S01.E01: Pilot

[SanDiegoInExile]

Why would the mother decide to run for governor when her traumatized son and troubled family should maybe be a priority? Her husband seemed surprised at her announcement....

 

My initial impression is that she knows it is not her son and is crafting the whole story to win election.  I suspect she is more instigator than victim.

[SanDiegoInExile]

Adam snuck out of bed to watch the old birthday videos.  It looked like he was trying to mimic the speech pattern of the Adam in the video.  That was the moment I wondered if he was really Adam or an impostor.  Plus how fast can they do a DNA match?  It seemed like they did it so quickly that I was suspicious.

 

I think the "real" timeline of the first part of the show was compressed for storyline purposes.  Wasn't the father on the West Coast?  It would take him 6-8 hours minimum (and more likely 10-12) to get all the way back to Maine.  And wouldnt the hospital insist on keeping the young man overnight.  Maybe it was actually the next day before the father arrived in his taxi.  That also would explain the mob of media.  

 

Someone also found time to shop for clothing for the returnee.

I think it's pretty shitty naming the kid Adam, considering Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh, who is perhaps America's most tireless fighter when it comes to missing kids, never got to come home.   All they found of Adam Walsh was his headless body.

 

This was actually one of the first things I thought.  It's not as if there aren't a few dozen other trendy names for a late teen.

[jhlipton]

"yet, we're still expected to accept far-fetched plot devices like ... a small-town paper"

Those still exist?

Small town papers are in much better shape than more wide-spread papers since there's not as many sites doing purely local news. Also, I think they may be subsidized by the town.

Plus how fast can they do a DNA match?  It seemed like they did it so quickly that I was suspicious.

 

In TV Land, anywhere from a few hours to about a day, depending on PLOT! In the real world, I think a full panel takes a few days if not a week.

[TimWil]

Wow, Red Pines, Maine is quite a metropolitan city, complete with a busy, modern downtown, mall, and huge, impressive town hall. Something tells me it looks more like Vancouver, BC.

Yep, the pilot was shot in Vancouver last March but the rest of the season was shot from September to January in the NYC area-interiors were shot on a soundstage in Queens and exteriors were shot in Westchester and Long Island. The exterior of the house was shot on City Island.

Edited March 5, 2016 by TimWil

[Anela]

I wasn't giving it my full attention, but the affair between the cop and the dad, and them having sex right there in the interrogation room, was too much. 

 

I'm not sure I'm interested in sticking around to find out why someone would kidnap a boy, and replace him with someone else, setting things up from the beginning (the ship in the bottle). Unless it's going to be some big reveal about how it was arranged so that the mother would be elected to whichever office she was in the running for (they pulled this sort of thing in another show). I watch too much TV as it is, and am tired of the flashbacks, present day, everyone has a secret, shtick. 

[peachmangosteen]

The actor playing Adam is doing a fairly good job so far, but I can't tell if the character acts unhinged/ slightly detached but child like BECAUSE of the years of rape and torture or because he's an impostor with psychological issues so this is all a fake roleplay for him to get a better life.

 

I feel the same way. Adam seems so detached from what's happened to him. When he was telling the story about being raped and seeing the dragon he was almost telling it with a smile on his face and that's when I really started to be cheeped out by him. But I don't know if his creepiness is on purpose because he's an importer, or because they want us to think he's an imposter, or just due to bad acting/directing.

 

I think the kid and the guy are in on it together.

 

Based on the way Adam is acting this is my initial speculation, too.

 

My initial impression is that she knows it is not her son and is crafting the whole story to win election.  I suspect she is more instigator than victim.

 

I didn't think of this but I could definitely see them going there.

 

I think the "real" timeline of the first part of the show was compressed for storyline purposes.  Wasn't the father on the West Coast?  It would take him 6-8 hours minimum (and more likely 10-12) to get all the way back to Maine.  And wouldnt the hospital insist on keeping the young man overnight.  Maybe it was actually the next day before the father arrived in his taxi.  That also would explain the mob of media.

 

Yea, the timeline was really hard to follow in this ep. It was way too fact paced; it made it seem like this all went down in like 2 days. But I suspect that was just editing or something and the events in the pilot were supposed to take place over like at least a week.

