Annara Snow

Ii've seen Last Year in Marienbad. It has a strong surrealistic element. The plot is not similar to Inception, and I wouldn't say those two are particularly similar. They just both have the same theme of not being able to tell what is reallity and what is a dream, but that's a very common theme in art. Inception didn't introduce something that has never been done before, but the way that theme is exploed is different in each of these works.

You didn't at all address my main point that it goes completely against the themes of sacrifice and tragedy and "every choice for something is a choice against something else" and would be a cheap cop-out to give the two leads a HEA.

Yes, it seems that Boris/Aleksander didn't stay in Winden in this reality, because he didn't meet Regina that day in the woods, because she was not being bullied. The ending was really bittersweet - and not just the fact that so many of the people we knew and cared about don't exist anymore (well, maybe not for all of the, but certainly for most - I'm really bummed that people like Mikkel, Charlotte, Franzisca, Elisabeth, Noah, Magnus, Bartosz and obviously Jonas and Martha don't exist in this Origin world). There's also the fact that the Origin World is happier than the two worlds created by time travel (which is not saying much, those two were really tragic) - but not really a "paradise": those who exist in the Origin World may not have suffered a horribly tragic fate as they did in the two time-loop worlds, but it's not like their lives are perfect. Don't exist: Jonas (time loop fate: either to be killed by a version of the love of his life, or to live a horribly tragic life and end up a bitter, nihilistic disfigured husk of a man who murders his mother, the love of his life - twice, and, in one version, his unborn child) Martha (time loop fate: murdered by the love of her life, in both worlds, and murders him at one point) Mikkel/Michael (time loop fate: either a tragic life and suicide, or dies in the apocalypse as a child) Ulrich (time loop fate: either a long, tragic life, losing everything and stuck in a mental institution for decades and never escapes, or killed by Helge) Mads (gets abducted and killed as a child in both worlds) Tronte (I'm not sure what happened to him, someone help me here - he clearly didn't die in the Prime world. But I guess he knew he'd be erased from existence and still helped Claudia.) Magnus (I guess he didn't die in the Prime world; Alt Magnus died in the apocalypse with Franzisca) Franzisca (same as Magnus) Charlotte (didn't die in either worlds) Elisabeth (same) Noah/Hanno (his whole life turned out to be a failure, killed by his own sister at Adam's orders; I'm a little confused on what happened to Alt Noah) Agnes (no idea) Silja (dies in childbirth) Bartosz (murdered by his own son at Adam's orders) Unknown (he was alive until the world blinked out of existence) Exist: Hannah Katharina (probably with a different name) (definitely not Phyllis LMAO since that's not a German name) Regina Peter Torben Woller Benni/Bernadette Claudia Bernd Doppler (apparently they got married in this reality) presumably also: Egon and Doris Tiedemann Helge Doppler Greta Doppler (long dead, presumably) Jana Ines Kahnwald, her father Daniel Dahnwald (long dead) Helena Albers and Hermann Albers, the farmer, whoever he was to her other than the father of her child Sebastian Kruger (Hannah's dad) Boris/Aleksander (but who knows where he is and what happened to him) Clausen (ditto) Erik Obendorff and the rest of the Obendorffs Yasin (the deaf boy who was kidnapped) Jasmin (Claudia's secretary) the female cop (can't remember her name) Gretchen the dog Obviously, these were all or almost all better off as, in the prime world, most of them died in horrible ways (Katharina - killed by her own mother, or died in the apocalypse, Hannah - murdered by her own son, Egon - killed by his own daughter and realized he had already witnessed her death, Regina - was dying of cancer and in pain when strangled by her mother's old friend/lover at her mother's request, or died of cancer early/possibly killed herself, we don't know, Helge - killed himself in the attempt to... kill himself (his younger self), Erik and Yasin - abducted and killed as children, most of the others - died in the apocalypse)... But: - Helge still had an abusive mother, who resented him because he was a product of rape (sidenote: I've seen people dispute that, I thought what Greta said was very clear, they didn't need to spell it out) - Katharina (or whatever her name is) still had an abusive mother, who resented her because she was a product of possibly incest, definitely abuse (We need to connect the dots on this one, but Hermann Albers, the farmer, is credited as her father. But Helena was already Helena Albers when she was a really young teenager who went to have an abortion, some 18 years earlier. So either she was a really young child bride and was never happy about her marriage, or he was a male relative who repeatedly got her pregnant) - Egon and Doris may not have divorced, as she never met Agnes and he never met Hannah, but their marriage was hardly happy. They probably just continued being in a lukewarm marriage without much love or sex, or maybe split anyway. - Bernd Doppler still groomed Claudia - and it's clearly not a love for the ages, even if, in this reality, they got married, because there was no Tronte for her to fall in love with with, which made her not want to disclose Regina's parentage or marry Bernd - Going by their toast to "A world without Winden", they aren't too happy with their hometown in this reality, either. Erik and Yasin are obviously better off, Peter and Bernadette being together is the one clearly happy ending. Torben Woller got what he wanted, finally - his crush on Hannah has been hinted at in both worlds. And I guess Hannah, who was always 'looking for love in all the wrong places', seems to have found happiness... but it' probably not the greatest love ever on her side - as she never noticed him in the world(s) where Ulrich and Mikkel/Michael existed. And then of course - Hannah's memories of the other worlds create some interesting possibilities and could be interpreted in different ways. One thing I wish the show did was expand more on some of the stories. We've never even seen how Agnes and Unknown met and became Tronte's parents. Or what happened to Doris. I'd like to have known more about Agnes, Silja, to see more of Noah and Elisabeth's, Hannah and Michael', Bartosz and Silja's relationships. Why did Magnus and Franzisca decide to join Adam's side? There's a lot more, this is a show that offers so many possibilities for speculation and filling in the blanks. I'll be sure to check canon-compliant fanfiction, which I'm sure there will be a lot of!

