S01.E05: The Truth

[ljp]

If what they just presented as the truth is supposed to actually be what is going on it's ludicrous and badly done. As many have pointed out, the plot holes are huge. How do you save the human race with a finite amount of supplies and keeping them all in the dark doing fake nonproductive jobs. There is no indication that there is any attempt at all to be self sustaining. Even if the plan was to keep the adults in the dark and have the first generation being self sustaining, there is no indication whatsoever that they are actually teaching them anything other than this is a big secret. There is no rationing, there's no agriculture, there is no livestock. If this is supposed to be what is really going on I will be irritated with the lack of logic and any other type of rational reality. I agree that VR, giant government experiment, time travel or something else makes more sense.

I also am still stuck on the crickets. Did they all get eaten? Is it a location hint? Apparently there are some place crickets don't generally live at high latitudes?

[ottoDbusdriver]

I am thinking that certain exceptional people (like Peter and Ethan) are treated differently.  Everyone else wakes up in the hospital after their "accidents."  Peter woke up in a hotel room.  Ethan wakes up in the forest.

 

Though Ethan did wake up in the forest after an accident.

 

I still don't understand why they would put people through the trauma of a car accident before abducting them.

[SonofaBiscuit]

After reading everyone's thoughts and questions, I agree that there may be another twist coming.  Maybe it really is still 2014, and everyone is isolated on an island somewhere, and those in charge are telling the "1st Generation" that it's 4028.  Did Dr. Pilcher create these Abbies?   And if he did, I hope that he's not using the adult citizens of Wayward Pines as his test subjects. Oh, I need to perform another experiment today...guess it's time for a reckoning!  Maybe these people who are getting their throats slit aren't dead after all... Good point by another poster that it's possible that WP isn't the only little community like this that exists.

 

Oh, Ben.  "They're my friends, mom!"  Hasn't he been in town for like FIVE minutes?!  And Theresa needs to be careful, or she'll end up dead for being too much of a "free thinker" (see how that turned out for Petey, Theresa?).  

 

I didn't like Hope Davis' acting choices during the scenes where she was explaining the truth to Ben and his "friends."  WAY too many weird hand gestures there.  The teacher is just weird, period.  I was sad to see Justin Kirk and Juliette Lewis go, but I won't be upset if the crazy teacher is the next one on the Reckoning list!

[janie jones]

Good point by another poster that it's possible that WP isn't the only little community like this that exists.

I thought when Ethan was in that warehouse, there were doors labeled with the names of other cities?  Did I make that up?

 

 

I still don't understand why they would put people through the trauma of a car accident before abducting them.

Because it explains the confusion and loss of memory, and they probably have to monitor your vitals when they defrost you, so it's a reason to be in the hospital.  But still you're risking having damaged goods.  Like, didn't Ethan's car get hit by a semi?  How did they ensure that Ethan didn't get completely mangled?

 

I don't understand why they didn't just take the whole Burke family at once.  Did they not intend to take the other two originally?  And if it was specifically Ethan they wanted, what's the purpose of the hunt for the other agents?  Were they bait?  Were they intended to be the new sheriffs, but it didn't work out, and when Ethan doesn't work out they're going to thaw out another law enforcement agent they're holding on to?

 

 

 

Despite being the sheriff and a known troublemaker, no one seems to take notice when Ethan is gone for long stretches of time. That's convenient...

I think it's a test.

 

 

 

Apparently Pilcher and Co. decided to avoid importing any attornies into the future, based on that realty guy's behavior toward Ms. Burke.

Given that the legal system consists of someone getting a phone call telling them to reckon someone, I'm sure a lawyer would just cause problems. There probably is a lawyer in Wayward Pines, but they're working as a short-order cook.

 

I didn't take the cricket thing as being a major detail, just a sign that everything in the town is phony, and the forest isn't a real forest, because there's no wildlife.  But I don't know what's stopping birds and insects from flying in.

 

The future of the human race is in the hands of kids who are only ever going to have a high school education.  I mean, maybe the shop classes at the school are good enough to get people training in the trades, but who is going to educate the next generation of scientists?  There's got to be other medical professionals besides Pam, if not now, but at some point.  What happens when someone needs a tooth pulled or has a heart attack?

 

Also, these people are ostensibly preserving the human race in this town and they've taken 99% white people.

Edited June 12, 2015 by janie jones

[grandemocha]

 

I thought when Ethan was in that warehouse, there were doors labeled with the names of other cities?  Did I make that up?

