S02.E04: Old Scars

[FormerMod-a1]

Margaret convinces Lucille to host a dinner to celebrate Jacob's return, but unexpected guests strain relations in the Langston family to the breaking point. Meanwhile, Bellamy continues to research the history of the mysterious bones, and Rachael receives unsettling news about her baby.

 

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

Margaret convinces Lucille to host a dinner to celebrate Jacob's return, but unexpected guests strain relations in the Langston family to the breaking point.

 

Having a dinner party for Jacob's return makes no sense -- since Jacob has been back for awhile, yet Margaret showed up only days ago.  Why would Margaret push for that ?  And is everyone in town aware that Margaret is back, because I doubt she would be very popular ?  Does Bellamy know about Margaret since he's in charge of tracking The Returned ?  Is the dinner party a ruse in order to get the Langston family to re-open the factory, because the factory is the most important thing in the world to Margaret ?

 

Blah, blah, blah ... Langston Family relations are strained to the breaking point -- what the hell does that even mean ?  Is the Langston family going to break up ?  Are they all going to start yelling at each other over the dinner table ? Does Fred decide to get drunk and kill his returned mother ? 

[Blue Plastic]

Supposedly they were having the party on the anniversary of Jacob's (and Barbara's) death to make it into a day of celebration because even after his Return, it was still a day of sadness for his parents, representing what they had gone through 32 years ago.  But I missed whether this was something that had been planned ahead of time or if Bitchy Grandma Margaret cooked it up on the spur of the moment.  It's just a way of her controlling the family and getting everything back the way she wants it, I think.  Letting everybody know their place and whether they are or are not wanted.

 

I actually kind of liked the dynamics at the "party."  It was much more dramatic than any dinner party my family's ever had, but it just kind of felt similar, seeing the grandma take charge and the pies and cakes on the counter and stuff.  Felt kinda cozy until the guests started arriving and all the tempers started flaring.  And now under Bitchy Grandma's influence, even Lucille is falling into line and doing just what the old biddy wants.

 

So did I get the gist of this right?  The Langstons have been fighting back Returneds for a while?  And there's only one way to kill them, and Bitchy Grandma knows what it is?

[ottoDbusdriver]

As a doctor, could Maggie possibly be a little more vague in front of patient ?  She was acting like there was something seriously wrong with Rachel's baby, but no, everything's just peachy, but the baby is on steroids for some reason.  Who writes this melodramatic shit ?

 

Mother Langston seemed to be enjoying watching Mr. Leg Brace gets strung up and then burned alive, so yeah, she's a bit of a sociopath. Why was she the only child there ? And how come she isn't oohing and aahing about all the modern technology and yet has no problem driving a modern car (they even discussed the big differences at dinner) ?  She was using silicone coated tongs in the cast iron frying pan, and never went what's this pink shit on the tongs ?  Did she even know Jacob before she died, because I thought she died before Jacob was born (since wasn't even aware of Maggie's existence) ?  So how would she know Jacob's favorite meal ? If she was a teenager in the Thirties, she would have been 60+ by the time Jacob died, yet she looks like she's 50 (or younger even, in actuality Michelle Fairley is 50).  And for good measure, Mother Langston was caught in a lie by Fred. Dun, dun, dun, dun - -so she must be evil.

 

We finally get to meet the mysterious Barbara, Fred's wife.  About bloody time, but her story was a big letdown after all these episodes.

 

Enough with the re-opening the factory -- where would they get the money for that ?  Repairing the building alone would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, let alone upgrading it and bringing it up to code, and buying new equipment.  It's never going to happen, so why do they keep pursuing this stupid plot line.  It's been abandoned for nearly 30 years.

 

Lucille needs to quit drinking at dinner -- she's kind of accusatory saying that Barbara is responsible for Jacob's death because of THE AFFAIR !!!  Only not really, but what the hell, she was at the dinner table, let's start pointing fingers.

 

Langston's Suck !!  I wonder if that's recent graffiti at the factory, but it is oh so appropriate.

 

All the Resurrected (seriously show, The Returned is already taken by a better show) are now getting sick.  I bet it's an old timey disease that they have a modern cure for.

