'The Mist' Episode 10: 'The Tenth Meal'

And thus, the first season comes to an end.  It does so, not with a bang...but not exactly a whimper either.  There are parts that are good and continue to show promise, while other parts are just really, really, really stupid.

I was kind of disappointed that the episode didn't do more with the Alex/Eve/Adrian/Jay locked in a room together scenario.  It seemed like they could have built up tension as the truth slowly came out, but alas, the episode dodges it.  Adrian's logic behind beating Jay down with a can of paint (by the way...ow) is sound, but it still felt like a missed opportunity to me.

You really can't help but feel bad for Jay during this episode.  He really does get put through the ringer.  His "farewell" scene with his newly arrived dad was actually one of the episode's genuine highlights.  It was heart wrenching.  It seemed like he knew what his dad was planning, but it could have been genuine confusion, I don't know.  You really felt for both parties, it was well done.  What happens in the episode's closing act just makes it that much more so.

Another highlight was watching Kevin beat the crap out of Adrian.  Not going to lie, that was satisfying and incredibly entertaining.  A part of me was expecting Adrian to turn the tables, but Kevin never gave him the chance.  All Adrian could do was create a distraction that allowed him to escape.

I also rather enjoyed the moment when Natalie arrives at the mall and starts talking.  The look on everybody else's face as she starts talking about being nature's messenger and how she learned it from a spider really shows how far off her mental state has wandered.  It was a small moment, but I got a kick out of it.

Sadly, a lot of the episode's remainder falls flat.  The Jonah/newly revealed subordinate subplot was probably the most vexing.  Here was a chance for the writers to lay out some big reveals, but they instead decided to keep mum and try to hold the mystery.  In some instances that works, but this wasn't one of them.  The answers could easily be given now, but the narrative won't allow people to talk, so we won't get them.  It's lazy.

We do see the mist make one of its biggest moves yet.  It kills a bunch of people while Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" plays.  You might roll your eyes at the song's inclusion, as it seems like the song is often set to scenes like this, but it is a damn good song, so I'll commend them for including it.

The massacre just shows, though, how inconsistent the mist is.  Even after all this time it's still in "it does whatever the plot needs it to do" mode.  We've seen characters running through it multiple times with no problem.  Here, though, it turns into some ruthless murder machine that kills people en masse in rapid succession.  It would be chilling, but the monster is so ill defined that it's hard to get behind.

It turns out that not even Alex and Natalie are safe from it.  Where the mist actively avoided killing them before, it has no problems doing so here.  I said before that the writers have no clue what they want to do with the mist and this episode just proves it.  They're just throwing random stuff out there, hoping that it will make sense later.  Shows like "Lost" and "The X-Files" have been accused of a similar thing, but those were sooo much more tolerable than this is.

The episode's ending honestly could have fit a series finale.  It ends much like the story, with a group of characters escaping the crazy and driving off to see if the mist is finite.  I would have been happy with that.  I was kind of hoping that when the characters stopped and looked out the windshield in awe that we would see that six legged leviathan like in the movie; but alas, no dice.

Of course, the show wants a second season so it ends on a cliffhanger that reveals that the military is "feeding" the mist...prisoners, I think they were?  I can buy the military accidentally opening a hole in reality through some sort of experiment or them trying to create some chemical or biological weapon that goes horribly awry, but this seems like it's straining credibility by a wide margin.  

Do I want a second season? No, not particularly.  I don't think the show did enough to warrant one.  I don't even care if the cliffhanger goes unresolved.  There are some shows where that unresolved cliffhanger becomes incredibly frustrating (see "Sonic SatAM" or, until recently, "Young Justice".)  This, however, is not one of them.  I'm more than happy to see this get left behind, but we'll see what Spike decides to do.

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'The Mist' Episode 9: 'The Waking Dream'

The season hits its penultimate episode and it's....actually pretty good?  I was kind of surprised to see that in all honestly.  On the plus side, if there is a second season, this episode gives me hope that the show can work out its kinks and become a more engaging and enjoyable watch.

All of the individual sub-plots held their own.  Normally, one lags while the other moves, but this time equal care was given to all of them and it really worked to the show's benefit.

A lot of the characters are also starting to stand out more.  Vic, the game employee, is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters.  He's likable, adds some levity, and is pretty helpful in tight spots.  For somebody who started off as a no name background character, he's made serious strides as of late.

In a similar manner, Adrian has gone from being the bane of the show's existence to one of its stronger aspects.  The twist really did him some good as it adds whole new layers to Posner's portrayal.  The kid's a pathological liar who could give Walter White a run for his money.  We even see him rehearsing his lines at one point.  It makes what would have otherwise been a heartfelt reunion between two longtime friends into something very unsettling.

