Evil - 177 Minutes

Discussing Ep. 1.2 - So I feel like this episode was better than the premiere episode. We got to see a little more into the lives of not only David and Kristen, but also of Ben, the assistant, as well. While they again did not go much into Kristen's expertise, for whatever reason I didn't notice it as much in this episode. Perhaps because there was so much else going on. But I like how they're further establishing Kristen as a resourceful person in her own right, willing to investigate matters herself to see if what she's experiencing is real or something psychological (as she did with the scary movie). As it seems to be their modus operandi so far, they present the cases as having a supernatural explanation, only to debunk it at the end with a more natural and rational one. At the same time, they leave some loose ends that seemingly have no natural explanation and leave it as a potential supernatural one.

I was surprised they revisited George. I pretty much thought that was an open-shut case from the last episode but they revisited it with Laura, the youngest daughter, seeing him in her nightmares too. While it was interesting that both Kristen and Laura may have endured the same nightmare because of that scary movie, the loose end they left behind was the fact that Laura insisted that she did not wet her bed, and that it was the demon who did it. That plays into what George did in the last episode, taking a piss in the corner of Kristen's bedroom, only for Kristen to put it down to rainfall coming in through the window. I'd be interested to see if George is gone for good at this point or if he will have a bigger part to play.

Speaking of George and the dream world, it was a bit cheap of them to have Kristen dream about George knocking on her door and then running through the house into the kid's bedroom. I have said this before on different sites and I will say it again.....nobody has dreams as linear or as coherent as that. To date, the ONLY show that I have ever watched that got dream sequences (or at least the feel of one) right was Buffy. The episode where Buffy meets the First Slayer....I remember watching that episode and how fucked up it was and thinking that it was really bizarre as a dream sequence, only to realize that THAT was exactly how dreams are. You go from being in your own house to a house that looks nothing like your house but you accept it as your house anyway. You go from daytime to nighttime in an instant and you don't take notice of it. You go from being in your own room to being at work or at school and it all seems natural. I wish more shows would depict dream sequences like that because that's how they truly operate.

I'm a bit iffy on Townsend. While I do like his demeanour since you wouldn't expect a guy like him to essentially be the Devil, he's coming off a tad bit too cocky and cavalier for my tastes. The idea that he's out there to make sure bad people go free and good people go to jail is a tad bit one dimensional. While chalking it all down to him being a psychopath is somewhat handy, I'd prefer if he were more ambiguous in both his demeanour and his objectives. I'd prefer that you didn't know WHAT he is, with both David and Kristen themselves trying to figure it out (if only Kristen at this point). That's how evil truly operates.....masquerading as either righteous or, at worst, benign. Him revealing his hand and malicious intents so early in the season doesn't jive with what the show is about....blurring the lines between science and the supernatural. Then again, perhaps that's the point with Townsend. Perhaps he isn't the Devil or even possessed and is just some crazy guy looking to cause trouble. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

As I predicted, they're trying to create this sexual/romantic tension between David and Kristen, with David just flat out trying to abstain from sexual thoughts altogether.....at least that's what we were led to believe. And perhaps there is that temptation as well considering Townsend was there, mocking David as he prayed, briefly recounting the thrills of sex. It was rather surprising, therefore, that David's true temptation, at least for this episode, was hallucinogenics. I like how they're now blurring the lines for him, whether he is truly experiencing God or is it all down to drugs. I can see that playing a big role down the road for Kristen as she no doubt sees David as a this rock, and this steadfast man of faith who may just be some guy who is delusional based on the drugs he's taking.

The other swerve, of course, was the actual "miracle" of that girl, Naomi, coming back from the dead as being little more than racist practices on the part of the hospital. That really came out of nowhere and although it was good as an explanation as to what happened, it felt jarring. And yet, once again they leave this loose end in regard to the film footage of that ghost visiting Naomi. It's interesting that the Church wasn't keen on investigating that further. And Ben himself was frustrated beyond measure that he couldn't rationally explain what he saw in that video. Whether they will debunk or confirm it later on is something we will have to tune in to find out, which is good. I like that bit of mystery, but I do hope they revisit it as well as that alcoholic priest! His statement that "God never liked me" was intriguing, especially as it seems like he's performing miracles, being treated by church members like he's Jesus or something. I'm curious to know if he has a bigger role as well.

I also liked that they broached the subject of prayer. They didn't get into a long discussion about it but they didn't shy away from it either. I liked Kristen's point of view on it and her dilemma regarding her youngest daughter potentially not making it to the age of twenty and how ineffectual prayer really seems. David didn't have an answer or a comeback and I liked that too, that he didn't go into some long diatribe about faith and trust. He just didn't know how to explain prayer and what it does or why people do it. It was refreshing.