 

So did I get the gist of this right?  The Langstons have been fighting back Returneds for a while?  And there's only one way to kill them, and Bitchy Grandma knows what it is?

 

So based on Mother Langston's flashback, the only way to permanently kill the Resurrected is to incinerate them.  Why was there nothing in Agent Bellamy's microfiche search of dead people returning to Arcadia in the 30s, because that would have been a big thing back then too.

 

@ Blue Plastic -- I totally like Bitchy Grandma better than Mother Langston -- I'm going to start using that.

 

Here's the thing I don't get -- in Season 1 the initial group of The Resurrected appeared all over the world at seemingly random locations (Jacob in China, Caleb  in Washington State, Rachel was somewhere in Michigan if I remember correctly), but now they are only appearing near where they died and with greater frequency.    But this isn't even a new thing since Mr. Leg Brace kept reappearing in Arcadia multiple times back in the 30s (did his leg brace come back with him each time ?).  And so, was it only the one guy that kept coming back because in Bitchy Grandma's story she spoke of demons (plural). So what caused the gap in people resurrecting from the 30s until now and why the change in resurrection policy with regards to WHERE they are returned and how often they returned.  

Edited October 20, 2014 by ottoDbusdriver

[anstar]

So based on Mother Langston's flashback, the only way to permanently kill the Resurrected is to incinerate them.

I don't think that's it.  She said they'd tried fire and hanging and those didn't work, but then they found the 'secret' and now only "the little girl" (she) knows it. Looks like any returned who isn't a Langston (or, in the case of Barbara, a Langston she likes) is doomed. 

 

Did she even know Jacob before she died, because I thought she died before Jacob was born (since wasn't even aware of Maggie's existence) ?  So how would she know Jacob's favorite meal ?

I'm pretty sure she did.  He recognized her when she came back. Jacob was about 10 when he died, wasn't he?  Maggie was only a baby.  Maybe 1. So if Grandma died sometime before Jacob turned, say 8(ish), she would never have known Maggie and he would have been old enough to remember her. 

For simplicity, I've decided she was born the same year as my grandmother, 1920. (She's 94 now.)  Have they said when in the "30s" this happened? If it was 32, she could have been 12 and my math holds.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Here's an interesting tidbit -- I took a look back at Season 1 Episode 2 when Agent Bellamy opened up the Langston family crypt.  Big surprise -- only two of the six drawers had names on them (Jacob and Barbara), and Bitchy Grandma's name was nowhere to be seen. But when she first shows up onscreen she first goes to a Langston headstone that also has no names carved on it.

 

While looking back at previous episodes, Henry mentions that Bitchy Grandma got sick and died before Maggie was born.  So how come Jacob never mentioned missing Grandma ever before this season, because her death would have been fresh in his memory (Bitchy Grandma even mentions that she has recent 33 year old memories, so yeah, she died not long before Jacob did) ?

[Blue Plastic]

I thought they said in a previous episode that Bitchy Grandma was 56 when she died but they haven't said what year she died, have they?  I definitely got the feeling she and Jacob had known each other.  Apparently they just didn't plan far enough ahead for there to be a grandmother character last season.  They have changed the tone of this season a lot in comparison to last.

 

I kinda liked Bitchy Grandma until this episode, and now she's taken Lucille along with her in my book.  :(  Not that I like everything about Barbara by any means, but they're taking it too far.

 

Did anybody notice the sign that was visible in the grocery store when Rachel had her pregnancy cramps and fell down?  It was advertising POP-TARDS.  LOL!  I'm sure they couldn't use the brand name Pop Tarts, but TOASTER PASTRIES would have been a lot better!

 

ETA:  Well Jacob died in 1982.  If BG died in the same year or year before, she might have been born around 1925 or 1926?  If Mr. Leg Brace was killed in 1932 she would have been only around 6 or 7 years old.  The girl actress they used looked older than that.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Blue Plastic

[Rick Kitchen]

Michelle Fairley's American accent is spot-on. (Although nobody on this show sounds like they're from Missouri).

