Don’t forget to tune into the season finale of the limited series ‘THE GARDEN: COMMUNE OR CULT’ this Sunday, 11/26, at 10 pm ET/PT on the Discovery Channel.
In case you missed it, ‘THE GARDEN: COMMUNE OR CULT’ offers an all-access look inside the controversial off-the-grid community that went viral on social media after a series of TikTok videos from Garden member Tree, showcasing their alternative lifestyle and some red-flaggy, ‘cultish’ behavior. This led to a swarm of accusations, with content creators launching investigations into The Garden’s suspicious and jarring videos.
The series follows prospective members of The Garden as they complete a 10-day trial living with the community — determining whether it really is a viable answer to the capitalist norm or the stankier sequel to Midsommar.
Prospect Tyler Dean Milligan (veteran, survivalist, and not-nudist-but-very-comfy-butt-naked doomsday prepper) quickly becomes the central subject of the show and also the best image rehabilitation The Garden could ask for. See, this dude, Tyler, in 10 days and some change, is able to amass a great deal of influence — damn near being considered the new leader of The Garden. Tyler actually states his intentions to be the leader, much to Tree’s concern, who is now traumatized by being immortalized as the “ginger cult guy” on TikTok — and has his own aspirations of turning The Garden into a perpetual Burning Man. I don’t think a true cult would let such conflicting visions slide. Actually, the most amusing element of the series is how bafflingly disorganized this community is. The Garden is more down to kick people out like failed prospect Narayah for being a different brand of obnoxious than to actively indoctrinate people. Don’t get me wrong, there’s questionable practices too e.g. forced name-changes (that’s, like, how to cult 101). So, who knows, we have one episode left!
Jessica Stahle was perhaps the most relatable of the prospective Garden members, as she owns the instant regret she feels being surrounded on arrival by the Coachella-clad “commune.”
Things are reaching a boiling point at The Garden, with Tyler attempting to seize control, Tree going from the most publicly known member to feeling rejected and creatively stunted by the community — and the remaining prospects’ final decisions on whether they will stay or hightail it back to normie-land.
Watch an exclusive clip from the finale below:
Tune into ‘THE GARDEN: COMMUNE OR CULT’ this Sunday, 11/26, at 10 pm ET/PT on the Discovery Channel, and let us know what you thought about the finale!
