S01.E10: Chapter 10: Chilling

[AnimeMania]

(Season Finale)

Reeling from the truth, Imogene has a choice to make. Rufus writes a second memoir.

Premiere Date: March 5, 2024     Hulu  

[Zaffy]

This post contains SPOILERS.
I am not gonna use the spoiler thingy cause this is the last episode of a whodunnit mystery series so it is all about solving the mystery.
Plus we got whodunnit in the previous episode.

This was stupid. And not because I rooted for Rufus to be Victor Sams, but because it was stupid that nobody recognized Kira. And it was also stupid that Kira decided what to do by screwing her kid in the worst way. She thought Imogene would "move on"?  How a kid ever gets over witnessing the brutal murder of her own mother? Kira it is just a psychopath that justifies her issues by blaming the 1%.
I think that it should have been 2 episodes shorter and that they overdid it with Imogene's mind palace/whatever this was.

Overall, even if the final revelation was a letdown, I did enjoy the series.
Especially aesthetically. I loved the vintage touches, the atmosphere and their clothes! Everything was quite entertaining. It was really sad to see the ship go down, I loved that ship!!

I would watch a second season, I am not sure though that I would enjoy a whole season just being about a cat and mouse game between Imogene & Co and Kira's gang. Or maybe Kira is dead and the chopped body they found at the very end of the episode belongs to her.
 

[chaifan]

In one of the threads a few episodes back, I wondered how Grandma Chun was able to go from factory worker to multi-billionaire business woman in such a short amount of time.  And now I'm wondering the same about Kira.  How did she finance being able to stage her own death and living underground?  How did she build this secret blackmail-the-uber-rich empire?  Does she go after all rich people?  What does she have against the Chuns?  And if Anna hadn't killed her own mother, would Kira have approached her with the same deal?  What was the point of that anyways?  Are we to believe Kira spent all this time - buying a vintage cruise ship, having it refurbished, setting all this up... for this?

Also, what crime has Sunil committed, and what proof would there be without Victor Sams and the servers? 

For a show with the word "Details" in the title, and supposedly all about the details, there are many lacking in the show itself.  It was beautifully shot, but the plot was all over the place.

3 hours ago, Zaffy said:

I would watch a second season, I am not sure though that I would enjoy a whole season just being about a cat and mouse game between Imogene & Co and Kira's gang. Or maybe Kira is dead and the chopped body they found at the very end of the episode belongs to her.

Eh, Imogene would totally have to get a new haircut.  And personality. 

Edited to add:  The more I think about this, the less sense it all makes...  Kira was initially on board with everyone else.  Trubitsky sees her, so he has to die.  His death is what causes "inspector Eriksen" to arrive on the ship, to investigate his death.  So what was Kira's plan in the first place, since there wouldn't have been a need for Inspector Erikson?  Just kill off the Governor, the lawyer, continue to poison Mr. Collier, then have her guys invade the ship and start the Victor Sams blackmailing part of the whole plot? 

Edited March 6 by chaifan

[Jordan Baker]

I had high hopes for this show. I thought it might be a clever mystery with interesting characters.

Alas, it was more convoluted than clever, and the characters were only mildly interesting. Some (most notably, Imogene) weren't interesting at all.

Was the ending some sort of set-up for a second season? If so, I think I'll pass.

[HelloooKitty]

Yes, excuse me, I would like to put in a request for my 10 hours back? Where do I file my ticket?

[sskrill]

Yeah, this is why I almost never watch serial shows.  What a stupid fucking ending.  Writers think they're crafty or original when they write shit like this, but really its just a ridiculous story.   

"Lets introduce 40 characters and make the culprit the only person who couldn't have done it because they're already dead.  But wait! Lets give her plastic surgery and even change her eye color, so no one who knew her could recognize her now, even her own kid!"

The thing that really sucks is there were a lot of details that leant themselves to a good storyline.

Although I still appreciate the siblings drunkenly singing Styx.  I watched that scene twice, and I'd laugh all over again if I watched it a third time.

Oh, and I liked that Leila got redeemed, and was proven not to be nutcase.

 

[PurpleTentacle]

I had the interpol agent as Viktor Sams from about episode 4 or 5. Maybe it was easier to see if you binged this, but she was really the only possible choice left.

That she was Kira I didn't see coming. Is it the same actress? I'm bad with faces. But I also think it doesn't make much sense. Imogene found Cotesworth 6 months after Kira supposedly blew up and not long after he found Viktor Sams was blackmailing the family. But in her long spiel to Imogene, Kira said that it took her a long time to put herself back together and start her blackmail business. What is it, a long time or less than 6 months? Also how did Cotesworth not figure out that the blackmail started after Kira was dead?

What was Kira even whistleblowing about? They said the blue stuff was banned in 1989. I assume it was banned in the US then and not even in China? Even if it was also banned in China, what was Alexandra supposed to do about it? She didn't have jurisdiction. And even if we put that aside, did they even use it past 89? A good part of that was set 50 years ago. Even if the show is set in current year, that would make it 1974.

