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New season starts Feb 3, 2025.

The scene of Adam Scott running through the corridors reportedly took 5 months to produce. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/adam-scott-reveals-tom-cruise-173812291.html So the scene was towards the beginning when Mark was running around frantically looking for his old coworkers, who return later in the episode. They also have MIlchick running through the corridors as well. The scene, while kind of cool to look at, really didn't advance the plot in any meaningful way. But apparently took some resources (money) and time to execute. Well the show seems to be getting a lot of attention so many views and maybe even people subscribing just to watch week to week or later to binge. Worth it or could they have used that time for other things? Or maybe finish this season and have it become available a couple of months sooner?

Their consciousness of the inside and ignorance of the outside would disappear. IOW, they would no longer be subjected to an artificially-restricted mental state. Their beings wouldn’t die, they just would no longer know what goes on inside, unless they smuggled out photos and videos. So again, what is the loss? Well they may never see each other again but what bonded them in the first place? Desire to get out in the case of Helly and to learn about the nature of the place for Mark. Mark said the severance helped him cope with the loss of his wife. But now that he knows his wife is alive, does he still need the crutch? If Gemma tells him that she doesn’t want to reconcile, that she doesn’t want to see him again, then what? Try to reverse her severance? Or find her outie? If they’re trying to say that these coworkers have a more intense bond because of severance and they can only continue to have a relationship when they come to Lumon, or that this work relationship is the most importan one in their lives, that’s a pretty depressing situation.

They found out a big part of their lives was a fraud, a fiction. People often get upset when they find out that they were adopted. They don't necessarily cut off ties to their adopted parents but they're not happy that the truth was kept from them. Yeah Mark could try to reunite with his wife, if she wants to reunite. He doesn't necessarily have to do that from within Lumon. He could try to send word to his outie that she's alive, that she's got this other identity as an employee of Lumon. Dylan found that he has a son on the outside. But he's going to stay for the waffle parties or some of the to her quirky retro rewards that Milchick offers them for doing good? That's just not a convincing depiction of human nature or what motivates them.

Sounded like Louie didn’t really have the money George wanted or George kept raising the price. The other buyer was haggling over the closing costs and that deal fell through. If it was the big cash flow machine that they make it out to be, there would be more potential buyers than one employee and a vendor. Meanwhile, for all the books George says Darla should read, it doesn’t sound like he ever hired a professional, someone trained in hospitality as well as business disciplines like marketing and finance, to run the place. For one thing, a professional with in demand skills would never put up with his abuse. It’s also possible that the cash flow is great for George because he doesn’t have debt but a buyer who pays $60 million wouldn’t be able to pay the loans from the cash flow and have a good annual return. Obviously many scenes were staged, like Jeff talking to the guy in the dragon mask and other scenes where the camera frames them at weird angles or up close and they’re addressing the camera. I guess these scenes, like Jeff telling George not to sell to Louie — why would George listen to him? — injected more drama than a straight documentary style.

So they all opt to stay. Of course they do, there wouldn't be much reason to continue with the show if they left and resumed normal lives, get away from Lumon. That's an interesting take on human nature. If people left Plato's cave and saw that they had been in a cave, would they choose to go back? What exactly is the appeal of the place? Is the renumeration great? Is there job satisfaction? Don't tell me it's those treats that Milchick carts out. What are they, 5 years old? We're suppose to get that these 4 have established a bond, even in their altered state. So they want to return to the office. Meanwhile in the real world, people are resisting RTO while management forces them to return or quit or be terminated, in the name of productivity but the real reason is to impose authority, show them who's the boss. The place is unpleasant, endless corridors of fluorescent lighting, while they're staring at ugly CRT terminals, in a strange cubicle configuration. They even seemed to enjoy the visual display of the numbers being deposited. People like amenities at work, like Aeron chairs and a couple of 30-inch color flat screens for their work station, fancy coffee and snacks provided gratis, not doled out by a boss with the fake smile, only as rewards for Pavlovian performance. Lumon isn't suppose to bear any resemblance to real life workplaces except maybe in allegorical terms. But for them to return strains credulity. They ended season 1 with a lot of momentum towards burning down the place, figuratively. Now they acquiesce. OK maybe Mark still needs to be on the inside to deal with his loss, because his outie doesn't know that his wife is still alive and is more miserable as a result. Helly tried to kill herself rather than be imprisoned inside. Now she wants to stay? OK maybe it's her outie impersonating her but why, the outie has a privileged life so why would she subject herself to drudgery? One logical explanation for this plot direction that they (show runners, Apple TV +) want to do multiple seasons so they have to stall or reverse some of the momentum towards exposing and taking down Lumon, as well as escaping the place, which some of them tried to do last season.

These places where they filmed, like train stations or key piazzas which are usually full of crowds had few people and of course the few there were were dressed in period clothing. I sometimes wondered if they used digital effects to remove people and things like signage or maybe even used digital effects to create the whole shot. I guess they can do a lot of the filming late at night but it's still incredible the look and feel they achieved. Only in Venice, the boats they showed looked like present vaporetti and water taxis, which have a vintage look even today. I'm trying to understand how Caravaggio figured into this series. Tom identifies with him, especially after he commits the murder, like on the boat, he's holding up Dickie's corpse before throwing him overboard and it flashes to that painting of the severed head. Tom goes to Palermo, to get away from Rovini but also to see another Caravaggio painting there. Also seems to be a reason he went to Rome, more Caravaggio. The prologue depicts Caravaggio murdering and then seeking refuge in some palace, staring at one of his paintings over the mantle as he sits comfortably and sips a drink, with the dagger he used as a murder weapon. One of the last scenes, Tom is sitting in a comfortable chair in his palazzo, looking at the Picasso -- which is out of place with the old decor -- with a drink glass beside hm as well as the ash tray, the same type which he used to kill Freddie and was thinking of using to kill Marge. But the stare is associated with Narcissus, the title of this episode, except instead of a mirror, Caravaggio is looking at one of his paintings and Tom is staring at the Picasso? He keeps all the trinkets he took from Dickie, not just the ring, the Rolex, the shoes and clothes, like they're some kind of totems. So is the Picasso painting, though all these items could provide him money at some point, but for now he retains them. Who was it, that characterized Dickie as untalented? Was it in Tom's letter to the landlord in Rome? The implication is that Tom is by contrasted talented, that he is better at the game at being this dilettante or dandy, the American expat of exquisite taste living well in Europe.