Yes. It was only labeled with names of food items, not cities. Coffee, sugar, etc etc. Looked like huge silos for food storage for the town.

 

 

But that's the weird thing -- each silo also had Wayward Pines in big letters on it.  Why would they do that if this the only town that this facility services ?  Which would make one think that there are other silos with the name of different towns on them.

IDK. Whoever did the labeling was anal retentive and liked things neatly labeled with WP and whatever was in it? Beats me honestly.

Edited June 12, 2015 by grandemocha

[ottoDbusdriver]

WAY too many weird hand gestures there.  The teacher is just weird, period.

 

When Mrs. Fisher was explaining the story of Chris and what happened when he told his family, her hands were making no sense at all.

 

There's got to be other medical professionals besides Pam, if not now, but at some point.  What happens when someone needs a tooth pulled or has a heart attack?

 

I think Pam is the only one in WP at this point -- remember that when Ethan/Beverly attacked her during his escape from the hospital, Pam later says that she had to stitch her own nose.  

 

ETA:

Yes. It was only labeled with names of food items, not cities. Coffee, sugar, etc etc. Looked like huge silos for food storage for the town.

 

But that's the weird thing -- each silo also had Wayward Pines in big letters on it.  Why would they do that if this the only town that this facility services ?  Which would make one think that there are other silos with the name of different towns on them.

Edited June 12, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[SoothingDave]

I figure the crickets would interfere with the microphones.

 

The guy Theresa "sold" a house to remembers being put into suspended animation and seeing other people in similar tubes.  That would seem to validate that portion of the orientation narrative, anyway.  Maybe it's not 2000 years, but people are being revived at different times.  

[Neurochick]

Also, these people are ostensibly preserving the human race in this town and they've taken 99% white people.

 

 

I noticed this as well, this is enough to make me NOT watch anymore.  The show is too America-Centric and too White Folks-Centric.  

[ottoDbusdriver]

My biggest beef is probably that someone thawed out on a timer but they also claim the people have no blood in cryo so I don't see how anyone could be the first to revive unassisted.

 

Unless certain people like Pilcher and Nurse Pam are some sort of flesh-covered androids that live forever in order to maintain systems until it is deemed time to thaw everyone out.

[grandemocha]

 

I noticed this as well, this is enough to make me NOT watch anymore.  The show is too America-Centric and too White Folks-Centric.

I'll give you the point that there's alot of white people, but...the show is set in Idaho, which is in America. This place is supposed to be an idyllic small town where everyone should be happy happy, like Pleasantville. A show set in the US is going to be American.

[SoothingDave]

I noticed this as well, this is enough to make me NOT watch anymore.  The show is too America-Centric and too White Folks-Centric.  

 

Well, they did have a black sheriff.

 

Maybe there are other WP-style villages preserving other human cultures?  Or maybe Dr. Evil is into eugenics?  Or maybe he's just a little ethnocentric? 

 

I have to figure that a white American would build a white American utopia (where paradise is home).  If Dr Evil was German or Brazilian or Chinese, I would expect his utopia would reflect that as well. If you want people to feel "at home" you would want them in a "homey" atmosphere.  

[riverheightsnancy]

I noticed this as well, this is enough to make me NOT watch anymore.  The show is too America-Centric and too White Folks-Centric.  

Maybe that is what Pilcher wants? A pure white race? Maybe he is a past/future Nazi type (just spit- balling here)? I wonder if there are any commonalities regarding the "Chosen" one's backgrounds? Religion, or ethic nationality?  I cannot remember, are there any gay people?

[janie jones]

I think it makes sense for a number of reasons to have only Americans in Wayward Pines, but mostly white people?  Idaho may be 93.7% white (I just looked it up on census.gov--and that's not the "not of hispanic descent" number), but they're getting people from at least as far away as Seattle, and King County 77.7% white.  And anyway, if it were me, and I were deliberately choosing people to join my society, I'd make an effort to include some diversity.  But then again, I would have done the whole shebang entirely differently.

 

But that's the weird thing -- each silo also had Wayward Pines in big letters on it.  Why would they do that if this the only town that this facility services ?  Which would make one think that there are other silos with the name of different towns on them.

Oh, maybe that's why I was thinking there were signs with different towns on them.

[bound for glory]

i've been a fan of dillons since the movie "my bodyguard". i think he's great.

