S03.E10: Revelations: Chapter Two

[AnimeMania]

(Season Finale)

Boyd is pushed to his limit as time begins to run out for someone he loves; Randall is haunted by his trauma and Victor reveals a hard truth; Tabitha's unlikely journey takes a shocking turn.

Premiere Date: November 24, 2024      MGM+     9pm

[tired and hungry]

I don't get it! Why couldn't they just follow Elgin back to the cellar?? He was going to go back there again anyway! The whole torture thing seemed like such a waste of time and now again makes Sara as a bad character...

Ughh why is everyone so cryptic all the the time??? Just say what you have to say and stop speaking in riddles!! If I had a dollar for everytime someone ran off mid conversation crying or saying "no you don't understand" instead of talking about what's happening, I'd be rich

[babyrambo]

This was the same as the previous 9 episodes, in that every character had cyclical half conversations for the majority of the runtime, with one interesting thing happening in the final 5 minutes. 

And none of it worked for me.  

The ending was the most satisfying thing to happen in weeks—Ugly Suit definitely upped the stakes but I can already see the incoming season spending way too much time mourning Jim (whose death is no great loss imo) instead of taking advantage of the new character’s potential to up the ante, as usual—but even that wasn’t great payoff IMO. A shocking ending doesn’t suddenly nullify a snoozer of a journey.
 

6 hours ago, tired and hungry said:

Just say what you have to say and stop speaking in riddles!!

Exactly. I wouldn’t mind this as much if the writing wasn’t so corny and obvious (I was more forgiving in s1 because it was finding its footing but it’s wild that it’s still so clumsy and cliche 3 years later) but it’s baffling to me that they’re still trying to coast on the mystery while leaving writing and character development to wither. The conversations are just 70% ‘you’re okay/it’s not your fault/I can’t/fuck-this-you-it/this place is evil/we need to fight back (doesn’t)’ and 30% relaying useful information but in the most convoluted way. Except for Victor, who only reveals vital information when the plot can’t indulge his secrets anymore. I know he’s a fan favorite and I get why he’s the way he is, but I thought they overplayed his naivety and hesitation this season to the point of mawkish silliness. Also everyone referring to Elgin as a kid took me out of the moment because the actor looked like a fully grown 30 something. And was so boring and wooden that his twisted actions came off as somewhat laughable. 

And I’ve said it before but the fact that  this season could’ve been condensed into 6 episodes and had almost nothing changed plot wise, is a mark of bad storytelling. I think a reduced episode count and a one time drop of each season would help make it less of a slog, but it still wouldn’t fix the writing and pacing issues. 

Because the writers clearly don’t know what to do with the allotted 10 episodes per season and are instead relying on silly & transparent padding, by way of watered down mirroring of popular horror tropes rather than actually investing in the story they’re telling in any meaningful way. And because of this, reveals that should be shocking and entertaining, end up lame and unconvincing. But I also hate the idea of reincarnation so maybe this wouldn’t work for me anyway.  

Although it’s obviously working for majority of the audience because it’s significantly risen in popularity, already gaining a 4th season renewal, which is nice for the cast & crew. It’ll probably get a 5th season to finish its story as the showrunner planned, as well. 

But I don’t care enough about anything going on to sit through another 20 episodes of this. I know this isn’t award winning television and can appreciate that the characters are likely behaving in the irritating way real people would in this situation, but I think the ‘that’s just how people are’ answer I’ve seen floating around other sites/reviews is a lazy cop out. This isn’t a documentary; characters are meant to work in tandem with the narrative. I need cohesive storytelling and not just gore and faint entertainment so I’m out. 

[PurpleTentacle]

Well, this season had about enough story for 2 to 3 episodes, stretched to 10, just like the last one. I'm glad that I waited till all episodes were out. Otherwise this would have been infuriating. But even with that I'm not sure if I should bother next season.

Am I totally misremembering or weren't there a bunch of far away trees? Now we are saying there is only the one? Seems like a bullshit retcon.

So I wasn't too far off with the chosen ones being psychically connected and making the bracelet over and over. Only the chosen one is the same person reborn again and again and "chosen one" is a bit of a misnomer.

I had a feeling that the baby would be a replacement for the monster that died. Just didn't know that it would be the same monster.

So did they sacrifice those children in like the 60s and that's why the town looks like this and the monsters are dressed like this? If so that's time for what, 2 rebirths, including the current one? Seems a bit lame. But it would fit with the boy in white having tried to tell them what to do only once before. So we are really only in cycle two of this stuff happening? Doesn't really fit with that old camp with the weird totems around it or the stone ruins. I have my doubt there will be a satisfying conclusion at the end, that ties everything together.