Overall, I liked this episode. They're laying the groundwork for some tension between David and Kristen, especially with this newfound addiction to hallucinogenics. Plus, they drop little mysteries like David's second vision of God. I do wonder if that has something to do with the drugs. Will George come back? Will the other daughters be affected by what is happening?

I like that they've left some questions open.

Bedtime Stories - YouTube Channel

I'm usually not one to promote a YouTube channel because very rarely does one particular channel stand out and captures my attention.

This channel is the exception.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCD4-G3Aokt2sM7TYQV2HmA

It's a channel dedicated to exploring stories and incidences from a variety of different subjects, including UFO's, alien abduction, unsolved mysteries, true crime, popular hauntings, ghost sightings, urban legends, cultural folkore and more.

What makes this channel stand out from other channels that explore similar subjects is how they present the material.

1) While you can sit back and listen to the narration alone, you'd be missing out on the animation and drawings which is very well done and adds a certain creepiness element to the storytelling. However, the creepiness is not the only thing that the animation adds. When they're retelling an incident that requires a visual of a map, the drawing and animation gives the viewer a better understanding of the circumstances of an incident through the use of maps and other visual aids. I find this to be immensely helpful when trying to see it in my head what exactly happened in a particular story.

2) They cover stories I'd never even heard of. While they do cover popular subjects like the Men in Black, the Bermuda Triangle, the Man from Taured, the Mandela Effect, the Mothman legend and other well-known mysteries, they also present stories that are lesser-known which gives the channel a fresh feel to it where you're not hearing the same old, same old. And even the more popular stories they do cover are approached from a different angle that makes it feel new.

3) They explore all the angles of a mystery, including reasons why a story might not be true or why popular theories regarding a story may, in fact, be false. The channel is not afraid of debunking theories through sceptic's arguments, showing why a supernatural/paranormal/extraterrestrial explanation may not be the correct one. In the end, they allow the viewer to make up his/her own mind with the evidence presented. With certain mysteries, like the Dyatlov Pass Incident, they will present explanations that completely debunk popular theories that are rooted in the extraordinary, taking a more balanced and fair approach to the evidence and theories that seek to explain why an event happened. This helps to make those stories that seemingly have no natural or rational explanation all the more interesting, if not frightening, since all one is left with is an extraordinary explanation that is rooted in the supernatural.

4) They treat the stories, circumstances and victims of the stories with respect. While during the storytelling, they do add elements or present it in a way that adds dramatic effect, they do not do what I see other channels and websites do in regards to exploring these mysteries. It's easy to become fascinated with the more fantastical elements of a particular story or incident, trying to figure out why or how a particular mystery occurred, overlooking the fact that someone (or several people) actually died. This channel doesn't do that. They consistently remind the audience how real people died real deaths in many of these cases and as such, are not to be brushed aside as some trivial detail of a story. They pay their respects to the victims and families of the victims of these mysteries and that's something I have tremendous respect for and find quite honourable. That alone sets them apart from all the rest.

So if you're into mysteries and the supernatural/paranormal or UFO's and such, I highly recommend viewing the videos on this channel. The videos are relatively short, often no more than 20 minutes. And some of them I do not recommend watching alone at night. There were some stories that I watched where I was looking over my shoulder, investigating noises in my room, wondering if perhaps one of these strange urban legends or folklore monsters had come to visit me.

It was....unsettling!

Evil - Pilot Episode

Discussing Ep. 1.1 - So considering the premise of this show combines psychology and the paranormal, two subjects I have an interest in, I decided to take a stab at it and see what it was all about.

I have to say, my feelings on it are a bit mixed.

Honestly, my first impressions of it are that it's sort of like a direct-to-DVD horror/suspense kind of film, but in TV form. The beginning of it was a bit jarring, if not cliche in terms of the various elements that they are assigning to the characters and the overall show.

The main character, Dr. Kristen Bouchard, felt really undefined in this first episode. I don't know how else to describe it. It felt cliche that she should be a single mom, even though she's still technically married to a man who is apparently away on Mt. Everest giving hiking tours, sending support cheques while she is left to raise their four daughters. I don't get why it has to be FOUR daughters. One or two kids would have sufficed to show her financial burdens, so I don't get why four daughters are required. The 'husband' element, as well as her past as a mountain climber, kind of felt tacked on for the sake of making her different. Maybe it will play a role later on but it just made her feel like a made up character rather than someone you'd meet in real life.

Furthermore, why it felt like she was rather undefined was because the 'psychology' part of it all wasn't shown as much as the paranormal part was. Her role as a forensic psychologist wasn't really displayed as well as it could have been. Yes, we saw her interview Orson and do a sort of psychological analysis on him and we saw her testify in court, but I never got the impression that she was THAT much of an expert in her field. They focused a bit too much on her home life (or lack thereof) and her financial burdens and less on her psychological expertise. What they should have gone for was a sort of Mulder/Scully dynamic between Acosta and Bouchard. They did a decent job with Acosta, but with Bouchard, I felt like they focused too much on her backstory and less on what she brought to the table in terms of her psychology expertise and science. I wasn't a fan of how easily she dismissed her disbelief in the paranormal or supernatural, even within the first few minutes of the episode when she inexplicably makes the sign of the cross on the table for Orson to react to. That didn't make much sense.

