S01.E04: B.J. And The A.C.

[Tara Ariano]

Kevin has unexpected visitors at home, while work brings more surprises with a holiday display snafu and a detainee from another police station. Elsewhere, Tom and Christine encounter more trouble on the road and at a hospital.

[SoWindsor]

This show is truly joyless :(

[Gwen-Stacys]

That was a really messed up thing that the GR did. Now I understand why people are extremely hostile towards them, they kind of deserve it

[Primetimer]

On a very The Leftovers Christmas, who's naughty or nice? Our answers may surprise you!

Read the story

[benteen]

Will somebody please wipe out this obnoxious cult?  It's one thing to revel in your own misery, it's another thing to pull stuff like that.  I think they would pretty much guarantee their doom after something like that.

[Guest]

Will somebody please wipe out this obnoxious cult?

Preferably by locking them in a room and blasting Pharrell's Happy for days straight because COME. ON. These grown-ass people act like a bunch of high school goths, without the benefit of the slimming black clothes. "There is no family." Oh...deep. And oh, I'm giving you the silent treatment but my friend here will read my letter to you as I wait and listen because that's the mature thing to do.

I just do not care at all about any of these terrible people, their terrible cult, and their terrible stalking. And not a single resident woke up while these people were robbing them of their photographs?!

And what was with all the dead bodies strewn on the highway?

My god, I hate this show so much.

[larapu2000]

How can they NOT arrest these people for breaking and entering?  They'll have those photographs.

 

The twins are the best part of this show right now.  That, and Kevin and Nora's sizzling chemistry in that high school hallway.  Yowza!

Edited July 21, 2014 by larapu2000

[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.

Edited July 21, 2014 by Karelian

[xlibris]

I'm less angry about the character development now that we're four episodes in and the interpersonal dynamics feel a little less random. It doesn't make these people three-dimensional yet, but the show is improving from bad cartoon to fair cartoon.

 

Major exception: Nora. I kind of wish the show was about her. Carrie Coon did a lot in 3 minutes of sitting in a hallway.

 

ETA:

 

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. ... 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.

If recruitment is so important to the GR, why are they so antagonistic to the people they're trying to attract? And why does this work? Liv Tyler cursed them out in one scene and showed up on their doorstep in the next. Another example of this show making the wrong things mysterious.

Edited July 21, 2014 by xlibris

[bobbyjoe]

If the next episode doesn't begin with all the townspeople marching with torches and pitchforks to every building and property the GR owns and burning them all to to the ground, I'm calling shenanigans.

Edited July 21, 2014 by bobbyjoe

[seamusk]

And not a single resident woke up while these people were robbing them of their photographs?!

This really annoyed me.  I'm sorry, someone was going to wake up.  Though, I will say that I thought that given their apparent belief system, it was a clever direct action.  Not one to keep the peace, but clever and I actually respect that.  These people are immature in many ways, but I can respect a smart action.  And they are not a threat to anyone so I kind of at least respect that as well.

 

I actually loved this episode.  And I know this is partially because i'm a Game of Thrones fan, and an agnostic who likes to poke fun, but the whole idea of shooting toy flaming arrows at the baby jesus on a makeshift boat was brilliant.  I fucking loved that.

 

 

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.

I disagree with this.  I think tonight's episode explained a lot.  And I think it's consistent with what we've seen thus far.  I really think that the pilot stank.  They really effed up the introductions to various components of the story.  But I think they are starting to get real with the cult and what it stands for.  I am actually starting to understand (or maybe i'm just a sucker) why people have joined it to some extent - even if i clearly wouldn't.  And I thought that the brochure was brilliant, even if I do think that the cult is based on so much ridiculous selfishness.

 

I want to say, as well, that tonight's show actually touched me on a personal level.  It's hard to explain. But the abstract, seemingly emotional plotlessness, is something that appeals to me.  For one, I think it's more true to life.  While we can make plots out of our lives, I don't think most things that happen are plot driven.  I realize that's a bit philosophical, but it's how I feel.  And this episode actually touched me in a way that I respected.  And for that, I'm totally in on this show even if I think it is short lived. It's also why I have historically loved plotles swedish films.