On other fronts, Natalie and her group venture through the sewers en route to the mall.  It was nice to see that the two others outside of the cop were still skeptical of Natalie's ramblings.  They raise eyebrows and point out the flaws in her logic.  It was nice to see that it was more of an alliance of convenience than actual faith in her cause.  Of course, you know what that means for these two. While they didn't have a whole lot of time to establish themselves, they served the purpose of showing how far off Natalie and the cop are in terms of mental stability and how determined they are to follow through with their whackadoo agenda.

The mall subplot is probably the weakest, as Alex is now public enemy number one thanks to Gus.  I do find it odd that he was surprised that people were worked into a frenzy over it, though he does at least suggest sending her out into the mist as a way to "avenge" Shelley's death without everyone turning rabid.  Oddly enough, the idea never comes up again and the angry mob acts like an angry mob, barring one woman who makes a somewhat sincere plea for Alex to just cop to it.

There are some upsides.  Mia and Jonah have a rather nice scene together.  It fleshed out the characters and showed how far the relationship has come.  Hopefully the show can deliver more scenes like that.

Speaking of scenes the show needs more of, we actually got some spooky and supernatural goings on in regards to the mist.  It's refreshing to see after the season has, by and large, ignored that plot point.  We also get some ominous warnings about something evil setting its sights on the main characters.

We also follow up on the military sub-plot that has largely been ignored.  The episode's final twist really doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  Wes attacking Jonah would have made sense if he was friends (or at least serving) with the original Bryan Hunt; but then we learn that Jonah is actually Wes' commanding officer.  If so, why did Wes beat the crap out of him?  Maybe soldiers think about doing that and he saw a chance to live out the fantasy?  It's weird.  If nothing else, this hints that the military might have something to do with what's going on.  Hopefully, it'll mean we get at least some answers in the near future.

The show is making a sincere effort to at least end things on a high note.  If there is going to be a second season, it's the best way to ensure its success.  Hopefully the final episode will be able to take the momentum that this episode provided and keep going with it.

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'The Mist' Episode 8: 'The Law of Nature'

The way this show is paced and structured is very odd.  We're eight episodes in, with just two episodes in the season remaining, and things are pretty calm.  You'd expect tensions to hit a fever pitch, but everybody seems pretty comfortable.  There's little in the way of threats, be they internal or external.

There's talk about how things are degrading at the mall, but we only get glimpses and a lot of those don't even make sense.  I can understand that one lady resenting Alex for being spared when her daughter died, but asserting that Alex is part of the mist is just stupid.  The fact that people start to go along with her is even stupider.

I said before that the show taking its time with the crumbling of polite society was going to work in the long run, but they overshot it and its moving too slowly.  It makes the attempts to depict that seem jarring and it makes the show feel very inconsistent.

There are bright spots, however; they come mostly in the episode's second half.  It, at least, allows the show to end on a high note as there are several "wham moments" presented in rapid succession.

If you haven't seen the episode yet, I'd advise watching it first before proceeding because we're going into spoiler territory here.








Ready?






Not yet?




OK, we should be good.


The first, and most notable, twist is the revelation that Adrian was the one who raped Alex at that party.  I'm not going to say that I called it, though apparently many did.  I did, however, hope that it was the case.  Having the popular quarterback do it would have been too cliche and Adrian started off as a very obnoxious character, so yeah I wanted him to turn out to be the villain of the piece.

How does he fare as such?  Well, it depends.  The twist doesn't really jibe with what we had seen before.  They try to throw in some last minute character development to justify it, but that should have been established and built upon throughout.  Although, it does put that mental patient's targeting of Adrian in an earlier episode in a very different context.

On the plus side, Russell Posner acted the hell out of those scenes.  You really believed that he was this broken, disturbed, desperate individual.  It managed to balance sympathy with creepiness (kind of like the mental patient who took him hostage) and it worked really well.

It gets even more unnerving when you see how he manipulates the people around him.  Adrian first convinces Kevin that he killed his dad in self defense, then after holding Kevin at gunpoint, Adrian knocks him out, leaves him to the mist and tells the others that Kevin was a victim of his father's fictitious rampage.  It's cold, calculating stuff.

In an odd parallel, we see Gus pull a similar stunt at the mall.  His murder of mourning mom could be seen as "justified" given that she was about to undermine his authority and exile him to the outside.  His telling the others that Alex did it just to save his own skin was just deplorable and low.  I remember a lot of reviewers commenting on the fact that his character was a spineless coward, but this was the first time when that character trait really became clear.  Honestly, his attempts to keep everybody calm and remain levelheaded were downright commendable in my opinion.

