The Lizzie Borden Chronicles - General Discussion

[sunshine2288]

Can Cole go off and do his own Pinkerton show?

 

 

I second that.

 

This episode has left me wondering why they thought this show was a good idea? It had potential in the beginning, a guilty pleasure kind of thing but they've completely dropped the ball. I wonder why each episode requires 2 murders by Lizzie, it's just strange.

[iMonrey]

I still think it's good. I'm dying to know how they're going to wrap this up. It's so fictionalized, anything can happen. Siringo could finally nab Lizzie and send her to jail, or she could kill Siringo. Neither of which happened in real life but heck none of this happened in real life. 

 

I liked the way she took care of the pornographer but the minute she lit him on fire I started yelling at him to jump in the water! We was right there on the dock. Duh. He could have survived that. You'd think she'd have come up with a better way of offing him than setting him on fire right on the water's edge.

 

And what happened to the neighbor lady she killed last week? Does anyone know she's dead yet? She lives right next door and was openly hostile towards Lizzie, you think that's not going to raise some suspicions?

 

I don't get how she knew Siringo was fooling around with the Innkeeper's wife either.

 

I don't like Leslie's chances of making it out of this alive. The period wedding dress for Emma was quite lovely though.

[paramitch]

So I tried to watch this, because of a PTV spotlight on the two sisters, but this first episode I thought was just awful.

 

The performances were fine, but the CONSTANT repeated cuts back to the ax-murders, time after time after time, quickly moved from "gross but expected" territory to "laughable violence for violence's sake" territory. Just horrible and far too graphic.

 

I get that a famous ax murder was accomplished. But does this mean I have to watch it repeated every freaking five minutes of the show? Seriously? Who does that and thinks it's a way to expand audiences? And all the while interjected with some "edgy" punk-rock tune so we all know to feel energized and not repulsed?

 

End result: I turned it off at minute 44 and I NEVER do that. I have never done it in my life. But: thank you cow for breathing on me and alerting me to the bad TV I was slumped down and watching. Worst of all, I liked Christina Ricci and always always love seeing Clea DuVall, but this is just dreck, and I won't be checking it out again. They deserve better, though.

[PinkRibbons]

Lizzie devises a strategy that stops Siringo cold, and unleashes a more blunt and sinister side then ever before. Meanwhile, Emma begins to lose trust in Lizzie; and a co-conspirator who fails Lizzie realizes his mistake too late.

 

[aradia22]

 

They finally make Nancy (Jessy Schram) interesting -- drugging Siringo, stabbing Skipjack, and going after Lizzie -- but then they go and kill her off.

Right? I was happy to have another interesting female character and then poof. Like Adele. They need to stop doing this. I mean, Isabel and Emma are alright but they're actually being developed at a normal pace which is far too stately for a show like this.

 

Yes, it is going too fast. Why is she not under suspicion by the police?  They need to slow this speeding train down.  Also we need a break from the killing.  I would like to see her settle old scores with more preparation.

I agree that it's moving too fast but if this is strictly a limited series I kind of understand them rushing through so much plot. The writers are apparently no more able than Lizzie to play a long con. I wish they'd had the faith in their product to pace the story better and trust that if they found an audience, they'd get another season. At this rate I feel like the series is going to end with her turning into a giant dragon and flying away.

 

Siringo is an idiot as well though. How many guys did he shoot? At least Lizzie came up with alternate theories for her crimes.

 

That little dog is adorable. I wish Emma had trusted that Leslie would have wanted her anyway. For God's sake, he kissed the little dog on the head. They couldn't have telegraphed "nice guy" any harder.

 

LOL. I have to disagree though. It's still fun. That last death? I'm enjoying the creativity. It's getting to be like And Then There Were None.

[cathy7304]

Wow, this show is some kind of weird. It's the proverbial train wreck you can't help but watch. At first, I just kind of snickered at the outrageousness of the plot and it's easily plain each time, who is going to be Lizzie' s next victim. This show is one guilty pleasure.

[aradia22]

 

Can Cole go off and do his own Pinkerton show? I find I'm only interested in the Charlie portion of the storylines.

Strongly disagree. I find him quite bland. And for a guy who introduced himself by shooting another dude in the woods he's been a rather weak enemy for Lizzie. Lizzie interests me. Siringo is just a bum. A brute.

 

Oh, poor sweet stupid Leslie. Do you want to die?

 

I kind of like Lizzie partnered with the most Irish of Irish characters I've seen in a while. His lack of reaction to her is fun. Shame she had to kill him so soon.

