S02.E13: Love in Return

[ShellSeeker]

 

No episode synopsis yet.

 

[ottoDbusdriver]

No episode synopsis yet.

 

I guess ABC couldn't be bothered for a synopsis because the writers were still too busy pulling plots out of their asses.

 

So, the cicadas in Bellamy/Preacher James dream that flew out of the ground and swarmed into a representation of a tree were OBVIOUSLY millions of Resurrected coming back to commanded by Rachel's baby.  Sure, why not ?

 

Bitchy Grandma tries to wish away Rachel and baby into the cornfield .... correction, get Rachel to let it go and disappear.  What if the baby doesn't want to let go ?  Does Rachel disappear and the baby stay ?

 

One way to solve all this drama about when the baby will be born -- Ceasarean section.  Maggie's a doctor for crying out loud, but then again she has never delivered a baby before (which is still hard to believe -- where did she get her medical degree, in the Caribbean ?)

 

Henry seemed to go over to the dark side pretty quickly after his chat with Preacher James.  The baby is the devil based on what evidence.  And why is the baby only giving Jacob headaches and none of the other Resurrected ?

 

Those True Living guys that took over the police station really weren't thinking of the big picture -- they will all be going to jail for a long, long time after this is standoff is over.

 

Of course on the eve of a standoff with Preacher James' mob (step right up, unruly mob over here, come one, come all), Maggie finally makes a move on Bellamy (bom - chika - wow - wow).

 

Fuck Jacob and his sore head -- seriously they supplied no explanation on his connection to the baby or why his head hurts or why that is important.  WTF ?

 

Fred and Bellamy are really shitty strategists -- all they needed to do was stand at the top of the stairs (a natural bottleneck) and shoot every motherfucker that tried to climb the stairs, creating a natural barrier of dead bodies (and to paraphrase Obi-wan Kenobi, they would have had the high ground) .  But noooooooooooooo, they just stood at the bottom of the stairs and fired nary a shot after everyone broke in.  Amateurs.

 

That Preacher James is a smooth talking son of a gun -- conveniently "forgetting" to inform Rachel of the whole 'your baby is a demon', yet Tom is waiting for you in the afterlife.

 

I'm glad they only shot Preacher James in the shoulder -- means they can lock him up (as we see later).

 

Stats lady was right -- millions of Resurrected showed up all at once.  Ta-daa !!!!

 

One Year Later -- that is a totally a re-shot ending, this show is so not getting renewed for Season 3.

 

But somehow after a year, Bitchy Grandma is still bitchy and the cicadas show up at the baby's window because .... magic baby.  Magic demon baby.  Does that mean that millions more Resurrected are coming ?  Heck, I was waiting for a sniper shot through the window.

 

Why was Elaine Richards at the Langston family dinner ?  She never really came across as a member of the family (despite Fred putting the moves on her which is just creepy).

Edited January 28, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[KaveDweller]

Why did the returned think Rachel's baby was a demon?  Maybe I missed that explanation, but it seems an odd reaction for them.  I can see non-returned thinking it was freaky, but you'd think people who used to be dead would be a bit more accepting.

 

One Year Later -- that is a totally a re-shot ending, this show is so not getting renewed for Season 3.

But somehow after a year, Bitchy Grandma is still bitchy and the cicadas show up at the baby's window because .... magic baby.  Magic demon baby

I totally thought they were going to show the baby's head spinning around or making things fly around the room. 

 

Millions of dead people come back and all that happens is the government creates a bureau of returned and calmly places people with their loved ones?  I know they didn't have time to really explore that, but it would have been better if they just ended it with the newscast or something and left it more open.

[Spencer Hastings]

Ugh. That was absolutely a "we better wrap this thing up" ending. The one year later thing felt completely disingenuous. I got a good laugh over the Returned Bureau. Shark jumped, 6 times. How many people had their questions answered? Anyone? *cue cicadas chirping*

Pastor James is smooth talking and dreamy. I found myself wanting to give Rachel to him myself. Anything else I can get for you while we are in this dimly lit bedroom?

This was definitely the last episode. It's been an honor snarking with you all.

Edited January 26, 2015 by Spencer Hastings

[pcta]

This was definitely the last episode. It's been an honor snarking with you all.

No snark from me for this show (now sleepy hollow is a different matter all together). For all its weaknesses and inconsistencies, it has kept me interested, involved and interested in the characters. And , if this is the end - I'm still intrigued.

[Straycat80]

Meh. Still have a lot of questions that were never answered but this episode felt like the end of the series to me.

I liked that Maggie and Marty finally got together.

