The Mist - General Discussion

[jenrising]

14 hours ago, WordsWordsWords said:

I loved the novella "The Mist" is based on. I loved the film they made of it. The jury is still out about this version.

Disclaimer: I'm a horror writer in my "real life," so I can be a trifle picky.

The pacing on the pilot episode seemed a little slow. I can be okay with slow -- as long as the payoff is worth the wait. Because I don't know about the payoff yet, I'm still neutral.

I was less bothered by the lack of diversity in the cast because of the location. I suspect that small town New England isn't the most ethnically diverse sort of place in the country. I could, of course, be wrong.

One thing that did concern me is that most of the actors' line readings sounded as if they had all studied the same "how to act" guide. Everyone sounded the same, and almost no one sounded as if they lived in New England. So far, I can't tell one character from another.

I'll certainly watch next week and see how it goes. There's not nearly enough horror of any kind on TV and most of the horror that's on isn't very good.

Oh, and as a writer who's killed a few fictional dogs -- often to howls of outrage -- I was sorry to see poor Rufus die, but knew he was toast as soon as he ran off into the mist.

Sure. Murder mist is totally plausible but more than token people of color in Maine? Way too impossible. 

[Richness]

Granted, I haven't read the Mist in a very long time, but I don't remember the focus on bugs and other everyday animals going killer. It was the creatures in the mist that were let through a rift (thinny) by the Arrowhead Project. I was also surprised Mrs. Carmody died a quick death given how prominent the character was in the novella. The role of creepy, wacky old lady seems to now belong to Frances Conroy's nagging environmentalist.

[Richness]

That was.... bizarre. I'm not sure I'm going to like the show making ordinary animals and insects go killer. I dropped the Zoo after enduring the first stupid season, and this has a similarly hokey vibe. I'll probably give The Mist a full season to win me over just because I'm a King fan, but I'm not hopeful. (The same is true after seeing that horrid Dark Tower trailer.) None of the characters appeal to me except for the accused jock, who has been probably falsely accused by the gay-ish goth. *sigh* 

 

While I adore Frances Conroy, her nagging environmentalist annoys me to no end. Her wacky old lady role appears to take the place of the fundamentalist mom (Mrs. Carmody?), whom I was surprised to see die in the first episode. Also sorry to see the environmentalist's hubby go bye bye so quickly.

 

It's been a while since I've read the novella, so I may be mis-remembering some things.

[tessat]

I really like the show - much better than Fear the Walking Dead - which I could only stand to watch through the first season.  I hated the dog being killed - I thought it funny that the mist comes thru the town and you don't hear much in the way of fender benders or screaming except in a couple of instances. I thought the Alex's friend was gay - so it never dawned on me that he raped her - I thought the friend of Jay did it and is letting Jay take the heat.

I also hated to see the old man get killed - I liked his character much more so than his wife. The only characters I don't like at this point are the cop and the wacked out girl.

 

Off to see the 2nd episode!

[Cthulhudrew]

Having watched all three episodes so far, it feels like they are already starting to pad things out towards a finale. They started pretty fast, now it feels like they realize they have a full season to go, and not enough to fill it with. This was kind of my concern going in and I'm not feeling any better about it. I tend to find it hard to believe that people in a crisis on this scale are going to spend a lot of time with concerns about their prior mundane lives and tensions, rather than actually focusing on the pressing concerns of the moment. I also think it doesn't bode particularly well that whatever the "virus" or ultimate cause of this pandemic is is manifesting in such a myriad variety of ways (hallucinations or resurrections, animals going feral, people mutating). It seems like the writers are just going to go with whatever happens to create the most "cool" visuals and completely dispense with any singular cause or explanation of phenomenon.

[tessat]

I'm still intrigued by this show. It's different from the book and yet replicates the book in regards to the hysteria, building of relationships, tensions ect.. I'm hoping they put the next few episodes up on the net so I don't have to wait 2 more weeks for a new episode.

[The Companion]

On 6/22/2017 at 11:52 PM, zibnchy said:

Well, I don't like any of the characters with the exception of Frances Conroy. And possibly the teenage girl.

