Neighborhood Watch #2 picks up right where the last one left off and there’s a lot to unpack. We find out more about Cassie/Jill (for the sake of clarity, I’ll be calling her Jill from now on). Bianca and Val are focused on saving Jill before trying to figure out exactly who she is.
Sarah Gailey drops multiple flashbacks to Jill’s life back at White Haven Homeowners Association, which leaves us with more questions than answers. She also gives us a glimpse into Bianca’s past which might come back to haunt her. We soon find out that Jill isn’t who Bianca or Val thought she was.
SPOILERS AHEAD for Neighborhood Watch #2!
After Bianca and Val take Jill to Yves, the doctor at Open Arms Intentional Collective, they soon compare stories and reveal that Jill has been living a double life. Bianca surprisingly agrees to not get cops involved before spending the night at Open Arms and going home in the morning to get any information that Jill might have in her house. While Bianca is looking for any information, Aurora discovers that Val knows about her mother’s double life and shares that Jill was never safe during her childhood.
Erik, Jill’s husband, finds Bianca looking for around in his house and tells her that he hasn’t heard from Jill in a few days and trusts her with this information as it’s revealed that Bianca has lost her spouse in a seemingly tragic way. Aurora tells Val that her mom was supposed to become “Cassie” permanently while Bianca discovers that Jill has been targeting Val and the Open Arms Collective.
Gailey seems to point all the signs to one suspect before she completely throws us off of the trail with the ending to this issue. Val didn’t seem to be connected to Jill as much as Bianca, Aurora and Erik besides being the kitchen stewardess in the collective as Jill until its revealed that she’s Jill’s target.
I can’t wait to find out more about Jill, Bianca and Aurora’s past as the small snippets that we’re being told seem to be an important part of the story. Gailey and Haining are doing an amazing job of world building. The panel where we see White Haven and Open Arms separated by the mountain is beautiful and provides context on where the tunnel that connects the two communities runs through.
Haining and Rebecca Natly are still keeping the panels separate by color when Bianca and Val are apart, unless there’s a flashback being told by Aurora, in which the panels are the same color as where the flashback is taking place. The flashbacks are less saturated and have a hazier feeling than the rest of the story.
Neighborhood Watch #2 is one you’ll want to keep reading as Sarah Gailey keeps you on your toes before revealing another big twist and hinting that the past may reveal dark secrets.