What makes you think Silja was fathered by two different men? You don't really think Ulrich was her father in the Alt-world? I thought Hannah was obviously having a miscarriage. And old Egon was told by Eva to save her and bring her to the past so he can preserve his past - i.e. to father a child with her as a young man.

Yes. That's a terrible idea. How can they exist in the origin world when their fathers don't? They were never born in it. And it would have been a total cop-out. "Oh look, we just pulled a happy ending for Jonas and Martha out of our behinds, also erasing the themes of sacrifice and tragedy, "every decision for something is a decision against something else". Nope, they have their cake and eat it, while a bunch of other people we cared about from their existence: no more Mikkel/Michael, Ulrich, Magnus, Franzisca, Charlotte, Elisabeth, Tronte, Noah/Hanno, Agnes, bye bye but who cares as long as the two leads get their incredibly unlikely HEA? No, her goal was to prevent the death of her daughter . Because they didn't want to stop existing?! That's the most obvious motivation ever.

1. Dark (season 3) - What can I say? One of the most unique TV shows ever. Brilliant, strange, dark (heh), atmospheric, epic, tragic, with such a complex storyline - which confused me quite a few times but always ended up making sense. Many SciFi shows have tackled time travel, with varying degrees of success, but Dark really took the concept to its logical ends and fully explored it as a plot device. Early on, I was still able to guess some of the twists, but the show managed to become more and more surprising and insane, in a good way, without sacrificing its logic or characterizations. And this is how you do a great bittersweet finale. I feel I will rewatch this one many times, because there are so many things you can notice the second and third etc. time. 2. Harley Quinn (season 1/season 2) - This animated R-rated comedy take on the DC universe and Batman's Gotham is one of the funniest and wittiest shows I've watched in years. The writing, the animation and the voices are all excellent, and all the main characters are somehow incredibly likable. Season 2 has been even better than season 1 - while remaining as funny, it has kept resisting the temptation to end episodes on a joke and instead has let the dramatic moments sink in, too. Unless the finale is a huge disappointment, it deserves the #1 spot. 3. The Plot Against America - David Simon's excellent mini-series based on Philip Roth's alternative history novel about a 1940s USA where a pro-Nazi president was elected. It's done in a really believable way, where the plot feels really realistic and as something that could have easily happened (and still could happen), and it's particularly chilling because things get slowly and gradually worse before people even realize they live in a Nazi country, and the story makes this brand of Nazism very recognizably American rather than a copy of German Nazism. 4. BoJack Horseman (season 6b) - the show could have continued (it was Netfix's decision to end it with season 6, not the creative team's), but if it had to end, this was probably the best possible ending. Still, if they revived it, I'd be overjoyed. This is one of my all time favorite shows and certainly one of the best and most unique shows in recent years. I don't know where I'd rank season 6 - certainly above seasons 1 and 2 and below seasons 5 and 4. Probably about the same as season 3. 5. What We Do In the Shadows (season 2) - Taika Waititi's and Jermaine Clement's vampire comedy continued to be incredibly funny, and a few of the characters got developed more. Even better than season 1. 6. The Good Place (season 4b) - unlike BoJack, this show really needed to have a definite ending, and it was one planned by the creative team. Not all of season 4 was great, but the finale was amazing. 7. Evil (season 1) - one of the best new shows this season. Big networks have surprised me by featuring some interesting and original shows like this. I already ranked it on the 2019 list, but the last few episodes aired this season and were all excellent, so the show will probably be even higher on the 2020 list. Unless they screw it up with season 2. 8. Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (season 1) - I'm enjoying so many things about this show - the characters, the setting, the atmosphere, the social and racial issues it tackles. I love it as a period drama/thriller from the 1930s. But I feel that all of it could work as well or better without the supernatural element, specifically the character(s) played by Natalie Dormer. Which means I have a problem with the basic concept of the show. (BTW, the show shouldn't be called Penny Dreadful at all - it has nothing to do with that show except for its creator. City of Angels is good enough as the title.) 9. Prodigal Son (season 1)- Another pleasant network surprise, it followed the semi-serialized format and combined case-of-the-week crime drama with an overall, far more interesting dysfunctional family drama/thriller involving the man character, profiler Malcolm Bright (an amazing Tom Payne)and his serial killer father in jail (also amazing Michael Sheen), the socialite mother and ambitious reporter sister. When the latter would become the focus of the show, it got much better and more exciting, as in the last few episodes and the explosive finale. However, I'm ranking it slightly below Evil because Evil was far more consistently interesting and entertaining, while Prodigal Son spent too much episodes of cases of the week. 10. The Witcher (season 1) - I don't know if it counts since the show was released last year, but it was late last year, so I'm adding it. I wasn't impressed by the first episode, but the show turned out quite enjoyable. It has quite a few flaws, though I wasn't as bothered by the chaotic timeline as most people seemed to. I haven't read the books or played the games (not a gamer!), but most of the stories were interesting, Yennefer is a really memorable character wit ha compelling story, I really like Henry Cavill as Geralt (though I didn't like him as Superman), and I like the fact that - in spite of the misleading Game of Thrones comparisons - the show is a very different brand of epic fantasy: unabashedly sword-and-sorcery without doing the "oh this a political pseudo-period drama for people who don't like fantasy" thing, not grimdark, not male gazey. Season 1 felt like a setup season, but the show has a lot of potential to get much better. 11. Roswell: New Mexico (season 2) - I liked season 2 better than season 1. I especially the flashbacks interspersed throughout the season, with many revelations about the past, and the ways it affects the characters in the present, and several of the characters had good character development and were much more likable and interesting than in season 1. I like that the show is so openly political, but it may be a bit on the nose a lot of times. The finale was slightly disappointing as the main drama was resolved early on and it spend the rest of the time setting up season 3. 12. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (season 1) - This show turned out to be quite a surprise, as its premise (a woman gains the power to hear other people sing their true feelings in the form of various popular songs) made it seem like a quirky musical comedy, but it turned out to be a warm musical dramedy, with emphasis on drama, that deals with issues including illness and loss of a parent,. In the time of grimdark and grittiness, it is rare to something that's so non-cynical and full of empathy and faith in humanity, and at the same time modern and diverse. Would be higher if it weren't for the love triangle at the center and the way it was developed in the last few episodes (some things rubbed me the wrong way). 13. Star Trek: Picard (season 1) - It is great to see Patrick Stewart back as Picard, and I really liked how the show handled his character and some others well-know Trek characters (particularly Seven of Nine). The new characters were also compelling, particularly Santiago Cabrera's Captain Rios. However, the plot had some issues, especially towards the end, and the finale was predictable in many ways. 14. Stumptown (season 1) - another enjoyable new ABC drama, this one based on a comic book. Gets ranked lower because it was mostly episodic, which is not really my favorite type of show. But it is fun, entertaining, smart, has enjoyable characters, diversity (including very non-stereotypical Native American characters and a great character with Down Syndrome, played without stereotypes that sometimes plague characters like that), Cobie Smolders is always fun to watch. 15. Emergence (season 1) - another good new SciFi show on a network. Unfortunately, since it's on a big network (ABC) it got cancelled. I guess we can ignore the cliffhanger from the last couple of minutes - and the rest of the finale is a satisfying ending to the show.

