FlipBoardI think The Leftovers is suffering from unfortunate anti-Lindelof bias. Like Aaron Sorkin and The Newsroom or even Lena Dunham and Girls, a certain segment of the audience has an axe to grind, and nothing will satisfy them. They want The Leftovers to fail. That part of the audience made up their minds before The Leftovers even aired. And the truth is, if you watch any show with a certain perspective, you can find reasons to dislike it. Hell, you could even make the (very dumb) case that Breaking Bad was not a good show, or that it was the most overrated show ever.
I get it. It’s like getting back together with an ex; even if the relationship is wonderful, you’re still going to be wary, looking for signs of the same bad behaviors. Viewed in a certain light, The Leftovers might also be considered problematic, especially if you’re consumed by parallels between the HBO series, Lost, and Lindelof’s own battles.
But there was nothing slow or boring about last night’s episode of The Leftovers, and while you might be able to argue that some of the turns were tragically predictable — or even inevitable — it didn’t make the events any less devastating. In fact, my own wife bailed on the episode — and the series — when the guy from the roulette table mugged Matt and ran away with the money, noting that she just couldn’t deal with the predictably tragic outcome. It was too sad for her to watch. What she didn’t stick around to see, however, was that while the outcome itself may have been tragic, the events that led to it were decidedly not. The last ten minutes of last night’s episode were, in turns, revealing, hopeful, sad, exhilarating, and ultimately crushing.
Of course in the end, The Guilty Remnant bought the church. We all could’ve predicted that early on. At this point, Matt Jamison also has to seriously be considering joining GR, too. They got the best of him. They took everything away from him.
It was the story of Job: Life put Matt through the wringer, and tested his faith in God. In the end, like Job, he discovered through human suffering the meaninglessness of life! God totally f**ked him over.
What a great, heartbreaking lesson about the pointlessness of it all, right?
Here’s a guy whose wife’s was worse than being lost to the Rapture — she’s in a vegetative state (and my God, Donna from The West Wing looks creepy as a brain-dead woman). Here’s a guy who is regularly getting beat up for trying to prove that it’s the good who were left behind. Here’s a guy who lost his parents. He nearly succumbed to cancer. Here’s a guy that has only one thing left worth living for: A sparsely attended church that he can’t afford to keep.
Does God look out for him?
Nope. God says, “F**k you, Matt Jamison.”
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No. This show was awful. I bailed when he was almost robbed as well, metaphorically. I do intend to bail completely now. I was prepared to like this show. It has done everything it can to make me hate it. I wish everyone in the GR to die horrible deaths the poorly thought out plot device deserves.
Those last 10 minutes were a mindfuck for critics to “ooh” and “aww” over, but it’s all BS. There’s no one to root for, no one to care about, and who gives a flying frig about the stupid teenagers or all these people so wrapped up in their own grief they don’t see the world around them. It’s an incredibly self-centered show in every bad way you can think of.
This episode had Lindeloff written all over it until the last 10 minutes, when they tried too hard to get cute.
Let’s be honest, in the real world, a cult like GR would’ve been crushed by the gov’t long before now and the attacks they previewed in upcoming episodes would’ve thinned the ranks before they became any kind of problem.
Too many plot holes, too many long cons in the writer’s room.
I will hate-watch the recaps for the rest of the season.
The series however isn’t set in the “real world” The circumstances are less than normal even as the surroundings are. The writer’s project this and play off on that tension in a riveting manner. I love this series, but I’ll tell you what The Leftovers needs more of….. Dean shooting dogs. Yeppers
there have been a total of 3 episodes and you’re complaining of plot holes?
Im sure there is a re-run of jag you can watch tonight.
I agree with the point that there isn’t really anyone to root for. In 3 episodes, I haven’t bothered to learn a single character’s actual name. The teenagers at the party playing the torture porn version of spin the bottle came the closest to making me stop watching entirely so far. Was no one bothered by that as much as I was? Or maybe that’s how teenagers do it now, with all their sexting and only going in One Direction.
After Lost and Prometheus, how many more “fair shakes” is Lindelof supposed to get?
Don’t forget Star Trek Into Darkness. Also known as “Wrath of Khan, But Kinda Shitty”.
Well, in the case of this show it’s based on a book and there are more people in the writer’s room than just Lindelof. So I’m willing to give it a chance based on those facts.
