I waited with the review as the plot was still unfolding. I gave it a chance and my initial rating was 8/10 with inclination to increase it later on when I've seen more. I had really enjoyed the show up until now.
Now I've corrected my rating to 5/10 and I even consider lowering it. It's not because I don't "understand" it like most reviews defend the series. I've seen one of the greatest quantum-related shows ever made - "Fringe", a pinnacle of TV mastery. I'm very familiar with the concepts, theories, paradoxes, correlations, entanglements and causalities.
The reason I've lowered the rating is episode 6. What could have been a 5 minute sequence to bring us up to speed with the "alternate side" was extended to 57 minutes of re-watching pretty much the same material we've already seen or guessed. The show-runner is so concerned we might not understand what's going on that they decided to make us watch it twice. Why? Because torture, that's why.
No matter how much I enjoy the characters and the acting, I do value my time. If the writers are so starved off material, just make less episodes. If they think we're so dumb to have to watch it twice, just nail it the first time.
EDIT: Ok, I've watched the season finale. I have this to add.
Leave all space and fiction aside, it's just a background and some noise. I love the main characters and the supporting cast. And especially Alice. The show is all about grief. They are all grieving, in their own way and coping however they can. It's a struggle we all go through. Pets, parents, friends. Old relationships. People we thought we know well. Careers. Projects. Colleagues. Ideas. Dreams. Each of us knows loss in some form or another.
It's tough living a life filled with the constant "what if". And the purpose of this series is to expand on the "what if" and spin it in ways we haven't really though of, and leading us through new aspects of loss that, luckily, we can only imagine. And how everyone is quick to put a label "mental illness" on anything unexpected and out of the ordinary. To the people living the horror, it's 100% real, illness or not. Be kind, you don't know how much the other person may be suffering in silence.
As a conclusion, I stick with my initial rating of 8, so I'm changing it back to it. The writing is surely lacking in committing to a single audience and delivering a solid experience for everyone watching. But I'm willing to forgive episode 6 and the overwhelming (at times) filler, even the fact that half the episodes are just a repetition of previous episodes. I'm willing to do that because the struggles of each character were put out beautifully at the end. Nobody is a villain, yet we manage to unintentionally hurt the people around us, especially the people closest to us. We shouldn't forget to care about each other even when we're at our lowest and darkest. It's a strong message with a solid delivery, and this is a reason enough redeem the show and hope the writers take a note on focusing on one strength/audience and stick to it, to deliver an amazing season 2.
And give the Coleman sisters an award! Awesome performance!
Now I've corrected my rating to 5/10 and I even consider lowering it. It's not because I don't "understand" it like most reviews defend the series. I've seen one of the greatest quantum-related shows ever made - "Fringe", a pinnacle of TV mastery. I'm very familiar with the concepts, theories, paradoxes, correlations, entanglements and causalities.
The reason I've lowered the rating is episode 6. What could have been a 5 minute sequence to bring us up to speed with the "alternate side" was extended to 57 minutes of re-watching pretty much the same material we've already seen or guessed. The show-runner is so concerned we might not understand what's going on that they decided to make us watch it twice. Why? Because torture, that's why.
No matter how much I enjoy the characters and the acting, I do value my time. If the writers are so starved off material, just make less episodes. If they think we're so dumb to have to watch it twice, just nail it the first time.
EDIT: Ok, I've watched the season finale. I have this to add.
Leave all space and fiction aside, it's just a background and some noise. I love the main characters and the supporting cast. And especially Alice. The show is all about grief. They are all grieving, in their own way and coping however they can. It's a struggle we all go through. Pets, parents, friends. Old relationships. People we thought we know well. Careers. Projects. Colleagues. Ideas. Dreams. Each of us knows loss in some form or another.
It's tough living a life filled with the constant "what if". And the purpose of this series is to expand on the "what if" and spin it in ways we haven't really though of, and leading us through new aspects of loss that, luckily, we can only imagine. And how everyone is quick to put a label "mental illness" on anything unexpected and out of the ordinary. To the people living the horror, it's 100% real, illness or not. Be kind, you don't know how much the other person may be suffering in silence.
As a conclusion, I stick with my initial rating of 8, so I'm changing it back to it. The writing is surely lacking in committing to a single audience and delivering a solid experience for everyone watching. But I'm willing to forgive episode 6 and the overwhelming (at times) filler, even the fact that half the episodes are just a repetition of previous episodes. I'm willing to do that because the struggles of each character were put out beautifully at the end. Nobody is a villain, yet we manage to unintentionally hurt the people around us, especially the people closest to us. We shouldn't forget to care about each other even when we're at our lowest and darkest. It's a strong message with a solid delivery, and this is a reason enough redeem the show and hope the writers take a note on focusing on one strength/audience and stick to it, to deliver an amazing season 2.
And give the Coleman sisters an award! Awesome performance!