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Well that episode was a drat mess. I hope later episodes regain the thoughtfulness that went into episode one, but I'm not optimistic.
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Aug 24, 2020 05:05
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Well that sure was quite the episode. The soundtrack has been great so far
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Aug 24, 2020 05:15
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What in the world is going on in this show? It's nuts! I'm definitely along for the ride, though.
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Aug 24, 2020 05:35
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That CGI snake, though... Uncle George 
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Aug 24, 2020 05:37
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Enjoyed 2 more than the 1st. The weirder the better. Let’s do this.
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Aug 24, 2020 05:46
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feel like this show is trying to move at ‘true blood’ speed with not-‘true blood’-like pulp, the exact opposite really. it...isn’t working.
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Aug 24, 2020 05:47
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the scoring is god loving awful, lmao at clones followed by killing strangers that episode fell off pretty hard, IMO, hoping next week is better
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Aug 24, 2020 06:24
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abelwingnut posted:feel like this show is trying to move at ‘true blood’ speed with not-‘true blood’-like pulp, the exact opposite really. The thing to realize is that the book is basically an anthology series, with a bunch of stories featuring these characters in different situations with a very slight connective tissue. Those first two episodes are the first story, oddly enough called "Lovecraft Country". They appear to be doing the next story after this, called "Dreams of the Witch House". Now they've changed some things up and probably aren't going to cover all the stories in the book, but that is the general idea of it.
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Aug 24, 2020 06:43
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Yeah, I felt like I was back in True Blood for some of that. Just a complete different tone from the previous week. I'll stick with it for now, but man I'm not sure where it's gonna go from here.
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Aug 24, 2020 06:43
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Episode felt extremely rushed, like someone randomly cut out some parts or this was supposed to be at least 2-3 eps 
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Aug 24, 2020 07:29
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I thought the first episode moved a bit too fast with having monsters already, but was hoping that was just a tease to get people hooked. Loved the first bit of this episode up until monsters appeared again, then it just kept moving SO fast. I guess I had the wrong idea about this show, as it hasn't felt particularly Lovecraftian with its atmosphere or pacing. It also hasn't felt very pulpy. I'll definitely watch the third episode, and try to judge it on its own merits and not my preconceptions.
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Aug 24, 2020 09:58
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Omar agin'
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Aug 24, 2020 13:36
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Jeepers, this show moves fast. I was not expecting them to find Tick's dad and blow up what turned out to be a wizard cult by episode 2, but I guess there's more to see and tell. I feel like the conclusions that 1) Tick's dad was kept in the tower and 2) Tick was related to the Order's originator were drawn lightning fast, but I didn't mind, the show has a pleasantly manic feel at times. Risky showing a character die that early and come back, though I'm very happy they did for Letitia - though I don't expect there's any more for Uncle George. RIP, you were the best. All in all still really enjoying the show. The use of songs is fantastic.
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Aug 24, 2020 13:48
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PringleCreamEgg posted:as it hasn't felt particularly Lovecraftian with its atmosphere or pacing. Well, the source material is not Lovecraft - I haven't read it, so I don't know if it's this pulpy, but I guess it has a wider inspiration than H.P.L. alone). It's definitely not going to be a "mistery box" show from what it looks like, and I'm kinda glad of it. A lot of premium TV/streaming content (especially Netflix stuff) always feel a tad slow paced, so I'm happy to see HBO going the opposite way with their latest stuff (Watchmen was also packing a ton of stuff into 9 episodes. It would have probably been 2 seasons if Netflix was at the wheel). Hostile V posted:Gonna get a lot of mileage out of this image. EDIT: I definitely liked the That Italian Guy fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 14:03
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Yeah that episode sucked
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Aug 24, 2020 14:15
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davidspackage posted:All in all still really enjoying the show. The use of songs is fantastic.  gotta love "CLONES" set to a black man walking through downtown 1950s Chicago (???) followed by "Killing Strangers" set to a scene in which no characters actually* die thematically those choices make zero loving sense for the scenes or era or tone; I'm getting the same cringey awkward vibes suggesting the sound director just pulled a list of their favs and randomly decided where to insert them that I got from Handmaid's Tale ex post facho fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 14:31
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ex post facho posted:
It's clear that they want to go somewhere with these choices, although I agree the result is hit and miss at best. I think the best example is with the live version of Whitey on the Moon overimposed (intro and all) over the cultist chanting. It's a bold choice, it's definitely something different and I think it's a good "hit" among other misses. The scene on itself is something we have seen a hundred times over, but the soundtrack choice makes it really pop out, both tematically and creatively. At the same time, the inclusion of the intro made me double check to see if I had another tab running the song, and I'm sure I'm not the only one to have done this. But it's a good way to make us feel that we are inside of Atticus's head in that moment, we are not just spectators. HE is thinking about that song, about that particular version of the song, intro and all. HE is feeling those feelings. So intensely, in fact, that the completely surreal and out of the ordinary situation around him is mostly blanked out. And we are there with him. E: well apparently Atticus could not have heard that song for obvious reasons...that said, the basic feeling of the poem/song is definitely appropriate (just substitute being on the moon with dedicating one's life to reach the Garden of Eden - goals that would be equally impossible to achieve for someone in Tic's position). That Italian Guy fucked around with this message at 15:37 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 14:35
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I liked the pilot a lot more than the second episode. I just wasn't drawn into the wizard plot with what we were given. I really enjoyed George but I had the sense he was going to die last episode and the book in the library made it too obvious.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:07
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Echoing the feelings that this was a step down from the first episode. It lacked the tension that made the pilot so enjoyable.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:20
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ex post facho posted:
The titular spoken word poem that played over the climax describes events that happened 15 years later. The James Baldwin speech from the last episode also takes place after the events of the show. It’s clear that the anachronistic music is a deliberate decision.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:23
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yeah, deliberately bad
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Aug 24, 2020 15:25
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I think the soundtrack has worked pretty well except for the Manson track. But yeah, this episode moved so quickly that there wasn't really any chance for tension to build.
