In The Dark - General Discussion

[dubbel zout]

8 hours ago, ketose said:

I'm not sure how a non-profit can actually launder money properly.

I was wondering that, too. At first I thought, "Oh, that's clever," and then I was like, "Wait, it's a nonprofit; how's this going to work?" It'd be amusing if Nia realized her mistake was all, "Fuck! How do I leverage this?"

I assume Max will show up sometime next season? We didn't see a body or hear any talk about one, and his story is somewhat incomplete. He could testify against Nia, too. 

What did Nia inject into Jules's skull? Or was it her eye? Either way, yikes. Dean sucks for ratting out Jules. I get he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but man, he signed her death warrant and knew it.

This show is such a mess, but I'm inexplicably still interested in watching it next season. Help!

[Samwise979]

I am so disappointed in that ending. It was almost worse that Dean killed Tyson to protect himself as opposed to an order from Nia to do it. And he got his partner killed too. Ugh. I posted awhile back that I was nervous Max did it. I guess I was on the right track, I just picked the wrong boyfriend. If Darnell is a part of next season, Nia you better watch your back!!

[The Wild Sow]

22 hours ago, crashdown said:

So . . . what? Dean goes to jail? Does Murphy somehow inherit Chloe? This is a very odd show, but I can't seem to stop watching it.

Was Chloe born blind?  Or did she lose her vision in the car crash that claimed her mother's life?

Yeah, I guess Dean goes to jail if he comes out of his coma!

[ketose]

7 hours ago, The Wild Sow said:

Was Chloe born blind?  Or did she lose her vision in the car crash that claimed her mother's life?

Yeah, I guess Dean goes to jail if he comes out of his coma!

Chloe became blind as a result of the accident. Nia probably caused it, considering the way the story is going.

[Guest]

Well, this show was never great but that was an impressively bad finale. So Dean has been a bumbling teddy bear the whole season and becomes a menacing murderer overnight with zero warning? Holy plot holes, Batman. Their sex scene was one of the most disturbing I've seen, which was especially disappointing as she was so excited to finally have healthy, not-escapism sex with someone she cared about.

Jess and Felix are cute, but hitting Too Dumb To Live territory.

[rove4]

Personally I never really liked Dean all that much.  He's way too bland so being a bad guy may actually make him vaguely interesting.  Murphy never seemed like his type.

[Gizmo321]

Didn't watch this while it was on CW...ended up doing a few binge watch sessions on Netflix.

I am surprised there's going to be a season 2. The mystery is over, the majority of the players dead.

Darnell and Nia seem to be the only ones left standing from the mystery. And I doubt we will see Chloe.

I hope they bring Max back for season 2. Although Nia will most likely revenge.

I suspect I won't watch it while it runs on CW but it's a great Netflix treat.

[shapeshifter]

I just watched this on Netflix over the past week. 

The plot unfolded like a choose-your-own-adventure story, yet it managed to keep my attention.

But the path to get Guiding Hope to a drug front is so ridiculous — when Murphy rolls her sightless eyes, so does the audience.

The characters are more plot devices than personalities, but maybe that will change in season 2.

[bettername2come]

The CW - making me yell at characters named Dean since 2006.

I couldn't believe it. And after all my "no, I hope it's not Darnell, he seems sincere" thoughts, this got to me. I started to think they just pulled this out of nowhere, but now I'm not sure.

They are so stupid with the drug money. So stupid. Pretzel is now the only smart character on the show.

Five bucks says Murphy's parents get custody of Chloe.

[possibilities]

Chloe is one of my favorite characters ever. I wish the show was centered on her.

[Anela]

On 6/4/2019 at 5:33 AM, Spaceman Spiff said:

I can't find a redeeming quality about this guy. As was mentioned before in this thread. He constantly calls her "babe" even though she told him not to, pressures her for sex even when she is not in the mood, launders money for drug dealers (which got him into his current situation of being a CI for the narcs) and worst offense, he peed in her kitchen sink, and then joked about it later.