 

I wasn't giving it my full attention, but the affair between the cop and the dad, and them having sex right there in the interrogation room, was too much.

I agree. That was such a bad soap trope and it felt out of place with the rest of the show. Maybe not the affair itself, but them fucking in the interrogation room with the article about Adam's disappearance on the table was a tad too far imo.

Edited March 5, 2016 by peachmangosteen

[thuganomics85]

Just watched the pilot, and I'm not sure what to think at the moment.  They sure did stack the cast deep with talent: from the main players like Joan Allen, Rupert Graves, Andrew McCarthy, Zach Gilford, and Allison Pill; to even the supporting and guest ones like Felix Solis, Floriana Lima, and Michael Esper.  I wasn't impressed with the actress playing the cop though, which could be a problem since she's apparently suppose to be a major part in all of this.  I get that she's suppose to be young for her position; someone who got promoted after her "big break", but I can think a few actresses who probably would have sold the character better.

 

My main issue is that this totally strikes me as a show that should be a limited series, so I worry that we're going to be get a bunch of filler or twists for the sake of filling up time going forward.  Maybe they will prove me wrong, but plenty of shows before have fallen for this trap.

 

I have no idea if Adam is real or not.  I get Danny's suspicions, but I can easily believe that he went through enough horrors that he forgotten things like how to make ships in a bottle.  And he probably wasn't fed that well, so I can see him suddenly liking food he didn't like as a kid (hell, some people simply acquire different tastes for food normally when they get older.)  The scene with the video was eye-raising, but I think Adam overheard Danny talking to the mom and sister, so I can see him worrying and trying to imitate his younger self in order to convince Danny.  But, of course, he can truly be a fake and this is all a big-ass conspiracy.  I worry this is going to be something insane like Joan Allen had him kidnap ten years ago just to push her political career.  Preposterous, but her character seems like someone who'd do it.

 

Rupert Graves and cop getting on in the interrogation room easily was the stupidest thing about this episode.  The act itself, right down to the dialogue following it, especially the part were cop lady is all "I didn't save Adam!", and dad dramatically goes "No... but you saved me!"  Good grief!

 

I have no idea what the reporter story will end up laying, but I did get a kick out of her interacting (not to mention making out with) Danny, because years ago, both Zach Gilford and Floriana Lima were in the hilariously bad "The Mob Doctor", so that was taking me back.

 

I do think it's official time-slot being Sundays at 9 is an odd choice.  Putting a serious, slow-burn drama between the fantasy Once Upon a Time and the balls to the wall, batshit insanity known as Quantico.  I don't see any of these three shows really fitting together.

Edited March 7, 2016 by thuganomics85

[Shellie]

I have no idea if Adam is real or not.  I get Danny's suspicions, but I can easily believe that he went through enough horrors that he forgotten things like how to make ships in a bottle.  And he probably wasn't fed that well, so I can see him suddenly liking food he didn't like as a kid (hell, some people simply acquire different tastes for food normally when they get older.)  

 

This stuff I can believe, but for me it's the general appearance details that would be different from one person to another that family members would notice pretty quickly.  I'd think a brother would notice and especially parents, who have watched the child grow from infancy to age nine.  

 

Then he disappears and returns at age 19, and suppose it's a different person altogether.  Wouldn't someone (especially a mother) be wondering things like:  What happened to that little birthmark that was on the back of his neck?  What happened to the noticeable mole on his right ankle?  What happened to that scar above his eyebrow that he got in a sledding accident?  Weren't his ears kind of a different shape before?   Weren't his eyes kind of a different shape before?  Wasn't his nose kind of a different shape before, and bigger too?  How come his teeth are so much straighter now than they were when he was nine?  Didn't my son have two dental fillings and this one doesn't have any?  His eyebrows were dark brown and now they're light brown?  This ain't my kid.  

Edited March 5, 2016 by Shellie

[CleoCaesar]

I’m kind of intrigued, but wary. This looks like a show that is going to burn out towards the end of its first season. If that.