 

 

Major exception: Nora. I kind of wish the show was about her. Carrie Coon did a lot in 3 minutes of sitting in a hallway.

 

Wow I totally agree.  That was an amazing moment, and I think one of the more positive moments in the season thus far.  I think maybe that was a moment that really reached me and is a big part of why I felt so positive about this episode.

 

Was I the only one who wanted Tommy to get busted and have to go back home?  I mean, the dude is on a fools errand.  I realize this show will probably have supernatural elements.  But I just don't think that those elements should endorse Wayne the creepy pedophile.  And I hope that they do not endorse that.

 

 

If recruitment is so important to the GR, why are they so antagonistic to the people they're trying to attract? And why does this work? Liv Tyler cursed them out in one scene and showed up on their doorstep in the next. Another example of this show making the wrong things mysterious.

 

I can actually make an argument for this.  To quote Ghandi, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."  There is a lot of truth to this idea that people will ignore you and hate you before they will embrace you and whatever it is you stand for.  I've experienced it.  But another thing i've experienced is that what we say and scream isn't necessarily what we believe and want. I was a bit of an activist for a long time and one thing I encountered was that folks would always talk about how everybody wants to hear facts and what not.  And people do like to hear empirically supported information, but the truth was that most people responded to emotion regardless of the facts.  I think we can see that today in a lot of the extremism but I won't delve into that as it can get divisive.  My ultimate point here is that I think that's a fair portrayal of human emotion/reaction.  I also think that a large number of people irrationally supporting a cult/movement is entirely believable.

[Trick Question]

My big problem with the GR's stunt isn't that it failed as the climax of an episode, but it disregarded what seems to be a clear tenant of the cult's ethos --- breaking and entering is actually a crime.  Before, they weren't doing anything illegal by standing around, or holding up signs at public events, or standing a few feet outside school property, etc.  By breaking into houses and removing photographs, however, they're actually breaking the law.  I guess the only loophole would be if they were going into their own homes and removing pictures, though obviously that's not the case (unless Meg is related to the Dursts in some way).

 

Four episodes in and I'm becoming more and more convinced that Carrie Coon is stealing this entire series.  If they do another solo character-centric episode, I really hope it's about her.

[Milaxx]

So the GR are just hypocritical a$$holes? They don't speak because they no longer want to waster breath, but waste breath by smoking like chimney's. Isn't writing everything down a cheat on the wasted breath thing anyway? They are chatting/communicating just as much.

 

They stealing of the photos was low. Not only because they committed multiple B & E's, but it's just a jerk move. The kind that earns you a rock upside the head. I understand this is a small town, but are we to believe EVERYONE except the preacher's invalid wife was at the town dance? No on was home while they were picture stealing?

[Kenz]

I thought I'd give it one more episode, and wow, this is the kind of show that makes me start yelling at the tv and feel completely irritated that I wasted another hour of my life. So many continuing unanswered questions and terrible characters, I don't care about any of it. It's a pretentious mess. I'm out.

[90PercentGravity]

Mysteries introduced and never explained? Entire plots dropped without further explanation or acknowledgement they ever happened? Characters that take themselves too seriously? This all feels really familiar...

[GaT]

Can someone explain to me WTF I just watched? Who were all those dead bodies? What's with the target Tommy drew on Christine's & his foreheads? Why no shoes? Why did the GR take the family photos? That's it for me, I'm tired of being treated like a fool by this show, it sucks & I'm done.

Edited July 21, 2014 by GaT

[thuganomics85]

Well, that just happened.  I spent an hour watching a show that had a fight involving a pant-less man, a stand-off between the police and dumbass cult, and the quest to recover a stolen Baby Jesus, and I was bored.  That's almost impressive.

