HBO: The Undoing

[ChitHappens]

Hoping some lovely soul will move The Undoing conversation from Dark Shadows thread and put it here

[Taoboi]

Thank you, @ChitHappens...I wasn't sure if it was right to have it there yesterday and wasn't sure if there was a thread.

 

Still looking forward to Episode 2 and 3 this weekend for me. When does it normally come on?

[ChitHappens]

2 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Thank you, @ChitHappens...I wasn't sure if it was right to have it there yesterday and wasn't sure if there was a thread.

 

Still looking forward to Episode 2 and 3 this weekend for me. When does it normally come on?

 

I was a bit confused myself and then realized what I was doing wrong.

 

Sundays.

[Taoboi]

Thank you!

[ChitHappens]

You guys probably haven't gotten around to the eppy so I will just say "RED HERRING".  

 

I'm so damn tired of one note Kidman!  Ugh!  

[YRBB]

Last night's ending gave me CHILLS! 

 

I don't believe it was him but that was great.

[Cat]

So are we allowed to talk about the final episode? Lol. Will put it under spoiler tags. 

Spoiler

 

First of all, Nicole Kidman. OTOH, I understand why she worked well in this drama. The botox/facelift leaves her looking emotionally ambiguous. Does she believe him? Did she do it? What will she do next? Etc. OTO, NK emoting is... LOL. I giggled when Grace was in the chopper following Jonathan and Henry in the car -- I don't think I was meant to!

 

Noma Dumezweni was perfection as Haley Fitzgerald! But I don't think Haley would have ever got played by Grace like that. She was already operating under the assumption that Jonathan was guilty so why risk putting Grace on the stand without PREPPING her first in her answers and prepping her with regards to the questions the prosecution would have asked?

 

It doesn't explicitly mention this, but IMO Jonathan lost Grace's support the moment he suggested that his own son might have done it, in order to cover his ass. That was such a small but pivotal, cold-blooded moment.

 

My money was on Sylvia being the Other Infidelity, who might have killed Elena. I was pleasantly surprised that she plotted with Grace to turn the case on its head.

 

I watched this for Hugh Grant. HG is already known as a grumpypants and a bit of a sh*t in the UK, so it is fun to see him playing these kind of roles which suit his surface, deflective brand of humor better.

 

They never really explained Elena Alves's obsession with Grace, and the character was basically a boob-flashing sex object. I wish the story, which hinted at this in earlier episodes, had played more on the theme of this family (possibly Puerto Rican?) who are used, discarded and their lives ruined by the wealthy Park Ave family. Like, if the show had ended with Jonathan being acquitted and the Alves father being accused of the crime -- the whole time, the murderer being Jonathan -- that would have been truly shocking, and probably too depressing for the audience. Even though we suspect that this sort of thing happens in our highly imperfect justice system!

 

Donald Sutherland, underrated and under-utilized. 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Cat

[ChitHappens]

I thought it was your pick as well, Cat.  In the end, she was as useful to the show as a 98 year old hooker.  I saw no point to her other than a Red Herring Wench!

 

Jonathan's Plan B was atrocious and Grace did the right thing.  

 

Underwhelming ending that didn't match the high powered lawyer hired to defend Jonathan.   

 

And YES!  Noma Dumezweni was positively marvelous!  What I love about streaming and all the new shows is that some wonderful talent is being missed otherwise.  Major networks don't believe in this kind of talent.  They just recycle the same mediocre actors.  It's boring.. 

 

Finally, the less said about Kidman, the absolute better.  

[Taoboi]

I'm on Episode 2 and watching now so I just skipped right over it all.  

 

I didn't realize the last episode was a few days ago and saw it trending during POTOMAC.

 

I'm half way in and wow...still loving and trying to figure out what could be going on. She just found out that the husband's job is not his job. So...?

 

Nicole Kidman's mane is boss.  

[YRBB]

Cat & Chit, agree with both.

 

When Jonathan wanted to blame his SON, he made (another) fatal mistake.

 

The killer/ending was slightly underwhelming but overall I'm very happy with the series.

 

Hayley was AMAZING. I will never forget "I am not funny."

[Taoboi]

Moving through Episode 4 (and will probably take a break)...

 

...if the Husband did not do it, he is doing a great job of acting like he didn't. And yet so many questions off of him. 

 

I agree with his lawyer though.

 

He and Grace are both withholding. But the question would be...what?

 

 

[Taoboi]

And then Donald Sutherland gave the [email protected] speech and I...

 

 

Go on then, be the HBIC.

 

 

[Taoboi]

HAHAHAHA!!! Episode 5 and the lawyer got that officer all the way together. 

 

LOVE.

 

Great scene over what was said as well as the subtext I suspect the writers were going for by saying the officer was more interested in the rich white man than the not rich ethnic man.

[Taoboi]

6 hours ago, YRBB said:

Cat & Chit, agree with both.

 

When Jonathan wanted to blame his SON, he made (another) fatal mistake.

 

The killer/ending was slightly underwhelming but overall I'm very happy with the series.

 

Hayley was AMAZING. I will never forget "I am not funny."

Just got done. And agree.

 

It had great flow, twists and turns, and I had so many ideas for how it could end. All shocking.

 

But...that ending?

 

Meh.

 

lol. 

 

The acting was spectacular though.

 

 

[Cat]

On 12/1/2020 at 8:48 PM, ChitHappens said:

I thought it was your pick as well, Cat.  In the end, she was as useful to the show as a 98 year old hooker.  I saw no point to her other than a Red Herring Wench!

 

Jonathan's Plan B was atrocious and Grace did the right thing.  

 

Underwhelming ending that didn't match the high powered lawyer hired to defend Jonathan.   

 

And YES!  Noma Dumezweni was positively marvelous!  What I love about streaming and all the new shows is that some wonderful talent is being missed otherwise.  Major networks don't believe in this kind of talent.  They just recycle the same mediocre actors.  It's boring.. 

 

Finally, the less said about Kidman, the absolute better.  

 

 

Red Herring is right. I read an article somewhere (can't remember where otherwise I would link it here) that posited that the entire show is basically red herrings. The fact is, the murderer is very obviously right in front of our eyes but all the way through, we kind of disbelieve that he might be the murderer -- the same way Grace questions it throughout.

 

In effect, the audience goes through a process of self-delusion too -- part of which, of course, is due to the way we have been 'conditioned' by shows like these never to believe that the actual murderer is the first and most obvious suspect.

 

Noma was great, and apparently a highly acclaimed British theatre actor! The prosecuting attorney was played by a Danish actor (she was lead in the original The Killing in Denmark and was brilliant), and Edgar Ramirez who played the police officer is Venezuelan. I love that we get to see actors we wouldn't necessarily find in mainstream US TV. Noma inhabited the character of Haley like a second skin and stood out in every scene she was in.

 

On 12/2/2020 at 5:18 AM, Taoboi said:

Just got done. And agree.

 

It had great flow, twists and turns, and I had so many ideas for how it could end. All shocking.

 

But...that ending?

 

Meh.

 

lol. 

 

The acting was spectacular though.

 

 

 

So, rumor is there may be a S2...?

Edited December 4, 2020 by Cat