Cheezwiz

I do think Peter was acting on Miles at times when he was at school. The impression I got from that episode was that Miles was deliberately trying to get himself expelled from school so he could return home and be with Flora. She had drawn a picture and sent it to him which made it seem like she was being threatened by something at home.

I cried during this episode as well - so much loss and grief at once for that area of Japan. The footage of the tsunami floodwaters was horrific. I found the examination of cultural attitudes toward death in Japanese culture very interesting. It seems to me that many other cultures have a much healthier attitude toward death and grieving than we do here in North America. The Buddhist priest had such a calm comforting presence - how wonderful that he started a gathering space for people in the community to connect and heal. The taxi driver stories were interesting - very much like our urban legends here about ghostly hitchhikers. Even if you don't believe in ghosts, I'd have to believe that the shared trauma of a sudden event like this would affect the collective psyche, and result in some sort of shift in the local environment. The ruined photo albums got me as well. I found this episode profoundly touching.

Not a doll, but apparently there was a brief glimpse of a soldier ghost in the previous episode, which I missed. My attention wandered during Jamie's looooong backstory monologue. I just didn't care. Her romance with Dani is not interesting to me. I did find the time-shifting dynamic interesting with Flora, and evil grinning Uncle Henry was pretty creepy. I kept thinking of those good Kermit the frog/evil hooded Kermit the frog memes during those scenes. I would like the backstory on the spooks haunting the manor - who is the little no-face boy? Is he related to the lady in the lake? And no, the doll mask was NOT helping!

That was my thought as well when watching the surveillance videos. Elisa Lam's case was extremely bizarre and haunting. The sordid history of the hotel she was found in added a whole additional layer of creepiness to the case. It is in fact a great candidate for a future episode of this show. In Jack Wheeler's case, sadly it seems to me that he just had a complete breakdown of sorts, and perhaps wasn't murdered at all. Jane Doe case: I admit, I dozed off during most of this episode. I agree with the theory above that she was likely involved in intelligence or organized crime. Death Row Escapee - how tragic and frustrating for the victim's family. And what a bizarre series of lucky breaks for Eubanks: first he gets to wander off in a shopping mall on a prison trip, and THEN after he escapes, his records are somehow wiped from the system? Bizarre! It's been so long now, I wonder if he's even still alive. 3 more eps to go for me!

Aww... this episode was more sad than scary. Poor Mrs. Grose. It was a really well done episode. In addition to the time-shifting Castle Rock episode mentioned by others above, it also reminded me a bit of the "Bent Neck Lady" episode from last season's Hill House in terms of emotional payoff at the end. Colour me shocked that the lady in the lake was NOT Rebecca. Didn't see that one coming and it was one shivery looking ghoul. I already knew the dynamic between Peter and Miles from reading the novel and seeing the movie The Innocents, but I was kinda hoping that Mrs Grose being a ghost was a fake-out, because I like the character and wanted her to be alive. Terrific performance by T'Nia Miller. I'm now thoroughly confused about the living or dead status about the rest of the cast. I'm fairly confident Miles & Flora are alive, but I'm less certain about Owen. It seemed in the time loop scenes that he was encouraging Mrs. Grose to play along and repeat their "dialogue". He also had the monologue about being stuck like the mouse in a glue trap. Does this mean he's also a ghost trapped at Bly? What about Jamie? I'm very confused about the many scenes where they're all conversing together in in the kitchen, so is everyone dead? The lady in the lake was creepy as hell, so I hope we get to see more spooks in the upcoming episodes. I want to know what that moaning thing in the attic with Flora was.

Sadly apparently even the survivors' own children and grandchildren knew little to nothing about this horrific incident. Once the survivors of the Tulsa massacre migrated elsewhere (usually north), they were so traumatized that they didn't dare speak of it. Many remained terrified of repercussions until old age even being many miles and decades away. This episode did a good job of building dread, and illustrating the grief and trauma people must have experienced. I second the heartbreak at losing so much potential. I don't understand how people can be so evil and hateful, and it's not a relic of history - it is obviously still very much with us. I'm glad these events are at least now being depicted in entertainment, because we sure as hell weren't taught about them in school. Yes, this happened in cities all over North America - often in the guise of "urban renewal", whenever a new expressway was planned, the city planners made sure to run it right through African American neighbourhoods. It happened in my own city, which had a small but thriving black community that also wound up bulldozed and scattered to the four winds afterward.

