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Post by Linda Rhaldeen on Mar 30, 2018 23:37:37 GMT -5
I feel like they added so many extra details to these episodes, and yet kept in pretty much all the book plot as well. Which does make sense; of the five books this season, this one is significantly shorter than the rest. The little details like Carmelita literally being a cakesniffer and Olaf knowing the requirements for expulsion due to his own past expulsion were nice touches. And I agree about the explanation that the Quagmires found and read part of the Incomplete History of Secret Organizations makes much more sense than that they found out about VFD, a supposedly secret organization, all on their own.
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Post by Isadora Is a Door on Mar 31, 2018 5:05:10 GMT -5
My ratings for past episodes The Bad Beginning - 7.5/10 (1 - 8, 2 - 7) The Reptile Room - 8.5/10 (1 - 9, 2 - 8) The Wide Window - 6.5/10 (1 - 4.5, 2 - 8.5) The miserable Mill - 9.25/10 (1 - 9. 2 - 9.5)
Episode 1 Comments:
- NPH is better here than at any point last year. I hope this continues. - Nero is pretty much perfect, although i'd have liked a tiny bit more of the mimicking going on... - The Quagmires work well. Their friendship with tbe Bauds feels natural, and I'm looking forward to seeing them get torn apart. - Carmelita... Yes she's pretty annoying but I still feel like she could be more annoying than she is. We'll see. - The librarian is interesting. Library trolleys really do fall over that easily, i can testify. - There wasn't really much time spent with the Bauds at all this episode, which is a trend I didn't enjoy much last season, and I hope will not continue. - Overall, not a massive amount of story took place in this episode, but its an opener so I'll forgive it for that.
I would give this episode a solid 7.5/10, with room to improve.
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Noe
Catastrophic Captain
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Post by Noe on Mar 31, 2018 13:36:23 GMT -5
anyone notice how Carmelita says, "are you death AND blind?" instead of deaf lol. just thought it was a funny mistake, or maybe it was on purpose.
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Mar 31, 2018 13:46:13 GMT -5
Haha no I didn't hear that! I'll listen out for it next time.
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Post by Poe's Coats Host Toast on Apr 1, 2018 0:24:12 GMT -5
I liked the second episode much less than the first one... as opposed to the other people in this thread, surprisingly. Mostly because of the really awfully executed ending, especially the chase after Olaf and the inappropriately funny-designed but unfunny turban unravel. All of that felt very hokey with them driving away and all.
What I did love was Carmelita--the actress really sold the character and made me hate her in the right ways (I agree with everyone, she was super impressive); as well as VP Nero, who I think performed the perfect version of who I imagined when reading the books (maybe a bit slobbier, but that's ok)... even his violin playing was on point. Both were enjoyably funny characters. Coach Genghis was great, too, and I love that they/NPH went for a motivational speaker á la Tom Cruise's character in Magnolia.
I thought Sarah Rue's librarian character didn't bring anything to the table, except for the Baudelaires to have another kindred spirit in these episodes, but she was a boring, flat "one of the good ones". Maybe we'll get to know more about her as the season continues.
Other'n that, the jokes were really good and felt better than S1 (okay, Jacquelin hiding under the desk wasn't funny, that's true). The episodes felt a lot like I remember the books, too, which is great. Any changes they made felt mostly natural, and didn't stand out (favorite one probably, like most people's, was Jacques/Lemony in the taxi). The music, alas, is more of the same I remember from S1, but just like then, I guess it doesn't stand in the way of the story, and that's the best I can say about it. The Quagmire actors are too model-pretty and wooden for my tastes, but I can tolerate it for the amount of screentime they have in ASoUE. All in all, TAA continues what we've already seen in the previous books, i.e. in the first season, so while it was enjoyable, there's not much new here, so I'm looking forward to the next episodes.
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Post by Invisible on Apr 1, 2018 4:12:12 GMT -5
What accent is Coach Genghis doing?
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Post by tk on Apr 1, 2018 4:43:34 GMT -5
SUPER excited for season 2 omg. Just finished watching TEE part 2, figured I'd start commenting~
-I love how genuinely surprised Lemony seemed at the very start of the first episode, and how put-off he seemed when he said, "You shouldn't be here."
-Absolutely LOVE the tombstone buildings!
-I'm surprised at how much I actually like Carmelita Spats lol - she's just the perfect amount of annoying and adorable, but mostly annoying
-Also surprised at how much I like Nero! I hated him in the books, he was so mean. But he's kind of - dare I say it? - lovable? in this series? Two scenes stood out, really: 1) when he was kind of concerned about what happened to the orphans in Coach Genghis' story at the pep rally, and 2) during the comprehensive exams when he said the Baudelaires had passed
-ALSO WHY AM I HAVING OPPOSITE REACTIONS TO THESE CHARACTERS UGH - I absolutely ADORED the Quagmires when I read the books; but idk, the way they're portrayed in the series...I just...they seem too innocent? I don't know, in the books, they were introduced as these two brave students who stood up against Carmelita when she started calling the Baudelaires cakesniffers, and they seemed really fun and out-going; but in the Netflix adaptation, they're just sort of, idk, too quiet? lol
-Loving the addition of new characters like Larry and the librarian and of course Jacques!
