Netflix's December Drama - The OA

[denstorebog]

It's certainly more "interesting" than consistently good. There's no doubt that Brit Marling has a vivid imagination and a love for emotional sci-fi, but Sound of My Voice is better, probably because it's a bit more constrained? But extremely similar.

I kept going back and forth between bored and hooked. Often the first half of an episode would be kinda meandering, but then the second would fall back on some intense drama and a cliffhanger, which returned the momentum. I think what harmed the series the most were some insane leaps of logic in how the characters behaved. I get that

 

everything Prairie told about her captivity was potentially a lie, and therefore theoretically doesn't have to make sense

but there was absolutely nothing believable about the display of what was supposedly 3+ years in captivity. The practical circumstances, the condition of the prisoners - I had to just blank out to believe any of those segments. Many more examples. Prairie allowing Hap to live because he has the door code and the others will starve? You don't think the police would be able to blow their way down there before that happened? Or the military goons accepting a check from a crazy lady who just accused them of being molesters. Or Homer managing to and going along with seducing a woman during his first time out of confinement in 3 years, and in a state of that much duress? (Hey, Homer, you forgot about your son, by the way. You know, the kid you were prioritizing over an actual escape plan a couple of episodes back.) Or ...

Yeah, so, the plotting was generally extremely implausible, but somehow there was always an interesting moment to pull you back in. Certainly a bold project to greenlight, so kudos to whoever did that. A good series, uneven, but different and worth a watch.

[SpaceChampion]

The Atlantic attempts to comprehend the meaning of it all.

[HexMachina]

On 17/12/2016 at 0:42 AM, Theda Baratheon said:

Well - I'm hooked. Halfway through episode 5 and might even stay up all night to finish the rest. Really fantastic and strange and interesting. I really should check out Brit Marling's Another Earth - it's been on my watchlist for ages now and I'm loving this show. 

I just watched episode 5. That ending was wonderful. After a mostly unimpressive (bar the last 15mins, at least for me) first episode, this show has delivered. I love everything about it so far, both the 'present' (which was the part I disliked in episode one) and past. The group dynamic in both is very good (although I feel Rachel and Jesse are lacking a bit so far in terms of development) and I really love the movement idea. Feels sort of primal (is that the right word? Hmm) with the animalistic nature of it. 

Cant wait to see how this ends

[aceluby]

Binged it last Friday while working.  It's a show that had me thinking about it well after the credits rolled.  It was super weird, but I actually did enjoy it and will be watching it a 2nd time w/ my gf

[Martini Sigil]

I'm only one episode in.... longest wait for opening credits ever... LOL

[Theda Baratheon]

19 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I just watched episode 5. That ending was wonderful. After a mostly unimpressive (bar the last 15mins, at least for me) first episode, this show has delivered. I love everything about it so far, both the 'present' (which was the part I disliked in episode one) and past. The group dynamic in both is very good (although I feel Rachel and Jesse are lacking a bit so far in terms of development) and I really love the movement idea. Feels sort of primal (is that the right word? Hmm) with the animalistic nature of it. 

Cant wait to see how this ends

Primal is the word. A lot of old religious festivals and events involved dance so I don't see it as ridiculous as others. 

I really feel like I want to watch it all again now. 

[Dr. Pepper]

I liked the interpretative dance moves.  If someone is ok with magic being facilitated by pointing a wand or a finger at something or saying a few random words, then I can't imagine why one would think performing a certain series of moves would be any stupider.  At least the dance steps are more aesthetically interesting that wand pointing.  I didn't watch the entire first season of The Magicians, but I appreciated their intricate hand movements to facilitate magic and I liked the dance here, too.  

I really enjoyed this.  I finished the last episode feeling a bit 'hmmhhh".  Couldn't quite articulate what I thought about it.  Some things felt like they came out of nowhere, but after sitting on it a few minutes, it was clear that there were a lot of clues.  There's a lot of stuff we do know about OA's 7 years.  She really did go look for her father, she really was playing music in the NYC subway station, she really was blind and then returned with sight.  I imagine a rewatch will offer a chance to find more clues to piece together what is real and what isn't.  I'm looking forward to carving out some more time to watch it again. 

[HexMachina]

Finished. Enjoyed it a lot but hugely confused. Initial thoughts:

She didn't lie. Someone put those books there. Or why else was the FBI guy randomly camped out in her now empty house? The rest of the show feels a bit cheap if it can all simply be dismissed as a lie/figment of Prairie's imagination. I'm okay with some falsehoods but not the whole thing.

I means, in terms of facts - she was blind and came back able to see. She played violin on the subway. Some guy named Homer had an NDE playing football. She was actually gone for 7 years. And given that she was reported missing she was either abroad or away from civilisation. (This does not mean she was captive of course - maybe she really did look for her father).

