crawlin' king snake

But in episode two, when he has that emotional outburst at Wyck -- "Fuck you, you dumb hick!" -- it tells me that a part of his logical brain still thinks that the superstition isn't true and is genuinely an artifact of small-town thinking. In that line, it's clear that he views an outspoken belief of the island superstition as uneducated and illogical.

Because in episode one, where he's being dismissive of the superstition, you can argue that it's just a mayor disregarding the known truth of the curse for the greater good of the island/his son, like Tom told Ruth. But that specific unguarded emotional insult to Wyck in episode two really makes me think that it wasn't genuinely until the events of this season unfolded that he knew, without a shadow of a doubt, the island is fucked up.

I think before the events of the season, Tom knew the superstitions may very well be true and he loved Evan enough to not even risk taking him off the island. (Not to mention, the trauma he had from the last time he tried to take an islander to the mainland probably played a role in that, as well). But the logic still had a place in his mind. I don't think Tom knew with complete certainty in episode one that the lore was undoubtedly true.

And while I'm on this thought stream, I think him telling Ruth he knew for certain that he was endangering tourists' lives was just another way of putting blame on himself. It sounds like he blames himself for Lauren's death, because she warned him about not being able to leave the island and he convinced her anyway, and then she had a stroke and withered away. I feel, as a result of that, Tom easily takes blame for things that aren't entirely his fault. I think after 15-ish years of living in complete guilt, he'll put himself there in any other situation because it's what he's used to now.