Fans of Television Series

[Mav3rick]

Why didn’t Kjartan not recognise/notice the real Grima?

Spoiler: My Answer

Ok indulge me for a moment: I think with all the trauma and supernatural things happening around her, Grima must have created her own changeling. She always wanted to be the wife that Kjartan wanted, but she could not as she saw both her mother and her sister die. Her marriage suffered because of sister's death, now when Asa is "back" Grima "creates" her happy version, knowing very well that it's not Asa but her changeling. In Grima's happy version, her sister is alive and never died. And if you remember, Asa's changeling does not walk into the sea in front of the "happy" Grima. Asa could not do anything for her Mom, she always felt guilty about it and hence it was an apt death for her to walk out into the sea, releasing her from the guilt she had.
Kjartan never acknowledges the other Grima, is my other reason to say she was created by Grima herself. In fact when she tells him about the changeling, he calls her crazy, even when this was a possibility from whatever was happening around them. Put this in perspective with the fact that - Grima "finds" her own changeling. No one else sees her. No one else ever talks about the other Grima. Its ONLY Grima who sees her, talks with her and knows her presence. And when there is a body outside in the sand/ash, with parts of the body still peeping out, how can no one see the body (especially with the contrast of white skin against the black ash/sand)? That makes me think the changeling was never real ( Did I overthink this too much????????

 

[Ashenden]

Kjartan never acknowledges the other Grima

Spoiler: Clarification needed :)

Kjartan’s behaviour is still a mystery to me. Initially we see that the relationship between Kjartan and Grima is cold and distant. Then Grima C (Grima changeling) enters the picture. In that episode and the next, the two Grima’s are seen together. As you have mentioned, Kjartan doesn’t believe Grima. Towards the end when Mikael slits the throat of his rescuers and upends the vehicle, Grima is called in to attend to the scene of the accident. Later we see Grima having a chat with Thors in which he claims that all this resembles a bad dream. Meanwhile, Grima C has remodeled the house and the surprised Kjartan is having a nice time. Grima enters the house. This is the first time that both the Grima’s are in the same room as Kjartan. To Grima’s surprise, Kjartan is ignoring her completely, as if she doesn’t exist. He doesn’t seem to register her presence in the room. He sees only Grima C and continues talking to her, as the camera uses rack focus to blur out Grima into the background. Later we have the Russian roulette in which Grima C gets the fatal round.
What happened to Kjartan? Why doesn’t he ‘see’ Grima now?

 

[Mav3rick]

The Nevers (Hotstar): After getting some superhero/ine powers overnight, a group of women and a few men form an alliance to fight for a mission against their enemies. Its like the X-men-isque sanctuary they build for themselves. They are funded by a widow, Lavinia Bidlow and led by another widow, Amalia True (Laura Conelly). Penance Adair(the gorgeous Ann Skelly) is an inventor and a right hand to Amalia. With politics, Men and villains to fight, these ladies along with their group are on a mission, which will apparently be uncovered in the second season. As a group they are constantly against their relentless foe, normal Humans, who consider them as "touched" and consider them as either an amusement or enemies.

Some amazing and powerful British actors, this is an interesting watch. However the star of the series for me is, Maladie (Amy Manson), a friend turned foe of Amalia, who has that Joker quality from the Batman. It was a welcome change from the stuff that I was watching. Watch it if you like Sci-fi with a period touch.

 

[Mav3rick]

Spoiler: Clarification needed

Wait ha...you gave me too much to think about I will revert..LOL

 

[Mav3rick]

Ghost Stories (NF): I had mentioned a few posts ago that I absolutely love anthologies. Ghost Stories is a new anthology series directed by big names like - Zoya Akhar, Anurag Kashyap, Dibakar Bannerjee and Karan Johar, in the same order. There are 4 horror stories.