[cleo]

I'm enjoying the show but the biggest issue for me is the killing people. Killing a guy for spraypaint is extreme. It also doesn't realy jive with their whole - don't tell them to keep the alive! explanation. If it's at the point a guy won't accept, and you're considering killing him bc of it, why not just tell him and see if he settles down and accepts his fate? What's to lose? And if he doesn't- well you tried. Bring on the Reckoning!

 

I actually don't think they will be able to explain the killing. Also those kids really aren't the first generation, it would be their children. Bugs.

[janie jones]

If it's at the point a guy won't accept, and you're considering killing him bc of it, why not just tell him and see if he settles down and accepts his fate? What's to lose?

The secret.  If they don't want the adults to know, then they can't trust someone who already is trying to foment an insurrection to keep it quiet.

 

I actually don't think they will be able to explain the killing. Also those kids really aren't the first generation, it would be their children. Bugs.

Well, and also, there are people already having babies.  What generation are those babies? Edited June 12, 2015 by janie jones

[riverheightsnancy]

I'm enjoying the show but the biggest issue for me is the killing people. Killing a guy for spraypaint is extreme. It also doesn't realy jive with their whole - don't tell them to keep the alive! explanation. If it's at the point a guy won't accept, and you're considering killing him bc of it, why not just tell him and see if he settles down and accepts his fate? What's to lose? And if he doesn't- well you tried. Bring on the Reckoning!

 

I actually don't think they will be able to explain the killing. Also those kids really aren't the first generation, it would be their children. Bugs.

Why don't they just re-freeze the person? You never know they may need more people at some point in the future.

[roughing it]

...aaaaand I'm out. Not my type of genre.

[Chief Queef]

Eh, I'll roll with it. It's a fun campy network show and I've seen worse/sillier exposition in sci-fi...ahem, Prometheus anyone? I still have a ton of questions (how did they get the dry goods and stuff to last that long? why the brutal repression and public executions?) but I'm sure the show will answer them in time...or, you know, not answer them and leave giant gaping Shyamalam-ish plot holes. Either way I'm still having fun!

One thing I found interesting was how Wayward Pines leadership refers to the abbies as "devolution of humankind" and "less than human." There's really no such thing as "devolution", only evolution, so in reality the abbies are MORE than human as the next phase in human evolution in response to climate change (or whatever rapid global shift the show claims caused the mutation). But the fact that management is choosing to refer to them that way, along with the town's political repression and the uniform demographic makeup of the people they selected for freezing, makes me think this is actually a giant eugenics experiment and Pilcher's end goal is more sinister than just sustaining the human species.

[jhlipton]

Please add me to #Teamnotwholetruth.

 

M. Night Shamalamadingdong

 

Me too, and I'm glad I'm not the only one to call him that.

 

• Why did Dr.God of WP decide that a mostly white, mid-western town was the best option? 

 

This all seems as if it was lifted from a Young Adult Sci-Fi novel that was written without much thought to how things would realistically work. And while sci-fi is basically the definition of non-realistic, the good stuff allows you to buy into the premise without constantly being distracted by asking "why would people do that?".

 

It's mostly white because that's still how Hollywood thinks. (Imagines: Abbie Mills in WP.  All secrets blown in first episode.)

 

I had a thought -- if they want to populate a town in the future, pass out flyers at a Sci Fi convention.  No need for secrecy or silly rules -- "Hey, we're in the future now!"  Recruiting people like Beverly, without her daughter, for repopulation doesn't make any sense.

 

The car crashes have to be an implanted memory.  It would be far too dangerous to set up an accident for every would-be member; too many variables and if one goes wrong, your recruit dies.

 

The "truth" ain't what it used to be.

[Jel]

But the fact that management is choosing to refer to them that way, along with the town's political repression and the uniform demographic makeup of the people they selected for freezing, makes me think this is actually a giant eugenics experiment and Pilcher's end goal is more sinister than just sustaining the human species.

Me too. Plus his reactions to Ethan: the concern, the puzzled-mixed-with-worry-and-near-disappointment (like oh dear, maybe this guy isn't going to be the one I'd hoped for) initially. Then, last epi, the delight and almost pride that he'd made it so far. He seemed impressed and hopeful. No one else ever meets this guy either, as Mrs. Fisher said. It makes me think there has to be more reveals coming, certainly about who these overlords are anyway,

[SoothingDave]

I had a thought -- if they want to populate a town in the future, pass out flyers at a Sci Fi convention.  No need for secrecy or silly rules -- "Hey, we're in the future now!"  Recruiting people like Beverly, without her daughter, for repopulation doesn't make any sense.

