New HBO series by Damon Lidelof (LOST) about the disappearance of over 140 million people and the people who didn't disappear dealing with it.
Was it a random phenomenon, or was it the biblical rapture? And even if one believes that God would whisk the faithful away, en masse, to heaven, how could it have been the rapture if the bad were taken along with the good?
The show focuses on how people deal with the event 3 years later more so than the event itself.
Summary of some of the early critic thoughts can be found here, which have been very positive over all.
Good first episode. I can see it being a show that people either love or hate, and it's pretty dark. A lot going on, so you have to pay attention to follow everything.
Too vague of a first episode tbh. It's supposed to capture you and drag you in, yet they don't really give you anything. There's some weird cult that we know nothing about. Something happened to some people that we know nothing about. There is yet another cult looking thing, run by a black guy that we know nothing about. Something is about to happen according to said black guy, something that we know nothing about.
Does anybody know what music this is from? It's really beautiful and I kind of doubt it was made just for this series, but if it was kudos to the composer(s). The second episode had a slightly different version of it. Oh and the video is slightly NSFW even though you can't see a whole lot.
Hah. Came here just to talk about the music, too. Nice to find out I'm not the only one. The music actually is specifically composed for the TV show, as it turns out. The composer is Max Richter.
I'm torn on the show itself so far, but god damn the score is absolutely stunning. I'm going to keep watching the show just for that.
Not saying that the acting isn't quite melodramatic, but I wouldn't say they're overreacting. If 2% of the people just died, sure. It happens. But I can totally see people joining weird cults and whatnot when something truly magical/paranormal happens.
The writing feels a bit weak at some points, though. Like last episode when everyone spontaneously decides that Mr. Main Character must be seeing people. There was just no buildup to that at all. "Oh, hey, I saw someone shooting dogs." "Oh, did you now. Anyone else saw the mystery man, too, or was it just you?" If it was just that random incompetent psychologist, sure, but his co-workers? That was just weird.
On July 08 2014 08:31 Conti wrote: Not saying that the acting isn't quite melodramatic, but I wouldn't say they're overreacting. If 2% of the people just died, sure. It happens. But I can totally see people joining weird cults and whatnot when something truly magical/paranormal happens.
The writing feels a bit weak at some points, though. Like last episode when everyone spontaneously decides that Mr. Main Character must be seeing people. There was just no buildup to that at all. "Oh, hey, I saw someone shooting dogs." "Oh, did you now. Anyone else saw the mystery man, too, or was it just you?" If it was just that random incompetent psychologist, sure, but his co-workers? That was just weird.
The main reason everybody was jumping to the conclusion that he was seeing things / making up imaginary people was because it happened to his father, who was the sheriff before his son got the gig, and now resided in a mental institution. Hate to say it, but mental illness runs in families and quite often does not skip a generation. I liked how they revealed the dog assassin was not a figment of his imagination and also how he solved the mystery of his raptured bagel. It shows that he hasn't completely lost his shit, at least not yet.
Welp, I think I'm done with the show. It seems to consist entirely of mysterious mysteries and in-your-face symbolism that takes up entire episodes. Not to mention the mysteries aren't even actual mysteries, but just the writers explicitly not showing us the motivations of some characters to keep us curious.
Oh, well, at least I found the music of Max Richter through all this, so there's that.
On July 21 2014 23:52 Conti wrote: Welp, I think I'm done with the show. It seems to consist entirely of mysterious mysteries and in-your-face symbolism that takes up entire episodes. Not to mention the mysteries aren't even actual mysteries, but just the writers explicitly not showing us the motivations of some characters to keep us curious.
Oh, well, at least I found the music of Max Richter through all this, so there's that.
Yea, I don't blame you...this episode was pretty crappy compared to the last 2 and I would go so far as to say it was actually weaker than the mediocre pilot. The Tommy and Christine storyline is horrible and painful to watch and I personally want to punch every one of Mapleton's teenagers in the face. There were a couple of bombs dropped this episode, so at least we know why Tommy is such a dick to his "dad". Still does not justify his actions to date though. The whole show is a definite slow burn up to who knows what. I will give it a chance though unless they totally jump the shark in the next few episodes. It's kind of sad that the music is the strongest part of an HBO show, the writing really needs to improve or I fear there may not be enough viewers sticking around to warrant a second season.
Theres probably only like four of us still watching this show, but god damn this sundays episode was....well, something else? Who else got a big Soprano'ish vibe from this one?
The numbers seem to be pretty low, but heck, if a show like this has a chance to survive, itll be on HBO. Ann Dowd and Justin Theroux were phenomenal in this episode. Theres like a zero % chance either one will get a nomination for an emmy or such, but damn, what a treat.
I tried to get into this show but the pilot just left me feeling... dirty. The same feeling you get when you wake up next to a trashy girl and all you want to do is shower.
If this wasnt something special. I liked season 1, but i LOVED season 2.
Episode 8 and 10 were definitely my highlights, but just overall this was an amazing season. The ratings are horrible - the critics couldnt be more positive, im really not sure which way HBO might be going.
But if this is it - well, its been a hell of a ride. And if we get a season 3? I couldnt be happier.
Season 2 was so good, I'm perfectly ok with not having a third season.
The thing about a show like this, is that it is about me, the viewer. It made all these weird things just to open my mind, to loosen it a bit from it's everyday function and how it look at things. This show does this so wonderfully, from episode to episode, I was much more afraid then any other show I've seen. And then you have the release, and the final episode was such a release that tears of joy went on and on. I think of this show as an inner guide, it show you stuff because you need to see this first, no matter how upside-down and backwards you may think it is. + Show Spoiler +
The final message can not been seen by the cynical mind who simply think it's too good to be true, and just discards it and misses the beauty of it. It makes sense right? Are we not more defensive when it comes to love, then any other thing? The defenses I put up had to be brought down, and the show helped with that.
A true masterpiece of a show, I truly enjoyed it. 10/10
On December 14 2015 15:31 crappen wrote: Season 2 was so good, I'm perfectly ok with not having a third season.
I agree, would've been okay - but alas - HBO renewed the show for a third, and according to Damon Lindeloff, definitely last season.
I like it. There are still some plots and questions to be resolved (not that we will ever get questions for the really important questions in terms of the Leftovers-World - but thats completely fine by me), so i'm happy we get one more season of Justin Theroux and co. - i really trust this team to stick the landing on a final season. With this 2nd seasons, they've earned that trust.