Really really didn’t like this. I’ve seen Sweeney in other things and liked her a lot so I think some of this may be poor direction? I don’t know, I’m probably just done with this show. Mostly a lot of bullshit for a few really powerful moments that Levinson then almost immediately undermines
It could just be because of personal experiences but I always hoped a show about teens that tackled some of these issues did it in a more realistic way. They touch on a lot of issues that other shows don’t and I think those issues are important.
HBO did cancel it but highly recommend checking out Genera+ion. Great performances from Justice Smith and some other up and comers. Significantly more grounded stuff
I have not watched the finale yet but I feel like this season all the storylines with Rue/Fez has been great, and almost everything involving Cassie/Nate/Maddy has been stupid bullshit
Yeah, unfortunately I don't think the showrunners intended for it to be a social commentary, the first season just so happened to feel like it was. I remember Sam saying all that really matters to him is that the show feels big and intense, realism be damned, and if you look through the show through the lens of umbridled emotional manipulation, a lot of the weirdness makes a lot more sense.
what dirt does dominic fike have on sam levinson that would lead a non-actor who is so terrible at acting to have such an integral part in this show
Okay, I swear this is my last post for tonight, but two last thoughts before I go to bed: -Maddy is... a bad person. Like the show has made that explicit repeatedly. In season 1 she literally lied about being raped to avoid mild embarassment, then helped Nate frame Tyler for assault. When she found Cal's tape, she just held onto LITERAL CHILD PORN of a FRIEND for petty blackmail instead of just reporting it to the police, or at least warning Jules. Plus she uses slurs with reckless abandon. I'm not saying she's unlikable or irredeemable, but the fanbase of this show stans her so hard and acts like she's a better person than Cassie when she's clearly way worse. -Rue & Lexi's ship being set up in this episode makes me so happy, they seem really good for each other, and I already wanna see them kiss!!!
the finale had moments of brilliance, much like the rest of the season - but can i really look back over the last 8 weeks and say i just watched a really great season of TV? no. the show kept shooting itself in the foot, and in the end, i felt like there was no real reward for sticking with any of it. i'm sure i'll tune in for season 3 but it won't be out of true excitement, just curiosity.
it seems very clear that there is not meant to be and that it’s the one pure friendship on the show lol
I enjoyed watching this whole season but I really don't understand how it was plotted out this way...Like the Laurie stuff was set up in Episode 1 as the big ominous threat of the season, then it was heading that way, and then it's just not commented on again? You can't say "they'll get to it in Season 3", that's just bad structuring of a season of television. And Lexi's play, which seemed like a cool storyline for a smaller character, became a two-episode thing where the majority of the main characters spend the whole time sitting in an audience and watching stuff from the past? It honestly felt like a first draft plot structure, like where you just put all your ideas on the page and then later you go back and find an actual structure for them.
Obviously apart from that one thing, I feel like the show didn’t have the guts to really dig in on some of the tension/ugliness that they set up throughout the season. Laurie, Rue potentially ODing, Cassie’s spiral, even Nate and his dad. I feel like they were all building up to something and then chickened out in favor of “let’s just see what happens in S3”
This season did introduce me to the song Lips Like Sugar and buddy let me tell you something, that song goes.
I also weirdly was not that sad about Ashtray because I realized like....apparently Ashtray was not an actual character. He was a variable to remove for the sake of Fez's emotional journey but yeah I did not think that was some heartbreaking message about how "this child was raised into such a harsh world that he believes violence is the only answer" etc. They could've landed it that way, but the absurdity of him stabbing the dude and then going Rambo in a bath tub (when doing so just means they're both doomed?? When he was more likely to shoot Fez than the cops, which is literally what happened??) was just so devoid of even violent-teenager logic that I found myself sad for Fez but not at all thinking of Ash as an actual character with (even severely warped) motivations and decision-making. It played out that way because Levinson wanted to make an explosive violent crime-movie scene. I'll miss hangin out with Fez and his little violent side-kick but that whole thing was just wild lol
Enjoyed the finale and the season overall. I was confused about the Lexi/Rue scene transitioning to look like it was part of the play. Rue mentions having seen the play and how beautiful it was, so either Lexi wrote a conversation about Rue having seen the play into the play itself or it was just a weird editing choice. The Laurie plot being completely dropped is baffling.