The Fall - General Discussion

[Ravenya003]

What was carved into Rose's arm? Was it I love u and who did that and why?

 

 

It was heavily implied that she did that. As far as I could see, she carved "I love you" into her arm so that when/if her body was found her family would know she was thinking of them.

[LakeGal]

I was a bit surprised when the credits came up and I realized the episode/season was over.  I just expected more I guess.  It was an ending that needs another season.  I didn't get closure. 

[rozen]

I think they've done a fairly decent job of establishing that Jimmy is terrifyingly connected and relentless. He's the town bully, all grown up, and no one's tough enough to really stop him. Even if they'd kept Spector in a van, I can believe Jimmy would watch until he figured which one it was, then plow the whole vehicle into the ravine, if he had to. 

 

I was expecting Stella to flip the daddy issue back on Peter. Olivia is just as snowed by her 'daddeh' as Stella may have been by hers. He would probably find the idea of his daughter having some hidden sexual adulation of him pretty repugnant. His dry "unexpected" when they radio'd in that Rose as alive made me hate him so much more. Please fry him in oil, slowly. He got his jabs in, but Stella absolutely took him down during that interrogation scene. Sure, you're truly free. Enjoy that while you're imprison, with a daughter being saddled by your sadistic legacy for the rest of her life. 

 

New dude is creepy, but it would be pretty trite for him to be a nascent serial killer. I love how he got casual with her once they hit the station and she was all "don't come if I didn't send for you." Lady just had her deepest, nastiest, sexual musings thrown in her face, then went back to her hotel and banged you. She compartmentalizes like a boss, and she is your boss, literally. I like how the gray-haired cop just raised his eyebrows when they came in the same car. At least he's made no indication that he thinks he deserves a ride on the merry-go-round, unlike Chief Angsty Eyebrows. "I only tried to force/coerce you into guilt sex, it's not like I tried to kill you or anything." Stella must have been really slumming when she slept with him. 

 

Katie's friend is super dedicated, or really dumb, because I was peaced out of there asap. When Katie looked up at her like a Disney villain to confirm that of course the love of her life is a sadistic serial killer, I legit thought her friend was going to get choked to death then and there. Though I suppose there's still time for that to happen. I'm a little terrified for all the kids she's ever babysat.

Edited December 23, 2014 by rozen

[Ravenya003]

So Spector getting shot the way he did is contrived, but a magic escape, some twist at the end for the sake of twist wouldn't be?

 

 

Both would have been equally awful. What I wanted was to see Spector behind bars, facing a life of monotonous incarceration. Instead he went out grinning like a loon, apparently certain that Stella was distressed for his sake, or at least thinking that he was escaping (in a sense) justice right there in her arms.

 

That said, I've gotten over some of my initial disappointment. I think Alan Cubitt (writer) loved the idea of having Stella's prey and lover handcuffed together, and for her to make a choice between the two. And with both of them getting shot, she ran to Spector, not Merlin (sorry, it's ridiculous that we all call him this, but I can't remember the character's name!) That said, I don't believe for a SECOND that she was concerned for Spector personally. She wants him to pay for his crimes, especially after she saw "I love you" scratched into Rose's arm.

 

The "problem" is that Stella is so inscrutable that it's difficult to grasp what's going on in her head, and by proxy, what the writing intends for her. I wouldn't have it any other way, as it lends itself to this sort of discussion, but the fact that the episode ended on a cliff-hanger left too many questions up in the air, especially regarding Stella's behaviour and what we're meant to think of it.

 

I like how the gray-haired cop just raised his eyebrows when they came in the same car. At least he's made no indication that he thinks he deserves a ride on the merry-go-round, unlike Chief Angsty Eyebrows.