Edited October 20, 2014 by Rick Kitchen

[Tabasco Cat]

I'm pretty sure she did.  He recognized her when she came back. Jacob was about 10 when he died, wasn't he?  Maggie was only a baby.  Maybe 1. So if Grandma died sometime before Jacob turned, say 8(ish), she would never have known Maggie and he would have been old enough to remember her. 

For simplicity, I've decided she was born the same year as my grandmother, 1920. (She's 94 now.)  Have they said when in the "30s" this happened? If it was 32, she could have been 12 and my math holds.

 

Damn you for making me end my boycott and post here again... I think this is just about right. Maggie was a baby on the day Jacob and Barbara went into the river. The guy Barbara was having an affair (and is now living) with - Sam(?) who also worked at the factory - told Maggie last season that the day Jacob and Barbara drowned he waited around the riverbank until someone came by and made sure she was safe. She (Maggie) was there in a baby carriage or stroller by the river when Barbara fell in. So yes, Maggie was probably a year old, give or take, when Jacob drowned.

 

I thought they said in a previous episode that Bitchy Grandma was 56 when she died but they haven't said what year she died, have they?  I definitely got the feeling she and Jacob had known each other.  Apparently they just didn't plan far enough ahead for there to be a grandmother character last season.  They have changed the tone of this season a lot in comparison to last.

 

I know we're all just fanwanking here, but I'd guesstimate that Grandma looked like she was maybe 12 in that hang-em-high flashback, so if that was in 1935 then she would have been born around 1923 and died in 1979 when Jacob was 7. The newspaper article from 1935 about a trucking accident (hah!) was probably the coverup story to explain the "murders", and when we saw the Grandma flashback we don't know what number murder that was. Sounds like they killed the guy 2 or 3 times. At least.

 

Still wanna know where Grandma is getting her wardrobe from. She's been gone 35 years and seems to have a change of clothes for every occasion.

 

It's almost as if the writers learned about the show's renewal back in the spring, sat down to write Season 2, and took the last script of the 1st season and started x-ing things out.... "this didn't happen, that didn't happen, forget about this part, nevermind about that other part...."

 

It's very different from Season 1 in many ways. Season 1 was only 10 episodes and they were very well written. The focus was on the characters, and that seems to be missing now. Season 2 is more like Pet Semetary Meets Cold Case. It's all about Grandma now.

 

All the Returned getting sick next week looks really lame. I seriously doubt this show will ever see a Season 3. It might not even make it through to the end of Season 2 if the ratings continue to slide.

Edited October 20, 2014 by Tabasco Cat

[ottoDbusdriver]

It's all about Grandma now.

 

And re-opening the factory.

 

Still wanna know where Grandma is getting her wardrobe from. She's been gone 35 years and seems to have a change of clothes for every occasion.

 

In the Season 2 opener, Bitchy Grandma changed clothes between when she met Jacob in the cemetery and when Henry found her gardening in the backyard. How ? Where did the clothes come from ?  And she has had different outfits (sometimes more than one) each episode that fit her perfectly, but she has yet to go shopping since she wouldn't have any money.

 

The newspaper article from 1935 about a trucking accident (hah!) was probably the coverup story to explain the "murders", and when we saw the Grandma flashback we don't know what number murder that was. Sounds like they killed the guy 2 or 3 times. At least.

 

I'm thinking that the trucking accident was legit and was the first time these men died (and why it made the paper), but the subsequent resurrections and killings were all covered up.  Did anyone else find it a little convenient that all the dead men just happened to pose for a photograph in front of a truck before they died ?  The date on the newspaper front page was October, 1935 (the day was hard to make out, but it was a single digit so somewhere between Oct. 1 and Oct. 9).

 

Not go all Seinfeld, who are these people that keep resurrecting from the dead ? And  what is the deal with all the dead birds ?  They showed another dead bird while Agent Bellamy was checking out the factory. Jacob was mildly obsessed with dead birds a couple of episodes ago.  What gives show ?

 

When Bitchy Grandma tells the tale of the demons, she says she's the only one that knows how to banish "the demons" permanently, but since Arthur Holmes came back, I don't think it's as permanent as she though it was.

[chlban]

I suspect it will make it through Season 2, only because ABC doesn't seem to have an overflow of hit shows these days, and since it isn't in last place for it's slot against the other two major networks (or at least wasn't as of last week, that could certainly change), they will let it run this season. 