Hate that they killed a dog in the first 5 minutes. Hate that the cops felt just fine beating up on the black guy. Hate the bad-ass angry girl with attitude. And the ever present football player rapist. So many tv tropes, so little time.. Extra hate that there had to be a rape subplot. Isn't monsters in the mist enough?

I might be back. There's not much on tv this summer and I need a distraction. More Frances Conroy please.

I agree. Hopefully some of the characters develop more depth and nuance. Otherwise, I have a feeling I will be rooting for the Mist soon.

[LittleIggy]

That priest acted more like an evangelical with all the yelling at that baptism. He also didn't apply the chrism.

[nodorothyparker]

I wouldn't go so far as to call it great TV, but fun atmospheric summer horror?  One episode in, sure, why not.

There were definitely plenty of small town tropes at work, but the reality is a lot of those small town tropes exist for a reason so I'm willing to allow some leeway to see what they do with them since the show wasted no time in starting to thin the more assholey members of the herd.  It does feel like they were telegraphing pretty hard that Jay is not the actual rapist, but I'll take a wait and see on that one too.  I didn't read the doctor telling Alex's dad that there were no obvious signs of violence as suggesting that it wasn't rape as much as an acknowledgement that to many minds that's going to make it all the harder to prove that a rape and not consensual sex occurred, especially when the accused assailant is the town's star quarterback.  I realize it's a pilot episode and as such some things are going to drawn broadly to make sure we get it, but so far Adrian as a character feels laid on a little thick.  I have no idea yet what to think of the woman who broke into the same guy's property twice but still didn't manage to get what she came for, other than she clearly thinks she's a badass.

The CGI on the mist itself and some of the bugs and frogs run amok was a bit uneven in spots, but still overall effective.  Alyssa Sutherland is almost like an entirely different actress when she's not weighted down by the official pseudo-Scandinavian Vikings accent. I'm not as familiar with Frances Conroy as everyone else seems to be but I found the slightly dotty older couple adorable and was sorry to see the husband offed so quickly for nothing.

[nodorothyparker]

It's been forever since I read the novella too.  I may or may not choose to do a reread for comparison's sake because I'm realizing I remember almost nothing about it beyond there being, in fact, a mist involved.  The only thing I can tell you about the movie off the top of my head is how a number of people involved with it went on to feature in the making of the first season of The Walking Dead.

[nodorothyparker]

The line readings of the some mall extras was beyond terrible.  Although I did love Mr. Mall Manager volunteering "someone" to go to the security office to look for the radio.  Uh ... what about you since you're in charge and it was your idea in the first place?  Nope, we'll draw names out of a bag and conveniently pull one of the few characters played by an actor in the credits, even if she's there alone with her minor child.

Maybe it would have been a good idea to let anyone but the obviously twitching junkie drive the car.   I do love that the car jacking, crash scene, and the church are all apparently within 50 feet of each other.  But even then they still can't resist of the horror movie trope of someone falling and another someone having to go back to rescue them so they can see the dead woman in the mist together.

Police brutality action figure guy can go get eaten by whatever's outside any time now.   The woman is trying to have an impromptu wake for her husband and you still have to be a dick about the shared wine bottle?  Please, do go take a long walk outside.  

[nodorothyparker]

If you're trying to convince a girl that you're not the bad guy who physically assaulted her, backing her into a dark store and telling her you'll let her leave as soon as she hears you out and lets you touch her is probably not a good way to go about it.  Just saying.

Mr. Mall Manager seems like he's watched waaaay too much of the 24-hour news cycle of crisis events.  They're what, maybe a day and a half into this thing and he's comparing being stuck at the mall to Hurricane Katrina New Orleans?  I do love that with all this group's fixation on maintaining order that apparently none of them noticed the gamer guys pushing dead bodies in shopping carts through the main part of the mall, if that weird wooded backdrop thing is to be believed.  I have no idea if it means anything or not that there were at least three, maybe four, army people in civilian dress at the mall while we have another character running around in fatigues with no idea who is he or how he got there, but it seems like kind of a throwaway not to be leading to something.  If this show is anything like every other apocalyptic show on TV, the army people will turn out to be evil and responsible for at least a fair share of whatever carnage ensues.

So Mrs. Raven's death wish gets another character whose name I never learned turned into a moth man and then she decides she wants to live after all?  Sure, why not.  The police brutality action figure still needs to go outside and die now.