So we got answers to a question we didn't even know we had (that Tabitha and Jade are reborn townsfolk). Other than that, absolutely nothing, yet again. We don't know what the evil entity is, what its nature is, why the town is there, how the town is there, why its weird (hotel sign with pool but no hotel), who the boy in white is or why he seems to be friendly, still don't even know who the old man was or what the worms were and where they came from. I guess we know that some child sacrificing ritual was involved in the creation of the place. Ladida. And of course on the other hand they piled on new mysteries, like who the guy was who killed Jim.

Speaking of, Julie in that scene was clearly from the future, short hair and all. Seems like she didn't listen, that she can't change things. Well at least Jim is dead. He was annoying the hell out of me.

Bad season of a bad show, that only keeps me coming back out of curiostiy for the mysteries. But even that curiosity is wearing off.

[PurpleTentacle]

4 hours ago, babyrambo said:

And I’ve said it before but the fact that  this season could’ve been condensed into 6 episodes and had almost nothing changed plot wise,

I think you are too generous with the 6 episodes. I really think it could be like 3.

4 hours ago, babyrambo said:

can appreciate that the characters are likely behaving in the irritating way real people would in this situation, but I think the ‘that’s just how people are’ answer I’ve seen floating around other sites/reviews is a lazy cop out.

I don't even think this is how real people are. Yes, people can make dumb decisions, fall for obvious scams from demonic entities, etc. Sure, I don't have a problem with that part (although when it happens too often it's still annoying). But people constantly not communicating, running away mid sentence, not explaining themselves, not sharing information, that isn't believable to me. They don't even have TV. What are they doing all the time? Realistic would be them all sitting together a good part of the day and swapping stories. Instead there is basically no communication at all.

I remember Lost having a similar problem, but at least there they were on a bigass island and often didn't see each other for a while. Here everybody is stuck in a small town. And with Lost the problem wasn't even as bad as it is here...

[chrisrose]

On 11/24/2024 at 4:59 AM, tired and hungry said:

I don't get it! Why couldn't they just follow Elgin back to the cellar?? He was going to go back there again anyway! The whole torture thing seemed like such a waste of time and now again makes Sara as a bad character...

THANK YOU. All those scenes were such a waste of time, and I really didn't appreciate the whole "we have to keep Boyd's soul clean, so let's have Sara do the dirty work" thing. As if Boyd hasn't already made questionable decisions, like covering up Tillie's murder. (Which, if he hadn't done that and instead locked Fatima up in the jail for her own and everyone else's protection... maybe Elgin wouldn't have been able to kidnap her so easily.) And Boyd smashing Elgin's hand wasn't going too far? Nah, Boyd's still Our Hero. I guess we can just write Sara off though, with no hope of saving her soul? Okie doke.

But honestly, Elgin was literally on his way out and they could've just followed him to Fatima, but no. What a lazy, contrived way to delay the plot so Fatima can give birth in the cellar with the underground passage to the tunnel where they need to have Boyd see the Smiley monster in the end. I feel like maybe the writers have an idea for the "shocking reveal/ending" for their episodes, and then they write backwards from there... like, hmm, how can we get to that point and stretch things out in the meantime? I hear it's a common complaint that this show is full of filler, and I agree.

Another thing that bugs me, is all the characters just delivering exposition and telling us things they've suddenly realized/remembered, which is pretty anti-climactic. What happened to "show, don't tell"? Maybe they can't afford more flashbacks? It was so underwhelming to have Tabitha tell Jim about her past life with Jade. And how about Fatima telling Ellis and Kenny that she somehow "saw what the monsters are" - people who sacrificed their children for immortality. We didn't see her figure this out, or even have a vision/flashback. She's just... telling us. I guess some viewers are excited to get any answers at all, but I find this method of giving us information to be... not very satisfying.

But hey! Jim's dead! I was totally shocked because he was suddenly listening and apologizing and helping and having Caring Father/Husband scenes with everyone and I had NO IDEA the show might be doing that thing where they make a character more likeable before killing him off. :P

Edited November 25 by chrisrose

[babyrambo]

On 11/24/2024 at 4:41 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

I think you are too generous with the 6 episodes. I really think it could be like 3.