I'm not sure what the writers are smoking, but no guy would do that, because it's just disgusting.

I've only made it as far as the beginning of episode four, and he's annoying me, too. He's too pushy, and then whines when she talks about sleeping with someone else? He's all over crossing her boundaries, and I don't find it romantic or sexy, at all. 

[shapeshifter]

11 minutes ago, Anela said:

I've only made it as far as the beginning of episode four, and he's annoying me, too. He's too pushy, and then whines when she talks about sleeping with someone else? He's all over crossing her boundaries, and I don't find it romantic or sexy, at all. 

Yeah, maybe they were going for "flawed" but didn't know exactly what that is?

[Anela]

On 8/21/2019 at 5:25 PM, shapeshifter said:

Yeah, maybe they were going for "flawed" but didn't know exactly what that is?

He got better in the later episodes - a bit - of course, just before he has to disappear. 

I can't believe I didn't see it being the cop.

[love2lovebadtv]

On 5/25/2019 at 11:16 AM, dubbel zout said:

What exactly is Murphy's job at the guide-dog place? I got the impression it was sort of a "here's a blind person whose life was improved by a guide dog; please donate so others can benefit!" mascot-type thing. Is it something more substantial?

I think if she were there for PR purposes, that would be more substantial than what she's currently doing. She's the type who sabotages donation possibilities. 

 

 

 

 

On 5/25/2019 at 10:17 PM, possibilities said:

I can't figure out what Murphy is supposed to do for her job, either. I thought she was just there collecting a paycheck because her parents want to support her. I guess she could be there for the token PR value, but there are plenty of other blind people who could and would do the job better.

And, for that matter, they ought to hire blind people to do other jobs there, and not have it be all about sighted savior do-gooders and a token mascot nepotism charity case.

The entire organization is messed up and condescending and incompetent. Felix might be the only one there who actually has respect and an understanding of the mission, and isn't just a co-dependent with a hero complex.

I wish Murphy had more respect for the organization that is not only a source of income for her and her parents but is also a place of employment for other people. I can't imagine having to work with her. 

On 6/1/2019 at 1:49 AM, possibilities said:

I'm not sure I blame Max for Tyson's death.

He was the informant, but did he really know that Tyson would be blamed? I'm not seeing how that follows.

Did I miss something, or was Murphy just reacting out of emotions and not really thinking clearly?

I think Murphy was reacting out of emotions and looking for someone to blame. Also, she resents that Max didn't tell her. It seems like she doesn't fully grasp understand how dangerous this drug dealer lifestyle is and that, even though Max is not physically on the street selling drugs, he's still involved in it. 

On 6/1/2019 at 11:28 AM, PinkRibbons said:

Well this episode made me do a 180 on Felix; he was pretty awesome!

Also when Vanessa started so aggressively hashtagging instead of just taking the photo to post later, I was like, "get out Jess, get out now". Aside from the fact that she was being annoying as shit, some of those tags really did make it sound like she was in the relationship partly for the bragging rights about how woke she is.

Something bothered me about Vaness in that scene but I couldn't figure out what - you just nailed it. 

[love2lovebadtv]

On 6/3/2019 at 6:11 PM, SnarkEnthusiast said:

Welcome to millennial/Gen Z relationships lol. It feels like 75%+ of lesbian/bisexual couples are trying to turn their relationship into a brand or monetize it somehow. It's super weird.

The choice of Rich Sommer as the stealth primary love interest of this show continues to baffle me, as much as I like him. Not only does he seem too old for Murphy (there's 16 years between them irl - Perry Mattfeld is 25), but his personality registers somewhere between "unhip suburban dad" and "friendzoned high school nerd." I appreciate that he's not Hollywood Hot, but still, not exactly a recipe for crackling sexual tension.

I think I got the ages all wrong. I definitely thought Murphy and Dean were in the same age bracket. He carries himself in a more mature manner and has a more suburban dad vibe, but they don't look unmatched agewise. 

