The Boy from the Woods

On April 23, 2020, a high school boy named Matthew Crimstein observes his classmate Naomi Pine being bullied. This is a regular occurrence, with minimal intervention from teachers. Another boy named Crash Maynard is the main instigator. A week later, Naomi disappears. 

Hester Crimstein is a very successful defense attorney; she has a television show, Crimstein on Crime. In this episode, she is discussing an ongoing case involving a controversial viral video. Hester defends the legal system, dismissing the social media outcry.

As the debate rages, Hester notices her grandson, Matthew, waiting backstage for her. Because Matthew lives far away, Hester is concerned by his arrival. Matthew’s late father, David, was Hester’s son. Matthew requests that Hester look into Naomi’s disappearance.

Hester takes Matthew home to Westville, New Jersey. Hester is a widow—her husband died seven years ago from a heart attack, while David was killed three years before that in a traffic accident. Laila, Matthew’s mother, is also an attorney. Matthew requests that Hester keep the investigation secret from his mother.

At Matthew’s house, Hester finds a hair on Laila’s bed that doesn’t belong to anyone in the family. Hester remembers six-year-old David talking to someone in the woods behind the house. Laila comes home. Hester hides her snooping and tries to accept that Laila is moving on from her late husband. She visits the Westville police station.

At the police station, Hester and the police chief, Oren Carmichael, find each other attractive and flirt. Oren was part of the group who found the boy in the woods in 1986. Hester asks about Naomi. No one has reported her missing, but she has a troubled life—truancies from school, a neglectful father with multiple DUIs, and a mother who left them years ago. Hester gives Oren her number, both for case updates and for a future romantic date.

Hester visits the Pine house. Bernard Pine, Naomi’s father, is reticent and suspicious when Hester attempts to speak to him. He appears inebriated. Bernard insists that Naomi is with her mother and demands that Hester leave.

Wilde is the “boy from the woods,” whom David befriended as a child. Wilde’s only recollection of his past is a vague traumatic memory of him screaming. He survived as a child by foraging in the forest and breaking into Westville houses to find food. As an adult, he joined the military and later started an independent private security firm. He still lives in the woods in Westville. He and Hester’s family remain close—his hair was on Laila’s bed. Wilde is Matthew’s godfather.

Hester visits him to confront him about Laila. Wilde, who can’t connect to others very well, is a “safe” choice for Laila’s needs because there is no romance involved (she is still mourning David). Hester struggles to accept this but enlists Wilde to help with the Naomi Pine case. Wilde is also concerned that Matthew wants to keep it a secret. They encounter Matthew, who remains suspicious of Naomi’s father. He eventually admits his own connection: He was a bystander to Naomi’s bullying. He is going to a party at Crash’s house to investigate. Matthew departs after giving Hester and Wilde a lead: Naomi’s teacher, Ava O’Brien.

Wilde apologetically cancels his rendezvous with Laila and borrows her car. He goes to Ava’s house. They had a brief fling eight months ago, and Ava, upon learning of Naomi’s disappearance, mentions her own concerns that Naomi is an easy target for bullies. Though Ava helps when she can, her power is limited. Naomi was adopted into a troubled family. Ava worries that Naomi might be suicidal. She urges Wilde to find Naomi quickly.

Hester calls Wilde to confirm that Naomi is not with her mother; Wilde decides to visit Bernard Pine. Hester remains concerned about Naomi and suspicious of Matthew’s secrets. Before announcing the lead story about upcoming controversial presidential candidate Rusty Eggers on her TV show, she mentions Naomi’s disappearance in the hopes of saving the girl from a drastic, irreversible situation. Meanwhile, Wilde receives concerning texts from Matthew and then radio silence. He heads to Maynard Manor.

Crash’s wealthy father, Dash Maynard, is a successful television producer and documentarian. He is happily married to Delia. Matthew has long wanted to join Crash’s posse of popular kids and has a crush on one of the girls in the group. The party atmosphere is strange. Matthew slips away to check in with Hester, but she is called away to work. Matthew’s crush joins him, but his distraction with Naomi kills his flirting attempts. Matthew surreptitiously texts Wilde but is interrupted.

Crash bursts in, confronting Matthew with a video clip of Hester’s public announcement about Naomi’s disappearance. Matthew notices a skull ring on Crash’s finger. Furious about the clip, Crash attacks Matthew and accuses him of spilling the beans to Hester. He threatens Matthew. Matthew’s crush has disappeared, and he wonders if he was set up.

Dash and Delia Maynard spend a quiet night in another part of the house while Crash has his party. They are interrupted by their head of security, ex-Marine Colonel Gavin Chambers. He reports Hester’s announcement about the missing Naomi Pine but doesn’t yet know her connection with Crash. He receives a phone call about the party incident and advises Dash and Delia to remain where they are while he takes care of things.

The security guard at the mansion gate refuses to let Wilde inside. Wilde impatiently jumps the fence and is confronted by more security guards, who continue to refuse him entry. As Wilde prepares to fight his way through, he senses something amiss. They are interrupted when Matthew bursts into view, with Crash and his cronies chasing him. Crash tries to play things off as a game of tag, flashing his skull ring, but Wilde collects Matthew and departs.

After work, Hester receives a phone call. Oren is not happy about her public missing person announcement and less so when Hester informs him of Wilde’s involvement. Meanwhile, Wilde grills Matthew about the party. Oren confronts them and attempts to interrogate Matthew about Naomi. Wilde ends the conversation and drives Matthew home. Wilde receives a phone call from Gavin Chambers, who had been part of the security detail at Maynard Manor. Gavin demands Wilde’s silence by threatening Laila and Matthew. Wilde once again ponders Naomi. He departs to investigate her father, leaving Matthew to explain everything to Laila.

When Wilde reaches Naomi’s house, Oren is already there. Oren converses unsuccessfully with Bernard Pine. Ava contacts Wilde, asking for updates and offering to rekindle their relationship. Oren confronts Wilde, dismissing his suspicions of Bernard. Undeterred, Wilde waits until Oren leaves and then breaks into Naomi’s bedroom. He searches her belongings and discovers an internet search for the “challenge” game on her computer. He hears footsteps, but they aren’t Bernard’s. Wilde checks the basement. Naomi is there.

Naomi recognizes Wilde as the boy from the woods. They bond as Wilde unravels the truth of her disappearance: Desperate to stop the bullying, Naomi attempted the “48-hour-challenge,” in which teens purposely disappear to worry their families. The longer they aren’t found, the more points they accumulate. However, Naomi didn’t trust her dad to function while she was hidden; instead, she hid in her basement to continue the ruse that she was missing. Bernard finds Wilde and Naomi. Wilde gives the Pines his phone number in case they need his help.

Wilde calls Hester to update her on the situation. Hester is angry because her false missing person announcement could damage her reputation. Naomi returns to school, but the truth soon comes out, and the bullying worsens. Naomi vanishes again a week later.