A million people returned, but I didn't see Pastor Tom or the sheriff's wife. At the end when Rachel put the (possibly evil) baby in his crib I almost expected his eyes to start glowing red. Instead we got cicadas flying into the window. Maybe Pastor James was right?

We may never know now.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Millions of dead people come back and all that happens is the government creates a bureau of returned and calmly places people with their loved ones?  I know they didn't have time to really explore that, but it would have been better if they just ended it with the newscast or something and left it more open.

 

Or the fact that the Resurrected Federal facility was completely empty of staff and appeared abandoned BEFORE the baby was born and millions started returning (and stats lady was unreachable by phone by Bellamy).  It had only been a day -- would they have really cleared out that quickly, because somebody cleaned up all the bodies in that common room ?

Edited January 26, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[blaksheba]

This was definitely the last episode.

One can only hope. This show is terrible... just terrible. I haven't had such a visceral reaction to a show since the incredibly convoluted Salem.

 

I had high hopes for this show when I first saw it, but little by little that dissipated. I was hoping it would be as creepy as The Returned, but nothing.

 

The Maggie and Bellamy will they or won't they finally came to a head with a chemistry-less, passion-less kiss. I guess that's why the Resurrection PTB saved their couple for what is hopefully the last episode.

 

It struck me as odd that Jenny was at Jacob's house. I guess Lu must baby sit her when Bellamy is at work. At the end, were they implying that he and Maggie live together or are  they just a couple?

 

So many unanswered questions.  Why doesn't the hunger the resurrected exhibited in the beginning of the Season 1 factor now? Shouldn't there be a food shortage with all these newly-resurrected people in some parts of the world? Did the news report mention anything like that? What happened to Bellamy's gov't contact? Shouldn't she be working in the Bureau of the Returned?

 

I came to understand tonight that my hatred for Rachel finally made itself known. I tolerated her because I thought her story was going somewhere sensible, but no. I was hoping she would get wished away as well.

 

If this show returns next year. I simply can't watch. It is seriously bad.

 

Sorry, I just needed to vent.

 

[Blue Plastic]

Or the fact that the Resurrected Federal facility was completely empty of staff and appeared abandoned BEFORE the baby was born and millions started returning (and stats lady was unreachable by phone by Bellamy).  It had only been a day -- would they have really cleared out that quickly, because somebody cleaned up all the bodies in that common room ?

We were left with lots of questions, but this is one they actually added in the last episode and I wasn't sure what its purpose was.  Why add yet another question, on top of all the others, that will probably never been answered?  Somehow, it left me even more puzzled than all the others!  What happened to mysterious gov't lady and all the Returned bodies in the gov't morgue and all the other mysterious gov't department employees?  Apparently ONE YEAR LATER Bellamy gets to be part of or maybe run a brand spanking new gov't department and he doesn't think about or wonder what happened to that other one that used to semi-employ him?

 

Good point about how they should have used the stairs as a bottleneck, too.

 

They made a big point about showing how the corrupt preacher couldn't move his arm anymore after Bellamy stabbed him.  Maybe there were plans to have his arm healed if they did miraculously get another season order.

 

That ONE YEAR LATER ending did seem tacked on.  I guess they were trying to give us something for an ending since there's a 99.9% chance this is it.  I, too, was expecting red glowing baby eyes or something.  So no explanation for Jacob's headaches and nosebleed, either, or the cicadas being attracted to baby Damien, I mean Nathaniel.

 

Interesting that Bitchy Grandma switched sides and helped Bellamy take down the corrupt preacher.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Interesting that Bitchy Grandma switched sides and helped Bellamy take down the corrupt preacher.

 

With no real explanation of why she switched sides -- because Preacher James was doing to Rachel what BG was trying to do to her just minutes beforehand. Is it because the unruly mob threatened Jacob ?

 

I wonder if the millions of recently resurrected were scattered randomly all over the globe (like in the early episodes of Season 1) or did they resurrect near where they died or did they resurrect near where they parked their car (like Bellamy did in the Season 2 opener).

 

Was Preacher James' chat with Rachel about her dreams of the hereafter the first time a Resurrectee has ever brought this aspect up of the process ?  That no one has asked any of the Resurrectees about this though Preacher James said that all the Resurrectees have had these "dreams".

 

Interesting how Jacob has been pretty much a non-entity in the most recent episodes -- when he was basically one of the leads in Season 1.

[Blue Plastic]

With no real explanation of why she switched sides -- because Preacher James was doing to Rachel what BG was trying to do to her just minutes beforehand. Is it because the unruly mob threatened Jacob ?

I think it was because Jacob said something like "I didn't want this" when he, his mom and Jenny were trying to get through the crowd to leave.  BG was right there and heard him say that.

