S01.E02: Penguin One, Us Zero

[maraleia]

 

In the wake of a series of disturbing encounters, Kevin pays a visit to a therapist. Tom finds himself in a precarious situation with Christine, a favorite of Wayne’s. A frustrated Meg is asked to part with pieces of her past. Jill and Aimee tail Nora Durst, who became a local celebrity when her entire family disappeared in the Departure.

 

[AimingforYoko]

The mystery of the missing bagels is solved. Score one for the chief.

So is his dad crazy, or is something supernatural going on? You know, other than 140 million people vanishing into thin air.

[Primetimer]

Can The Leftovers admit that tragedy doesn't obliterate joy?

Read the story

[Guest]

It's a shame no one has devised a way for a police official to determine ownership of a stranger's vehicle parked in one's own driveway.

[AimingforYoko]

It's a shame no one has devised a way for a police official to determine ownership of a stranger's vehicle parked in one's own driveway.

They ran the VIN, no name came up. So while it didn't make the chief look crazy, it didn't clear him, either.

[Guest]

Thanks! I was paying attention off and on because I was bored senseless.

[magdalene]

I don't know. So far this show is much too gloomy and doomy for me.  I am kind of bored watching parts of it already which can't be a good sign.

[Karelian]

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.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Karelian

[AuntiePam]

karelian, exactly my problem.  I need to see that the GR cult is providing something more than nothing.  I understand the attraction of nothing and numbness if I'm in pain, and it doesn't involve sleeping on the floor or someone kicking me to wake me up. 

 

This is a bit too existential for me. I'll keep watching but it will be to see what happens with Kevin and his son.  The rest of the characters can go hang.

[shapeshifter]

The mystery of the missing bagels is solved. Score one for the chief.

And his daughter saw "the bald dude," so score 2.

And Liv Tyler referred to him as "the hot cop," followed by his wife writing, "I remember."

I'm guessing the chief reacted like the fiancé of Liv Tyler when his wife joined, and wishes he had tried to talk her into coming home.

So if the son hadn't shot the SWAT guy, I'm guessing the girl would be dead, right? I mean, they were shooting a lot of people. I guess life's not so precious anymore? Unless you're a feral dog?

The title of the episode, "Penguin One, Us Zero," was explained by the shrink (kids take out their aggressions on the inflatable penguin), but are penguins often used that way? I remember from the one-season series, Awake, the main character kept hallucinating a penguin. Probably no connection, right?

In the credit at the end, it showed "Brendan Burke" played "A-Hole," so maybe that's the only humor? I mean, there were a lot of A-Holes, right? And there are 3 Brendan Burkes listed in IMDb, LOL.

Is Mayor Lucy the chief's father's wife or lover or friend or...?

[Constantinople]

I don't understand why Christine is so important to Wayne (or Tom for that matter). She has the personality of a dish rag.

She may be a bit of a tart, I did enjoy Aimee's follow-up remark

(from memory, so not exact quotes)

Unidentified Twin: We're missing first period

Aimee: Jill will never fuck you if you're such a puss

Jill: Hey

Aimee: What? Wrong one?

I also liked it when the Chief asked the Mystery Man why MM can't just shoot the dogs by himself, and MM said "I'm lonely". I liked the simplicity of the answer. If I were out shooting dogs because they weren't "our dogs" any more, I'd want company too.

And I appreciate that MM brought a six of beer with him.

 

And his daughter saw "the bald dude," so score 2.

 

My first thought that only the Chief saw the Mystery Man, a la The Sixth Sense

 

Then I thought that perhaps the Mystery Man was real since he interacted with Jill the daughter and Aimee.

 

Then my third thought was that the Chief imagined not just the Mystery Man, but MM's interaction with the Jill & Aimee. J & A may have returned to the Chief's home, but the Chief conjoined two separate events, one imaginary into one.

I also like Justin Theroux in this. I'm a little worried I relate to his character a little too much. Oh well. Reality is over rated.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Constantinople

[ottoDbusdriver]

Seriously, the FBI goes into Holy Wayne's compound guns ablazing shooting armed and unarmed alike ? And it sounds like the FBI shot first, according to Wayne (but in the digitally remastered Blue-Ray edition to be release before Xmas they will fix it so that Holy Wayne cult members shot first).