Yes exactly. I'm done with these people. They are not heroes. I may look at the message boards when it premieres but I have no interest in watching part deux. This series was such a dull, formless, self-indulgent mess, that I'm not eager for another go-round. The only compelling part of this episode was the audio of Bonnie's late night walks with Keith, which was pretty chilling. That and his obsession with "luciferian" sociopaths who only want to harm others. If ever there was a clear case of projection it was that! I did love the photo of Keith in that Mexican squad car. Because you know he thought he was way too smart for that to ever happen.

I found this episode a tad confusing, but parts of it were tragic (Emmett Till's story is heartbreaking) and downright frightening (the dancing demon twins). I still have no idea what Christina is trying to pull with Ruby, or what the hell she wants with the orrery etc, or why bargain basement Alexander Skarsgard continues to reappear, blah blah blah... I must confess that I'm almost completely tuning out the over-arching series story at this point. I just don't care about the magic, or Tic's family legacy, and I really don't care about Christina and what her machinations are - I drift away as soon as she comes on screen. As someone who normally loves supernatural elements, the whole wizard part of the story is actually boring the shit out of me. What I am invested in are the characters - I really care about all of their fates, their everyday struggles, and I want them to survive and thrive. I do like how each episode is almost a self-contained story where we get to know the characters a bit better, and are given glimpses of major turning points in African American history. I'm continuing to watch for the talented actors, the amazing sets, and of course some good scares along the way. I'd have to say that next to the haunted house story, the twins pursuing Dee, was one of the creepiest things featured on the show. Their relentless pursuit, peculiar jerky movements, and the fact that no one else other than Dee could see them, was pure nightmare fuel. Wasn't expecting a shoggoth to appear this episode, but seeing it chow down on a bunch of racist cops was immensely satisfying. And finally, having someone with dyslexia attempting to do a spell incantation is probably not a good idea, but it made me think of this cartoon which never fails to make me giggle:

Seriously! I'm stunned she's stuck with him this long after what was revealed in the previous episode. RUN Bonnie, RUN!!!

Good grief. It had better be more compelling than Season 1, which honestly could have been edited by at least 1/2. I've never heard of a docuseries getting renewed, so maybe that was the endgame. Not sure I'll bother to watch, as Season 1 has been a chore.

I'm actually enjoying it - it doesn't have the grab-you-by-the throat feel or emotional pull of Hill House, but I'm entertained enough to keep going. This episode was very slow moving, but GOOD LORD, Oliver Jackson-Cohen is one handsome fellow. I also have a terrible weakness for Scottish accents - even phoney put on ones. Cue my Homer Simpson drool. I felt so bad for Owen - he's one of my favourites on the show so far. I still don't believe Mrs. Grose is a ghost, even though she never eats or drinks anything. I was getting distinct sapphic vibes between Dani & Gardener Lady earlier in the episode, so I wasn't surprised at the episode's conclusion. Still want to know who the glowing eyes dude haunting Dani is. Right now my guess is that she killed someone or did something that resulted in an accidental death of someone she cared about. Enjoy! It's creepy and very unsettling in ways that don't necessarily involve the supernatural. I also highly recommend "The Innocents" which is the 1961 film adaptation. Totally masterful and frightening for an old b&w movie. But finish this series first, or you may spoilerize yourself.

That was really disturbing to watch. And did anyone else notice that he kept saying that "when men are angry and aggressive, they want to grab something and fuck it". Not fuck SOMEONE, but some THING. He repeated this over and over. Women are not even human to him. They are things to be used.

I loved this episode and thought it was a total blast from start to finish. I loved the trippy borderline campy sci-fi feel of the whole thing. I had read about Bessie Stringfield some time ago, so seeing her whiz by Hippolyta on the highway made me smile. Really super art direction (that orrery is such a gorgeous prop - kudos to the props makers on that one!), and wonderful performance by Aunjanue Ellis. That was ridiculously cute and cracked me up! Seriously, everything in this episode delighted me!

This episode didn't move things along very much, but my mouth was immediately hanging open at the misogynistic bullshit Keith was spewing, and I did not shut it for the rest of the episode. He was most certainly NOT role-playing during any of those sessions. And everyone was lapping it up. The only word that was in my head throughout the entire episode was "HORSESHIT!!!". Society of Protectors was essentially the cult version of a bunch of basement dwelling incels. An appropriate acronym for the group to be sure. It was very interesting watching Mark's meltdown regarding the penance that Bonnie put herself through. Even before he started to speak you could tell from the look on his face once Catherine started joking about the dog bed that he was in full freak-out mode. Yet again we are treated to more shots of Sarah's pelvis. Sigh. Glad there's only one more episode, but frustrated that they're not exposing the other heinous stuff Keith did.