 

I thought in the last episode mystery gov't lady said something about the previous batches of Returneds having cropped up "only in Arcadia," yet much was made in season 1 of people from Arcadia popping up in faraway locales, such as Jacob popping up in China (I think it was?).  And then her prediction map showed millions of new Returneds popping up everywhere.

 

In thinking about it some more, I wonder if maybe the gov't wasn't the one running that outfit and maybe mystery lady and crew had to abandon ship because their employer would be after them.  Just a thought.

 

I was wondering about those dreams too.  The only dreams I remember them mentioning before are the joint dreams that Rachel and BG had.

[TomGirl]

This show really went off a cliff at the end. Tons of loose ends, and so boring I don't even care if they're never tied up. Agree that Maggie and Bellamy had absolutely zero chemistry. If the show is really dead, it's epitaph should be "Meh."

[pitchy]

I think it was because Jacob said something like "I didn't want this" when he, his mom and Jenny were trying to get through the crowd to leave.  BG was right there and heard him say that.   . . . 

 

That's what I thought too -- and also, when pressed, Jacob said that when the baby hurts, HE hurts also. He also said that this was all happening because of him (Jacob).

So, it could be argued that if the baby is hurt or killed or the baby disappears, Jacob might hurt worse or disappear also.

Here's the thing that gets me.  This is a story about dead people returning after years of being dead.

 

That's a premise that makes no sense, and yet the common complaint is that the writers were making NO sense out of this, while discouraging the writers' use of usual silly sci fi ideas or a new religion-based 'rationale.'  (What's left?)

 

And if writers wanted to try to make 'sense' or something 'rational' out of any of this fairly early on, then (because of how humans have always treated the idea of resurrections) it would be something which would normally cause a new religion (with the usual subsets squabbling among themselves over which one was part of 'the true' religion) and we'd also have characters who would try to kill the spreading of that religion when it expressed thoughts disagreeable to preferred beliefs -- Or, we'd get a crazy science fiction plot about extraterrestrial powers trying to 'take over' life on earth etc. 

 

  I was interested in the series mainly as a set of character studies -- how different types of people might react to their loved or hated ones coming back with no explanation (how can there even be one?).

 

  I do like that we have no idea whether Preacher James is (w/o knowing, himself) on the side of The Darkness or The Light.  What we know is that in his 'first' life, he'd always wanted to fool people into paying him for his magic tricks but now has come to feel that he prefers the feeling he gets from doing Good (saving baby Bellamy) and the idea he's now God's representative on earth and that other (or 'too many') Returned are 'evil' or 'false.'  

 

The ending was obviously tacked on -- giving some kind of chapter resolution but with a hint of writers' scant hopes of renewal. Many who liked the opening series wanted "answers" after only 4-5 episodes or so during the first season, but there was really no way, with this kind of story, to do this and make much  rational out of it. 

  I'm one of the few who didn't look for a story like the French one that most have liked, with more scary episodes.  I liked the quiet, disoriented reactions that highlighted a lot of unresolved dynamics in those experiencing the Return of loved ones. 

 

  I came to like once-hostile/paranoid Fred quite a bit (but did think the writers could have addressed a natural wish by Fred that with all those Returning,  Barbara might have had a change of heart while 'on the other side' :-).

.

  One of my favorite scenes was from last week, with brothers Henry and Fred just sitting outside, and suddenly realizing why their lousy father enjoyed sitting out on the porch by himself.  That was a scene that could go nowhere, but I really liked it.

  I don't think that every series addressing dead people returning has to be action-packed or come with early answers, at least not for a long time.  And if the official ratings monitors saw interest dwindling because it was 'boring' or "doesn't make any sense" then there's no way the show will be kept on - and then you get a sudden implanted finale with the usual ending question. 

 

  Interesting that some HOPE this is the end and that the series is cancelled.  If I didn't like a show, I'd just stop watching it, so I get a feeling that there may be something remaining that might keep some 'returning' to watch it for another season even if it isn't rewarding.

 

  Even if I laughed with the entertaining takes I read tonight here, I've become fond of the characters, for the most part.  Often enjoyed the underacting (even if at times, some of it could be mistaken for sleepwalking).  Liked that BG was a bit grayish in the end and that Henry had no easy reconciliation with her.  We often have regrets about interactions with those who have died, and it was interesting to see the writers present us with scenes that showed things might not be better and could be worse with a second chance.

