S01.E03: The Dollhouse

[Pallas]

The Yellowjackets debate the merits of probably dying while staying put, or probably dying while looking for shelter. 

[Black Knight]

Ooo! New episode up now!

I wondered why the girls were already burying people, but learning we've jumped ahead 3 days, that makes sense.

I'm not sure why the question of whether to go to the lake a few miles away had to be all-or-nothing - they could just as easily have left some people behind (especially the coach) - because these are girls in great shape. I guess it was mainly to show that Jackie, for all her supposed "influence" doesn't really have much right now. In any case, having the availability of fresh water means they can be in starvation mode for a lot longer than otherwise.

So we got some of Misty and Nat's road trip, as I hoped we would, and this was confirmation that Nat was suspicious that Misty tampered with her car. She was not surprised to find that evidence. Also I got a better look at that driver's license photo Misty had, and Travis is going by John now. That really indicates some serious guilt/complicity, for him to change his name.

Taissa having hired the "reporter" was a great twist, and it makes sense. Of course if she wanted to run for office she really had to check up on how committed the other survivors were to keeping their mouths shut. Does that mean she could be the one who sent the postcards, too, as a way of shaking up the others? She had such a non-reaction to hers, which would make sense if she knew she'd sent it to herself.

Okay, so there is something sort of sapphic going on between both Taissa and Van, and Jackie and Shauna. Taissa was eyeing up Van in the lake, and I'm pretty sure that girl who was talking to Jackie about having their lockers next to each other was the same girl who seemed to be flirting with Jackie at the party in the first episode, right when the fight started. And yet Jackie was looking at Shauna and Shauna didn't seem to entirely like Jackie talking to that girl. BTW, it was a nice moment when Jackie comforted Shauna even though she clearly wasn't really sure of what she was saying about how they'd already survived the worst.

So Taissa was paying for Nat's rehab, meaning Nat may not be as rich as we thought? And who was the blonde woman Taissa was looking at on her computer? She seems totally committed to her wife, so I don't think it's anything like cheating.

Misty seems to have a crush on the assistant coach, Ben.

A man with no eyes scaring kid Taissa's grandmother? Ugh, I really don't want this show to have any supernatural elements. There is no shortage of drama without adding in supernatural stuff.

Holy shit. I was all "Travis killed himself?" and then they said Travis didn't kill himself. I had tried to figure out what Misty was putting in her pocket at Travis's cabin earlier, and it was that note. What was Natalie right about? I'm kind of glad Travis is dead, only in that it puts an end to the triangle it seemed there might be with Natalie, Travis and Kevin.

One final thing: Why did Travis say to Javi that their dad was a dick? Yeah, there was a tension in that family, but Travis seemed to care when he saw his dad impaled on the tree branch. The coach's wife's coldness to her husband in the first episode was something I noticed on a rewatch. So was the dad cheating maybe? I don't know if it would be with any of the soccer players. Leaving aside the statutory rape aspect, none of the girls seemed especially affected by his death. Lots of shock and horror over the circumstances, yes, but I didn't see any "my lover is dead"-type grief.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

2 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

So Taissa was paying for Nat's rehab, meaning Nat may not be as rich as we thought? And who was the blonde woman Taissa was looking at on her computer? She seems totally committed to her wife, so I don't think it's anything like cheating.

 

I've forgotten what point in the episode this was, but I assumed it was another survivor she was checking up on (or maybe the daughter of the rival political candidate?). I may have missed something though.

[Black Knight]

23 minutes ago, ZootSuitWyatt said:

I've forgotten what point in the episode this was, but I assumed it was another survivor she was checking up on (or maybe the daughter of the rival political candidate?). I may have missed something though.

Oh! Yeah, I think "daughter of the rival political candidate" makes the most sense, because her call to her rival came after that scene. We were given the sense that while Taissa was willing to use that oppo research, she would prefer not to.

[WaltersHair]

This was more straightforward than the first two episodes and I liked that.

A few thoughts.