 

I really couldn't care less about Isabel and Siringo. Is it wrong that I was kind of happy that Lizzie killed her?

[sunshine2288]

I know it's probably pointless trying to find logic in this show but has it ever been explained why Lizzie just all of a sudden went on a town wide killing spree? Was her father holding her back from realizing her destiny as a serial killer?

 

That being said, dang it, they killed the hot guy.

[Ailianna]

If Lizzie really did kill Emma's Benjamin, it isn't sudden.  Possibly her father was a type of restraint (and I'm still not entirely sure what went on with that situation, to be fair), but the scene in the cemetery seems to indicate that she sees herself as a family protector, and she's taking out whatever she feels is a threat.  But now she's promised her mom to protect non-lethally.

[PinkRibbons]

See, what truly bugs me about the 27 people she's killed is that it makes her most infamous murder seem so sloppy in comparison. I mean, Adele and Mr. Flowers at once? That was a thing of beauty. She knows what she's doing, and that would make sense if her first killing was Mom and Pop, and that she learned from that situation. But apparently she's been whacking people since her pre-teens, IIRC. So she couldn't come up with a more reasonable excuse for her father and stepmothers' deaths than "someone came in and killed them"? And she was stupid enough to BBQ her dress where the neighbors could see her? Does not compute.

[PinkRibbons]

Lizzie remakes herself as a school teacher with a new name in a town far from Fall River to be near Emma who is in an asylum. Meanwhile, two gunslingers, Bat Masterson and Tom Horn, hunt for Lizzie and want to know the fate of their friend Siringo. When Lizzie helps a victimized student get justice Lizzie-style, she jeopardizes her cover; and Emma makes a startling choice that leaves Lizzie devastated.

 

[Anoia]

I find myself liking this show more and more.

 

Also: happy to see Andy from True Blood.

[iMonrey]

This whole show has been a drastic departure from historical reality but they really notched it up to 11 this time. I liked the way she took care of the father who manipulated his son into killing his mother and step-father. "People should really do their own killing." LOL. Well put, Lizzie. I also loved the part where the dad showed up and said "Looking at you, I can tell you've obviously never lifted a hand to anyone." Now there's a sterling judge of character.

 

Yeah, I think the little girl at the end said it all when the two Pinkertons told her they had nothing to worry about because they had guns. "That won't matter."

 

I wasn't expecting to see Chris Bauer either. They've had some surprisingly good actors on this show. I can't imagine Jonathan Banks is desperate for work these days either. I guess these guys just thought it would be a hoot to get killed by Lizzie Borden.

Edited May 19, 2015 by iMonrey

[rtms77]

So I'm a little confused. Did Emma kill her roomate for some weird reason or did Lizzie?

I was kind of hoping that Lizzie would adopt the boy, make it a family thing lol.

[Footlong]

I don't think she was killed by any of the Bordens.

I think she committed suicide because of the rapes.

The good Doctor got his just deserts, wouldn't you say?

[iMonrey]

It certainly appeared as if the roommate killed herself because the broken ceramic figurine shard was in her own hand and dropped to the ground when the doctor examined her. That seemed to have been what shocked Emma out of her catatonic state.

[iMonrey]

A agree. Ricci chews the scenery but she's riveting. You can't take your eyes off her. 

[aradia22]

I enjoyed the court scene and Lizzie going to talk to Leslie. Those were the interesting things I remembered from the movie. The hypocrisy of Isabelle's husband and the use/abuse of public perception to convict Siringo. Lizzie playing up societal ideas about delicate feminine sensibilities to trick Leslie into going to the house.

 

Yay! I knew Leslie wouldn't care about Benjamin.

 

I don't care what Siringo MacGuyvers, it won't make him interesting to me.

 

I couldn't really tell how Slapjack killed Leslie. It was a weird combination of strangling and beheading. Where did the blood come from?

 

Skipjack's (I really can't remember his name) death was also disappointing. I feel like they're running out of ideas.

 

I think this was Christina's strongest acting in the series so far. Whatever else you can say about the show I love Christina Ricci and I love the costumes.

 

Emma coming back to save Lizzie (and kill Siringo) made up for the lackluster kills in the rest of the episode.

[aradia22]

I'm kind of into switching up the show with Lizzie masquerading as a schoolteacher and Emma in the asylum. It relieves the issue of Lizzie piling up bodies without getting caught at least a bit. And this evil doctor is a better opponent than the others were. Well, I did like Flowers and the photographer.

 

The good cop/bad cop routine back in Fall River is also a little more interesting than Siringo bumbling around but not resolving anything.

