Free talk thread to discuss what you’ve been watching and ask for recommendations. Be sure to tag spoilers.
Severance - I’m almost done with it, I’ve got three episodes left. A bit of a slow burn but every second of it tells you something about the characters or brings you closer toward the mystery of it all so no time is wasted. I’m enjoying it, definitely recommend it if you’re into the “mind-bending” sub-genre at all. On the mind-bending scale, it’s close to something like Maniac (Netflix) and maybe Legion (FX, Hulu) so far in comparison to more vague mystery (e.g. Twin Peaks, The OA).
Now that Apple TV+ has built up a few shows I’m interested in, I finally went in on a month hoping to see everything I want to in that time so I can pause the subscription afterward and save a buck until more builds up again.
Severance is incredible. If it holds up the course it was on for S1 it’s genuinely in contention for my favorite show ever.
I just finished it and wow. That was such a tense season finale, the kind that put me on the edge of my seat and absolutely floored me with every big moment. I need to see where this goes in Season 2! Even so, I’m happy to wait as long as it takes with the halt in S2 production for the writers strike. When I see a show like this with such a well-crafted story to tell it’s just another reminder that writers deserve to make a living wage. Fitting that the show itself delves into similar themes of unfair treatment of workers.
Good shout comparing Severance with Maniac and Legion. Maniac has a little more emotional depth, and Legion has a similarly-amazing visual style, marginally less engaging story, but Severance doesn’t have Aubrey Plaza.
That’s definitely what I was thinking! I love the uplifting hope that Maniac brings to facing trauma, whereas what I love about Severance is the underlying sense of dread that we might fail even with the determination to improve things. Similar ideas, both inspiring, but strong in very different ways.
Legion jumps around a lot more while exploring lynchian kinds of ways to take its comic book roots and mold them into a similar theme that focuses on how we save ourselves instead of how to save the world. I’ve always liked Aubrey Plaza’s performances but her role as Lenny in Legion was definitely a game changer for me. When I finally played Cyberpunk 2077 I ended up doing a playthrough where I customized the character to her because Legion convinced me she’d be great in the part of V. And that psychic dance battle is a top tier scene!
I started to watch Severance but cut Apple TV a while back to cut down on the excessive streaming costs I had going. I really need to go back and watch it.
I totally get that, I jump around streaming services now for the same reason. I held off on Severance this long because I needed Apple TV+ to build up enough shows that I wanted to see before I could justify dropping another service.
If you end up running out of shows on a different streamer and see multiple shows you’re interested in from Apple then it’s definitely worth checking out Severance again when you make the switch for a month or so!
It’s been on my list for a while but I’m finally getting into For All Mankind. It’s a very slow-burn alternative space-race show, but I’m loving where I am so far.
The core premise, revealed in episode 1 is
spoiler
what if the Russians were the first to the moon, and what kind of impact would that have on the rest of the space race.
I loved watching all of that show. There were a few times I thought it got a little too dramatic but overall I was invested in all of the characters and enjoyed their growth.
S1 was definitely good. I felt it fell off a bit after that and goes a bit off the rails lol. We’ll see what you think.
There’s a lot of good stuff on Apple TV though
Yeah, I’m only on S1E8 so far. We’ll see how it goes. I’ve got a huge backlog so I’m not short on shows; this will be one of the benefits of the writers strike for me.
What’s on your backlog? Been looking for some other things to watch. I’ve watched most of the stuff I wanted to see on Apple TV, just need to get around to Shrinking and Silo still.
Now that Barry and Succession have concluded, I’m looking to finally start those up next. I also had a good friend rec Silo, so that’s pushing up on my list, too.
Yeah, I’m enjoying Silo. It’s not quite as good as Severance, but same ballpark.
I watched just the first ep of For All Mankind and it didn’t grab me. Maybe I should give it a 2nd chance?
It’s a very slow burn show that is a lot of character work punctuated by some big events, but really picks up at episode 9. If episode 1 didn’t catch you and you have a big backlog, I’d say it’s probably not worth the time for full-ass hour long episodes.
I have been watching A Small Light on Disney Plus. The main character is Miep Gies and about how her and others helped with the hiding of the Frank family and others during the German occupation during World War 2. You may remember reading the diary of Anne Frank. It is very well told so far in my opinion. Sometimes gut wrenching especially since we know what will happen to them.
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Picard Season 3 (skipped 1 and 2) while taking a break from DS9 after season 2!
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I finished season 2 of Jericho. It’s a real shame the show was cancelled. I would love for it to be picked back up and rebooted.
For those unfamiliar with Jericho. The plot centers around the residents of a small town in Kansas trying to survive after the US was nuked. The episodes mainly deal with the daily struggles to survive as you slowly find out who nuked us and why.
I love the premise and if there’s anything similar I’d love to hear about it.
Finished Silo Season 1. One of my favorite new shows since Severance. Reminds me a little of Snow Piercer (the show) which I also love.
Finally got around to Yellow Jackets Season 2. Just finished episode 3. Enjoying this season so far and excited to see where things go with Elijah Wood’s character.
Other than that I’ve been catching up on Dave and re-watching Superstore and the Office (sometimes you just need something light that you can depend on for laughs).
