Crystal Lake Finale Includes A Major Throwback To Friday The 13th Part 2

We finally know what's been haunting the woods around Camp Crystal Lake, and this time, it isn't Pamela Voorhees. 

In the finale of "Crystal Lake," the thing in the woods attacking town residents and hippie hikers is revealed to be... Baghead Jason! Since his body was never found, it tracks. And the boy's substantial growth is explained to be a side effect of the drugs Bellflower Chemical was pumping into him. As Jason's dad, Elias (played by Hamish Linklater) explained in the penultimate episode, "Trauma actually makes him stronger." (I have feelings about Episode 7's over-explanations — including how young Jason grows into this larger version of himself in just nine months' time — but seeing the return of Baghead quells my small-potato grievances. It's a special nod to Steve Miner's "Friday the 13th: Part 2," and I'm fully seated and here for it.) 

Back to the finale. Elias pops up in Crystal Lake looking for his wife. Thanks to Enos, he not only gets her exact address, but also learns that Jason died the previous summer. (So much for protecting your fellow neighbor, Enos. C'mon, man!) After finding Pamela's house empty and discovering that journalist Briana's brother is the chief of police, Elias and his goons head out for a showdown. 

At the police station, Elias tells Levon that his wife is a sick woman who's in dire need of her medications. After Elias spews a large amount of Bellflower BS, Levon tells him he'll holler if Pam shows. (She's actually hiding downstairs.) Elias' whole crew enters the station, and after guns are raised and threats are dished, Pamela reveals herself to protect her friend (lover?) from Elias. After she stabs hubby in the back, Dorf comes through the door with... a Japanese throwing star? (Love that vibe.) He plunges it into one of the goon's eyes, which jump-starts some massive gunfire. And yet, Elias still escapes with Pam in custody.

Jason first reveals himself in the middle of the road, causing Elias' car to swerve and giving Pamela the chance to escape. She flees into the woods, with Elias and and co. in pursuit. But you know who's in pursuit of them? JASON. Jason with a bag over his head! (If we can legally never see the hockey mask ever again, this is the next best thing.) 

Jason takes out Thug No. 1 with a weapon he finds in the woods. One thwack slices the guy's head horizontally in half, causing blood to spurt to the skies. Love it. Thug No. 2 also dies, but it cuts away and we only hear his screams. 

Elias finds Pam in a cabin in the woods. She accuses Papa Wittering of torturing their son. He responds by whining about the 10 years of research that went down the drain after Pamela saved Jason from Bellflower's clutches. Jason soon appears behind his dad, and Pam marvels at how big he's gotten. Elias then approaches his son and removes the bag, giving us our first glimpse of the larger, non-Callum Vinson version of Jason. 

Elias speaks some niceties to his son, and maybe we'd be touched if he wasn't such an evil a-hole. Jason isn't convinced either. He squeezes his dad's head until the guy's eye pops out and his entire dome literally cracks open. (Bye-bye Elias!) Jason then puts his bag back on his head. 

Jason starts to approach Pamela, who apologizes for not keeping him safe. She begs him for his forgiveness. In her delusions — because this woman is seriously delulu by now — she sees young Jason once again, and tells her "sweet, sweet boy" that she loves him very much. Only Jason grabs her by the throat because he is now an enraged and unhoused swamp monster. (Maybe he's just hangry! Relatable.) But before Pamela passes out, her son seems to remember her and he releases her. Ralph comes out of nowhere and shoots Jason with a rifle. And while Pamela and Ralph wrestle over the weapon, Jason does what he does best: He mysteriously disappears. 

Pam then babbles like a crazy person about how her son is stronger than anyone gave him credit for. "These woods are ours now," she says. And as she laughs maniacally, we see images of Crystal Lake looking peaceful, yet run down. Later, a group of new counselors sit by a fire to spin a tale about the the ghost of Jason Voorhees. As the girls speculate about whether the story's true, we hear that famous "ki-ki-ki, ma-ma-ma" as a tree branch snaps in the darkness. 

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