Frances Conroy continues to shine as Natalie.  She's probably the most developed character on the show as she has gone through notable changes as a result of what's happened.  Not only does she turn in a compelling performance, but she's also the only one who has any interest in finding out what the mist is all about.

We still know literally nothing about it, which at this point is ridiculous.  I'm not sure I buy the "black spring" idea.  I was OK with it when it was but one of many possibilities, but it seems like they're locking in to this being some form of "Gaia's revenge".   It could work if done right, but so far I don't think the writers are up to the challenge.

I don't see how what happened to Alex is the catalyst for this.  It seems too small.  Having it be Earth retaliating against mankind for pollution or something would have likely resulted in some eye rolling from the audience, but it's firmer ground than what Natalie is putting out there.

Of course, disagreeing with her at this point is a bad idea as she clearly has no qualms about locking you in a building and then setting the building on fire.  Which is kind of like what happened to Alex...huh.  Still, it was a pretty disturbing sequence and another one of the big moments that I referred to earlier.

It's clear that this won't be wrapping up in two episodes.  There's still so much that needs to be covered regarding the nature of the mist and the things that lurk within it.  I did like that this episode started having everybody converge on the mall.  I think it'll make for a more cohesive final two episodes.  I thought that expanding the scope would work in the show's favor, but that didn't really turn out to be the case.

I don't know if Spike signed for a second season.  At this point, it's hard to believe that it'll happen, but it could.  I don't know whether getting a second season or having it end here with so many open plot threads hanging is the worse option, but it's looking like those are the choices presented to us.

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'The Mist' Episode 7: 'Over the River and Through the Woods'

In comparison to the last couple of episodes, this one stands as a marked improvement.  That's not to say that it isn't without its faults, but it was a stronger hour on several fronts.

Pacing is still a problem, but at least here, the character dialogue exchanges are more interesting and have more purpose than most of what's come before.  Even if the plot hasn't advanced a whole lot, there was character growth for several people between the opening and closing credits of this episode.

Again, this episode goes for more of a "Walking Dead" approach, where it's more about the people than about the situation in which they find themselves.  If you're a fan of that, than this episode'll work for you.  If you're looking for supernatural horror, than this probably this isn't the episode for you.

Credit where it's due, though, Nash probably ranks as the show's best antagonist to date.  He comes off as so innocuous in his first scene that his sudden heel turn comes as a genuine surprise.  In hindsight, I really should have seen it coming as they are in the psych ward, but it still works really well.

The fact that he's both sympathetic and creepy adds to the whole scenario, as Kevin desperately tries to plead for Adrian's life.  When Nash takes him hostage in order to kill the evil out of him..or something.  It would have been interesting if their time in the mist did do something to him, but I'm guessing that it's just Nash's delusional psychosis at work

On other fronts, the conflict between the priest and Ms. Raven comes to a head, as the two pit their beliefs against each other in a life or death endeavor to determine the fate of the group.  It's a stupid idea that has no real basis in logic, but it is decisive and it allows that particular plot point to wrap up.

Alas, Father Bulldog is no longer with us.  It stinks.  It's total BS.  It, oh never mind.  Of course, he was going to be the one to die.  Frances Conroy is in the credits and he's a recurring guest star.  Even putting that aside, having him die is "symbolic" or whatever.  I suppose you could say that it's a nod to the scene when the monsters spared Mrs. Carmody, though this seems much less conclusive.

Moving back a bit, it was nice to see the cop instantly deduce what went down in the last episode just by watching the priest's behavior since.  You do feel bad for the father, as the cop rains down his own form of justice, but it could also be seen as satisfying, given what Ms. Raven endured from Link.

I don't understand how the mall is running out of food this quickly.  There aren't that many people there and there are lots of stores.  Even putting aside an entire freaking food court, there should be convenience stores with drinks and candy bars.  It's not the healthiest thing in the world, but they shouldn't be starving.  They try to hand wave this when one character accuses Eve and her camp of hoarding food, but even that seems like a stretch.

Speaking of, how long have they been there?  It's really hard to gauge the passing of time on this show.  It seems like it should have only been a few hours, but it could be days by this point.  We honestly have no way of knowing and that hurts the overall narrative as it seems like the devolution of society hasn't been given enough impetus.

The attempt to turn the mob against Eve and Alex also seems forced.  I get that the woman has a beef, as the mist killed her daughter and spared Alex, but her big speech was loaded with fallacies and poor arguments.

Even if we're to assume that Alex lied about being raped, how would that draw the mist?  Even on a show where several things make no sense, that stands out as one of the most nonsensical things we've seen on the show so far.