 

 

I actually like this guy - I think his name is Eastman (grey haired cop). Watching closely, it's apparent that he doesn't really LIKE Stella (nor she him), but he does seem to respect her. His reaction to her turning up with Merlin was amusement, not judgment, and when he questioned her decision over whether Merlin was the right guy to monitor Spector because of their respective sizes (I was thinking the same thing; Colin Morgan is a slender guy), he didn't push the issue and he DEFINITELY didn't insinuate that she had made the call because she'd spent the night with him.

 

Stella has had to put up with male bullshit from at least four other colleges (Detective McSad Eyes, Officer Who Sends Unasked For Selfies After One-Night-Stand, Barely Competent Beard Guy who makes sexist jokes, and Merlin "did we just fuck because you have the hots for the serial killer?") but after she gave Eastman her little "woman fucks man" speech, he's been off her case.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Ravenya003

[millahnna]

Inspector Merlin arresting the Evil Queen's royal huntsman under the supervision of Scully tickles me way more than it really should.

[ganesh]

I don't think the show needed this cliffhanger ending. It's just not that kind of show. I don't why just locking him up and ending it isn't the natural ending. Honestly, I thought it was silly. I can buy Stella would want to keep him alive, but even she seemed melodramatic. I don't have a problem with Jimmy being relentless, but he's really stupid, and I have a hard time thinking he'd get that close to get a shot off.

 

For being such a big bully, Spector leveled the shit out of Jimmy. 

 

I'm sure many people grew up with GA as Scully, so I'm always happy to see her in new roles. I *love* when she says 'fuck.' Mainly because I imagine off screen Scully probably said, "Don't you say fucking aliens again, Mulder."

[kieyra]

Gah. I'm trying to make it through this show but the weird pacing is killing me. I'm fine with the somewhat slow, understated "Nordic Noir" crime dramas with the female ice-queen leads, but at times Gillian Anderson (and Archie Punjabi) seem so chill as to be medically sedated. The show does a good job of making me empathize with the victims, but I am so bored of watching the killer wander around doing nothing very interesting for long stretches.

I'm working on season two, and even when fairly major breaks in the case are occurring and things should be pretty intense, everyone is still talking and moving and acting so slowly. Like, "Yeah, there's a serial killer. He killed some women. We are police. We are theoretically going to do something about it. We have information we could act on. But instead we are going to talk about it. Slowly, in a hushed monotone, using only phrases in the passive voice. It's all we can do to even care enough to show up for work. So we definitely will not be rushing or anything."

Even when they know the serial killer's name, and they know he has abducted someone from his past and she may still be alive, they're like "let us sit and talk quietly and slowly about our need to possibly look into this man's past". I recognize that I'm probably spoiled by unrealistic US cop shows, but they're not even bothering to try to track the guy's cellphone or movements in any way. And I have four more episodes of this to go?

Edited January 1, 2015 by kieyra

[kieyra]

Hmm. I skipped ahead in season two to the finale when I realized Rose was going to be captive the whole season and I was getting frustrated with the slow pacing. The ending was unsatisafying, but this show is clearly supposed to be taking a page from the Nordic Noir, Forbrydelsen/The Killing playbook where the ending is always both contrived/messy and unsatisfying.

And yet I keep watching them.

(I did, however, skip Gracepoint, so I at least have that.)

I just don't know what to think. GA was mesmerizing but felt either underutilized or not correctly utilized, and while I'm very very familiar with Nordic Noir, even I eventually became quite fatigued with everyone always talking like they had just popped two Xanax and then gone to a funeral.

Edited January 2, 2015 by kieyra

[ganesh]

I actually like this show and Broadchurch (Gracepoint isn't a tv show) because it is slow and unfolding. I watch The Fall back and forth on the plane on my holiday travels, and I think this is the kind of show you want to watch all together. 

 

As much as everyone is on Games of Thrones dick, and I certainly watch every week. I ripped a 45 minute lecture on the Red Wedding off the top of my head to teach risk management and engineering ethics. But, if someone's head isn't chopped off, sexually assaulted, blown up, eaten, dismembered then it's all "this show is SO BORING." 