 

I was reminded (vaguely) of the book/movie The Deep End of the Ocean. I didn't actually read the book or see the movie, but I remember it hinging upon a child who was kidnapped and the challenges resulting in his re-assimilation to his birth family when he returns nine years later.

 

In that movie, the mother opened the door and instantly recognized her son, who’d been missing for 9 years (from the age of 3). THAT seemed implausible to me too, but not as much as this show, where everyone is all “is that our son/brother? I dunno”.

 

The main character is a dud. Lifeless and dull. And that idiotic sex scene, zzzzz.

 

Also, Maine is 95% white. This cast bears no resemblance to the demographics that one would reasonably expect to see in Maine. Little stuff like that practically screams THIS IS NETWORK TV.

 

My money is on the mother for knowing all along and milking it for votes.

 

I thought the episode would end on “Adam” saying to his parents “I want the cake with the frosting” in his practiced cadence.

[grandemocha]

 

I thought the episode would end on “Adam” saying to his parents “I want the cake with the frosting” in his practiced cadence.

LMFAO..oh my goodness, if this had happened and I was either the mother/father/sister/brother I would've been so damn creeped out and would have then secretly proceeded to call the number of a qualified psychiatrist, hide any sharp or heavy items in the house, and sleep with my bedroom door locked. 

 

Something else I wondered about, in the flashback after Adam disappeared and the mom and dad are fighting on the lawn, the dad says "[older son] is drunk". So even soon after Adam disappeared and their older son was drinking because he felt guilty, neither parent thought it'd be a good idea to get him help? Rehab? Therapy? Hide the booze? Also, if the mom is mayor of the town, how has no one tried to tarnish her reputation by exposing her alcoholic son who does nothing and helps no one. It seems like having him as a son would reflect badly on her as an elected official.

[Stella Rose]

I am betting one of the "twists" is that McCarthy actually did kill the real Adam or he was involved in kidnapping/abusing, then sold or traded him to crater face.  Maybe not - they gave away he is creepy pretty early on.  The flashbacks are going to get really damn old.  I am quickly tiring of the lazy use of flashbacks in recent TV storytelling.  (Cough - Quantico and How to get away with Murder I am sending you both the side-eye).

 

I also agree that Mom is in on at least a part of this...  thinking she recognized this was not her son, but made the immediate decision to use this to pole vault into whatever election she is running for.

 

I am not thinking yet that "Adam" is necessarily nefarious - just abused and probably mind-f*cked.   I also cast my vote for "Naming the young man Adam is  just tacky."

 

 

[mojito]

This show was painfully slow and boring. The instant DNA test and the affair between two main characters clinched it for me. I can't even conjure up any curiosity for what happens next, can't bring myself to speculate because I'm already forgetting what I saw.

[LisaM]

I'll watch another episode - I'm sufficiently interested. The last time I saw Joan Allen was when she was the commandant of a military school in The Killing. She creeped me out there and I'm getting the same vibes here. I'm not sure whether Adam is really Adam or is a very well coached impostor but there is definitely something off about him.

[txhorns79]

I wasn't giving it my full attention, but the affair between the cop and the dad, and them having sex right there in the interrogation room, was too much.

 

This whole scene was just so ridiculous.  Wouldn't they be worried about someone walking in on them in that totally not so private place?  Also, it's kind of creepy for them to be having sex on a table full of evidence from his son's kidnapping.

 

 

I also agree that Mom is in on at least a part of this...  thinking she recognized this was not her son, but made the immediate decision to use this to pole vault into whatever election she is running for.

 

I'd be deeply disappointed if they chose to go that route.  Given the kind of emotional damage that could happen to her other children if her ruse was found out, I'd hope that she wasn't so messed up as to try something like that. 

[emma675]

I liked it enough to watch a second episode, but it better get a lot more interesting and fast. I feel like this show can't decide if it wants to be a soap opera or a drama. The scene with the dad and the copy having sex in the interrogation room was just tacky and over the top, but I'm interested in where they are going with Adam (and I agree, terrible name choice), the sister and the drunk brother.

 

I think the mom is in on it and is using the whole situation to further her political goals. Both the drunk brother and father looked stunned when she was announcing her candidacy for governor.