I have a feeling that this isn't going to be wrapping up in 3 episodes.  I could be wrong, but the way things are going, it seems like they're trying to get a second season.  Considering the source material is just a novella, a 10 part mini-series honestly seemed like the better way to go.  At least "Under the Dome" was a door stopper, so you could understand how a multi-season plot could develop from that.  I don't know if there's enough here to go another 10 episodes, but we'll see.

Hopefully, the final stretch of episodes can allow the show/season(?) to end on a high note.  This was a step up.  With any luck, the subsequent episodes will keep the momentum going.

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'The Mist' Episode 6: 'The Devil You Know'

As the series/season(?) enters its second half, one might expect tensions to increase, the pacing to pick up, you might even anticipate a big reveal.  This episode delivers...well none of that, really.

Even the meetup between "Bryan" and Bryan turns out anticlimactic as the two immediately come to blows.  I guess I can't fault the real Bryan for his reaction, but it's another missed opportunity for the writers.

Admittedly, it was a good fight, with both parties landing some solid hits before Bryan/Jonah ends it, but the kill is especially strange as Jonah wanted answers and killed the best lead he's had since he woke up in the woods.

From there, the episode just kind of lollygags.  It's a good long while before anything of note happens. You'd think that with 10 episodes and such a large cast, that things would be moving a bit faster, but such is not the case.

Thankfully, the episode does eventually get around to moving the plot forward, as Kevin is taken hostage by the doctor to be a test subject.  I can understand the doctor's desire to try to study the mist in order to better protect people, but looking at it from the viewer's perspective, it's clear that this is a futile endeavor.  The mist does whatever it wants whenever it wants with no particular rhyme or reason.  I did get a kick out of his assertion that he's not crazy.  He might be right, his reasoning was somewhat sound, but from Kevin's perspective, the issue was rather moot.  Once again, though, the mist itself doesn't seem to do anything so everybody's insistence that they can't let it touch them really seems unwarranted.

Mia's plot goes down as the episode's highlight.  Not only does it give us a brief glimpse into her history, but the scenes with the apparition of her mother are also fairly creepy.  It's not enough to turn the episode, or the show around, but it's something at least.

On the plus side, the episode doesn't really give us anything mindbogglingly stupid, like the last episode did.  The owl hallucination was weird and out of place, but that seemed somewhat intentional and gave the episode at least a brief dose of levity.

Odd as it may sound, there's not much else to say.  I mean, there were other subplots, but nothing that really stood out to me as warranting a mention.  I'm trying to care, and the show has moments, but this has been an underwhelming adaptation thus far.

As much as I'd love to say that we're coming to the conclusion, I have a suspicion that this will be spread out over 2 or 3 seasons.  Maybe it'll get better, but it doesn't seem like that's in the cards.

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'The Mist' Episode 5: 'The Waiting Room'

In lieu of jumping around from one group of survivors to the next, this episode puts its entire focus on one group, as Kevin and his crew reach a hospital to try and treat the gunshot wound that Bryan acquired in the last episode.

On some levels, this approach works to the episode's benefit.  We're able to spend more time on this group and get to know them more than we have when they were fighting two other camps for screen time.  This also allows for more momentum in terms of plot as we have a few revelations come to light.

One of the big whammies is that Bryan isn't Bryan.  Instead, he's someone named Jonah Dixon and Bryan Hunt lies injured in another hospital room.  Given the name, it's possible that they could have just had the same one, but the show seems to be going a different route.  It should lead to some more information about "Arrowhead" in the next episode as the two end the episode meeting face to face.

The episode actually seems to draw a lot from "The Walking Dead" in the way that its structured.  Whether you view that as a positive or a negative depends on your view of the show.  I don't know if I'd want to see every episode take this approach, but it worked here.

In order to keep the episode from getting too claustrophobic, we are given some flashbacks to Kevin and Eve's earlier days of marriage.  It allows us to see a world where the sun still shines and the couple are happy.  It was a breath of fresh air in all honesty.   As dour as things are, it helps to get a brief breather now and then.

It would have been nice if the previous episodes had better established Kevin's brother.  If the flashbacks hadn't reminded us that he was mentioned, I would have thought he came out of the blue.  It seems they're a tad estranged, so I guess that helps justify it, but I think it would have helped add to the emotional conflict in which Kevin finds himself.

For all the episode does well, when it goes awry, it goes really awry. Kevin's decision to perform surgery on his brother while a doctor instructs him over a radio headset is probably one of the dumber ideas presented.  If there was a live video feed, I might have been able to go along, but this was much harder to buy.  The fact that both the doctor and Kevin's brother point out that this is a stupid plan doesn't really help change the fact that it's a stupid plan.

The surgery itself was engaging in a gruesome way, but it still seemed like the stupid outweighed the tension.