Bang Asha - I love her, but Ironborn lifestyle is not for me Marry Kojja Mo Kill Obara Rhaenyra's boys: Prince Daemon, Criston Cole, Harwyn Strong

Which one? UK or US version?

I don't think Tessa can pull off the androgynous look and convincingly pass as a man. Sarella may be tricky to cast for that reasn. Ruth Negga played a man as the lead role in Hamlet and she pulled off the androgynous look surprisingly well. But she's a bit too old for the role (but so are most people fancast as various characters). For someone more age appropriate, maybe Tati Gabrielle or Amandla Stenberg could pull it off? I'm not sure.

My best series finale ever position is shares by Six Feet Under, The Americans and The Shield, with The Leftovers following closely.

How sure are we that Adam is Jonas at all? The only evidence is that he said so, and that he has a scar on his neck. From the trailer, it seems that there may not be a Jonas in the AU where AU Martha is. I've always had trouble with the idea of Adam = Jonas since they are so different, not just physically but also in their worldview. And yes, I know people change.. but it's hard to see that as Jonas' possible endgame. I've seen several theories about Adam's identity floating around. Some are really unlikely (Adam=Clausen? Nah), some are possible but I'm not buying it (Adam=Bartosz? I can't really see him as a mastermind) and some seem interesting (Adam=Mikkel? There are some issues there, it would make more sense if it's Mikkel, to be an AU Mikkel, but why would he have a neck scar? But there ere are some things that feel like possible foreshadowing, like all the Houdini references, and one scene from 1x06, which I've just rewatched, kind of made me lean just a little bit more towards this theory (not that this is evidence, just may or may not be foreshadowing): Martha is playing Ariadne in the play, with a blond guy who kind of resembles Jonas, playing Theseus. The scene was intercut with the scenes of Jonas going into the cave (and finding the red thread). Ariadne's dialogue as she gives Theseus the thread and telling him how to go deep into the labyrinth to defeat Minotaur:. "Take this. It will guide you. You have to go deep inside, to the center. He is waiting there in the shadows, half-human, half-beast. You must be quick. Aim straight for the heart." This descrption made me think of Adam. Theseus' next line is: "But isn't he your brother?"

