S02.E01: Kina Hora

[formerlyfreedom]

This episode is being released ahead of the rest of Season Two for Amazon Prime Members in the US only. If you enter this thread before you view it, you may be spoiled. This comes ahead of the full season premiering December 11 in the U.S., UK, Germany and Austria.

 

Sarah and Tammy are getting married, while Maura and Ali are visited by ghosts from the past and Josh and Rabbi Raquel can't hide their big news.

 

 

 

[Febgirl]

Guess I'm first.  I rewound that opening scene multiple times to catch all the bits of dialogue, and I'm sure I still didn't get it all.  Very Altman-esque, and a great opening to the season.

 

  I also put the rewind button to good use when I spied Bradley Whitford's name in the closing credits.  Without giving it away, so that others can too, I'll just say if you look hard enough, you'll find him.  

I loved the change of the opening credits to include the concepts of 2nd wave feminism, Immigration and what I assume is Weimar Germany.  

Looking forward to discussing the rest of the season with everyone when it drops next week!

[Primetimer]

Please enjoy this surprise, stirring shift in the middle of the Season 2 premiere.

Read the story

[AheadofStraight]

Guess I'm first.  I rewound that opening scene multiple times to catch all the bits of dialogue, and I'm sure I still didn't get it all.  Very Altman-esque, and a great opening to the season.

 

  I also put the rewind button to good use when I spied Bradley Whitford's name in the closing credits.  Without giving it away, so that others can too, I'll just say if you look hard enough, you'll find him.  

I loved the change of the opening credits to include the concepts of 2nd wave feminism, Immigration and what I assume is Weimar Germany.  

Looking forward to discussing the rest of the season with everyone when it drops next week!

 

I noticed his name in the credits too and had a "Huh?" moment because I didn't remember seeing him. I haven't taken the time to go back so I guess I need to do it!

[Kostgard]

Whitford is in the 1933 flashback, right? I thought I spotted him, but he was on screen so briefly it was hard to tell.

 

I thought this was a very good episode and everything that happened felt like a natural carryover from season one. The only thing that surprised me was the fact that Josh and the Rabbi were still together. I thought for sure she would have run for the hills after last season.

 

This episode confirmed my belief that Sarah is the most effed up of the kids, despite being the "responsible" one. Her leaving her husband for Tammy felt really impulsive and her proposing to Tammy last season felt super-impulsive (and ill-advised as it came right on the heels of her interaction with Len) and stupid. This episode proved that feeling to be true. And Tig Notaro proved in her one line of the episode that Barb is way cooler than Sarah and Tammy was stupid to leave her. 

[Febgirl]

Whitford is in the 1933 flashback, right? I thought I spotted him, but he was on screen so briefly it was hard to tell.

 

 

 

 

Yep. He's dancing with the bar mitzvah bartender that was in the flashback episode from season 1. Apparently

a lot of people from season 1 will be making appearances in these 1933 flashbacks.

Edited December 3, 2015 by stacey
Edited spoiler tag; things that happen IN the episode aren't spoilers

[Fisher King]

Heh. This family's still a mess.  Sarah really is the worst.

 

I read here about Bradley being in the episode but still didn't spot him. LOVED the breakaway/tie-in to 1933 Germany, plus the new addition in the opening credits.

 

So, Jenny O'Hara (Maura's sister) went from Heffernan (King of Queens) to Pfefferman for this show.  Why would she even bother to show for Sarah's wedding when no one bothers to visit her or the elderly mother? I didn't care for the sister's harsh attitude - but I also cannot rightly fault her - especially since she's outside this particular familial loop.

 

I imagine another funeral this season, which should give more interaction between Maura and her sister. Hopefully more loving - or at least civil.

 

Welcome back, show. You've been missed.

[wendyg]

I don't see Sarah as "the worst": I see her as someone who had a huge shock in her life, made a rash decision, and has suddenly realized it was a mistake. Lacking in self-knowledge, sure, but she didn't deliberately set out to hurt people.

 

What really intrigued me was the choice of colors: usually, you think of the past as black and white and the present as colorful. In this, Soloway reversed it: everyone at the wedding is in all white (which is amazing in itself, because even at the most organized wedding *someone* shows up dressed out of sync), and other than the greenery around them, the wedding venue itself is largely grey/black. By the end they all look like ghosts flitting through an empty landscape. It's interesting - something about not being able to escape the past and continuity with it - plus the fact that the modern-day Pfeffermans are still at the beginning of something. If 1933 is any guide, an enormous and potentially catastrophic upheaval.

[I8yourshow]

Sarah (Amy Landecker) may be having a breakdown but I got the distinct feeling that Ali (Gaby Hoffman) may be dealing with a break from reality, as Ali is the very next POV we seen when coming out of the 'flashback' and the 1933 dancer is only seen in Ali's hotel room. It would be groundbreaking (for flim and tv) to show mental health. However, I kind hope this isn't the case because (A) I hate seeing such a great talent (Gaby Hoffman) typecast as the 'crazy' person in her adult career. (B) I also love the ideas already put forward in the comments above regarding the Berlin scene (generational appropriation; political ancestry). Either way I am super excited for the rest of the season!

[DearEvette]

The Pfeffermans are such a mess. I love it.

 

For the first time I felt a little sorry for Tammy.  I disliked her so heartily in S1.  She just felt so abrasive.  Her family by contrast -- even though we only saw a teensy bit of them -- seemed really nice.

 

That said, i couldn't hate on Sarah.  After Maura, I liked her storyline the best last year.  And I wonder if that will continue this season?  Amy Landecker did a great job in this episode.  I absolutely felt her utter regret at what she had just done.

 

Still not a fan of Ali.

 

Between Josh and Raquel who will win?  Will  her sane personality ground him and they will come out with whole and healthy relationship?  Or will he somehow neurotic them into failure?  I somehow feel that that relationship is going to implode.  Also, he needs therapy.  I love how he wants to include Colton in his life, but he seems steadfastly oblivious to the fact that he was essentially molested.  I wonder if they plan to deal with that this season?

 

Really enjoyed this first episode.  Very fascinated by the dip into the past.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I spent the first five minutes of this episode wondering if they were all at some weird cult retreat because everyone was dressed in white.

 

Poor Raquel. When you and your partner agree not to tell anyone about your pregnancy yet, that doesn't mean "except for whoever I decide to tell." Josh is such a man child and I think that Raquel deserves better, but I like having her around because she calls him on his bull shit. When he tried to rationalize why he told Ali about the pregnancy, I loved when Raquel told him not to betray her trust and then frame it as a gift.

 

I thought Tammi was really annoying last season, but I really felt for her. No one deserves to be dumped on their wedding day. When Sarah was in the bathroom weeping and moaning about how she hates Tammi and now she's stuck with her, I just rolled my eyes. You couldn't have realized that at any point before today? I'm not saying she should have stayed with Tammi out of guilt but if you don't realize all of this until after you have said the vows, maybe just wait until the next day to tell the other person.

 

The hilarious thing is that when she was in the bathroom talking about how she was married to Tammi, I actually thought the same thing before Raquel said it: you're not officially married until you submit the paperwork! At least since it hadn't been sent in yet, they didn't have to go through the legal process of getting divorced.

 

Shelly is often too much for me to take, but I loved the few seconds we saw of her with Maura at the very end of the episode telling her that she looked beautiful.

 

ETA: the endless hora while Sarah was missing is EXACTLY why you don't start any of the dances requiring certain people until you make sure those people are actually present!

 

When they showed Tammi dancing with her father, I thought they were going to do something special with Sarah and her parents having a dance together, but no.

Edited December 28, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo