S01.E02: Simone

[formerlyfreedom]

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The game continues as Simone and Peter follow the clues and explore the city. The gang discovers that the game runs deeper than they thought and they have to make an important choice.

Airing Monday, March 2, 2020.

[cdnalor]

With this second episode, I'm starting to get a "Lodge 49" vibe from this show.  I like the offbeat weirdness of it, but I hope we get a handle on what's really going on soon.  I'm getting so used to bingeing series on streaming services that I'm not sure if I still have the patience to follow a weekly show that doesn't explain everything immediately.

[UNOSEZ]

Fredwynn running the reverse trace to get all their numbers was pitch perfect.. Loved Simone telling Peter how she felt.. Janice is a treasure and already treats the rest of them like her grandkids... Looking forward to next epi 

[Blindfox]

I totally agree that it’s more fun to binge these shows than to have small parts doled out week after week. I’m still really liking this show, though. I love the characters. The plot is almost beside the point for me, which might be a good thing.

[Irlandesa]

I was iffy on the first episode but I kind of fell in love with this episode.  This show is weird and I couldn't even explain the plot but they put characters together who I like seeing together. 

I was resistant to the show but I'm glad I watched.  As for now, I'm in for the season.

[LittleIggy]

I love this show! Bigfoot has a museum membership! 

[Chaos Theory]

I have no idea what the hell is going on.....but I kinda dig it. 

[Dowel Jones]

The woman in the painting telling Simone "I don't need you to 'transplain' this"...  Heh.

[LittleIggy]

What’s with the L&O:SVU references? First Peter is watching SVU (Stabler and Tutuola scene). Then after he hangs up his landline, we hear the signature L&O “thunk-thunk.” Finally, there’s Nana with the Olivia Benson reference. I didn’t catch if Nana was watching SVU.

[Rachel RSL]

I enjoy this show simply because there's absolutely nothing else like it on tv.  Even though I spend most of the episode confused, I'm ok with it because I feel like we're supposed to be just as confused as the actual characters.  

I love Simone!  But I'm most excited to see Fredwynn's episode.  He's hilarious!

[Parker]

Reminded me of Mr. Robot without the computers.  I really like it and and will stay with it.  Glad to see Sally Field again.  

[SoMuchTV]

7 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

The woman in the painting telling Simone "I don't need you to 'transplain' this"...  Heh.

They also had her getting involved in a rally that seemed to be for trans rights? I wonder if that will figure into the story, or just an Easter egg?

[UNOSEZ]

55 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

They also had her getting involved in a rally that seemed to be for trans rights? I wonder if that will figure into the story, or just an Easter egg?

I think it was just to illustrate that until this elsewhere stuff ahead sabotaged herself.. Even at the Pride event surrounded by ppl who were ostensibly giving her love and support she couldn't take it so she ran away.. And she ran away again when Peter said how she made him feel.. Wasn't until the end that she finally began to accept some love.. And stopped letting herself sabotage things

[enchantingmonkey]

One of the things that stood out to me was at the protest when Simone proclaimed that the game, which involves participating with other people, was the first time she felt comfortable and happy.  Yet, earlier she'd lamented to her Nana that whenever other people are added to the mix that she has no idea what she's doing.  It made me wonder if comfortably happy and utter confusion are just seemingly different colors of a rainbow rather than mutually exclusive states of being.  Perhaps when they find Clara she'll be able to explain everything!  

Jason Segel addresses the topic of binge-watching...

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You know, I have nothing against binge-watching, but it can be extremely isolating. You sit in a room for 12 hours and do nothing but watch TV! [Laughs] When you do it the old-fashioned, one-episode-a-week way, you have time to talk about it. You can have a conversation around it…even if the conversation is, What the hell is happening? You have time to go, “What do you think this meant, or this meant? Did you like this?” “No. Did you?” “I loved it.” It felt like there was a possibility of creating a community around the show. That’s the goal, anyway. We’ll see if it happens.

https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-features/jason-segel-dispatches-from-elsewhere-interview-958069/

It sounds to me like we're a part of the community he was trying to create when he wrote the show.  We should meet back here when we discover the next clue for finding Clara!

[meep.meep]

I agree with Segal - I don't want to binge watch everything.

If you think there's nothing like this on TV, you should check out Maniac and Lodge 49 at least.  Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency is similar.

[tennisgurl]

On 3/2/2020 at 11:51 PM, cdnalor said:

With this second episode, I'm starting to get a "Lodge 49" vibe from this show.  I like the offbeat weirdness of it,

I was just thinking that, I am totally getting that vibe as well! It has an offbeat strangeness, and are both about regular people, usually in a rut of some kind, finding mystery and magic in the periphery of the seemingly monotonous modern world. 

I am really liking the show, and I really liked doing an episode from Simone's perspective, and it looks like we will keep getting episodes from each characters perspectives, which is really cool. Simone came off as a bit of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl in the Peter episode (she even name dropped Amelie, a famous MPDG movie that was also something of a deconstruction of the concept) but here we see so many of her insecurities and loneliness, so much that even when she has the chance to find acceptance, like at the Pride parade or when Peter told her about much he liked her, she runs away out of fear. 

I feel like some shows are naturally good for binging, and others for watching one episode per week. I can see how this show could work as a binge, but I think I prefer it once a week, like a strange but delicious wine to savor.