 

Don't get me wrong; I kind of get it... I think.  For example, I think the Baby Jesus bit was suppose to be showing the Sheriff try to accomplish something and have a light, happy ending, only for no one to really care, and it amount to nothing since The Ninth Doctor just had a Baby Jesus lying around.  All of it was a waste for him, and I get the concept, but I just didn't care.  Although, tossing the Baby Jesus was lame; at least offer it to Matt, in case he ever needs another Baby Jesus.

 

So, is this cult that Tommy and Christine are pretending to be in, a completely different one from the Guilty Remnant and Magical Hugs?  A new one that involves painting targets on your heads and not wearing shoes?  Dammit, how many cults are there in this place?  More importantly, how much lamer can they get?

 

While I find myself totally hating almost everything about the Guilty Remnant, I am somewhat curious over what would Laurie do, if the Sheriff never signs the divorce papers.  Will she have to go to court?  That whole "no speaking" thing will be a hell of a hurdle. Does the GR even have a lawyer who can speak for them?

 

The teenagers are just being their normal assholish selves.

 

I agree that the best scene was easily the one involving the Sheriff and Nora.

[xlibris]

I can actually make an argument for this.  To quote Ghandi, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."  There is a lot of truth to this idea that people will ignore you and hate you before they will embrace you and whatever it is you stand for.  I've experienced it.  But another thing i've experienced is that what we say and scream isn't necessarily what we believe and want.

If I think about it this way — going through the motions doing the expected thing, then abruptly choosing the thing that feels right — I can make up a scenario where Meg and Laurie would both join the GR. I've got no clue why Laurie feels "broken," but knowing that she does definitely makes this plausible.

 

But it still feels like I'm doing the writers' work for them. Not that they have to show me everything, but that the danger of not showing us life before 10/14 is giving us no way to interpret life after 10/14. I'm encouraged that the show is slowly filling in the picture, but I'm not rewatching the first four episodes just because I learn belatedly why I should care.

Edited July 21, 2014 by xlibris

[ottoDbusdriver]

It's now Xmas time, which puts this episode around 2 months after the pilot (which took place on Oct. 14, the anniversary of the departure) -- Tom confirms that he and Christine have been on the run for 8 weeks.  So how is it possible that they have less snow now than in episode 2 ?

 

The dog sniffing around the manger scene -- that's what a feral dog that has been on its own for 3 years should look like (though it was huge, so it looked well fed).

 

So, the baby Jesus disappearing, is that supposed to symbolize the departure ?  Wow, that's deep </sarcasm>. And Chief Garvey curses out baby Jesus while driving, and his car dies.  Sure, why not ?  Shouldn't the returned Baby Jesus stink of gasoline ?

 

After being chased all over the hospital, Tom decides that sitting at the bus shelter right outside the hospital is the perfect place not to be found.  He's an idiot.  What was with actor playing Tom's makeup -- from one view he looked ok, but in other views of the same scene he looked like he had jaundice.

 

All those bodies in the truck accident --

aside from the fact it was not in the book

-- it looked like they were being shipped like cordwood.  I'm pretty sure that's illegal.

 

Mass break and enter of everyone's homes by the GR --

not in the book, more bullshit made up by Lindelof et al

.  Seriously, no one in this entire town has a security system or video surveillance -- let alone the fact that there were maybe 100 people at the dance in a town of probably a couple of thousand.  Even Chief Garvey had motion-activated security lights in his backyard.  Someone would have seen the GR doing these shenanigans.

 

 

So, is this cult that Tommy and Christine are pretending to be in, a completely different one from the Guilty Remnant and Magical Hugs?  A new one that involves painting targets on your heads and not wearing shoes?  Dammit, how many cults are there in this place?  More importantly, how much lamer can they get?

 

 

Yep, yet another pseudo-cult in the post-Departure world.  Since it isn't explained in this show at all, in the book

they are called the Barefoot People, a kind of de-centralized hippy backpacker movement. There's no Barefoot People leader or anything like that.