Adding 3 more shows I've finished. And moving Harley Quinn (which has only one episode left of its season 2) up to No. 1. 1. Harley Quinn (season 1/season 2) - This animated R-rated comedy take on the DC universe and Batman's Gotham is one of the funniest and wittiest shows I've watched in years. The writing, the animation and the voices are all excellent, and all the main characters are somehow incredibly likable. Season 2 has been even better than season 1 - while remaining as funny, it has kept resisting the temptation to end episodes on a joke and instead has let the dramatic moments sink in, too. Unless the finale is a huge disappointment, it deserves the #1 spot. 2. The Plot Against America - David Simon's excellent mini-series based on Philip Roth's alternative history novel about a 1940s USA where a pro-Nazi president was elected. It's done in a really believable way, where the plot feels really realistic and as something that could have easily happened (and still could happen), and it's particularly chilling because things get slowly and gradually worse before people even realize they live in a Nazi country, and the story makes this brand of Nazism very recognizably American rather than a copy of German Nazism. 3. BoJack Horseman (season 6b) - the show could have continued (it was Netfix's decision to end it with season 6, not the creative team's), but if it had to end, this was probably the best possible ending. Still, if they revived it, I'd be overjoyed. This is one of my all time favorite shows and certainly one of the best and most unique shows in recent years. I don't know where I'd rank season 6 - certainly above seasons 1 and 2 and below seasons 5 and 4. Probably about the same as season 3. 4. What We Do In the Shadows (season 2) - Taika Waititi's and Jermaine Clement's vampire comedy continued to be incredibly funny, and a few of the characters got developed more. Even better than season 1. 5. The Good Place (season 4b) - unlike BoJack, this show really needed to have a definite ending, and it was one planned by the creative team. Not all of season 4 was great, but the finale was amazing. 6. Evil (season 1) - one of the best new shows this season. Big networks have surprised me by featuring some interesting and original shows like this. I already ranked it on the 2019 list, but the last few episodes aired this season and were all excellent, so the show will probably be even higher on the 2020 list. Unless they screw it up with season 2. 7. Prodigal Son (season 1)- Another pleasant network surprise, it followed the semi-serialized format and combined case-of-the-week crime drama with an overall, far more interesting dysfunctional family drama/thriller involving the man character, profiler Malcolm Bright (an amazing Tom Payne)and his serial killer father in jail (also amazing Michael Sheen), the socialite mother and ambitious reporter sister. When the latter would become the focus of the show, it got much better and more exciting, as in the last few episodes and the explosive finale. However, I'm ranking it slightly below Evil because Evil was far more consistently interesting and entertaining, while Prodigal Son spent too much episodes of cases of the week. 8. The Witcher (season 1) - I don't know if it counts since the show was released last year, but it was late last year, so I'm adding it. I wasn't impressed by the first episode, but the show turned out quite enjoyable. It has quite a few flaws, though I wasn't as bothered by the chaotic timeline as most people seemed to. I haven't read the books or played the games (not a gamer!), but most of the stories were interesting, Yennefer is a really memorable character wit ha compelling story, I really like Henry Cavill as Geralt (though I didn't like him as Superman), and I like the fact that - in spite of the misleading Game of Thrones comparisons - the show is a very different brand of epic fantasy: unabashedly sword-and-sorcery without doing the "oh this a political pseudo-period drama for people who don't like fantasy" thing, not grimdark, not male gazey. Season 1 felt like a setup season, but the show has a lot of potential to get much better. 9. Roswell: New Mexico (season 2) - I liked season 2 better than season 1. I especially the flashbacks interspersed throughout the season, with many revelations about the past, and the ways it affects the characters in the present, and several of the characters had good character development and were much more likable and interesting than in season 1. I like that the show is so openly political, but it may be a bit on the nose a lot of times. The finale was slightly disappointing as the main drama was resolved early on and it spend the rest of the time setting up season 3. 10. Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist (season 1) - This show turned out to be quite a surprise, as its premise (a woman gains the power to hear other people sing their true feelings in the form of various popular songs) made it seem like a quirky musical comedy, but it turned out to be a warm musical dramedy, with emphasis on drama, that deals with issues including illness and loss of a parent,. In the time of grimdark and grittiness, it is rare to something that's so non-cynical and full of empathy and faith in humanity, and at the same time modern and diverse. Would be higher if it weren't for the love triangle at the center and the way it was developed in the last few episodes (some things rubbed me the wrong way). 11. Star Trek: Picard (season 1) - It is great to see Patrick Stewart back as Picard, and I really liked how the show handled his character and some others well-know Trek characters (particularly Seven of Nine). The new characters were also compelling, particularly Santiago Cabrera's Captain Rios. However, the plot had some issues, especially towards the end, and the finale was predictable in many ways. 12. Stumptown (season 1) - another enjoyable new ABC drama, this one based on a comic book. Gets ranked lower because it was mostly episodic, which is not really my favorite type of show. But it is fun, entertaining, smart, has enjoyable characters, diversity (including very non-stereotypical Native American characters and a great character with Down Syndrome, played without stereotypes that sometimes plague characters like that), Cobie Smolders is always fun to watch. 13. Emergence (season 1) - another good new SciFi show on a network. Unfortunately, since it's on a big network (ABC) it got cancelled. I guess we can ignore the cliffhanger from the last couple of minutes - and the rest of the finale is a satisfying ending to the show. Luckily, I didn't hate anything this year, apart from the pilot for See, which I didn't even bother to continue. Currently rewatching Dark, before season 3 drops on 27 June, so I'll be finishing The Last Kingdom when I find the time for it. Penny Dreadful: City of Angels has just 2 more episodes, while The 100 and Agents of SHIELD are early on in their final seasons. I'll also be watching Perry Mason and The Alienist sequel when they start.

I'm really enjoying the show as sa neo noir period drama, and the characters - both of the detectives, Vega's family, Molly - are complelling. But I don't think Dormer's character was necessary at all, as some sort of a femme fatale (at least in most of her iterations) supernatural demonic influence. Alex, Elsa and Rio would obviously still have a place in the story - and I would probably find Rio far more believable if she wasn't played by Dormer - but it's not like this story needs demonic influence to happen, and having a female demon seem to cause it all only muddles it, IMO.