nebula0024

A lot of people have complained about the retelling of the same story from different perspectives, but I actually didn't mind that at all. What DID irk me was how, after all that buildup...NOTHING happens. The movie ends. We never find out what happens with the big events, nor the characters.

Some have said "that's the point", but I thoroughly disagree, at least in this format. The only place I could see this kind of ending being acceptable would be an indie movie at a film festival. One of those "thinker" art pieces. However, in this format (mainstream), I feel like I just wasted two hours of my life for literally nothing.

This series does a fantastic job setting up the plot and creating a believable world. The story is very interesting, and overall, the plot does a good job balancing character drama with action and suspense.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get past the fact that people behave VERY strangely in this series. I'll say right up front that I understand people behave differently during a crisis, such as panic, shut down, display irrational behavior, etc.. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about for example, are the long pauses of silence in totally normal conversation while they are in no danger. For example, one character will be talking to the other, and when it comes time for the other person to speak, they just stand there, not replying to the person at all. They're not panicked or dazed by events, they're just choosing not to say anything for... reasons?

There's so many interactions in this series that just seem so... OFF... I've never felt so awkward watching others interact before. Again, this has nothing to do with the crisis itself, just how people interact with each other overall.

There's also the fact that some characters refuse to take a weapon with them, even though they've seen first-hand the danger they're in. I guess this could be believable, as normalcy bias is a real thing, but by that point I would have thought they'd have snapped out of it.

Another thing that really annoyed me is how one of the characters kept bugging another to blindly help people. When character A explained to character B that people can't be trusted due to current circumstances, character B completely ignores them. Then, in a later scene, character A is proven correct when they are both robbed at gun-point and locked in a bathroom. From there, they move on as if nothing happened. No "I told you so", or any kind of accountability at all. No apology from character B, or re-evaluation of their actions.

Again, I absolutely love the premise of this series and the world they've built, but be prepared to be annoyed and baffled by how people interact with each other.

(This is based off of Season 1)

You know what the writing and "humor" in this show reminds me of? Mickey 17. They take strange personality quirks, bad relationships, ego, incompetence, sexism, elitism, greed, etc...and make those EVERYTHING that any given character embodies, without any nuance or redeemable characteristics. There is no subtlety involved in any of the writing; it's all ham-fisted, chewed-up, and converted into easily digestible messages that even a toddler could understand.

If you enjoy turning your brain off and being spoon-fed content that simplifies human behavior down to a caricature of a real person, while stripping out anything that could bring depth to story or personality, then this is for you.

If you're looking for smart comedy, nuanced characters, or thought-provoking messages that allow the audience to arrive at their own conclusions, then this show is NOT for you.

For me, I feel dumber for having watched this, and I wish I had all that time back.