Edited January 26, 2015 by pitchy

[Living Dead]

Good episode. I still have some questions but thought Resurrection was a great series. I hope that it gets renewed for Season 3, but they wrapped it up and left it hanging in a good, mysterious way. At this point, it's not about the mystery. It's about the people and how they go about their day to day lives. I realized that with this show, the characters have been built up and it doesn't need to be about mystery. It should just be about people. Like with Maggie and Mardy gettin it on. Now with that said, PLEASE COME BACK!!!!!!

[ottoDbusdriver]

Why did the returned think Rachel's baby was a demon?  Maybe I missed that explanation, but it seems an odd reaction for them.  I can see non-returned thinking it was freaky, but you'd think people who used to be dead would be a bit more accepting.

 

Why wouldn't they think that Rachel was a demon and just jump straight to the conclusion it was the baby ?  Rachel was also in the room when all the Resurrected decided to go for a zombie walk and stare at her room over the bar -- why didn't the mob try and kill her too ?  Or maybe the room itself -- maybe the room was evil ?  Or maybe the flower in the vase in the room was the cause -- the flower that was in Preacher James and Bellamy's shared dream -- maybe it was evil and controlling all the resurrected ?

 

A million people returned, but I didn't see Pastor Tom or the sheriff's wife.

 

That seemed particularly odd -- you would think that Pastor Tom would have been back, and helping Rachel with the baby.  Deputy Carl's asshole brother kept coming back again and again and again, so why didn't Pastor Tom come back even once ?  Did any of the 'demons' from the 1930s that BG helped "let go" show up again ?   Was Caleb Richards back and committing crimes and being a shitty father to Ray and Elaine ?  Were Bellamy's and Jenny's parents back ?

 

So many unanswered questions.  Why doesn't the hunger the resurrected exhibited in the beginning of the Season 1 factor now?

 

They seemed to have dropped that plot point back towards the end of Season 1.  Bellamy was never hungry after he resurrected, neither was BG or Henry or Jenny for that matter.  They also dropped the plot point about the Resurrected never sleeping.  In Season 1, Jacob never slept, he just went through the motions.

 

Jacob and his obsession with dead birds was also dropped by the wayside.

 

A whole year has passed and still no one gives a shit about what happened to Janine and her nefarious baby-stealing plans.

 

Were any of the millions of newly resurrected afflicted by the resurrected virus ?  Because only Ray and Marty seemed to have benefited from the cure that Maggie made from the magic demon baby's cells.

 

What happened to Grandpa Addison's revenge on the Langstons ?  He didn't appear to be the type that would give up so easily just because the Factory deal was scuttled.

 

Is Deputy Carl in prison for killing Pastor Tom ?  Are Joey and all the Truly Living guys that took over the Sheriff's station in prison ?

 

Where was Bitchy Grandma living after a year ?  I don't see her bunking with Fred.

 

Now that the baby is born, does Jacob still have headaches caused by the baby ?  Because that is something I would think they would look into.

 

They never did explain the significance of the cicadas in Bellamy/Preacher James' shared dream forming into a tree, but it was kind of odd that the symbol for the Bureau of the Returned (why, oh why, wasn't it called the Bureau of the Resurrected ?) was a tree superimposed over a rising sun.

 

Henry complaining about the fact that he has to pay taxes but can't vote -- hold on a moment, taxation without representation, I'm thinking if there is a Season 3 they will be going with a Resurrected Revolution (complete with a Resurrected version of the Boston Tea party) </snark>

Edited January 26, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[chlban]

So, I actually watched the very beginning, then fell asleep and woke up just in time the for the handy/dandy wrap up. That wasn't a dream right? Bellamy and Maggie are now officially a couple? Wow, at least they tied up one loose end. Unfortunately no one cared and yeah, the chemistry was non existant.

 

Henry's comment about not being allowed to vote, brought to miind the old jokes about Chicago politics under Mayor Daly (the first, I'm old). So, we have no idea why the hordes of people resurrected but, thank heaven, we know they are not allowed to vote. Makes sense, having dead people voting could make for some really trying election days.Then you have that whole hassle of deciding if they are just dead, or dead and returned, dead, retutned and dead again, or like Bellamy and Rachel, dead, returned, dead again and then returned. Yeah, it's definitely not a good idea. Especially in Florida.

 

They have their own bureau and Rachel the only one of the dead/returned that we know for certain actually wanted to be dead is still returned after having wrecked the life of her former boyfriend, who it seems, does not get to return even though most of the world has.

 

I am officially finished with this type of show. Too many disappontments. All the dropped storylines that have already been enumerated here so well. At some point I may actually watch this last episode just to see the parts I missed, but I somehow have the feeling I didn't miss much.  