[millennium]

 

 

This was actually one of the first things I thought.  It's not as if there aren't a few dozen other trendy names for a late teen.

 

 

I suspect it's also no coincidence that the boy's last name, Adam Warren, shares the same alliteration as Adam Walsh.

 

And John Walsh wrote a book following Adam's death.

[rue721]

I also agree that Mom is in on at least a part of this...  thinking she recognized this was not her son, but made the immediate decision to use this to pole vault into whatever election she is running for.

 

I think it's possible that either the mom or the daughter is the one behind the DNA test switcheroo. But I doubt that anyone in the family actually organized or had any purposeful part in the kidnapping itself.

[Andromeda]

The main thing I have trouble with in this show is the concept that close family members (especially parents) won't know if a missing person who returns is really that person.  It's a point of disbelief I'm never able to set aside for the sake of fiction.  Maybe if 30 years went by, but not nine or ten.  

 

Yeah, I have to suspend disbelief on this point, too. My brother and sisters and I have often compared whether our middle toe is longer, and we all have small birthmarks or scars. And my ears are somewhat flat on top. (OK, very flat.) Things others wouldn't think about, but things we could definitely look for as identifying features.

 

Still, I enjoyed it. I'm thinking the daughter planted the ship, and the kid is the son of the real murderer, or some other bad guy, and it's some kind of scam involving the mother's political career. I also think if he turns out not to be their real son, mom and daughter will want to keep pretending he is because of her stupid political ambitions. Hate the both of them so far.

 

I agree about the awkwardness of the hook up in the interrogation room. Not hot, just silly.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Andromeda

[jacksgirl]

Started this show yesterday, going to finish today. Looks promising, buy am hoping for an ending, happy or not. Reminded me of The Missing on Starz- well worth a watch to see a father of a missing child slowly go insane.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Should You Move In With The Family?
Do you have room on your DVR for yet another abducted child drama?

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed the entire episode except for the 'interrogation/sex' scene. Liam James really gave ambiguity to his performance. Also, his paleness and thinness supported the 'held captive' for 10 years look. I'm in!

[AuntiePam]

I'm in for at least one more episode, because of the actors, especially Joan Allen.  It's nice to see Matt Saracen again, and Inspector Lestrade. 

 

A twist or two is okay, but if it gets so twisty that nothing makes sense -- or we need plot diagrams -- that'll do it for me.  That's sort of happened with iZombie -- the plot is SO thick.  But with that show it doesn't matter because the writing is so sharp. 

[Darian]

I think it's pretty shitty naming the kid Adam, considering Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh, who is perhaps America's most tireless fighter when it comes to missing kids, never got to come home.   All they found of Adam Walsh was his severed head.

 

That really bothered me, but I wondered if it was because I was at the mall the day Adam Walsh was abducted from it. One day, much later, at that same mall, I think after Adam's remains were found, the Walshes were there for some kind of fundraising or awareness campaign. It was long before John Walsh had a TV show. I was talking to the brother of John or Reve and they were standing next to him. A child broke away from his mother and she yelled, "Adam" and I will never forget the silence that fell over the area, and the agony of John's and Reve's faces. So I thought I might be over-sensitive.  

 

Such a strong cast, but I don't know if I liked it enough to give it a second episode. 

[AuntiePam]

Such a strong cast, but I don't know if I liked it enough to give it a second episode. 

 

If the twists keep coming, it will be a good Hate-Watch show.

[millennium]

That really bothered me, but I wondered if it was because I was at the mall the day Adam Walsh was abducted from it. One day, much later, at that same mall, I think after Adam's remains were found, the Walshes were there for some kind of fundraising or awareness campaign. It was long before John Walsh had a TV show. I was talking to the brother of John or Reve and they were standing next to him. A child broke away from his mother and she yelled, "Adam" and I will never forget the silence that fell over the area, and the agony of John's and Reve's faces. So I thought I might be over-sensitive.  

 

Such a strong cast, but I don't know if I liked it enough to give it a second episode. 

 

It was the first big story of its kind, and to this day remains one of the most heart-rending.   It's like the sequence of events was orchestrated by forces beyond human control.

