S01.E05: Split Sole

[peachmangosteen]

Quote

Neveah's mom resurfaces, along with bad memories. The dancers play detective and pinpoint a suspect in Cassie's fall. Bette flips the script on Ramon.

Airs December 14th.

[In2You]

The pacing is horrible and there's too much sex in place of character writing

[Meedis]

Hey it's Ronnie from Schitt's Creek guest starring as the Mom.    That's about the coolest thing I can say about the episode.    It feels like the episodes go on a bit too long for me.    I found myself several times thinking, is it over yet?

[peachmangosteen]

45 minutes ago, Meedis said:

It feels like the episodes go on a bit too long for me.    I found myself several times thinking, is it over yet?

Any show that's more that 45 minutes per ep is ridiculous imo but yea this one in particular really doesn't need to be that long.

[meatball77]

Who was she living with in California, how did she afford pointe shoes?  Her mother killed her father after he hit her brother with a baseball bat and then the police shot her brother because they thought he was the murderer?  WTF

These episodes are way too long and they put too much into them.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, meatball77 said:

Her mother killed her father after he hit her brother with a baseball bat and then the police shot her brother because they thought he was the murderer?  

I don't know what ep things happened in so I'll tag this: 

Spoiler

It wasn't her father that her mother killed, it was just her mother's boyfriend.

 

[truther]

I've made it through this ep so far.  Agree with the general tone of the comments -- I can't tell if this show is bad, or so bad it's good.  The only things keeping me interested are the ballet, my need to know who did it, and the location shots of Chicago.  

A few specific issues in no particular order:

1. As the show moves on the editing seems to be favoring the actors who can actually act.  The actor playing Bette is lightyears ahead of some of the other kids, and I wonder if they didn't adjust the storylines accordingly.  

2. The Gossip Girl-esque voiceover narrations are really weird, because half the time they don't actually add anything.  There'll be this broody, moody show for half an hour and then suddenly somebody else starts talking about random ballet stuff, but it doesn't contribute to the plot in any way.  They should replace it with some middle-aged guy talking about socks one time just to see if anyone's paying attention.  

3. The "conversations" in this show drive me crazy.  Every single interaction ends when somebody drops a snide comment and then walks away, while the other person stands there silently (or walks back into their bathroom stall).  Every single time.  

4. Neveah's kind of a selfish brat,  Her dad's dead, her brother's in a wheelchair, her mom's in jail, and she's pissed about how it affects her dancing.  You know who else in her family has trouble dancing?

5. Everybody is so uniformly awful to everybody else (with maybe one or two exceptions) it's hard to believe they can even function in society.  I was actually laughing when June confessed to the random guy at the bar because for a moment I thought this show was going to go in a very interesting direction -- where their insular ballet world was utterly dysfunctional and sociopathic but outside that bubble was a real world of normal people.  

[Fireball]

Why why am I watching this? Bad acting, bad directing, no character development, uninteresting story, episodes are too long, too much sex, and everyone is a horrible person....

The only reason I'm still sticking around is I want to know who killed Cassie; however, I have a horrible feeling the show will get a second season and we won't find out! I do like the dancing, but there needs to be more of it. I'm actually thinking about jumping to episode 10 to find out who did it.

On 12/20/2020 at 8:14 AM, truther said:

1. As the show moves on the editing seems to be favoring the actors who can actually act.  The actor playing Bette is lightyears ahead of some of the other kids, and I wonder if they didn't adjust the storylines accordingly.  

I noticed this too. When the show started I thought it would follow Neveah's story. We saw her getting articles about her, going to the fund raising party, it was her dancing that made Ramon want to put on a different play.  I was given the impression that Neveah as a dancer was something special. 

But now it's all about Bette and her story.  Bette got the lead role in Ramon's new play, she's the one that got the girls to band together to teach Ramon a lesson, she's the one who danced through an injury because she wants the role so bad, she's the one who will do whatever it takes. Also the show gives the impression the Ramon is impressed with her dancing (we see those two dance together a lot now). Actually it feels like we only see Bette dance now.  

So I feel like the writers switched the script and decided the show was about Bette and how the poor thing is always in her sisters shadow and nobody picks her! Problem is I don't like Bette and I can't seem to feel sorry for her and route for her to succeed. 