I don’t give a fuck of Lindelof wrote The Godfather, this show is utter fucking bullshit.
M. Night Shyamalan is still making movies, so I would just give up on that line of thinking.
Why would he join the GR and just leave his wife to die? Makes no sense.
And this is why I’m on Team Snyder on the Redskins name debate. Guy just won 160K and they didn’t even bother giving him an escort to his car or off the property. Bunch of jerks IMO. HAIL TO THE REDSKINS!!!
It’s the internet — of course snarky commenters have to shit on something that is getting universal acclaim.
60-70% on the Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes does not equal universal acclaim. There are plenty of people that don’t think it’s a good show, but you like it so good for you. Let the disappointed viewers vent.
no.
Ah, the butthurt bitch is back. I’m sorry you still can’t accept that not everybody likes the show you like. Your best course of action is to play the part of the insecure high school outcast, belittling everyone with a different opinion than yours (then crying foul and claiming the same of those who call you out on it). Real glad to see you.
you apparently don’t know what ‘butthurt’ means, because that comment above is definitely from the butthurt bitch, hahahahaha. hilarious.
you’re right, I think I need to check Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes and every other internet critiquing site to make sure that my own opinion is well validated, like you do. that way I can feel way better about my choices in life. Crowd Mentality GO!
I was disputing the claim of “universal acclaim” by pointing to those sites. By definition a review aggregator is a collection of critic review scores combined to come up with an average rating. Not the end all be all source of “what’s good” but definitely counters the argument of “universal acclaim” (ie. high praise from all included critics) for the The Leftovers. But again, you’d know that if you weren’t an idiot. Go missed context!
‘Universal acclaim’ doesn’t exist.
@Hilarity Ensues
Also that.
Universal Acclaim doesn’t exist….right. The Godfather (Part I and II…obviously), The Wire, The Sopranos, etc.
moreso, you’re defending your incessant need to shit talk a show by bringing up the fact that these websites have ‘average’ reviews for it. above and beyond your ‘disputing universal acclaim’. because that’s all you can do really, is argue your opinion while constantly checking your rear view mirror to see if there are people behind you chanting the same opinion. oh em gee, I wonder what would happen if you checked the rear view mirror and NO ONE was there to provide a solid foundation for your “opinions”? you’d probably have an anxiety attack.
the fact of the matter is, this is a NEW SHOW that LITERALLY has had 3 episodes air. fucking THREE. and yet no matter what, “too cool for school” internet hipsters can’t let five fucking seconds go by without running to the fansite and voicing their oh-so-important frustrations. god damn, it’s just so tiresome and inane. let the first goddamn season run it’s course.
the first season of Breaking Bad wasn’t world-changing television either. the show needs to grow into itself. be patient. either watch the show or don’t watch it. just stop being such a bitch.
Again, you missed the point. It was funny to read your rants (So much angst, so many unnecessarily capitalized words), but now they’re just getting sad. Have you actually tried reading the words people type? Maybe take some time to look up words you might not understand? Please don’t respond to me again man. Leave yourself some pride.
are you that much of a fucking idiot that you literally have no other recourse in an otherwise intellectual conversation than to backpedal to the oh-so-tired “maaaaan, you don’t even understaaaand me.” angst? you do even know what angst IS? I’m sorry I use big words and utilize bigger concepts you might not be familiar with such as “critical thinking” and “open-mindedness.” in the world of “too cool for school” I know it’s hard to admit that things affect you. I know it’s so much easier to just say “everything sucks.” I know, I was probably like that too when I was 16. it’s just like the guy below says… “haters gonna hate.” and whiners gonna whine, and you need to do a bit more growing up because you’re really making yourself look like the biggest fool.
Now I know your problem does in fact pertain to a learning disability. I’m sorry for having made fun of you and wish you the best in your progress.
says the guy using words like “angst” meanwhile having absolutely zero clue what the fuck it actually means. hilarrrious. please keep commenting, idiot. it’s like a moth to a flame, with you. lol
You’re so brave.
are you sure you know what the word “brave” means when you’re using that, too? might want to keep a dictionary on hand when you’re using the internet to so passionately complain about shows that have literally just started. the world is your oyster!…. (to bitch about)
You’re an inspiration to all those with deficiencies. Some day you’ll be like everybody, just hang in there bud!