 

And is that typical of federal law enforcement to threaten to kill unarmed people like that, let alone swear excessively, during a raid ?  That doesn't seem professional at all.

 

Isn't it a little early for all that snow ?  It was just Oct. 14 two weeks beforehand (according to hints dropped in the show), and that is an awful lot of snow even for Buffalo for the end of October/start of November.

 

Has Justin Theroux got implants under the skin on his forehead -- as the veins that look like vertical lines were popping something fierce when he was talking to the other cop before going to the GR house ?

 

Do the bagels disappearing in the toaster count as a new departure ?  Did any other pastries disappear at the same time world-wide ?  Just kidding -- they were hiding in the back of the toaster for shits and giggles.

 

Holy Wayne kissing a corpse -- nothing weird about that shit.  Plus, who killed that gas station attendant -- the FBI during their warm-ups before the raid on the nearby compound ?

 

If you signed up for a show about a lot of one-sided conversations, then this is the show for you.

 

Since they can't speak, shouldn't the GRs offer courses in penmanship because their writing is approaching medical doctor chicken scratch levels ?

 

The entire cast of Perfect Strangers were departed on Oct. 14 -- that's really odd.

 

ETA: That 150 question list that had to be completed by that old couple to get their departed check -- talk about insensitive as it had nothing to do with validating proof of departure. You just know that all those questions were nothing more than to be used by the gov't or insurance companies (or both) for data mining to try and figure out commonalities to the disappearances.  But you won't get your check until you answer them -- if I was one of those old folks I would totally Nora Durst to screw off.

Edited July 7, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[thuganomics85]

Scott Glenn!

 

So, pretty much everyone thought Sheriff Justin Theroux was killing all the dogs himself, and he was even starting to wonder if Michael Gaston's character was just a hallucination (like his Dark Passenger!)  Of course, that scene of Jill and Aimee taking the beat from him puts that into question, but I wouldn't be surprised if we suddenly found out he hallucinated that whole scene.  And what was up with the beginning dream, where the sheriff was lead to Gaston's character by a underwear-claded Aimee?  A hint that they had an affair, or that he's secretly lusting for her?

 

Liv Tyler seems to be embracing the cult, I guess.  Whatever floats your boat, but the no talking thing would be too infuriating for me.  And all the smoking.  I'm guessing Laurie is suppose to be her trainer/mentor/Jedi Master?

 

I'm glad I for next week's previews, because I was starting to wonder what was the point of casting Christoper Eccleston, if he's only going to be in episodes for a minute tops.

 

Can't even wrap my head around the story-line involving Tom and the guy with magical hugs, who has a thing for young Asian girls.

 

When they revealed early on that the plastic penguin was there for kids to take out their "aggression" on it, I was really hoping this episode was going to end with the sheriff just shooting the penguin in front of the therapist (sort of like that scene in Analyze This, with the pillow).

 

Better then the pilot, but I'm still not quite getting into it.  It's strange, since almost all the critics are lavishing this with praise, but, for once, I'm not seeing what they are seeing.  Between this and not being all that impressed with Lost, maybe I just don't care for Damon Lindelof stuff.

Edited July 7, 2014 by thuganomics85

[Trick Question]

That 150 question list that had to be completed by that old couple to get their departed check -- talk about insensitive as it had nothing to do with validating proof of departure. You just know that all those questions were nothing more than to be used by the gov't or insurance companies (or both) for data mining to try and figure out commonalities to the disappearances.

 

Wow, good catch.  That totally makes a lot of sense, though why would the government/insurance companies go along with the charade of a benefits cheque when they could just, y'know, ask the questions?  Wouldn't the Departed's loved ones want to figure out what happened and willingly give the info?  (Even if it's for dumb things like traveling to Brazil or number of sexual partners.)

[Noelle]

The Leftovers! Where Liv Tyler is as terrible at chopping down a tree as you would imagine her to be!

[GaT]

Wow, I understand why this is on after True Blood, it's just as incredibly boring. The only thing we learned this week is that the event is referred to as "the 14th", at least we know what they call it now, but I'm not hanging around for more than two more episodes if all the information we get is one tiny thing a week.

[Blakeston]

The entire cast of Perfect Strangers were departed on Oct. 14 -- that's really odd.