Or did they use it past that time? If so why? Did they use it till Anna cleaned up? And how does not using a pigment almost bankrupt the entire company? How can that possibly be cheaper than just use another blue pigment and not pay massive amounts of hush money over decades? It's freaking blue, not platinum.

While we are at it, how can they be broke? They still have 49% stock in the company that got just bought by a massive conglomorate. Even if that conglomorate disolved the company, they would have needed to be payed market value for the stock. Not to mention the 3 billion they still had in their account. That would have been never transfared out with a paper check.

Also how did Celia get so rich? Are we really to believe that she just got there on her own with that little startup cash in her lifetime? Well maybe she built good connections to the CCP somehow. I guess I can fanwank that...

That and a bunch of coincidences that are supposedly clues. But how is it a clue that Anna and Eleanor knew each other from way back and were ex-lovers? Are we to believe Celia arranged that? If so we should have seen something to that effect. It didn't seem like it in any way, shape or form.

Unrelated nitpicks:

- It was sure very convenient for Kira that Llewellyn Mathers told nobody who she was and just did some incoherent rambling on the ships railing, before jumping to his death. This was completely out of character for Kira, to not tie up that loose end, as she tied up one earlier in the season, that set all this off, and for Mathers to not at least tell Imogene.

- Are Vitamin B12 drips really a thing? As somebody who has to supplement it because of a genetic mutations, that means I don't absorb B-Vitamins well, that seems super unnecessary. First most people don't have a deficiency in the first place and if you do, there is no need to drip it in slowly. You can inject it into your veins, into your muscles, or just under your skin. It does not matter. Your body will absorb it. It's not like hormones where you have to be a bit carefull where and how you inject them. Anywhere will do.

- Why are there ukrainian refugess on the ship? The writers do know Ukranians can just walk over the border to Poland, right? I guess the dad might not be allowed through from the ukranian side, since he is in fighting age, but why didn't the daughter and wife do that? He could have been on the ship alone. Also why would it have been so important to hide them from Interpol? They didn't do anything illegal and the owner of the ship said it was okay for them to be there. What did they think Interpol would do? There was nothing for them to do.

- Why did anybody think interpol had jurisdiction in the first place? If you are in international waters, the police of the country, the ship is registered in, has jurisdiction. Interpol only investigates crimes that span multiple countries and works together with local authorities.

 

And finally, not a plot-problem or nitpick, but a general question: Am I supposed to see this as a good ending? It sure seems like the writers want me to, but I don't see how. Yes, Kira did kill one innocent person. That was bad. She should have chosen a different path (and considering her general MO I'd say it was out of character that she didn't, but I guess the plot needed to happen). But, she is saving countless people from the rich and the corrupt. Not just in an abstract sense, she is saving their lives. Is the world really a better place with her in prison and most of her organisation destroyed? I doubt it.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 3/6/2024 at 3:18 AM, chaifan said:

In one of the threads a few episodes back, I wondered how Grandma Chun was able to go from factory worker to multi-billionaire business woman in such a short amount of time.  And now I'm wondering the same about Kira.  How did she finance being able to stage her own death and living underground?  How did she build this secret blackmail-the-uber-rich empire?  Does she go after all rich people?  What does she have against the Chuns?  And if Anna hadn't killed her own mother, would Kira have approached her with the same deal?  What was the point of that anyways?  Are we to believe Kira spent all this time - buying a vintage cruise ship, having it refurbished, setting all this up... for this?

I think she got started by blackmailing the Colliers and expanded from there. But the timeline doesn't make much sense. As I said above.

That was like 18 years ago and she only bought a stake in the ship 5 or 6 years ago.

On 3/6/2024 at 3:18 AM, chaifan said:

Also, what crime has Sunil committed, and what proof would there be without Victor Sams and the servers? 

They do have the servers though (although that they carted all of them out of there, considering how many racks we saw is ridiculous). Sunil is on the hook for aiding and abetting Kira's crimes.

On 3/6/2024 at 3:18 AM, chaifan said:

For a show with the word "Details" in the title, and supposedly all about the details, there are many lacking in the show itself.  It was beautifully shot, but the plot was all over the place.

That's for sure.

On 3/6/2024 at 3:18 AM, chaifan said:

So what was Kira's plan in the first place, since there wouldn't have been a need for Inspector Erikson?  Just kill off the Governor, the lawyer, continue to poison Mr. Collier, then have her guys invade the ship and start the Victor Sams blackmailing part of the whole plot? 

Yeah I assume so. Or maybe even less murdering and only the bomb blackmail thing. Wouldn't have made for a good TV show, but as a simple plan to get one over on the rich and corrupt it would have worked.

[chaifan]

@PurpleTentacle, I agree with everything you've said.  A million times.  This show was beautifully shot, had some fun moments, I'll tune into anything with Mandy Patinkin, and Rahul Kohli was a bonus for me.  But damn, what a mess of a plot.

