Oof, had not heard about the Pasek and Paul of it all. I was excited about actually seeing an Oliver Putnam musical play out but I tend to run pretty cold on them. Although their over-earnestness might actually mesh well with Oliver's extravagance and questionable taste so I'll do my best to withhold judgement.
I found it notable that these two episodes are setting up the most important relationship for each member of the main trio to be with the murder victim. Tim was little more than a plot device and Bunny was background color until she became the victim (her spotlight episode in S2 aside), but the new flashback structure allows the show to make Ben into almost a co-lead rather than grist for the storytelling mill. I especially liked how he was positioned differently with each lead; he's got a teacher/student relationship with Oliver, one which is tied into his rivalry/grudge with Charles, and he's Mabel's imaginary friend (which tells us more about her than about him, but if they're going to pursue the idea that Oliver's show separated her from her olds then it's an elegant fix). I assume part of this is that they've got Paul Rudd on board and want to use him as much as possible, but the result could be that there's more meat on the storytelling bones for this season rather than just adding a big name to the cast.
Best gag was right there at the top, introducing Meryl Streep's character by having someone say "she's a bit vanilla" and then showing her up on stage being MERYL. Although as someone who really doesn't care for her performances where she lets a funny voice and/or prosthetic nose do most of her acting for her, the gag of her trying out all the awful accents at the table read was just as good. I don't know if it fully qualifies as meta-commentary on some of her past roles, but I appreciated it nonetheless.
Did Mabel have a role in producing the play? She's there at the table read, has easy access backstage, and was at the 'celebration'. Yet it's also established that she hasn't been in touch much with the old guys since the Season 2 murder. Did I miss something?
She was at the table read to give millennial advice on the dialogue.
She was invited to Opening Night and the Celebration by her friends. Being a friend of the director and a cast member allows her access to visit them.
It didn't seem to me that she had any other involvement in the play itself and was feeling fairly abandoned during the 4 months they were putting the show together.
I just watched all three today (thanks Covid for keeping me home!!) and want to pop in and say, with zero spoilers for the third episode, I believe the killer has to be a man this year because it seems unlike the show to have three women in a row.
Oh, I noticed Pasek and Paul in the credits and was confused, but then I forgot, so now it makes sense! I don't have the hatred of them that some seem to have, so I'm here for it.
Excited for his new season, especially Myles's pedantic (in the best possible way) takes on Nova Scotian geography.
Unlike for The Afterparty I won't put together a running list of all the suspects each episodes, but here are some early thoughts:
1) I agree with Myles that Meryl Streep's character is too obvious to be the killer, if for no other reason than it'd be too similar to season 1 and Amy Ryan.
2) In the scenes where they're "recreating" the murder, all the quick shots seem to be of men pushing Ben down the elevator shaft. While that could be a misdirect, or I missed something, I am thinking it's somewhat more likely it will be a male murderer than another women like the first two seasons.
3) With that in mind, my early choice is on Ben's brother. He seemed quite put-upon in every scene, and if he has access to Ben's food that's an easy way to have poisoned him on the theater (even if that did not kill him). Realize this is a bit similar to the killer last year, but instead of killing a random person it's instead their boss/employer so there's some difference there.
My money is on the documentarian. Great access to Ben, and could easily be forgotten about until the end when it's revealed that he was present but recording off screen for many key moments. It could also be very motivating to be able to release a documentary about the last days of a movie star.
I am so easy when it comes to this show. I think it’s the music. The title credits but also when familiar musical themes from past seasons pipe in, it’s like a comfort blanket being presented to the viewer. I agree that the setup is stronger than the last season. I enjoyed seeing all the amazing guest stars. I probably watch this show more for the character work than the mystery but the show has had a good track record so far. I look forward to the discussion each week!
Man, a lot of hate for S2 in this review. Which I find a bit odd, because I found it a vast improvement over S1 (mainly because S2 got me to care about the victim and I never gave crap in S1).
So glad this show is back. Any way-too-early-guesses on who the killer is? I agree with Myles in that it's too obvious to be Meryl Streep's Loretta, especially because she seemed the most upset that he was still alive at the afterparty. I'll throw out the guess of Cliff, the icky producer's son (who she can kiss like that because he's gay). Haven't seen ep 3 yet, and I know we didn't get much to go off from him, but rewatching episode 1 I noticed he was miffed that Ben kept calling him Boy and kept forgetting his name. It'd be kinda funny if Cliff pushed him down the elevator shaft just for that.
Obviously way too early to think about actually trying to solve the mystery, but at this point I'd put Dickie at the top of my red-string suspect cork-board.