[raven]

I was kind of bored, which is what happens when the cast is all a bunch of stereotypes; I don't care about anyone.  The mist effects were decent.

I'm all for monsters chowing on people so I'll tune in again to see if it ramps up.  I hope it is monsters and not just nature fighting back or whatever.

Aw poor Rufus, you were a good boy, hanging by your man.

The scariest bit was the trailer for "It" - eeek!!

[raven]

On 6/24/2017 at 4:42 PM, Richness said:

It was the creatures in the mist that were let through a rift (thinny) by the Arrowhead Project.

Yup it was just giant monsters and creatures.   The protagonist is trapped in a grocery store with his son.  I remember the novel being pretty creepy and the movie was as well.  The endings are very different; I didn't like the movie ending, which I felt was cheap and manipulative.

[WordsWordsWords]

On 6/24/2017 at 8:47 AM, jenrising said:

Sure. Murder mist is totally plausible but more than token people of color in Maine? Way too impossible. 

I never said I wouldn't have preferred a more diverse cast. I would absolutely have. I just wasn't thrown off by it. And there's not much point in griping about the "murder mist" when that's the whole premise. Still, I take your point. :)

[halkatla]

I don´t think this show is anything special, just barely watchable in fact, but what I´m really annoyed with is the rape plot. Why can´t there be a show where the main girl hasn´t been drugged and raped, or just raped? Once it´s compelling, twice it´s "oh is this show doing it too". third, fourth and fifth time it´s just ridiculous. It´s really bringing down the show, and having it happen in such a rushed and silly way is even worse. It might have been better if it would have been a secret for the girl, something she would have been struggling with alone while all the mist drama was happening as well. I just find it disgusting that this possible rapist is locked in with her at the mall, and the whole town knowing about it and no-one even giving her a sympathetic glance. I also think her parents went about dealing with the "rape" in such a horrible way. At this moment I only enjoy the gay guy and the priest, I hope they live.

[Anela]

On 6/25/2017 at 6:42 PM, raven said:

 

The scariest bit was the trailer for "It" - eeek!!

Except for the bit that looks like a Loreal or Maybelline commercial, with the hair slowly flipping back from his face. "Maybe he's born with it..." 

I am looking forward to the movie, though. 

[Chaos Theory]

I haven't watched the available episodes yet so I don't know what is going to happen but I do like what looks to be a few of the story arcs.  People trapped in the mall.   Mother and daughter with the boy who supposedly raped the daughter and none of them can leave.   Passive aggressive Father and his posse of misfits.  I like the idea of the Father who always let his wife be in charge (the bad guy) now forced by circumstances to take charge.  And then the church thing which looks like it's going to go off the rails pretty quickly.

I think the show is starting out with pretty obvious tropes (oh how I hate that word) but it's how you develop them after the pilot that matters.  

Edited June 27, 2017 by Chaos Theory

[Clanstarling]

On 6/22/2017 at 9:52 PM, zibnchy said:

Hate the bad-ass angry girl with attitude. 

I didn't hate her until the mist/jail scene. The acting was so bad - though to be fair, her lines were pretty bad too.

On 6/23/2017 at 4:22 AM, Chaos Theory said:

Adrian seems like an overly pretenious character.  I don't think he is the rapist.  

I didn't either - and it really doesn't make sense to me for him to accuse the one guy who was nice to him (even if Adrian is jealous).

On 6/23/2017 at 0:49 PM, Evagirl said:

It also bothered me that the bully chick made all that racket breaking into the shed.  She kicked the door open instead of trying to find a quieter way.  Or better yet, wait around until dude leaves the house at some point. She didn't have anything better to do.  I hate dumb shit like this.

I rolled my eyes. First she rattles the lock, then kicks the door in. Sheesh, even I, and old law abiding woman, can figure out how to do that better.

On 6/23/2017 at 3:40 PM, WordsWordsWords said:

I loved the novella "The Mist" is based on. I loved the film they made of it. The jury is still out about this version.n as he ran off into the mist.

Liked the novella, did not like the movie. Though I love Stephen King, after Under the Dome, what drew me to watch another take on his stories was that they were pretty clear the story was just a jumping off point - and the fact that I have very little to DVR for my morning exercise. (that is to say, so I had no expectations it would follow the novella in any way other than the murder mist)

On 6/23/2017 at 3:52 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

What I am surprised about is that this one hour of tv somehow managed to incorporate every cliche about small towns within its timespan.

On 6/25/2017 at 10:02 AM, nodorothyparker said:

There were definitely plenty of small town tropes at work, but the reality is a lot of those small town tropes exist for a reason so I'm willing to allow some leeway to see what they do with them since the show wasted no time in starting to thin the more assholey members of the herd.  

I live in a small town. Seemed fairly spot on to me. 

On 6/23/2017 at 6:58 PM, RustbeltWriter said:

I enjoyed it but Mrs. Rustbeltwriter caught something. The doctor told Alex's dad that there were signs of sex but no violence so they couldn't be sure she was raped. Just being drugged and unable to give consent means she was raped. Hard to believe that was written that way.

It was that, combined with her blood test results, that made that statement strange to me. I thought it indicated she was roofied - which would be a clear sign of rape. Admittedly, I didn't recognize the drug/chemical they mentioned. 

Also, a minor niggle since this is a horror story and not a police procedural, it bugged that the kids were all questioned without a parent present. 

Oh, and the father? On my shit list. I don't care if the mother is overly protective (I'm guessing her "slut" story is the result of precisely what her daughter is going through, so maybe not as overly protective as she seems), parents don't do end-arounds on their parnters.  

Edited June 27, 2017 by Clanstarling

[Arynm]

I wonder how they are ever going to figure out who the rapist is? It's not like someone is sequencing the DNA right now, considering the mist problem. Is the bad guy just going to yell it out in a public place? Or is he going to try to do it again and prove that he is guilty? I am just trying to go over the most common  cliche to see which one it will be for this show.

Spoiler

I was of the mind that cute jock was not the rapist, but he was a little creepy cornering her in the store and wanting to touch her.

 I was also thinking Adrien, but I am not sure if he's weird/terrible enough for it. His eyeliner bugs though, it should be smearing/nonexistent by now.

Edited June 27, 2017 by Arynm
spoilers

[The Companion]

On 6/27/2017 at 8:28 AM, Clanstarling said:

I didn't hate her until the mist/jail scene. The acting was so bad - though to be fair, her lines were pretty bad too.

I didn't either - and it really doesn't make sense to me for him to accuse the one guy who was nice to him (even if Adrian is jealous).

I rolled my eyes. First she rattles the lock, then kicks the door in. Sheesh, even I, and old law abiding woman, can figure out how to do that better.

Liked the novella, did not like the movie. Though I love Stephen King, after Under the Dome, what drew me to watch another take on his stories was that they were pretty clear the story was just a jumping off point - and the fact that I have very little to DVR for my morning exercise. (that is to say, so I had no expectations it would follow the novella in any way other than the murder mist)

I live in a small town. Seemed fairly spot on to me. 

It was that, combined with her blood test results, that made that statement strange to me. I thought it indicated she was roofied - which would be a clear sign of rape. Admittedly, I didn't recognize the drug/chemical they mentioned. 

Also, a minor niggle since this is a horror story and not a police procedural, it bugged that the kids were all questioned without a parent present. 

Oh, and the father? On my shit list. I don't care if the mother is overly protective (I'm guessing her "slut" story is the result of precisely what her daughter is going through, so maybe not as overly protective as she seems), parents don't do end-arounds on their parnters.  

Not to mention, what in the hell was the father talking when he basically said her mother didn't get love like they did. Not only did he do an end-around, and fail to make sure his daughter made it home by the curfew he gave her, but he also trash talked her mother.

That doesn't exonerate mom, who decided that this was the time to rip her daughter away from her father and routine, because nothing helps ease trauma like making your kid feel like her sexual assault is going to cause her parents to get divorced. I am sure that won't have any lasting effects on an already traumatized girl. 

[snowwhyte]

I'm not a horror fan but I have enjoyed most of the shows based on Stephen Kings writings. I even watched two seasons of Under the Dome though that was more for the comedy since that show was epically bad. I don't think i can stick with this. I had my misgivings when the first episodes opened with a spider close up, killed the dog and then had the daughter raped at a party. Initially that aspect of the show reminded me of Veronica Mars and I think I'd be better off rewatching Veronica Mars than this. 

