Two Storms

Gosh I'm truly astounded by the quality of that episode. How the HECK did they get that one-take impression to last practically the entire episode, completely pulled you into the scene even further & also had me completely terrified of anything peering though the doorways!

How incredible. Right, well the emmys is cancelled next year, these guys are getting every single one.

Gosh Nel's performance in this episode was so great.

Having just gone to the funeral of my 42 year old cousin, I can relate to the gathering of family in this episode, the awkward conversation, the memories, the anger and the love through it all. The filming technique was absolutely amazing, the continuous cuts were superb, intertwined with flashbacks of days in the house. When Dad walked in, and all he saw were his young children , that got me. So well done.

Just watching that uncut one take sequence is worth the price of admission. The effort they put in is astounding. Definitely goes in my top 10 tv series episode of all time.

All the Crain family arrive at the funeral home to pay respect to Nell.

There isn't much I can say about this that has not already been said by all the reviews giving it 10/10.

From a technical perspective it is a magnum opus. I have seen several movies that use long continual takes but I've not seen it used to create such utter creepiness and also enhance the storytelling such as in Two Storms. The opening scene is so mind-blowing in what it achieves, I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. Later on the technique is used to more frightening effect where the camera moves about the upper floor of Hill House in one of the best horror-suspense sequences I've ever watched.

The changes between time periods are absolutely seamless and some are even done in the same take. One of my favourite aspects of the series is how well it applies transitions. When the long takes in this episode eventually transition they happen in very memorable ways.

The acting is superb from the entire cast who for the first time properly share the centre stage. What makes it so impressive is how well they perform given the technical demands. The episode explores the theme of grief and the characters convincingly display a variety of behaviours relating to bereavement.

Writing the script must have been like trying to do a complicated stage play, so much credit has to be given for this. It also contains what I thought was some quite black humour in some of the dialogue and I hope I was right to laugh when I did.

This is definitely one that can be rewatched for both entertainment and for those who appreciate the craft of filmmaking.

This episode, stands out from the former 5 just by the cinematography alone. An incredibly easy and gripping way to pull you into the story before you. 16 minutes of one take and you're transported from one place to another, with no cut in between. What makes this even more compelling is all the background action that is subtle and disturbing. Definitely an episode to watch again for all the secrets hiding in the shadows.