Outside of that, Adrian takes a step backwards, coming off more like he did back in episode 1, when he was one of the show's most glaring flaws.  You still kind of feel bad for him when one of the jocks from episode 1 beats the crap out of him, but the ensuing love scene is just played weird.

Same goes for the hetero love scene between Kevin and Eve in the flashback.  This more because it came off as rather gratuitous, but it still has an odd vibe to it.  

As to the titular mist, it takes a backseat.  It's actually a plus, as when it does come to the forefront, it makes the episode more goofy than scary.  Any interest in the true nature of the mysterious fog wanes, as it is clear that even the writers don't know what the mist does or how it works.  Sometimes it makes monsters/killer animals/manifests the dead, sometimes it drives you crazy, sometimes it does nothing, and sometimes it rots your flesh.  There's no rhyme or reason to any of it.  Sure, it's a plot device, but they could at least try to hide the fact a little better.

We're halfway through.  Hopefully, the writers will be able to bring more cohesion and consistency to the show's second half.

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'The Mist' Episode 4: 'Pequod'

This episode is almost a mirror of its predecessor in many respects.  Where the last episode shined in the mall half, this one delivers a stronger plot in the church.

It was smart of the mall manager to alleviate tension by letting people relax and have fun using the location's resources.  It also made for a nice, light hearted scene as the people just relaxed and had some fun for the first time in what likely feels like a long while.

Sadly, that's where this chunk of the episode peaked.  They try to deliver another big scare moment, as a young girl is attacked by a shadow monster.  It fell flat, though, and ends up looking sillier than it should.  The effects budget (or more specifically, the limitations of said budget) were on full display.  The fact that the way the monster kills a young girl is by latching onto her face for a moment also does little to instill fear.

The episode does strongly suggest that the mist itself is the monster and everything else is just an extension of its being.  The creature only appears in the mist and said mist appears to chase people.  It's still fairly early, but things do seem to be going in that direction.

There's a fair bit of humans being monsters as well to balance it out.  Frances Conroy's Mrs. Raven continues to shine.  I like her better than Carmody.  Her more subdued presentation is much more unnerving than the raving lunacy of the character in the source material.

As unnerving as she is, there's still a sympathy there.  You can see why she's cracked the way she has and it makes for a more compelling character arc.  The episode also does a better job of showing how she acquires her disciples as we see the cop become her first in this new spiritual(?) view of the world.

I also found the talk of this being the prophesied end times made manifest rather unnerving.  It's supposed to be and it's just conjecture, but it does add some weight and scope to what the characters are up against.

On other fronts, we see the mall banish a person for accidentally letting the mist in.  While the rule about doing things that hurt the group was well established, this did seem like a case of extenuating circumstances.  I don't think they've even established that the mist itself was dangerous.  I mean, people have been walking around in it and been OK...for the most part.  It just seems inconsistent.

I actually kind of side with the banished guy and think that he got a bum rap.  The group does give him a couple of days food and a means of defending himself (a baseball bat, but it's better than nothing) but it still seems like a cruel thing to do.

On the plus side, I was right in the fact that I couldn't "unsee" Bulldog.  Oddly, enough, that worked in the episode's favor.  The show was already doing a pretty good job with his character but seeing him in the new light made his scenes more entertaining for me.

This episode actually branches into a third camp as Mia, Kevin, Adrian, and Kevin camp out in a garage after fleeing the church.  They run into a man looking for his son, who they know is dead.  It was a bit too coincidental that they had come across the corpse just before he showed up.

While he does eventually come into conflict with the main group, you can certainly see his side.  He was really low on gas and he even notes that Kevin would do the same thing to find his kid.  It's a shame that they couldn't find a way to keep him around as he had been generally likable up to that point.  Who knows, maybe the show'll keep following him and a fourth group will form for the show to follow.

Alas, this was the weakest episode to date.  It had moments here and there, but overall it was lackluster.  Hopefully things pick up as the series (season?) moves into its second half.

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'The Mist' Episode 3: 'Show and Tell'

Where the last episode showed us escalating tension and fraying nerves, this one takes a step back to present a quieter, more introspective piece.  It's not bad, but it does seem a bit oddly placed.

On the plus side, it pays dividends on the character front as the various strangers start to bond and form stronger connections.  Still, it feels lackluster compared to what came before and I don't think this will go down as one of the show's more memorable episodes in the long run.

Between the two settings (mall group and church group) the mall sections were certainly the stronger. It just seems like there's more going on there and it gives the show more momentum.  The characters themselves are also more proactive.  They set goals and try to do things.  The church group is largely content to just sit around.  It allows for quiet character drama, but it still isn't as engaging.