Edited July 21, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[toomuchtv47]

The pantsless man was speaking Greek and I think there was a better way to show he was crazy than to go walking around naked from the waist down.  If I had all my photos stolen by the GR, I'd break into their houses and steal all their white clothes and cigarettes.  Assholes.

 

I'm going to put this in spoiler tags to be extra careful but I am not enjoying the changes to the book.  There was no break in by the GR, the lighter was a plastic bic, the baby jesus never went missing, and so many other changes.  I honestly believe the book on it's own could have been a compelling mini series.

 

If things continue to go the way they're going, I'm not going to enjoy it, no matter how many crazy Greek men walk around without pants!!

[Milaxx]

Who were all those dead bodies?

 

They weren't dead bodies. A company had started making lifesize dolls that people could order customized to look like their departed or raptured loved ones so they had something to bury.

 

Here's the other stupid thing. First of all no one is allowing someone barefoot into the hospital. Tommy should have been stopped at the door. Secondly they don't just send people up to any floor on the hospital without an ID pass. Maternity wards have an even stronger ID system in most hospitals since people taking babies is a concern. So are we to expect that post rapture hospitals have relaxed their health & safety codes and visitation policy?

[larapu2000]

Mysteries introduced and never explained? Entire plots dropped without further explanation or acknowledgement they ever happened? Characters that take themselves too seriously? This all feels really familiar...

 

Well, if we were six seasons in and this were the case, that would be one thing.  But since we're 4 episodes in, I'll cut everyone some slack to help build everything up.  But it would be nice to get a small payoff for something mid-season, aka, next week.

[islandgal140]

 

The pantsless man was speaking Greek and I think there was a better way to show he was crazy than to go walking around naked from the waist down.

Woah there. In my estimation, the gratuitous male nudity was the one good thing about this episode. May not have been pretty or even an unobstructed view but I think all shows need a little bit of peen. Women are always expected to get their tits out (Game of Thrones anyway) while the male unit is be shielded at all times. 

 

Put me down in the WTF did I just watch section of the bleachers. I have never watched Lost so I am not familiar with this Lindelof's work but I have heard many viewers weren't happy with the last few seasons of the show. Watching this series I can now see why. I love a good slow burn series but this ain't it. This all just seems so pointless and anticlimatic. I tuned in because it was an interesting premise and also because of the non-stop advertising. I was intrigued. I feel like the show runners squandered the 1st three episode. I can't find a single fuck to give about any of these characters and I actively hate the GR so much so that I am hoping all their cigarette smoking catches up with them.

 

When I realized the show was ending with a close up of that doll as baby Jesus I went into by DVR settings and deleted the series. This isn't even fun to hate watch. About half way through I just wanted to put on some steel toe re-enforced Doc Martens and kick everyone - EVERYONE!!! - in the groin. By the time we got to GR B&E into what appeared to be everyone's home I was just ready to break a baseball bat over all their heads and then send them a bill for the bat. I wish a mofo would break into my home and steal all my damn photos especially in light of the past tragedy where a photo maybe all you have left.  How can the whole town be at the dance? WTF is this Mayberry or the Simpsons Springfield?

 

I find the daughter and her friend insufferable. Well actually the daughter is more insufferable than the friend. 

 

As soon as the sheriff said he wasn't going to be running around looking for some doll, I knew he would be running around looking for some doll. Oh, and really smart to have the Chief of police in uniform going to the toy store around Christmas time to buy the exact same doll that went missing in the nativity scene. Brilliant. 

 

I find it odd that for the past two episodes that I can recall the audience doesn't get a preview of what will be appearing in the next episode but rather what is coming up for the entire series. That is just not a good sign to me.

Edited July 21, 2014 by islandgal140

[90PercentGravity]

Woah there. In my estimation, the gratuitous male nudity was the one good thing about this episode. May not have been pretty or even an unobstructed view but I think all shows need a little bit of peen. Women are always expected to get their tits out (Game of Thrones anyway) while the male unit is some sort of YMMV.

Exactly. If we can't get a real plot, at least we got some peen. Although it did actually pull me out of the scene wondering if it was real or prosthetic like Hodor's.