After rewatching S1 this weekend with a friend this who wanted to catch up, I actually think multiple seasons is too much. I love long form television but this would’ve been a perfect miniseries (maybe Lost would’ve been too but I gave up on that around S4 because I could see the (bad) writing on the wall and having read about the ending, that seems to be a smart choice—so many of these supernaturals/thrillers don’t seem to plan past the premise) because there’s very little story actually holding the thread together past the central mystery. I actually don’t think it would’ve been so bad with a 1 hour long, 13 episode run. Take away all the repetition, cut down on the characters (everyone after s1 is useless and the writers clearly don’t care to come up with compelling storylines) and tighten the narrative & timeline.  

On 11/25/2024 at 9:52 AM, chrisrose said:

Another thing that bugs me, is all the characters just delivering exposition and telling us things they've suddenly realized/remembered, which is pretty anti-climactic

I don’t get how they keep brushing over the most riveting parts of the show. I know flashbacks have been overused as a storytelling device in the last couple of years but if there ever was a show that needed to take advantage of a flashback, it’s this one. Instead they just kept the exposition train going to very dull ends. 

On 11/25/2024 at 9:52 AM, chrisrose said:

I really didn't appreciate the whole "we have to keep Boyd's soul clean, so let's have Sara do the dirty work" thing

Same! Part of my dislike of the blatant main character writing for Boyd is that he never sells heightened tension to me. I like the actor in other roles but something about his delivery is so stilted here and it doesn’t help that the writers have such a black and white view of morality that even when they do explore nuance, they circle right back to flat depictions of good and bad. Which can make for wooden acting for all. 

But my rewatch also reminded me that the show wasn’t always so flat. Idky but as it went on, it settled into a mediocre caricature of what a good horror show would be rather than actually being interesting and creating a new lane for itself. 

And outside of this board, the show is collecting dedicated, endless praise in a way that signals a future cult classic. Definitely didn’t see that coming. 

[ShellsandCheese]

On 11/26/2024 at 2:08 PM, babyrambo said:

And outside of this board, the show is collecting dedicated, endless praise in a way that signals a future cult classic. Definitely didn’t see that coming. 

People are just jumping on the bandwagon and are about two years behind the rest of us who have watched from the beginning. Co spidering the long wait for season four, I expect some of the hype to die down - especially when people have some time to digest it all and start to recognize that nothing is really happening in the show. 

Because boy did season three drag. I found it boring and tedious. As others have stated, this season had so much filler it was ridiculous. It could have been condensed into a two hour movie. 

[Mari]

On 11/24/2024 at 3:29 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Am I totally misremembering or weren't there a bunch of far away trees? Now we are saying there is only the one? Seems like a bullshit retcon.

. . .

Well at least Jim is dead. He was annoying the hell out of me.

 

On 11/25/2024 at 8:52 AM, chrisrose said:

THANK YOU. All those scenes were such a waste of time, and I really didn't appreciate the whole "we have to keep Boyd's soul clean, so let's have Sara do the dirty work" thing. As if Boyd hasn't already made questionable decisions, like covering up Tillie's murder. (Which, if he hadn't done that and instead locked Fatima up in the jail for her own and everyone else's protection... maybe Elgin wouldn't have been able to kidnap her so easily.) And Boyd smashing Elgin's hand wasn't going too far? Nah, Boyd's still Our Hero. I guess we can just write Sara off though, with no hope of saving her soul? Okie doke.

. . .

But hey! Jim's dead! I was totally shocked because he was suddenly listening and apologizing and helping and having Caring Father/Husband scenes with everyone and I had NO IDEA the show might be doing that thing where they make a character more likeable before killing him off. :P

There did at one point seem to be more than one away tree.  I watch with a couple of friends, and the characters annoy us enough that we have a list of people who should be "treed."  

Our list can only be five people.  Going into the final episode, it was Tabitha, Jim, New Cop Lady, Fatima, and Ellis.  Jim dying opens up a spot, and the "Boyd tortures Elgin" was just obnoxious enough we're considering adding him as Jim's replacement.

[Anela]

On 11/24/2024 at 3:59 AM, tired and hungry said:

I don't get it! Why couldn't they just follow Elgin back to the cellar?? He was going to go back there again anyway! The whole torture thing seemed like such a waste of time and now again makes Sara as a bad character...

 

I was thinking the same thing! Just follow him! They didn't need more violence, or another injured person, and now Sara has undone any progress she made. That sucks. I took my headphones off, and waited until they were in the woods, to put them back on. 