 

Well, How To Get Away With Murder comes back this week. Now there is a show that is almost as completely far fetched and implausable as this one, even with no supernatural overtones.  Yet it manages to entertain beyond my initial expectations. Judging from the ratings, I am not alone, and it proves that given a compelling enough storyline and writing that seems to actually have a direction, a far fetched premise can still be a success. 

 

Too bad about Resurrection. It looked so promising in the beginning.

[CocoaGoddess]

These writers were either cowards, or ABC wouldn't let them tell the story they really wanted to tell. 

 

"That baby has never known anything but death."

 

"Rachel, do you remember where you were before you Returned?"

 

Right. So she was in hell. She was in hell after she committed suicide, and while in hell, she was knocked up by Satan and promptly delivered back to earth. Why this baby was making Jacob "sick", or whatever, I have no idea. 

 

I feel like there was some foreshadowing here--we never really learned WHY Rachel killed herself, but since it was never brought up, discussed, flashbacked, etc., I'm going to say it didn't have much to do with depression or mental illness, and more to do with something terrible she did the first time she was alive, and she couldn't bring herself to deal with the consequences. 

I'm also guessing that the reason Pastor Tom never came back is because wherever he is in his afterlife, he knows that the baby is NOT his and he really has nothing to come back for. Certainly not his shrew of a wife or drippy, weepy Rachel. Tom is probably like, "Nah, better off dead."

 

And for about thirty seconds in one episode a million years ago, they flirted with the idea of Rachel possibly being evil, after she was kidnapped by those guys and she said something along the lines of, "WE ARE EVIL FUCKS SO WATCH YOUR BACKS!" 
Or whatever. 

 

The cowardice comes in because they didn't want to imply or outright state that Rachel's suicide or rather her actions before the suicide sent her right to hell. They wanted to invoke the bible and God when it was convenient, but were clearly never really invested in seeing the story through, and explaining WHY this was in fact a retelling or interpretation of a biblical tale--they wanted to be sci fi and supernatural and religious and everything in between, and it turned out to be the biggest waste of time I've ever felt watching a show. I mean, I wasn't even hate watching it. I was invested because the cast is so great and I was intrigued by the implications of undead people returning back to a world and a time that is no longer their own. But of course, they fumbled -- badly.  

 

The Bureau of the Returned 

 

and 

 

"None of us know why we're here, but that doesn't stop us from living!"

 

Screw you show.

 

Also, Pastor James is one charismatic and smooth talking SOB. I would be a willing party in whatever cult/harem he had. 

[Rick Kitchen]

 

Interesting that some HOPE this is the end and that the series is cancelled.  If I didn't like a show, I'd just stop watching it, so I get a feeling that there may be something remaining that might keep some 'returning' to watch it for another season even if it isn't rewarding.

 

My problem is that I watch Once Upon a Time and Revenge, and this is on in between, and there's nothing on opposite that I care to watch.  So it's just there.

 

Why didn't Daddy Langston ever come back?

[LucidDreamer]

One year later... But that was NOT a one-year-old baby. More like 6 months. 9 months tops.

Oh well, a fitting end to this mess of a show.

[pitchy]

I didn't really care if the premise made sense or not....I'd be fine with no explanation of why they were returning and the authorities driving themselves crazy trying to find an explanation (because that's what would happen), but I would have liked there to be consistency within the world they create, and that was missing.  

. . . 

So if this was really a story about people confronting their own mortality or immortality, and the quiet strength of family bonds, then that could be interesting.  The relationship of Henry and Fred was better than any of the forced romantic pairings (mainly because of the actors).  Ever see the play or read the poems of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters?  If they had more confidence in their characters, maybe they could have let go of some of the dead end plot lines, and focus on ordinary people trying to work out how to deal with an impossible situation, which may be a standard plot line but it often works for me if the people are interesting enough. 

 

Good points,  whimsey98.  

 While I agree with most of them, I'd still tune in weekly, to see what's going on with those people, so for a few of us (which of course isn't enough!), they're doing something that works for (on)  me despite the inconsistencies and dropped ideas...  

  Strangely, I wish they'd renew it.  I think I love the acting (though not Omar Epps's woodenness in the 'relationship' with Maggie).  

Edited January 26, 2015 by pitchy

[ElleBee]

Looks like I'm swimming upstream, but I thought Marty and Maggie's chemistry was one of the best aspects to this show. I liked them together and they sold me on their attraction. I also really appreciated how they just slowly kept moving forward, without a lot of the typical artificial relationship peak- and-valley obstacles (nonsensical misunderstandings, fights over stupid stuff, etc.) that shows use to stretch out pre-relationships. It was a quiet pairing, but refreshingly handled IMO.