 

I would bet pretty good money there will not be a season 3, so I really hope they start to give us some actual answers here. I still like Bitchy Grandma-as an addition that has at least brought a minimum of interest to the show. I really wish I could give a damn about Rachel, her look allike rival and Tom, but frankly they could lose that entire portion of the story and I would be fine. I am not even remotely interested in the baby no matter how fast it's growing.  

 

While I didn't really like seeing Francis Fishers character as a drunk bitch, I could actually buy the emotion.  Thankfully, I can only imagine the loss of a child, but I think blaming anyone and everyone would be fairly normal. So to blame the woman who, one way or another, went into the River the same day, especially considering that she was a cheating tramp, well yeah. I would be pretty ticked off too. I doubt rationality rules the day in that situation. 

[marcee]

So if Margaret believes she was brought back (as a demon) to kill all the rest of the demons who were 'resurrected' how does she explain Jacob? Is he a demon too? Why was he brought back?  The show can kind of rationalize that Rachel is a demon because she got pregnant out of wedlock and killed herself, that Barbara is a demon because she's a cheater. The cop's brother (Mikey?) is apparently pretty evil. Caleb was obviously evil. But why Jacob? And why Bellamy? And what about the entire town of Resurrected that they shipped off to who-knows-where, including the rest of Bellamy's family? Were they all demons too?

[ottoDbusdriver]

So if Margaret believes she was brought back (as a demon) to kill all the rest of the demons who were 'resurrected' how does she explain Jacob? Is he a demon too? Why was he brought back?  The show can kind of rationalize that Rachel is a demon because she got pregnant out of wedlock and killed herself, that Barbara is a demon because she's a cheater. The cop's brother (Mikey?) is apparently pretty evil. Caleb was obviously evil. But why Jacob? And why Bellamy? And what about the entire town of Resurrected that they shipped off to who-knows-where, including the rest of Bellamy's family? Were they all demons too?

 

And .. does it mean she will have to kill herself once all the other demon-killing is done ?  'Cause demons is bad and need to be put down.

[Tabasco Cat]

If Grandma's secret for getting rid of the demons ends up being cannibalism, I'll be an ex-viewer faster than you can say "Wow wow wow". Maybe the fire at the factory was a barbecue. Just sayin'. (I don't actually think they'll go there.)

 

"I thought those pork chops tasted a little gamey... Hey! Anybody seen Arthur lately?"

 

Over at futoncritic they've got the number of viewers for the 4 eps so far as 7.6, 6.2, 5.5 and 5.0 million. ABC will probably be happy as long as the numbers don't absolutely crater. It doesn't seem like a very expensive show to produce. There are almost no special effects outside of the occasional underwater shot.

 

In S1 it was a good storyline with Pastor Tom and his congregation divided about the Returned. Then OH SNAP his old girlfriend is back from having committed suicide and she's pregnant! Tom's wife can't deal with it and moves out. Now all 3 of those characters are completely one-dimensional and I'm right there with not caring about the baby one bit. We just went through (seemed like 2 whole years of it) Grimm's never-ending demon-baby pregnancy. Been there, done that. Do not want again.

[ottoDbusdriver]

In S1 it was a good storyline with Pastor Tom and his congregation divided about the Returned. Then OH SNAP his old girlfriend is back from having committed suicide and she's pregnant! Tom's wife can't deal with it and moves out. Now all 3 of those characters are completely one-dimensional and I'm right there with not caring about the baby one bit.

 

 

Don't forget, the baby has died twice now as well as Rachel.  Maybe that's why it's growing so quickly so that it can get out of her womb and doesn't rinse, lather, repeat everytime Rachel gets killed. But if Resurrected baby grows to adulthood in days like Lexi on Falling Skies or Isabelle on The 4400, I'm out.

[chlban]

One other unimportant note. Jacob has remiinded me of someone and I just could not place it, but finally figured it out last night. He looks like he could be Taylor Swift's little brother. Their faces are so close. put blond hair on him and I swear they'd look like twins.

   

I stand corrected on the Ratings as well. Looks like this show has hit a new low and is now esentially tied with "The Good Wife". 