The police conveniently showed up not once, but twice at very remote and not particularly interesting places: Travis' house and the farm. Either Travis was doing some illegal stuff and was being watched, or Nat and Misty were followed.

The eyeless people phenomenon is just distraction, I think. Lottie is out of her schizophrenic medication, so she's going to start seeing or hearing all manner of supernatural things depending on how severe her condition is. Tai's son might be displaying the same condition, but very early in life.

I thought last week when Tai was desperate to find Van that there might be more there.

Adam was telling a story about how aircraft cable can hold 4,000 lbs. Coincidence?

ETA: I just realized they buried Coach Scott's leg. I'm trying hard not to giggle at that.

Edited November 28, 2021 by WaltersHair

[Black Knight]

32 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:

Tai's son might be displaying the same condition, but very early in life.

Hmm, that's a good point. If Sammy is Taissa's biological son, then he could have inherited the condition from her grandmother who was seeing an eyeless man. I'll gladly take any explanation that isn't supernatural because I really don't want this show to try to tie in the supernatural.

I've been thinking more about Travis's death - apparently, murder. Did he feel he was in danger and that's why he tried so hard to hide himself? Is there someone who wants to kill the survivors? If so, why? Does someone suspect that they killed people out in the wilderness and want to avenge their dead loved one? Or is one of the survivors protecting the secret by killing the others? (In which case Taissa would be an obvious suspect.)

[Armchair Critic]

Woof, Juliet Lewis is looking rough.

[WaltersHair]

2 hours ago, Black Knight said:

 

I've been thinking more about Travis's death - apparently, murder.

I just did a re-watch because I'm lazy today. The detective that's secretly working for Taissa said "Some of you guys just love living off the grid." Travis may have been contacted by this woman who is implying that people are talking. He got drunk then despondent and hung himself.

Or it could be murder. With this show, I'm hedging my bets.

[Armchair Critic]

The guy whose car Shawna hit is setting her up? 

[susannot]

1 hour ago, Armchair Critic said:

Woof, Juliet Lewis is looking rough.

Her character requires it.

[Armchair Critic]

46 minutes ago, susannot said:

Her character requires it.

That may be, but her face looks rough for her age.

[Black Knight]

So I rewatched today and picked up a lot of stuff that went by me last night when it was late.

So the people who died in the plane crash were the two pilots, the flight attendant, the head coach, and "Rachel," the only girl. I'd complained previously about nobody seeming to be affected by their teammates' deaths, but that was explained here, there was only one death and they basically didn't know her. BUT - they mentioned at the graveside that the reason they didn't know her was because she had just come up from JV. Did she come up from JV to take Allie's place?

I also smiled at the callback to the interviews at the start of the pilot, this time to the hilariously bitter math teacher who complained none of the girls gave a good goddamn about trig. But at the graveside one of the girls mentioned Rachel never mixed up her secants and cosecants in trig, which means she herself knows them too. Hey hilariously bitter math teacher! There were at least two girls who cared about trig!

I'd missed the political ad and so didn't really get why Taissa was so triggered beyond just a basic "don't attack me, asshole" reflex. But OMG, that reference to "cannibalizing our taxes" over a shot of Taissa eating meat. Yeah, I see why she was out for blood. And why she seems to feel somebody is probably talking.

Interesting that as soon as Taissa heard someone was calling her from jail she knew it had to be Nat. Nat, and Nat and Travis, obviously have a long history. Taissa complained about how toxic Nat and Travis were together, too. Right now Travis doesn't seem like that bad a guy - sure, he's mean to his brother and he's surly, but he's grieving his dad. His line about how you can't even tell what the woman's favorite book is in the porn picture was funny.

Misty could have tried a lot harder to keep Nat from seeing Travis's dead body. She clearly wanted the hurt/comfort thing, just like that other moment with Ben in this episode.

Shauna and Adam bonding over extremely fitting Vonnegut quotes. I still think he's a plant - and that airplane cable thing WaltersHair pointed out upthread really struck me when looking at Travis's dead body dangling off the end of that long chain - but they do have chemistry.