 

I don't need that all the time. This show is very much a character study. As much as the current season was about finally catching Spector and getting he and Stella together in a scene, one could argue that it's more about gender issues. 

 

The really indelible scene for me was when Stella said to her mopey bearded not-bf, "You came on to me. I refused. You disregarded me." And then the follow up with women laugh at us/men might kill us. 

 

Not that I've ever forced myself on anyone, but being a guy, I've gotten drunk and a little handsey a couple of times. I actually said "jesus fuck" out loud on the plane. GA delivered the line just so cold. It was more fuck you than saying "fuck you." She basically was like, 'your existence is irrelevant to me now.'

 

I thought the guy did a great job with his reaction of "I'm a mother fucking shit heel and just destroyed an extremely valuable friendship." 

 

So as much as the ending was kind of stupid, and it really was, even in the most generous terms, I would still offer that the show wasn't totally about Spector. 

[kieyra]

Ganesh, if you can get ahold of season 1 of Forbrydelsen with EN subtitles (unless you happen to read Danish), it's definitely worth it. (Danish show on which The Killing was based.) Ridiculous number of red herrings (like 22 episodes' worth) but tends to be the show against which I measure a lot of these subsequent noir crime dramas.

TL;DR, I can take "slow", but the way The Fall did slow just drove me crazy. And I wanted more screen time with GA, Archie Punjabi, and the female beat cop. I was beyond bored with pretty boy serial killer way too soon.

[ganesh]

I didn't watch the Killing because I heard it was a rip off of another show, much like Broadchurch was ripped. I think I will check out the original now. Apropos of nothing, since I've gotten my new phone, I've been able to watch more tv. My work commute is about an hour to 70 min. 

 

In hindsight, I thought there was going to be more with the female beat cop. She had a good scene with GA in the bathroom where GA was changing, which I actually thought was well done on GA's part by lacking any presumption, but that was it. 

[kieyra]

I feel like the show DNA goes:

 

(Something I'm not familiar with here, literary or film noir antecedent of some kind?)

 

Then:

 

Forbrydelsen:

 

> Directly spawns The Killing in the U.S., different S1 killer. (I mostly liked The Killing but it was unbelievably uneven. Saved by the chemistry of the leads being off the charts.)

> Indirectly spawns Broadchurch due to popularity of Forbrydelsen UK airing (w/BBC subtitles),  >  Spawns Gracepoint (ugh), different S1 killer

> Inspires The Fall in Ireland, although they mix it up a bit (similar brilliant but cold female lead, different crime type)

 

Everything above except The Fall is basically centered, at least in its first season, about the killing of a young person and how it ends up unexpectedly involving so many people.

 

Okay, I have way too much time on my hands and I'm now getting O/T. 

[Safreti]

So...I may have just missed this, but did we ever find out who killed Jimmy Olson? I feel like that plot just got dropped. Was it his partner? Because that doesn't make a lot of sense, as his partner called him from the hotel after he died, implying that Breedelove didn't know Olson was dead.

[joelene]

I have no answer to that (the drugs-prostitution-corruption storyline of season 1 did nothing but confuse me) but I also have a question. Did we ever get a motivation for all the killings? Did anything come out of the background digging? I remember the pedo priest and Paul never showering to avoid being molested but I forget why he hated women so much.

[Safreti]

This review of Season 1 Episode 5 provides a bit of insight :http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2013/06/10/the-fall-the-vast-abyss-series-1-episode-5/

 

but...still, not really. We can guess/extrapolate about stuff.

[Chaos Theory]

Before I watch season 2 I decided to rematch season 1 am reminded how much I love the main character.  Inviting a man she just met into her room for a one night stand.  Not letting the reports call the victims "innocent" or "profession" because for women especially women they are judgments.  

 

I also loved the young police officer who Stella made her assistant.  

 

The family dynamic between Spector and his family  and I thought it was interesting that they both were in bereavement and death.   Well life and death anyway.  