Here's a new nitpick...  why blow up the ship???  Really.  What was the point of that?  Kira's intent wasn't to kill anyone - they made sure to point out the stuff about the placement of the bombs, the convenient ferry, etc.  She didn't need to destroy the servers, since she has identical ones in her secret lair that was raided at the end of the episode.  (At first, I thought she just moved her operation to the ship, which actually would have made sense, but, no.)  And if she did need to destroy the servers, there are easier ways of doing that than blowing up a ship.  Sorry, I just really liked the ship.  And it made Sunil so sad...

[shapeshifter]

On 3/8/2024 at 9:17 AM, chaifan said:

…I'll tune into anything with Mandy Patinkin, and Rahul Kohli was a bonus for me.  But damn, what a mess of a plot.

Here's a new nitpick...  why blow up the ship???  Really.  What was the point of that?  Kira's intent wasn't to kill anyone - they made sure to point out the stuff about the placement of the bombs, the convenient ferry, etc.  She didn't need to destroy the servers, since she has identical ones in her secret lair that was raided at the end of the episode.  (At first, I thought she just moved her operation to the ship, which actually would have made sense, but, no.)  And if she did need to destroy the servers, there are easier ways of doing that than blowing up a ship.  Sorry, I just really liked the ship.  And it made Sunil so sad...

I guess because the mother Imogene had worshipped turned out to be a monster who destroyed everything? I really don't know. I must've missed a lot of plot points.

But a lot of us did tune in for Mandy Patinkin, so here's the show that could have been — from Late Night with David Letterman, aired July 20, 1989:

 

[Maurina]

On 3/8/2024 at 4:23 AM, PurpleTentacle said:

Yes, Kira did kill one innocent person.

I was thinking that too and then I remembered the helicopter exploding.  I understand that the douchey jerks who died were awful people, but didn't she basically execute them?  For 'breaking the rules'?  Caveat - I might be getting this wrong, but I really don't want to slog through this mess of a show again to confirm

[blackwing]

I was so excited for this show.  I loved the cruise ship setting and I was hoping for a good old-fashioned murder mystery on a cruise ship.  Alas.  When I started watching this show, I commented that it seemed like it was trying hard to be a combination of White Lotus and Knives Out.  Twists for the sake of having twists.

Most of the twists were done for shock value and made little sense.  Especially Kira being alive, disguised as Hilde Eriksen, and being "Victor Sams".  All of this was for revenge?  Against the Colliers and against the Governor?  Why the need to go onto the cruise ship to do this?  Why not poison the Governor at home and set a bomb at the Collier mansion?

I agree with the comments above that a lot of this didn't make sense.

The Ukrainian refugees.  Why?  Because "Ukraine"?  They added absolutely nothing to the show.  I guess we were supposed to think they could be involved in the Victor Sams killings?  So they were just a red herring?

Why was Anna so mad at Eleanor Chun?  Why did she tell her she never wanted to see her again?  It wasn't Eleanor's fault that Collier Mills poisoned a bunch of people.  It wasn't Eleanor's fault that Lawrence has dementia, that the lawyer was Anna's real father, or that the terrible priest stole $3 billion dollars from the family.  Above all, it wasn't Eleanor's fault that Anna killed her own mother.

So because Anna killed her mom, and Kira protected her, now Kira "owns" Anna and Anna has become one of Kira's agents?  This seems to set up some plots for a Season 2.

There will have to be some big changes if I return.  Including this:

On 3/5/2024 at 8:18 PM, chaifan said:

Eh, Imogene would totally have to get a new haircut.  And personality. 

I don't know why, but I hated this hair so much.  Not just because of the dark eyebrows, but it looked like a bad wig.

1 hour ago, Maurina said:

I was thinking that too and then I remembered the helicopter exploding.  I understand that the douchey jerks who died were awful people, but didn't she basically execute them?  For 'breaking the rules'?  Caveat - I might be getting this wrong, but I really don't want to slog through this mess of a show again to confirm

The only explanation I have is that at the time, everyone on the ship thought they were going to die from the bombs.  And she needed to send a message to all of them that these was her game and her rules.  So they had better listen to her.

[blackwing]

Oh, and what was up with the episode titles?  I get that the coded words translated into the real episode titles when using "truth" as a primer.  

So TRUHABCD etc. corresponded with ABCDEFGH etc.  But what were we supposed to do with this code?  Was there something that we were supposed to play along with while watching to try and solve it to reveal some clue?  If so, I was lost.

[shapeshifter]

On 3/5/2024 at 9:18 PM, chaifan said:

Eh, Imogene would totally have to get a new haircut.…

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I don't know why, but I hated this hair so much.  Not just because of the dark eyebrows, but it looked like a bad wig.

If there are ever any PrimeTimer Awards again, I hope we get to vote for Worst Hair/Wig.

Violet Bean is lovely with dark hair.
I suggested a few episodes ago that the blond hair was to make her stand out from the other women of her age on the show. 
Then I noticed Linda Emond had almost the same wig….