Edited December 23, 2020 by Fireball
spelling

[In2You]

5 hours ago, Fireball said:

Why why am I watching this? Bad acting, bad directing, no character development, uninteresting story, episodes are too long, too much sex, and everyone is a horrible person....

The only reason I'm still sticking around is I want to know who killed Cassie; however, I have a horrible feeling the show will get a second season and we won't find out! I do like the dancing, but there needs to be more of it. I'm actually thinking about jumping to episode 10 to find out who did it.

I noticed this too. When the show started I thought it would follow Neveah's story. We saw her getting articles about her, going to the fund raising party, it was her dancing that made Ramon want to put on a different play.  I was given the impression that Neveah as a dancer was something special. 

But now it's all about Bette and her story.  Bette got the lead role in Ramon's new play, she's the one that got the girls to band together to teach Ramon a lesson, she's the one who danced through an injury because she wants the role so bad, she's the one who will do whatever it takes. Also the show gives the impression the Ramon is impressed with her dancing (we see those two dance together a lot now). Actually it feels like we only see Bette dance now.  

So I feel like the writers switched the script and decided the show was about Bette and how the poor thing is always in her sisters shadow and nobody picks her! Problem is I don't like Bette and I can't seem to feel sorry for her and route for her to succeed. 

It wasn't even a mystery of who killed Cassie since she's in a coma not dead.

[Fireball]

1 hour ago, In2You said:

It wasn't even a mystery of who killed Cassie since she's in a coma not dead.

Ok attempted murder. but it wasn't even exactly that.... "killed" was a bad word choice on my part.  

Edited December 23, 2020 by Fireball

[peachmangosteen]

I honestly don’t even think the person set out to kill her. It really seemed like it was an accident. I believe Cassie came at the person and that person pushed her off and then she fell backwards. I wish it would have been an actual attempted murder tbh.

[Fireball]

2 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I honestly don’t even think the person set out to kill her. It really seemed like it was an accident. I believe Cassie came at the person and that person pushed her off and then she fell backwards. I wish it would have been an actual attempted murder tbh.

True "hoodie" pushed Cassie and then she stubbled over the edge, so just an accident.  However, one would think Cassie falling from that height should be dead.... An attempted murder or murder would be more interesting. I don't know why I got it in my head that's what happened.

I think I've just talked myself out of even finishing watching this.  

[Mabinogia]

1 hour ago, Fireball said:

An attempted murder or murder would be more interesting. I don't know why I got it in my head that's what happened.

That's why you got it in your head, because it would be more interesting because if it's not murder, this is a show about a bunch of horrible people carrying on with their horrible lives after someone accidentally put one of their classmates in a coma. 

Once I realized this wasn't a murder mystery, and it wasn't the love letter to ballet that Center Stage was, and it wasn't well acted or well written and I wasn't going to get great dancing I just went online to find out who the pusher was then when I was done. It did not inspire me to continue watching. 

[Fireball]

19 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

I just went online to find out who the pusher was then when I was done. It did not inspire me to continue watching. 

I just did the same! I should have done that after the first episode; I'd have 4 hours of my life back!!!! 

[truther]

17 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I honestly don’t even think the person set out to kill her. It really seemed like it was an accident. I believe Cassie came at the person and that person pushed her off and then she fell backwards. I wish it would have been an actual attempted murder tbh.

 

17 hours ago, Fireball said:

True "hoodie" pushed Cassie and then she stubbled over the edge, so just an accident.  However, one would think Cassie falling from that height should be dead.... An attempted murder or murder would be more interesting. I don't know why I got it in my head that's what happened.

I think I've just talked myself out of even finishing watching this.  

 

15 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

That's why you got it in your head, because it would be more interesting because if it's not murder, this is a show about a bunch of horrible people carrying on with their horrible lives after someone accidentally put one of their classmates in a coma. 

Once I realized this wasn't a murder mystery, and it wasn't the love letter to ballet that Center Stage was, and it wasn't well acted or well written and I wasn't going to get great dancing I just went online to find out who the pusher was then when I was done. It did not inspire me to continue watching. 

Uh oh, I think you all have started a rush for the exits!

I watched a couple more episodes last night and it doesn't get better.  In fact it makes less sense now that it did before.  

[GaT]

I'm still watching this episode, and I don't understand how this cop still has a job, never mind being considered as doing a good job. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm old enough to remember how pay phones work, so how in the world did Neveah's mom manage to make a collect call to a pay phone?

