Bort August 15, 2019 Share August 15, 2019 Quote Myfanwy and Farrier quickly discover how dangerous life is outside of the Checquy, while Grantchester runs out of options. Myfanwy chooses between her freedom and Farrier's life. Airdate: Sunday, August 18, 2019 Link to comment
AnimeMania August 18, 2019 Share August 18, 2019 Episode 8 was 10 times more interesting than all the other 7 episodes combined. I don't know why they even had Olivia Munn in the show. They should have combined the first 7 episodes into 3 episodes and started episode 8 as episode 4 then went on from there, releasing the EVAs held captive by the Russian guy, releasing the EVAs held by the Checquy, recruiting the EVAs from the Checquy training academy and then coordinating with the members of the EVA resistance. Scary EVAs with scary powers slowly infiltrating every government of the world to make sure EVAs will not be exploited. 7 Link to comment
Noneofyourbusiness August 18, 2019 Share August 18, 2019 Interesting setup for the next season. It was a slow build, but at least now we know plenty about the setting and characters to care about them next season. 2 Link to comment
Darlin August 18, 2019 Share August 18, 2019 9 hours ago, AnimeMania said: Episode 8 was 10 times more interesting than all the other 7 episodes combined. I don't know why they even had Olivia Munn in the show. They should have combined the first 7 episodes into 3 episodes and started episode 8 as episode 4 then went on from there, releasing the EVAs held captive by the Russian guy, releasing the EVAs held by the Checquy, recruiting the EVAs from the Checquy training academy and then coordinating with the members of the EVA resistance. Scary EVAs with scary powers slowly infiltrating every government of the world to make sure EVAs will not be exploited. Olivia Munn's character seemed like she was shoe-horned into the show. What was her purpose? 2 Link to comment
AimingforYoko August 18, 2019 Share August 18, 2019 9 hours ago, AnimeMania said: I don't know why they even had Olivia Munn in the show. Really? You really don't know? I agree she wasn't necessary. If Myfawny was going to take someone out, I was hoping it was that b--ch in the tight dress. I wanted Roose to stay around a while. 1 Link to comment
mjc570 August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 While I give Starz a ton of credit for at least trying to take on this book, and the good production values, this episode just summed up for me why the series as a whole was so disappointing. The Checquy supposedly has all of Britain's EVAs at its disposal, but all they could muster (and all really we've ever seen beside Nazim and Myfanwy herself) were the Gestalts who really just operated as a very efficient team of shooters. Why couldn't we have seen some awesome talents being used? Was this a budget issue? Why is there any resistance movement at all, much less something apparently so widespread? sure children are taken from their families but it's not shown that's always without consent or that the families (and the British public) don't recognize that this may be the best way to nurture these abilities? Agree, saw no point at all in Olivia Munn, although I like her very much. I think it's not at all in her character that she would have her mind wiped, I imagined that she would take the pain of betrayal and use it to make herself stronger. Wonderful dress, though. Finally, I just didn't like Myfanwy. I understand that she was confused, and a very controlled person, but it meant that I just never cared about her. She was boring, and until the very end with the girl and then trying to rescue Linda, she did nothing to benefit any other person. Even her intervening with Nazim was for the purpose of solving her personal mystery. Sorry for the rant. Again, thanks to Starz. I guess I would have liked it better had I not read the book. 2 Link to comment
WatchrTina August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 (edited) Well, I just binge-watched the whole thing in one day and that was VERY entertaining. The visuals were amazing and there were a number of aspects of this SciFi plot that felt completely original (and I say that as someone watches virtually all the shows about people with supernatural abilities.) My favorite was the quadruplets who are really one consciousness spread across four bodies. That's something I don't think I've ever seen before. Of course you KNEW it was a British show because they left so many loose ends. So . . . now Russia may declare war on Great Britain? Okaaaaay. And how, exactly, would blaming it all on Lady Farrier do any good? She runs an agency that no one knows exists. Why would anyone accept her as the scapegoat? I guess we'll find out when (if) we get a second season. I've learned to live with ambiguity with it comes to British television. If we never see another episode I can make peace with this ending. It was a good ride. Edited August 22, 2019 by WatchrTina 2 Link to comment
GaT August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 8 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said: Interesting setup for the next season. There's going to be a next season? 6 hours ago, Darlin said: Olivia Munn's character seemed like she was shoe-horned into the show. What was her purpose? Just to be Olivia Munn, she added nothing else. 3 hours ago, mjc570 said: Finally, I just didn't like Myfanwy. I understand that she was confused, and a very controlled person, but it meant that I just never cared about her. She was boring, and until the very end with the girl and then trying to rescue Linda, she did nothing to benefit any other person. Even her intervening with Nazim was for the purpose of solving her personal mystery. Sorry for the rant. Again, thanks to Starz. I guess I would have liked it better had I not read the book. I didn't like Myfanwy either. I liked her in the book, but not in this. Was the kidnap plot in the book? I don't remember it. Link to comment