 

The car crashes have to be an implanted memory.  It would be far too dangerous to set up an accident for every would-be member; too many variables and if one goes wrong, your recruit dies.

 

Beverly had a role, one assumes.  They aren't just interested in repopulation, but in having the ideal little society.  

 

And the car crash being a false memory is an interesting idea.  Arguing for it: they were not able to find any traces of Ethan's DNA in the car he was supposedly in that crashed (and killed his partner).

 

Arguing against it: Pope cutting oil line in Theresa's car.  If they were going to snatch her and Ben and implant a false memory, why the subterfuge of the "oil leak" causing Pope to stop them (and giving him the chance to create an actual oil leak)?

[iMonrey]

I have to give it up to this show for explaining things just five episodes in. That alone makes it a stand-out in this genre of television. I know there are still more questions to be answered but this is something almost any other show would have dragged out for years. I had figured out the time jump thing early on based on people thinking they'd come from different years, I just wasn't sure whether this was the past or the future. 

 

It's really not that much of a stretch that mankind would begin to devolve. I see it happening already, mostly in politics.

 

The only thing is, haven't the producers seen Life After People? Because it wouldn't take 2000 years for Boise to reach that level of decay. More like 500. In 2000 years there'd be nothing left of it.

 

 

If everyone finds out that Humanity's survival depends on staying in town, why are the grown-ups even brought along if their minds are so poorly adaptable?

 

This is one of the things they still need to explain because it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. My best guess is a lot of the parents were brought along simply to ease their kids' transition into Wayward Pines. It doesn't explain the single adults, of course. 

 

I would also hazard a guess that somehow Pilcher and his team were able to screen for genetically "pure" humans that didn't possess whatever gene would eventually cause them to devolve. Otherwise there's no way to "save" humanity if these people will eventually devolve as well.

 

 

[izabella]

When Mrs. Fisher was explaining the story of Chris and what happened when he told his family, her hands were making no sense at all.

 

Lol at the Chris story.  What do you bet he and his family were Reckoned instead of committing suicide?

[pezgirl7]

I think it's interesting that Peter is the only one we know of so far who was not in a car accident. I'm guessing after his one night stand with Pam, Pam decided she liked him, and wanted to take him to the future, so she drugs him and then has him immediately frozen. She isn't frozen until years later, so when Peter is unfrozen, she appears older to him. If the car crashes are real, are they all caused by the Doctor's group in order to collect people? It's easier for someone to disappear when their friends and family think they are dead.

 

I still think crickets are extinct in the future, and the fake cricket noises are there just to comfort people.

 

I didn't think the creature staring at Ethan behind the tree at the end of episode four really looked like an abbie. I thought it was standing upright and appeared calm, while the abbies all seem to be hunched over and crawl like animals. Maybe there are two forms of mutant humans?

[izabella]

The abbies don't crawl.  We saw them running to the helicopter on two legs, while waving their arms around.

[jhlipton]

Beverly had a role, one assumes.  They aren't just interested in repopulation, but in having the ideal little society.  

 

And the car crash being a false memory is an interesting idea.  Arguing for it: they were not able to find any traces of Ethan's DNA in the car he was supposedly in that crashed (and killed his partner).

 

Arguing against it: Pope cutting oil line in Theresa's car.  If they were going to snatch her and Ben and implant a false memory, why the subterfuge of the "oil leak" causing Pope to stop them (and giving him the chance to create an actual oil leak)?

 

Beverly was the best person in thew entire Pacific Northwest to fill a role?  I guess she stirred up his curiosity and gave him someone to trust, but I don't see her playing that big a role.

 

 

Lol at the Chris story.  What do you bet he and his family were Reckoned instead of committing suicide?

 

Much like Bill's wife said "he cut his own throat".  This town does have a way with euphemisms.

[Fable]

Things are not adding up for me at all.  I'm not at all buying this concept of "The Truth."  I'm not even sure I believe everything is 2000 years in the future, although I'm not discounting it either.  One thing is for damn sure, there is a lot more going on than meets the eye. 

 

I remember back in episode 1, when Ethan was talking with the shrink, there was a mention of hallucinations.  While I'm not quite suggesting this is a hallucination (because if it were than every scene would probably be strictly from Ethan's point of view), I think it is worth remembering that hallucinations were brought up, otherwise why mention this at all if it wasn't somehow significant to the story. 

 

I'm still really enjoying this show, but instead of feeling enlightened by this episode, I'm more confused than before.