Just wanted to leave this last jab at you @dirtynouveau before I’m done trolling you. I usually abhor internet trolls, but I have as just as much disgust for self-righteous types who fly into a blind rage when they think someone is saying their opinion is wrong.
First, in the previous Leftovers post, I never said anything about disliking The Leftovers (I actually like the show). I can understand how you misread my initial comment, however your response was a rant about how anyone who disagrees that it is quality is either a lemming, a fascist, ect., complete with the wonderfully goofy use of alternating ALL CAPITAL WORDS (even on the internet, this is a great way to declare “the poster of this comment is a moron who takes their self way too seriously).
Second, because of this unwarranted show of misguided aggression, I chose to engage in a long troll of you. It was rather simple as all of your responses, regardless of what the text of my responses stated, consisted of your persistent echoing the same bull shit non-argument in hopes that eventually it will be true. There was never any real argument man.
Third, I was really hoping to continue, because I am kind of a dick, and as anyone who posts on this website could attest, we have all have time to kill (otherwise why would we bother commenting online? We all know real people we could otherwise be conversing with. So I posted on this thread in hopes of continuing the troll. You bit immediately.
Basically, nothing was gained or lost through this exchange (except some laughs from myself, my bored coworkers, and perhaps some readers of this site), but please in the future, don’t immediately act like a twat whenever you encounter someone on internet who you think is shitting on your opinion. You might have read the comment wrong, and while the internet is not a serious place, no one wants to look like a fool.
the funniest (albeit also the most pathetic) guy ever, is the guy that thinks HE is the correct one, while everyone else in the room is silently shaking their head in disgust, or mumbling “what an aaaashole” under their breath. you’re that guy! actually, you know who you are? You’re the guy that gets way too drunk in a restaurant and gets kicked out for yelling the most ridiculous shit ever, and while he’s being escorted out he’s shouting “YOU’RE all a bunch of assholes! you just don’t understaaand me!” hahaha. right, dude. everyone else is the asshole but you, your opinion is god (because Metacritic and Rottten Tomatoes agrees w you) and the world must know by shouting it out on a fansite.
you know how we know you were being trolled, and that it just wasn’t that serious to anyone else but you? every comment I made (laughing at you the entire time, by the way), I bet that you would respond *within the hour* EVERY SINGLE TIME! and just like clockwork, you were back for more. I’m surprised you weren’t just hitting refresh so as soon as you saw the carrot in front of the stick, you would just RUN for it. fucking hilarious. bro, self-righteous internet hipsters like you always are sooooo predictable. I would just comment and come back the next morning and boom, there you were. I’ve been happily fucking with you this entire time, because that’s what boys like you need. your generation’s sense of entitlement is absolutely disgusting, it absolutely reeks with every comment you make. so yeah, I threw the bait out there every time. and just like clockwork you were back within the hour like a good predictable target you were. perfect example: top of this thread, ALL I POSTED was the word “no.” and BOOM, perfect 16 yr old’s response and logic followed. oh my god, so funny! But I mean, what else can we expect from someone with the namesake “Antbaby Machete Squad Leader.” (oh and please don’t tell me what dumb fucking Pokemon or Dragonball-Z thing you got it from, I don’t give a shit).
but like I said the other day little guy – it’s cool, man. when I was 16 i was just like you. you’ll learn a lot with maturity! I’m sure you and your other 16 yr old friends definitely ARE laughing as you forcefully try to use words like “angst” improperly. and then backpedal immensely whenever you’re caught in a dead end, due to your own failed, shitty logic. the most recent one is now “I never said anything about disliking The Leftovers, I actually like that show.” HAHAHAHA oh my god. if I could respond to this with just a thousand of those “laughing so hard I’m crying” emoticons followed by a thousand more exclamation points, I would. (in fact those would be a fitting response to your entire “rebuttal” above anyway) Bro, you’re amazing. they should cast you in bronze and make a monument to internet shittiness with you. but I digress, because the more important point people should be taking home here is that this generation’s sense of entitlement is just disgusting. we made an example of you, but you’re just one of many. the show was barely done with TWO EPISODES and people were already at the gate to Lindelof’s house torches and pitchforks. really people?! no one has patience anymore, everyone wants to be the guy saying “it sucks” before their friend can say it first.. whatever, I can vent about this forever. Mr Anybaby Machete Whogivesfuck, I’m sorry I made an example of you! But you made it too easy, and you were asking for it. Don’t worry though, there will be a TON more TV shows you can run to the internet and bitch about before the first episode is even over. years from now maybe you’ll begin to understand.
