Open Casket

This follow up episode showed Shirley's life when dealing with death throughout the years. The sequencing was definitely great, and it didn't seem to be jumping around too much. This series is great so far! Can't wait for episode 3.

This was a well done episode. It creates a narrative that is stomach turning and intense. It is as much psychological drama as anything. What the writers have thrown in are some jump out scenes using insects, kittens, and other usually taboo sequences.

There is nothing here we haven't seen before, but the atmosphere really captivated me.

Shirley is really a mess.

Shirley takes on a difficult job and reflects on the near and distance past.

I found this episode to be on par with the first. The focus on Shirley is good and reveals several experiences that seem to have defined her character and shaped some of her choices in life. Both Elizabeth Reaser and Lulu Wilson play the part well.

We are again drip-fed information from different points in time about characters, but it's still too early to tell what's really going on.

The horror factor is not quite as jumpy as previous, but it retains that sense of creeping dread that comes with most of the shot framing, camera movement and lighting. There are one or two horror movie cliches but it's not overdone. I think Mike Flanagan takes pleasure in creating enough tension to coil his audience up and then when the shock feels like it should come it actually doesn't. As it's early days I feel we are being softened up ready for some big scares later in the series.

For me the best bits are not connected to scares but the emotions relating to the things that happen. One sequence involving a transition from one scene to the next where someone is applying make-up to the same person is an excellent piece of visual storytelling.

Still intrigued.

We think the children are quite charming. Not sure why an adult would go into such detail explaining to a child the preparation of a family member's corpse for the showing and burial, though. That was cringe.

Elizabeth Reaser's acting was a force of nature here, she's such a good actress, Lulu's Wilson also great, but not in that way. I love how the children counterparts fits so well with the adults characters, we can see clearly that right at the beginning. I can't understand the hate with this episode. I think was stunning and powerful. The camera work and color grading still impressive, of course this deserves a emmy WINNING, not just a nomination. The written ins't completely perfect here, but the execution makes this perfect, and the edition too. Shirley's character for me, is the most interesting character of the show, just behind of Eleanor & Liv and is on par with Luke. I love this episode, because we all know Shirley's passion with the death, it all about stories, we are stories, and this is life, this is beauty, and our story after death, it's our legacy.