 

Edited to Add:  During episode 4 When Stella was talking to Gibson about "Sweet nights" and the married men she has sex with and he told her he would have left his wife and kids for her and she told him "That would have been a mistake."  I thought for a while that she was a psychopath too but she liked her particular end of the hustle.  

Edited January 17, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[laschifosavita]

I am rather excited that the police has identified him as their lead suspect already.  It's pretty unique pacing, so I'm interested in seeing where it goes.  Katie is more than a bit irritating.  Everything with Paul at Rose's house was great, espescially the conversation with the little girl.  I could see where they were going with it, but I still enjoyed it.

[Pimms]

 

he told her he would have left his wife and kids for her and she told him "That would have been a mistake."

This was one of my favourite lines from season 1. So measured and cool when she said it! My best friend and I have been repeating it to each other ad nauseam in mundane situations. "I think I'll get the cashew stir fry." "That would be a mistake."

[Finis Terre]

This was one of my favourite lines from season 1. So measured and cool when she said it! My best friend and I have been repeating it to each other ad nauseam in mundane situations. "I think I'll get the cashew stir fry." "That would be a mistake."

 

LOL. My best friend I did something similar with the "You should really and truly f*** off" line. Such potential! :)

[laschifosavita]

It's a bit late to be saying this for anyone that watched it as it aired, but I think the purpose of letting him go was to be able to take him immediately into custody.  If he willingly walked away, that means that he didn't think he needed to see a doctor.

 

Love that theory about the mirroring.  Stella did seem very intrigued when the officer was describing what he had done at his old workplace.

 

Watching the emotions go across Stella's face as she watched the video was easily my favorite part of the episode.

[Chaos Theory]

I am only up to 2-2 and have only one comment...a serial killer with a stalker.....Part of me wants to laugh.  Part of me wants to cry.  

[Chaos Theory]

I loved the scene when Stella kissed Archie to let the guy away and when Archie told her the guy knew who both of them were she didn't care.  Good to know Stella is an equal opportunity "Sweet Nighter to bad Archie balked.

 

I don't know whether to be amused or frustrated that both Paul and Stella are being given the complete run-around by a bratty teenage girl. Paul seems to have asserted power over her for the time being, but she's very much a wild card.

 

 

Teenagers are psychopaths and always have been?    Time and good parenting dulls the edge off.  

Edited January 17, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[Chaos Theory]

Ooooh is Spector building a serial killer? 

 

Happiness in others is an affront to our own pain and misery.

[Chaos Theory]

Loved the interrogation scene between Stella and Spector.  Talk about intense.  

 

Katie was all kinds of creepy but in weirdly good kind of way.  I mean really.......

 

Is there a season three because I'm in.  

[LanceyH]

I just got notification that this is now on Netflix...Starting to watch today!
Actually, it might be Tuesday as I'm still watching all these free Disney movies on the Disney Family Movies channel.

[panthergirl13]

It seems odd he's focused on the Annie women (is that her name)? I didn't like that he was with her daughter and why wasn't that little girl scared that a strange man was in her house?

Wait, wasn't that Rose? The one who knew him as Peter in college? I'm trying not to go back and watch the entire first series but I've had to read a bunch of recaps to remember who was whom.

[Pike Ludwell]

Just finished season 1, ep. 3 and for the most part am enjoying it. The fact that the season is just just 5 episodes is a plus to me. I hate seeing these sort of murder thrillers dragged out for 13 episodes like some series, with way too much filler and too slow a pace.

Edited January 18, 2015 by riverclown

[joelene]

Wait, wasn't that Rose? The one who knew him as Peter in college? I'm trying not to go back and watch the entire first series but I've had to read a bunch of recaps to remember who was whom.

You're correct, that's Rose. Annie is the woman he put in hospital.

[Chaos Theory]

Yeah, with any other actor the train scene wouldn't have worked, but with Jamie & his beard it is believable the woman would want to just flirt instead of realize who she was talking to.