[JenE4]

Pez pretty much posted the same things that I was going to say in respnse to some of the repeated questions. I also think that crickets are extinct, but if they don't want the adults to catch on, they faked the expected background noise.

As for Pam/Peter, for her to age THAT much, then, yeah, she was probably awake helping to collect people for another decade or two. (Do we know how long the preparation phase was yet? I actually dozed off a couple of times and missed a few minutes here and there until I willed myself to awaken!) And then she was unfrozen before he was. But, yeah, it does seem that most people that we know of so far were chosen and then "car-accidented" before being frozen. But Pam seemingly was specifically was seeking out a future beau in that hotel bar when she chose Peter. Maybe she was hoping they could rekindle things and that he wouldn't notice that he was in a different hotel, but then when he rebuffed her advances circa 4021-ish, she made it her mission to have him reckoned--a woman scorned!

[SoothingDave]

Beverly was the best person in thew entire Pacific Northwest to fill a role?  I guess she stirred up his curiosity and gave him someone to trust, but I don't see her playing that big a role.

 

I remember back in episode 1, when Ethan was talking with the shrink, there was a mention of hallucinations.  While I'm not quite suggesting this is a hallucination (because if it were than every scene would probably be strictly from Ethan's point of view), I think it is worth remembering that hallucinations were brought up, otherwise why mention this at all if it wasn't somehow significant to the story. 

 

Beverly was good at Y2K stuff, so maybe they thought she'd help with technology?

 

Ethan also asked Kate if "it was happening again," which I took to be about hallucinations.  Of course, she said "no," but that is just the kind of thing your own hallucinations would tell you.

 

I do confess that I went back to check and see at one point that the psychiatrist was not the same person as Sheriff Pope!  That would have been way too blatant of a clue.

[crowswork]

It seems like an experiment to me. I think there are a lot of peoplesycles still unthawed. They thawed a handful of people and are trying to sustain and expand before they wake the others. It's what I'd do. Expand slowly and with farms and whatnot. There wouldn't be enough genetic vigor in this few people. Other wise they'd have to have the most diversity possible. You don't want a future of the kid from deliverance.

 

College? They would have computers full of all the best professors and classes to show the teens. Heck, with cyber schools we're already going down that path. (Does handsyhypno lady teach ALL the classes in the school?) Maybe the kids are hyper-IQ types (explains the son's bullied outsider vibe) who can take the experiment to the next level.

 

Or maybe it's an enclave where the wealthy white, moral majority types want to hide and live in the early 1960's TV fantasy world and the Abbis are actors and..... no this is the plot to that M Night movie where everyone was hiding in the Amish 1800's.... if they start hanging yellow flags....

[grandemocha]

Just something I see constantly popping up...

 

People do realize that M. Night Shymalan (I honestly never understood why some people insist on calling him Shymalaladingdong...there's fewer letters in his actual name) did NOT write the book the show is based on, right? He's only an exec producer. I'd argue that Chad Hodge is more in charge than him. If any issues arise, then that's on the actual author, Blake Crouch. Not M. Night.

[KDeFlane]

whew!  I am still trying to catch up with the flurry of discussions. I waited until my household all went to bed and then stayed up late to watch this episode -- never fast-forwarded the recording either, to make sure my DVR viewing counts the most it can towards ratings (she says with the delusion that TiVo reports back to the networks). And then I had to stay up for another half-hour to read all the reactions in my twitter feed.  And then got up this morning and read at least 3 different recaps.  And only now am I joining in on this discussion thread.  (Seems like my delay saved me from unwanted book-spoilage, thank you.)

 

It was fun watching the reveal about the future year, as I sat there all smug for being on that theory train.  And yet, the episode still gave me moments of surprise -- my jaw dropped when the helicopter made its appearance. I might need to rewatch it later today.

[DashinDutt]

It all makes sense. I don't see any major plot holes yet and I have no reason not to believe the supposed theory of Mrs. Fisher. Do you guys remember when Ethan saw his family in the hospital before they "woke up after the accident" and took it as a hallucination? IT MAKES SENSE. It means that this particular corporation/organisation that made Wayward Pines and other towns happen, had the government in on it in `1990-2014ish times (hence the Secret Service classified the details of Ethan's disappearance and how everything was Top Secret). It was a well thought plan. The Pope(Terrence Howard) was hired in in the 1990-2014ish times by the company to make all the "accidents" happen so that even if the residents did spot the cause (Pope) of their accidents and did not consider them as coincidences, the adults would never even come close to thinking about the fact that they are so ahead in the future. Maybe, they were all abducted in different times during the 1990-2014ish times and put into hibernation or whatever. And the key staff which was required (Pope and Doctor included) to run the show in the future put themselves to sleep too, with some kinda alarm clocks, of course. And all of them are being woken up strategically.  

