Channe Takes On: \"Things Left Unsaid, Part II\"
IF YOU GO TO VALHALLA SECTOR, YOU WILL DIE: Or, "Not So Much Left Unsaid, Eh?"
--- --- ---
Yeah, I know there's already a thread for this. But those of you who were around in the early days know I've always been doing this, so....
...you know the format. I just babble on for a while.
Although the title of this Channe Takes On is slightly jovial, I have to say that I really, really liked the finale. I can see how JMS regards this as one of the best things he's ever done - because it is, dammit.
Actually, there's a lot that's been left unsaid. Where was Jeremiah taken? What's happened to the others from Thunder Mountain? Are Theo and Ezekiel alive, or dying, or dead? What will Kurdy do next, now that he's one of the only ones left free on the outside? Kurdy was shot in the arm - where's he gonna go, especially without the Land Rover and in far-off Millhaven, where everyone is a spy on the inside?
And that's just to begin with.
"He's always chasin' after something he's never gonna catch until he finally goes nuts." - bartender
Jeremiah as the Road Runner. An insight for season 2?
It works.
The secrets came fast. The secrets came deep. Although many of you might have had a problem with Wylie's quick unfolding of the secrets behind the return of the Big Death, I wasn't. The actor playing him was *really* believable, and because of this I totally bought the explanation that he had just been listening.
But, there were obviously others listening. I don't think the guys that confronted Kurdy in the Millhaven bar were just ordinary townspeople. They were from VS. Nice touch.
They knew Wylie knew. Which is how they knew who Jeremiah was, where Jeremiah was, and what he was going to show them. VERY nice touch.
Speaking of that, I loved the scene where Jeremiah was finally picked up by the VS helicopter. Luke Perry, bathed in light, totally confused, raising his hands up - it looked like he was being abducted by aliens.
Well, for this world, they might as well be aliens.
I have to admit that parts of this show remind me a lot of the main thrust of Babylon 5: that everyone has to work together to create a new world, or you'll be screwed over.
But it's working. It's a totally different story, and it's working again. I was afraid that it wouldn't be any different than B5. I was wrong.
There's a lot they can do with Season 2. Number one, the United States of America, the President, the framework is just a distant memory to these kids. It's *gonna* be like aliens descending from the sky. Alien invaders from another world... I think that was captured well enough in the invasion scene.
"Isn't that what they tell condemned men before they take the long walk?" - Markus
I've really been loving the journey motif JMS has been using throughout the season. It came to a head here in TLU2. And there were other motifs - such as the use of the sirens as foreshadowing, as herald, and the use of guns as power - that really, really made me happy.
And Markus was really on a long walk.
And Jeremiah was on a long walk.
Kurdy's on a long walk, too. He's been there for a while and just didn't notice it.
And Ezekiel was on the long walk.
All of them, condemned - or as good as condemned.
JMS is very metaphorical, and that's what I love about writers who are primarily theatrical, like him. Everything is always packed with meaning, and you get to pick it apart and suck it out like you do an artichoke.
Jeremiah is an artichoke.
I love artichokes. Slow, delicious, torturous, and the heart is just... so... good... especially when marinated and served with noodles and pine nuts...
I'll leave it to you to figure out who the noodles and pine nuts of the show are.
Oh, yeah. Foreshadowing. You know, I like it when I'm right, and I was right all along. The lab. Captain Iron. All that talk about Jeremiah being the cause of the fall of Thunder Mountain (and, don't even argue, Jeremiah caused the fall of TM a bit early by connecting the dots). Finally, the only *real* trouble J and K (hmm, I wonder if they're the men in black?) got into was when they were seperated. I wonder if that was planned?
EVERYTHING'S BEEN BUILDING TO THIS!!! I love it when JMS does this. It's always so good. It's like a good sneeze. TLU2 was a good sneeze.
I haven't mentioned Kurdy and Elizabeth yet. While I really never took to Elizabeth, I don't think we needed to. It was Elizabeth's effect on Kurdy that really mattered, and I think Malcolm absolutely *shined* in that scene.
I found myself tearing up. I don't do that often.
The last thing I'd like to mention regards the direction and the cinematography. The fast cuts, the close-ins, all that - was great, and although the shaky camera was used, it wasn't overused. Mike Vejar wins again.
I think that's it.
Oh, yeah.
If there's no second season, I *will* cry.
You see, with TLU2, Jeremiah has passed the point of "Well, it has *potential.*" Potential is gone.
It has the mojo, folks. It has that certain je ne sais quoi. It has chutzpah. It has, for those of you who read "Schlock Mercenary," plenty of BLAM.