Will need to rewatch bits of this and think through

[HexMachina]

On 20/12/2016 at 10:02 PM, SpaceChampion said:

The Atlantic attempts to comprehend the meaning of it all.

Ah, I see Marling hopes there will be a second season, and that if there is it will provide answers. That is good, and I hope there is a second season. 

I liked the dance moves personally. More interesting than standard hand waves and nomesense words, but then I'm a sucker for ritualistic type stuff. And the performance of them combined with the music was really beautiful.

Speaking of which, I've had Prairie's violin solo in my head since I heard it. So nice

[Dr. Pepper]

35 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Finished. Enjoyed it a lot but hugely confused. Initial thoughts:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

She didn't lie. Someone put those books there. Or why else was the FBI guy randomly camped out in her now empty house? The rest of the show feels a bit cheap if it can all simply be dismissed as a lie/figment of Prairie's imagination. I'm okay with some falsehoods but not the whole thing.

I means, in terms of facts - she was blind and came back able to see. She played violin on the subway. Some guy named Homer had an NDE playing football. She was actually gone for 7 years. And given that she was reported missing she was either abroad or away from civilisation. (This does not mean she was captive of course - maybe she really did look for her father).

Will need to rewatch bits of this and think through

Spoiler

 

I don't know if Homer's NDE youtube video count as something we know for fact since Prairie was the only one who saw the video.  

And yeah, what was that FBI guy doing there?  I think I hand waved it as he was part of the investigation of whatever the fallout was after Prairie was caught in front of the group with her top ripped off.  Is her ankle monitor through the FBI or local police?

 

 

[Theda Baratheon]

I don't think she was lying either. No way...I love how this show 

makes me believe way more in angels and interdimensional travel and magic and coming back from the dead more so than the main character just being crazy and lying

 

I actually loved the Breakfast Club vibe of all the different kids together as well - really loved that an very happy to see a young trans character. 

I do, SO want a second season to this - it confused me in places and did have some flaws but it also really moved me and I stayed up all night (when I had work in the morning - I felt SHIT the next day but I maintain it was WORTH IT) just to watch it all. 

[HexMachina]

Breakfast Club! I knew it was reminding me of something, I just couldn't recall what. And reading the interviews with Marling I think that is exactly what they were going for, only relevant to the present day (she is actually very insightful on this infeel, especially her comments wrt to masculinity and the pressures on young persons - http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/the-oa-producers-netflix-brit-marling-zal-batmanglij-1201942744/)

[Dr. Pepper]

Oh I forgot, wasn't it also verified that she had premonitions?  I mean, verified before she took off running towards the school.

[Theda Baratheon]

6 hours ago, Dr. Pepper said:

Oh I forgot, wasn't it also verified that she had premonitions?  I mean, verified before she took off running towards the school.

Yes! All her bad dreams are premonitions. I love that there are the same amount of hints for her telling the truth or lyig and you get to pick which one you want to believe and I believe the former. 

[Isis]

On Mon Dec 19 2016 at 5:00 AM, SpaceChampion said:

 

EW interview with Brit Marling and the guy I'll just call Batman because I can't resist.

It's the rings of Saturn. Not Jupiter. Jupiter doesn't have any rings. That's not a typo it's just laziness. Or plain old not bothering to do your job properly. 

Anyway, as I said early on it's VERY like Sound of my Voice, thematically; a charismatic character is telling a story that you want to believe, and even when they get caught out in an untruth you still believe their story.

It's also similar in content to Passage by Connie Willis, where people are intentionally having NDE.

But overall, you can distil The OA down to the importance of storytelling. We can't survive without stories.

I'd kind of like to watch it again to see if there really are more clues in there but solving the puzzle isn't really the point for me. Knowing all the answers isn't something that bothers me. 

[SpaceChampion]

Actually Jupiter does have rings, as do all the gas giant planets of the solar system.  Jupiter's rings are thin and barely noticeable, but present, and composed of rock rather than ice.  Probably a destroyed moon.

[Isis]

But visiting Jupiter wasn't mentioned at all in the show. That's why it's a mistake. 

 

[maarsen]

I just finished watching last night. I think I am addicted. What I have taken from the show is the dreamlike flow. It very much reminds me of the lucid dreams that I get. I would not be surprised if the creators of the show had the concept come to them in a dream.

[Isalie]

2 hours ago, maarsen said:

 

[Isalie]

I like the vibe of the thing more than anything and I'm not so sure I'd like a second season. The ambiguity  of the ending and Steven's heartbreaking "Take me with you" felt just right, giving a definitive answer at this point won't improve anything.

Netflix truly is on fire though and they seem to have realized that prioritizing the artistic and creative part of storytelling is paying off.