As for David Acosta, again it felt a bit like a standard trope. A good-looking, young man who seemingly suffered some kind of romantic tragedy and is now dedicating his life to becoming a (I'm assuming) celibate priest. It's obvious they're trying to set up this romantic dilemma between Acosta and Bouchard and my intelligence feels insulted as a result. I think that's what my problem was from the beginning as far as these characters go....all of it feels like a big set up that you can see from a mile away. I have no doubt that Bouchard and Acosta will start developing feelings for each other, which will come into conflict with Acosta's desire to become a priest as well as Bouchard's marriage vows, especially when her husband comes back into her life at a critical point between Bouchard and Acosta's relationship. Now, I could be wrong about all of that and they'll throw a curve ball, but that's how it's looking to play out right now.

Even Acosta's assistant, Ben Shroff, who works as the non-believer and debunker of the duo, fills a standard trope of the typical sidekick. He's unassuming, not eye-catching attractive as Acosta is, and is just there to collect a paycheque and "kill Santa Claus" (I liked that line though). I'm sure we'll get some more details on him as the series goes on but you don't get more sidekick-y that that!

And finally, Dr. Leland Townsend....he REALLY came out of nowhere! I didn't like that as I thought it felt contrived and didn't set him up as the Big Bad, as it were, very well. Now, perhaps that's on purpose considering what his true nature is supposed to be, but I thought they could have done it better. We'll see what he has to offer down the line.

Having said all that though, it wasn't all bad or cliche. What I did like was how they went about debunking all the paranormal elements, giving a logical explanation for ALMOST everything. One of the things that caught my attention were the names of the demons. Having studied this for some years, I know that demons rarely have proper names unless they are Biblical names like Azazel or Abaddon. Otherwise, their names will have something to do with the type of possession (one case I read about was a demon who caused a girl to smile this weird smile, and so the demon's name was "Smiler...because we smile!"). So a demon named George or Roy wasn't consistent, though I did like that for some reason.

As for George.....the makeup itself wasn't impressive. Maybe back in the 90's, this would have been scary but for 2019, it's pretty standard stuff. However, I did like his demeanour which was more casual than anything else. It's funny because the actor, Marti Matulis, tends to play these kinds of monsters. But really, he looked like a rejected Orc from Lord of the Rings.

What I will say though is that scene where he has a knife to Bouchard's fingers and is slicing in between the webbed part.....that made me wriggle my hand a few times! This was pretty graphic for a TV show but it's shown on CBS All Access so perhaps that's why.

Speaking of that scene, I LOVED the fact that Bouchard proved Batman right! When I was a kid, I remember watching an episode of Batman: The Animated Series, where Batman is living in a dream world where his parents didn't die and he never became Batman. Long story short, he figures out it's a dream because he couldn't read the newspaper. He then states that it's impossible to read in a dream. I parroted that for years, because Batman said so! I was ridiculed because my source for that info was a cartoon but NOW, Bouchard proved me and Batman right! Top points for that!

But yeah, they set up all the elements as being supernatural and then went and knocked each one of them down, except for Townsend, which they left us wondering whether he is possessed or not. I liked that.

What I also liked was their observation regarding evil spreading. Townsend is a "connector," as Acosta described him, connecting evil people together. He noted how the world is becoming more evil and Bouchard observed how social media is making that easier. That's very true. People of specific beliefs, regardless of what they are, are finding it easier to connect to other like-minded people, enabling their beliefs and creating a larger community. It's rather depressing because it's such a dangerous element that we can no longer control.

Overall, I think the show has promise. I can't say that this first episode was a knockout because it wasn't, but it could just be premiere jitters. I think there's a lot of fertile ground that they can play with. Psychopaths and sociopaths commit atrocities and horrific crimes literally without a care in the world. Why? Psychologically, they don't feel empathy. Some don't know right from wrong. We live in a world where full-blown narcissists are in high positions of power and it's highly unsettling. The actions of these individuals, who don't care and have no love or empathy for the ones they hurt....their acts are often called "inhumane," because it seems like they have no humanity in them. It's those times when they remind me of the demonic: beings who have no love in them and know only hate, only anger, only rage, only self and feed off of the suffering and misery of others. 

I think the show leaves open the discussion for what evil really is and how far humanity can go when it comes to acts of evil and how depraved the human mind can get. But what about the human spirit? Because if it gets to the point of losing all it's humanity, is it human anymore? Is it demonic?

I hope this show delves into those questions more.