 

ETA: That 150 question list that had to be completed by that old couple to get their departed check -- talk about insensitive as it had nothing to do with validating proof of departure. You just know that all those questions were nothing more than to be used by the gov't or insurance companies (or both) for data mining to try and figure out commonalities to the disappearances.  But you won't get your check until you answer them -- if I was one of those old folks I would totally Nora Durst to screw off.

 

The chief seemed extremely skeptical of the idea that the Perfect Strangers cast all disappeared. It may have just been his father's idea of a joke.

 

As for Nora, I suspect she's just pretending to be working for someone else, and she's asking those questions because of her own search for answers.

[NorthstarATL]

I think that the more we get to know the 'leftovers', the more we understand why the departed left. Probably found them all just as tedious as I do.

[KoBnR]

I'm enjoying this. The first episode was weird but I wasn't sure it was a good weird but this episode tells me it's a good weird. I'm still a little apprehensive but this looks like fun.

Did the guy want a hug or a kiss? lol Because it was strange that the other guy (not good with names just yet) wouldn't just hug him.

As for the no speaking, that may get annoying but maybe they will change that rule with Liv Tyler's character. She seems like a rule breaker?

Edited July 7, 2014 by KoBnR

[sunflower]

 

The title of the episode, "Penguin One, Us Zero," was explained by the shrink (kids take out their aggressions on the inflatable penguin), but are penguins often used that way?

 

I thought the title also referred to the GR (penguins) vs.  everyone else (us).  Meg, at the end, embraces it, chooses the GR.  I thought it was also a joke on the GR dressing all in white, like "penguin" was some joke name "us" called them.   I thought this was to be the reference before the episode started so I was surprised to see an actual penguin.  Still, I do think the GR story is part of the reason for the title of the episode.  

 

Why would someone, Meg for instance, choose the GR over the life that Kevin, "hot cop", lives? Or Nora?   One thinks he's crazy, and may be, and the other still has the reminders of her children, stale jellybeans and kid CDs, in her car while she's working a job that will make them always present in her mind.   I suppose, for some, there is appeal in a controlled emptiness?  blankness?   However, the GR does feel like a selfish choice to me.  Maybe I'll change my mind as the show goes on?  Who knows?  

Edited July 7, 2014 by sunflower

[Ina123]

I feel like I'm being led down a path that goes off a cliff of loose ends. It lost me tonight. I tried but I'm not interested enough to sacrifice my time. The stupid "Wayne" stuff is just that...stupid.

[shapeshifter]

Isn't it a little early for all that snow ? It was just Oct. 14 two weeks beforehand (according to hints dropped in the show), and that is an awful lot of snow even for Buffalo for the end of October/start of November

Having barely [mentally] survived last winter myself, I would wager those scenes were shot late winter/early spring. I'm guessing they figured with all the other weird crap going on, unseasonable amounts of snow would be par for the course. Or maybe it was supposed to be four to five months after the celebration? But, if so, when did the dog shootings take place?

The chief seemed extremely skeptical of the idea that the Perfect Strangers cast all disappeared. It may have just been his father's idea of a joke.

As for Nora, I suspect she's just pretending to be working for someone else, and she's asking those questions because of her own search for answers.

Both of these make sense. Maybe Nora volunteered to help process claims so she could get info since her entire family disappeared. I'm guessing with that many questions and folks in general being trigger happy (like the FBI/SWAT guys), Nora's gun was for self defense.

I have to admit, I'm still watching in part because of favorable reviews. But I bailed on Orange is the New Black after the second episode and never started Walking Dead, so if it gets much weirder in violent, graphic ways, I may quit.

Edited July 7, 2014 by shapeshifter

[bosawks]

This thing is unrelenting, I just want someone to turn to someone else and tell a "knock knock joke" or something............

Edited July 7, 2014 by bosawks

[bravelittletoaster]

I also liked it when the Chief asked the Mystery Man why MM can't just shoot the dogs by himself, and MM said "I'm lonely". I liked the simplicity of the answer. If I were out shooting dogs because they weren't "our dogs" any more, I'd want company too.

 

Jesus Christ, are they still on the dog killing?  Of all the fleeting lines in the book, why did they decide that should get a whole subplot on the show?  Didn't HBO learn its lesson from Luck?  

