This is another of my favorite episodes of the show. This was a follow up to the episode "The Dead Body", personally I like this follow up a lot more, it also makes the story from the first story a lot better because when you put both that episode and this one, it makes one big strong cohesive story which doesn't happen often with sequels. In a way this story is sort of like the film "Ghost" but for teens.
You really feel for the protagonist Will whom is you could say in an entrapment situation as this guy is stuck in limbo unable to experience life and all it's joys which have been stolen. Jake Skinner is a villain you just plain hate as bullying scum like him unfortunately do exist. Granted I know he was a victim of bullies but that was a long time ago and we see he has let himself become the very thing he hates which is where my sympathy for him ends.
This guy is just a blowhole and a half as he's just rubbing it all in at Will's face, bragging about the life he just stole but worst of all stealing the most precious person in Will's life, his significant other Anna. It rather creepy when you think about it since Jake is technically much older than Anna about an adult.
It's understandable as to how Anna would rebound toward Jake: sometimes with some people going through a traumatic loss, the trauma is so bad it creates a feeling of emptiness and desperation and we all know those two things make a deadly combination. We also see how unhealthy her relationship with Jake is as Jake has been a poisonous influence on her life, has made her antisocial, more isolated, and worst of all just not being her which makes us all the more worried for her. Jake really feels nothing of her, he's completely incapable of love except for himself, he's just using her to deepen Will's pain and bolster his filthy ego.
There is one moment which is sad as we see Will is in Anna's room and he is expressing his feelings toward her, but she can't hear him; that's an awful feeling having so many words and feelings for someone you love but unable to communicate or have a way for them to get though. I do like that here character actually goes though a little arc where she is slowly but surely as she starts to remember Will, she starts to get her common sense back which her life is truly depending on.
If that wasn't bad enough, we also see Will is fading, it's really sad but also pertains to the mentality of all bullies where they feel they are above everyone else and anyone that is different or undesirable in their eyes should be erased from existence forever; that's also the kind of mentality even the Nazi's had as that was their goal. In a way you can say what Jake did in the first part is similar to what the Nazi's did was pretend to be friends just so the innocent would give their trust to them just so they could destroy them.
Jake brags that he is not just living life but that he is living it so much better than Will and is everything Will isn't. But Jake is wrong as he's not really living life but living on borrowed time, which is now running out, and he is nothing like Will, in fact Will never expressed he wanted to be like Jake. Will might not have had the fancy leather jacket and car but at least he has common sense, a strong will that grows each day, and best of all love, love for and those are what are most important and valuable in life.
All these bad things just even more make us want Will to win, find some way to communicate to Anna or even a way to get back into the mortal realm to protect her as her life is in mortal danger. But fate for Will may 'be finally turning in his favor and out of Jake's favor.
The story has a good message about stand up. If you or someone you know is being victimized by bullies, don't just stand there and take it, do something about it whatever it takes to put a stop it as soon as possible. It may not be easy but nothing will get better if you do nothing.
It comes down to the satisfying fateful final conflict, will Will find the will to somehow triumph against evil. You'll have to wait and see.
Rating: 4 stars
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