People are waaayyy to hard on this show. It's great so ignore everyone saying it's hard to follow. Just pay attention. Super stoked when Don't Fear the Reaper came on.
7 Reviews
Love it
ghanima_atrieadies15 January 2021
Las Vegas, Finally!
Gislef14 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
First of all, as I noted in my review of the last episode, it isn't that the story is hard to follow. It's that the non-linear storytelling adds nothing to the story. So what's the point?
As for this episode, it's... about what you'd expect. Lots of network-style debauchery (although we get a few female breasts among extras). Lloyd dressed up as a pimp and Flagg's right-hand man., but doesn't want to hear Julie say "Flagg". Julie is there, mostly having sex with Lloyd and Dayna.
In the more boring parts in Boulder, Harold and Nadine have doubts about their mission. Harold about Nadine killing Teddy, and Nadine about whether she belongs to Harold or Flagg. Neither of these amount to much, despite former being a deviation from the novel. Harold is still perfectly content to kill the Committee and go to Las Vegas.
Frannie has her suspicions about Harold, and has Larry search Harold's house while she has Harold to dinner. There's a bunch of dancing around, Teague mugs, and Larry almost gets caught when Harold returns home early.
Goldberg gets a little more screentime, as she has a conversation with Nadine about Joe and choice. It's one of those conversations where more is going on that is being said, and the audience knows it, and the characters know it, but nobody actually says anything. Which gets into the religious omnipotence of novels, which is a mild problem in the series. Why isn't God talking to Abigail about what He wants done? If Abigail knows Nadine is a traitor, why doesn't she say something to someone? Maybe God isn't talking to Abigail because she's not telling anyone what she apparently knows about Nadine?
Okay, maybe Abigail doesn't know that Nadine is the traitor. Which just undermines her as a character. But then is God disappointed that Abigail isn't a better judge of character? Who knows? This kinda makes sense in the novel, but it plays at double speed here and the cracks are a bit more evident.
It also makes God seems like kinda of a jerk. Assuming that He isn't talking because of Abigail's supposed sin... so he's going to doom the entire Free Zone by refusing to tell Abigail. Sheesh, pick someone else as Your prophet. I hear Nicholas Lea is looking for work. Yes, I know, "ineffable God" and all that. But if we're not expected to know the mind of God, why expect Stephen King and the production staff? It comes across as more gaslighting and dickery, than omnipotence.
Abigail tells Nick that she's worried about setting off a war with Flagg. How is stopping two saboteurs going to start a war? Isn't launching an assassination attempt on a rival leader an act of war? King could cover this up in the novel both by making Abigail less of a main player, and by writing a book instead of a TV script. Plus he had more time and pages to establish the God in 'The Stand' as an Old Testament sort of guy. But the fact is that Goldberg, and thus Abigail, is more of a main player here. And the fact that things should be spelled out more. Tend to undermine that.
As in the novel, Las Vegas is more interesting primarily because Flagg is more interesting than Abigail. Maybe it's the whole "evil is more seductive than good" thing. But part of it is that Boulder is just... boring. We only see seven residents and a few extras there (and Nicholas Lea, wasted in a walk-on part), so apparently the production staff thinks the same.
Harold doesn't do much better. In the first episode he had a manifesto. Everyone remember? It's episode 5, and we haven't heard about it since then. Without the manifesto, he's just a lovelorn virgin led by his... sex drive, manipulated by Nadine and Flagg. It's the undermining of a major character in the novel, and one suspects ignores actor Owen Teague's talent.
Without the chance to show it, Harold is reduced to what one reviewer describes as a Jim Carrey lookalike. Heck, watch Harold's face when he tells the ice cream parlor story to Stu and Frannie. Teague mugs like Carrey!
The Nadine/Larry thing is also foreshortened. She goes to Larry to have sex, and make herself useless to Flagg. Why Larry? Nadine says that he's the only one she trusts. Why? Who knows? Maybe in one of those flashbacks that the production staff suddenly have decided not to show us? Or as they were heading to Las Vegas, which we probably would have seen if the story was told in a linear fashion.
Speaking of linear fashion, where is Harris? We see a lot of Linda, both literally and figuratively. And we see Tom. But nothing of Harris. Flagg mentions she's hiding out in a house on the edge of the city. So she... isn't spying? Way to do your job, lady!
And apparently we're not going to see Lloyd develop intellect under Flagg. Unless they squeeze it into the last five episodes. And the production staff has a _lot_ to squeeze in.