Edited July 7, 2014 by bravelittletoaster

[seamusk]

The Leftovers! Where Liv Tyler is as terrible at chopping down a tree as you would imagine her to be!

 

To be fair, I looked at that tree, and immediately realized, "she's never gonna chop that down.  I would give up after 10 minutes."  We use saws for a reason.

 

I honestly think this show is terrible thus far.  I don't mind that it's weird.  I generally like that.  I think that I just don't believe that the cults would happen the way that they do.  I suppose there is still some mystical power at work that plays into it, but while I believe that cults like that can operate and happen, i'm not sure they are effectively believable as written.  I'll give this show another shot.  It's something for me to watch when I get home at midnight on Sunday nights.

[KurlyGrl]

 

Seriously, the FBI goes into Holy Wayne's compound guns ablazing shooting armed and unarmed alike ?

 

I mean, really!!  In Zero Dark Thirty, they didn't go into OBL house blazing like that.  I couldn't understand the point of all the shooting.  Especially of unarmed people.  

[hammaboo]

Another thing I didn't get was what the issue HBIC has with Hot Cop's wife.  She seemed so annoyed with her all about the Meg character.  I don't know that being harder on Meg would pull her into their fold faster.

[Milaxx]

Couldn't agree more. I was interested in this premise and since I haven't read the book I had no expectations. I was never upset at Damon for LOST. I liked the show and I l was okay with the ending. However, while the first episode was interesting, this episode felt like and endless slog of sadness porn. I found my self annoyed at the pretentiousness of how profoundly lost and sad every single person is. Well except Wayne who is just a joke.

[psychoticstate]

Couldn't agree more. I was interested in this premise and since I haven't read the book I had no expectations. I was never upset at Damon for LOST. I liked the show and I l was okay with the ending. However, while the first episode was interesting, this episode felt like and endless slog of sadness porn. I found my self annoyed at the pretentiousness of how profoundly lost and sad every single person is. Well except Wayne who is just a joke.

 

I agree wholeheartedly with your post.  I have not read the book and had zero expectations myself.  I liked the first episode, with the exception of all the animal killing, but this one?  Snooze. 

 

I don't understand the cult, I don't get the smoking and the silence and the all-white.  I don't get Liv Tyler's character - - why she would want to join the cult and chop down a big tree when there are plenty of other smaller trees around - - and I just don't care.  I don't get why that Asian girl is so special.  I don't get why it seemed so important that the bagels were stuck in the toaster. 

 

I like Justin Thereaux but I'm not sure he's enough to make me stick with this thing.

[alexvillage]

I watched almost half of the episode. I will try to watch the rest.

 

The Wayne thing is just a spin on the sexual predator theme. Nothing new there, just a few scared faces to make it seem "weird".

 

The smoking people, no matter how the show might try to explain that, or get away with not explaining, is too ridiculous. There is no reason for the no talking rule. It is also pathetic that they think "talking" has to be so literal. People use different forms of communication all the time and it is not really a big deal or such a huge sacrifice to stop using the voice if you can still communicate mundane things by writing. It is like saying that people who can't use their voices, as in vocal cords, are either special or damaged, or not really complete, or saints, or whatever. 

[stillshimpy]

All right....so.  In an effort to accentuate the positive, I'm going to headline with this:  At least Aimee's character and the girl's acting seemed to improve from the pilot, to series, which thank the universe for that, because apparently we're going to be seeing her a lot.  

 

But apparently the Stag was just a figment of the Chief's imagination or evidence of whatever took everyone, because whereas the other cop said they just found him and a bunch of dead dogs, there was no mention of the "and the stag ripped to shreds, which led you to believe they were very dangerous."  

 

Oh hey, just a general population FYI? I'm an anti-gun person through-and-through.  Hate the damned things.  Yes, I am the "bring on the gun-control, waiting period, no assault weapons are needed in our society" Liberal that Fox News sneers about.  Howdy!  But this does not mean I will in any way fail to beat someone to actual death with a Volvo, if need be, if that person shoots my dog.   It's important to let this be known.  Even if I have to use a box-shaped cheese grater on a dog-shooter's ass?"  That person is going down.  So they better just plan on shooting me first, would be the gist of that. 

 

Enough with the dog killings, show.  If it has a point, you need to get to it freaking pronto.  

 

 

 

here 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.

