Release Date: September 8, 2015
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 554 minutes
HAVEN: SEASON FIVE, VOLUME ONE, picks up with the aftermath of our heroes’ victory over William. After having successfully banished him into the Void, Nathan and Duke are devastated to discover that the Audrey Parker they know and love has disappeared. In her place stands Mara, the unflinchingly malevolent “original” person responsible for creating the troubles many centuries ago. Finally freed from the confines of her do-gooder husks (Audrey, Lucy, Sarah, etc.), Mara proceeds to unleash a wave of chaos over Haven.
The first half of the final season of Haven, in one word? Phenomenal. I think it’s my favorite season of the show. Why? you ask? Emily Rose. Emily killed it as Mara! I love Mara’s attitude! I love her ruthlessness. As I’ve mentioned before in my past reviews when season five aired, Mara is conniving and manipulative and everything that makes a villain fan-freaking-tastic. Mara is a BAMF! I am in complete awe of Emily Rose as Mara, making this undoubtedly my favorite role of Emily’s on this show.
All of this said, I was still very excited to watch Audrey fighting to regain control of her body, herself, fighting against Audrey and fighting for the truth to be revealed to those around her. Because Nathan and Duke finding out about Audrey still being in there… oh man. The wait was excruciating but it all played out so wonderfully! And on top of all of this, the town sees Audrey for the things that Mara did so she’s not on their good side at the moment. Not to mention, the guardians are on Audrey’s tail, thinking she’s Mara. It was all just one big glorious mess and I loved every moment of it.
Then, as the season goes on, Audrey comes through and she isn’t immune to the troubles anymore, took a huge leap of faith putting herself in the line of fire of a trouble to reach and save Nathan. The selflessness this group has will never cease to tug at your heart. Nathan was in quite a bit of trouble this season, what with his body about to explode if Duke didn’t release troubles for him. Oh, man I loved “The Old Switcheroo.” Such a great storyline. I also loved “Nowhere Man” and well, okay, every episode was amazing.
I loved the trouble Audrey finds herself in. The troubles in town. Duke accepting Jennifer’s fate. Audrey’s mother showing up. So much happened in the first half of this season and the pacing of everything, the balance of all of the stories and relationships was on point. I really, really, really enjoyed this season and must say it’s Emily Rose’s best! So if for some reason you’re behind on watching this show, catch up and add season five to your blu-ray or dvd collection. It is worth every minute of your time and every dime of your dollar!
Haven: Origins : Witches Are Born (7:29 minutes) – This Haven digital series, detailing the birth of Haven, is now available to watch whenever you want on your blu-ray/DVD! I found this to be very simple and to the point and thrilling but maybe it was too simple because it lacked heart to me. I connected with the main character but not as much as I would have liked. So…solid digital series but it could have been even more amazing.
Haven: Origins: Native Breaks Free (7:07 minutes) – Well, if I had to choose which digital series I enjoyed more, this would not be it. I appreciated a portion of this but one element isn’t enough for me to love this one at all. This one is a skip for me.
13 “Inside Haven” Featurettes (47 minutes) – There is a featurette for each episode here, with the option to play all or individually, each about five minutes long, as we watch the main cast members talk about their time filming each episode and getting inside their character’s head for the specific episode. My favorite featurettes came from “The Old Switcheroo” Parts 1 and 2 as those were my favorite episodes this season. Any fan will appreciate these featurettes so I’d suggest you just go ahead and play all and enjoy this retrospective.
Appearing in this Feature:
Cast Members, Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant, Eric Balfour, Adam Copeland, Jayne Eastwood, Laura Mennell, Jay Reso
Commentary – There is commentary for all thirteen episodes which is amazing! The more commentaries, the merrier! Director/Executive Producer, Shawn Piller and Executive Producer, Lloyd Segan conduct “See No Evil” and “Speak No Evil.” Emily Rose and Lucas Bryant conduct “Spotlight” and “Much Ado About Mara.” Adam Copeland and Writer, Adam Higgs conduct “The Old Switcheroo” Parts 1 & 2. Writers, Brian Millikin and Nick Parker conduct “Nowhere Man” and “Exposure.” Writers, Speed Weed and Adam Higgs conduct “Morbidity” and “Mortality.” Writers, Shernold Edwards and Y. Shireen Razack conduct “Reflections” and “Chemistry.” Writers, Gabrielle Stanton and Matt McGuinness conduct “Chosen.”
So far, I’ve watched three of the commentaries; “Spotlight,” “The Old Switcheroo – Part 1,” and “Reflections” though I very much look forward to getting to them all. I simply wanted to get to a commentary with Emily Rose as well as a commentary with writer, Shernold Edwards who I believe is the only black female writer on staff (correct me if I’m wrong), and since “The Old Switcheroo” is one of my favorite episodes this season, I had to start a commentary for this. All three commentaries have been so different and so fun and entertaining and insightful so I can’t wait to get to the rest!
Watch the midseason premiere of the final season of Haven October 8, 2015 at 9/8c only on Syfy.