They made a small point of showing us Shauna's choice of air freshener scent for her car: pine. You know, I kind of suspect that just like Misty clearly sees those 19 months as the best time of her life, Shauna does too. She surrounds herself with a scent that would remind her of that time. She got all hot and bothered and sexually aggressive with Jeff after killing and preparing that rabbit for dinner.

There are times when Jackie really is a good friend to Shauna, and when Shauna played the "I'm scared and really need my best friend" card, that was one. Jackie let her annoyance about Shauna's vote go and comforted her.

The moment of the episode goes to Juliette Lewis, when Nat saw what snack Misty had chosen for herself: "Jerky. Really?" That might be the darkest humor yet. And of course Christina Ricci's attitude about it: What? Just because they turned their teammates into jerky, what's the problem with her eating it now! Heh.

[Kristi800]

Quote

Woof, Juliet Lewis is looking rough.

She is, and she's also older than the rest of the cast.

And Misty playing the soundtrack from "Cats". So her. 

I would not want to be Taissa's rival and be on the end of her revenge. 

Not sure if I'd just go running into the lake that you have no idea what's in there! Just me? 

[BitterApple]

This episode has so much to digest, I'm going to need to watch it a couple more times to pick up on everything. 

"Jessica" working for Taissa was a twist I did not see coming. 

I'm curious about Adam, because he is most definitely not a random guy wanting to bang Shauna. He was clearly following her and knew she would be emotionally vulnerable in that moment.

Did anyone see what Travis wrote on that piece of paper? With regards to Travis' murder, my first thought was Taissa. Maybe Travis got tired of living in poverty and said yes to the fake seven-figure book deal? Also interesting that Tai refused to use her connections to get Natalie out of a New Hampshire jail. Conveniently avoiding a trail that would tie her to a guy who's discovered dead later on that night.

Back at the crash site, I'm a bit surprised no one's suggested trying to figure out where they are. I understand these girls aren't navigators, but pilots have all kinds of charts and maps in the cockpit. If there was a route mapped out with the intended deviation, that should give them a rough guesstimate based on how long they were in flight. 

Edited November 29, 2021 by BitterApple

[paulvdb]

1 hour ago, BitterApple said:

Did anyone see what Travis wrote on that piece of paper?

"Tell Nat she was right"

[Tipsymcstagger]

I’m really loving this show so far. I wish it were bingeable tho. I hate waiting a week for new episodes. The pandemic has made me very impatient for my tv “fixes”. 😄

I’m gonna need to rewatch to confirm this -but the blonde woman on Taissa’s computer may be Jeff’s mistress? She may be on Taissa’s payroll as well figuring a little pillow talk may lead to loose lips. Just a thought as it seems like that’s the role that Adam appears to be playing with Shauna. I guess we’ll see…

[Black Knight]

11 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Back at the crash site, I'm a bit surprised no one's suggested trying to figure out where they are. I understand these girls aren't navigators, but pilots have all kinds of charts and maps in the cockpit. If there was a route mapped out with the intended deviation, that should give them a rough guesstimate based on how long they were in flight. 

The show did skip from the first night in the woods to their third day there, so we've missed a lot of discussions. They may well have thought of it but found that the maps blew away or were burned up or whatever. They seem mindful of looking for anything they can use. They got all the food and drink and luggage out of the plane, they re-purposed airplane fragments to dig those graves, Van took the compass from the cockpit before they set off for the lake, and Taissa reminded everyone to search the cabin for anything of use.

[BitterApple]

I'm curious to see: who do you all think will be the first to die?

My money's on Coach Scott. I think he'll go one of two ways. Misty will kill him after he's not as appreciative of her as she expects or he'll be the first one sacrificed for food. He's dead weight. Taking up resources but unable to contribute anything to the group. 

I also think someone will be killed by wolves, and my guess is Van. Wolves seem to be a major trigger for Taissa and there must be a reason why. 