Oof, had not heard about the Pasek and Paul of it all. I was excited about actually seeing an Oliver Putnam musical play out but I tend to run pretty cold on them. Although their over-earnestness might actually mesh well with Oliver's extravagance and questionable taste so I'll do my best to withhold judgement.
I found it notable that these two episodes are setting up the most important relationship for each member of the main trio to be with the murder victim. Tim was little more than a plot device and Bunny was background color until she became the victim (her spotlight episode in S2 aside), but the new flashback structure allows the show to make Ben into almost a co-lead rather than grist for the storytelling mill. I especially liked how he was positioned differently with each lead; he's got a teacher/student relationship with Oliver, one which is tied into his rivalry/grudge with Charles, and he's Mabel's imaginary friend (which tells us more about her than about him, but if they're going to pursue the idea that Oliver's show separated her from her olds then it's an elegant fix). I assume part of this is that they've got Paul Rudd on board and want to use him as much as possible, but the result could be that there's more meat on the storytelling bones for this season rather than just adding a big name to the cast.
Best gag was right there at the top, introducing Meryl Streep's character by having someone say "she's a bit vanilla" and then showing her up on stage being MERYL. Although as someone who really doesn't care for her performances where she lets a funny voice and/or prosthetic nose do most of her acting for her, the gag of her trying out all the awful accents at the table read was just as good. I don't know if it fully qualifies as meta-commentary on some of her past roles, but I appreciated it nonetheless.
Did Mabel have a role in producing the play? She's there at the table read, has easy access backstage, and was at the 'celebration'. Yet it's also established that she hasn't been in touch much with the old guys since the Season 2 murder. Did I miss something?
She was at the table read to give millennial advice on the dialogue.
She was invited to Opening Night and the Celebration by her friends. Being a friend of the director and a cast member allows her access to visit them.
It didn't seem to me that she had any other involvement in the play itself and was feeling fairly abandoned during the 4 months they were putting the show together.
I just watched all three today (thanks Covid for keeping me home!!) and want to pop in and say, with zero spoilers for the third episode, I believe the killer has to be a man this year because it seems unlike the show to have three women in a row.
Oh, I noticed Pasek and Paul in the credits and was confused, but then I forgot, so now it makes sense! I don't have the hatred of them that some seem to have, so I'm here for it.
Excited for his new season, especially Myles's pedantic (in the best possible way) takes on Nova Scotian geography.
Unlike for The Afterparty I won't put together a running list of all the suspects each episodes, but here are some early thoughts:
1) I agree with Myles that Meryl Streep's character is too obvious to be the killer, if for no other reason than it'd be too similar to season 1 and Amy Ryan.
2) In the scenes where they're "recreating" the murder, all the quick shots seem to be of men pushing Ben down the elevator shaft. While that could be a misdirect, or I missed something, I am thinking it's somewhat more likely it will be a male murderer than another women like the first two seasons.
3) With that in mind, my early choice is on Ben's brother. He seemed quite put-upon in every scene, and if he has access to Ben's food that's an easy way to have poisoned him on the theater (even if that did not kill him). Realize this is a bit similar to the killer last year, but instead of killing a random person it's instead their boss/employer so there's some difference there.
My money is on the documentarian. Great access to Ben, and could easily be forgotten about until the end when it's revealed that he was present but recording off screen for many key moments. It could also be very motivating to be able to release a documentary about the last days of a movie star.
My first thought on the first scene with the brother was "It's totally him". I hope that's not it.
I am so easy when it comes to this show. I think it’s the music. The title credits but also when familiar musical themes from past seasons pipe in, it’s like a comfort blanket being presented to the viewer. I agree that the setup is stronger than the last season. I enjoyed seeing all the amazing guest stars. I probably watch this show more for the character work than the mystery but the show has had a good track record so far. I look forward to the discussion each week!
Man, a lot of hate for S2 in this review. Which I find a bit odd, because I found it a vast improvement over S1 (mainly because S2 got me to care about the victim and I never gave crap in S1).
So glad this show is back. Any way-too-early-guesses on who the killer is? I agree with Myles in that it's too obvious to be Meryl Streep's Loretta, especially because she seemed the most upset that he was still alive at the afterparty. I'll throw out the guess of Cliff, the icky producer's son (who she can kiss like that because he's gay). Haven't seen ep 3 yet, and I know we didn't get much to go off from him, but rewatching episode 1 I noticed he was miffed that Ben kept calling him Boy and kept forgetting his name. It'd be kinda funny if Cliff pushed him down the elevator shaft just for that.
Obviously way too early to think about actually trying to solve the mystery, but at this point I'd put Dickie at the top of my red-string suspect cork-board.