Castle Rock Premiere Review: Off To A Compelling Start

Hulu has released three episodes of "Castle Rock" thus far. New episodes drop each Wednesday.

For those not in the know, "Castle Rock" is the fictional small town in Maine that is the location of at least twelve Stephen King stories. Some are included below:

"The Shining"- References appear in the opening credits as we see lots of text from books, maps, etc. One says "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". However, this is from actually ONLY from the movie (and not the novel). We also see the word "Cujo" and "they all float Georgie" from "It".
Is "Castle Rock's" character Jackie Torrance related to Jack Torrance from "The Shining"?
"Shawshank Redemption"- Much of "Castle Rock" takes place in the same Shawshank Penitentiary that Andy and Red spent many years in. Someone even mentions that you can see in the warden's office "the bullet hole where Warden Norton...". If rest of the sentence is "shot himself" (because Andy Dufresne had escaped and was telling authorities about his crimes).
"Needful Things" and "The Dark Half"- Alan Pangborn is the sheriff in both movies. He is also mentioned in "Gerald's Game" and "Bag Of Bones".
"Stand By Me"- The story takes place in Castle Rock. There are several clippings in Lacey's desk which reference the story (including a body being found by the railroad tracks).
"Carrie"- Of course Sissy Spacek played Carrie White and is also Ruth Deaver here.
"Rose Red"- Melanie Lynsky (who plays Molly here) was also in this King movie.
"The Mist"- Frances Connor (who plays Mrs Lacey here) was also in this King classic.
"Pet Sematary"- Alan has to dig up a dead dog in the back yard because Ruth thinks it's come back to life.

From the three episodes we've seen thus far, there are LOTS of secrets and mysteries in Castle Rock. Some of the biggest are:

Who is the person (played by Bill Skarsgard of "It" fame) that Warden Dale Lacy kept locked in the old part of the prison? What special powers does the unknown man have? He is referred to as the Kid in other publications so I'll start doing the same here. When the Kid talks to Deaver he says "Has it begun"? That doesnt sound like a good sign.
What is Henry's next door neighbor and childhood friend Molly up to? She seems to be an empath (and can absorb other people's thoughts and feelings).
What is Ruth's relationship to Alan Pangborn (the man that found Henry all those years ago)? Is Ruth really senile or is something else going on? Alan is played by the legendary Scott Glenn.
What was Henry's father up to? He was a minister but something else seems to have been going on. We learn that, when Henry disappeared, his father was found at the bottom of a cliff. A young Molly quietly enters his house and unplugs his respirator (while a person who appears to be Ruth sleeps in the next bed). Did this really happen? If so, did Molly kill Henry's father to protect him?
Lacy says in a voiceover that his house and every house in Castle Rock is "stained with someone's sin". Then we see several people being killed. Dale says he was instructed by God to capture the Kid in order to stop all the killing. So the Kid is basically the Devil? If that is true, why would Lacy tell the Kid to contact death row attorney Henry Deaver?

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). After three episodes, I'm really enjoying the mystery of "Castle Rock". It's also a super cool idea to have a series that can utilize any component of King's vast universe (as well as adding to it). The series appears to be a slow burn. I'm fine with that as long as the characters are compelling (which, so far, they are).