For the first time I have seen Jhanvi Kapoor on the screen (Being a hardcore fan of Marathi movies, there was an underlying abhorrence towards the Hindi remake of Sairaat), and to her credit, she carried the first story on her shoulders. Her conversation with her boyfriend when she calls him to stay for the night with a hint of fear shows that she has potential. She is sent to look after an ageing lady who is paralyzed and bedridden. What happens while she stays there is the story. For me the scariest one!!! Surekha Sikri is unrecognizable. I still cannot believe it was her!! Unfortunately she is not there with us - its been like 11 days now and to see her in that shape was gut wrenching!

Sobita Dhulipala(Neha) with about 4-5 dialogues from the 25 odd in total, rules the second story as a paranoid pregnant lady. She is babysitting her late sister's son, Ansh, who is jealous of the soon-to-be-born baby, seems to dislike the foetus and some of his actions do have an impact on Neha's pregnancy. What happens next, I cannot tell, not because I want don't to reveal the suspense, but honestly because I did not understand it Was it because of Neha's paranoia or because of Ansh, I dunno. Let me know if you understand it. Beware: Some scenes are disturbing. And with pregnancy and childbirth being the theme, please be aware that this will disturb a lot of people. So....just be careful.

The kids in the third story, especially the boy, add much needed punch to this one directed by Dibakar Bannerjee. One of my least favorite ones. Some scenes are just thrown in to add to the ghoulish aspects, like the one in the school and the last one where the kid tries to escape the villagers. No reasons given as to why this happened.

The fourth one is directed by Karan Johar. Its about Ira (Mrunal Thakur) marrying Dhruv in a family of 3+1. The three are Dhruv and his parents, +1 is the "Granny" who "died" and not "passed on" for the last 30 years. There are some house helps as well. While its scary for Ira to see Dhruv talking to his imaginary granny, Ira battles it with a lot of apprehension and fear. The haunting "tak", "tak" of the walking stick scares Ira more than Dhruv's behavior. And then there is the sleep-walking mother-in-law, Kitu Gidwani. Ira demands the Granny to show herself if she is real and the entire household including the helps already believe that Granny is there with them. The climax is predictable but still scary.

A nice change from the 8-12 episode long serials, this gets over in 120-130 mins.

 

[drkrack]

Anybody Watching
1. Lupin
2. The Last Czars
on NF?

Well directed and intriguing. Hopefully I'll finish them soon!

 

[Black_Hawk]

Been watching The Serpent on Netflix. It's based on the life of Charles Sobhraj. A riveting watch so far. Tahar Rahim is fantastic as Sobhraj.

This show now makes me want to pick up the book The Serpent and give it a read.

 

[jarneevan]

Any recommendations for shows in Action\Thriller\Cerebral genres? The ones like SoA, True Detective, MindHunter types. I like the shows that have strong characters.

I am getting sick of these new age shows with group of people having special abilities doing impossible things or shows that don't pay attention to strong character development. Lot of the European shows fall into this category. They have good action but as a viewer I am not sucked into the story and the lives of thier characters. I couldn't watch more than few episodes.

Anyone feel the same?

 

[Mav3rick]

Any recommendations for shows in Action\Thriller\Cerebral genres? The ones like SoA, True Detective, MindHunter types. I like the shows that have strong characters.

I am getting sick of these new age shows with group of people having special abilities doing impossible things or shows that don't pay attention to strong character development. Lot of the European shows fall into this category. They have good action but as a viewer I am not sucked into the story and the lives of thier characters. I couldn't watch more than few episodes.

Anyone feel the same?