I thought that scene was great. He was all but filling in the dots. Hey does this look like me? And still the woman would have gone home with him. We expect serial killers to be ugly and stuttering fools but some have pretty faces and are damn charming.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Chaos Theory

[panthergirl13]

Oy vey. Binged the whole S2 today since it poured rain all day but as much as I liked S1, this just felt like a CBS procedural wearing better makeup.

 

I have no problem with slow pacing or a noir feel, but there was so much extraneous bullshit in this show that I'm annoyed. And while I love both of the leads, some of the other performances were really weak (again, see CBS procedural).

[Hava]

I'm a tad confused. Haven't the cops connected the dots and realized that the killer is Spector? Last season, they spoke with him and became suspicious of him. And now they have a sketch of him that looks uncannily like him. Why aren't they visiting his house and ask questions? Very strange. 

[roomtorome]

I can't put my finger on it but Dornan bored me to tears and given how significant his role and there is so much that is silent in his scenes, it is frustrating. 

I know - objectively - that he is considered very attractive; for me, he does nothing because I get no spark/energy from him (in this or anything else I've seen him in) and what I am wanting is for someone in this role, where he does do much on his own and silently, is someone who is communicating something even in that silence - there are actors who do that very well - for me, Dornan doesn't. 

His expression remains stagnant for the most part too - the only way I can describe it how I feel when I meet people who, regardless of how attractive they are, seem vacant behind the eyes; a weak, inarticulate description but that is what I feel when he's on screen -

I think the actress who plays his wife is really excellent as is his little girl - she is amazing!  As is everyone else.

I do suspect I am wholly alone in this opinion of JD though, which is fine.

 

(I posted this mistakenly in an earlier episode thread but I meant to having seen this last episode)

[kieyra]

I can't put my finger on it but Dornan bored me to tears and given how significant his role and there is so much that is silent in his scenes, it is frustrating. 

I know - objectively - that he is considered very attractive; for me, he does nothing because I get no spark/energy from him (in this or anything else I've seen him in) and what I am wanting is for someone in this role, where he does do much on his own and silently, is someone who is communicating something even in that silence - there are actors who do that very well - for me, Dornan doesn't. 

His expression remains stagnant for the most part too - the only way I can describe it how I feel when I meet people who, regardless of how attractive they are, seem vacant behind the eyes; a weak, inarticulate description but that is what I feel when he's on screen -

I think the actress who plays his wife is really excellent as is his little girl - she is amazing!  As is everyone else.

I do suspect I am wholly alone in this opinion of JD though, which is fine.

 

(I posted this mistakenly in an earlier episode thread but I meant to having seen this last episode)

 

Not alone at all. I said upthread: "I was beyond bored with pretty boy serial killer way too soon.". For a show that wanted us to spend more than half the time watching the killer in his day-to-day life, they somehow managed to make that boring. But in addition to not finding the actor compelling, I'm also not a kid person, so I spent a lot of time fast-forwarding to Gillian Anderson scenes. 

[roomtorome]

Yes, indeed - god bless the fast forward function or I never would have made it through this series - I probably managed to watch about 25% of the scenes where JD is in the scene and mostly only the ones where there were others in it - after the first episode, I can began zooming through most of his solo scenes. 

 

Oh well - with a compelling performer (and better writing for that character), it would have been a more interesting viewing for me.

 

Yay though - Justified is back this week.  One of my three favorite shows of the past few years.  

[AlwaysWatching]

Maybe they were holding out for a Series 3, but I felt cheated by the ending.  I kept telling my friend that watching this show was like watching paint dry. Funny thing is, she was painting the kitchen when I told her this.  I wasn't as crazy about GA's accent as some people and I found myself actually laughing a few times. I still think she did a very good job for the type of person she was portraying.

