S03.E11: The Spirit of St. Lewis

[Mulva]

I liked Tandy's light show.  I don't know why they all were so unimpressed.

[SlackerInc]

They did murmur compliments about it.  They were just too depressed to get excited about it.

[sarahthenerd]

Tandy's saying "Well, we all knew Mark was dead" at the funeral annoys me the more I think about it, because surely the whole of 3x06 was about him trying to convince Lewis that Mark wasn't dead.

Edited March 17, 2017 by sarahthenerd

[HotRats2112]

1 hour ago, GRChereck said:

I believe so, yes ("See you in hell, robo-turd!").

Yup, you're right.  Damn.  I was hoping that was a not too carefully hidden clue. 

[Big Mother]

Hmmm she might not be dead but she's probably dying. I wonder how they'll find her if she can't move.

[GRChereck]

6 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

Tandy's saying "Well, we all knew Mark was dead" at the funeral annoys me the more I think about it, because surely the whole of 3x06 was about him trying to convince Lewis that Mark wasn't dead.

Sad as that was, I actually wasn't too bothered by it, since the possibility of Mark not being dead was suggested purely for Lewis's benefit -- to keep giving him hope to move forward -- but once Lewis's own life had come to an end, there was no point in continuing to keep that hope alive. (Or else Tandy was simply trying to rationalize and put a somewhat positive spin on Lewis's having died as quickly as he did -- he had been spared the even more devastating possibilities of getting close to Tokyo only to crash, or making it all the way there only to find Mark had passed on.) :(

Edited March 17, 2017 by GRChereck

[HotRats2112]

2 hours ago, GRChereck said:

since the possibility of Mark not being dead was suggested purely for Lewis's benefit

I don't completely agree with that.  I think it was also Tandy trying to feel better about Mike, but like Mark Tandy realizes that the chances are pretty good that Mike is also dead.  That was how I took it at Lewis's funeral anyway. Maybe I was reading too much into a seemingly throw away line?

[GRChereck]

2 hours ago, HotRats2112 said:

I think it was also Tandy trying to feel better about Mike, but like Mark Tandy realizes that the chances are pretty good that Mike is also dead.  That was how I took it at Lewis's funeral anyway. Maybe I was reading too much into a seemingly throw away line?

Nah, I think you may have a good point there. :) If part of it was actually meant to help give himself a little more hope about Mike, then it makes sense that what Tandy said about Mark at the funeral also could've been a little hint that he was losing his own sense of hope regarding his brother (which I could certainly understand at this point :( ).

Also, I found it interesting that in Melissa's mind games, the worst thing she could think of to say to Lewis still involved Mark being alive (if having moved on to another partner); but she's had such a long-standing disdain for Phil/Tandy, she would not only suggest that Mike really is dead, she would make Tandy feel guilty for having left him in Tucson (rather than going against Mike's wishes and staying there to watch him die).

Edited March 17, 2017 by GRChereck

[sarahthenerd]

All good points. I think Tandy has pretty much given up any hope that Mike would be alive (so have I to be honest. I really liked him :( ) and maybe it's just nicer to think that Lewis+Mark are reunited in the afterlife (which Tandy seems to believe in, or he seems to have some lingering Christian beliefs at least) then consider the possibility that somewhere out there is a Mark clinging onto a hope which will never come.

Melissa's comment about Mike was so cruel, wow. Especially since she was the one who wanted to throw Mike out the second he started coughing! I think it speaks a lot of Tandy's character development that he actually just kind of went with that and didn't immediately cease trying to help her, because I think a lot of people would have done, apocalypse or no apocalypse.

God, what a thoroughly bleak episode. Probably the bleakest one there's ever been, and that's really saying something.

[GRChereck]

2 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

...[M]aybe it's just nicer to think that Lewis+Mark are reunited in the afterlife (which Tandy seems to believe in, or he seems to have some lingering Christian beliefs at least) then consider the possibility that somewhere out there is a Mark clinging onto a hope which will never come.

I think so, too. 