The timeline doesn't jump around like it did in the first four episodes. There are just weird night-to-day jumps. It's night in Las Vegas, but day and then night, and then day, in Boulder. Pick a storytelling style and stick to it. No, me and a lot of others didn't like the timejumping. But the production staff dropping it just makes it looks like they didn't like it. If they didn't like it, why'd they put it in and keep it in?
Overall, episode 5 isn't bad. But it ain't good, either. It all seems too brief and disposable to be worth much attention. The actors are okay, but the storytelling hops, skips, contracts, and expands for no apparent reason. Other than to fit into a mini-series. Stuff like 'Daredevil' and 'Luke Cage' get 13 episodes to tell an 8-episode season. Here we get 10 episodes to tell what is arguably a 13-episode season.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
As for this episode, it's... about what you'd expect. Lots of network-style debauchery (although we get a few female breasts among extras). Lloyd dressed up as a pimp and Flagg's right-hand man., but doesn't want to hear Julie say "Flagg". Julie is there, mostly having sex with Lloyd and Dayna.
In the more boring parts in Boulder, Harold and Nadine have doubts about their mission. Harold about Nadine killing Teddy, and Nadine about whether she belongs to Harold or Flagg. Neither of these amount to much, despite former being a deviation from the novel. Harold is still perfectly content to kill the Committee and go to Las Vegas.
Frannie has her suspicions about Harold, and has Larry search Harold's house while she has Harold to dinner. There's a bunch of dancing around, Teague mugs, and Larry almost gets caught when Harold returns home early.
Goldberg gets a little more screentime, as she has a conversation with Nadine about Joe and choice. It's one of those conversations where more is going on that is being said, and the audience knows it, and the characters know it, but nobody actually says anything. Which gets into the religious omnipotence of novels, which is a mild problem in the series. Why isn't God talking to Abigail about what He wants done? If Abigail knows Nadine is a traitor, why doesn't she say something to someone? Maybe God isn't talking to Abigail because she's not telling anyone what she apparently knows about Nadine?
Okay, maybe Abigail doesn't know that Nadine is the traitor. Which just undermines her as a character. But then is God disappointed that Abigail isn't a better judge of character? Who knows? This kinda makes sense in the novel, but it plays at double speed here and the cracks are a bit more evident.
It also makes God seems like kinda of a jerk. Assuming that He isn't talking because of Abigail's supposed sin... so he's going to doom the entire Free Zone by refusing to tell Abigail. Sheesh, pick someone else as Your prophet. I hear Nicholas Lea is looking for work. Yes, I know, "ineffable God" and all that. But if we're not expected to know the mind of God, why expect Stephen King and the production staff? It comes across as more gaslighting and dickery, than omnipotence.
Abigail tells Nick that she's worried about setting off a war with Flagg. How is stopping two saboteurs going to start a war? Isn't launching an assassination attempt on a rival leader an act of war? King could cover this up in the novel both by making Abigail less of a main player, and by writing a book instead of a TV script. Plus he had more time and pages to establish the God in 'The Stand' as an Old Testament sort of guy. But the fact is that Goldberg, and thus Abigail, is more of a main player here. And the fact that things should be spelled out more. Tend to undermine that.
As in the novel, Las Vegas is more interesting primarily because Flagg is more interesting than Abigail. Maybe it's the whole "evil is more seductive than good" thing. But part of it is that Boulder is just... boring. We only see seven residents and a few extras there (and Nicholas Lea, wasted in a walk-on part), so apparently the production staff thinks the same.
Harold doesn't do much better. In the first episode he had a manifesto. Everyone remember? It's episode 5, and we haven't heard about it since then. Without the manifesto, he's just a lovelorn virgin led by his... sex drive, manipulated by Nadine and Flagg. It's the undermining of a major character in the novel, and one suspects ignores actor Owen Teague's talent.
Without the chance to show it, Harold is reduced to what one reviewer describes as a Jim Carrey lookalike. Heck, watch Harold's face when he tells the ice cream parlor story to Stu and Frannie. Teague mugs like Carrey!
The Nadine/Larry thing is also foreshortened. She goes to Larry to have sex, and make herself useless to Flagg. Why Larry? Nadine says that he's the only one she trusts. Why? Who knows? Maybe in one of those flashbacks that the production staff suddenly have decided not to show us? Or as they were heading to Las Vegas, which we probably would have seen if the story was told in a linear fashion.
Speaking of linear fashion, where is Harris? We see a lot of Linda, both literally and figuratively. And we see Tom. But nothing of Harris. Flagg mentions she's hiding out in a house on the edge of the city. So she... isn't spying? Way to do your job, lady!