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Aug 24, 2020 15:36
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ex post facho posted:yeah, deliberately bad Maybe they hired Stargate Universe's musical director. Don't forget to breathe!
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Aug 24, 2020 15:51
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Echoing sentiments that you can't really build tension when your characters encounter a mystery, solve it immediately, and are given a new mystery they immediately solve minutes later. The bit with the portal/collapse/etc should've been great but it felt like it should've been the culmination of two or three episodes worth of buildup, but it's so rushed that it felt like another music video montage over a string of them. Hoping they can slow it down after this but even the preview for next week seemed bloated so we'll see.
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Aug 24, 2020 16:03
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Wholly disagree with a lot of the thread takes so far--I think the second episode continued laying a lot of the groundwork and did a lot of stakes-setting that's gonna be necessary given that this adaptation is 100% more Ballad of Black Tom than it is Horror at Red Hook. I think if you view anything about this episode as them "solving" a mystery it's gonna feel weird, but outside of a few Uncle George observations for context I think a more accurate read lands on them being pretty overtly powerless and strung along as pieces in someone else's chess game. Like, none of this was a win--Tic's a novice when it comes to the esoteric and his decisions end up making things worse for them despite being competent and reasonable given the circumstances. He just doesn't know how to play properly yet. It's good though, and wholly unsurprising, that they didn't actually have to do anything for the Order to get completely loving bodied via hubris. The question of lineage making Atticus important is tired when it's done needlessly but given how much Lovecraft cared about that kind of poo poo I dig this decision and am interested in seeing how they play around with it. It gives Atticus enough leverage to perform prestige and authority but ends up doing very little when up against an enemy that knows to drop that poo poo when it stops being useful.
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Aug 24, 2020 16:46
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The James Baldwin thing last week worked because it happened over scenes that were essentially demonstrating the truth of Baldwin's argument and the one enhanced the other. I don’t think the GSH poem worked as well because it was distracting, literally so, I was so intent on listening to Heron that I didn’t really pay close attention to what was happening in the scene and I'm not sure exactly what happened. I'm not convinced this whole episode happened, it felt very dreamlike in pace and plot, so I wouldn’t be shocked if next episode opened with Atticus sitting bolt upright in bed. Also the CGI generally is very poor, the House itself and then its collapse looked late 2000s quality.
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Aug 24, 2020 17:04
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V  VI like the weirdness of it, I think it helps if you haven't heard the songs before. The Handmaid's Tale turned it into a very obvious crutch, I hope this won't. And while I thought the sarcastic poem over the portal scene was a wild choice, it did make it harder to focus on what was happening.
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Aug 24, 2020 17:18
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zoux posted:The James Baldwin thing last week worked because it happened over scenes that were essentially demonstrating the truth of Baldwin's argument and the one enhanced the other. I don’t think the GSH poem worked as well because it was distracting, literally so, I was so intent on listening to Heron that I didn’t really pay close attention to what was happening in the scene and I'm not sure exactly what happened. As I mentioned before, I think that's the idea? The audio for the poem was literally drowning everything in the background (including the sfx for the "magic" and the chanting of the cultists)...the idea being how the White Man can be so completely disconnected from everyday's life (walking on the moon or, in this case, literally living outside society and chasing immortality through magic) while the Black Man is, at best, a cog in the machine of the other's wants&needs. The sound wall is there to mimic the social divide: yes, they are both in the same room, somehow involved in the same bs ritual...but they couldn't be more distant. It's also clear that Tic is probably going through the same disbelief and anger at how injust all of this is. I guess it could be appreciated or not, but I think the intent is quite clear with the choice they made. That Italian Guy fucked around with this message at 17:28 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 17:25
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I've got a whole lot of issues with this particular episode of television, but the one I'm going to pick on is that Uncle George's death was cheap and unearned. Foreshadowing a death is not a substitute for giving it stakes and making it a necessary component of the story. I can't help but suspect that it only happened when it did in order to free up Courtney B. Vance from being tied to the show. (Apparently, the character survives that storyline in the book.) And in addition to not liking how it was done, I also don't like the strategic decision of doing away with the best character so soon, where by "best" I mean "my favorite". zoux posted:The James Baldwin thing last week worked because it happened over scenes that were essentially demonstrating the truth of Baldwin's argument and the one enhanced the other. I don’t think the GSH poem worked as well because it was distracting, literally so, I was so intent on listening to Heron that I didn’t really pay close attention to what was happening in the scene and I'm not sure exactly what happened. I agree with this. The Baldwin reading took place during a roadtrip, a lull in the narrative that lends itself to to pensive moments. The GSH reading took place while we're all trying to figure out what in the hell is exactly happening in a poorly-explained, visually chaotic scene. I see what they were intending to do, and I just don't think it worked very well.