[shirazplease]

I was completely shitfaced drunk and I still thought it was infuriating.

[Milaxx]

As soon as the sheriff said he wasn't going to be running around looking for some doll, I knew he would be running around looking for some doll. Oh, and really smart to have the Chief of police in uniform going to the toy store around Christmas time to buy the exact same doll that went missing in the nativity scene. Brilliant.

 

Especially if this is the same town that's small enough that everyone will be at the same holiday dance. Shouldn't somebody at the dance have been like, "You didn't find that doll, I saw you in aisle 5 yesterday" ?

Edited July 22, 2014 by Milaxx

[hammaboo]

The last episode had actually piqued my interest, but this one just made me lose it again.

 

Though, what is the GR going to do withal the pictures?  Because I have to think that they want people to know it was them that took them?  Giant photo burning party? 

 

Every episode I am just left with more ???????? and no answers of any sort.   

[AuntiePam]

I'm out.  I don't mind long, drawn out, cryptic shows but I need to be able to relate to someone or something, or compelling, interesting characters.  I stuck with John from Cincinnati until the end and while I never watched it again, the story and some of the characters stayed with me.  The people in The Leftovers are bland and boring, and nothing I've seen makes me want to know what happens next. 

[valjane]

About the GR... When Tom was sitting at the bus stop, were the people who approached him with the blank flyer also GR? So they exist in other cities, too? Because I assume he wasn't in his hometown at the time.

I really could do without the Tom/Christine plot but I am intrigued by everything else.

[gaPeach]

I have not watched this episode yet.  It is not a good sign when I am more interested in what is posted here BEFORE I watch it.  I am never spoiled when watching shows such as GOT or WD but with this one.....meh.

 

Sounds interesting in an abstract kind of way.  But like someone posted earlier I couldn't give a fuck about any of these people.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I find it odd that for the past two episodes that I can recall the audience doesn't get a preview of what will be appearing in the next episode but rather what is coming up for the entire series. That is just not a good sign to me.

 

Another series that was for doing this same schtick -- The Event -- and we all know how well that worked out.

 

About the GR... When Tom was sitting at the bus stop, were the people who approached him with the blank flyer also GR? So they exist in other cities, too? Because I assume he wasn't in his hometown at the time.

 

In the book, the GR

have a nation-wide presence (if Mapleton has this big a GR chapter, just imagine what it is like in the big cities), as did Holy Wayne followers (they had facilities in major cities) and the Barefoot people were encountered a couple of times in Tom/Christine's cross-country travels). i would imagine you could find Barefoot people on the highways/biways because they seemed to be going somewhere not really settling down.

 

I really could do without the Tom/Christine plot but I am intrigued by everything else.

 

In the book,

Christine never had visions and the whole Christine pregnancy and childbirth results in nothing special at all.  No magical offspring -- it's just a baby.

 

I completely forgot that those were fake corpses

something that was briefly mentioned in the book, much like the dogs, but was never addressed or followed up on.

About the truck accident, how did the trailer managed to get flipped over but the tractor was sitting upright just fine ? 

 

Has anyone figured out what the episode title refers to -- B.J. and the A.C. ?  

I'm pretty sure it's not 'Blow Job and the Air Conditioning', though that would be an awesome name for a garage rock band.

[GaT]

They weren't dead bodies. A company had started making lifesize dolls that people could order customized to look like their departed or raptured loved ones so they had something to bury.

 

Here's the other stupid thing. First of all no one is allowing someone barefoot into the hospital. Tommy should have been stopped at the door. Secondly they don't just send people up to any floor on the hospital without an ID pass. Maternity wards have an even stronger ID system in most hospitals since people taking babies is a concern. So are we to expect that post rapture hospitals have relaxed their health & safety codes and visitation policy?

Just curious, but did you know that those weren't real bodies from the book, or did I just miss something when I watched the show? If you didn't post that, I would have had no idea.

