apaskevi-1

Reading through some of the posts on here always depresses me. Why can't people just enjoy the mystery? Here's a secret that should be obvious to everyone but for some reason appears not to be: Answers to the questions who, what, where, when, why, how will **never** be satisfying in a show like this. This is fiction. The most satisfying and amazing answer will be supernatural and illogical because the characters are experiencing something supernatural and illogical.

One of my favorite scenes in season 1 is when someone asks "What if we didn't survive the accident?" because that's not only a logical question given their circumstances, it's also a possible explanation for the viewer to understand what's happening. Can you imagine the disappointment you'd feel if they were all just dead? Exactly: Every explanation for their circumstances will feel disappointing because there is no explanation for what's happening to them that will feel rooted in reality.

I think we all know that "Lost" attempted to answer those questions and people still haven't forgiven it. Other shows like The Leftovers and Twin Peaks (to a certain extent), are celebrated, in part, because they maintained an enigma throughout. Whatever explanation we got was either through the perspective of the main characters or so convoluted and bizarre that no one even remembers it. I mean, The Leftovers theme song was literally "Let The Mystery Be." "From's" theme song is literally "Whatever will be, will be." This should tell you something about what to expect.

This show is as good as it gets for psychological horror. The characters have common sense. Their actions are grounded in reality and are relatable, even if their environment is not. They are trying to figure out where they are and how to escape. The rules of the town are established and followed, and the monsters remain frightening (perhaps even more, now that we know that they are trying to inflict psychological damage on at least one of the residents).

I hope people quit expecting mind bending answers, but please at least quit the pseudo-intellectual BS in reviews of this show (looking at you, dude who watched for 15 minutes, then typed out a 10,000 word essay for an episode you did not finish, for a show you do not like). Just let the mystery be. Que sera, sera.

Let me preface this by saying I have never read the book. I've never seen any other versions or adaptations of The Stand. The only thing I knew about it going in was that it is a Stephen King thing, so probably involved some supernatural elements, and that it involved a society ending plague. I didn't seek this show out-It automatically started for me after I finished the latest season of Evil on Paramount+ (which I had saved to watch around Halloween in 2022). I really didn't have any desire to watch it because a year or so ago, I remember looking at reviews and deciding against it. Now that I've just finished the series, I really feel the bad reviews are unfair and do a disservice to people who are unfamiliar with the story. I enjoyed the show so much that it's caused me to buy the book and start reading it. It will actually be the first full Stephen King book I've ever read.

It seems like almost everyone here giving this negative reviews came to the show with some preconceived ideas of how the story should be told. A lot of negative reviews guessed that if you didn't know the story beforehand, a bunch of things wouldn't make sense. A bunch of people just didn't like the timing of it coming out a few months into our own pandemic, which is fair enough, though clearly this was in development long before that happened.

Is it the best spooky TV show I watched this year? No. (Mainly because "From" on Epix was so unbelievably good, Servant is always so strong, and Evil is just self-contained greatness) Was it *way* better than the reviews here would suggest for a newcomer to this story? Yes, and I think you could say that almost objectively. I wasn't confused by anything happening. I'm sure there are tons of things left out that a lot of book readers would consider crucial for the story. I'm glad I don't know what those things are because I'd probably judge the omissions harshly too. The acting was stellar. James Mardsen and Alexander Skarsgard are particularly great, though you'd have no reason to come to this expecting anything different. The cinematography was great. The story didn't feel overly bloated. Character choices made sense within the rules of the show. The sets were good. Everything was really well done.

I saw all the low star ratings, and was confused why this brilliant, thought provoking, cerebral, well-acted, well-executed, thrilling psychodrama was receiving such low ratings. The reason is rather ridiculous.

If your main problem with this show is with the length of episodes and/or the fact that you can't watch the entire thing at once, then you don't have a problem with the show, you have a problem with Hulu or FX's distribution of it. How about we review the actual content of the show, and not act like anything that requires even the most minimal amount of patience is unacceptable.

I personally like the distribution and length of episodes You know that hour after dinner and after work when it's real easy to fall asleep even during snows you like? This is a show that keeps me wide awake every week and I really look forward to it.