I won't be suprised if TGW moves ahead next week. This may very well not finish out it's second season.

 

It's really a shame. There are some excellent actors on this show and the premise was great. Too bad the writers seem to have no idea what they wanted to do with th premise. 

 

Just because UTD inexplicably survived two seasons, it was during the summer with no competition. Otherwise crap like that wouldn't survive a month. Certainly this has not hit that level of crap, but figure that doesn't mean you can lead us on another wild goose chase with no logic in sight and expect us to hang in. Been there, done that and learned the lesson from "Lost".    

Edited October 20, 2014 by chlban

[MyLisa]

One detail that continues to nag at me--Mama Langston would have married into the Langston family, no?  Why is she so invested in the legacy?  And why was she hanging around as a child?  I can fanwank that her own father could have worked there, she grew up in the area, etc., but I'd just like it to be confirmed.  Or... did the factory go by a different name (i.e. her family)?

[methodwriter85]

If we go by what this says, Bitchy Grandma was born in 1927, and died exactly one year to the day before Jacob did in 1981. That would actually explain a lot about why Red shut down completely.

 

 Although that was one hell of a tall and developed 8-year old girl. Geez.

 

But if Resurrected baby grows to adulthood in days like Lexi on Falling Skies or Isabelle on The 4400, I'm out.But if Resurrected baby grows to adulthood in days like Lexi on Falling Skies or Isabelle on The 4400, I'm out.

 

 

       I would bet anything that the baby will grow into a 12-year old very fast, because that's about how old the baby should have been.

Edited October 20, 2014 by methodwriter85

[LucyEth]

Pop Tards and Langston's suck!  Two of the few things I liked about the show last night.  I thought that some light was being shed when they burned that returned guy with the brace on his leg, but that other returned guy a few weeks ago said he died in a fire.  Maybe only "returned" people can be killed permanently by fire?  Quick someone tell that poor deputy.   More questions still no good answers.  I loved Lucille unloading on them all.

[Blue Plastic]

I don't blame Lucille for being angry but there was a time and place.  Both she and Bitchy Grandma were very mean IMO to Maggie, who has done nothing wrong.  They did not take her feelings into account.  They can ream into Barbara all they want with Maggie not present and I wouldn't care.  Besides, no matter how wrong Barbara was to have an affair, there's no way she could have predicted that cheating on her husband would lead to little Jacob's death.

 

Sounds like this show is going downhill fast.  It still has some good points but maybe it should have been a one-season summer show.  It definitely seems like something that should be airing with Dome.  I want to stick with it because I'd like to see what's really supposed to be going on and they finally did give us another hint with Bitchy Grandma's "demon" story, but most everything is a mess.  The "revive the factory" storyline is soooo stupid and Pastor Tom and his harem stick out like a sore thumb and are disconnected from the rest of the show.

[chlban]

One detail that continues to nag at me--Mama Langston would have married into the Langston family, no?  Why is she so invested in the legacy?  And why was she hanging around as a child?  I can fanwank that her own father could have worked there, she grew up in the area, etc., but I'd just like it to be confirmed.  Or... did the factory go by a different name (i.e. her family)?

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Doesn't make sense. But then sitting down to a family dinner with 3 people who have recently been resurrected doesn't make a ton of sense either, so I am thinking logic isn't playing a huge role in this so far.

 

Still I would say it hasn't shifted into UTD territory, IMO. Yet. 

[Spencer Hastings]

I feel like we are finally getting somewhere at least. We know that Grandma holds the secret to the ressurected and knows how to get rid of them, which is why Arthur disappeared. We also know that there was absolutely no love lost between her and Barbara, even before they died. If grandma is truly evil, she will do away with Babs first.

Speaking of Barbara, I thought it was nice and LONG overdue that Jacob finally asked about her. His feeling the need to apologize for not saving her was also sweet. I can see where Lucille was coming from because she was a grieving mother, but she could have been a little less catty with her niece sitting right there. Yikes.