I liked that the scene with the girl who received a care package after her mom won a $500 scratcher showed that not everyone at the school comes from a rich family (like Bette and June). It was also interesting to see that some of the other girls have jobs to pay for their expenses, but serving alcohol? That's not legal. In Chicago, you must be 21 to sell/serve alcohol.  And the school knows that their underage students are serving alcohol at a club on the weekends and even let them break curfew to do it? This from the school that doesn't allow them to have hot plates in their rooms? June only made $80 which means it would take her four more Saturdays at the beach club to pay off her current $407 debt, but I'm sure that she will rack up more commissary and costume fees by then.

I was already high fiving Shane's online hookup for using "discreet" correctly (I can't count how many times I've seen someone use "discrete" instead, which drives me crazy because I know you aren't talking about math!).

As much as I disliked the original Ripper piece, I loathe the ugly contemporary choreography of the new version.

Bette will really stop at nothing to get what she wants, from locking her best friend on the roof to turning said best friend in to the police. With friends like that, who needs enemies? And of course she doesn't hesitate to go to her sister's boyfriend, who she just staged a mini coup against, and ask for a solo, which was bad enough, but then she planned a threesome with her own sister's boyfriend? GURL.

Ramon sucks but he was right about Bette being a child. Her sister invites her and Oren over for dinner and she brings everyone else with her for a party? Really mature.

How much older is Tyler than Neveah? She said that she hadn't spoken to her mom in six years when she was ten years old (which I'm assuming is when she killed her boyfriend Greg) and then she and Tyler went to live with their grandmother in California. She then said that after their grandmother died, it was just her and Tyler. So is he several years older and he was able to be appointed her guardian? Or was she put into foster care?

Damn, how much time do these kids spend in the steam room?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 12/18/2020 at 10:23 PM, meatball77 said:

Who was she living with in California, how did she afford pointe shoes?  Her mother killed her father after he hit her brother with a baseball bat and then the police shot her brother because they thought he was the murderer?  WTF

Tyler and Neveah's father died when they were young. Afterward, their mom started making bad choices about everything (Tyler, Neveah, and the mom all agreed said this at different times). Her boyfriend Greg is the one who hit Tyler. When the mom was sent to prison, Tyler and Naveah were sent to California to live with their grandmother.

On 12/20/2020 at 7:14 AM, truther said:

The Gossip Girl-esque voiceover narrations are really weird, because half the time they don't actually add anything.  There'll be this broody, moody show for half an hour and then suddenly somebody else starts talking about random ballet stuff, but it doesn't contribute to the plot in any way.  They should replace it with some middle-aged guy talking about socks one time just to see if anyone's paying attention. 

They do this in every episode of Grey's Anatomy too. They begin and end every episode with a voiceover about doctors and surgery and medical related stuff. I usually ignore them.

[tennisgurl]

Someone tell me why I am still watching this?! Its utterly ridiculous, the characters make no sense and are all so awful and dysfunctional its amazing that they all aren't in jail already, the voice overs are annoying, much of the acting is very shaky, and even the not murder murder mystery is not all that interesting. With the amount of deeply messed up weirdos running around the place all gunning for Cassie, it almost seems like it will go all Agatha Christie and it was all of them who killed her. 

Oh right, I love watching ballet and haven't gotten to see any in real life in a very long time. Damn it.

[sab85]

On 12/20/2020 at 9:14 AM, truther said:

I've made it through this ep so far.  Agree with the general tone of the comments -- I can't tell if this show is bad, or so bad it's good.  The only things keeping me interested are the ballet, my need to know who did it, and the location shots of Chicago.  

A few specific issues in no particular order:

1. As the show moves on the editing seems to be favoring the actors who can actually act.  The actor playing Bette is lightyears ahead of some of the other kids, and I wonder if they didn't adjust the storylines accordingly.   

It definitely seems that way. Bette-the-person is awful but Bette-the-actor is so much more tolerable than most of the others. Shane is probably the only one who seems to be a somewhat decent person and actor. I would be okay if the show was 90% Bette and Shane.

Even some of the adult actors are really bad. The cop takes me out of the scene every time.

There's a club in Chicago hiring minor ballet dancers to serve alcohol? And the school is okay with this? Uh huh.