[Sarah D. Bunting]

We did hear an ad for the Loved Ones service during a scene last week or the week before.

[90PercentGravity]

Just curious, but did you know that those weren't real bodies from the book, or did I just miss something when I watched the show? If you didn't post that, I would have had no idea.

I knew based on context. The military guy said something like "Be careful, some rich idiot paid a lot of money to have that thing buried."

[GaT]

I knew based on context. The military guy said something like "Be careful, some rich idiot paid a lot of money to have that thing buried."

I heard that & still didn't get that it wasn't a dead body. I'm glad I won't be watching this show any more.

[canter]

Has anyone figured out what the episode title refers to -- B.J. and the A.C. ?

I'm pretty sure it's not 'Blow Job and the Air Conditioning', though that would be an awesome name for a garage rock band.

Ha, yes it would! I assumed it meant Baby Jesus and the ... Anti-Christ, maybe? Not sure about the AC part. Accidental Cocksighting? Apathetic Cult? Annoying Christine? Aggravated Chief? Edited July 21, 2014 by canter

[larapu2000]

Has anyone figured out what the episode title refers to -- B.J. and the A.C. ?

 

Yes, I think the BJ is for "Baby Jesus" and the AC is the anti-christ.  Which I find interesting when you consider the other "baby" on the show-Christine's unborn fetus.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Yes, I think the BJ is for "Baby Jesus" and the AC is the anti-christ.  Which I find interesting when you consider the other "baby" on the show-Christine's unborn fetus.

 

I thought maybe the episode title was a play on tv show 'BJ and the Bear' -- so who was the truck driver and who was the orangutan ?

[Milaxx]

Just curious, but did you know that those weren't real bodies from the book, or did I just miss something when I watched the show? If you didn't post that, I would have had no idea.

I haven't read the book. In addition to the guy saying something about the rich guys paying a lot for it the tag on the shroud indicated it was a doll as well. I think the call Tommy received may also have mentioned it. Whatever it was  thought it was fairly obvious that those were dolls. Until I started seeing post like yours I had no idea it wasn't obvious to everyone watching.

[ganesh]

For a show that doesn't want to talk much about the central mystery, it's practically shouting "IT WAS RELIGION" from the rooftops. 

 

SHUT UP SAD VIOLIN! Ugh. Too much.

 

And oh, I'm giving you the silent treatment but my friend here will read my letter to you as I wait and listen because that's the mature thing to do.

 

And when the chief gets (justifiably) upset because of the whole situation, Liv Tyler is going to just keep reading the letter even though she was asked to stop. I mean, come on, you want to get a divorce? Then you sit down and talk about it like adults.

 

I could buy that she (are we calling her Judge Amy?) joined the cult because the chief cheated on her. That's fair. But there needs to be some tip to the audience that was the motivation. 

 

The twins are the best part of this show right now.

 

They're actually not bad kids. The daughter is insufferable though. Having your dad be chief of police probably means everyone knows you and that's legit annoying. But he doesn't seem to be a hard ass parent. He leaves her money and she basically can go out with friends like a normal teen. Constantly with the attitude seems a bit much. And yeah, she's pissed about the mother? Again, there's no tip off to this. Does she know dad cheated? Same thing. I don't have to like characters on tv to watch any given show, but she's just ugh. All the time.

 

Major exception: Nora. I kind of wish the show was about her.

 

This would have been a far far more interesting show. We'd get to see all different types of people applying for benefits and learn about what kind of world this is.

 

And they are not a threat to anyone so I kind of at least respect that as well.

I think the chief would think they're a threat. We don't know if they compelled the wife to ask for a divorce, and they committed mass crime, which we didn't know to the end. 

 

Besides, you can't just show up en masse everywhere. People have to apply for permits for assembly irl for lots of things. Just because "they weren't on school" grounds isn't good enough. Speculation: what if there's a stand your ground law? Someone could shoot them because they feel threatened. This is just not well-executed.

 

While we can make plots out of our lives, I don't think most things that happen are plot driven.
I love a good slow burn series but this ain't it.

