TV Show Discussion Thread

Maybe this will help…

The “Mind Flayer” isn’t a thing. It’s Vecna. It’s always been him and only him. The form of the Mind Flayer is due to Vecna’s obsession with spiders (thinking they’re the ultimate predator). Vecna took control of ALL matter in the Upside Down creating a hive mind that he controls. So everything that’s happened since season 1 has been him enacting his plan to come back and destroy Hawkins and everyone in it.

That’s why the Upside Down looks so different when Vecna first arrives there vs. how it looks when the kids eventually enter it (like an “Upside Down” version of Hawkins). It didn’t look like that originally. Same thing with all the creatures in there. You see a glimpse of some monster there during the scene when Vecna first sees the particle clouds. It’s pretty docile. Doesn’t appear to be violent at all. Once Vecna takes control of everything there, he corrupts and turns that whole place into a hellhole version of Hawkins.

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That was a plot twist that I did not like. I liked the idea of the Mind-Flayer being an extra-dimensional evil intelligence bent on conquering all worlds and bringing them into its hive mind, counter-balancing the threat posed by making psychic child soldiers for the Cold War. The revelation that everything was really just Vecna all along, a human villain, basically filling the same role Doctor Doom did in the Fan4stic movie, spoils a great deal of the stakes that were raised since the Mind-Flayer’s introduction in season 2. I preferred the original theory that Vecna was just the Mind-Flayer’s top guy. They should have gone with that, and him sharing his idea for a more appropriate form for his new boss, and in return for that and a new world to corrupt, he’s made a high-ranker and given his own new form, would have been a better story. Less shocking, yes, but better in the long run. The reveal really brings down the mystique of the Upside-Down.

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I agree with that, it just works better with the established themes of the series.
An ancient, unexplainable evil force twisting someone with powers to do their bidding. It just works.™️

Plus, this late-season “reveal” is weird, as Dustin deduced earlier in the season that Mind Flayer wants to take over the world and Vecna is his 5-star general. Feels like they walk that theory back a bit.

It does feel a bit forced in that respect, given the near-complete lack of Vecna in seasons before Season 4. Hell, when there was a Season 3 Meat Puppet being built it was of The Mind Flayer not of 001.

We probably need further confirmation in the final season, but as it stands now I think we can still consider The Mind Flayer as the overbearing, all-consuming force instead of “just Vecna”.

The Mind Flayer or whatever it’s made of did exist before 001 landed there, he just gave it a shape. Plus, over the years of exploring and testing his power, It (and everything It’s connected to) probably fed off his anger and negative emotions, which is why it’s so hostile in nature.
It’s just a large force of nature that 001 is using to further his needs, but odds are The Mind Flayer thing is the more powerful thing here. Or maybe it’s symbiotic or something.

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The dust particles, alternate dimension/world and the creatures in it all existed before Vecna. But the “Mind Flayer”, the “Upside Down” i.e. a dark version of Hawkins, and all the monsters that have killed/tried to kill Eleven + all the people of Hawkins were ALL Vecna.

The purpose of Dustin’s theory about Vecna is to protect the twist.

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Right, know all of that.

Point is, don’t like it. Brings down the scare factor of the Upside-Down. Dustin’s theory should have been the deal.

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Watching Man in the High Castle right now. I decided to check out the Show cuz I kept on seeing it in my recommended on YouTube

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Finished a few various things recently

Love Death and Robots Season 3

A very solid entry into LDR series. Feels a lot more comparable to the first season, more satisfying compared to Season 2.
Lots of chilling or quirky plots that have a decent end point leaving thought-provoking questions of what happens next.

Reservation Dogs

Awesome indigenous series by FX. It follows a small group of kids in a Native American Reservation in Oklahoma, doing small crimes to save up money to escape to the far-off land of California, while running into trouble with a rival gang encroaching on their territory.
Really great dramedy with nice writing, acting, & dashes of Native spirituality.
The finale does come up a bit rushed, as the gang suddenly has the money to get to Cali. though you’re never shown how or when they got it all.