 

Reve leaves Adam to watch some older kids playing at an Atari display in a Sears store while she shops a few aisles over.   The kids cause a ruckus over who gets the next turn, which prompts leads a security guard to eject them all from the store -- including Adam, who was probably too shy to protest.   Adam can't get back inside ... and the killer is there like a spider, waiting for him.

 

You're not oversensitive.   I feel like crying every time I hear about the case.   I can't imagine what it must have felt like to be there and see all that unfolding personally.

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's please stick to episode discussion in here - we have a Small Talk topic which would be a great spot to discuss true cases the show reminds us of - thanks.

[mac123x]

As for the show, what a collection of unlikeable characters.

 

I thought the same thing.  The only marginally sympathetic character is the drunk older brother. 

  I'm getting tired of the "slow burn" drama genre.   They never pay off satisfyingly in the end, and sometimes they get canceled even before they get there.

 

I don't understand why they couldn't state from the get-go that this is a mid-season miniseries.  I think that would actually draw in more of an audience, because we'd know that the thing was scripted with an end-point in mind.

[Vivigirl10]

Things that bugged me:

 

• Pedo killer is freed and immediately goes to the food court in a crowded mall for a piece of pizza?  Huh?  Don't you think he'd be laying low or even running the heck away from that town?

 

• "I want a big piece!  With lots of frosting!"  Ugh.  There were a few moments, and this was one, when the character acted or was treated like someone much younger.  The way the family was with him at the fair, giving piggy back rides and such, seemed better fitted for a 4 or 5 year old.

 

• The whole "red dragon who breathed fire and looked right at me" was ridiculous.  I understand the stunted emotional growth issue, but would a 19 year old really describe a factory smoke stack in that fashion?  Wouldn't he have the ability to actually describe it as it was?  Speaking that metaphorically, I had guessed he was looking out at the neon sign of a Chinese restaurant, my husband had guessed it was a tattoo on the kidnappers body.  Whatever, he was grown enough to say he looked out the window and saw a friggin' smoke stack.  

[CaughtOnTape]

 

Things that bugged me:

 

• Pedo killer is freed and immediately goes to the food court in a crowded mall for a piece of pizza?  Huh?  Don't you think he'd be laying low or even running the heck away from that town?

 

Ask Steven Avery.

And what's more low laying than going to a mall for a slice of pizza?  LOL

[queenanne]

I didn't DVR, so I can't go back to check this- we see Adam in the convenience store after he's been wandering along the highway, and he says he needs a ride, then we see him come to the police station in Red Pines and point to the ten-year-old article about his "murder" being solved. If this is not really Adam, why did he know to go to Red Pines? I wonder if the writers are going to create some long con on the part of the abductor that included him brainwashing the kid into thinking he was Adam, although to what end?

 

 

I was sufficiently grabbed by the pilot to set up my DVR to keep up on it, but not enough to make an effort to watch it live. I suspect this will turn into one of those shows that I record and watch a bunch of episodes in a row while I knit or become a show I watch for the ridiculousness of the plotline, like I did with Harper's Island  back in the day.

 

I was partly pulled in by drunk Matt Saracen and slightly off-putting little Shawn Spencer. 

 

Yeah, it's especially suspicious because it seemed like he knew what to do when he saw the Joan Allen campaign poster billboard.

 

My initial impression is that she knows it is not her son and is crafting the whole story to win election.  I suspect she is more instigator than victim.

 

I thought that was the doing of Daughter Pill.  Not the original kidnapping, of course, that would be idiotic; but finding and paying someone to pretend to be him in the modern age to boost Mom's electoral profile.  What that does with the smokestack and red dragon, which I don't think the kid is quoting someone else without having been there for-real, I don't know.

[Palomar]

 

Biggest fail...the relationship between the father and the cop.  Puhleeze....f*cking in an interrogation room?  Get real.

 

Which is why I hate the cop and the father more than the mother even though it looks like she is the one who we are supposed to hate.  Talk about being unprofessional. I thought she wanted to be super detective. If I was the mother and found out I'd have her thrown off the case in a heartbeat and even do everything in my power to get her ass fired.  Oh yeah it was SO stressful I had to F the father because bad wifey wanted a career. 