[Black Knight]

Coach Scott does seem the likeliest to die first, unless there's some random attack by bears or wolves. (The Van theory for wolves is a good one, but I don't think it'll happen soon. There's too much with her and Tai and Jackie to mine first.) I don't think the group as a whole is close yet to "we need to eliminate people who are a waste of resources" and he is also the one adult and so has knowledge that they don't. (He explained that yes, a pack of wolves could take down a bear.) Plus they have affection for him. They weren't willing to leave him behind even though hauling him to the lake was quite the ordeal. I thought he was dead for sure when he hit Misty, LOL, but it actually seemed to bond her to him more. She called him Ben for the first time and snuggled him.

I think it'll be a more prosaic explanation for his death: Gangrene. Flies are already circling him. And what will be a step "forward" (that feels wrong to say) for the girls from his death is that it is probably when the first discussion about cannibalism occurs. The previous bodies would have been useless by the time the girls realized rescue will be long enough in coming that food is a problem. But now they know that.

[WaltersHair]

Re: their location. The pilots said something about going around a storm and seeing the Canadian Rockies. I pay attention to pilot announcements because they'll tell you what's going on when the flight attendants can't/won't.

Also, the shoreline on that lake suggests it floods and recedes. There's enough real estate to spell out a giant SOS with rocks, at least for the time being and before the first snowfall.

I know they're high school girls, but Shauna has been accepted to Brown. They aren't dumb.

[Tatum]

1 hour ago, WaltersHair said:

Re: their location. The pilots said something about going around a storm and seeing the Canadian Rockies. I pay attention to pilot announcements because they'll tell you what's going on when the flight attendants can't/won't.

Also, the shoreline on that lake suggests it floods and recedes. There's enough real estate to spell out a giant SOS with rocks, at least for the time being and before the first snowfall.

I know they're high school girls, but Shauna has been accepted to Brown. They aren't dumb.

I also think it's farfetched that it would take authorities 19 months to find the girls, regardless, but it's possible Misty sabotages multiple efforts to be found. 

[Black Knight]

My suspicion is that the pilots didn't communicate an amended flight plan when they decided to go around the storm system - maybe they didn't want to deal with the additional requirements for entering another country's airspace - and so all the rescue efforts were focused on the area covered by the storm system, it being assumed that the storm is what caused the plane to go down. And probably the biggest sticking point of that is that the plane is in an entirely different country than it's supposed to be. Consequently, this would have been an American rescue effort looking in America. Canadian authorities would have had no reason to go searching the wilderness of their own country.

[BitterApple]

1 hour ago, Black Knight said:

Consequently, this would have been an American rescue effort looking in America. Canadian authorities would have had no reason to go searching the wilderness of their own country.

True, and if the girls' crashed in June*, the rescue efforts may have been thwarted. For those old enough to remember, TWA 800 exploded off of Long Island in mid-July of 1996. That flight was a Boeing 747 with 200+ people on board. Any resources or personnel still looking for the girls would've been immediately transferred to the bigger accident. The disappearance of a private charter would be put on the back burner. 

* The reason I'm going with June is because Allie complained about missing prom, and most proms are at the end of the school year. 

[BitterApple]

So I just did a re-watch and noticed a few more things:

Misty had a rabbit's foot in her glove box. 

Jessica was at the same gas station as Nat and Misty when she talked with Taissa. I'm assuming she followed them and called the police (twice). 

When Coach Scott had his meltdown he was slapping at the air screaming, "What do you want?." That prompted Taissa's flashback of her grandmother and the man with no eyes. I'm thinking Black Knight is right and he's likely on the verge of death due to infection. The preview for next week showed a hand sticking out of a freshly dug grave. 

I agree Adam is working for someone. The average American wouldn't even know who Vonnegut is let alone recognize a quote. A woman who once scored early admission to the Ivy League, however, likely would. He definitely has a dossier on Shauna and knows what buttons to push.

And finally, Snackwells! I thought that box looked familiar! I used to eat those things by the dozens back in high school!