The town is in quite a pristine condition for its age, if you haven't noticed. This could mean that it was either preserved all those years or it was restored/built by the first ones to wake (probably hired or chosen builders).

Now, why aren't they letting the adults in on the secret. It's quite simple, actually. It's something that you see today in every government in the world. If aliens existed, would the government release an official statement? Nope. Why? People taking it as a joke, panic, mass hysteria, global riots---- not something you'd want if you are ensuring the survival of the human race. On the other hand, the children's mind is like clay, you can give it whatever shape you want to and after all, they are the future. The adults will die of old age sooner or later but are currently required to run things for the children's proper upbringings, give it a town feel.

As to answer, how is food and other stuff being supplied? The hi-tech facility that Ethan visited probably answers that.

Edited June 12, 2015 by DashinDutt

[KaveDweller]

Unless certain people like Pilcher and Nurse Pam are some sort of flesh-covered androids that live forever in order to maintain systems until it is deemed time to thaw everyone out.

Except we know Nurse Pam ages, because she was younger when she met Peter. Would flesh-covered androids age?

[izabella]

Was Pam younger when she met Peter, or was the woman Peter met in the bar younger?  He said he went to bed with Denise, and he woke up in a different hotel room with a woman, and her name wasn't Denise and she was 20 years older, or something like that. 

 

Could he have just meant he went to bed with Denise (woman one), but woke up with Pam (woman 2)?  I thought is was unclear what his words meant when he described what happened to him.

[DashinDutt]

Except we know Nurse Pam ages, because she was younger when she met Peter. Would flesh-covered androids age?

 

Was Pam younger when she met Peter, or was the woman Peter met in the bar younger?  He said he went to bed with Denise, and he woke up in a different hotel room with a woman, and her name wasn't Denise and she was 20 years older, or something like that. 

 

Could he have just meant he went to bed with Denise (woman one), but woke up with Pam (woman 2)?  I thought is was unclear what his words meant when he described what happened to him.

Pam was probably woken up earlier and was hired too, just like Pope---in the past which would explain why she knows about everything and why she is old.

Edited June 12, 2015 by DashinDutt

[jhlipton]

It seems like an experiment to me. I think there are a lot of peoplesycles still unthawed. They thawed a handful of people and are trying to sustain and expand before they wake the others. It's what I'd do. Expand slowly and with farms and whatnot.

 

But that's not what they're doing.  They're starting with toy stores and fake real estate and bar/biergartens.  No one that we've seen in WP is creating needed supplies.  

 

If that's what they wanted to do, they could have found the least crazy of the survivalists and froze them.  No need to lie about the year or what's outside -- just plop them onto some decent arable land with a good fence and tell 'em to have at it.

People do realize that M. Night Shymalan (I honestly never understood why some people insist on calling him Shymalaladingdong...there's fewer letters in his actual name) did NOT write the book the show is based on, right? He's only an exec producer. I'd argue that Chad Hodge is more in charge than him. If any issues arise, then that's on the actual author, Blake Crouch. Not M. Night.

 

We write "Shymalaladingdong" because we think it's funny. YMMV

 

I think Blake Crouch is an executive producer, so he has even more say than "just" the author

[ottoDbusdriver]

but they're getting people from at least as far away as Seattle, and King County 77.7% white.

 

Peter McCall was abducted in San Diego, and Arlene is apparently from New Jersey (but we're not sure where she was abducted, but she doesn't seem to be the type to drive the highways and byways in her spare time/on vacation).

 

Except we know Nurse Pam ages, because she was younger when she met Peter. Would flesh-covered androids age?

 

In the trailers for Terminator: Genisys, Arnold Scharznegger's T600 Terminator definitely ages.  So maybe ?

[grandemocha]

I think Blake Crouch is an executive producer, so he has even more say than "just" the author

and Chad Hodge is listed as the CREATOR of the show on IMDb and several other locations, so this still isn't a project led by M. Night Shymalan. M. Night only directed one episode thus far and is an exec producer on only (4 episodes, 2015), so his contribution isn't as major as some would think. So we have the creator of the show and the writer, neither of which is M. Night.

