US: The Leftovers

v0n said:
Disappearance/rapture is a good plot hook. But it already suffers from classic Lindeloffism - you are served with good initial mysterious plot starter (global rapture), then nothing of substance happens (try to do synopsis of last three episodes to someone who missed them) to explain the mystery and you are just being lead by the nose with that initial mystery though a minefield of equally unexplained and often dismissed WTF devices (cult of white clothed smokers that don't speak, random dog hunters, etc). The moment you realise that, you know it's journey to nowhere. The best you can hope for is the second rapture or sudden return as a cliff hanger at the end of the season. At the end of the series they will all meet in timeless purgatory and main character will die in a field of bamboo trees with one of the hunted dogs by his side.
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I've been willing to see how it plays out, but we're two eps in and already I can see it going that way.

So annoying, such a great concept and intellectual property that's going to be wasted because of his approach to story telling/yarn spinning. :(
 
The trouble is - Lindelof is really good at building immersive background stories. The whole pastor episode was straight from "Lost" script book, it could have been quite easily one of the the flashback stories, you had this whole Lost-ish "written in stars" element, damaged man in trouble, preset of mysterious serendipitous circumstances served as light in the tunnel, and the journey that ends in ultimate downfall due to character straying off the simple path leaving us with unanswered "what if" and "was it meant to be that way". It's good writing, it's pleasure to watch. But.

The one thing that Lindelof does not grasp even after all this time, is that mini stories only matter if they are used to propel larger idea. If there is a plot beyond it that moves with every postcard from life we, the viewers decided to commit our 45 minutes a week to. Because if what we saw serves no purpose, builds no larger story, and is just distraction and device invented with sole purpose of wasting our time, then the interest and anticipation is very quickly replaced by anger and hostility. And I am one stolen baby Jesus away from screaming at my TV set again. Fool me once, shame on... shame on you. Fool me.. am.. twice, you can't get fooled again (as certain POTUS used to say). ;)
 
This is the strangest show I've ever seen yet I feel compelled to watch. I've always enjoyed Ecclestone's performances in the past and he does superbly here I thought. The musical score for the show is amazing.

Not a flipping clue wtf is going on though lol :o
 
I don't mind not knowing what's going on as I can empathize more with the characters because they have no clue either. They said in the first place that the show concentrates on how the people are affected by the disappearance / rapture rather than the cause of the disappearance itself.
 
That was an awesome episode, she's turned out to be a really strong character. The two stand out episodes so far have concentrated on a single character. This is turning into one of my favourite shows, even though the chances of getting answers to the big questions are pretty slim.
 
It's been renewed for season 2. I wonder what the plot will be next year...

"Half the population of earth have mysteriously grown a third eye. Tune in each week to see them drink cups of tea."

Like everyone else i still don't have a scooby what's going on but can't seem to stop watching.
 
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Not really sure what the idea of the last episode was?

We've got enough back story on all of the characters. No reveals, no clues just stories of what we've already been told about.

Now they've got a second series I thinks it's all going to be filler until it gets cancelled.
 
ShortWarning said:
Not really sure what the idea of the last episode was?

We've got enough back story on all of the characters. No reveals, no clues just stories of what we've already been told about.

Now they've got a second series I thinks it's all going to be filler until it gets cancelled.
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Did you miss the last 5 minutes or something ?
I thought it was made pretty evident as to why Kevin / Laurie and both kids were directly screwed up by the event and that things where not exactly great in his marriage / family at that moment as was.

Upto now i'd taken it they'd only been affected by what had happened to others around them and the general uncertainty affecting anyone left behind.

Still loving it, some episodes not quite lived up to the blistering 1st episode ( mostly as it really made me laugh in places). But some very dark tough to watch moments so far.
 
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neil473 said:
Did you miss the last 5 minutes or something ?
I thought it was made pretty evident as to why Kevin / Laurie and both kids were directly screwed up by the event and that things where not exactly great in his marriage / family at that moment as was.

Upto now i'd taken it they'd only been affected by what had happened to others around them and the general uncertainty affecting anyone left behind.