[SimoneS]

I am enjoying this, but the acting is mostly pretty horrible and there are so many plot holes and things that didn't make sense. The economy must be bad in that town because there was almost no one in that mall. Why would the soldier let the obviously jonesing addict drive the car? They left the guns in the car? This is America. No way they would leave with the guns. I get people are scared, but I cannot believe that anyone is still putting up with that cop or that they letting the some petty mall manager pull their name from a hat. I simply would refuse to put my name in or write someone's else name. Who would know the difference?

The only plot twist that I liked was Clint going from good guy stepping up to go with Eve to evil undercover guy. I didn't see that coming so it was cool to be surprised although it was improbable that Eve would have been able to escape him. I was glad that she was smart enough to not to admit that she shot him and that she kept the gun and hid it, but it is hard to believe that no one heard the gun shot. 

So junkie wasn't hallucinating? I was surprised that the soldier saw the woman also and that the two undercover people committed suicide. I am now seeing the hints that Adrian raped the girl not the football player.

Frances Conroy is such a good actress. Is this really the best role that she can get in Hollywood?

Edited June 30, 2017 by SimoneS

[TattleTeeny]

Quote

The line readings of the some mall extras was beyond terrible.  Although I did love Mr. Mall Manager volunteering "someone" to go to the security office to look for the radio.  Uh ... what about you since you're in charge and it was your idea in the first place?  Nope, we'll draw names out of a bag and conveniently pull one of the few characters played by an actor in the credits, even if she's there alone with her minor child.

Not to mention you know the layout and how the thing works...and why not just instruct whomever to get it and bring it back out?!

[tveyeonyou]

On ‎6‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 11:20 PM, RogerDodger said:

I'm calling it now.  The jock didn't rape the girl.  The best friend did.

Just watched the 1st episode and immediately came here to see if I was the only one who thought it was the best friend and not the jock who raped her. Umm, yay?

Back to read here later, watching the 1st 3 eps now.

[WordsWordsWords]

On the whole, I liked this episode better than the first. The stakes are being raised; tensions are being ramped up. I like some of the actors who were introduced in this episode quite a bit. The thing that bothered me the most last week -- the similarity in most of the actors' line readings, as if they all went to the same acting coach and learned all the same techniques -- wasn't as much on display this week.

If Withdrawal Girl (I'm still not sure of most people's names) and Black Soldier both saw Dead Woman in the Mist, this could be an interesting development.

I did notice some plot holes and some bad logic, but I'll stick with this one at least one more week.

[The Companion]

On 6/29/2017 at 10:03 PM, SimoneS said:

I am enjoying this, but the acting is mostly pretty horrible and there are so many plot holes and things that didn't make sense. The economy must be bad in that town because there was almost no one in that mall. Why would the soldier let the obviously jonesing addict drive the car? They left the guns in the car? This is America. No way they would leave with the guns. I get people are scared, but I cannot believe that anyone is still putting up with that cop or that they letting the some petty mall manager pull their name from a hat. I simply would refuse to put my name in or write someone's else name. Who would know the difference?

The only plot twist that I liked was Clint going from good guy stepping up to go with Eve to evil undercover guy. I didn't see that coming so it was cool to be surprised although it was improbable that Eve would have been able to escape him. I was glad that she was smart enough to not to admit that she shot him and that she kept the gun and hid it, but it is hard to believe that no one heard the gun shot. 

So junkie wasn't hallucinating? I was surprised that the soldier saw the woman also and that the two undercover people committed suicide. I am now seeing the hints that Adrian raped the girl not the football player.

Frances Conroy is such a good actress. Is this really the best role that she can get in Hollywood?

They didn't hear the gunshot because they all wandered back to the food court? If my mom went to get some critical equipment, I would at least be within view of the door. I mean they were opening and leaving a door unlocked with a known threat on the other side, maybe the security guard could have stuck around?

Meanwhile, I know malls have been hit hard, but there is only one drone? 

[DEM]

Army Soldier Bryan clearly has NO clue about anything related to addiction.  When you have to make a run for it into Killer Mist that's not the time to detox an addict. It's not like she was taking Super Max Heroin Pills[TM]. Funny how everyone in the mall can overhear every conversation very clearly even from several yards away, yet no one in the enclosed space of the police car noticed that Mia looked like she was on death's door and shouldn't be driving!