 

I have to admit, I enjoyed the Jamie Dornan scenes.  He is very easy on the eyes and I could also see him as a stone cold pyscho-sociopathic killer. We have so many serial killer stories and I know each writer wants to bring some new reason why someone can get twisted into this type of existence.  At some point, I love it when someone states the obvious. I think that's what Stella Gibson was trying to do from the time she saw the pattern. Some serial killers like to think they have stumbled on to some profound reason for brutally taking the lives of living creatures.  The backgrounds of every serial killer might be similar...or not. The one thing they have in common is an addiction to the power of total control. Control over life and death. It hits their pleasure sensors like a drug, booze, or a delicious buffet that usually gets the rest of us.

 

I didn't feel a need to know why Spector was a serial killer, but I did want to see a resolution to the chase. It was a long, what, 12 hours?, slog and to have end that way. nah

[bikebrh]

I do have to say that I am not sure why Sarah is down on Gillian's accent.

A) It sounds fine to me

B) She spent half her childhood in England, and speaks with an English accent while there. She always has been dual-accented.

[millennium]

I'm a tad confused. Haven't the cops connected the dots and realized that the killer is Spector? Last season, they spoke with him and became suspicious of him. And now they have a sketch of him that looks uncannily like him. Why aren't they visiting his house and ask questions? Very strange. 

 

The holes are beginning to show.   Stella herself laid eyes on Spector at the police station, the very day she applied the red nail polish.   Others might forget.   Her?   Doubt it.

 

What's more, why hasn't anyone come forward to say, "Gee, that drawing looks just like Paul Spector?"  Does no one read newspapers anymore?  He's a fellow who's left a bad taste with several people who might be inclined to name him to police  for the sheer hassle factor.    What about the street toughs in the Shankill?   They saw Spector, had a heated confrontation, and then a couple nights later Annie Brawley is attacked right there in the neighborhood.   They didn't see any resemblance to the sketch in the newspaper? 

 

Is it just me, or have the writers utterly forgotten that Spector has a son?   He was waiting on the stairs in the first episode.    I don't think we've seen him since, not even in the park scene.   What father of two brings only one kid to the park when both are so close in age?  Meanwhile, Spector's daughter seems to have aged a year or two in just ten days.

Edited January 20, 2015 by millennium

[copacabana]

I just started watching this show on Netflix as I get my early spring cleaning on but midway into Episode 1, Season 1, I was already totally hooked.  Loving it ... Jamie Dornan -- this show's the best publicity for what's going to be a hilarious mega-hit in 50 Shades.  And Gillian Anderson -- amazing.  So glad I found this just now.  January doldrums. Loving the policeman Stella bedded down with at first sight.  And Belfast!  Heaven. 

Edited January 20, 2015 by copacabana

[millennium]

Wait, wasn't that Rose? The one who knew him as Peter in college? I'm trying not to go back and watch the entire first series but I've had to read a bunch of recaps to remember who was whom.

 

I watched the first series again over a couple days before continuing on.   It's a very smooth transition other than the too-old daughter and the absence of Spector's wife Sally Ann (and continued absence of his son) in the first episode of Season 2.

 

The scene with the blonde on the train was a bit ridiculous and strained credibility.

[charming]

I was semi spoiled by some headlines that the finale was disappointing. So I braced myself. When Jimmy popped up at his wife's halfway house I knew he would somehow be involved. I was thinking he was going to be arrested then attack Spector in the prison yard. Or when he and the reporter ended up in the forest. I thought maybe he would cause a scene and Paul would escape. It's not really satisfying to have him be the person to get Paul. I would have preferred the wife or Gibson.

 

I still enjoyed this immensely despite some plot holes. There was so much tension and I was impressed with Gillian & Jamie. The interrogation scene was so good. I had to laugh at Paul explaining that he couldn't start serial killing until his children were older but because she was a "baron spinster" she wouldn't know anything about that.

