, from her free-spirited father who wants her to learn how to read from his self-penned novel, to her more pragmatic, dirt-averse mother. Everything from the typewriter to her father calling himself her ‘Number one fan’ sets up Annie for the Misery version that she will later become.

Taking on tutor Rita (played by Sarah Gadon – Sadie in the TV adaption of King’s 11.22.63) is a great idea, sensibly recognising that Annie can’t grow as a reader unless she can read other work, and indeed she is eventually proficient enough to pass her exams. But Annie is blind to what’s happening around her, and when dad (a sneaky John Hoogenakker) tells her that he’s moving out because he needs to figure out his place in the world, she’s oblivious to what the rest of us have spotted, namely that he’s having an affair with Rita, who is now pregnant with their child.

Her mother takes her own life by driving her car into the river, with Annie still inside as a passenger, and luckily she escapes. But when Rita and the baby come to stay, everything goes wrong. Her father is accidentally impaled, Rita is stabbed, Annie goes to drown Evangeline… and then it hits you. Evangeline is Joy… literally. The baby is Annie’s laughing place!

Verdict: There’s not a lot of laughing in this excellent hour of drama, which benefits from an extended run time. So much background is filled in, from the mysterious flashbacks in Episode 1, to why Annie is on the run, and why she is the person she has become. We’re already at the halfway point and there’s so much to resolve. A treat not just for Stephen King fans, but anyone who appreciates quality TV. 10/10

Nick Joy