I'm having trouble liking several of the characters, but Police Brutality Action Figure is the worst of the worst.

 

On 6/29/2017 at 8:03 PM, SimoneS said:

I am now seeing the hints that Adrian raped the girl not the football player.

Yes, I felt the same way. I think the writers tried to hide the upcoming ~twist by omitting the scenes between Adrian and Alex and the police officer, respectively, so the audience couldn't analyze what was probably a very sketchy description of events.

 

14 hours ago, The Companion said:

Meanwhile, I know malls have been hit hard, but there is only one drone?

And of course it conveniently got stuck on an unseen nothing! Such lame screenwriting.

I'm enjoying this show because it's right up my genre alley, but I chuckle at the badness.

[DEM]

On 6/25/2017 at 2:00 PM, nodorothyparker said:

If you're trying to convince a girl that you're not the bad guy who physically assaulted her, backing her into a dark store and telling her you'll let her leave as soon as she hears you out and lets you touch her is probably not a good way to go about it.

MTE.  He may not have raped her, but his behaviour is very entitled, bordering on just-plain-creepy.  And what's with Alex not being able to spit out a sentence sometimes, but others she's a veritable wellspring of sarcasm and antagonism.  I'm glad she and her mother have moved to another part of the mall if for no other reason to get a respite from the rape plot. That just leaves her being an ass to her mother.

Speaking of the move, with all that drama I thought they were leaving the mall, not simply moving to a separate room! Good grief!

Mrs Raven has joined the list of characters I want to see Misted.

On 6/25/2017 at 2:00 PM, nodorothyparker said:

I have no idea if it means anything or not that there were at least three, maybe four, army people in civilian dress at the mall while we have another character running around in fatigues with no idea who is he or how he got there, but it seems like kind of a throwaway not to be leading to something.

I thought it was pretty clear that the blood writing said 'Army'.  And didn't Bryan (or someone) mention Arrowhead before?

[nodorothyparker]

Oh, I think you may be right about the blood writing spelling out "army."  Good catch because I certainly didn't.

I do think it says something about the mall storyline that I'm spending more time trying to figure out which stores the mall might have that they're getting tents and blankets and other random sundries from than I am actually paying attention to details like that.  Or maybe I really am just that distractible.  At least I'm mildly amused by the game store guys.

[Anoia]

17 hours ago, DEM said:

I thought it was pretty clear that the blood writing said 'Army'.  And didn't Bryan (or someone) mention Arrowhead before?

It read "arr"+"?". Someone spelled it in the 2nd epidsode, though said they couldn't identify the last letter. The last letter looked like a "c" to me, but could have been ment to be an "o", so this would fit Arrowhead.

[North of Eden]

When all else fails LIE about your attempted murder when you have absolutly no reason to.

 

More importantly though....IRENE BEDARD! Where has she been? That lovely woman doesn't get enough roles.  She doesn't just have to play native american specific parts after all as seen here. The show gets  points just for casting her.

Edited July 6, 2017 by North of Eden

[Ed McCauley]

I’m still very interested in watching this show, but I found this episode to be much weaker than the first, mostly due to shaky plotting and weak acting in spots.

I thought things were going along ok up until when the mall “manager” (that description should definitely be used loosely) did a 360 in acting as a leader and decided there needed to be a lottery to determine who should go for the radio. Uh-huh. Most of those people should have (and would have) just told him to stick it at that point. There certainly was no impetus to get to the radio then, and the plan failing (in either getting a message out or bringing the radio downstairs) didn’t end up impacting anything either.

And what would have happened if someone got picked to go for the radio who didn’t know how to use it? Or why would the people going down a hallway with a dead body in it not carry a baseball bat or a tire iron for protection (of course, we now know the guy was armed, but still)? Weak, weak.

The church looks like it will be a focal point, but the actor playing the priest seems weak which will hurt those scenes as long as he’s alive. The cop actually seems to have some spark in comparison. Mrs. Raven is a main character, and, of course, it’s understandable why she should be in shock, but her husband’s tribute still seemed to be poured down everyone’s throats without concern or awareness of the overall situation. And, speaking of pouring, apparently germ spreading is not a concern in the Mistacylpse! There’s a reason why they have all those little dixie cups for taking Sacrament.