[chlban]

These writers were either cowards, or ABC wouldn't let them tell the story they really wanted to tell. 

 

"That baby has never known anything but death."

 

"Rachel, do you remember where you were before you Returned?"

 

Right. So she was in hell. She was in hell after she committed suicide, and while in hell, she was knocked up by Satan and promptly delivered back to earth. Why this baby was making Jacob "sick", or whatever, I have no idea. 

 

I feel like there was some foreshadowing here--we never really learned WHY Rachel killed herself, but since it was never brought up, discussed, flashbacked, etc., I'm going to say it didn't have much to do with depression or mental illness, and more to do with something terrible she did the first time she was alive, and she couldn't bring herself to deal with the consequences. 

I'm also guessing that the reason Pastor Tom never came back is because wherever he is in his afterlife, he knows that the baby is NOT his and he really has nothing to come back for. Certainly not his shrew of a wife or drippy, weepy Rachel. Tom is probably like, "Nah, better off dead."

 

And for about thirty seconds in one episode a million years ago, they flirted with the idea of Rachel possibly being evil, after she was kidnapped by those guys and she said something along the lines of, "WE ARE EVIL FUCKS SO WATCH YOUR BACKS!" 

Or whatever. 

 

The cowardice comes in because they didn't want to imply or outright state that Rachel's suicide or rather her actions before the suicide sent her right to hell. They wanted to invoke the bible and God when it was convenient, but were clearly never really invested in seeing the story through, and explaining WHY this was in fact a retelling or interpretation of a biblical tale--they wanted to be sci fi and supernatural and religious and everything in between, and it turned out to be the biggest waste of time I've ever felt watching a show. I mean, I wasn't even hate watching it. I was invested because the cast is so great and I was intrigued by the implications of undead people returning back to a world and a time that is no longer their own. But of course, they fumbled -- badly.  

 

The Bureau of the Returned 

 

and 

 

"None of us know why we're here, but that doesn't stop us from living!"

 

Screw you show.

 

Also, Pastor James is one charismatic and smooth talking SOB. I would be a willing party in whatever cult/harem he had. 

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that ridiculous statement about none of us knowing why we are here. Puleeze, like coming back from the dead doesn't really put "being here" in a slightly different light. I recall Maggie making some similarly inane comment when she found out that Bellamy was one of the returned. Lame is too kind of a description.

 

Your theory about the writers or the Network wimpingout is interesting, but I have trouble believing the writers were together enough to even have a cohesive story in mind. It could have certainly been a great way to go though. Why not explore why a suicide would come back? All the others seem to have died from disease or accident and presumably were not ready to die, but Rachel took her own life.

I always thought that whole portion of the story was odd anyway. I mean, she was supposedly engaged to Tom andhe supposedly was devastated by her death. Everything they said indicated they were still a couple when she died. There was never any mention of her having some horrrible disease which might cause her to want to end her life with dignity. It was always treated like a small part of the plot but, like so many other parts of the plot, it never made sense or rang true. What, she was having a bad day so she offed herself? Pretty wierd.

 

However if there was, in fact, some dark deed in her past, something she couldn't live with, that might make some sense. It could also explain why her baby was supposed to be some demon child, had she gone to hell for whatever awful thing she did. It actually might have made for an interesting storyline.  Too bad the writers didn't have as much imagination.

 

None of us know why we're here indeed. Show deseves to be cancelled for that line alone.

[KaveDweller]

Shouldn't there be a food shortage with all these newly-resurrected people in some parts of the world?

 

There should be shortages of lots of things.  Even without the super-hunger factor, are there resources to suddenly start producing food for millions of additional people? Is there enough physical space? Would these people be able to get jobs? Henry mentioned paying taxes, but unemployment is an issue already.  Not everyone is going to have a loved one who will be able to totally support them.  And if you literally can't kill them, then the government ends up responsible and that's someone's money. 

 

Puleeze, like coming back from the dead doesn't really put "being here" in a slightly different light. I recall Maggie making some similarly inane comment when she found out that Bellamy was one of the returned. Lame is too kind of a description.

 

There'd be all sorts of religious freaks with crazy theories/opinions on the back from the dead thing.  Some would think it's horrible like Elaine's brother and some would think it was a wonderful miracle.  There'd also be people who used to not be religious who are new believers.

[Spencer Hastings]

Another random question: why didn't Rachel ever contact her family? She mentioned thinking of going to visit them but wouldn't they want to know that their suicidal daughter was back with a grandchild?

[KaveDweller]

Another random question: why didn't Rachel ever contact her family? She mentioned thinking of going to visit them but wouldn't they want to know that their suicidal daughter was back with a grandchild?