 

We write "Shymalaladingdong" because we think it's funny. YMMV

I think it's rude and silly, but you're right, MMV.

It makes no sense to me to literally doubt every word/ statement the characters on the show say. Like at this point, if anyone is doubting that they are in the future (4028) even though it has been made ridiculously clear by the characters on the show, by the creator, by the author...then some people will probably doubt everything from here till the series finale. Some things need to be taken at face value.

[theatremouse]

She said the current year, and she said the 2095 quarters are the last remnants of human society or whatnot, but the timeline on when humans really went kaput, I think, was not entirely clear?

So OK, the Abbies (Abbeys?) "devolved" (or were created in a lab by Pilcher or who knows how), but however they did, they arrived, and between their presence and other presumably not-great-progress on humans' part, humans are now toast beyond whoever is in WP or in WP's deep freeze. Clearly this must've gone down later than 2095, but that doesn't mean it happened even within 100 years of the most recent abductions we're aware of. I don't think she said it's been 2000 years since there were functional humans at all, just obviously framed it as 2000 years since the era the kids she was talking to were from, and presumably, close enough to when she was from. It might have taken a few hundred years for the Abbies to really blow up in number, and humans could've been on a downswing well before then anyway. I'm not sure if we know if this was like some sudden abrupt WW-Abbies apocalypse now-there's-humans-now-there-aren't. I don't think we know if this was like some kind of epidemic that swept through or what. Only having the quarters from 2095 doesn't mean there were none later. It just means now, anything later has since been destroyed. You'd think something more recent might be easier to come across, but plenty of reasons old stuff might be hard to come by, especially when you can't leave town.

So yeah, I don't think there's reason to question the issue of "they're in the future" but there's still plenty of gaping holes in the teacher's story that leave lots of room for her to be either misleading (if not outright lying) about certain bits, and certainly putting whatever spin on it she's been told to. Plus the possibility of what she's been told/believes to be the truth can still of course turn out not to be. I think until proven otherwise we have to assume everyone in the town, with possibly the exception of Pam, is some sort of pawn or another. Whose we don't know. Why we don't know.

I also wonder now if the lantern on the hallucinations may have been secret governmenty drugging him in some way to prepare for what was to come and maybe his hallucinating at the time was a side effect of said drugging, rather than related to any case-stress whatever they implied.

Edited June 12, 2015 by theatremouse

[cleo]

So mileage varies, but killing people rather than let them in on the secret if it seems they keep rebelling still doesn't make sense to me or seem like a rational plan. I think some people would realize their efforts to leave and find their family were futile and would adapt and keep quiet. Others would maybe disbelieve and act up, and then like I said - a Reckoning! That would also help to encourage those others to fall in line once the truth was revealed. It just seems awfully pointless to bring them only to end up killing them so easily.

 

I guess also I believe people can adapt to accept many fantastical things and to extreme circumstances when they are forced to, but suspension of disbelief and all that.

 

It's still a pretty neat story and the first of its kind since I got burned by mess that ended up being the X Files and Lost that I've watched.

[Jodithgrace]

I think that the reason that all of the supplies ware labeled Wayward Pines, was that back in 2014, when all of this stuff was bought, everything was always labeled, as a matter of course. There probably was a town called Wayward Pines, Idaho, on which this ark was modeled, and  things had to be ordered and sent there. Of course, people might have wondered why this little town in Idaho was ordering vast quantities of non-perishables, but if they had a government permit, who is going to question it too deeply? Certainly not the suppliers. I just think that if you realize that the labeling was done in 2014, or earlier, and not in 2094 or 4000, whatever,  it makes perfect sense.  

I still have plenty of issues with the show, like why haven't they recruited doctors or other essential professionals, like scientists? They wouldn't need a college, per se, if they had trained professionals who could teach the young in an apprentice type program. But if you are starting out with no doctors, and only one sadistic nurse, you are pretty much screwed. The so called other doctors in the hospital didn't actually exist, am I correct, or why else did Pam have to stitch up her own nose? 

[Guest]

So mileage varies, but killing people rather than let them in on the secret if it seems they keep rebelling still doesn't make sense to me or seem like a rational plan. I think some people would realize their efforts to leave and find their family were futile and would adapt and keep quiet. Others would maybe disbelieve and act up, and then like I said - a Reckoning! That would also help to encourage those others to fall in line once the truth was revealed. It just seems awfully pointless to bring them only to end up killing them so easily.