 

One thing I wanted more of was Paul's "charm" and how he managed to fool his wife all these years. I felt like Jamie captured the physicality of a killer. The way his body was taut and lean but possessed strength. He moved like a cat. There was zero emotion except when interacting with his children. The little girl playing his daughter was amazing! I know we're supposed to believe that Katie was drawn to the darkness within him because she has it too. I just wanted more exploration of that.

 

I hope The Fall comes back for a third season with a new killer for Gibson to track.

[millennium]

What a terrifically frustrating episode.   I'm a bit over "coincidences" like Paul Spector being the only grief-counselor available to speak to Annie Brawley.   That was cheap.   I'd expect that on Law and Order: SVU, not a higher quality program like this.    And what do you know, Paul Spector has the only wife stupid enough to meekly accept that he'll fetch back her daughter after the little girl has been ABDUCTED by his lover/stalker (did she never see Fatal Attraction).    Rage alone should have been enough to propel her past all other concerns and make her pick up the phone to call the police.    Oh, and right, only Paul Spector is charming enough to mindfuck a teenage girl who KNOWS he's the killer, so effectively that he's perfectly okay with letting her walk free (but at the same time feels compelled to kill Rose who helped draw a police sketch of what he looked like nine years earlier).  Is he so charming that he's also mindfucking Katie's blonde friend from a distance, , who by now also must know enough to raise serious suspicions?      But hey, that's Paul Spector, right?  Charming enough even to break into a house in the dead of night and befriend a little girl who apparently has never been taught to fear strangers even when they are prowling the shadows outside her bedroom door. 

 

This series may have a strong, intelligent female lead, but on the whole it works overtime to make women appear stupid and weak.  

 

And still, no sign of Spector's son!   At least they mention him this episode, that's something.

Edited January 21, 2015 by millennium

[millennium]

I call bullshit on Spector's apparent cloak of invisibility.   He can just walk in anywhere he pleases without being questioned.  I imagine he won't appear on the security cams in the hallway outside Stella's door either.    Why did he need a card key anyway?  Can't he just turn into mist and slip under the door?

[Captanne]

Em, did I miss something?  Like the last half hour of the series?  I'm sure there had to be more?

 

Okay, with that said, this series (imo) was mediocre.  It used all the feminist tropes you find on Tumblr (even to the point of quoting the ever popular, "Men are afraid women will laugh at them; women are afraid men will kill them".)  It had the requisite serial killer with the wife who is blissfully ignorant.  It had the weird dynamic between couple-killers.  Blah, blah, blah.

 

There were two things I found laudible -- 1.  The interview between Scully, er, Stella and Whats-his-name.  That was cool.  And, 2.  Poor old Leonard Nimoy spent half his life denying the fact that he was forever locked in the role of Mr. Spock (ST: TOS) until he finally embraced it.  Nice to see Gillian Anderson has finally embraced her type-casting as Dana Scully.  I hope sliding into the portrayal of Stella Gibson was like putting on an old, familiar leather glove because, man o man, was she Scully.

 

Otherwise, the show was forgettable.

 

ETA:  Also?  Terrible, terrible hair -- that blonde broom brush looked painful and those tight skirts didn't do her really, really gorgeous figure any favours.  (The trouser ensembles were lovely.)  While I'm being shallow, Whats-his-name's beard was disgusting and untrimmed (blergh) but his tight-fitting murder outfits were appropriate for the task and super cool (unexpected) on a suburban dad.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Captanne

[joelene]

Nice to see Gillian Anderson has finally embraced her type-casting as Dana Scully. I hope sliding into the portrayal of Stella Gibson was like putting on an old, familiar leather glove because, man o man, was she Scully.

I didn't see Scully at all in Stella. Very very different creatures, I'd say. I'd compare her more to Bedelia on Hannibal if I had to choose. Calling it embracing type-casting (over 10 years later during which she's done more costume drama than anything remotely the same as these two shows) is a huge stretch.