 

Yup, we officially need to know what the point of this cult is, or at least I need to know, because they aren't riveting, the smoking is just annoying and I have no clue why Liv Tyler's character wants to join them.  At all.  NONE.  In yet another aside:  Dear Liv Tyler, you may wish to up your vitamin K intake, because what I thought were bruises are just wickedly dark circles under her eyes and vitamin K helps with that.  Leafy greens, LT, leafy greens.  Either that or the makeup artist really wasn't going for subtlety.  

 

I'm assuming the extreme difference between seasons has to do with the period of time between ordering the pilot and pickup to series, allowing the weather to start sucking violently because there were actually a few months in between, regardless of what the story said.  Where is this shot?  

 

Also, whereas I agree that special, magic girl, with the sparkling personality of naugahyde hadn't done anything to warrant the extreme threatening she was taking -- and I was actually yelling at the agent, "HEY! SHE HASN'T DONE ANYTHING!"  -- that story just took a turn for the GR in terms of "Huh?"  He was kissing a dead guy, and apparently he can "take away someone's pain" by hugging them?  

 

So...he's a vampire of some kind?  An emotions vampire?   

 

Is this story going to turn out to be V and Wayne's actually a reptile who can only breed with exceptionally dull Asian teen girls, because here's hoping that really isn't the case. 

Edited July 7, 2014 by stillshimpy

[JusLaugh]

I feel like the show started in mid-season. Maybe the writers assumed the average viewer would watch long enough to catch up. I'm not one of those viewers. I just don't get it....

 

Why didn't they show the story from the beginning when everyone disappeared, introduced us to the characters in the direct aftermath so we knew who they were. Maybe they could throw in a bit of info about what they were going through for the last 3 years so we are able to relate to them and show us how the "not a cult" was formed and why the Chief's wife is there and THEN jump 3 years later.

 

I spent most of this episode wondering why those kids were stalking that poor woman when they knew she lost her whole family. I also was wondering why Liv Tyler wanted in the smokers club so bad. The writers never really told us and she has a beautiful voice. Why would she want to ruin it?

 

I think two episodes of this show is enough. It's just not for me.

[Shermie]

I don't get why it seemed so important that the bagels were stuck in the toaster.

 

That was one plot point that actually made sense. Hot Chief was afraid he was going completely off the deep end, like now his bagels are joining the Departed too? But there they were, all logical and stuff. So he's not as crazy as he thought.

 

Other than that... Why do those girls want to follow poor Nora around? For what reason?  Makes no sense.

 

Why did Meg have to cut down a huge tree? Or not? Why isn't she given direction? What's the point? Why does Laurie just stare at her all pityingly? Why can't the GRs talk? Why do they smoke? The reason given is "so people won't forget"? As if anyone could forget the biggest world-changing event that ever happened. Makes no sense.

 

What's up with Wayne and his harem of young Asian girls? Other than Hot Chief's son joining him - and what's up with that? - what does that plotline have to do with anything? Makes no sense.

 

Do we have to have Hot Chief hallucinating about animals and such? Isn't the concept mysterious and interesting enough without adding this layer of real/not real? 

 

There's too much here. Too many plot lines, too many weird things, too much melancholy.

[stillshimpy]

Other than that... Why do those girls want to follow poor Nora around? For what reason?  Makes no sense.

 

Yeah, that was really strange.  Maybe she's considered a particularly ghoulish figure because she did lose three people at once; yet this is what she does for her living.  That she does this for a living makes sense to me, if anyone would have a vested interest in trying to help gather the data for the possible commonalities, it's going to be the person who lost an entire family.  

 

However, she might also be figure of some suspicion because of that.  Why her whole family and not her?  Since they don't know what caused it, there has to be all kinds of wild assed "I heard they were actually sacrifices in a satanic cult!" speculation, particularly among teens.  

 

I kind of felt like they were treating Nora as a Boo Radley type of figure.  A person who is, in reality, just a tragic figure, becomes someone to harass for people who haven't learned to have a lot of empathy yet, in some cases (like some teens, clearly not all).  

[alexvillage]

Peeve:

Mayor lady: Can you give the chief and I a minute

Wrong, mayor: the chief and me. 

The chief and I makes we. Can you give we a minute? 

 

Are we supposed to care about the characters? Because right now I think wherever the departed are is much better. Maybe they should be called the chosen. They scaled the boredom and the annoyance of the leftovers.