I figured Jess was around 30 - young, but old enough to have studied to be a vet. I was surprised that she and Murphy had been childhood friends because I definitely thought Murphy was older. 

How old is Murphy supposed to be?

[Anela]

15 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

I think I got the ages all wrong. I definitely thought Murphy and Dean were in the same age bracket. He carries himself in a more mature manner and has a more suburban dad vibe, but they don't look unmatched agewise. 

I figured Jess was around 30 - young, but old enough to have studied to be a vet. I was surprised that she and Murphy had been childhood friends because I definitely thought Murphy was older. 

How old is Murphy supposed to be?

I think her mum said that she was 27, and then she had a birthday. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Anela said:

1 hour ago, love2lovebadtv said:

How old is Murphy supposed to be?

I think her mum said that she was 27, and then she had a birthday. 

I was confused about her age because in the pilot there's:

Quote

I was every adoptive parent's dream.
That's why I sat in foster care for two years.

You sat in foster care because you were waiting for us. I may not have been there when you were born, but you were always my daughter, Murphy.

I love you, Dad. I don't say that very much, do I?

Three times in 20 years is more than enough. 

So I was thinking she was supposed to be 20 or 22. 
But then in episode 8, "Jessica Rabbit," we hear:

Quote

Can I ask you something, boss to uh, former boss?

Yeah.

What do you do about Murphy? I-I told her yesterday if she didn't show up she'd be fired And then she didn't show up.

Yeah, been there.

I mean, I don't want to fire her, but how can I get her to treat me with the respect that I so deeply deserve?

Felix, I have been dealing with this for 27 years. 

Which, if Murphy was 2 years old when her parents met her, would make her 29, or 27 if not literal.

[possibilities]

It's probably just continuity error, but theoretically, Murphy could have gone into foster care at age 5 or later, and not at birth. Which would make sense, because infants tend to get adopted much faster than older kids. If her birthparents either died or she was removed from their care because they were unfit, that would explain her age and also part of why she may be so cynical and traumatized enough to have a tough time in intimate relationships, if she has traumas related to bonding, loss, abandonment, or abuse.

I do NOT want to imply that this is true of all adoptees. But given how they've written Murphy, it could be that's what they are going for.

[shapeshifter]

47 minutes ago, possibilities said:

It's probably just continuity error, but theoretically, Murphy could have gone into foster care at age 5 or later, and not at birth. Which would make sense, because infants tend to get adopted much faster than older kids. If her birthparents either died or she was removed from their care because they were unfit, that would explain her age and also part of why she may be so cynical and traumatized enough to have a tough time in intimate relationships, if she has traumas related to bonding, loss, abandonment, or abuse.

I do NOT want to imply that this is true of all adoptees. But given how they've written Murphy, it could be that's what they are going for.

Yes, @possibilities, I too considered those possibilities (pun, heh).
I do wish they had clarified it.
Maybe next season they will. 
Since the actress is 25, I was assuming she was younger than that just because actors tend to play younger. I wonder if they originally planned to make her younger, hence those lines from the pilot:

Quote

I love you, Dad. I don't say that very much, do I?

Three times in 20 years is more than enough. 

but then once the pilot got picked up, realized they could make the stories edgier if she was older, and/or the network execs encouraged them to make it more than just another CW teen drama. Wasn't there some chatter in the media about CW wanting to skew to slightly more mature audiences?

[Paloma]

My husband and I just finished bingeing Season 1 on Netflix after a friend highly recommended it. I had seen ads for the show several months ago and it didn't seem like something that would interest me, but my husband and I were both quickly drawn into it despite the main character being so unlikable most of the time and treating almost everyone so badly. Spoiler tagging in case anyone has not seen Jessica Jones, though I don't think I am revealing any secrets here:

Spoiler

Then again, Murphy's character was similar in that way to Jessica Jones, and we loved that show. 