TL:DR
Apparently some people do want to look like a fool. God you’re sad.
the best part is I came back to this post a week later, knowing it would have a response from you within 30 minutes of my response, and you totally fit the bill – HAHAHAHAHA. absolutely AMAZING. you’re amazing bro. I couldn’t have created you any better if I rubbed a genie lamp and asked for “perfect internet moron.” fucking brilliant. at 11:33pm, posting 10 fucking minutes after me. totally trolled.
thanks for paying so much attention :D
Haters gonna hate, Dustin. Haters gonna hate.
The utterly obtuse placement of Captain and Tenille during that over-indulgent dream/coma fantasy sequence was when I officially said “fuck this.”
I am not on the “fuck this” bandwagon yet, but that was truly AWFUL song placement. Did not fit at all (though I’m sure there is some random cutesy reason for it).
Ugh.
The song placement was flat-out weird, and most of the score for this show was over the top. I feel like Eccleston was fighting a bad script for a lot of the episode, but his performance was still great.
Bad script? you people are the worst
I laughed loudly at that. Didn’t make any sense to me. Still enjoyed it, and sang along.
First, the Book of Job is far from delivering the message that everything is pointless. Job doesn’t endure and maintain his faith because god eventually sets everything “right” … it’s because of the lesson he learns in questioning his faith at all.
Second, it is impossible to separate Lost from Leftovers when the themes are so clearly intertwined. Agreeing that last night was a clear modern day version of Job’s suffering as told via Matt Jamison’s life experience, Lindleof is clearly retreading ground he covered in Lost. They named a primary character Desmond David Hume …
David Hume is one of the preeminent philosophers in the area of moral philosophy and concepts of right and wrong. With regard to God’s role in the Book of Job he said:
“Is he willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is impotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Whence then is evil?”
When God speaks to Job out of the whirlwind, he essentially says “Who are you to question me?” …. And, whether you believe in a God or not – he’s right. That is he crux of the Book of Job …. God, if he exists, is not subject to our ideas of right and wrong or moral philosophy – he can do what he wants when he wants and we’re far from capable of understanding or applying “reason” to his actions. Can Matt Jamison, like Job, maintain his faith in the face of so much suffering?
The near last shot of Matt and Patti (GR) staring each other down reminds me too much of Jacob and The Man in Black from Lost. Regardless of who you think is “good” and who you think is “evil” in that showdown, haven’t we had enough of Lindleof trying to drive home the point that the lines between good and evil are far from clearly defined and they tend to get blurred?
The GR are basically nihilists saying WTF is the point of any of it …. I’m just about ready to agree with them when it comes to this show. It’s difficult not to feel like we’re being led down the same road to nowhere when the show creator is drawing so many clear parallels between the philosophical questions asked by each show.
I really enjoyed this, personally. And while I was mad at the time I’m gonna be honest: I don’t see how Lost having a kinda bullshit finale undoes all the other fun I had watching the show. I’m in for the guy telling a story, even if it doesn’t end how I wanted it to.
Yeah really. For 5 years you could argue it was the best show on TV.
I neither love nor hate this show yet. The best thing that I can say about it is that I am intrigued.
The thing I like most about the show (and most shows on HBO) is that they don’t feel the need to talk down to their audience. They are comfortable presenting confusing situations and trusting that we, the viewers, are smart enough to make the connection.
All that being said, I think they are trying way too hard at times to be “smart” and it is starting to become too tough to stomach.
^ 100% agree with this comment. I can see where it’s a bit much for some people at times, but the overwhelming majority of the show is intriguing and intelligent thus far. it’s not outlandishly intriguing like “omg there’s a polar bear in a jungle” but there’s so many little details that are mind-blowing and curious. people need to give it a chance and think for themselves, and stop checking Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic to see if “everyone else’s views parallel their own.”
There are also so many little details that are terribly wrong.
