dgl1199

So, I get it. The film is an absurdist thriller, dramedy, mystery and psychological head spin. I thought the acting and production value were great. But the story is overpacked with wine soaked neurotic moments of discovery, fear, loathing, highs and lows, bizarre incidents, and at times just general confusion. Combined together it made for a frustrating watch because I didn't understand what from angle the story was coming at me or what it was trying to be. I will say it gets better in the second episode as you piece together the clues scattered throughout the tale.

But what really turned me off was the ending which has to be one of the worst "Oh, come on!" endings I've ever seen. Again, I understand it was probably not meant to be taken seriously but still....seriously? Didn't work for me.

First, this is not some forgivable low-budget, post-apocalyptic thrill ride featuring aging, B-List stars. This is an alt-right, Republican Jesus, gun show. A societal breakdown happens, seemingly overnight and for reasons that are never made clear, a Midwestern family flees into the woods with their bibles and ammo. Then it becomes a heavily armed survival tale that relies on two things for virtually every scene: Guns and scripture. Oh, and yelling, a lot of yelling. The plot, such as it is, is a confusing, rambling, clumsy mess of different stories and events that often don't make sense. But the plot is just a necessary nuisance to call it a "drama" when in fact the point of this movie is to beat you over the head with an awkward, evangelical overdose of forgiveness, love, faith, and, most of all, firepower. It's a cringey, juvenile, sloppily constructed church/NRA fantasy straight out of the Kirk Cameron School of Christian Conservative Film-making. Nonsensical, preachy crap strewn with shell casings.

I'll get to the point, this episode was both boring and highly predictable. There was no real twist to it that we didn't already see coming. We have "players" introduced into a fantasy VR environment where they discover and explore alternate sides of their true selves. But haven't we seen this before ? San Junipero? Play Test? USS Callister? I thought the writing was 2 dimensional, the characters, particularly the women, were poorly developed, and the technological conduit to the story's moral and social reflection was recycled and unimaginative. Also, it just dragged with too much concentration on making the characters deep or introspective, or troubled but it all just across as dull and unnecessary. Just overall a lackluster effort. C'mon Charlie Booker, don't get all burnt out season 5 Rod Serling on us.