[dialyn]

I know we're not supposed to compare this series to the supposedly unrelated (but nearly parallel) French version but it feels to me as if the French version was trying to build a more ominous atmosphere, with the resurrected being more of a threat as they gradually fall apart and become more desperate, and the story became tighter toward the end (I don't know if there will be a second season) whereas this version seems to be moving toward the bickering universe of reality television where combatants talk more about what they are going to do rather than actually doing it and the story has broadened out so much that I personally am having difficulty staying interested in keeping track of all the threads.  The dinner seemed a clumsy way of getting through some exposition but did we need it to understand the poisonous dynamics?  The apology could have been made without it.  Grandmother is manipulative and destructive.  Got that.  A large amount of previously unexpressed anger was released but even that didn't make much sense....no where had Lucille expressed the notion that her son was killed by Barbara when, so far, the story was that he died while trying to save her (I guess the idea she lost 30+ years of his life and resents Barbara for that overlooks the fact that Barbara  also lost 30+ years of seeing her daughter grow up, but many people are irrational in grief).  If the grandmother knows how to get rid of selected resurrected, than why doesn't she just do it?  Why bother to move the bones....to ensure they would be found?  In what universe does it seem a good idea to rebuild a defunct furniture factory just to make resurrected grandmother happy (haven't they figured out, that's not going to do it).  Must be money in that family because that's one expensive, not to mention doomed, project.  Then there are the women connected to Pastor Tom (his wife is either going for sainthood or preparing a takeover of the baby).  I suppose we'll find out, maybe, why some of the resurrected get sick and others don't, but I'm getting to the point of not caring very much as the body count mounts up. I still can't quite reconcile the inconsistency of how people appear in different parts of the world in one part of the story, and in the same place in others (logic, I don't need no stinkin' logic).  I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have the feeling that the writers are now making this up as they go along rather than having an overall plan that will eventually make sense. So many balls in the air--some are going to come down with a thud.  I keep on watching, but I'm not sure why.

 

Edited to correct that I completely mixed Barbara and Maggie up.  I do not know why. 

Edited October 24, 2014 by dialyn

[chlban]

I don't blame Lucille for being angry but there was a time and place.  Both she and Bitchy Grandma were very mean IMO to Maggie, who has done nothing wrong.  They did not take her feelings into account.  They can ream into Barbara all they want with Maggie not present and I wouldn't care.  Besides, no matter how wrong Barbara was to have an affair, there's no way she could have predicted that cheating on her husband would lead to little Jacob's death.

 

Sounds like this show is going downhill fast.  It still has some good points but maybe it should have been a one-season summer show.  It definitely seems like something that should be airing with Dome.  I want to stick with it because I'd like to see what's really supposed to be going on and they finally did give us another hint with Bitchy Grandma's "demon" story, but most everything is a mess.  The "revive the factory" storyline is soooo stupid and Pastor Tom and his harem stick out like a sore thumb and are disconnected from the rest of the show.

I still think this is head and shoulders above UTD. Of course a blank TV screen is head and shoulders over UTD, but still. I am still linterested. I can only hope the writers know where they are going because I want to understand the whole thing with why people were coming back in the 30's and then recently. Were there returnees in between? Clearly just beause Bitchy Grandma thinks they are all demons doesn't mean they are, and I hope that is  not where they are going. One thing I still feel pretty secure about is that this isn't going to sink to the Space Aliens did it, overall, fall back position for so many of these shows. If they go there, I am definitely out, but I don't see that coming in this one.

 

Although I wish they would lose Tom and the look-a-likes, one of which is pregnant (still don't care), I am fairly interested in the rest of it. I'm even finding Fred as mildly interesting again and that's an improvement. Barring a space alien swing, I'm in for the season.    

Edited October 22, 2014 by chlban

[dialyn]

 

I'm even finding Fred as mildly interesting again and that's an improvement.

Fred goes through some pretty drastic personality changes, but I think this episode's version is the most tolerable one. Hated, hated, hated the aging Lothario / the wife abuser / the town drunk / the hysteric bigot (in regards to the resurrected).  The actor must be afraid to open his script each week since he never knows which direction his character is going (or maybe he just sees it as another acting challenge and a job).

[iMonrey]

 

Did anybody notice the sign that was visible in the grocery store when Rachel had her pregnancy cramps and fell down?  It was advertising POP-TARDS.  LOL!  I'm sure they couldn't use the brand name Pop Tarts, but TOASTER PASTRIES would have been a lot better!