[Black Knight]

@BitterApple - what a great catch about Jessica at the same gas station as Nat and Misty! And it makes so much sense, two survivors joining up and heading in the direction of another survivor is totally something that would grab her attention and have her making following them (and calling the police on them, to hinder their efforts) priority #1. And wait - THAT'S why Taissa knew the phone call from jail was from Nat! Jessica must have called Taissa and updated her after getting Nat and Misty arrested for breaking and entering. Damn, this show is really great about the little details.

And speaking of little details, so the rabbit/bunny motif isn't only Shauna's, then. This show really likes its motifs. I've noticed how often the women are wearing gold necklaces - clearly meant to make us think of Jackie's gold heart necklace that she loaned Shauna, which the dead girl in the opening sequence seemed to have. Shauna of course has bunny decorations all over her house (more evidence she actually really loved the time in the wilderness), which her daughter even commented on, in addition to regularly killing rabbits. And the eyeless thing is also around - not just the stuff in this episode, but Laura Lee's teddy bear was missing an eye, too.

Okay, the comment about the average American not knowing who Vonnegut is hurt my heart. But yeah, they established in the pilot that Shauna is big on literature - she was watching Jeopardy and was irritated by the contestant who guessed The Great Gatsby instead of Paradise Lost. Adam has totally been filled in by someone who knows Shauna. Taissa certainly seems the likeliest.

(Part of the plot from the Vonnegut novel Adam quoted involves someone really having feelings for another character after all. Stand-in for Adam? He seemed to feel guilty/conflicted at the end about actually going into the hotel room.)

[bilgistic]

2 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Okay, the comment about the average American not knowing who Vonnegut is hurt my heart.

Mine, too. I read Vonnegut in high school. Lots of kids do, or maybe only people my age used to. (I graduated high school in 1993.) Harrison Bergeron is my favorite Vonnegut short story.

[Dowel Jones]

9 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

There's enough real estate to spell out a giant SOS with rocks, at least for the time being and before the first snowfall.

Not to mention making a large bonfire out of green tree limbs and keeping it going during the day to produce as much smoke as possible.

[WaltersHair]

Quote

THAT'S why Taissa knew the phone call from jail was from Nat!

When Natalie called from jail, she did a collect call and said her name. I've watched way too many episodes of Love After Lockup and that's how they make a jail call: their name is recorded in their own voice so you know that it's a person you recognize and not just your other friend Natalie who lives next door. And it's so you'll accept the charges.

I didn't mention it before, but Lottie wore a rabbit coat on the plane. Those things were the bane of my high school existence. Everyone wore them, they were hella expensive and I just couldn't see the draw. So add that to the rabbit theme.

[Yakima]

Ignoring all the ludicrous stuff in this show one thing that just really stands out for me is that they find that cabin, And that cabin is full of processed lumber and heavy timbers, glass windows, tools, furniture and none of that got carried in there on someone's back.  There would have to be a road out.  

 

[Dowel Jones]

It's possible it could have been flown in by helicopter at great expense.  I know of a large cabin up in the Golden Trout Wilderness in California that was constructed that way (before it was a wilderness, but still way off road).  Unlikely, though.

[sacrebleu]

So, they find an abandoned cabin, scour it for food, but no one checks the loft for food or supplies, or the source of the smell. And the girl who DOES find the body doesn't scream, or tell anyone, and just, hangs out in the loft with a corpse?

I know they wanted to have the creepy reveal of the corpse, but finding a dead body would still be creepy in broad daylight. 

[tennisgurl]

Of course Misty still keeps beef jerky around, her time in Lord of the Flies Winter Edition was probably the best time of her life. Her adult self and teen self are both super creepy, huge kudos to both actresses. She just feels really off, not enough that she cant blend into regular society, but definitely off in a way that people can sense when they spend some time with her. Even without the plane crash she probably still could have ended up killing people. I also laughed at her playing the soundtrack for Cats, that's so on brand.