Edited January 21, 2015 by joelene

[Captanne]

Oh, I know the actress has spent years away from the Scully role (Mr. Captanne adores both Scully and Anderson) -- but I totally saw her own the character in Stella Gibson and I liked it.  From her furtive glancing around corners (either waiting for an alien or hunting for Rose Scagg), hands in black coat pockets, to her never-ending curiosity and quest for answers that she could believe in.  I especially felt Scully in the room during the last episode.

 

Mileage varies on that, of course.  We all have our own perspectives.

 

ETA:  Although Mr. Captanne doesn't have a Scully avatar, he does have her as the wallpaper on his laptop.

Edited January 21, 2015 by Captanne

[joelene]

Mileage varies on that, of course. We all have our own perspectives.

ETA: Although Mr. Captanne doesn't have a Scully avatar, he does have her as the wallpaper on his laptop.

Of course. Also, lol.

I think they'd definitely get along and be friends though. Hell, Stella would probably even try to snog her.

[millennium]

Best episode yet, for all of the reasons already mentioned.    I absolutely loved the twist of the cop falling through the ceiling while they were trying so very hard to be discreet.   That is something I have never seen before in any police procedural show.

 

I am still worried for Daisy though ... The idea of making her suffer was stated very prominently in that one scene yet thus far no harm has befallen her.   Why would the writers introduce the idea if there is no plan to see it through?

 

I notice that the final episode is 1:29 in length.   Unfortunately, I have only about an hour left to me at the moment.  I'll just have to stew all day until I can take it in at my leisure.

[Finis Terre]

I agree with joelene: I saw no Scully in Gibson. Two very differently written and played characters. I should have gotten used to Gillian's versatility, but I still find it amazing how she morphs into those women so successfully. Some people on Twitter can't even recognize her as Bedelia after seeing her in other roles.  

 

 

I think they'd definitely get along and be friends though. Hell, Stella would probably even try to snog her.

 

I'm sure there's already a crossover fanfic somewhere out there. ;) 

 

 

Whats-his-name's beard was disgusting and untrimmed (blergh)

 

This so much. I could never understand the physical appeal of this character and I suspect the facial hair is largely responsible for my "whatevs" attitude. 

Edited January 23, 2015 by Finis Terre

[millennium]

I'm sure many people grew up with GA as Scully, so I'm always happy to see her in new roles.

 

It's great to see how deftly Gillian has evaded the pitfall of typecasting.   At the same time, there were moments throughout the series when I half-wished David Duchovny would pop his head in the door and say, "Hey, Scully, lighten up."

 

 

 

I *love* when she says 'fuck.' Mainly because I imagine off screen Scully probably said, "Don't you say fucking aliens again, Mulder."

 

There was a humorous scene in the X-Files "Cops" episode when Mulder and Scully discuss whether they're allowed to say "fuck" on camera.

 

Loose ends: the diary hidden in the pool at the Botanical Gardens.   And Spector has not yet played his hand regarding the information he gleaned while concealed in Stella's closet.   

 

Most glaring omission:  Where was Reed-Smith in this episode?

 

All the actors in this series did an exemplary job.    They really bring it.   I would like to see another season, even if just for that reason only. 

Edited January 23, 2015 by millennium

[Pike Ludwell]

The police are shown as amazingly inept over and over, so much it is becoming annoying. That officer who fell through the ceiling - what an amazing doofus. And they didn't have a warrant to search the house, only to plant bugging devices? WTF?? They should have had papers allowing them to virtually "own" that house. There was sufficient evidence at that point. This show is dragging on too long and starting to annoy me. They should have ended at the end of the first season (5 episodes max), and started on a new murder this season.

 

The basic theme of this show seems to be: how a bungling police department made up of a bunch of clowns goes about capturing a demented serial killer, who, even though demented and sick as hell outwits them at every step, always gets his way, and women all just melt at his feet because he is so good looking.

 

And the theme that if a guy is good looking enough women totally melt before him ... that is getting annoying as hell.

Edited January 23, 2015 by riverclown