They're just trying to stretch it out, and it would be better if they chose to do the opposite. To tell the story, and get it over with. I was also thinking that I miss when we had seasons that came out after months, instead of years. I don't know if I'll be interested enough to come back in 2026, although I love Harold Perrineau. 

Up until that thing like that guy from poltergeist 2, I was afraid they were going the love triangle route with Jim, Tabitha, and Jade. I wonder if Jim will come back as one of the monsters, or if they'll find a way to undo it, since it seems like their daughter can time travel. 

This had the feel of that movie where people were hooked up to machines, and looked like they were put in a coma, living a simulation playing out for them all, in their heads. I also just remembered that I thought it felt like a video game, when I watched the first season, but I can't remember why. 

Edited December 3 by Anela

[Anela]

Poltergeist had a creepy, skinny old man, who was a cult leader, and they wanted Carol Ann. That's who the one at the end, reminded me of. These things wanted Sara to kill the little boy, in the first season. I don't know why they wanted her to kill Kenny's dad, too, except that they might need to eat occasionally. And that they just enjoy fucking with people. 

They are also literal monsters in that they sacrificed their children, to achieve immortality, and this is what it made them. Some sort of vampire. But if this guy tried to warn them off, why do they keep kidnapping people into the town? However they do it. 

The Enchanted Wood was one of my favourite books, when I was a kid. I would re-read it. 

Quote

The stories take place in an enchanted wood in which a gigantic magical tree grows – the eponymous 'Faraway Tree'. The tree is so tall that its topmost branches reach into the clouds and it is wide enough to contain small houses carved into its trunk. The wood and the tree are discovered by three children who move into a house nearby. They befriend many of the residents and have adventures in magical lands that visit the top of the tree.

Against the elves' advice, the children climb the Faraway Tree. They discover that it is inhabited by magical people, including Moon-Face, Silky, The Saucepan Man, Dame Washalot, Mr. Watzisname, and the Angry Pixie, whose houses are carved into the trunk. They befriend some of these people, in particular Moon-Face and Silky. At the very top of the tree they discover a ladder which leads them to a magical land which is different on each visit, because each place moves on from the top of the tree to make way for a new land. The children are free to come and go, but they must leave before the land moves on, or they will be stuck there until that same land returns to the Faraway Tree. In various chapters, one of the children gets stuck in the land.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Faraway_Tree

Edited December 3 by Anela

[Mari]

15 hours ago, Anela said:

They are also literal monsters in that they sacrificed their children, to achieve immortality, and this is what it made them. Some sort of vampire. But if this guy tried to warn them off, why do they keep kidnapping people into the town? However they do it. 

I am desperately hoping I have not put more thought into it than the showrunners, but my current theory is a combination of "they have to eat something," and "pulling in others whose children were in the circle."

The monsters could be nourished by blood, flesh, or even by general despair/hopelessness.  All of that would require people.

How people are chosen could be having a connection to the sacrificed circle children.  Victor, his sister, and his mom were all pulled in.  Their connection would be the mom's, and the kids just got pulled along for the ride.  Same thing with Tabitha's family.  If someone on the bus--I'd guess Elgin, just based on the connection he's got--is in the right time/place, their vehicle gets pulled in, along with whomever else is on or in it.

[PurpleTentacle]

On 12/3/2024 at 10:13 AM, Anela said:

I don't know if I'll be interested enough to come back in 2026

I'm considering just coming back for the final two episode next season. The "previously on" should give me most of the plot of the season, since there is so little and any real developments are in the two final episodes anyway.

On 12/3/2024 at 10:13 AM, Anela said:

or if they'll find a way to undo it, since it seems like their daughter can time travel. 

Future daughter already tried to prevent it from happening and failed.

[General Days]

On 11/24/2024 at 4:29 PM, PurpleTentacle said:

Am I totally misremembering or weren't there a bunch of far away trees? Now we are saying there is only the one? Seems like a bullshit retcon.

 

 

I know you posted this a while ago, but what did they say on the show that made you think they're now saying there's only one Farway tree? There are definitely more than one, although Victor said the one that's also a bottle tree (which took Tabitha to the lighthouse, and took Dale...poolside) is supposedly special.

 

On 11/29/2024 at 9:36 PM, Mari said:

There did at one point seem to be more than one away tree.  I watch with a couple of friends, and the characters annoy us enough that we have a list of people who should be "treed."  

 

No, there's definitely more than one tree, because the first Farway tree that Victor shows Ethan (in S01.E04, "Between a Rock and a Farway" is not a bottle tree.

I missed whatever happened to make people think they retconned it, but I also don't think they did retcon it.