I don't know why it had to be all or nothing when deciding to leave the crash site or go to the cabin, it didn't seem that far away they could have presumably had some people stick around, especially with their coach who lost his leg. I was wondering why none of the girls seemed all that upset about the deaths themselves, other then the coach, so the funeral explained that only one girl died and they didn't know her that well, while the rest of the deaths were the flight attendant and pilots. I am guessing that the assistant coach will be the next person to go, he's the only adult left and someone they know, if he dies then the girls will not only have lost someone they actually know but will have lost the last adult among them, it would make the situation immediately more desperate. Right now the girls are mostly still just waiting for rescue, no one is in purely survival mode quite yet, but losing the only real authority figure they have left could lead to quickly to more panic. 

I totally should have seen Taissa being behind the "reporter, it makes perfect sense that she would be feeling out the other survivors to see if they will talk as she gears up for her campaign. The flashbacks to her grandma were pretty creepy, I don't think that they are going to go with her actually being haunted by a ghost, I am guessing that Taissa somehow influenced her son, possibly subconsciously, or that its somethin whoever is stalking them did. Maybe Taissa told someone in the wild about her grandma? 

My first thought was definitely that Travis killed himself, but Nat seems pretty convinced that it was murder. Its too bad, I was really curious about adult Travis.

I think this is the first time we have seen opening credits, they look really cool and eerie. 

Edited November 30, 2021 by tennisgurl

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

 

I don't know why it had to be all or nothing when deciding to leave the crash site or go to the cabin, it didn't seem that far away they could have presumably had some people stick around, especially with their coach who lost his leg.

Initially, I thought the same, but logically it had to be all or nothing. Tai's best guess was the lake was around 4-5 miles away. We know it ended up being longer, and they were winging their way through the woods. If they split up and rescue didn't come, the plane group would be out of water and the lake group would have to trek back to help transport Coach Scott. Assuming they didn't get lost, some of them would be walking 15+ miles in hilly terrain in a span of three days, with little food to sustain them. Even for girls in top shape, that would be strenuous. It makes more sense to move in one shot, rather than risk so many variables.

[calliope1975]

When Taissa's son said she wasn't the "bad one" I immediately thought he was referring to his other mom and she was being abusive. Then, when Taissa had her long contemplative moment, I thought there would be a confrontation, but then she pulled up her opponent's daughter's picture and I realized I read that scene completely wrong. I wonder who/what he's referring to. (I also hope this doesn't go supernatural because I don't think it needs it. There's enough drama as is.)

[MCMLXXVII]

Did the show ever tell us where they were flying to for nationals? I’m assuming the Pacific Northwest going by the terrain.

It’s also a bit odd that we haven’t seen any of the girls’ parents in the present day, since most would still be living. I wouldn’t mind getting a “how the town reacted to the crash at the time” perspective. The girls would have likely been on Dateline or Oprah upon their rescue- “missing white woman syndrome” times 10.

[ZootSuitWyatt]

2 hours ago, MCMLXXVII said:

Did the show ever tell us where they were flying to for nationals? I’m assuming the Pacific Northwest going by the terrain.

It’s also a bit odd that we haven’t seen any of the girls’ parents in the present day, since most would still be living. I wouldn’t mind getting a “how the town reacted to the crash at the time” perspective. The girls would have likely been on Dateline or Oprah upon their rescue- “missing white woman syndrome” times 10.

Seattle. I believe the pilot said they went further north to avoid a storm somewhere on the way and they crashed in Canada (show descriptions say Ontario but the terrain looks more like the Canadian Rockies).

[BitterApple]

I think this episode had the most dark humor/unintentionally funny moments thus far. In addition to "Jerky,?" burying the leg and the Cats soundtrack, there's:

"Close your eyes and pretend it's bacon." (That'll come in handy down the line).

"Take off your shirt and I'll squirt you."

Jackie's: "The worst is behind us... we'll be fine... (Yikes).

Misty excited at the prospect of being mistaken for a hooker. She is so batshit crazy and I can't look away.

