This week's episode hit closer to home as both Nathan (Lucas Bryant) and Audrey (Emily Rose) were forced to look at how isolated their lives are. Nathan chose to live a solitary life due to his inability to feel touch; and Audrey chose to be alone so that she is free to come and go as she pleases. But a prison of our own making is always still a prison. Nathan and Audrey's choices have led them to be entirely alone in their lives.

With a bit of coaxing from Jess Minion (Anne Caillon) and prodding from Audrey, Nathan ventured out of his self-imposed prison of loneliness and embarked on a relationship with Jess. His realization that he does not have to live alone and can still experience a degree of physical love was beautiful.

Just as Nathan discovered the joy of not living in self-exile, Audrey was also discovering that her untethered existence came at a price. The realization that she had no friends and probably never had any friends was unpleasant and startling. Her attempts to break out of her egg-shell existence was comedic and rewarding. Haven may be a town plagued with troubles, but it may also be the one thing that brings out Audrey's human side. She needs other people in her life.

Nathan and Audrey's fledgling attempts to reconnect with those around them -- to share their lives and not just watch the world live through their invisible glass barrier -- was fascinating.

It also served as a nice parallel to the story of the Dark Man who crept out of the shadows to wreak death upon those it felt deserved to be punished. A grieving husband sought retribution against those who he felt responsible for the early demise of his wife. It was a prison of his own making. His grief had fractured his psyche, his soul and even severed his body from his shadow. A shell of the man that he once was, the husband had no choice but to keep him imprisoned and out of the light. Whereas Nathan and Audrey chose to embrace the world and venture out into it, the Dark Man had chosen to retreat from the world and hide from it.

What Worked

The slow dance of romance between Nathan and Jess was mesmerizing. From the moment she came out to fetch the paper and found him waiting patiently in the garden with coffee for her to the moment when he allowed her to kiss him to see if he could actually feel it, their blossoming relationship was beautiful. Plus, the thoughtfulness in addressing Nathan's disability and how it haunted him was delicately handled.

It was also nicely interspersed with the good-natured prodding by Audrey. Some of the best scenes were watching Audrey and Jess test each other to see if each were a rival or merely a protector of the man they both cared about. One of the funnier bits was when Jess brought dinner to the station, Audrey exclaimed, "Nathan, marry this woman already!" As Nathan just stared, she added, "Sorry, did I just make that awkward?" To which Jess blushed and said, "I should get to second base first!"

Despite this friendly banter, there was an undercurrent of tension. Was Audrey being genuine in wishing Nathan and Jess a happy life together, or was she taunting them out of jealousy? Even Nathan could not quite figure it out. Particularly when Audrey told Jess: "He is cute. You should see him around babies." Thus, when Jess said goodbye and gently kissed Nathan on the cheek, he shied away. Nathan either does not want to be touched, or he just does not want to be touched with Audrey watching.

Despite his conflicting feelings, Nathan did willingly admit when asked if he was Jess' policeman, "I guess I am." This affirmative statement spoke volumes about his intentions -- which made it all the more heart-breaking when he arrived at Jess' house in the end having made up his mind, and she greeted him with a suitcase saying: "I'm sorry. I wish I were stronger."

Jess may have tried to blame it only on the troubles plaguing Haven as the reason she was fleeing Haven, but perhaps she sensed it was safer to leave now before she had her heart broken. A witch or not, a woman's intuition tells you when a man is with you completely. With Nathan, she would always be wondering if he wanted to be somewhere else. After all, Jess knew that each time the phone rang that it would be Audrey and Nathan would go running to her rescue.

Adding to the beauty of this episode of breaking through barriers was the final scene where Audrey, sensing Nathan's pain over Jess' abandonment, kissed him on the check and he reacted like he actually felt it. Did he react out of surprise at this tender gesture, or was it because he actually felt something? It makes us wonder.

While not on a romantic plateau, Nathan and Audrey's developing friendship is certainly a lot of fun, such as when Nathan discovered one of Audrey's weaknesses: she has no friends. When he teased her about it and how she needs to engage people in small talk, she defensively responded: "Nathan Wournos promotes small talk. It's like Superman trying to sell kryptonite."

It was also quite fun watching Audrey struggle to recall each person's name and her humorous attempts to get it right, with Nathan shaking his head in the background each time she guessed a name wrong.

What Didn't Work

It was not quite clear at the end if they had truly imprisoned the Dark Man shadow again. Securing him in the boarded up house did not seem effective against a shadow that could pass through walls.

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due

"Haven" stars Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour. "Ain't No Sunshine" was written by Sam Ernst and was directed by Ken Giotti.

"Haven" airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Syfy.