I heavily enjoyed watching this first episode of Anna Pigeon, sure there were some moments that were quite hard to brush past but overall for a first episode of a show it was very good. It showed us exactly who Anna is as a person and that’s all you can ask from the first episode, we need to know who we are watching so that we can form a connection with the character which I can say for me they succeeded with that.
I loved that we got many different recognitions of how important nature is but it didn’t feel like it was over mentioned. One of my favourite lines of the episode came very early on when Anna says “Take only memories, leave only footprints”. It is a very good message.
One thing that I wasn’t overly a fan of was how quickly everything happened, I’m hoping that it is mostly because it is a first episode and a lot needed to be packed in to get to the part at the end where Anna is threatened and the place she loves is threatened so that she wants to stay. However I do feel that because so much happened it made it feel like the story was jumping around a lot and also a lot that felt maybe a bit far removed from reality like Anna being able to climb back up the rock face whilst bleeding and having just been hit by a rock and falling onto a ledge. Although I do think it gave a very good example of the fact that Anna doesn’t seem to have much regard for her own safety, which I imagine we will continue to see.
“Track Of The Cat ” – ANNA PIGEON. Pictured: Tracy Spiridakos as Anna Pigeon Photo: Michelle Faye/NBC ©2026 USA Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
On a more positive note I did like how much we learnt about Anna’s past and her family. I think there was enough explanation of her past and her present for the audience to get to know her but also for there to be much more about her and her past for us to learn about. Certainly finding out what happened with Zach is going to be a huge plot line.
There was a really great contrast between comedy and seriousness throughout the episode. Anna’s natural sarcasm and dry humour allows for those breaks of intensity. It was perfectly contrasted in the scene where Anna admits she might be crazy enough to kill someone and then as soon as the child walks in she switches to just having a chat.
The was also a good level of irony with the dead pigeon at her door, I really liked how she was adamant that a pigeon, a dead pigeon was a bad thing not a good thing. Obviously she is correct but the irony of that being her name was a very good moment.
Right from the jump we learn that Anna clearly has more potential than just being a park ranger and after her conversation with Stanton in the car it’s clear that she has every opportunity to do more. I am very interested to see their dynamic throughout the rest of the season, it seems like there is either more to their story or more to what they could end up being. Certainly from Stanton’s side with him looking into the death of Zach for Anna, without her ever saying anything.
“Track Of The Cat ” – ANNA PIGEON. Pictured: Ronnie Rowe as Frederik Stanton Photo: Michelle Faye/NBC ©2026 USA Network, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
It didn’t go unnoticed about how much Anna drinks throughout the episode, the opening of her being in bed with a Vodka bottle on the side and then the reveal of a man in her bed shocked me a lot. I loved the blocking of that scene because I was absolutely not expecting that. Then in almost every scene where she wasn’t working after that she was either at a bar or had a glass of wine at the ready. It’s clear like Stanton said that she is running from something, presumably her own emotions about her past.
I loved the scene between her and who we now know is Jessie at the end of the episode, with her opening up that it would have been her husband’s 40th and that he doesn’t seem too phased by her past. I think it was a nice touch to see the rings around her neck whilst she was having that conversation as well.
I think this show has really great potential to grow into an incredibly gripping watch, I am looking forward to getting to know Anna and her pals more and now that she is no longer alone seeing how she adapts to sharing her home with another solitary creature.