Edited December 1, 2021 by BitterApple

[Tatum]

On 11/28/2021 at 5:06 PM, Black Knight said:

You know, I kind of suspect that just like Misty clearly sees those 19 months as the best time of her life, Shauna does too. She surrounds herself with a scent that would remind her of that time. She got all hot and bothered and sexually aggressive with Jeff after killing and preparing that rabbit for dinner.

Well adult Shauna's life does really suck. It appears she never went to Brown, or any college, and did not have any kind of career. Based on the wedding pictures, she married Jeff fairly soon after returning (I assume adult Shauna is 42-43, and was somewhere between 19 and 20 when she returned home, and was around 25 when she had her daughter). She has no friends, spends her days ironing and running errands, she and her husband are next to broke and seem to kind of despise each other. I can see why Shauna wasn't able to just slip into carefree college student mode when she returned, but you'd think she would blame the plane crash as derailing her life. Then again, in the pilot episode, Jessica said as much and Shauna got offended and said, you don't know anything about me.

[Armchair Critic]

I started watching this not expecting much, but I am enjoying it and it's the type of show I think about after watching. I like how it's suspenseful and the women are around my age so I can relate. Wish I could binge watch, it's hard to wait a week between episodes.

[Black Knight]

16 hours ago, MCMLXXVII said:

It’s also a bit odd that we haven’t seen any of the girls’ parents in the present day, since most would still be living.

I've noticed that too. We also saw hardly any in the past, either. I suspect with such a large cast they didn't want to have to cast parents in two timelines. Maybe they'll provide story reasons for their absences, e.g. Taissa's parents disowned her after she came out, Misty's parents realized she's a psychopath, Natalie's parents also disowned her because of behavior stemming from her addiction, and Shauna's parents...maybe they died in a car accident before the girls were found and that's a large part of why Shauna didn't go to college and married Jeff.

Part of me really wishes I could have the whole season now and the other part of me appreciates the opportunity to rewatch each ep a couple times first and speculate before moving on to the next.

[BitterApple]

I'm torn on binge vs. slow drip as well. On one hand, I'm dying to know what happens, but on the other, releasing a whole season at once makes it hard to discuss. Since everyone watches at a different pace, forums are all over the place and I can't tell you how many times I've had the suspense ruined because some asshole didn't stick to the rules and posted a spoiler. There's pros and cons to both. 

As far as the parents, maybe we'll get some throwaway lines, but I can see the dilemma in terms of casting. That's a lot of faces to keep straight when there's already multiple timelines going on as it is. But I agree, it would've been interesting to see how the families dealt with the aftermath of the crash, and how the survivors tried to reintegrate into their old lives after they were rescued. Maybe we'll see some of that in the future?

[Nicmar]

On 11/29/2021 at 6:21 PM, BitterApple said:

And finally, Snackwells! I thought that box looked familiar! I used to eat those things by the dozens back in high school!

I ate them in the mid 90's. especially the devils food on e with marshmallows 😄

[tljgator]

1 hour ago, Nicmar said:

I ate them in the mid 90's. especially the devils food on e with marshmallows 😄

In addition to Snackwells, I feel a need to shout out Umbros over bike shorts while playing soccer, lol -- the wardrobe of my sorority intramurals career.  That look said mid-90s to me before the soundtrack even kicked in. :) 

I'm also with those who wish we could avoid the supernatural elements, but thought, WAAAAALLLLTTTT, upon the son getting creepy; liking the slow reveals on folks knowing each other in the present timeline; loving Ricci getting her psycho on; appreciating the flashback casting.

(Side note: I kinda love the fact that about a dozen of us clearly all watch the same shows, lol -- hello familiar faces!)

[Black Knight]

I think we will certainly see some of what happened after the girls were rescued. There are obvious things to resolve like how it is Shauna and Jeff ended up marrying. The tricky thing of course is that they can't really show much of that timeline until they're ready to reveal the full list of who was rescued. I still think there is at least one more of "the others" out there. If they want to make the identity of one of them a season-ending cliffhanger, then that means not seeing much of the aftermath of the rescue until S2.