Utterly Bizarre, and yet somehow so Davina. Why on earth would she assume she'd still be a cast member if she no longer works for the Oppenheim Group? Glad to see her exit - she wasn't interesting to watch and barely seemed competent in her profession.

I think a lot of people are drawn to him not so much because they believe he's actually a divine being, but for many he seems to simply represent goodness, and an advocate for peaceful resistance for his people in the face of decades of brutal oppression from the Chinese government. I don't know much about Tibetan Buddhism, but it seems like a more gentle non-judgmental faith that appeals to people who have been turned off by more dogmatic religions. Since he's the current spiritual leader of Tibet, I'm sure people project all kinds of things onto him, and that includes lots of unfocused wackadoos in search of meaning in their lives.

And Carla Gugino at the beginning. I'm so happy this has premiered just as spooky season has gotten rolling! I'm trying to dole out episodes slowly rather than binge.

Only on episode 1 - I'm enjoying this so far. I'm a huge fan of Henry James' novel Turn of the Screw and the 1961 film adaptation The Innocents, so I'm curious to see what Director Mike Flanagan has up his sleeve for this updated version. I really like the lead actress - she played Nell in Hill House, and looks sooo different in this! I actually never would have recognized her had I not read some of the pre-show publicity. The kid actors are not grabbing me the same way the Hill House kids did, but they're kind of supposed to be creepy, so I don't mind. The country manor house atmosphere is also working for me. I kind of wish they had cast a British actor to play Lord Whatshisface, but I have a soft spot for Henry Thomas, so I'll endure the OTT accent. It's weird how British actors can usually slip seamlessly into American accents, but it rarely works the other way around. Really like the actors who play Mrs. Gross & Owen - they're excellent. Greg Sestero is in this? Was he in Episode 1? Wow, good on him for getting a legit acting job! I saw him once at a live presentation of The Room and he was quite hilarious in person.

Ooooh Yay! October 19th! Totally forgot there were more episodes of this on the way!

I was disappointed by this series as well. It's such a fascinating topic to delve into, and it would up being a long noodley unfocused exercise in self-congratulation for the main subjects. I watched because I was curious as to how Keith pulled so many of these people in, and I think I have my answer - it seems many of them had narcissistic tendencies themselves. Perhaps at a much lower end of the spectrum, but it's plainly visible from watching how they behave on the show. I'll probably stick it out to the end simply because I haven't watched any other programming on the cult, and I've already invested so much time into it.

Yes, it sounded like he originally did marketing/publicity for NXIVM, but was not a member. Not sure what let to his falling out with Keith, and why he became a crusader against the organization. I would have liked to have learned more about that. Frank is a mysterious figure, and is often painted as slightly shady himself, so I would have liked more background on him.

Oh man, this was sooooo tedious. I almost turned it off but then they started featuring Toni's story, and Keiths shady MLM beginnings which was very interesting. Those cheesy early 90's commercials featuring dweeby Keith with Buddy Ebsen were a hoot! This show is incredibly frustrating - there is so much potentially interesting material to cover, and yet week after week we are subjected to endless footage of people yakking on phones and driving. I want to hear more about Barbara, Toni & Susan's experiences, less about Mark, Sarah et. all doing soul-searching. Also want more insight on Salzman as well. I was surprised that Frank Parlato had such a nice house in a nice neighbourhood (if it is indeed his). I pictured him living in a dark basement suite somewhere. Must be nice to casually ring up Mummy and ask to relay messages to Prince Charles and the Dalai Lama (eyeroll).

Just looking at that short series of photos totally exhausted me. Cannot imagine sifting through all that material to investigate.

Yeah, I sort of wonder about the cognitive dissonance around that - all they ever did was: sit in training sessions or troll for new recruits play late-night volleyball go on walks alongside creepy Keith And all of the little benign spin-off groups like SOP & Jness (seriously what was Keith's obsession with stupid naming conventions?), what did they actually DO in those groups? Did they just sit around and yak? At some point, wouldn't even the most myopic person start to wonder where the world-changing stuff was actually happening? Even knowing the manipulation & brainwashing techniques that were employed, It's just so nutty to me!

That was the only thing missing from the doc for me. I would have liked a bit more depth on both Shannan's and Chris's pasts before they met. It looks like Shannan somehow managed to build a home for herself at a very young age - she said she worked and scrimped for it, but was that the real story? What happened to it? Did she lose it in her first divorce? No info on her first marriage other than the spouse was abusive. What was Chris's family background? He seemed like such a blank dim-bulb. A reminder that not all psychopaths are clever. His mother sounds like an absolute nightmare. I'm not really a "kid" person, but those little girls seemed so happy, sweet, and smart. I can't get their faces out of my head.