The blend of drama, mystery, and humor was well done (reminding me of another CW show that we loved most of the time, iZombie), though some of the plot points were implausible or at least confusing. Although a good explanation was given for why Dean started working for Nia and killed Tyson, it still was hard to believe that someone who seemed so decent and sincere could do such terrible things and yet continue to behave normally in his interactions with his partner, Murphy, his daughter, and others. I don't think we are supposed to believe that Dean is a psychopath or sociopath. In contrast to Dean, other characters who had good qualities but did bad things--especially Max and Jules, and even Darnell--were more believable because you could see their worry about their involvement in crime and their fear about getting caught all along.

We are still interested enough to watch the beginning of Season 2, but not sure we will stick with it if it is all about Nia forcing Murphy, Jess, and Felix to launder money through Guiding Hope.

[ratgirlagogo]

Season 2 starts next week, April 16:

I found last season's ending incredibly disappointing, but I'm still interested to see where they're going to go with this.   Plus, you know, stuck in the house and all.

[Valny]

Just watched the first ep of season 2:

Hated that Dean is getting away with everything for now. He better pay for what he did by the end of the season. I don't want him to be redeemed.

I'm glad we got to see Darnell find his girlfriend(forgot her name, RIP) instead of Nia having disposed of her and he'd not know where she "disappeared to"  I forgot, did Nia kill her or did she have someone else do the job?

I'm glad Murphy didn't ruin Chloe's life, I didn't think she would be that mean. 

Hi Pretzel!

[shapeshifter]

Pretzel! Show me the way outside!

[Samwise979]

This was a nice surprise on my PVR! Esp since I'm so sick of everything else on tv right now. 

Do you think they're going to redeem Dean? He's going to try and take down Nia now. Maybe his story ends in the oh so predictable self sacrifice. 

I will miss the Max eye candy. 

This was a good start to the season, I am interested in where it goes to next. 

[dubbel zout]

Quote

Jess: "Something tells me Nia is a little smarter than Dean."
Felix, snarkily: "Oh, because she's a woman?"
Jess: "Yes."

Hee.

[skotnikov]

The last minute of the episode what was it a flashback or flash-forward? 

[Samwise979]

2 hours ago, skotnikov said:

The last minute of the episode what was it a flashback or flash-forward? 

The whole episode was a flashback technically. It opened with the dead guy and then it was like .... 5 months earlier .... And then the episode played. 

[skotnikov]

6 hours ago, Samwise979 said:

The whole episode was a flashback technically. It opened with the dead guy and then it was like .... 5 months earlier .... And then the episode played. 

Ah ok! I've missed the first couple of minutes. Thanx

[Whimsy]

This latest episode when Jess was telling Murphy to break it off with Max I had serious Moulin Rouge flashbacks. “Hurt him. Hurt him to save him” and “The Show Must Go On” kept going through my head. 

[dubbel zout]

I don't get the point of the flashback if we're going to see it every episode before getting to what happened. It's so lazy, and I hate it. Just lead up to it and hit me with it all at once.

[Samwise979]

We better paint the truck in case the police are looking for it. But don't worry about changing the license plate, it'll be fine. 

So, Felix and the Chelsea?  They're both quirky soooo, I guess it could work??

It is Chelsea's brother that's dead at the beginning of these past 2 episodes right? 

Casey Deidrick (Max) please don't be gone forever 😍

[dubbel zout]

1 hour ago, Samwise979 said:

It is Chelsea's brother that's dead at the beginning of these past 2 episodes right? 

Yes.

[possibilities]

I honestly don't think Felix is that uncool. It's just that Jess and Murphy are really surly and kind of mean girlish, and Felix is not naturally a fighter, so he kind of gets caught in their crosshairs a lot.

[dubbel zout]

He's dorky, but Muprhy isn't exactly on the cutting edge. She resents him because he has a better relationship with her parents than she does, at least until he fired them. And I think Jess goes along with Murphy to keep the peace between them. Murphy is EXHAUSTING.