Noneofyourbusiness August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 15 hours ago, WatchrTina said: And how, exactly, would blaming it all on Lady Farrier do any good? She runs an agency that no one knows exists. Why would anyone accept her as the scapegoat? Within the British secret services and government, where people know the Checquy exists, she would be the scapegoat, not publicly. Unless they release vague information to the effect that was she was a secret service agent of an unspecified kind, or give her a fake backstory in the press like they did the Dutchman. And remember, the Russian government also knows the Checquy exists. 12 hours ago, GaT said: There's going to be a next season? If it gets renewed. One was clearly set up. It depends on Starz. Link to comment
Eyes High August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, WatchrTina said: My favorite was the quadruplets who are really one consciousness spread across four bodies. That's something I don't think I've ever seen before. It seemed like a reference to the Midwich Cuckoos (or, as the X-Men comics later riffed on, the Stepford Cuckoos), right down to the white-blonde hair. Hive mind has been done before, but hive mind as the main love interest? That's new. 16 hours ago, mjc570 said: While I give Starz a ton of credit for at least trying to take on this book, and the good production values, this episode just summed up for me why the series as a whole was so disappointing. The Checquy supposedly has all of Britain's EVAs at its disposal, but all they could muster (and all really we've ever seen beside Nazim and Myfanwy herself) were the Gestalts who really just operated as a very efficient team of shooters. Why couldn't we have seen some awesome talents being used? Was this a budget issue? Not only the limited use of powers (Farrier uses her powers once, Conrad barely uses his powers, Gestalt mostly just acts creepy), but these people don't seem to do very much, powers or no powers. Myfanwy spent most of her time at the office investigating the mystery of her memory being wiped (and using Checquy resources to do so, which is kind of weird given how paranoid she otherwise seems to be). Gestalt sits around pouting over Myfanwy. Conrad has his relationship drama. Does anyone at the agency do any actual work? Quote Finally, I just didn't like Myfanwy. I understand that she was confused, and a very controlled person, but it meant that I just never cared about her. She was boring, and until the very end with the girl and then trying to rescue Linda, she did nothing to benefit any other person. Even her intervening with Nazim was for the purpose of solving her personal mystery. Yeah, the show suffered from the same ill as a lot of fiction: having a mediocre central character that all the other characters are inexplicably obsessed with. Even before she got her memory wiped, there was nothing really compelling about Myfanwy as someone to root for. She's not particularly interesting, particularly altruistic, particularly intelligent, particularly caring, particularly anything. She's just sort of...there. The most interesting character is Gestalt, and even Gestalt didn't have much of a personality, oddly enough. Edited August 19, 2019 by Eyes High 6 Link to comment
tennisgurl August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 (edited) Myfawny is kind of the weak link of the whole show, even beyond her not having her memories, she really isn't that interesting of a main character. Until this episode (and then only kinda) she never really has any agency in her own story, and that ok if its the point that she is always being controlled by these competing forces, but she never really makes much of an impression, so its kind of hard to care. Its too bad we so rarely see people use their powers, because whenever we do it looks really cool, and they actually did a pretty good job of coming up with some unique powers for them to have. This episode was probably the best of the lot, it had some real suspense and Myfawny actually did some stuff and showed some personality. I am curious about the books now, they are apparently quite different from the show, I could give them a try, its a good premise and while I enjoyed the show enough, I felt like it was missing some personality that I think would have made it more interesting. I would watch another season, but if thats the end of the show, I am pretty satisfied. Edited August 19, 2019 by tennisgurl 5 Link to comment
NeenerNeener August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 33 minutes ago, tennisgurl said: I am curious about the books now, they are apparently quite different from the show, I could give them a try, its a good premise and while I enjoyed the show enough, I felt like it was missing some personality that I think would have made it more interesting. I would watch another season, but if thats the end of the show, I am pretty satisfied. Definitely read the books. For Starz to do the books justice they would have had to shell out Game of Thrones-kind of production money, and until Outlander and American Gods are done they aren't going to have it. I don't see why they went with kidnapping EVAs as a plot. Even though it's cheap to film it makes no sense given what these people are supposed to be capable of doing. So, when the Russian oligarch got Myfanwey what could he possible make her do? She shouldn't want to work for him if she's essentially a slave. The minute they stop drugging her so she can use her powers on a target of his choosing she can kill anyone within range and escape. It makes no sense.... 4 Link to comment