They do, at least, bare witness to the first legitimate supernatural event and suggestion of otherworldy creatures.  A moth-like thing flies into a guy's ear, multiplies and rips the guy apart from the inside.  We even see said man sprout butterfly like wings.  At first, I thought he was going to turn into something, making the "humans are the monsters" concept a bit more literal, but he just dies. I'd say that would be too on the nose, but I don't think it would be that far outside the realm of possibility.

OK, random tangent, the guy who plays the priest is Dan Butler, aka Bulldog from Frasier. I really do need to pay attention to the credit scrawls, because I honestly didn't notice that. Now I'm going to be  waiting for him to break down and declare that this stinks and that it's total BS.  I'm not joking, this revelation is going to alter how I view any scene with him from here on out. I guess it's to his credit as an actor that he "disappeared" into the role the way he did, so there's that.  I don't know if I'm going to be able to "unsee" it, though.

While this is presented as a horror series, there are bits of comedy that pop up.  Some levity is good, but not all of it seems intentional.  The sight of the mall group releasing a fleet of helium filled balloons is presented as somber and serious, but it didn't come off that way to me.  Seeing as the balloons were red, my brain immediately made reference to the far more upbeat German pop song.  I don't know if they released 99 of them, though it didn't look like it.

The episode tries its hand at lore building, with one character bringing up a local fairy tale about a similar incident.  I don't know if it will go anywhere and I'm not sure on whether or not it should even tie in.  I guess we'll have to see how it plays out.

We're only three episodes in and you can already see who the highlight characters are going to be.  Natalie and the mall manager have consistently been the strongest elements.  Credit goes to Frances Conroy and Isiah Whitlock jr.  The prior is developing a creepy detachment from humanity and a fascination with what's happening.  The latter, meanwhile, is just an average guy trying to maintain some semblance of order in an incredibly chaotic situation.  You can't help but feel bad for the guy.

Overall, this episode is good, but it wasn't quite as strong as its predecessor in my opinion.  The character development will likely pay dividends down the line, but it also resulted in a slower paced episode.  We'll have to see what approach the next episode takes.

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'The Mist' Episode 2: 'Withdrawal'

It's been a while, so I was worried that I was going to have a hard time getting into this episode.  You could say I was a little foggy on the details.  Thankfully, the episode does a good job of reminding you what's up with each batch of characters.

Even better, there is a marked improvement in the writing.  The dialogue sounds a lot more realistic and there are less cringe-inducing moments.  Even the bisexual goth kid talks like an actual human being.

With the titular mist now looming, the tension starts to escalate.  People now have enough reason to be unnerved and it only gets worse as the body count starts to rise.  As the show has more time, it's able to show the fear slowly start to set in.   The cast don't go into full panic mode and steps are taken to try to keep everybody calm.  I think it's going to work out in the long run as it seems more believable than everybody turning on each other immediately.  There's still some sniping and snap judgments, so the seeds are definitely being planted, but it isn't in full bloom yet.

The one plot development I didn't get regarded Clint.  He tries to contact "Arrowhead" and proceeds to try and kill Eve for no explicable reason.  Why didn't he just say he was in the military and trying to contact somebody when she first got suspicious as a way to allay her fears? If it's a matter of her knowing too much due to her listening in, why did he say anything to begin with?

The only thing I can think is the "ARR" that was written suggests he's connected.  However, that doesn't work either as they never clearly deciphered that.  To me it looked, oddly enough, like "AMC" anyway, so I'm surprised they did as well as they did in picking up the intent.

Still no monsters, but there is a lot of talk about something in the mist.  The causes of death also suggest something more than crazy gas or an animal.  We do also get what appears to be a hallucination of a deceased relative that, in one of the episode's big wham moments, turns out to be not so hallucinatory.  Again, though, the increased time span allows for more of a slow burn that works rather well here.

On a more trivial note, I was surprised that the drone fared as well as it did.  It gets stuck, but they never lose the feed.  In situations like this, it almost always cuts to static, usually just after hearing some ungodly noise.  I guess they figured that would be the obvious route and decided to subvert the trope.

I was also surprised that those who the episode suggests are tied to Arrowhead kill themselves so quickly.  You'd think they'd want them around to either stir up conflict or at least drop an exposition bomb or two.  This seems like a bigger missed (or mist?) opportunity in the long run, but we'll see how it plays out.

All in all, though, I thought this was a strong outing.  It worked out the kinks seen in the pilot episode and managed to get me more invested in what's coming up.  It also does a surprisingly good job of juggling a large cast of characters.  Even the one or two line background characters still feel distinct and manage to convey a lot in a short amount of time.  That's not an easy feat to achieve, so kudos for that.

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'The Mist' Episode 1: 'Pilot'

Spike TV's adaptation of Stephen King's 'The Mist' premiered on Thursday and the results are...mixed.