[The Wild Sow]

On 4/26/2020 at 5:22 PM, Samwise979 said:

Casey Deidrick (Max) please don't be gone forever 😍

He's not - in fact, he spends most of this episode shirtless & barefoot with his pajama pants just barely staying up on his hips 🥰

[NoReally]

Nia and her crew must be the dumbest criminals in history.

That leader-dog training place has to be the worst possible place to try and launder money.

[dubbel zout]

My eyes could not have rolled farther back into my head when Murphy accused the IRS guy of wanting to sleep with her. It was just SO idiotic.

When we saw the IRS guy squinting at a file his boss dropped off, I thought, "Really? No one else is seeing this? He's holding the file two inches from his face."

18 minutes ago, NoReally said:

Nia and her crew must be the dumbest criminals in history.

That leader-dog training place has to be the worst possible place to try and launder money.

I don't get how anyone thinks a nonprofit is the place to launder money. Felix is supposed to have some sort of business acumen. The rules are pretty strict, and a giant jump in "donations" is going to raise some flags whether the money is legit or not.

[shapeshifter]

4 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

When we saw the IRS guy squinting at a file his boss dropped off, I thought, "Really? No one else is seeing this? He's holding the file two inches from his face

IRS guy squinting at a file was for the audience’s benefit so we wouldn’t wonder whether his story was legit.

[dubbel zout]

Actually, I never thought the going-blind story was a lie.

[Samwise979]

Nia's right hand woman Sam did bring up the fact that Guiding Hope was not the place to launder money, Nia basically said she didn't have a choice now that she can't trust her source on the police department. 

I wonder if Dean will somehow help Max to escape so he can still get his information about Nia. 

[PinkRibbons]

This is now the second time the show has portrayed people (first a younger Murphy, now IRS guy) who are losing their sight but not wearing glasses before they are completely blind. That's not a thing, is it?

[possibilities]

Not all vision loss can be corrected with lenses.

[shapeshifter]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

Not all vision loss can be corrected with lenses.

True, but wouldn't magnifying lenses always be helpful for reading? 

[dubbel zout]

Not necessarily. If everything is blurry, a magnifying glass isn't going to fix that. It will just make all the blurriness bigger.

[possibilities]

There are forms of vision loss that are neurological, for instance. Magnification or other forms of lens correction don't help at all with any of that.

There are also conditions that cause empty areas of field, so the only way to see is to move the object to focus with the part of the eye that still has sight, which might mean far to one side if your central vision is gone, or to some other angle, depending on what the damage is.

[dubbel zout]

I guess I'm the only one who watched the most recent ep, LOL. I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick with it, as Murphy is unbearable, and the money laundering thing is so dumb.

[shapeshifter]

45 minutes ago, dubbel zout said:

I guess I'm the only one who watched the most recent ep, LOL. I'm not sure how much longer I'll stick with it, as Murphy is unbearable, and the money laundering thing is so dumb.

Was that the  one in which Max was jail shivved enough to be killed 3 times over and yet, there he was in the next scene with a little square bandage on his bare (again) abs?

[possibilities]

I'm watching. I just don't know what to say.

Murphy is awful, but Jess is turning out to be just as bad-- she's the one who took the money in the first place, and now she's checked out of the situation because she's in a sex haze, leaving Murphy and Felix to deal with it alone.

I'm thoroughly grossed out by Felix being so buoyed by the gun. And I'm also certain that's going to lead to a total disaster sooner than later.

Dean continues to be the worst.

[dubbel zout]

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Was that the  one in which Max was jail shivved enough to be killed 3 times over and yet, there he was in the next scene with a little square bandage on his bare (again) abs?

Yep. Nia's henchman should be ashamed of himself. 

Everyone is at various levels of awful. Pretzel is the only decent character. I'm pretty sure the writers don't mean for that to be.

[Kiki777]

1 hour ago, dubbel zout said:

Everyone is at various levels of awful. Pretzel is the only decent character. I'm pretty sure the writers don't mean for that to be.

Yeah, Pretzel is my main reason for watching at this point.  I’m a sucker for Goldens.