ferjy August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 (edited) 17 hours ago, WatchrTina said: Of course you KNEW it was a British show I'm pretty sure it's an American production. Which is probably why they threw in Olivia Munn, the requisite American amongst British actors. I like the actress, I think she's very good, but I agree the character was lacking. Edited August 19, 2019 by ferjy 1 Link to comment
Noneofyourbusiness August 19, 2019 Share August 19, 2019 18 hours ago, mjc570 said: The Checquy supposedly has all of Britain's EVAs at its disposal, but all they could muster (and all really we've ever seen beside Nazim and Myfanwy herself) were the Gestalts who really just operated as a very efficient team of shooters. Why couldn't we have seen some awesome talents being used? Was this a budget issue? The show indicated that powerful destructive abilities are rare, especially without drawbacks like Linda being affected by her own sonic waves and Myfanwy supposedly having a limited range (which was really psychological). Link to comment
ferjy August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 6 hours ago, tennisgurl said: Myfawny is kind of the weak link of the whole show, even beyond her not having her memories, she really isn't that interesting of a main character. The premise was interesting but the show hasn’t inspired me much to watch another season. I too didn’t find Myfanwy very interesting, other characters drew me in more. I won’t miss watching the actress’s emaciated frame. When she was wearing those tight pants (bad wardrobe decision!) and the tank top, she looked like a skeleton. A skeleton with nipples, lol. You could easily hire her for a halloween party. 5 Link to comment
steph369 August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 7 hours ago, Eyes High said: The most interesting character is Gestalt, and even Gestalt didn't have much of a personality, oddly enough. I perked up at Gestalt, interesting concept. But they managed to even make them ho-hum. 2 Link to comment
ferjy August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 It’s probably boring if you’re British, but I liked the London scenery. Though all I could think in that last shot was “Hey, that bridge was destroyed in Harry Potter!” ;-D 1 Link to comment
Rambler August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 This show was just a hot mess from the very beginning, unless it was created to cure insomnia. In that case, it was a rousing success. The main plot revolved around Myfawny trying to recover her lost memories, but unfortunately it was told in the most boring way possible. She just wandered from person to person, who would spout exposition about what led up to her memory wipe. Nobody tried to stop her or hinder her in any way. If she needed top secret redacted information from a computer, she just went down to the computer room and got the information without anybody around to ask her what she was doing or why. She needed to talk to a chained up prisoner? She just asks nicely and they let her talk to him alone with no monitoring. She needs to find out how her memory was wiped? The kid who did it just shows up at her door because he magically knows where she lives. She gets arrested for the incident at the park and her off the books shenanigans, and it lasts about two minutes before she throws Linda under the bus and she is completely free and above suspicion again. She can visit her sister without anybody following, or wondering where she went to. Since there weren't any obstacles put in Myfawny's way that she needed to work through, her character never really developed and the main story just became very static and lifeless. Another big problem was that the bad guys were never shown to have anybody with EVA powers to match the Checquy. After the beat down in the subway, the slave traders just basically disappeared from the story as any real threat. That left everybody in Checquy not named Myfawny with nothing to do for almost the entire season. With the bad guys basically just watching from the sidelines, there was zero sense that Myfawny was in any danger whatsoever until the last episode. She never once had to use her powers to defend herself, so the show might as well have been about an accountant with amnesia for all the tension that was generated. The last episode was just the same old crap that the rest of the season was. Myfawny is caged in a van being driven to whoever bought her. I am thinking: "Aha! The serum that that suppresses her power will wear off too soon because they underestimated the true extent of her power that was shown in the bridge incident. Finally we are going to get to see her electro-frying some azzes! Oh wait! There’s a little girl caged in there with her. Obviously they are going to somehow work together and overpower the guards using their combined abilities. I wonder what clever plan Myfawny will come up with?" Nope, the random guard that was assigned to transport her just happens to be a member of the "resistance" and lets her out of the cage. Wow so exciting!!! She then goes back to the bad guy's hide out. She used to be some sort of bureaucrat, but now she apparently has become a ninja, because she can wander through the compound without any of the guards seeing her. She makes her way to the head honcho, who is completely unguarded cuz reasons, and zaps his face off. Now that looked pretty damn cool, so why couldn't we have been seeing things like that happening throughout the entire season? Also, how is Myfawny able to control her power so that she can call it up on command all of a sudden? That just happened out of the blue with no build up whatsoever. What they should have done was have her rediscover her power at some point, and then slowly train it up throughout the season so she could call it up and focus it at will. They then should have given the head bad guy some other badass EVA power and have them duke it out for the finale. But no, I guess we can't have too much excitement on this show. If there is a second season to this show, which I seriously doubt, I sincerely hope they replace the showrunners because they have shown zero ability to tell a decent story. 7 Link to comment
