LOVECRAFT COUNTRY

Finale thoughts? SPOILERS, since the opening of the thread allows for them. Some talk here and here from the show runner, Misha Green. She dodges the question of Tic returning, but confirms they're open to an unannounced 2nd season, while not providing any spoilers as to its content.

Semi-trained not to accept deaths as final, particularly in an episode where they brought back Titus, but Tic's sacrifice had weight. Ruby choosing Leti over Christina, also impactful. One of those series that feels self-contained and complete, and not the first part of a five-year effort. I want more, but if not, this was good tv.

It's oddly difficult to get a sense of whether I should read the book or watch the series in this case. Opinions are divided? I have some irl friends who love the book and aren't that into the show.

I loved it. I was hoping that they would find a loophole for Tic to avoid sacrificing himself but they did a good job of not only making his sacrifice feel inevitable but an earned, premeditated choice.

I also loved the emotional arc of all the characters. If there’s one thing I wish had happened, it’s that Sammy had also been accepted by the family. It’s certainly a thread a second season could pick up, but I also am not sure what story a second season would tell; they resolved the central conflict and effectively destroyed Lovecraft Country. They can all make themselves impervious to harm. It might be fun to see where these characters go when unencumbered by the fear of oppression as well as exploring what limits there are to the magic they have reclaimed but how do you do that in a way that keeps them heroic and doesn’t invite lazy comparisons to Randian philosophy? I’m willing to give a subsequent season the benefit of the doubt but story wise, this was satisfying for me.

Thought it was excellent and very satisfying without quite hitting the highs of some previous episodes.

Assuming the book was a one off and it's all been told in this first season?

Yes, there are some differences in the overaching plot but they covered all of the same material.

(I haven't read it yet, just the Wikipedia synopsis)

Hoping this at least opens that gates fopr further explorations along similar lines while also hoping it doesn't lead to clones or similar.
Did wonder if this was going to get a 2nd season, same with Watchmen which i also finished yesterday. Thought I wasn't going to like that then did.
Funny that they both featured Greenwood heavily , was it a coincidence?

anyway want to see more of this cast so hope they are going to go onto good new stuff.well the black cast anyway.

Oh yeah did like Hypolyta coming in to save her daughter with the blue hair of the spacegirl showing.

& wonder where the story would go with Dee. Did something happen off screen that we should know about there , but spoiler.

I read the book a few years ago so I'm a little rusty on the differences, especially with the show so fresh in mind, but it does generally cover the same ground. The book is structured as a series of short stories that link these characters together, so it's a little less linear in the overarching narrative, though it still picks up on pretty much everything. Iirc, the most significant difference being that Tic's back story in Korea is only hinted at but never fully delved into.

Most of the other changes were much for the better. Specifically the episode about the spell cast on D is actually told from the perspective of a cousin, Horace, that isn't included in the TV series, and his spell is to be chased by all sorts of inanimate objects. I thought the way the show handled this with D was much more well done and more terrifying. Hippolyta's trip to the telescope is quite different in the book as well, more explicitly trying it to the racist history of the Braithwhite family, but I also liked how they dealt with it in the show better.

I also loved the emotional arc of all the characters. If there’s one thing I wish had happened, it’s that Sammy had also been accepted by the family. It’s certainly a thread a second season could pick up, but I also am not sure what story a second season would tell; they resolved the central conflict and effectively destroyed Lovecraft Country. They can all make themselves impervious to harm. It might be fun to see where these characters go when unencumbered by the fear of oppression as well as exploring what limits there are to the magic they have reclaimed but how do you do that in a way that keeps them heroic and doesn’t invite lazy comparisons to Randian philosophy? I’m willing to give a subsequent season the benefit of the doubt but story wise, this was satisfying for me.

― shout-out to his family (DJP), Tuesday, October 20, 2020 9:34 AM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

This is similar to my thoughts. All the characters were so well done, so balanced, in that while Atticus was the focus, so many other characters received substantial, important screen time, so you really got to connect with them all. I would go so far to say it was one of my favorite seasons of any show, ever, certainly of anything sci-fi/fantasy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=859S8CMUsFA
NOt sure how long this si going to work, it's liove now .
Talk with the producers of the show

I will say between this and Watchmen, the way that prestige TV storytellers are leaning on "powerful Black man sacrifices himself to save others and passes his power on to the Black woman he loves" as a plot resolution device at the moment is a bit much

Forgive the thread spam, but I wanted to note that this show's 2020 season is nominated in the 2020 ILX TV poll:

ILX's Best Television of 2020 Poll / VOTING AND CAMPAIGNING THREAD / Voting Ends After January 29, 2021

If you like this show and you'd like to see it have a good showing in the poll (running in February) all you need to do is submit a ballot including it and your other favorites (3 minimum, 25 maximum, ranked by your favorite to least favorite) to forksclovetofu at gmail. It'll take five minutes; get to it!

Season two not happening. Total bullshit.

RIP Michael K Williams - lots of stuff being shared about how deep he went for the role of Ambrose

good interview w Williams & Majors touches on a lot of the emotional work they did

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/lovecraft-country-jonathan-majors-michael-k-williams-1235000962

*montrose, not ambrose sry

there was a zoom interview w the cast where william broke down talking about playing montrose - it’s v moving, you can tell the cast are very close

i can only find a clip, will try to find whole thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIL7irq3ZmA

just finished this season, thought it was great.

Episode 7: I am. was some of the best TV I've seen in ages.