I try to be more lenient on pilots, and first seasons of TV shows in general.  It usually takes some time for the writers to get into their grooves and for the characters to find their place.  Given that this is likely a mini-series (though 'Under the Dome' started off that way only to get two more seasons) I don't know if we can grant it that same consideration.

In any event, there are parts of this that worked and other parts that didn't.  A lot of the episode is spent establishing the characters and showing us what life is like before the titular mist arrives to screw everything up.

That's actually not a bad thing as, by and large, this episode does a good job of showing us a town full of generally good people.  It makes the eventual turn that much more noticeable, in contrast to "Needful Things" where the characters were already unlikable and only got worse.

The number of characters does become a bit of a problem.  The bigger cast has its benefits.  You can tell a bigger story and present a diverse cast of new, original characters.  However, with only so much screen time, only a few are fully established.  Honestly, even naming most of them would prove difficult without looking it up.  I'm pretty sure that, as the story goes on, they will leave more of a lasting impression, so that kink should work itself out over time.

The thing that really hurts the pilot is the script itself.  Some of the dialogue is pretty cringe inducing.  You can tell the writer has a Tumblr account, as the episode often times bends over backwards to throw in some reference to that particular world view.  When readers and viewers express the desire for writers to keep their politics out of their work, this stands as a prime example as to why.  

Sadly, even the scares are hit or miss.  There's a general foreboding atmosphere that works, but other "horrifying" elements didn't.  Mrs. Carmody's face as she charged at the door after venturing into the mist is more likely to elicit chuckles than revulsion.  The fact that everybody stood around watching as if they were anticipating something bad happening also made the scene feel a bit staged.

Is it weird that one of the highlights for me was the scene where the cop goes out to start taking selfies when the mist first hits?  It's so random and comes out of nowhere.  The rest of the episode takes itself so seriously that such a moment of silliness really stood out.

One of the things that I (and many others) noted when watching the trailers was the lack of monsters.  It got to the point where I was convinced that there weren't going to be any monsters and the mist was just going to drive people crazy.

At this point, we still don't know and I'm guessing it's intentional as to let the mystery linger.  Some characters do appear to have gone insane, but others are able to walk around with no problem (maybe prolonged exposure is what does it?)  We don't see any monsters, but one guy does get attacked by insects, suggesting that nature itself will be the external threat.  That could prove to be incorrect too in the long run, at this point it's too soon to tell.

Speaking of too soon, the characters act as if they know that the fog is evil when there is little evidence of it.  I get why Brian is ranting about it, but to most of the people, it's just fog.  We the viewer know that it brings evil and death, but they shouldn't yet.

All in all, this episode had some notable flaws.  Thankfully, it didn't get to the point where I was ready to write off the show just yet.  It has potential, but it's up to the show to work out the kinks and focus on what did work in order to tap into it.

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'The Mist' TV Series Third Trailer Reaction

Yesterday, a new trailer for Spike's upcoming TV adaptation of 'The Mist' hit.  It makes sense, as the release date draws ever closer to give us some new material to entice viewers.

Of the three, I think that this is the most well put together trailer.  It does a better job of establishing what the viewers are in for without walking them through the plot point by point.  While it does show various locales, it doesn't just jump around randomly.  It allows us to become more engaged and it also makes certain scenes more tense.

This trailer also does the best job of establishing characters.  Even though only a handful are named, we can see how they relate to and interact with one another.  It's a big step up on that front.

Considering the fact that one of the biggest criticisms of the other trailers was the lack of monsters, I was hoping to see more on that front.  There is talk of things in the mist, and we get a couple of shots that could suggest such creatures.  A lot of time is dedicated to showing people wanting to arm themselves in order to prepare for what's coming, so it does seem like the producers were listening to some extent.

However, they still seem to put more emphasis on the idea that the mist is just driving people crazy.  The trailer does make a point to say that this is a "re-imagining" so, really, it is looking like that's how they're going to play it.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.  Viewers can still get hallucination "monsters" while providing a more grounded context for what's happening.  Whether that ends up being more or less frightening depends on individual viewer sensibilities as well as how the show ends up executing the concept.

At face value, it seems like a step backward, but the original story does also put emphasis on the whole "humans are the real monsters" trope, so it could choose to put its weight behind that.

Where the first trailer suggested that "Arrowhead" was going to play a larger role in the narrative, this suggests more of a "Gaia's revenge" style plot, where nature turns against us.  You could see it as a nod to "Pet Sematary" but with what we see here, it's too vague to determine whether that was intentional or pure coincidence.

It's quite possible that, much like the source material, the cause is left vague and this is merely another means of explaining what's happening.  Really, we'll have to watch to see how it unfolds.