 

That is a lot of bad writing. 

[meep.meep]

If a lot of on the show will be communicated by the characters writing notes to each other - please give all of them Sharpies!  Everything that Laurie wrote, I had to stand next to the TV to read.

 

Something made me think that Nora is just asking the questions on her own.  To be the only one from her family not snatched must be devastating.  Maybe she was the one with the Chief?

 

Peter Berg!  He was the dead guy in the gas station.

[larapu2000]

I thought that perhaps Liv Tyler's joining the White Cult would result in exposition on what it's all for, how it started, why they stalk people, how they get the files on those people with photos and information, etc.  Also-hot chief's wife is a giant dick for making her cut down a 40 year oak with a tiny fucking ax.  It was interesting, though, that the cops have regular visits to the cult to check on the "missing persons," and make sure they're acting of their own volition.

 

I really wish the FBI agents had shot up Wayne as opposed to his teenage sex victims.  I found that tougher to watch than the dog murders.

[Ina123]

I don't know where I got it or at what point in the show but it seems someone said something about something being 6 weeks ago. I then got the impression it had been 6 weeks since last weeks episode. Also I took the woman chopping at the tree as her "taking out her aggression" like the penquin for the kids at the therapist's office. But, who knows? I think I've watched it just because there's nothing else on to watch.

[Shermie]

I really wish the FBI agents had shot up Wayne as opposed to his teenage sex victims.  I found that tougher to watch than the dog murders.

 

No kidding. A bunch of young girls are brutally shot in cold blood and people hardly blink, but a bunch of feral dogs that are ripping a deer apart are shot and people get all, "Oh no, stop killing dogs!" 

 

hot chief's wife is a giant dick for making her cut down a 40 year oak with a tiny fucking ax.

 

While I agree that Laurie is a dick, she didn't make Meg cut down the tree. They walked into the woods and Laurie gave Meg an ax. No instructions, no nods or shaking of the head, no raised eyebrows or smiles or frowns - nothing. Why Meg decided she had to cut down the tree is beyond me; I mean, what's the point? What does cutting a tree down have to do with not talking, or wearing white, or smoking, or being sad about the Disappeared, or with anything? 

[bravelittletoaster]

I really wish the FBI agents had shot up Wayne as opposed to his teenage sex victims.  I found that tougher to watch than the dog murders.

 

I just love the fact that obviously someone's notes on the book were "NEEDS MOAR VIOLENCE."  Because the show's importing all this crap to be edgy, I guess.  Neither teens nor packs of dogs were gunned down in the book.

[AuntiePam]

I just love the fact that obviously someone's notes on the book were "NEEDS MOAR VIOLENCE."  Because the show's importing all this crap to be edgy, I guess.  Neither teens nor packs of dogs were gunned down in the book.

That makes me wonder even more -- what's the point of the show?  If HBO thought the book was worth filming, they should have stuck to the book.  If HBO thought the book had promise but needed to be tweaked for its audience, killing teenage girls and dogs is a stupid tweak.

 

I did like the disappearing bagel, and that Kevin didn't let it go. 

[Kat]

 

 

I thought that perhaps Liv Tyler's joining the White Cult would result in exposition on what it's all for, how it started, why they stalk people, how they get the files on those people with photos and information, etc.  Also-hot chief's wife is a giant dick for making her cut down a 40 year oak with a tiny fucking ax.  It was interesting, though, that the cops have regular visits to the cult to check on the "missing persons," and make sure they're acting of their own volition.

I really wish the FBI agents had shot up Wayne as opposed to his teenage sex victims.  I found that tougher to watch than the dog murders.

These two items were my biggest problem with last night's episode and possibly my biggest problems with the show as a whole. 

 

I read and loved the book that is the source material for this; I usually don't have an issue with adaptations taking license to make drastic changes. But most of the changes this show is making don't make any sense. At this point I'm super frustrated with this show, but I know that I'm going to watch it to the bitter end because I won't be able to NOT watch it.

Also, I love Justin Theroux and Chris Eccleston and I like just having them on my tv every week.

[stillshimpy]

Well, it is a part of the show, so it would appear they are going in a different direction. 

 

I really wish the FBI agents had shot up Wayne as opposed to his teenage sex victims.

