itt we talk about Enlightened on HBO, seasons 1-1000000

yes, he for sure is to blame also but it's something he never would've done without her suggestion. and there was an imbalance of power there, both because she's a guest and he's a service worker, and because he clearly was falling in love with her.

the one thing about this show that always annoyed me: that family was too rich that they would've just had a one bedroom suite for 5 people!!!!!

YES

omg yes

honestly 90% of why i watched this show all the way through was to get a weekly fix of ocean footage

and because he clearly was falling in love with her.

idk abt this, figured Kai wld be happily boning his way through a different daughter or daughter’s friend every week. I assumed he was totally thrown by her expressing concern about his continued existence after she left for a change

as a bonus, here is an exchange from that conversation that was edited out, but which I know has been the source of some questions #TheWhiteLotus https://t.co/W2MV9mq8qv pic.twitter.com/sSsxFKWqEO

— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) August 16, 2021

^ re why the family was in a 1 bedroom suite

i loved every second of this show & it should have its own thread frankly but it did feel a little off the way that quinn's story became more dominant over the course of the season culminating in being the final shot. like, "kid who is glued to screen and then is exposed to nature and has his world changed" is prob the least interesting social/cultural phenomenon being explored in the show, to me. i liked him running off at the end bcuz it sort of begs you to picture a version of home alone 4 being spun off from white lotus but ending the show w/ a shot of them all rowing in the canoe felt a bit ham handed to me. otherwise, no notes!

i actually thought there was an ambiguity in the final scene between rachel and shane, the way that rachel says "i'm going to be happy. don't worry about me. i will be happy." left me wondering whether she was referring to getting back into the relationship or her life after him, trying to make him feel like he wasn't to blame. but then i watched the little thing after the episode and mike white was talking about them being back together.

oh i missed that ambiguity but you're right, and I think the ambiguity works even if IN THAT MOMENT she has decided they're staying together, surely it's clear that the matter is not Now Settled For Good

yeah quinn’s arc was a deep eyeroll for me

also i cant imagine having Quinn on the longboat crew helped at all except maybe as ballast lol

new thread here: “Sorry That Chaise Is Taken. But You’re A Very Pretty Man”: A Thread for White Lotus on HBOMax

xp As with everything White does I ask myself "what is NOT on screen (because it's not in Quinn's mind) about what the other canoe rowers actually think about Quinn?" Seems relevant and is part of the arc.

great thread title

if someone would maybe c&p all the convo itt over to the new thread aka the pineapple suite that would be great

I can't think of any other series with such a bizarre POV and treatment of its main character. Are we meant to sympathize/empathize with her? Are we meant to agree with her? Is she a hero? If so then why is she so fucking annoying? Why does it so often seem like it is mocking her?

― akm, Thursday, January 31, 2013 10:54 PM (eight years ago) bookmarkflaglink

I am watching this show now and am about here^ with my assessment so a little confused. Also very amused there is a post from 2013 that is so exactly a print out of my current thoughts watching this.

I kind of hate it when people say things like this, but: that ambiguity was the point of the show imo

That's kind of neat, but it's a weird experience!

Beyond the ambiguity in and of itself, I think there is a point in there about the Catch-22 of intolerable people and obnoxious behavior being necessary in order to take a stand against the things in our world that are intolerable and obnoxious. But it has been a long time since I watched the show

eh not really a catch-22. remove that part of the sentence

it's a weird experience!

Definitely, it's a singular show. I haven't watched White Lotus yet so I don't know how similar they are, but I think Dern should get a lot of credit for why Enlightened is so striking, though I also think the supporting cast are all really great (I esp love the manager guy who was also on Undeclared).

intolerable people and obnoxious behavior being necessary in order to take a stand against the things in our world that are intolerable and obnoxious

Yes exactly. I think at a macro thematic level the show is about what it means to be good/ethical in a corrupt world where most people would prefer not to think about the bad/unethical. But then because it's not just a morality play, they smartly choose to make Dern's character complicated and not easy to root for. So you're forced to think through why you find her "fucking annoying"

my feelings about that show obviously changed after that post, and I'm more comfortable now with the ambiguity with which White treats his characters.

i loved this show, tempted to rewatch to see how MY feelings have changed

S1 e4 is good, Luke Wilson does coke in a motel and tells a long loud story about a dog jumping into a lake, then Laura dern hugs a pillow and starts crying

haven't watched in forever but i do remember those luke wilson scenes playing a key role in making the whole show feel more light and floaty and surreal. so much more nuanced and hard to pin down than white lotus

TIL mike white is the guy across from Dern at her work lol

also really enjoyed robin wright as hippie friend