S01.E02: La Capilla

[paulvdb]

Quote

Franklin and Irene decide what to do with the mysterious man from the Chamber. Single-mother Stella grapples with revealing a family secret to teenaged daughter Toni.

Premiere date: May 20, 2022

[SunnyBeBe]

Where did the stranger come from?  I really thought that Sissy Spacek was going to  disappear….why didn’t she invite her husband to join her?

[paulvdb]

She was going to explore outside, knowing that it would probably kill her. That's why she left the letter for her husband. But then she saw the stranger and that led to a change in plans.

[SunnyBeBe]

I see.  It just seemed that them going together would have made more sense.  It’d be hard for him to manage without her.  Also, how would he explain where she went?
 

Since all episodes are available, I’ve binged and am up to 7.  Hopefully, more people will check it out.  I think it’s quite good.  The cast is amazing.  

Edited May 21, 2022 by SunnyBeBe

[iMonrey]

I liked the first episode but this one gave me pause (like, literally). All of a sudden it was about two completely different characters, with subtitles. I figured they had a portal of their own, but I don't care. I got roped in because I was interested in Irene and Franklin. This felt like a bait and switch, suddenly I'm watching a completely different show about a mother and daughter in Venezuela (?). WTF. 

This is becoming a recurring trend in TV shows lately, and I don't like it. If Episode One had begun with this story about this mother and her daughter I'd never have made it past that episode, and I probably wouldn't even have finished that episode. But now I feel like I "have" to watch that part of the story to see how it ties in with Irene and Franklin and it's pissing me off. I don't think this is a clever way to tell a story, I just think it's irritating. 

[Paloma]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

This felt like a bait and switch, suddenly I'm watching a completely different show about a mother and daughter in Venezuela (?).

I agree, but I also decided that I had to watch it to see how it ties in. At first I thought the stranger was from there, because he seemed to have a slight Spanish accent at times, but I doubt that is the connection. 

BTW, at some point they said it was Argentina (not Venezuela), but I don't know if that matters to the plot (such as it is so far).  

[CarpeFelis]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I liked the first episode but this one gave me pause (like, literally). All of a sudden it was about two completely different characters, with subtitles. I figured they had a portal of their own, but I don't care. I got roped in because I was interested in Irene and Franklin. This felt like a bait and switch, suddenly I'm watching a completely different show about a mother and daughter in Venezuela (?). WTF. 

This is becoming a recurring trend in TV shows lately, and I don't like it. If Episode One had begun with this story about this mother and her daughter I'd never have made it past that episode, and I probably wouldn't even have finished that episode. But now I feel like I "have" to watch that part of the story to see how it ties in with Irene and Franklin and it's pissing me off. I don't think this is a clever way to tell a story, I just think it's irritating. 

I had the opposite reaction. If the show continued much longer with the very depressing story of Irene’s decline, I would have hated it. It wasn’t until the other storylines began that she started to get interested in life again and do what she needed to do to start getting better. Now, if it had gone another way—Irene going outside the door to the other planet and having some sort of adventure there, rather than it being a suicidal last hurrah—that would have been interesting, too.

I don’t care much for nosy Byron. Where does he get off breaking into his neighbors’ shed and looking for something he thinks they’re hiding? What makes it any of his damn business? It also seems odd that he has a wife because he gives off some incel vibes. But I really, really dislike Franklin. He comes off misanthropic, somewhat controlling, and easily threatened.

[Paloma]

19 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

If the show continued much longer with the very depressing story of Irene’s decline, I would have hated it. It wasn’t until the other storylines began that she started to get interested in life again and do what she needed to do to start getting better. Now, if it had gone another way—Irene going outside the door to the other planet and having some sort of adventure there, rather than it being a suicidal last hurrah—that would have been interesting, too.

I was really hoping Irene would go outside so we could see what was out there (aside from what we could see from the window), but I'm guessing that may happen at some point--if not, it really will be a bait and switch. And I agree that the story of Irene's decline, as well as the very realistic picture it paints of a couple married for many decades and probably nearing the end of life, is depressing, especially for those of us who can relate to it. My husband and I are in our 70s, and though we are both physically and mentally OK at this point, we are very conscious of the likelihood of physical frailty and at least one of us needing care in the next decade or so. 

27 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

I don’t care much for nosy Byron. Where does he get off breaking into his neighbors’ shed and looking for something he thinks they’re hiding? What makes it any of his damn business? It also seems odd that he has a wife because he gives off some incel vibes.

Agree 100%. There is definitely something wrong with him beyond normal nosiness. And breaking into the shed could get him arrested if Franklin finds out, though Irene would probably stop him from reporting it.

[SnapHappy]

On 5/21/2022 at 9:53 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I see.  It just seemed that them going together would have made more sense.  It’d be hard for him to manage without her.  Also, how would he explain where she went?
 

I'm pretty sure their granddaughter Denise and Irene's medical diagnosis were behind her decision to go alone.   We find out their son committed suicide, so leaving Franklin to support Denise makes the most sense to me.  

I also REALLY can't stand Byron.  I did love when Franklin told him that basically, he didn't like him.  *LOL*  And Byron's own wife indicated they had problems before with "neighbors". 

I think Franklin is petrified of losing Irene. That, and his own probable frailties are adding to his curmudgeonly attitude.   

Edited May 26, 2022 by SnapHappy

[Paloma]

On 5/26/2022 at 10:40 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

It was sort of odd the way Denise was suddenly disillusioned with school and her career.

Well, we don't have much of a background story on her so it's hard to know if this was really sudden, but I assumed that her dissatisfaction could be a symptom of depression or other mental issues similar to what led to her father committing suicide.

[IloveKangaroos]

Friendly reminder - please be careful not to talk about future episodes. Thanks guys.

[Haleth]

@Khaleesi, did you delete my comment?  I haven’t watched beyond this episode so my comment was about this one. (It’s been a day, I don’t even remember what I said. 🤣)

[chaifan]

So far, I like it.  Superb cast!  Even a teenager that I don't hate, and that's saying something because I can't stand most child actors.  I like the Argentina story line, because it at least establishes that these portals have been around hundreds of years. 

I'm wondering if Franklin & Irene's son actually died, or went through the portal and disappeared.  Which would explain Irene's desire to go in.  Yeah, I know, no body.  But they could cover for that saying that they saw him jump off a bridge and the body was washed away never to be found, or something like that.  OK, also doesn't explain the mouse experiment, which I think was pretty smart of them.  Anyways, it's a theory...

Byron - a few years ago I learned a new term... narcissistic personality disorder.  Wanting so bad for people to like you, not understanding why they don't, having no boundaries, always believing you're right, thinking you have a right to hold public office even if it means cheating to get there...   Byron seems to fit the profile. 

[IloveKangaroos]

15 hours ago, Haleth said:

@Khaleesi, did you delete my comment?  I haven’t watched beyond this episode so my comment was about this one. (It’s been a day, I don’t even remember what I said. 🤣)

@Haleth I've hidden your comment as it wasn't what you had said, it was the post that you were replying to that was quoted in your post unfortunately. If you'd like to repost it, you're welcome to.

[Paloma]

On 5/31/2022 at 10:26 PM, chaifan said:

I'm wondering if Franklin & Irene's son actually died, or went through the portal and disappeared. 

That thought occurred to me, too.