-They make a point of him playing at the table where the pigeons were and say it’s not a high limit table. Yet they happen to have $180,000 in $1000 chips. They even paid him the wrong amount
-It is practically impossible to throw a rock from a moving car and hit someone hard enough to put them in a coma. I don’t know how many tries it would take for me to do that.
Seriously? you took umbrage with the fact that someone got knocked out with a rock thrown from a speeding car? That’s thin.
Have you tried to throw something from a moving car? Shit isn’t easy and I’m saying unrealistic enough for me to make note of it. Why not have him get hit with a bat? That would have been believable.
that… is SO dumb. really?
@Mancy Perhaps the rock hits his head, he falls and smashes his head on the concrete? That’s enough to kill someone, let alone put them in a coma.
This what’s annoying Dustin. You add the little subjectivity into something that doesn’t need it.
People like the show, some hate it. But then saying how it’s dumb to hate on Breaking Bad is just lazy.
BB was an overrated show. Not terrible, but not the best thing to grace television. It’s especially hard since it added to constant use and downfall of anti-heroes/villains in tv.
As for Leftovers, I’m not impressed. Lindeloff lives off the slight cynicism and sci-fi ideas. This show has that but cranked down at a 3 (at least with the sci-fi bit).
I don’t care for answers. I just want what I watch on screen to matter. Didn’t get that from the pilot and I still haven’t.
I don’t hate Lindelof. I just hate his writing tendencies.
Just out of curiosity what shows would you say were/are better than Breaking Bad?
I was lucky enough to avoid watching Lost. I didn’t enjoy the first episode one bit so I never kept going. As for The Leftovers, I’m still reserving judgment. To me it’s a show that has the potential to payoff but I’m not totally convinced it will yet. I enjoyed last night episode and the first episode as well for a few of the same reasons I enjoyed True Detective without caring about expecting answers but needing it to connect. Maybe that seems contradictory but that’s most likely because I’m explaining it poorly.
Hate to be that guy, but I was more into Sopranos and the Wire. They captured crime and violence along with personal life beautifully.
And I enjoyed the early seasons of BB. It just started to feel like it catered to a different set of people. No big deal.
I also enjoy recent shows like Rectify and Enlightened for telling wonderful stories with fleshed out characters.
I didn’t hate early Lost. It just sort if depended on sci-fi mechanics later on. And the fact that the writers and producers said the show was about the characters was the biggest cop out and spit in the face. The show was built around an interesting twist filled concept with some good character back stories.
Both The Sopranos and The Wire are some of the best television that ever happened and it’s totally fair if you enjoyed them over Breaking Bad. It’s pointless to say one show has been the best there are way too many factors involved. Lost I was way too late to game on and with the hype (both good and bad) the first episode just didn’t capture me at all and I was too pessimistic at that point to even give it a chance.
coming in third to the Sopranos and the Wire is still pretty good…
It’s lower than third for me. Probably around 11-15.
here come the idiots with the internet hate. “fuck this show, fuck everything, I only like what everyone else likes and I hate what everyone else hates because crowd mentality.”
It feels like a hipster mentality. This is arguably a major show for HBO, and so far I think it’s a very interesting character study, but internet people don’t ever seem to want to be on the “bandwagon” and just shit on shows for the sake of shitting on them. This is a slow burn, character driven show. The same people that missed the point of True Detective, I think are the same ones missing the point of The Leftovers thus far.
that’s totally what it is. hating something for the sake of hating something, and no other valid reason. 90% of the people posting on Facebook are all like “yo this Leftovers show is wack, it’s slow” and then three other “too cool for school” morons posting in agreement even though I’m sure they watched half the show while texting their “bae” and playing Simpsons: Tapped Out during the other half. fuck these people. it’s JUST as much of a slow burn as True Detective was, and their as just as intriguing things going on during it. I hate dumb internet hate without REASON or VALIDITY.
I’m sold on Leftovers, and I loved this episode. Man, I’ve never before been so viscerally wrapped up in whether or not a ramshackle priest would be able to save his ramshackle church until I saw this damn show. I was pulling for that sad-sack priest. Everything about the episode was heartbreaking.
Im with you on that. I was on the fence but last nights show sealed the deal.