Still loving it, some episodes not quite lived up to the blistering 1st episode ( mostly as it really made me laugh in places). But some very dark tough to watch moments so far.
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We assume most people experienced someone vanish. There's no reason the kids would be any more messed up than anyone else. The girl is clearly messed up because her Mum joined a cult.

Kevin/Laurie were going to split anyway (as pointed out in the episode). It would be odd someone disappearing when you're about to get down to business but that doesn't really affect the story in any way. A troubled couple split, just as they would have either way.

The episode goes some way to explain why Laurie joined a cult (perhaps, maybe, at a stretch).

Everyone vanishes, people suffer PTSD. We don't really need to know that, it's a given that some would suffer.
 
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Just watched the season finale of this and think it has been a fantastic show so far, the ending really summing up the season's progress.

I still however, at the back of my mind have a the 'Lost' fear but hoping they actually planned the whole thing out and stick to it.
 
Wasn't sure what to expect from this as I had no inkling about it except for a passing comment about a new 'sci-fi' series!

And then I get this sort of Stephen King-esque small town USA milieu with the high concept of a 'rapture'-like occurence... it was... strange, but in a gripping way IMO. So different from the usual cookie-cutter series around, worth persevering with just for that...

OTOH I would advise people about to give up on it (and I can understand why) to watch Ep.9 first as then the preceding events make more sense - and I don't think it spoils the show at all watching it in that order. In fact I wonder if they were going to go with Ep.9 first before deciding it wouldn't be 'mysterious' enough *sigh*

Going to watch Ep. 10 now. Glad they've renewed it but if it goes on like 'Lost' (which had something like 22 eps per season & 6 or 7 seasons LOL) only to end up with a deus ex machina... well.. not sure I can take that disappointment again. Though I'm still glad I caught Lost and Battlestar Galactica - in many ways I can't blame the writers for not knowing what to do, it's just that the fans had many, many more entertaining ideas that made greater sense!
 
rids57 said:
That was a hell of a season finale - now the wait for season two
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Argh it's gonna b a long wait, just like it was for Lost, Game of Thrones, Falling Skies, Orphan Black, Attack on Titan and all the other ones that end with me wanting more (and yes I realise some of them were mediocre but still intriguing because I wanted to know what was going to happen next, however stupid)!

I hope the characters have a little piece of happiness before more doom occurs :(
 
NexusK said:
It's been renewed for season 2. I wonder what the plot will be next year...

"Half the population of earth have mysteriously grown a third eye. Tune in each week to see them drink cups of tea."

Like everyone else i still don't have a scooby what's going on but can't seem to stop watching.
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Haha that's hilarious but rather close to the truth :D

There should be a companion series where 98% of the population disappears, set in the same neighbourhood with all the 'departed' from this series struggling with the loss of most of the town ;)

Actually instead of syndicating this around the world, each territory could have their own version - imagine the differences in the Papua New Guinean or South Sudanese or Kazahk or Malaysian scenarios... :eek:
 
Pleiades said:
Haha that's hilarious but rather close to the truth :D

There should be a companion series where 98% of the population disappears, set in the same neighbourhood with all the 'departed' from this series struggling with the loss of most of the town ;)

Actually instead of syndicating this around the world, each territory could have their own version - imagine the differences in the Papua New Guinean or South Sudanese or Kazahk or Malaysian scenarios... :eek:
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Britain would be amazing :D if 98% disappears
 
Dimple said:
I'm bloody useless at watching stuff and using my brain.
What actually happened, what was it with all the dummies, where did they come from?
Put it in spoilers if you have to.
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No need for spoilers - the dummies were a running theme throughout. They are the invention of a company that sells them to the families of the departed in order for them to have something physical to remember them by (for burial mainly).

The Guilty Remnant obviously ordered a shedload to freak people out and it worked - they like to provoke violence against themselves without ever instigating it physically. A very weird cult indeed. Haven't worked out the no talking & chain smoking thing yet... :(
 
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