Constellation

After the first few episodes, I thought I was possibly watching the best new sci-fi series ever. Then the next few episodes slowed down and felt very much like filler, like they were waiting to reveal some sort of big climax at the end. But then, when that climax came, it was completely unsatisfying, and in the end, I was left feeling very disappointed. It was a waste of a good premise and some excellent acting, especially by the young girl who plays the daughter. There were also some holes in the plot that really made no sense and would love to hear the writers explain. And the final twist in the final scene, totally changed the vibe of the show from interesting sci-fi to campy thriller. Curious where the next season is going to take this.

At the end of the first episode, I actually thought that I had watched the first two episodes until I checked and saw it was only the first. That first one hour episode seriously seemed like two hours of time.

The story premise is really compelling and there are bits of story along the way of the first three episodes I watched that really reward you for sticking with it. But there's no doubt that either the person who directed the first episodes is trying to mess with the viewer's sense of timing or they just don't know how to direct or edit. Or someone doesn't.

So, I kept getting this feeling, like why does this seem to constantly be dragging on and on? I'm normally very patient with a good story. Then in the second episode when Jo's capsule lands, I realized that I spent a full three and a half minutes watching her unbuckle her seat belt and begin to get out of the capsule. Three and a half minutes. That's an eternity for a scene that should have taken maybe a minute max. Before that scene when she's sending messages to her family that she loves them, I noticed it was almost like she was dragging out the lines and repeating feelings two, three, even four times, like it was bizarrely written, acted, directed, or all three. I could literally see Jo pausing briefly between words, seemingly for emotional effect, like she was directed to do that. There were scenes when Jo is reunited with her family where they were so awkwardly long that I found myself wondering if they were acting awkward toward Jo or if the scene was just so long that I was reading too much into what I saw in their acting. Like is Alice actually being awkward around Jo or is the actress playing Alice just standing there trying to act like she's supposed to be standing there staring coolly?

The other strange part about this show is I had to turn on the English subtitles specifically with Closed Captioning. Because there were so many times I wasn't sure if I didn't hear the dialog or if it was just one of the languages I didn't understand and there were no subtitles. They flip flop between languages so often, like Swedish to English to Russian to English to Swedish to Russian, etc. That it often just doesn't make sense, like people don't do this in real life, so what's the point? I got later on that maybe there is a point of something subtle changing related to languages, but it was a whole lot of language immersion for just that one point to be made. There were many times when someone is speaking a language that had no English subtitles, just "speaking Russian" or "Speaking Swedish", like huh? Why? It seemed mostly pointless. Or maybe the point was the character in the scene does not understand, so you feel that by the lack of subtitles or English.

And yet, this is a good show that I will keep watching. By the end I'll know for sure whether it was just poor writing and direction or if there was an actual point in the story as a whole. I'm hoping there's a point for all of this weirdness.

Watchable actors and a plot that was engaging if a bit soapy in places, but left wanting for lack of a little exposition and terribly uneven pacing. There are plot holes in abundance, mostly masked by the fundamental premise so not fatal to enjoying the show. The mystery builds with hints at a scientistic multiverse explanation, though character viewpoint identification wasn't always clear and the shifts and flashbacks often confusing. But we got trapped in getting the same level of hints over and over again without any development of the idea or progress in the characters' realisations. Just as it looked like it was going to go deeper and get somewhere -the place I'd expect to be by epsiode 3 or 4 -the season ended. I only realised this when the next episode didn't show up and that was it. No resolution, not a satisfying watch.

Off the bat I'll say that what I mean by the title is that this is one of those stories told all out of order and mixed up, that, if told straight forward, would be about a 15 minute long show. Apple+ sure LOVES to make science fiction shows that make you start getting concerned that you've been wasting your time once you get to the midpoint of episodes. They've done like three shows like this now where you have almost no idea what's going on for the first few episodes... Then you start to realize, but hope there will be a twist... And then there is no twist and it is exactly what you predicted... And there was no reason to stretch it out so long.

