Karelian

This is just captivating. I've never seen a big budget series implode so spectacularly under its own pretensions and the delusion of the scriptwriter. Lindelof really thought he can build this entire series on piling irrational character upon irrational character without any progress in exploring or illuminating the central mysteries. The cult is getting more and more central to the series, but the series bluntly refuses to explain any facet of its structure or goals. The audience is expected to sympathize with characters that exhibit behaviors that make no sense, typically in a context that is not explained. Lindelof is essentially recreating "Lost", only distilling it to its essence. A mystery upon conundrum upon puzzle, none of which actually coheres into a real plot. But this time around, the audience knows that there will be no pay-off. We know that nobody is behind the wheel - Lindelof is just throwing crap against the wall and hoping something sticks. He still thinks making characters stare into middle distance and look soulful is how you create depth. But after "Lost" spiraled out of control, the trick no longer works. We are supposed to be arguing about what the cult means and how this all will end - but nobody on this or other discussion boards is doing that. Because we all know there is no answer.

It is awesome and majestic how badly Lindelof is screwing up this series. Watching this train wreck unfold is much more interesting than watching competently run shows. Doing an episode focusing on a just one, marginal, depressing character so soon is a perfect example of how Lindelof overplays his hand. His faith in shaky and chaotic material is totally outsized. He thinks he already has an audience hooked and can afford an indolent detour like this. This might be the most watchable terribly made series since that aliens in swampland thing on NBC six years ago. The one with the guy who married that country singer. That was so bad I could not miss an episode - It had a sea alien in a child's bath tub if think.

This just isn't working. The key problem is that they can't make the cult seem even remotely plausible. There is a reason educated, well-off people don't join newly formed cults in 2014. It would take something remarkably powerful to make a new cult work. This series cannot explain how the GR could possibly appeal to people because it wants to keep the cult a mystery. But if the viewers cannot believe in the cult, they will not become invested in the mystery. All the aspects just look silly and contrived - the white clothes, the smoking, the muteness. The dog-killing mystery has same affected air. It seems like just another Lindelof gimmick that we know has no real explanation or motivation. We know he will continue elaborating on it, adding new facets and layers without actually coming any closer to justifying the behavior of people caught up in the weirdness. I wish the writers and producers had rewatched how "Twin Peaks" unraveled and tried to learn something about how not to try to juggle a barrel of red herrings.