Saw Peri Gilpin in an episode of Broad City playing Abbi's mother. Wasn't sure at first that was her. She looked a lot younger than I would have thought. Episode aired in 2017 so that's quite a bit of time after Frasier. But if you look at her IMDB, she's done a lot of things after Frasier.

I heard an interview with Adam Brody a few weeks back and one of the things they touched upon was how the cast loved that they were able to film in LA. Not only to feature real LA places in the show but how the cast loved being at home, not having to go to another state or country like Canada, being away from their families for months. Apparently Adam Brody is one of the people who unfortunately lost his home. There's a chance that other cast and crew may have their lives disrupted, not to mention a lot of the production facilities were in the areas affected. So speculating that season 2 could be delayed ...

So perhaps these tragic fires in LA will delay season 2 of this show, given their plans to film in LA. In fact, some of the cast and production crew may have lost homes for all we know.

Someone posted on Reddit that the homes used as Jimmy and Liz's homes are in the evacuation zone of the fires in LA. I didn't realize that they used actual residences to film instead of use some set in a studio. But now, if those homes or other places where they filmed the first 2 seasons are destroyed, that could delay production schedules of future seasons.

I'm saying they're going to try to get as much mileage out of this lie this whole season. Then they will call him out on it at some point. This is what passes for a story on this show.

My impression was that Salley had lived at that home for awhile, not recently moved in. In any event the party was for the show, so of course Taylor and most everyone else would be there. I’m sure at some point, Craig is going to be confronted about him making up that JT called Pat a bitch. Maybe they’ll keep having these little convos. If not during the season, certainly at the reunion. How about that Paige egging Craig on to break it off with Austen. She was having a showmance to further her brand but was willing to butt in on a friendship, which may also have been a show thing. Maybe Audrey really was/is smitten. But she signed up to be on the show as well? That’s going to at least raise suspicions. Is she really attracted to him or the show? Other reality shows have this issue, long-time cast members getting “serious” with people who may also want to be on reality TV. If it turned out that she was on other shows or auditioned for them, it wouldn’t be completely out of left field. Speaking of which, apparently that is the case with Salley, tried to be on shows more than once. She’s certainly going to be a foil for Taylor, who herself got on the show dating a regular cast member. Not recalling what else happened on this episode. Venita jumping in the pool, even if it wasn’t a stunt for the show, why would they choose to show it and name the episode in reference to it? A black person struggling to swim? A white man jumping in to rescue her? Well this show is suppose to be about the South …

Wasn't there some Daily challenge which required a lot of running and she held up reasonably well? She's not going to out swim or outrun anyone but if they design a challenge or a Final with reasonably paced puzzles so that running or swimming long distances isn't the biggest determinative factor, she might not be as uncompetitive as many think, though she's obviously not getting any younger. No other woman wants to go into elimination with her though they will happily send her into elimination either to send her home or send someone else home. It seems like he's friendly with most of them, despite what he does in the Challenge. That's how he lasts so long whenever he competes, he gets "friends" to protect him and will shame them for betraying a "friend" if they vote him into elimination. But he's able to turn up the charm and get others to help him. Because I have very dim memories of the early challenges but it seems like Evan and Kenny basically helped him win those seasons.

Tom has some refined tastes or is trying to develop some, with Dickie's money. I thought he'd pawn Dickie's ring, watch, cigarette case, pen, etc. but no, he gets the watch fixed so he could wear it. Of course Freddie knows that it's Dickie's Rolex and loafers that Tom is wearing. So confronting him and threatening to bring the police was going to get him killed with the "excellent choice" crystal ashtray. Tom isn't just a fraudster as he learned from an American mutual friend, he's obviously capable of much worse -- not to mention Freddie is a little too light in those Ferragamo loafers to be threatening most other men. The early episodes established that Tom was miserable before being plucked to enter this Greenleaf orbit, a small-time grifter posting as a collection agency man making a couple dozen bucks per mark, while his bathroom had unreliable water and was overflowing with back-up sewage. His lifestyle expectations really raised up once he got some of that Greenleaf money, even before leaving NY when he went to Brooks Brothers to pick up new clothes, including that tell-tale ghastly robe -- we have to take the word of the characters that the color is as garish as they said. He was not going back, not when papa Greenleaf cut him off, not when Dickie was going to cut him loose. Was he improvising or was his plan to impersonate Dickie after killing him a slow burn? Because clearly he improvises every day in his exchanges with strangers and acquaintances and the biggest improvisation was killing Dickie, who was leaving and Tom grabbed the ash tray, which he didn't plan to use as a weapon when he bought it. As for the Picasso, this is taking place in the '50s or the early '60s. That painting was a Cubist painting, after which he became like a superstar for the rest of his life, which lasted decades more after the Cubist period. I thought it was funny that Tom and Carlo both feigned ignorance of what it was. The art market back then wasn't as crazy as it is now but they had to know it was very valuable.