Out of order and unclear story telling, with a story that would actually be quite short if told in order, is of course not always bad, and can be great, even- think of something like Pulp Fiction, for example- but in this case it is not great.

The acting is all very good, especially the little girl. She's very talented.

The show was entertaining enough that it's worth putting on your list, or watching if you've got the desire to. But by episode 3-4ish you pretty much get what's going on- if not ever detail- they continue to do a slow burn for 5 to 7 more hours of TV, as if the surprise hasn't unraveled yet.

There are also many reveals that once they are revealed you find yourself thinking, "ok... and....?". Because they all act as evidence to prove this one same thing... That you figure out pretty early into the show.

It would be like if you knew, for a fact, who the m*rderer was, in a show where that is the mystery.. and long after they gave you enough info to know it was him, and showed a flashback of him doing it... and a flash forward of him admitting it to police.... they still kept having ~shocking reveals~ in the present timeline... like, "WE FOUND HIS GLOVE AT THE CRIME SCENE- ITS A DNA MATCH (fade to credits)!". And really the only new information you're learning is that he, in fact, wore gloves, during the crime.

That is exactly what this show is like.

The small reveals mean nothing once the big reveal is so clearly the only option of what COULD be going on... It all becomes very, "Sure, why not; I guess I'd like to know why each thing happened, but I don't need to anymore." Any hope that there will be a huge unexpected twist is quickly dashed once it becomes clear what's going on (long before it's explicitly said)..... and there's no real b-plot or anything else that makes it fun once you realize what's going on.

Luckily, it is fast paced, and with good enough acting that it's not cumbersome to sit through, and each episode does go rather quickly... You just feel like there's not much to the story.

Especially now that multi-verses are all the rage in TV and film, this is pretty much just a slightly new way of telling the same old story.

Worth a watch if you like scifi, but I'll put it this way: This show is like a loooong steep hiking trail.... with no view when you get to the top.

Again, it's not at all bad, it's just not as good as you hope it will be after the first few episodes when it's action packed as they try to get home from outer space (which is risky, due to some complications)... that is before you realize the direction the show is going to go.

The negative is all down to the story itself. As I said, the acting is all good, and the cinematography and other visual effects, are also very good. The writing isn't even half bad, as far as the dialogue itself and keeping interest... it's just the story, overall, that is lacking.

The story itself is very simple and short, so it is made as confusing as possible, which is almost insulting once you realize what's going on... long before the main character.

It's also one of those shows where conflict arises simply because people don't share information they have or say things that need to be said. You find yourself yelling at the screen like "just tell him what you saw!" Or "just show him the evidence you have!" But they never do because then the story wouldn't be 8 hours long.

6/10 (and at least 3 points are for acting, and visuals)

And the reason is the last episode, the season finale. At least I believe it is the main reason, although I suspect quite a few people could not get past episodes 3/4. Which is a shame, as the series pick up from then onwards until espisode 7, which for me was the best, along with the intriguing opening episode.

So what is the issue with the season finale? I have written an extensive review of that episode, but to quickly sum I up (and also to have no spoilers, as there are quite a few in that one): it feels cheap. Like a low budget sci fi/horror mix, one that would go straight to TV. We have this great premise, this solid cast with some brilliant actors in it (I am a big fan of Rapace by the way, she is so underrated), some solid development...and you choose to go with characters doing the most illogical things and creating even further mess, along with stuff just...happening, to advance the plot, with no real explanation.

It is obvious this was destined for at least one more, if not numerous future seasons, but considering the ratings here, and no official confirmation from Apple, even though this TV series were close to the top of the rankings for some time, I am beginning to doubt those future seasons would happen. And I would hate that, as there is still hope for this, to turn out great. But it could have worked just as well, if not better, as limited TV series,8, 10, or even 12 episodes. Instead the creator decided to make the season finale a mindless filler not answering any questions, and creating new ones, including with the final scene, again completely unexplained and looking like it's there to be a final beg for renewal.