Of the three, I think this does the best job of piquing interest.  It does try to address the criticisms of the other trailers as best as it can and feels the most connected to the source material.  There's still room for the show to fall flat, but it is good to see the promos are getting stronger with each release.  I remain cautiously optimistic about this.







Read my reaction to the first trailer here.


Read my reaction to the second trailer here.

















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'The Mist' TV Series Second Trailer Reaction

And the trailers just keep coming.  Not to be outdone by the second trailer for 'IT', Spike released another teaser for its upcoming television adaptation of 'The Mist'.  Should I expect new trailers for 'The Defenders' and 'The Dark Tower' as well?  At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised.

As to this trailer in particular, it's a mixed bag.  It falls into the "jumpy" trap, but I think it does a better job of building up tension than when the first trailer or the second 'IT' trailer used a similar tactic in their respective latter halves.  At the same time, it would be nice if the trailer would stay focused on one thing for more than three seconds.

The thing that stands out the most here is the gore.  There is quite a bit of it on display. The original short story and the film weren't exactly lighthearted romps, but it does seem like they're trying a bit too hard.  The effects do look decent, so there is that, at least.

Still no monsters.  We do see some weird stuff, but there's no hint of otherworldly creatures.  Again, it seems like the mist is going to be driving people crazy.  I mean, I guess that's a way to go, but it seems like a completely independent story in its own right, as opposed to an adaptation of an already existing story.

Where the second 'IT' trailer shined by showing the characters, this one does very little of that.  There are some scenes that mirror the film, so you can kind of get a better idea of who's who.  Still, there's not a whole lot on that front that is particularly impressive, outside of the actress playing who I assume is Mrs. Carmody.  

Alas, this trailer doesn't give us a whole lot to work with in any capacity.  Its structure doesn't allow for us to get an idea of how the show will fare, either good or bad.  All we really got from this was violence and a continued lack of monsters.





You can see my reaction to the first trailer here.
















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'The Mist' TV Series Trailer Reaction

The first trailer for the upcoming television adaptation of "The Mist" hit the internet earlier today.  As such, I figured, much like I did with the trailer for 'IT', I'd offer my thoughts on this one.

I was skeptical about this.  We got a solid film adaptation and while Darabont is very reliable, it seemed like bringing him in was redundant.  Granted, I was going to watch it anyway, but I didn't think it would be anything too special.

On the plus side, it seems like this isn't so much an adaptation as an alternate take.  There are a lot more characters and locations that seem to be in play.  It makes sense, this is a 10 episode mini-series and focusing that long in just a grocery store would have resulted in slow pacing and potential boredom.  Doing it this way gives the writers more to work with, keeps the viewers engaged, and gives us a better idea of what the town as a whole is enduring.

It's hard to tell, as no character is named, but it doesn't seem like any of the characters from the story are going to appear.  That one woman may be Mrs. Carmody, but beyond that, there wasn't anyone that stood out.  Considering the cast in the story are largely everyday joes, it probably isn't that big a deal, but it does seem worth noting.

It does seem like Arrowhead is going to be getting a lot more focus.  It was an afterthought in the book and movie, but with the extra time, giving it some more focus makes sense.  While it was the assumed cause of the whole fiasco, there was some ambiguity.  I wonder if that's going to remain intact.  It's as good an explanation as any and if they are going to spend more time on it, they might as well make it the official cause.

Actually, as noted in the comments, you don't see any monsters.  I'm not sure whether that was the right play or not.  On the one hand, you could argue that the imagination makes it scarier.  On the other, a lot of dialogue suggests that the mist is just driving people crazy.  It sounds like it has some sentience, but I think viewers might find it lacking if there aren't any legit extra-dimensional monsters lurking around.

The first half is much stronger, if you ask me.  It does a better job of building up a foreboding atmosphere.  As you move further in, it's just cuts to random things and it loses some of its power.

Also, the fact that it uses the 'BAAAUUUM' effect will likely divide people.  You could be like me and find it funny, but if you're legitimately annoyed by it, than I could see it being marked as a strike against the show right off the bat.

While this is the sort of story where a smaller budget shouldn't necessarily hurt it, you can still tell that this was made on a TV budget.  It's apparent by both the shooting style and the acting, which pale in comparison to the movie.

All in all, this trailer doesn't really give me an idea on how the show will turn out.  I could still see it going either way.  The comments are negative, and while I was whelmed, I didn't hate it.  I wasn't blown away by any stretch, but there wasn't really anything that made me call bullcrap or anything like that.  It would have been nice to get a better grasp on some of the characters, but at least it didn't fall into the trap of summarizing the whole show.

We'll have to see how it plays out when it premieres at the end of June.

















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