 

I wondered about that too.  Her random mention of them seemed so casual that I wondered if I missed a previous mention of them not getting along or something. Because I couldn't understand why she wouldn't contact them.  Maybe she was worried about leaving Arcadia since that's where all the other returned were?

[Fable]

Looks like I'm swimming upstream, but I thought Marty and Maggie's chemistry was one of the best aspects to this show. I liked them together and they sold me on their attraction. I also really appreciated how they just slowly kept moving forward, without a lot of the typical artificial relationship peak- and-valley obstacles (nonsensical misunderstandings, fights over stupid stuff, etc.) that shows use to stretch out pre-relationships. It was a quiet pairing, but refreshingly handled IMO.

 

I liked them too, but I have to say, that kiss was anything but romantic.  It felt forced and pretty stiff! 

[TimetoShine]

I know I'm supposed to hate preacher 2.0 but I felt really bad about his arm. Other than that, I was so bored by the episode I'm actually surprised someone let it air.

[shapeshifter]

One year later... But that was NOT a one-year-old baby. More like 6 months. 9 months tops.

Oh well, a fitting end to this mess of a show.

That and the preacher still having a bandaged arm "one year later" made it clear that the editors had thrown in the towel or been fired before the version of the finale that we saw was completed. Maybe it was also a meta message to tell us to not even try to figure it out.

For instance: Did Rachel kill Tom's wife or did she just never come back to Arcadia? And if she's dead, did nobody investigate? When Rachel was giving birth, that was all I could think about.

But I will stop now.

[redpencil]

 

That and the preacher still having a bandaged arm "one year later"

I thought it was clear that the gunshot permanently injured his arm. It wasn't still bandaged, as in still healing. It was permanently useless. At least, that's what I got from that.

[shapeshifter]

I thought it was clear that the gunshot permanently injured his arm. It wasn't still bandaged, as in still healing. It was permanently useless. At least, that's what I got from that.

Oh. I thought I saw a white bandage around his upper arm. No?

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought it was clear that the gunshot permanently injured his arm. It wasn't still bandaged, as in still healing. It was permanently useless. At least, that's what I got from that.

Oh. I thought I saw a white bandage around his upper arm. No?

 

After doing a quick check on the PVR, that wasn't a bandage -- that was just a white undershirt he was wearing under his prison jumpsuit.  But his right arm was basically useless as a result of the gunshot wound.

Edited January 27, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[Happytobehere]

So that played out more as a series rather than season finale. I always thought from Season One and still think the baby is anything but a normal child. I guess if the show returns, that will be the focus of the show Demon Baby versus Angel Baby?

[Spencer Hastings]

So that played out more as a series rather than season finale. I always thought from Season One and still think the baby is anything but a normal child. I guess if the show returns, that will be the focus of the show Demon Baby versus Angel Baby?

Knowing this show, they would drop that too.

[iMonrey]

 

And there were idiot things, like making Maggie the expert on all things scientific except the birth of a baby.  I realize she was a general practitioner but did no one ask: oh, look at this, the town has never had another pregnant woman in it?  (That's almost as curious as returning dead people.)  And where did she get her medical degree that she had no experience in this area?

 

Yeah, she can synthesize a secret government formula that cures the mysterious illness of dying returnees, but she's never delivered a baby in this one-horse town where she seems to be the only doctor. Right.

 

To be fair, I think they did the best they could given their limitations. They attempted some measure of closure with this ending knowing there was a very good chance it would not be renewed, and that's more than I can say for a lot of other shows that know they're probably getting the ax and instead of trying to give their audience some closure they deliberately leave them hanging. I just don't think this kind of premise is ever going to be well-served in the format of a regular TV series. It's the kind of story that should be restricted to a mini series or a feature film because it demands an explanation.

[LucyEth]

This certainly seemed like a possible series ending to me.  So fast forwarding one year is supposed to show us everything is in order now.  The Bureau of the Returned headed up by Marty is helping to place people, he and Maggie are happy and BG is still in town.  Loved the staring game she played with Henry and Fred through the restaurant window. So the returned can't vote?  Every time they show anyone sitting in that restaurant I can't help but think of that disgusting huge bug on the table when BG and Jacob were there one time.  Maybe that was another sign?  So it took a year for evil baby to start commanding the locusts.   If it ended here I would fine.

[The Mighty Peanut]

I love that Maggie cures Ebola in her spare time but when it comes to babies she's like wait what, those things come out of the vagina?

Edited January 28, 2015 by The Mighty Peanut

[pitchy]

So that played out more as a series rather than season finale. I always thought from Season One and still think the baby is anything but a normal child. I guess if the show returns, that will be the focus of the show Demon Baby versus Angel Baby?