 

I guess also I believe people can adapt to accept many fantastical things and to extreme circumstances when they are forced to, but suspension of disbelief and all that.

 

It's still a pretty neat story and the first of its kind since I got burned by mess that ended up being the X Files and Lost that I've watched.

I think the reckonings mainly serve to deter others from breaking the rules.  And also somewhat as entertainment, because it helps make this dystopian world creepier-- from a writing standpoint.  Who would watch a miniseries about peace-loving, truth-telling farmers?  

[Tabasco Cat]

The more I think about it, the more it confirms for me that time travel has to be involved.  Or else the story is total bullshit.

 

Hahaha! Those were almost my exact words in the Theories thread 2 minutes before I came to this one to catch up.

[grandemocha]

At this point I am honestly kind of thinking that no matter what character says point blank, "Hey, the year is 4028, we were in hibernation for a long as hell time", some people still won't believe it.  Even if Ethan accepts it. Which is fine, that's each person's right to believe what they want, but the truth is right in front of us IMO. I love theorizing as much as the next person, but I can recognize when some things presented are obvious truths and others are not.

[photo fox]

Please see the mod note I've posted here:

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/27699-mod-notes-book-talk-etc/#entry1237493

[Actionmage]

Lol at the Chris story.  What do you bet he and his family were Reckoned instead of committing suicide?

 

I'm thinking there wasno Chris; that it is a pure propaganda story to get the kids to not tell the grown-ups ("See? Adults will not be able to Handle The Truth and kill everyone. Including YOU!")

 

It makes no sense to me to literally doubt every word/ statement the characters on the show say.

 

Style points off for "literally" usage.  This show is the definition of Unreliable Narrator. It started with the implication/telling of Ethan having hallucinations. People are actively lying to others. Teens are told to actively lie to peers and adults. We as the audience doubting the veracity of characters shown to be liars isn't willful disbelief, but has been actively invited by the show itself, imo. 

 

I believe that Beverly thought she was only in town from '99 to 2000. I believe that Arlene is not only from Jersey, but that she cared for Pope despite him being an ass.  I believe Pope's cryptic "The truth is worse than you can imagine."   So it's not every thought/syllable/motive that I question, it's the stuff that's been parsed about the lost time and the sustainability and why there's got to be a sekrit kult of kidz who are more special than most of the adults and the rest of their peers.  Also, why death is the only real punishment and it's given for graphitti as well as trying to escape.

 

Which makes me wonder more about why Ethan is allowed to be more subversive than Peter, and possibly for longer, given the blissed-out kind of vibe folks are giving off or faking?   The previews, which I can't remember fully, seemed to show less-than-idyllic things happening at some point. It could just be FOX promo monkeys doing their thing- leaving false impressions and exaggerating how awful something is.::shrugs::

 

I was wondering about the candles the 111 special snowflakes had. I was curious about if they were battery-lit or if they were regular wax candles. Did they cryofreeze the candles too, so they wouldn't melt over the two millennia?  Sadly, Amy's candle "sparked" with Carrie's candle and not Ben's. *g* Can that be something to ponder?

Edited June 14, 2015 by Actionmage

[Centaur]

Did anyone notice that the realty contract referred to the David Pilcher Act? This community is pretty clearly something he rules if he is the source of the law. Which explains why he attacts no uses psychopaths like Pam as his lieutenants.

The Reckonings are just like how executions were conducted before the Industrial Revolution. Public and gory. Not so much a punishment of an individual, but a demonstration of th mower of the sovereign. In this case Pilcher by the look of it.

[SlackerInc]

..But how can it get much clearer than Ethan seeing the severely rusted road signs/ sign of Boise, the ruins of the church, and the wide camera pan to the ruins of the city? Is it really easier to accept aliens, or time lords, or a gigantic virtual reality set up to get Ethan to hallucinate an overgrown/ruined Idaho instead of just hibernation for a long time?

- The ancient quarters, what the new guy saw, what hypno teacher said..

At this point I am honestly kind of thinking that no matter what character says point blank, "Hey, the year is 4028, we were in hibernation for a long as hell time", some people still won't believe it. Even if Ethan accepts it. Which is fine, that's each person's right to believe what they want, but the truth is right in front of us IMO. I love theorizing as much as the next person, but I can recognize when some things presented are obvious truths and others are not.

Yeah, this. And I say this as someone who is totally unspoiled (I don't even watch previews for next week). It reminds me of True Detective: people spun all these elaborate theories and were then disappointed or enraged when the resolution was more prosaic.