 

Most real life isn't plot driven. Television shows kind of have to be. I don't mind if there's a slow narrative like Boardwalk Empire, and that show can be sloooooow, but this episode was very meandering. Last week at least was about something. By 4 episodes, I should have an idea where the show is going, in general. 

 

So the GR are just hypocritical a$$holes? They don't speak because they no longer want to waster breath, but waste breath by smoking like chimney's. Isn't writing everything down a cheat on the wasted breath thing anyway? They are chatting/communicating just as much.

 

I said the same thing last week. It's just an affect for seemingly no reason since they're communicating frequently. I could see maybe not communicating with outsiders, but they do that too. The wife wrote a three page letter. 

 

The Ninth Doctor just had a Baby Jesus lying around.

How was this not a real episode of Doctor Who? 

 

But it still feels like I'm doing the writers' work for them. 

 

A fanwank here and there isn't bad. But there's no framework/show paradigm in place. The weirder the concept and the more you need viewers to buy in, the more you have to ground the show. I don't mind figuring things out, but with so little to go on, there's no there to the show. 

 

About the GR... When Tom was sitting at the bus stop, were the people who approached him with the blank flyer also GR? So they exist in other cities, too? Because I assume he wasn't in his hometown at the time.

 

That's what I got from it too. This is a great example. Ok, there's GR in other cities. This makes sense and it took 15 seconds to establish. This is world-building. How the chief would be investigating the GR and not have talked to other cities' chiefs or not have information on his board to that end is just poor. 

[seamusk]

Besides, you can't just show up en masse everywhere. People have to apply for permits for assembly irl for lots of things. Just because "they weren't on school" grounds isn't good enough. Speculation: what if there's a stand your ground law? Someone could shoot them because they feel threatened. This is just not well-executed.

No, you don't need permits to protest from a public space where you are not blocking pedestrian or vehicular traffic.  Not in general anyhow.  There might be a specific ordinance for public safety purposes that covers particular areas such as public parks.  But even there, large groups can gather/assemble at will in most circumstances without the need for permits.  And in this case, gathering along a public right of way outside the school grounds to protest is perfectly legitimate and Constitutionally protected.

[ganesh]

I wonder if they'll take advantage of the removal of the 35' barrier at abortion clinics then.

[A Boston Gal]

Oh Lord... just shoot me now. There is only hopelessness and bleakness in this Leftover World, with not even a hint of  dark, sly,  gallows humor. In normal human communities, dark humor would show itself in some way or form after a catastrophe, as a coping mechanism, if nothing else.  Perhaps that's why it's not only the under-written characters and circumstances of this show that bug me : it's the fact that no one on this show is written to react as a real person would.

Edited July 21, 2014 by A Boston Gal

[shapeshifter]

I haven't read the book. In addition to the guy saying something about the rich guys paying a lot for it the tag on the shroud indicated it was a doll as well. I think the call Tommy received may also have mentioned it. Whatever it was  thought it was fairly obvious that those were dolls. Until I started seeing post like yours I had no idea it wasn't obvious to everyone watching.

Somehow I missed it too.

But now knowing that, the episode makes more sense.

At the beginning when the plastic Not!Jesus doll was placed in the manger with all of the other figures that were cast from molds that had at one time been carefully sculpted to look like Mary, Joseph, etc.--I thought: Why don't they have a Baby Jesus sculpted for that purpose too?

So then Kevin spends time trying to fix the missing-but-replacable doll problem--stolen by his angry daughter--maybe to make him fix a problem she created--but how could she know it would become his problem?

Then we realize (well, not me, but most of the audience) that the plastic Jesus doll came from the same factory that makes plastic corpses. Never had life, never will.

And with miraculous timing, Pastor Matt puts a real baby Jesus in the manger--well, real in the sense that it was created to be that and nothing else.

The End.

[ganesh]

Oh, no, wait. Pastor Matt, played by CE, who was Jesus in The Second Coming, puts a real baby Jesus in the manger.