[HolmesUltimateQu]

I thought the episode would end on “Adam” saying to his parents “I want the cake with the frosting” in his practiced cadence.

I laughed too hard at this! Tbh I kept waiting for him to say it too.

I wondered if he was watching the videos because he heard his brother say he didn't think Adam was really Adam. So he watched the videos to remember and/or practice so nobody questioned him again.

I probably thought about this too much.

Also, who was that guy at the end with the truck? Was he supposed to be the hole-face man? I thought he looked way too young to have kidnapped a child ten years ago. I thought that guy would've been maybe 20 at the oldest 10 years ago. I'm sure there are 20 year olds who do awful things but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Edited March 9, 2016 by rachel is awesome

[Guest]

Also, who was that guy at the end with the truck? Was he supposed to be the hole-face man? I thought he looked way too young to have kidnapped a child ten years ago. I thought that guy would've been maybe 20 at the oldest 10 years ago. I'm sure there are 20 year olds who do awful things but it wasn't what I was expecting.

It's funny, when we first saw him my mind went to, "That's the real Adam."  Then I realized they were suggesting he was the kidnapper.  

 

His complexion wasn't that bad.  But I guess a kid who describes mile-away smokestacks as 'a red dragon breathing fire in my face' might describe someone with mild acne scars as having 'holes in his face'.  

[HolmesUltimateQu]

It's funny, when we first saw him my mind went to, "That's the real Adam."  Then I realized they were suggesting he was the kidnapper.  

 

His complexion wasn't that bad.  But I guess a kid who describes mile-away smokestacks as 'a red dragon breathing fire in my face' might describe someone with mild acne scars as having 'holes in his face'.  

 

I ALSO thought it was supposed to be the real Adam until I saw barely noticeable acne scars. I know all pedophiles, kidnappers, etc. don't all look the same but I'm having a hard time reconciling that young guy as the kidnapper over Andrew McCarthy. I mean, I love Andrew McCarthy and I don't usually think he looks like a pedophile but on this show, I'm having a hard time with it. 

[ari333]

Even if the neighbor dude didn't kidnap Adam, he was into some weird stuff with little boys per the Nina officer's comments about his computer. He said that he didnt' act on it, jut looked at it... but ewwwww.

[Guest]

I ALSO thought it was supposed to be the real Adam until I saw barely noticeable acne scars. I know all pedophiles, kidnappers, etc. don't all look the same but I'm having a hard time reconciling that young guy as the kidnapper over Andrew McCarthy. I mean, I love Andrew McCarthy and I don't usually think he looks like a pedophile but on this show, I'm having a hard time with it. 

Because I love all the Brat Pack I'm hoping there is no actual pedophile on the show, or if there is it's not Hank.  Hank's indecent exposure charge could be for something as innocent as peeing behind a bush in a park.  Maybe what the loose cop thought was incriminating on his computer was 'of age' males pretending to be minors (so legal porn).  

 

Or maybe they're making Hank creepy to do the double psych... he's so creepy he must be innocent but then not.  

 

He reminds me of the  suspected pedophile on Broadchurch/Gracepoint, who was innocent.   

[ari333]

Because I love all the Brat Pack I'm hoping there is no actual pedophile on the show, or if there is it's not Hank.  Hank's indecent exposure charge could be for something as innocent as peeing behind a bush in a park.  Maybe what the loose cop thought was incriminating on his computer was 'of age' males pretending to be minors (so legal porn).  

 

Or maybe they're making Hank creepy to do the double psych... he's so creepy he must be innocent but then not.  

 

He reminds me of the  suspected pedophile on Broadchurch/Gracepoint, who was innocent.   

 

I see your point, but barely 18 yr olds depicted as naked  children is creepy to me. ANd his fondling the mittens is creepy to me too.

[BooBear]

I think it's pretty shitty naming the kid Adam, considering Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh, who is perhaps America's most tireless fighter when it comes to missing kids, never got to come home.   All they found of Adam Walsh was his severed head.