mjc570 August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 Rambler: I agreed with your entire post, but the best thing was "accountant with amnesia" which describes it perfectly. Thanks for the laugh. 2 Link to comment
meep.meep August 20, 2019 Share August 20, 2019 I bet this might be much better if you binge watch it, rather than watching week by week. That said - I'd never watch another season. 1 Link to comment
TV Anonymous September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 On 8/18/2019 at 7:00 PM, AimingforYoko said: Really? You really don't know? I agree she wasn't necessary. Care to explain? Link to comment
AnimeMania September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 2 hours ago, TV Anonymous said: On 8/18/2019 at 7:00 PM, AimingforYoko said: Really? You really don't know? I agree she wasn't necessary. Care to explain? I am from America, and I saw Olivia Munn on all the talk shows promoting the show and saying how good it was. I was really watching the show because of her and because it was about people with superpowers. Olivia Munn added little to the show and I would almost call it a bait and switch because her character had almost no purpose. She was included for name recognition and eye candy (she could have supplied more candy as well) for an American audience. Link to comment
UnknownK September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 1 hour ago, AnimeMania said: I am from America, and I saw Olivia Munn on all the talk shows promoting the show and saying how good it was. I was really watching the show because of her and because it was about people with superpowers. Olivia Munn added little to the show and I would almost call it a bait and switch because her character had almost no purpose. She was included for name recognition and eye candy (she could have supplied more candy as well) for an American audience. That's just marketing of the product. I don't think I knew any of the brits in the show and probably would have passed on it without her. Could be worse and they could have had all half the cast as gay or transgendered to be all inclusive or whatever when that would have nothing to do with the story. Link to comment
AimingforYoko September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 4 hours ago, TV Anonymous said: Care to explain? 1 hour ago, AnimeMania said: She was included for name recognition and eye candy (she could have supplied more candy as well) for an American audience. Bingo. Link to comment
Bort September 25, 2019 Author Share September 25, 2019 To each their own, I guess. I'm more familiar with Joely Richardson than I am with Olivia Munn, so the latter wasn't a sell for me. In all honesty, it was the source material that was the sell, and the show didn't deliver because they basically threw the book out the window once they copied down character names. 2 Link to comment
AnimeMania September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 20 minutes ago, UnknownK said: I don't think I knew any of the brits in the show and probably would have passed on it without her. Adrian Lester is pretty popular I have been watching him since Hustle. 1 Link to comment
UnknownK September 25, 2019 Share September 25, 2019 5 minutes ago, AnimeMania said: Adrian Lester is pretty popular I have been watching him since Hustle. I don't watch that many British productions so while I might have seen the actors in something before or known them because of their relatives being well known actors, they just didn't leave an impression on me. Link to comment
TV Anonymous September 27, 2019 Share September 27, 2019 On 9/25/2019 at 3:49 PM, UnknownK said: I don't think I knew any of the brits in the show and probably would have passed on it without her. Some of them are quite well-known on American TV, though. Emma Greenwell (Shameless), Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck), James D'Arcy (Agent Carter). 1 Link to comment
Vermicious Knid December 26, 2019 Share December 26, 2019 I had this sitting on my DVR and just got through it now. I'm glad I didn't spend 8 weeks waiting for this thing to drag on. They took an entertaining, fun read and turned it all brooding and atmospheric. The end result was lame and I dearly hope there isn't a second season. This was like, early CW levels of storytelling and special effects. Looked back at reviews and all the reviewers thought it was bad. One of the things the book didn't shy away from is that Original Myfawny is essentially dead and New Myfawny is a different person stepping into her body and life. Of course the show has her getting flashes of her memories and holds out the promise that she might regain it all. At least I have re-reading the book, and it's sequel to look forward to. 2 Link to comment
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