The last thing that surprised me is how quickly they got to the soldiers’ suicide scene. After Eve dispatched the “helpful” guy and came back downstairs, weren’t there still 3 “soldiers” left? Jay only saw 2 bodies hanging in the bathroom, so what happened to the last guy?

[OoogleEyes]

There's a grocery store in the mall? How do people that are handcuffed to the wall not have to pee? And since when was Mia wanted for murder? Yeah, that sheriff *is* an asshole, and his son is uber creepy. 

[SimoneS]

I am losing interest. This show is supposed to be about people under siege by the things in the mist. Yet all there is endless interpersonal drama. The only thing I liked is the mother pulling the gun and the others deciding to go with her. I am about to give up. 

[Anela]

On 6/27/2017 at 9:13 AM, Chaos Theory said:

 

I think the show is starting out with pretty obvious tropes (oh how I hate that word) but it's how you develop them after the pilot that matters.  

I hate that word, too. 

[Anela]

I'm watching it on-demand right now. It isn't holding my interest fully, but I'm not able to concentrate on much, anymore.

I've also just remembered Veronica Mars, thanks to a comment above. I started watching it last Summer, but stopped when my mother went into the hospital. I should see if it's still on Amazon.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, Anela said:

I hate that word, too. 

Me three.

[loki567]

There are some things going on that I can't quite tell is bad writing or storylines that need more time to develop. For instance:

Are we suppose to be on Eve's side during the mall stand-off? Her stealing the gun and already separating the mall group seemed downright villian-ish to me. If that's were they're going with her, I'm okay with that. Otherwise the writing hasn't done a great job explaining why she felt the need to abandon the rest of the people in the mall.

The scene between the daughter and the jock was suppose to come off rapey, right? The whole thing was creepy as hell and I hope they didn't expect that scene to reassure us about the jock's intentions. 

Also creepy, the priest and kid. I had no clue what they were doing with the baptism scene. 

Basically I understand why for budget reasons it can't be all monsters all the time. But the show's not doing a good job of hooking me on the characters and their relationships. I'll give it a couple more episodes but otherwise I'm out. 

[SimoneS]

1 hour ago, loki567 said:

Are we suppose to be on Eve's side during the mall stand-off? Her stealing the gun and already separating the mall group seemed downright villian-ish to me. If that's were they're going with her, I'm okay with that. Otherwise the writing hasn't done a great job explaining why she felt the need to abandon the rest of the people in the mall.

I was on Eve's side in the mall stand off. I thought the writing was clear that Eve was separating from the main group to get her daughter away from her "alleged" rapist. When the daughter said that she was upset not just about the things outside, but by being trapped with her "alleged" rapist, Eve said that she was working on that and we saw her looking around a storage area of some kind. They were leaving quietly when some of the others asked to go with them. The Middle Eastern guy saw the potential danger in the whole "rule" business and smartly realized that it was time to book because as he said it never ends well for people like him. It was only when the mall manager, security guard, and football player tried to stop them and guy stood close to her daughter that Eve pulled the gun. She did it to make sure they knew that they should not mess with her or her daughter. I liked it a lot. Too often, women are passive in these types of tv situations.

Edited July 7, 2017 by SimoneS

[raven]

On 6/25/2017 at 5:00 PM, nodorothyparker said:

 I do love that with all this group's fixation on maintaining order that apparently none of them noticed the gamer guys pushing dead bodies in shopping carts through the main part of the mall, if that weird wooded backdrop thing is to be believed.

I did laugh at this ("Let's give it a minute" "Maybe two"), also when we see a body cut down and it goes "plop" into the shopping cart. 

They should have just left Frances Conroy outside.   One guy grows wings, who knows what'll happen next?

I would not be able to take Mall Manager seriously when he 1) forgot he had a special radio in his office and then 2) was too scared to go and get it.  I would also be hustling away from the group think and rules.  Where in the hell did they end up?  They're in a mall, with a supermarket apparently and they hole up in a room that looks under construction?  I did like the balloon idea, gotta try something.  Still, I think in the bookstore there was phone - has anyone tried every phone in the mall, just in case?