And apparently we're not going to see Lloyd develop intellect under Flagg. Unless they squeeze it into the last five episodes. And the production staff has a _lot_ to squeeze in.
The timeline doesn't jump around like it did in the first four episodes. There are just weird night-to-day jumps. It's night in Las Vegas, but day and then night, and then day, in Boulder. Pick a storytelling style and stick to it. No, me and a lot of others didn't like the timejumping. But the production staff dropping it just makes it looks like they didn't like it. If they didn't like it, why'd they put it in and keep it in?
Overall, episode 5 isn't bad. But it ain't good, either. It all seems too brief and disposable to be worth much attention. The actors are okay, but the storytelling hops, skips, contracts, and expands for no apparent reason. Other than to fit into a mini-series. Stuff like 'Daredevil' and 'Luke Cage' get 13 episodes to tell an 8-episode season. Here we get 10 episodes to tell what is arguably a 13-episode season.
But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. What do you think?
New Vegas is here
dcmackdon15 February 2021
This is the episode that ramps it up. The visuals and activities explain it all (better than 1994, IMO, cause no restrictions). So groups will not like it what they see and the ones in New Vegas, but that is Flagg's world.
the real Las Vegas would be more sinful
nerrdrage21 May 2024
Up until this episode, I was thinking this is a pretty good miniseries. It's refreshing to see humanity wiped out without worrying they'll get right back up as zombies or fungus critters. And there are several good actors in the cast although some of them die in the first episode.
Then we hit Las Vegas. Is this really the best Satan can do in whomping up a landscape of ultimate debauchery? This is a very whitebread version of "sin": having a lame three-way followed by some moderate drug use followed by shopping.
Cmon the news headlines on any given day depict far worse horrors. Satan once again is being totally outclassed by the human race. Who needs him?
Meanwhile, back in Boulder, the characters are embarked on Scooby-Doo shenanigans, spying on each other.
Then we hit Las Vegas. Is this really the best Satan can do in whomping up a landscape of ultimate debauchery? This is a very whitebread version of "sin": having a lame three-way followed by some moderate drug use followed by shopping.
Cmon the news headlines on any given day depict far worse horrors. Satan once again is being totally outclassed by the human race. Who needs him?
Meanwhile, back in Boulder, the characters are embarked on Scooby-Doo shenanigans, spying on each other.
This one has a lil tension but the entire episode's editing is terrible.
Fella_shibby20 January 2021
Why wud someone keep the door of their bedroom open?
Why wud a spy hide in a house on the outskirts rather than do the job, infiltrate n get out.
Once again like the original show, Flagg is able to see so many things but he aint able to locate the third spy.
This episode is set in Vegas, ther is no proper nudity, the lesbian smooch aint shown properly, the gladiator fights are all offscreen. Basically it is jus filled with loud music, Mad Max style dressed punks and lots of glittering.
Why wud a spy hide in a house on the outskirts rather than do the job, infiltrate n get out.
Once again like the original show, Flagg is able to see so many things but he aint able to locate the third spy.
This episode is set in Vegas, ther is no proper nudity, the lesbian smooch aint shown properly, the gladiator fights are all offscreen. Basically it is jus filled with loud music, Mad Max style dressed punks and lots of glittering.
Oh dear, this really isn't Flagg's Vegas
nicked210118 May 2022
One of the great things about the book is the fine line it draws between The types of people who go to Flagg rather than Mother Abigail. Flagg is all about order and discipline. The narrative makes it clear that Flagg's people are (mostly) not evil themselves, but they want a society where there are clear rules and those rules are followed. Flagg has a zero tolerance policy against drug use, his followers won't risk hard liquor, and any outlandish behaviour is severely punished.
Now look at the Vegas in this episode - a haven of drug taking, debauchery and a complete absence of rules governing daily life. The people there are completely hedonistic and life is all about unending pleasure and a lack of control. It was completely unnecessary and undoes one of the key themes of the book, told at both individual and group level - the fine line between good and bad, the consequence of even simple choices and the way in which society can overlook the bad once it gets on a certain path.
So disappointing.
Now look at the Vegas in this episode - a haven of drug taking, debauchery and a complete absence of rules governing daily life. The people there are completely hedonistic and life is all about unending pleasure and a lack of control. It was completely unnecessary and undoes one of the key themes of the book, told at both individual and group level - the fine line between good and bad, the consequence of even simple choices and the way in which society can overlook the bad once it gets on a certain path.
So disappointing.
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