Parks and Recreation

Good show. Wish I stopped two seasons ago. (Season 5).
The series finale is nice, (maybe a bit too nice - every character gets an ever-increasing, upward, nothing-but-success trajectory in life) but Season 6 beforehand and a bit of Season 7 with its weird [now dated] “time-skip” lost a lot of the show’s charm. Characters become charicatures of themselves, reduced to one or two specific traits, making them feel asshole-ish or very annoying. (Leslie in particular was crazy in Season 6)

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Reservation Dogs is really good. Season 2 premieres next month.

https://youtu.be/-xjKgOnf1w4

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Oh shit, awesome! I know there was a lot of buzz about it last year, enough to get another season going, didn’t know it was coming so soon now! :smiley:

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Bloodline on Netflix. I guess it’s from a few years ago. 3 seasons. The first one is really good. I just got to season 2. Ben Mendelssohn and Sissy Spacek are the big names. It’s about a prominent family down in south Florida. The mom and dad own a hotel and they have 4 adult kids, 3 who all sorta help out at the hotel but also have their own careers and 1 who is the black sheep. Dad (Sam Shepard) passes away and it sets off a really interesting chain of events.

In Season 2 John Leguizamo shows up. He always steals the scenes he is in, but the best acting comes from a guy I didn’t know called Norbert Leo Butz. He’s got two Tony awards for best actor in a musical but just hasn’t been in much screen stuff; nothing I have seen at least. He’s really good though and his character is interesting. If you’re into crime drama and family drama stuff you’ll enjoy this one.

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I started to watch Superjail!, and oh my god, what an unhinge gorefest it is. But it’s so goddamn fun! I don’t recall myself enjoying characters being brutally slaughtered that much since I stopped watching Happy Tree Friends after finishing high school.

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Oh man, the high school memories…

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My wife and I are half way through Chips. It’s super funny. Michael Peña is the lead. I always like him. The movie has some nods to Heat during the terrible shooting scenes, but it’s just irreverent and hilarious. Isaiah Whitlock Jr is in it too.

:rofl: :star: :gun: :motorcycle: :laughing:

Is it faithful to the show?

I couldn’t tell you bc while I know I have seen an episode of the show, I don’t really remember much. I’m gonna guess “no!” :joy:

Was the show funny? Or was it just a 70/80s police procedural? Anyway the movie has a real plot and some action sequences too, but there is a ton of humour in it. Some crass stuff too.

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Watched Only Murders in the Building, which is half way through its second season. It is very good, a comedic murder mystery as 3 tenants of a New York apartment building who are true crime enthusiasts start their own true crime podcast as they investigate a suicide which they think is actually a murder. Really fun and well written, can’t wait for the second season to wrap. It’s on Disney Plus.

Have a bit of a murder mystery bug lately. Can’t wait to see the trailer for the Knives Out sequel, Glass Onion.

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I heard a sequel was probable but this is the first I heard one was actually happening. Very exciting!

I’m a bit torn though… On the one hand, what I read said they had another sequel lined up and Daniel Craig seems to enjoy being Benoit Blanc far more than he ever did being James Bond. On the other, I’m going to miss the characters and setting of the first (despite being cautiously optimistic those of the sequel will be just as interesting/compelling and they can keep playing with the whodunnit genre as masterfully) and (more importantly) Netflix is a shit company. Knives Out was the last film I saw in theaters in the before times, pre-pandemic; I hope its sequels aren’t just relegated to streaming (especially that one, especially if it’s as supported by then) and get theatrical release windows. :crossed_fingers: Though the article I read said that Netflix would probably have to market (gasp) something other than Stranger Things (double gasp) for something showing somewhere other than Netflix (triple gasp) so it’s unlikely. I’ll still watch it but since we’ll probably be paying $30 dollars for individual premium accounts by then because Netflix had a monopoly on streaming and let it slip through their hands (because they’re garbage) I’m not sure it would be worth it…

Sorry, rant/rambling over :sweat_smile:

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Netflix has bought 2 sequels, so we should get a third film in 2-3 years as well.

Well, it is basically going to be like Poirot, Columbo, etc I assume, where Daniel Craig is the main character and each case will feature a new cast and location. As much as I love Knives Out, I don’t really see how you could do a direct sequel to it really.

Me too, I have an old friend who I would love to take to the cinema to see this. The Irishman got a theatrical run, I’m hoping this does too, even if it is just limited.

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Oh, for sure! That story is over and done. And, as you say, the type of follow-the-detective storytelling they’ll be attempting has been done successfully before so I’m pretty hopeful it’ll work out here (even if Netflix is involved).

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