The show is kind of dull, even trying for a serious rape plot (and how creepy was that kid, cornering Alex like that??) and weird stuff happening outside. 

[Armchair Critic]

Mall manager is Clay Davis from The Wire..."sheeeeit"

[TimetoShine]

On 7/6/2017 at 3:31 PM, OoogleEyes said:

There's a grocery store in the mall? How do people that are handcuffed to the wall not have to pee? And since when was Mia wanted for murder? Yeah, that sheriff *is* an asshole, and his son is uber creepy. 

Not surprising about the grocery store. One of the malls that I got to all the time during lunch has a big grocery store as well. It's a huge mall. 

 

So far I don't like the show and I have a feeling it won't get better. The special effects aren't great and I don't really feel a sense of urgency. But I do know I'd like that older lady who got the guy killed to exit stage left now. 

[RedMal]

It's quite funny to me, that you're wondering about grocery store in the mall. Here in Finland, every mall has at least one grocery store. The bigger ones have two.

[nodorothyparker]

It's been like a week and a half since I saw the episode so maybe my memory of it is fuzzy but I assumed it was one of those chain drug stores like Rite-Aid or Walgreens that has a grocery section.  That's not terribly uncommon in a lot of malls.  

And yeah, it's not lost on me that I've now given more head space to wondering what stores in are in this mall than I have on the story that's taking place within the mall itself.  That's a problem.

[nodorothyparker]

Kevin, Mia, Jonah, and Adrian arrive at an abandoned gas station where Kevin tries to reason with Clay amid fears about his child's whereabouts; at the mall bookstore, Alex comes face to face with the Mist.

[Armchair Critic]

I want to know what kind of eyeliner Adrian is wearing that stays on for a couple of days and doesn't smudge. 

[ottoDbusdriver]

So, did they release 99 red balloons ?   Does that mean that the will they be rescued by Nena ?
 

[ottoDbusdriver]

So it seems that the mist is a combination EMP/EM dampener (anything with a electronic chip seems to be non-functional, and no radio communications seems to work) with a fear-response psychotropic drug with physical manifestation capabilities (since other people are able to see the manifestation).  

Mikhail had a death's head moth tattooed on his back and he was turned into a giant moth.
Lyla was afraid of the dark -- and was killed by a dark shadow man.  Of course the dark shadow man didn't kill Alex because she already stated she wasn't afraid of the dark.
Mia seems to have substantial issues with her dead mother, who she saw (as did Bryan).

People are basically being killed by their own fears -- still doesn't explain what killed the dog in the opening scene of Episode 1.  Or why Bryan woke up in the woods with amnesia.
But it might explain why there aren't dozens of monsters roaming the streets -- but it doesn't mean that there aren't ANY monsters.

And it must be something funky at Project Arrowhead as the source -- and it must be really, really bad for those 2 soldiers to have killed themselves.

How much the effects of the Mist apply to individuals seems to vary widely -- as does the amount of exposure time BEfORE they are impacted by it.
 

[RedMal]

11 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Lyla was afraid of the dark -- and was killed by a dark shadow man.  Of course the dark shadow man didn't kill Alex because she already stated she wasn't afraid of the dark.

Huh, didn't even think about that. I was sure there will be some chosen one storyline.

You shoot a car and suddenly the doors are all open. I guess this show takes place in the Grand Theft Auto universe.

I don't know if the writers are to blame or the cast, or maybe I'm just nuts, but I didn't feel much when Lyla was killed in front of her mother. I mean, it should be a devastating scene, but it didn't turn out to be as heart breaking as the writers/director/producers probably intended. However, I felt bad when Vic was thrown out. But that may be due to Erik Knudsen, I've liked the guy since Scream 4.

The mall manager is pretty entertaining. Telling indirectly everyone what to do, but when he's asked to do something, he's like "hell no, you decide, you do it". I hope he dies very gruesome death.

Adrian and company are getting very boring. They just keep wandering aimlessly and there's nothing to fear for them, since they seem to be able to run around the mist all they want.

And even another dead kid storyline in the same episode. Nope, still didn't feel much empathy. It was just something that happened.

Jay really bothers me. Sometimes he looks like Zac Efron and suddenly he's Seth MacFarlane.