A talented cast grounds the series, but the tale winds up in a confusing place.

Expectations for prequels tend to place a heavy burden on creators to not only deliver something that isn’t pointless, but also makes sense in the grander scheme of interconnected storytelling. Horror villains like Pennywise and Norman Bates are prime examples of deep dives that yielded creative, successful prequels. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. 

The Friday the 13th franchise has indisputably established Jason as a cultural icon — with or without the hockey mask. His walk, signature sound, supernatural strength and penchant for killing lusty teenagers make up 46 years’ worth of lore, so doing his backstory justice in a prequel TV series brings… high expectations. Crystal Lake, which premieres on Peacock on Oct. 15, makes a strong case for itself based on its talent and premise, but not all of the narrative choices come together in a way that makes sense for the legendary slasher or his mother.

This gory psychological thriller explores how Jason became Jason and what his protective mother, Pamela Voorhees, went through. It humanizes these characters and paints them as worthy of sympathy. The show starts off great, yet by the end, I found myself asking, “WTF just happened, and is this really how we got here?”

Friday the 13th fans know about the town of Crystal Lake, the non-idyllic ground zero for Jason and his mother’s murder spree. Introduced in 1980 with the debut of the first movie in the franchise, Friday the 13th, its campground has been a hotspot for summertime violence ever since Jason died in a drowning accident.

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