 

Lizzie, I thought you promised your mom not to kill anyone else if Emma came back.

 

I found the situation with Julius' father pursuing Lizzie to be funny.

 

"How could a woman do all that?"

 

I was wondering what they'd do with Lizzie's student. There's a clear parallel to her situation with her own parents (father and stepmother). I'm always happy when Lizzie tries to defend someone whether it's Adele or the dog or this kid.

 

Yes, I'm on the side of Emma's roommate having killed herself. i think they went a little overboard with the effects so it seemed more brutal than her just slitting her own throat.

 

Oh, that shopkeeper just had to tell her they sold yellow arsenic... ;)

 

Using a typewriter as a weapon... I love this show.

 

Emma turning on the doctor was fantastic. I wonder where she escaped to.

[PinkRibbons]

Season 1 ends with Lizzie racing to Boston, where Emma is taking refuge in the luxurious home of Adele Trotwood and her family, and being stunned to find a vastly different Emma than the cherished sister she knew. Lizzie unwittingly leads Bat Masterson and Tom Horn directly into their path; and Emma tries to ease tensions and makes an impetuous sacrifice.

 

[Gyproselee]

Loved the ending.Bit annoyed that they had balloons at a party when balloons were not commercially available until 1930.

[gigi1701]

Loved the ending.Bit annoyed that they had balloons at a party when balloons were not commercially available until 1930.

 

Actually it could have been possible - "Portugese priest Bartolomeu de Gusmao, in 1709, first displayed air trapped in a substance, and gave it the name that it is known by today, balloon. In the 19th century, balloons were developed further, this time in England, when scientists used rubber to store the air, and experimented with ‘lighter than air substances’ such as hydrogen, discovering that it caused the balloon to float upwards. In 1881, these types of ‘balloons’ were made available to the public, and in 1931 the first ‘novelty’ version was produced."

 

from this website - http://whoinventedthe.com/party-balloon/

[iMonrey]

In fact there were originally only going to be six episodes and you can kind of tell. These last two felt like afterthoughts that were tacked on once the story had finished. I always thought the sixth episode should have been the last, as we leave Emma and Lizzie reading to one another in the parlor after Emma has returned to save Lizzie from Siringo by putitng an ax in his head. That would have brought the sisters full-circle. The last two episodes felt disconnected and pointless. 

 

Still, I marvel at this show's ability to snag some impressive names like Jonathan Banks and Michelle Fairley. Christina Ricci and Clea DuVall are no slouches either. I think the talent on the screen is what made the show so captivating. Everyone played their parts like they were on a prestigious HBO series not some low budget thing in Lifetime. 

 

I wouldn't turn my nose up at a second season. I enjoyed it far more than I thought I would and there's still plenty of people left for Lizzie to kill.

[Ailianna]

I think Emma made a mistake in letting Lizzie see her on the dock.  For one, she couldn't be 100% sure Lizzie would sleep that long. For another, if Emma just disappeared, Lizzie might not realize that Emma left her; she might think someone took her, and get distracted hunting for her. Just disappearing would have been smarter.  Of course, this also prevents the second season from being Lizzie kills people on a ship while hunting for Emma's kidnapper. So that's something.

[iMonrey]

I agree it seems foolish of Emma to just think she could be rid of Lizzie so easily. She's just going to come back and start killing people again until Emma agrees to stay with her. The only real way out of this is for Emma to kill Lizzie, but I suppose she doesn't have it in her. 

[giovannif7]

Looks like Lizzie's killing spree is over - Lifetime has put an end to The Lizzie Borden Chronicles.

[Cabarb]

This makes me sad.  It was so incredibly campy but I really enjoyed the show.  I've never really been a big fan of Christina Ricci's, but I loved her in this role. 

[Freckledbruh]

Awww man!!!!  I liked the show better than the movie.  This sucks.

[Valny]

I was curious about this show but couldn't find it on Demand awhile after it started airing, so now that the first season is on Netflix, I'm going to give it a look.  I don't want to look at any episode comments, but are the general reactions favorable?   I also saw the at Ricci was nominated for a SAG award for the role(but didn't win). Is she very good in this? Was it surprising that she got the nomination?

[Ailianna]

It was fun.  And Ricci was awesome in an over the top campy way that totally is on purpose for her and the show.  It is NOT a historical drama, but it's a fun ride.  There's a movie that was made first about the famous parent murder and the trial.  Worth seeing before you watch the show, since the show picks up pretty much right after the movie ends.