-Also I LOVE FERNALD lol he was genuinely concerned about "Sunny" after Olaf kicked its head
-And yes I also noticed that one line by Isadora about their previous female guardian losing HER WIFE; had to replay that part again just to be sure I heard right, hehe~
-also don't mind me. if you knew me during my active fanart-posting days, you'd know how INSANE I am about the Klaus/Isadora ship soooooooo OMG YAAS THAT SCENE HAHA THANK YOU I mean, in the books, Klaus/Isadora was never really even hinted at (if I remember correctly - all we got was Klaus/Fiona and I wasn't a fan of Fiona), but if I remember correctly we did get a clear hint that Duncan may have had feelings for Violet but for some reason my memory tells me Violet never really returned those feelings but instead she liked Quigley more, right? meh these things are fuzzy in my head now lol - ANYWAY my point is while some fans might not like the whole Klaus/Isadora scene, my stupid fangirl ass definitely did xD
-Count Olaf mistaking the Quagmires as the Baudelaires was hilarious -- "You three had better -- wait; you two-- wait!" xD had me in tears
-Carmelita really DID sniff cakes? wtf even--
-I also agree that the ending seemed kind of anticlimactic? yeah.
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Noe
Catastrophic Captain
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Post by Noe on Apr 1, 2018 13:00:35 GMT -5
What accent is Coach Genghis doing? Southern American accent
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Post by Dante on Apr 1, 2018 15:13:10 GMT -5
I don't think there's much need for me to repeat other people's comments, so I'll keep this brief. I enjoyed the majority of the story, but the ending strikes me as too abbreviated. We are given, ultimately, no reason why the Baudelaires actually leave Prufrock Prep.; in contrast to the book, their continued place at the school is secured, and yet in the next episode they are moving to a new guardian with no explanation. Also unexplained by this non-ending is how exactly Olivia managed to fail to pass them the book they had spent two episodes looking for, despite literally having it in her hands at a point at which they are one short walk away; but this won't stop being a problem in future episodes either. To summarise, Part 2 needed another couple of minutes, in my opinion.
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Post by Strangely on Apr 1, 2018 17:02:17 GMT -5
I agree that the ending is a little truncated, but at the same time I really like the note they end on, so the lack of detailed explanations don't particularly bother me.
I think through implication there's some reasoning present as to why they left Prufrock Prep. Notably Olaf destroyed the Orphan's Shack and we know Nero is unwilling to give them an actual dorm room, so that could factor into it. Too, Olaf did try to hide from Mr. Poe the fact that the children were living in a shack, so that might imply that Poe would object to their living arrangements and move them as a result. Finally, while their continued enrollment in the school is secured, their safety is clearly not secured. Mr. Poe is majorly incompetent, I don't imagine he'd leave the Buadelaire's someplace where he knew for a fact that Olaf had already been and had no problem getting into.
As for Olivia and the book, it's a complicated issue. For one, there's major continuity issues as to where everything is on the campus. For most of this story the track, Orphan's Shack, Library and Auditorium are all shown to be accessible through one open air hallway with a metal gate facing towards the track. However, later after tipping over the Orphan's Shack we see Olaf run through a set of wooden double doors to his getaway car, but when the Baudelaire's run after him they run through the hallway with the metal gate again, which had earlier led to the track and now leads to the front driveway and dorms instead. Clearly there was a limited amount of studio space, so in order to get these shots of the Baudelaire's running they just altered the track set to now be the front of the school, unfortunately the tipped position of the Orphan's Shack ruins the illusion (As well as the wooden doors suddenly becoming metal gates).
So later, when we see the flashback of Olivia holding the book and the car driving away, it only confuses the situation more as she could be looking either at the track or driveway. The following shot in this flashback is of Olaf driving away, implying that she's not in the library hallway, but instead in the other one that leads to the driveway. It also implies she's there at the exact moment Olaf is making his escape. The thing is, that couldn't be the case as her position would place her right behind the Baudelaire's in that scene and she is most definitely not present in that scene at the end of TAA.
So the shot of car driving away couldn't literally be the same time as her looking out at the driveway (or track based on which version of the layout you believe her to be standing in at that moment). It's also worth noting she is holding the necklace Olaf dropped, implying she had already examined the scene. This only reinforced that she arrived to the scene after the fact as she surely wouldn't be looking at costume pieces lying in the dirt with the Baudelaire's running after a car only twenty feet away.
Considering all of this, I think what happened is that Olivia was examining the book and missed the Baudelaire's and Olaf running by. Then she went back to the auditorium, expecting them to still be there. Finding it abandoned, she went to the Orphan's Shack only to find it toppled and Olaf's disguise sitting nearby. At this point she likely realizes what's happened and is too late as the Baudelaire's are already gone.
