Wayward Pines: Melissa Leo Is Back As Pam As Season 2 Continues To Unfold [Spoilers]

Pamela Pilcher, the sister of Wayward Pines founder — and cult-like icon to the town’s ruling class — David Pilcher, was put back into cryogenic suspension at the end of Season 1. Her banishment occurred after she killed her brother to prevent him from unleashing deadly Abbies onto the last vestige of humanity.

Now, according to TV Line, Pam is coming back — but the powers that be in the last town on earth probably won’t be expecting her. Pam was banished to the outskirts of the town and presumed dead. It’s a tactic that the city’s new leader, Jason Higgins, tried to use on rebel leader Ben Burke, son of Season 1 hero Ethan. At the end of the last episode, it appeared Ben had succumbed to the violent Abbies.

Executive Producer Mark Friedman told Zap2It that Leo won’t be the only familiar face coming back on the series, which already feels like a different show. Season 2 takes place three years after Season 1, and the town’s true nature is no longer a secret. The settlement is now experiencing food shortages, a rebellion, and lives under military rule.

“‘Reset’ is a strong word. It’s all in how you define it. We’re not in ‘American Horror Story’ land, a show where it’s completely new characters and setting. We are introducing new characters because there was a lot of death in the first season. We have this mountain with all these pods, which gives us an opportunity to wake some new people up and bring them into this world.”

Friedman revealed that Leo is back not just for Episode 3 this week, but throughout the season. Also reappearing are Terence Howard and Toby Jones, as the town’s sheriff and founder. Both of those actors have already graced the screen over the course of Season 2. Howard appeared as part of a premiere episode flashback that revealed how this season’s hero, Dr. Theo Yedlin played by Jason Patric, came to be kidnapped and placed in suspension. Jones continues to bring Pilcher to life as the town founder whose recorded messages of propaganda are still played within Wayward Pines’ electrified walls.

But despite the welcome reminders of Season 1 — which was a surprise success last summer for Fox — Friedman says that he tried to strike a unique tone for Season 2. The producer was not part of the show last year, but many of last year’s behind-the-scenes talent, including M. Night Shyamalan and author Blake Crouch — are still involved in the program.

“One thing that was important for me to bring to ‘Wayward Pines’ was in this show about humanity, it was important that humanity be a part of the show, whether it’s about people falling in love or jealousy or people struggling with who they are. I just wanted to bring those emotional moments to the show, while still satisfying people who came for the sci-fi, the genre elements. I wanted it to have a little bit of humor, a little bit of heart, while still having mysteries and having monsters. So it’s been a tall order, but I’d rather aim for that ambitious storytelling rather than just repeat what the first season did.”

Already, the relationships between the characters have been more complex in Season 2 than they were in Season 1. Jason appears to be in a relationship with his close advisor Kerry. Dr. Yedlin’s troubled marriage with wife Rebecca has been a prominent storyline, even as it’s been revealed she was taken out of suspension three years before he was. Ethan’s widow and Ben’s mother, the compelling Theresa Burke played by Shannyn Sossamon, who was such a big part of solving the Wayward Pines mystery in Season 1, has been a welcome presence as a frantic mother concerned for her son’s life in Season 2.

Wayward Pines airs Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on Fox.

[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]