I’m not trying to pick a fight here – but I think a visitor to this site, who reads Dustin’s articles staunchly defending this guy and his work could just as easily ask:
“Is Dustin’s infatuation with Lindelof’s work blinding him to Lindelof’s many, many shortcomings as a writer and storyteller? Is that infatuation preventing him for looking at the work critically?”
Not to mention that dismissal of all criticism of a series because of the “possibility” of a bias against the writer is beyond childish.
Not to mention that it is very much well-deserved criticism earned after repeated skullfuckery on the part of Lindelof. I’d rather be entirely too skeptical of something that actually turns out good (yay HBO GO catch-up weekends) than give him another chance to get me hooked to something that in the end makes my head explode and not in a good way.
Sorry, one other thing – it seems Dustin also doesn’t understand where the animosity toward Lindelof comes from – as if his critics just decided to arbitrarily dislike him.
Damon Lindelof seems like he could come up with some seriously cool shit. Honestly he’s into all the cool stuff I’m into. Somewhere along the way though he get’s really into it to a level where he’s thinking up ideas which he can’t connect to the other already established ones and then tries to just bung them into eachother like it’ll be complicated but instead it’s messy and pointless.
Look my favorite tv writer guy is Joss Whedon, and even I see that sometimes he is pulled up on some of his crazier ideas for the better. Lindelof it looks like get’s some free reign that he really shouldn’t have, maybe he’s just a really great arguer or maybe he just keeps making rich guys money and they tell everyone else to shut up and let him work.
I totally agree with the thoughts on Lindelof. He can really hook you early and continues to ask interesting and complex questions, but he seems to have a real problem bringing it all to a satisfying conclusion with cohesion. I remember an interview in the middle of the Lost run where he pretty much stated that they were asking questions they knew they’d never be able to answer in the show. I get the feeling that he, and his team, just start writing and hope to come to a natural conclusion, but never can get there.
Its for reasons like this that no one claims “Return of the Jedi” as their favorite.
So, um, what was mind-blowing about this episode?
1) Dude took his cash out to his car without asking for an escort.
2) Dude doesn’t lock his car door when speaking with sketchy dude.
3) AND speaking of sketchy dude, that “robbery” could not have been more telescoped if Galileo himself wrote that fucking scene.
4)Perhaps the worst use of a song ever during the dream sequence on any HBO show I have ever seen. Seriously, that set a new low.
5) Focusing a shot on that mother calling after her infant again in the parking lot instead of leaving it the background. I mean, it’s a 6-month-old lady, he’s not going to reply to your screaming… Go. And. Fucking. Look. For. Him. Not to mention wasting the shot of that being in the background as a companion to the pilot’s opening scene. Shitty directing/editing/writing.
I mean, there’s more…. But that’s enough for now.
I don’t hate this show. But it is certainly pretty shitty so far.
As for Lindelof, he’s a hack that has moments of inspired writing which people attach themselves to to blind them to his hacky story telling.
FWIW, individual episodes of Lost were really good and compelling. It is when you take a step back and look at multiple episodes or, god help you, the series as a whole you realize how big of a hot pile of trash it was. So I’d caution arguing people have an ax to grind using tiny sample sets.
Uh, “forgotten movie star”? Good sir, Keith Gordon was Jason fuckin Melon in Back to School, not to mention Arnie Cunningham in Christine!
I wanted to like the show. I tried to watch the premiere twice and gave up both times. I skipped the second episode, but I tried to watch the one last night. I gave up during the flashback of Father Crankypants screwing his wife. There were too many moments when I thought, “wait, what? why?” and too many more when I said, “who cares?” I’ll second the previous comment that said that there’s no one in this show to root for. There’s not even a proper anti-hero to love and dread in equal measure. It’s just a bunch of boring, mopey people. Callbacks and flashbacks are not the same as character development. And if that makes me someone with an axe to grind, so be it.
“In the end, God made things right with Job”
Huh, I seem to recall that his entire family had still died horribly just because Yahweh had a Trading Places-style bet with The Satan.
I bailed on Lost when they ‘discovered’ another island fifty yards away, after two years. [“Maybe we can jump the shark to get to that island and visit Cousin Oliver!”]
I think that the Lindelof theory is just grasping at reasons to figure out why everyone does not agree this is a great show. I do not think that the majority of the TV watching public know or care who he is.
I think probably more people than normal gave the show a shot due to the pedigree of being an HBO show.