 

Pastor 2 said that the baby inside had  'known only death' -- but wasnt it that Rachel was pregnant with Tom's baby before she apparently killed herself? 

If so, the baby knows both life and death -- and whatever the expectation of all those cicadas at the window, maybe it has to do with the usual birth and possibilities  -- it could go either way.    Bad Seed might be correctable.  Nature vs Nurture :-)   Jacob himself already has one or two features the other Returned don't have -- he can sense their (unseen) presence or hurt when they hurt.  "The Sensitive" ...

 

  Pastor 2 thinks he's now a good 2nd-chance-seed, but his ways of manipulating and controlling others are very reminiscent of his original methods.  In this show, second chances don't seem to result in more self-insight or improved relationships.  

[shapeshifter]

Pastor 2 said that the baby inside had  'known only death' -- but wasnt it that Rachel was pregnant with Tom's baby before she apparently killed herself?

Yeah, I think the Preacher must've been confused by watching The 4400.

I don't think this show should necessarily continue, but the finale being "one year later" opens it up for Jacob to look older.

[pitchy]

Yeah, I think the Preacher must've been confused by watching The 4400.

I don't think this show should necessarily continue, but the finale being "one year later" opens it up for Jacob to look older.

 

And the actor will be a year older if they do eventually decide in May to greenlight it,  because THEN they'd have to begin shooting the episodes.

[TobinAlbers]

The one thing I wanted - Tom to come back to be a father to his kid- was the one thing I didn't get. Three reasons why I think they opted not to do that was 1) it went against expectations and gave us a bittersweet end that not everyone comes back and that the sympathetic people can die 2) Tom as reincarnated into his son (don't ask me how) and 3) if this show gets a season 3 (no way, no how) Tom's resurrection will be the launching/driving story. He may come back converted to the ways of Pastor Tom or champion a whole other angle on this story.

Either way Mark Hildrith was billed in the opening credits and got paid for those 3 eps whether he was in them or not.

[pitchy]

I was just looking at the National Geographic Traveler photos contest, when this photo lept out at me.  The caption is:
 

 ---   "Rivers forming tree-like figures in the desert of Baja California, Mexico"

 

Here's the image:

[pitchy]

And then there was this the other day too.  This is a "handmade rocking chair carved from one piece of wood!" (Exclamation point was part of the quote.)

 The river pic was more apropos, but as you can see, Resurrection's question-mark symbol was still on my mind.

 

[jhlipton]

Yeah, she can synthesize a secret government formula that cures the mysterious illness of dying returnees, but she's never delivered a baby in this one-horse town where she seems to be the only doctor. Right.

 

The other thing that bugged was that there were no other pregnant women among the returned.  They had hundreds at the governmnet facility, but not a single one was knocked up?

[Jordan27]

Enough wasn't made of that ridiculous defense against the returned.

 

What was the point of not accepting their demands if they are just going to let them burst in and not fire a shot?

 

Silliness.

 

I've only watched the first three eps of the foreign Returned, but it's much more realitstic and entertaining.

[millennium]

Did Abraham Lincoln come back?  George Washington?  Marilyn Monroe?  Bob Denver?

 

They might have had some fun with that, even if it was just a couple of the characters saying something like, "Did you hear the Doors are touring with Jim Morrison again?"

 

But no.   They didn't even answer the first and biggest mystery of them all: why did Jacob appear in China?

[fresiaa]

I liked the show (but not the religious part).

I liked the jaw dropping twists.

 

Pity it is over, because there's so much to ask and answer, and characters to develop.

[millennium]

Maybe they had to end it because thinking about the implications of the latest plot twist -- returning millions of people to life -- made the writers' heads hurt.

Edited February 8, 2015 by millennium

[ByTor]

I didn't really care if the premise made sense or not....I'd be fine with no explanation of why they were returning and the authorities driving themselves crazy trying to find an explanation (because that's what would happen), but I would have liked there to be consistency within the world they create, and that was missing. 

Yes, this!  I rarely say "that would never happen" about character reactions to a premise that would never happen.  People are not going to randomly resurrect and pop up all over the world...so I tend to give the writers a lot of leeway as to what would or wouldn't happen in return.  However, if they created the world, I don't think it's too much to ask that the world at least be consistent, or to give a decent explanation if it is not.

[Kip Hackman]

Just watched that garbage finale. I literally laughed out loud when Margaret said "Okay, give me the gun, you can leave." And they did. And the same mob that overpowered three men were somehow unable to do it again. Good riddance to this show.