 

Yeah I caught that too. Highlight of the episode, really. I'm hanging in there, because they're promising us some answers next week, but they're losing me. I still get the overall impression that they really don't know where they're going with all of this. If I'm not mistaken, the story is loosely based on a book (?) and of course, you cannot successfully adapt a finite book story into a long-running network TV show. Once you try to stretch the premise you get lost and that's what I feel is happening here.

 

 

It's almost as if the writers learned about the show's renewal back in the spring, sat down to write Season 2, and took the last script of the 1st season and started x-ing things out.... "this didn't happen, that didn't happen, forget about this part, nevermind about that other part...."

 

Yes, definitely. I feel like they've already changed gears more than once. When a show starts out as something that's potentially going to have a limited run, then gets a chance to be a regular, 22 episode-per-season series, it always goes wrong. 

[anstar]

I can see where Lucille was coming from because she was a grieving mother, but she could have been a little less catty with her niece sitting right there. Yikes.

How much wine did she have though?  She killed one bottle pretty much by herself, and then started on another. She even offered some to Fred, something I don't think she'd do if she were sober. Lucille is a mean drunk, but I felt bad for her.  It was the anniversary of her worst day ever, Grandma forced a "celebration" dinner party on her and invited Fred, who she still hasn't forgiven for trying to take Jacob away. Then Barbara shows up unexpectedly and the tension level ratchets up to 11 for everyone except Jacob, who apologizes for failing to save her.  Lucille has spent 32 years mourning her child, especially on this day. Now he's in front of her, back again and she's grateful to have him, but she's still mourning the loss of what should have been. The cognitive dissonance of that day probably had her trying to hold onto her sanity with both hands, and that was before the dysfunctional family reunion.

[chlban]

How much wine did she have though?  She killed one bottle pretty much by herself, and then started on another. She even offered some to Fred, something I don't think she'd do if she were sober. Lucille is a mean drunk, but I felt bad for her.  It was the anniversary of her worst day ever, Grandma forced a "celebration" dinner party on her and invited Fred, who she still hasn't forgiven for trying to take Jacob away. Then Barbara shows up unexpectedly and the tension level ratchets up to 11 for everyone except Jacob, who apologizes for failing to save her.  Lucille has spent 32 years mourning her child, especially on this day. Now he's in front of her, back again and she's grateful to have him, but she's still mourning the loss of what should have been. The cognitive dissonance of that day probably had her trying to hold onto her sanity with both hands, and that was before the dysfunctional family reunion.

Yes, I completely agree. Grief isn't rational and she's never had a chance to unleash her anger at Barbara . I can see the thought process. If Barabara hadn't been meeting her lover at the River, she wouldn't have fallen in and Jacob wouldn't have gone after her and died.

Add a little wine and you have a scene at dinner. Yeah it was probably unfair to Maggie, but it was also understandable in my opinion. 

 

But then I am starting to find Maggie so annoying, maybe I just don't care. 

[dr pepper]

I know we're not supposed to compare this series to the supposedly unrelated (but nearly parallel) French version but it feels to me as if the French version was trying to build a more ominous atmosphere, with the resurrected being more of a threat as they gradually fall apart and become more desperate, and the story became tighter toward the end (I don't know if there will be a second season) whereas this version seems to be moving toward the bickering universe of reality television where combatants talk more about what they are going to do rather than actually doing it and the story has broadened out so much that I personally am having difficulty staying interested in keeping track of all the threads.

 

I'm looking out for the return of the french show and hoping that its writers will take a lesson from this one on what not to do.

 

That being said, i think that the revelation that this happened before and triggered an old style torchlit monster hunt, complete with the use of some undefined ancient folk wisdom to destroy the unnatural creatures, is a positive development. That is, it suggests that the writers do have some idea where they're going and that the mystery does have a coherent explanation.

Edited October 24, 2014 by dr pepper

[ottoDbusdriver]

That is, it suggests that the writers do have some idea where they're going and that the mystery does have a coherent explanation.