2 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

Melissa's comment about Mike was so cruel, wow. Especially since she was the one who wanted to throw Mike out the second he started coughing!

Good recall! I think it goes to show just how far gone she is by now.

2 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

I think it speaks a lot of Tandy's character development that he actually just kind of went with that and didn't immediately cease trying to help her...

Considering how completely self-centered he was early on, he really has grown a lot. :) By this point, it's not even about trying to make up for the bad stuff he did (because he doesn't want to end up alone again) anymore; he's really come to care about these people, and even with his lack of practical skills and leadership qualities, he still feels driven to do anything he possibly can to keep up their morale.

2 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

God, what a thoroughly bleak episode. Probably the bleakest one there's ever been, and that's really saying something.

This season's gone to some pretty dark places for sure, but yeah, this may be the first time we've seen such a hopeless pall over the whole group. :(

[Kimmel77]

Not a fan of Wigg (honestly cannot abide by any of these former SNL alumi, to be honest. Their brand of comedy isn't for me), so hope she doesn't join permanently.

I think the show is still declining and has possibly reached the point of no return in that it cannot rejuvenate itself.

The show seems to be carrying a lot of dead weight/underused characters in Gail, Erica and before his death, Lewis. I would include Todd, but he does appear to be Tandy's antithesis so works well with him.

[Phishbulb]

4 hours ago, Kimmel77 said:

The show seems to be carrying a lot of dead weight/underused characters in Gail, Erica and before his death, Lewis.

It was mentioned (unspoilered) earlier in the thread, but 

Spoiler

Mary Steenburgen is not credited as being on the show after this Sunday's episode.  If (and this is quite sad to write) Gail doesn't make it beyond this week's episode, that means the cast will be down to 5 people which is not very many at all. Not to mention the whole C-section business which could spell bad news for Erica and (possibly but I hope not) Carol as well.  It would be fitting I guess if the show ended with just Tandy and Carol together as they were the first 2 people to find each other.  If the show really does end with just Tandy by himself again that'll be unbelievably sad.

[sarahthenerd]

The only funny thing I can see coming out of the aforementioned possible spoiler is:

Spoiler

Erica and Carol, who've never really seemed to like each other that much anyway, getting into an epic war over who gets to name their baby "Gail".

[SlackerInc]

13 hours ago, Kimmel77 said:

Not a fan of Wigg (honestly cannot abide by any of these former SNL alumi, to be honest. Their brand of comedy isn't for me), so hope she doesn't join permanently.

I'm surprised then that the show didn't turn you off from the very beginning, when it appeared to have SNL alum Will Forte playing its only character.

[ottoDbusdriver]

On 3/17/2017 at 0:59 AM, SlackerInc said:

But again, that's not how TV works.  They had Tandy hook up the power, set up this light show, and then everyone kind of shrugged.  He made a comment about how he thought God had guided him to do this thing, but it ended up being pointless.  Then they show us the elevator opening its doors, a zoom in on Gail's hand, and her index finger twitching.  (You can see it at about the 6 second mark of this preview for the next episode.)  They are very unlikely to do all that and then just say "oh, but she's dead anyway".

How exactly would powering up exterior lighting fire up the elevator ?  They showed Tandy running all these power cables across the parking lot, and when the light show came on none of the lights in the building where Gail is turned on.  So other than plot convenience ?

[Big Mother]

I think he may ahve had to turn on the electricy from that building to get it to light up like that?

[GRChereck]

26 minutes ago, Big Mother said:

I think he may ahve had to turn on the electricy from that building to get it to light up like that?

Yup. I just rewatched that episode before the new one, and it showed him turning the power for that building back on; so I'm guessing his light display used power from within the building. :) 

[Virtual]

Tandy had good intentions when he encouraged Lewis to try and fly, but it was really dumb. With as few people as there are left on Earth, it's safe to say that there are no flight schools (which is what Lewis needed before flying), and someone with no training whatsoever (a simulator doesn't do much) I would totally expect to meet their demise in that situation. And his "we all knew Mark is dead" comment was baseless; he is only saying that based on his own opinion. For all we know, Mark could show up in a future episode and ask if Lewis is still alive. Oooooh, I'd hate to be Tandy and have to explain that if it happens.