Personally, I really wanted to like it. I even was going to give it multiple eps to give it a fair shake, but after 20 mins of last week’s, I could not continue. I didn’t care about any of it. (I am known in my circles to watch EVERYTHING, british shows, American, sci fi, prestige shows like BB and Fargo, CW schock…..) I couldn’t do it though.
Maybe they should have aired the first two on one night? Maybe they should have tried to make a compelling pilot. Any way you slice it, I feel the Lindelof aspect only matters as it pertains to the choices in the actual show and not the baggage from past projects
The GR is the only thing that makes me want to not watch this show hands down. The rest is mediocre with a chance at turning into something good.
This exactly. I couldn’t care less who the show runner is. I hated 25th but love game of thrones. And I hate the people who say “it’s only been three episodes” usually I give a show one episode, three is a stretch. I’ve given this one three and it’s made me hate every character on that screen
As a stand alone episode, this was the best of the three I thought. It did have a Twilight Zone feel to it and I was okay with it. However, this episode had nothing to do with the overall plot of the show. In fact, I think that’s what is disappointing about the show as a whole. The premise is there as a tiny teaser but in reality we have seen very little to do with it. The first two episodes were a guy dealing with his wife leaving him and this episode was about a pastor who lost his shit after his wife was in a car wreck. Both situations are occur in the normal world and while shitty, nothing that special.
Where do you come up with the priest is trying to prove everyone left behind was “good?” That is not in any way shape or form what he is trying to say. This gonna be our new chibs? Anyways last nights episode was not that good and that weird ass song was garbage. Nonetheless it is well produced and Ill continue giving it my time as their isn’t shit else on Sunday.
That was some quality television. Still not sure if I like Matt — his raison d’etre doesn’t really add up to a worthy cause, to me — but that surely was a powerful journey, and a very good episode. The preview for next week’s episode makes it look like it contains about half a season’s worth of story (assuming that wasn’t actually a “this season” preview, which would be weird), so I think I’ll be hooked in short order.
But I might be avoiding these recaps for a few weeks. Long enough, hopefully, for some of these people to tire of coming here every week just to announce how much they dislike the show and/or its runner.
Im still digging this show. I think its above average good, especially for a summer show. Some people give a fair shake and just don’t like it..cool, I can understand, that’s what makes the world go ’round…BUT a bunch of these professional internet commenters play the too cool for school thing and hate on every single thing out there as if they have a DVR full of way more awesome shows that none of us normal people even have access too. Its pathetic, and you know who you are. They’re easy to spot, they are the ones that work so hard at hating something that instead of just saying they didn’t like it, they instead leave a bullet point outline of minor plot holes and philosophical inconsistencies and a whole bunch of other stuff..and they do it with words and sentence structure that human beings never use in normal conversation. If preacher Matt is right, these people would be the departed.
Ray Donovan didn’t let down last night either….or is everyone here hating on that too???
The episode was good enough to earn another week of my interest. But so far, its been boring otherwise. For myself, I’d probably shrug off the being Left Behind after a week or two.
At least the nurse probably got paid.
Just FYI, if you watch the scene where he beats the mugger, you’ll notice he’s breathing pretty heavily for a second, i think they did that to show that he didn’t kill the guy.
I just watched this episode last night. I AM REALLY TRYING TO LIKE THIS SHOW. I don’t have any bias built up against Lindelof. I watched a few episodes of Lost and got tired of the repetitive shows constantly doing flashbacks when I just wanted to get on with the story.
I understand that this is an alternate universe and certain rules do not apply here. From reading all of the talkbacks, I understand too that we will never know why the people disappeared. The motivation of these characters isn’t to invest their lives solving anything (except for maybe the Preacher who is trying to justify his faith). So, on its face, that sucks. I want to see a show that people are trying to figure out what the hell happened as opposed to coping with the loss. It’s depressing for the sake of being depressing. I’m sorry, but life’s too short to constantly grind a cheese grater on your id and ego.
If we aren’t going to figure out the “why”, then truthfully, what is the story about? People dealing with loss and suffering? Finding themselves? Imagine True Detective without the whole trying to solve the murder thing. It’s the mortar holding the bricks of the wall together. This show, after 3 episodes, hasn’t gripped me whatsoever. It’s only served to annoy me, if anything.