 

Or they are just pulling things out of their collective asses and seeing what works, as the book this show is based on

never resolves the mystery at all.  Resurrected people just start disappearing as randomly as when they appeared and the book ends.

[jhlipton]

Enough with the re-opening the factory -- where would they get the money for that ?  Repairing the building alone would be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, let alone upgrading it and bringing it up to code, and buying new equipment.  It's never going to happen, so why do they keep pursuing this stupid plot line.  It's been abandoned for nearly 30 years.

 

Well-run factories have had to close down since they can't compete with sweatshop and slave labor overseas. So it makes even less sense that the Landston factory is going to be a huge success just because BG wills it so.

 

Here's the thing I don't get -- in Season 1 the initial group of The Resurrected appeared all over the world at seemingly random locations (Jacob in China, Caleb  in Washington State, Rachel was somewhere in Michigan if I remember correctly), but now they are only appearing near where they died and with greater frequency.

 

The long-gone and long-forgotten researcher found that the location of the Resurrection was based on when someone died and how old they were at the time of their death. This was dropped (without comment) by the time of Rachel's second third coming (so to speak), I believe.

 

But then I am starting to find Maggie so annoying, maybe I just don't care.

 

As she came upon Fred and Barbara, I said "Go away, Maggie, the adults are acting."

[EVS]

I wonder if the fetus growing more quickly will actually turn into the realization that the returned age more quickly. That would be a good way to deal with the fact that Jacob looks older this season, even though only a short time has passed, and would look even older/taller if there is a third season.

[shapeshifter]

I was going to skip this episode, but finally watched it just now.

I've never heard of apple soup before. Is it sweet like apple sauce?

...I kinda liked Bitchy Grandma until this episode, and now she's taken Lucille along with her in my book. 

Based on Henry's speech about the resurrected bringing forgiveness, and also Fred's apparent change of heart, and also the pastor's wife's saintly embrace of her husband and Rachel, I wouldn't be surprised if we soon see a sobered up, repentant Lucille apologizing to Barbara--leaving demonic grandma to stew in her own bitterness.

...Well Jacob died in 1982.  If BG died in the same year or year before, she might have been born around 1925 or 1926?  If Mr. Leg Brace was killed in 1932 she would have been only around 6 or 7 years old.  The girl actress they used looked older than that.

So Mr. Leg Brace probably died the first time when she was 6 or 7 and then started returning when she was 11 or so. Does that work?

...When Bitchy Grandma tells the tale of the demons, she says she's the only one that knows how to banish "the demons" permanently, but since Arthur Holmes came back, I don't think it's as permanent as she though it was.

So maybe burying them under the factory is the trick? Bitchy Demonic Grandma doesn't seem like the type to go for the scientific method of research, but maybe unearthing the bones and throwing them in the river was to test the theory?

[Aging Goth]

This is what I got from this episode. 

 

BG realized that the only way to "banish" the returned is to make them want to die.  That is why she went out of her way to brandish her DIL which made her DIL disappear.  In other words, the only way to banish them is the make them want to leave.  The big  brother of the deputy disappeared because he couldn't handle being sick and at the mercy of his "little" brother whom he had bullied for years.  The guy in jail disappeared because he knew he wouldn't ever get out of jail.

 

Don't know why everyone of the returned are getting sick but the authorities know about it and i truely believe they did something to the returned to kill them slowly and that is why the agent wanted Bellamy to report to her any incidents regarding the returned

 

BG took away the only happiness that her younger son ever experienced as well as took away any chance for Maggie to bond with her mother.  I just really disliked her  but kind of knew she was vindictive and controlling before this happened.

[millennium]

Did anybody notice the sign that was visible in the grocery store when Rachel had her pregnancy cramps and fell down?  It was advertising POP-TARDS.  LOL!  I'm sure they couldn't use the brand name Pop Tarts, but TOASTER PASTRIES would have been a lot better!

 

 

 

LOL, I saw that and laughed.   Pop Tards?  Really? 

[millennium]

The problem with this show is that most of the people who get screen time are "good folk" whom we see presumably when they're not busy posing for Norman Rockwell paintings.   There were a few bad seeds in the first season but they seem to have been whitewashed out.   It's all very dull.