IMHO.
IF YOU GO TO VALHALLA SECTOR, YOU WILL DIE: Or, "Not So Much Left Unsaid, Eh?"
--- --- ---
Yeah, I know there's already a thread for this. But those of you who were around in the early days know I've always been doing this, so....
...you know the format. I just babble on for a while.
Although the title of this Channe Takes On is slightly jovial, I have to say that I really, really liked the finale. I can see how JMS regards this as one of the best things he's ever done - because it is, dammit.
Actually, there's a lot that's been left unsaid. Where was Jeremiah taken? What's happened to the others from Thunder Mountain? Are Theo and Ezekiel alive, or dying, or dead? What will Kurdy do next, now that he's one of the only ones left free on the outside? Kurdy was shot in the arm - where's he gonna go, especially without the Land Rover and in far-off Millhaven, where everyone is a spy on the inside?
And that's just to begin with.
"He's always chasin' after something he's never gonna catch until he finally goes nuts." - bartender
Jeremiah as the Road Runner. An insight for season 2?
It works.
The secrets came fast. The secrets came deep. Although many of you might have had a problem with Wylie's quick unfolding of the secrets behind the return of the Big Death, I wasn't. The actor playing him was *really* believable, and because of this I totally bought the explanation that he had just been listening.
But, there were obviously others listening. I don't think the guys that confronted Kurdy in the Millhaven bar were just ordinary townspeople. They were from VS. Nice touch.
They knew Wylie knew. Which is how they knew who Jeremiah was, where Jeremiah was, and what he was going to show them. VERY nice touch.
Speaking of that, I loved the scene where Jeremiah was finally picked up by the VS helicopter. Luke Perry, bathed in light, totally confused, raising his hands up - it looked like he was being abducted by aliens.
Well, for this world, they might as well be aliens.
I have to admit that parts of this show remind me a lot of the main thrust of Babylon 5: that everyone has to work together to create a new world, or you'll be screwed over.
But it's working. It's a totally different story, and it's working again. I was afraid that it wouldn't be any different than B5. I was wrong.
There's a lot they can do with Season 2. Number one, the United States of America, the President, the framework is just a distant memory to these kids. It's *gonna* be like aliens descending from the sky. Alien invaders from another world... I think that was captured well enough in the invasion scene.
"Isn't that what they tell condemned men before they take the long walk?" - Markus
I've really been loving the journey motif JMS has been using throughout the season. It came to a head here in TLU2. And there were other motifs - such as the use of the sirens as foreshadowing, as herald, and the use of guns as power - that really, really made me happy.
And Markus was really on a long walk.
And Jeremiah was on a long walk.
Kurdy's on a long walk, too. He's been there for a while and just didn't notice it.
And Ezekiel was on the long walk.
All of them, condemned - or as good as condemned.
JMS is very metaphorical, and that's what I love about writers who are primarily theatrical, like him. Everything is always packed with meaning, and you get to pick it apart and suck it out like you do an artichoke.
Jeremiah is an artichoke.
I love artichokes. Slow, delicious, torturous, and the heart is just... so... good... especially when marinated and served with noodles and pine nuts...
I'll leave it to you to figure out who the noodles and pine nuts of the show are.
Oh, yeah. Foreshadowing. You know, I like it when I'm right, and I was right all along. The lab. Captain Iron. All that talk about Jeremiah being the cause of the fall of Thunder Mountain (and, don't even argue, Jeremiah caused the fall of TM a bit early by connecting the dots). Finally, the only *real* trouble J and K (hmm, I wonder if they're the men in black?) got into was when they were seperated. I wonder if that was planned?
EVERYTHING'S BEEN BUILDING TO THIS!!! I love it when JMS does this. It's always so good. It's like a good sneeze. TLU2 was a good sneeze.
I haven't mentioned Kurdy and Elizabeth yet. While I really never took to Elizabeth, I don't think we needed to. It was Elizabeth's effect on Kurdy that really mattered, and I think Malcolm absolutely *shined* in that scene.
I found myself tearing up. I don't do that often.
The last thing I'd like to mention regards the direction and the cinematography. The fast cuts, the close-ins, all that - was great, and although the shaky camera was used, it wasn't overused. Mike Vejar wins again.
I think that's it.
Oh, yeah.
If there's no second season, I *will* cry.
You see, with TLU2, Jeremiah has passed the point of "Well, it has *potential.*" Potential is gone.
It has the mojo, folks. It has that certain je ne sais quoi. It has chutzpah. It has, for those of you who read "Schlock Mercenary," plenty of BLAM.
IMHO.
great first episode title reference there