 

For freaking real.  They started murdering teen sex trafficking victims who were, among other things -- aside from the victims in the situation -- entirely unarmed.  What the hell?  Isn't part of what makes Wayne the bad guy they want to get the fact that he's been molesting underage teen girls?!?  On top of being horrifying, it was confusing as hell.  

[Constantinople]

Other than that... Why do those girls want to follow poor Nora around? For what reason?  Makes no sense.

 

I don't think Jill particularly wanted to follow Nora, she was just going along with Aimee, who wanted to know why Nora had a gun in her purse.

 

As to why they actually followed her, people, particularly teenagers, do stupid things.

[seamusk]

No kidding. A bunch of young girls are brutally shot in cold blood and people hardly blink, but a bunch of feral dogs that are ripping a deer apart are shot and people get all, "Oh no, stop killing dogs!"  

They are both hideous acts.  And I thought a number of people have commented negatively on both.  I think people blinked is what I'm saying.

 

It's interesting to read that the dog and teen shooting are not really in the books.  Those were two things that really bothered me.  I'm just not sure i'm going to enjoy this show.  I feel that the adaptation thus far is wanting if those are the kinds of changes they decided to make. I mean, i'm sure they are going for shock value but it should at least make some sense to the plot and the reality within which this is all happening.

[steelyis]

I just love the fact that obviously someone's notes on the book were "NEEDS MOAR VIOLENCE."  Because the show's importing all this crap to be edgy, I guess.  Neither teens nor packs of dogs were gunned down in the book.

 

Okay, I thought it felt off!

 

When the raid was going down I kept thinking to myself what is going on here? What is the show trying to say by showing me this? I figured the government had developed some kind of zero tolerance policy against David Koresh types after the '14th' and said screw human rights! But if that kind of violence isn't in the novel, then, yeah, they are definitely trying to spice up the show with "NEEDS MORE VIOLENCE!"

 

Not that I blame them, the show is boring to the point of tedium sometimes. I wish there was more scenes like Nora's, it was intriguing as much as it was infuriating. And I liked the ephebophile cult leader's scenes. He is beyond creepy, but interesting to watch. I like how the mayor and the chief interact as well. I kind of ship it, I think? At the very least I want them to play off each other a bit more, because they're pretty lively together. This show could sure use more lively.

[90PercentGravity]

This will sound completely ridiculous, but the actor who plays Wayne looks exactly like Nick Stahl, except for, you know, the whole being black thing.

 

I thought this episode was more interesting than the pilot, not that that is saying much.

 

For what it's worth, the "Just Desserts" episode of Perfect Strangers is one of the finest half hours of television ever.

[shapeshifter]

I looked at that tree, and immediately realized, "she's never gonna chop that down.  I would give up after 10 minutes."  We use saws for a reason.

Seriously. As a small person who chopped cords and cords of fire wood over 15 years in my 20s and 30s and now suffers from herniated discs, I looked at the scene as was worried for Liv Tyler's health.

The bagel subplot was the best part of the episode. I really thought it had disappeared like the 2%ers, but, nope, it wound up being a literal Leftover! Hah!

So those two words from Liv Tyler's character: "hot cop," told us that yes, he really is supposed to be good looking in this world (it's not just because he's an actor) and she's likely going to get involved with him at some point. I wonder if there will be a fight to the death between her and his wife. :(

[A Boston Gal]

I'm kinda disappointed that there will be no storyline about the disappearance of 2% of the world's bagels, to be followed by cream cheese, butter, various spreads, and finally - and most tragically - the unexplained vanishing of 2% of the world's smoked fish.

 

Because that is a loss worth joining a cult over.

Edited July 8, 2014 by A Boston Gal

[pasdetrois]

So that was Peter Berg, the series director, in a cameo as the dead gas station attendant. I remember him from his soap opera acting days.

 

Maybe Christine is pregnant by Wayne? And Wayne thinks he is a messiah and the baby will be a holy child who will save the world?

 

The teenagers joking and snarking may be realistic in the real world, but it's strangely discordant juxtaposed against everyone else in the series.

 

I guess we're supposed to wonder whether Scott Glenn is psychotic or actually hearing the voices of a force that caused the events of the 14th. And he is a kind of oracle.

Edited July 8, 2014 by pasdetrois