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Aug 24, 2020 17:59
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I really only need this show to be weird and cosmic horror-y, which it continues to deliver. It's good, pulp entertainment.
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Aug 24, 2020 19:35
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So I'm getting vibes of American Horror Story from this show, especially the second episode. The way AHS is rapid-fire plot elements, sometimes connected to each other and sometimes not, and a loose wrapping element to try to make it seem coherent. It's fun to watch but it's not very Lovecraftian.
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Aug 24, 2020 19:39
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LifeLynx posted:It's fun to watch but it's not very Lovecraftian. There are cultists and portals and elder signs and people losing their grip on reality and ancient societies. There are beasts with too many eyes to count and tentacles. There are even tentacles wrapped around the main character's fruit snack trays. Many of Lovecraft's actual stories don't have that many of his recurring elements happening at once, so I'm not sure what you mean.
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Aug 24, 2020 19:59
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ex post facho posted:the scoring is god loving awful, lmao at clones followed by killing strangers Yeah me too. Really enjoyed last week but this one was just off. I could live with most music choices but Marilyn Manson always takes me back to the early 00s watching 90s movies on free cable after school. Even 12 years old me thought Manson was lame although his "Sweet Dreams" cover was alright in House on Haunted Hill and Blair Witch 2 had that hot goth chick. But leave Manson in the 90s. Didn't even make it True Blood cool... just less overall cool. The nazi looking literal wizards was ok but just some of the music and the overall episode tone just didn't click for me. Also agreed with the one goon about the CGI also taking me back to the early 00s. Literally reminded me of that Rose Red miniseries which is ok I guess, except I was more in the mood for Carnivale. Next week might be alright. I'm hoping as I want to like this show and the 1st episode really hit with me. Ballz posted:Yeah, I felt like I was back in True Blood for some of that. Just a complete different tone from the previous week. True Blood was camp b series that found an audience and just embraced it. Sure, it went off the deep end in the end but it had a niche and was all the better for it. Can't remember if the 1st season was clunky. Again I am rooting for this show. Sad about Uncle George as I loved every bit of that scene with him and Omar. They should have had more scenes together. DogsInSpace! fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Aug 24, 2020 |
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Aug 24, 2020 20:13
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Overall I liked this episode more than the first one, but I am more into the lovecraft aspect than racism. I was a little disappointed that the monsters are supposed to be shoggoths, just seems like a waste to take one of lovecrafts weirder creations, and turn them into something a lot more generic
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Aug 24, 2020 21:08
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Oasx posted:I was a little disappointed that the monsters are supposed to be shoggoths, just seems like a waste to take one of lovecrafts weirder creations, and turn them into something a lot more generic Is this real? thats terrible.
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Aug 24, 2020 22:18
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The first episode sucked me in but the second episode was paced terribly. Nothing had room to breathe. It felt like there were major plot points every 90 seconds, nothing felt earned. It definitely felt like AHS "throw so much poo poo at the audience that their heads spin" approach. I don't know if a second episode of a show has ever made me feel like I was crazy for liking the first ep before. I'll watch next week but if it is like episode 2 I think I'm out.
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Aug 24, 2020 22:27
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Flimf posted:Is this real? thats terrible. It's never actually said, but strongly implied. Atticus describes them as "blobs covered with eyes," which doesn't fit their show appearance--though they do have a lot of eyes, and they do make the fluting noise described in At The Mountains of Madness
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Aug 24, 2020 22:28
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I generally like what I've seen so far, but I think the show is held back by some of what others have mentioned here. The characters are too expository and the writers don't give the story enough time to breathe. If the intention is horror, then the show would be better letting the uneasiness build (as it did in the diner scene in the first episode) instead of forcing reaction after reaction.
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Aug 24, 2020 23:43
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Alehkhs posted:HBO has put the first episode up on YouTube for free (I expect that it is region-locked): There should be localized versions of the 1st episode available. Here's HBO nordics release: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44oANu0F-HA
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Aug 25, 2020 00:44
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I read the book after the first episode and I was expecting this episode to take things much slower. Ending at the shooting at the bridge for example. It was way too fast paced. But to be honest I think that if anything they added content to the story. But everything could've used some more time to breathe. THe first episode was better than the second one, that's for sure. Liking the music choices so far. Seeing Omar is always nice, the rest of the cast is solid as well. A few interesting changes from the book, looking forward to see how they play into the plot later.
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Aug 25, 2020 00:57
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