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Post by Grace on Apr 2, 2018 16:35:50 GMT -5
I was really hoping Mr. Poe talking on the phone to a Mr. Tamburlaine was a reference to the play, but the subtitles say it's spelled "Tamerlane." For me the strongest parts of these episodes were: obviously Carmelita, the no-holds-barred satire of the American education system, and the Genghis persona. I liked Mr. Poe a lot in this, especially in the very first scene. He had a great dynamic later on with Nero and Genghis too. I LOVE Roger Bart and he was funny at times, but the false teeth were a bit much for me. I didn't like: some wooden acting on the part of the kids again, "we've been sitting here for months," and the general incompetence of adult characters that we're meant to like. The whole point of the first few books is that adults unintentionally endanger children all the time. These guys are special agents! And Olivia is an educational professional. At a certain point, their incompetence stretched believability for me. EDIT: Oh, also. Jacques. I always liked. And Nathan FIllion is good. That scene of him and Lemony in the taxi whistling got me.
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Post by destinychild on Apr 2, 2018 17:37:45 GMT -5
I was really hoping Mr. Poe talking on the phone to a Mr. Tamburlaine was a reference to the play, but the subtitles say it's spelled "Tamerlane." For me the strongest parts of these episodes were: obviously Carmelita, the no-holds-barred satire of the American education system, and the Genghis persona. I liked Mr. Poe a lot in this, especially in the very first scene. He had a great dynamic later on with Nero and Genghis too. I LOVE Roger Bart and he was funny at times, but the false teeth were a bit much for me. I didn't like: some wooden acting on the part of the kids again, "we've been sitting here for months," and the general incompetence of adult characters that we're meant to like. The whole point of the first few books is that adults unintentionally endanger children all the time. These guys are special agents! And Olivia is an educational professional. At a certain point, their incompetence stretched believability for me. EDIT: Oh, also. Jacques. I always liked. And Nathan FIllion is good. That scene of him and Lemony in the taxi whistling got me. I think Tammer-lane is a reference to Sommer-field, the director, who was also the voice.
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Post by A comet crashing into Earth on Apr 2, 2018 18:33:17 GMT -5
I thought at first that 'Tamerlane' might be an anagram of a name we knew. It shares a few letters with 'Lemony Snicket', but at closer inspection, that only works if Mr. Tamerlane's first name involves negative one R and two A's.
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sᴍᴏᴋᴇ sɪɢɴᴀʟs
Reptile Researcher
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Post by sᴍᴏᴋᴇ sɪɢɴᴀʟs on Apr 2, 2018 20:13:28 GMT -5
(edited as i want to add more of my commentary)
so far ive noticed the script is so freaking good!!!! i mean, compared to last seasons. it doesnt feel as trite or canned, the jokes are funnier, the actors mesh better, everyone has better timing in general. compared to the steady current of disappointment i felt throughout all of season 1, season 2 is definitely much better (imo). the liberties taken with the plot and characters arent that terrible, they all seem to fit with the spirit of the books and the show and dont take much of a stretch of the imagination for people who have read the books before.
a special note for the production design and set-- it has been done extraordinarily well, like to the point where i was pausing the episodes to look at how they have set up the scenes and such. i am floored and so appreciative of whoever works in the art direction department for this show, you can tell they actually give a crap about it.
the decision to split the books into 2 episode instead of one in both seasons is definitely working. it allows more time to expand locales and characters, in order to build an emotional attachment to the viewer, which is an improvement on s1 because everything felt way to fast and detached for me.
and on that note, some complaints: while the split episodes is an improvement, the show needs to make emotional moments "hit harder". the entire thing has had this air of "well, whatever" behind the emotions, and no amount of funny quips or little references will cover it up (although they are appreciated). someone needs to get better at actually making people care enough. the timing, pacing, and shot direction match with the rest of the humorous and expositional parts, but it doesn't mesh well with more serious scenes.
there seems to be a case of the supporting actors outshining the main ones. they are child actors, though, so im not incredibly pissed by this but it makes me want to like all the villains more than the main characters.
other people have touched on this, but the romance with the quagmire triplets. its unnecessary, and frankly just annoying for people who have read the books. i understand that new viewers will need some sort of attachment to these characters, but that could have come in any other form instead of that. it feels forced. they could have added some more of the "friendship" stuff. this will make the future romance w/ quigly and fiona be less of an emotional impact.
but there were much more positives to me than negatives, so far. i am so psyched to watch the rest!! for sure an improvement on s1. especially looking forward to the carnivorous carnival! also did anyone notice the "remember you will die(t)" banner in the background of the cafeteria?
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Post by Violent BUN Fortuna on Apr 3, 2018 11:03:43 GMT -5
Ahahaha I love the remember you will die(t) banner! I didn't actually spot it in the show but I feel like I remember seeing it in a promotional photo (or maybe one of the trailers?) at some point.
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