 

It's a Jesuspalooza.

[xlibris]

it's not only the under-written characters and circumstances of this show that bug me : it's the fact that no one on this show is written to react as a real person would.

It would be flip for me to say the woman who lost her whole family is the only normal person on this show ... but it wouldn't be far off. For the most part she's holding down a job, she's going about a daily routine, she can make a joke that isn't sardonic, she can talk to people about things other than how horrible this world is ...

 

I wonder if this show would be playing any better if it were set three months after the Departure, not three years. Everyone's emotions are still too raw and they seem to be stuck in fight-or-flight. And there's a lot of information that characters who have been living there for three years would be expected to know (like the existence of packs of feral dogs). Make it three months and all the simmering anger and frustration and confusion makes more sense.

[benteen]

The thing is, I completely by the simmering anger.  Losing your loved ones is bad enough but having them just disappear with no idea if they're ever going to come back?  That gives you no sense of closure and is absolutely awful.  I thought the pilot, picking up three years after the disappearances, was very realistic.  People are angry and have lost hope.  They either don't care (and you'll see that in little ways such as looking like a disheveled mess) or they're ready to ****ing explode as the Sheriff put it.  It's a powder keg.

[ganesh]

Yeah, but people generally need to *do something*. You'd maybe see drug use and crime on the rise. Do we see that? I would think the chief would be pissing and moaning that he's undermanned and they're constantly making arrests.

 

What we're seeing on the show doesn't seem to fit with how people would react. The chief is investigating the GR, which we now know are in other cities, but he's gotten nowhere? The guy is pretty relentless, so it's hard to believe he doesn't know where they get their money, the command structure, since other police units are doing the same thing. The FBI isn't investigating them?

 

What about the other cult. They're just now getting around to raiding the compound?

 

I do like that there's some department collecting data on the people vanished, but no one can say anything about that? It's easily proven that it's not the rapture, but I find it hard to believe that the people taken are totally random. And even if that was the case, you still need really hardcore research to prove that too. 

 

Conspiracy nuts would be screaming that it's aliens from Roswell and marching on NORAD. 

 

There's just so much tons and tons of things that should be going on. Some people are going to check out, sure. You don't make a tv show about that. What do they do with this anger? Smoke and scribble on paper? What?

 

In hindsight, I just don't buy the whole dog thing either. Neighborhood people would get together and round up the dogs. Maybe some would take them in, or take them to shelters. Unfortunately some of the dogs would have to be put down. But roaming packs of feral dogs is the least likely outcome in what's still pretty a civil and lawful society. 

 

There's so much that's just off. I'd be more likely to buy that this is all taking place maybe a year out rather than three. Given that my wife is locked up in the GR for who knows how long, I'd have way way more on them and/or be arresting them for anything that would stick, if not just holding them for the 24 hours to see if anyone broke. Telling people to call the police and file a report if they're being stalked. I can think of a million things to do.

[Shermie]

Sure, some people are angry or sad or feeling hopeless. But everyone? Statistically, many people would not have lost a direct family member or friend, so many people,should be okay. Even those who,lost someone - not everyone is going to perpetually despondent. People go missing in real life too, with no body (or answers) ever found, yet they go on.

The show is trying too hard to be HBO-ish. Oh so pretentious. Start with a long pointless scene about the making of dolls in a factory? Those two minutes could have been better spent on plot progression.

[loki567]

 

Sure, some people are angry or sad or feeling hopeless. But everyone? Statistically, many people would not have lost a direct family member or friend, so many people,should be okay. Even those who,lost someone - not everyone is going to perpetually despondent. People go missing in real life too, with no body (or answers) ever found, yet they go on.

 

All the complaints leveled at the show, fairly or unfairly, this is the one I never get. "People should get over it and stop acting so sad," what? It's basically the Rapture! 9/11 changed the entire fabric of the country even if you didn't know anyone directly affected by the attack. Not only millions disappearing, but not getting any real closure on it? This would be a thousand times worse.