But, despite the gang's opinion, I thought what Tandy did at the end of the episode was cool. Plus, it helped another character.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Virtual Side

[Thriftykins]

I gave up on this show after this episode.  It's ostensibly a (black) comedy, but it just keeps getting darker and darker.  Almost no people left on Earth, and the writers keep killing off the few who remain.  Every time a new person appears, they get killed off eventually.  I have no doubt that the Kristen Wiig character is doomed, if she ever does manage to meet the rest of the gang.

 

The show is just spinning its wheels.  There is no hope for the human race, as there is not nearly enough genetic variation to repopulate.  It's all just too depressing.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

48 minutes ago, Michael Stabosz said:

The show is just spinning its wheels.  There is no hope for the human race, as there is not nearly enough genetic variation to repopulate.  It's all just too depressing.

True, but that's what makes it different from other shows.  And no zombies.

[sarahthenerd]

5 hours ago, Michael Stabosz said:

I gave up on this show after this episode.  It's ostensibly a (black) comedy, but it just keeps getting darker and darker.  Almost no people left on Earth, and the writers keep killing off the few who remain.  Every time a new person appears, they get killed off eventually.  I have no doubt that the Kristen Wiig character is doomed, if she ever does manage to meet the rest of the gang.

 

The show is just spinning its wheels.  There is no hope for the human race, as there is not nearly enough genetic variation to repopulate.  It's all just too depressing.

I don't know. So far we've met - let's see - 14 people I think? True, they tend to get themselves killed pretty quickly, but if Tandy and co wait a few more years, find a doctor and learn to be actually careful they might find enough people coming out of the woodwork to start a new society. They're obviously out there somewhere. Pamela and Pat are both probably still out there too...

Although the show's been a lot darker lately (Lewis's death was about the most depressing thing they could have done) it still seems to have a thread of hope that was kinda the spark of my love for it. It's like...okay, human society has broken down, everything is gone, but the result isn't necessarily that people lose their humanity. (As is the case of a lot of apocalypse shows) It's more like, humankind will be dicks, they'll be extremely careless and stupid a lot of the time, but they won't be actually evil. I dig that.

[Matt1]

6 hours ago, Michael Stabosz said:

I gave up on this show after this episode.  It's ostensibly a (black) comedy, but it just keeps getting darker and darker.  Almost no people left on Earth, and the writers keep killing off the few who remain.  Every time a new person appears, they get killed off eventually.  I have no doubt that the Kristen Wiig character is doomed, if she ever does manage to meet the rest of the gang.

 

The show is just spinning its wheels.  There is no hope for the human race, as there is not nearly enough genetic variation to repopulate.  It's all just too depressing.

I'm still almost certain that Mike is going to turn up alive at some point.  If he had died, we would have gotten confirmation of that by now.

[GRChereck]

1 hour ago, sarahthenerd said:

Although the show's been a lot darker lately (Lewis's death was about the most depressing thing they could have done) it still seems to have a thread of hope that was kinda the spark of my love for it. It's like...okay, human society has broken down, everything is gone, but the result isn't necessarily that people lose their humanity. (As is the case of a lot of apocalypse shows) It's more like, humankind will be dicks, they'll be extremely careless and stupid a lot of the time, but they won't be actually evil. I dig that.

100% agreed! :) 

[Virtual]

6 hours ago, sarahthenerd said:

I don't know. So far we've met - let's see - 14 people I think? True, they tend to get themselves killed pretty quickly, but if Tandy and co wait a few more years, find a doctor and learn to be actually careful they might find enough people coming out of the woodwork to start a new society.

They definitely need to be more careful than they have been if they are ever going to have a shot at starting a new society. Which means, no more encouraging friends to try and fly a plane without the proper training! LOL

I see Carol doing some stuff to prepare for her baby (she should still be doing more), but Erica just seems to not be concerned about it! I'm worried about what's going to happen once it's time for the babies to be born, and what will happen afterwards.