 

Agreed. Not cool guys. I just watched this on demand and I won't continue. Already it is going to be one of those shows where the mystery is more like failure to live in the world. The FBI would be all over this. The detective that botched the case would NEVER be allowed to run the investigation. There is no way that other people / press wouldn't have completely vetted the DNA test. It would be national news.  I had to roll my eyes at the Judge both releasing Andrew McCarthy one day after Adam's return and awarding him 30K per year for wrongful imprisonment. Yikes.. so much wrong with that. Plus that cuts into the idea that he would ever stay in Maine (presumably he would be forced to if he was poor but with 30K he could move). The sex in the interrogation room scene was embarrassing. And I can't quite figure out what the point would be of returning a fake Adam.  If mom was running for president maybe but governor  of maine?  Not exactly a power broker.

 

Finally what happened to Joan Allen's face? It looks insanely puffy like she is taking steroids or something.  Maybe botox, but it bothered me.

[LoveLeigh]

As a few here have said, I thought that this "Adam" was being held with the real Adam and listened to the real Adam talk for years about his family. The real Adam was killed. This Adam came from a lousy family and decided to go to this family when he escaped. 

 

But that makes no sense. Because the real family would recognize in the news that this "Adam" is their missing child. 

 

So who is THIS Adam? 

[KaveDweller]

As a few here have said, I thought that this "Adam" was being held with the real Adam and listened to the real Adam talk for years about his family. The real Adam was killed. This Adam came from a lousy family and decided to go to this family when he escaped. 

 

But that makes no sense. Because the real family would recognize in the news that this "Adam" is their missing child. 

 

So who is THIS Adam? 

 

If his family was really awful, they wouldn't necessary care about their son possibly showing up elsewhere. Or maybe the parents are dead or have moved far away. A missing child returning is big news in their town in Maine, but would someone in California hear about it.

[ari333]

If his family was really awful, they wouldn't necessary care about their son possibly showing up elsewhere. Or maybe the parents are dead or have moved far away. A missing child returning is big news in their town in Maine, but would someone in California hear about it.

Yes. Maybe his family was homeless and after ten yrs who knows where they are or if they have access to news and tv.

[Luckylondon]

Has anyone else noticed that the two mole type beauty marks on Adam's face were on his left cheek as a child and on the right cheek as an adult? I thought maybe the photograph inverted it, yet the young actor had it on his left cheek.

It was making me nuts the first episode and I thought that maybe it was a casting thing and you can't match facial moles exactly and they figured people wouldn't notice-- just see the two moles close together on a cheek. However, now that many here, Matt Saracen, and I are all questioning if this is not really the same person, it seems more significant and one would think that his family would notice that his facial beauty marks/moles have changed sides.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Luckylondon

[nara]

• The whole "red dragon who breathed fire and looked right at me" was ridiculous.  I understand the stunted emotional growth issue, but would a 19 year old really describe a factory smoke stack in that fashion?  Wouldn't he have the ability to actually describe it as it was?  Speaking that metaphorically, I had guessed he was looking out at the neon sign of a Chinese restaurant, my husband had guessed it was a tattoo on the kidnappers body.  Whatever, he was grown enough to say he looked out the window and saw a friggin' smoke stack.  

I think he just built a fantasy out of what he saw and had lived the fantasy for so long, he forgot what he was actually seeing. His mind had converted what he saw to what he wanted to see and filled in the details like the head of a dragon.

[atomationage]

Adam was kept in a hole mostly in the dark, so he might not have seen the red dragon, or the pock marked man's face that well.

Edited March 28, 2016 by atomationage

[lucindabelle]

"yet, we're still expected to accept far-fetched plot devices like ... a small-town paper"Those still exist?

  

I work for ne. The weeklies are all owned by a large corporation that owns a daily too. Long after some dailies fold weeklies will exist because people will always want to know what happened at the council and school board meetings and what plans there are to turn streets one way and so onl

This fell flat really quickly.  It doesn't help that a) Joan Allen also plays the mother/grandmother in the amazingly written/directed/acted film Room (2015) about a similar case,

 

I found the time switching annoying and hope they stop that going forward.