[Tatum]

8 hours ago, Black Knight said:

I think we will certainly see some of what happened after the girls were rescued. There are obvious things to resolve like how it is Shauna and Jeff ended up marrying. The tricky thing of course is that they can't really show much of that timeline until they're ready to reveal the full list of who was rescued. I still think there is at least one more of "the others" out there. If they want to make the identity of one of them a season-ending cliffhanger, then that means not seeing much of the aftermath of the rescue until S2.

Oh for sure there are more. Between Jackie, Van, Laura Lee, and Lottie- at least one of them has to be alive, and I am guessing most of them are. They are investing way too much time in the four girls to kill all of them off. Plus, it wouldn't be much of a reveal if the other survivors were just girls milling around in the background that never got any lines.

 

I am not sure what's going on with the eye-less man. That was quite a lot of time dedicated to that for it just to be nothing but a red herring. I don't care if the show introduces supernatural elements or keeps it to realism, but they better not just drop that or write it off as crazy old lady who influenced Taissa.

 

Ugh, one of my least favorite tropes ever in fiction- someone is desperately looking for someone else, and finds them dead, and very recently dead, like, if you had gone looking one day sooner you would have been able to talk to them. I don't see how Natalie looking could have prompted his murder/suicide since the only one who knew where she was headed was Misty. It was a very recent hanging, correct? I suppose someone could have been watching Travis and killed him once Misty and Natalie showed up looking for him? I don't think it was Taissa either. Natalie is far likelier to talk than Travis and Taissa hasn't had her killed. And she's had plenty of opportunities. Interesting that Natalie called Taissa her friend when talking to Misty.

[Black Knight]

Paying for that kind of expensive rehab - yeah, Taissa is a friend. (It would be that or blackmail and Taissa obviously would not talk to Nat civilly if it were so.)

BTW what interests me tangentially is why Shauna feels the need to contact Taissa through a burner phone. Nat and Taissa obviously don’t worry about that for their interactions. And nobody would find it odd that Taissa and Shauna talk on occasion given all they went through. Did Jeff make it some sort of condition that Shauna isn’t supposed to talk to the other survivors?

Nat and Misty had to cool their heels for a little while in jail. There was time for someone to kill Travis then. It’s not clear when he died.

[heatherchandler]

On 11/29/2021 at 6:21 PM, BitterApple said:

 

And finally, Snackwells! I thought that box looked familiar! I used to eat those things by the dozens back in high school!

Yes- Snackwells were all the rage because they were “diet” cookies, so we all ate them by the truckload!

[WaltersHair]

I think the strange symbol is actually trigonometry or at least math based

circles and triangles

[BitterApple]

There's been multiple references to trigonometry in the dialogue, so it must tie in, I just can't figure out how. 

I keep thinking about Travis, and wondering if Nat was wrong. Maybe it was a suicide and not a murder? I know he would've had to climb to the top of a crane, but it's not impossible. When Nat and Misty got to the house, there was a whiskey bottle with two glasses, implying Travis just met someone or was expecting someone. Misty finds a note that says "Tell Nat she was right." Assuming it's legit and not one of Misty's shenanigans, it would appear Travis learned something that pushed him over the edge or got him killed. To me it reads like last words, unless someone set him up to be killed at the ranch.

Nat was convinced he'd never commit suicide, but she obviously hasn't seen him in a while if he went through the trouble of a name change and hiding his existence. 

Did Jessica proposition Travis well before she followed Nat and Misty? Who made the contact that set the wheels in motion? 

[Dewey Decimate]

The way Travis' body was dangling from the crane looked super suspect. I feel like I've seen other shows in which someone hangs themselves and the rope/harness is done more realistically, in a way that looks like the neck has snapped. (Sorry, I'm actually not a serial killer, lol!) This one looked more like Travis was suspended from a torso harness. Was it a way to trim the production budget or a clue that the whole death thing is fake? The show seems well done, so I'm almost thinking the latter. Perhaps Misty or the reporter already arranged something with Travis to set up Nat?