Can you check my posts on recommendations please? I had recommended a lot to a few FMs here. I am planning to collate a list, lets see how much time me takes to put it up here

 

[Mav3rick]

Welcome Home (Sony Liv): "Don't watch it if you are faint hearted" or something like that, says the promo. Shot near my native place Nagpur(The "Hao" is very evident, though it sometimes sounds very fake ) and based on a true story from there, Welcome Home is a movie that tries very hard to induce a sense of fear and horror in the minds of the viewers. It succeeds. To some extent.
A newly appointed teacher Anuja (Kashmira Irani) and her tenured colleague Neha (Swarda Thigale) are government teachers. They are appointed as census workers and in the course of their task, they come across an isolated house with its weird occupants. Ghanshyam (Shashi Bhushan) who is under a "Maunvrat", The lecherous and scary Bhola(Boloram Das), Abused and Scared Prerna( Tina) and the matriarch Leela(Akshita Arora). When they meet these people, they find a heavily pregnant Prerna, who gives out chilling details of her life in a very casual way. We can see Amma, the matriarch not happy with these visits and we can see the way she has a hold over this entire household.
These two women are held captive and subjected to very violent physical abuse. There is gore, bloodshed and rape - probably the reason why the tagline along with the title.
Some might argue the nature of this movie, however, it was there to show the struggle for survival and the stifling of the free spirit women have. Both Anuja and Neha have dominant males in their family. For Anuja, a motherless girl, the father and her fiancé play that role. While for Neha, her brother does that job. Her mother is mute spectator to the beatings Neha is subjected even at this age, by her brother. It shows in their discussion about their respective families. Neha especially shows how deeply this patriarchal fear and dominance is embedded in her persona. She is not even able to think about escape or fightback. For her, Men are dominant and can win. Always.
Anyway, it starts, goes through what it's supposed to do, and ends. Watch it if you are okay with blood and violence. Nothing new in the storyline, just a bunch of actors we need to watch out in coming months.

 

[Mav3rick]

Silence...can you hear it? (Z5): A Manoj Bajpayee Thriller. I was guilty of cockiness within a few minutes when the movie started. I predicted the killer. I was wrong. I admit.
The movie is about a murder of the daughter of a retired judge. Manoj is called to investigate and is given a team to assist. The usual rigmarole follows and the killer is revealed right at the end. There is the predictable "no longer on the case" BS, family melodrama and just-about-there romance between the boss and the employee. I am not mentioning the cast as there is nothing to write home about. Manoj carries this entire movie on his shoulders. Barkha, as much as I like her, is wasted. Prachi Desai is the eye candy without anything to do.
A good watch for Manoj Bajpayee and murder mystery fans.

 

[Mav3rick]

Navarasa(NF) : A lot has been written about this series in the media. For me, for a very long time, South Indian cinema was about extravagant fights, tantalizing dances, rhythm filled songs, sometimes too "kiddish" for my taste. A very few of them made a huge, but not enough, impact for me to watch movies from the south.

Navarasa, is an anthology about the 9 emotions of human life. Each episode tells you a story based on these emotions. I will not write about all 9 here. Because I feel this series is something that you should watch and deduce your own conclusion. Southern stalwarts like Prakash Raj, Revathi, Arvind Swamy, Delhi Ganesh, Siddharth, Suriya etc. make this at least a watch. Some stories just hit the right notes, but some are passable.

I made a few discoveries while watching these 9 episodes. Of them, one was that I need to pick and choose more South Indian movies and serials to watch. The other was, I was wrong about a lot of preconceived notions pertaining the movies made down south. I realized, like how I pick a few Hindi movies to watch, I should do the same for South Indian Cinema. I have missed out on a lot of good ones and am now asking around for suggestions

I watched some amazing acting last night, some very, very, very pretty actresses, fantastic locations, taut editing, colored stories and amazing music. Also, that Arvind Swamy should pick up direction as well. The episode directed was one of the best ones. Also, now that I have a new found love for South Indian Cinema and Series, I will spend some time in watching those

I would suggest, watch Navarasa once.

Oh yes!! Before I forget, can someone help me identifying the brand of wireless white headphones Prayaga Rose Martin was wearing in the last episode? I tried looking for it, but no luck yet. The logo was like 2 "Ls" juxtaposed. Gives it a squarish shape like a non-connected frame. It was over the ear type and the earcups were ovalish in shape.

 

[raman.bhadu]

The Sopranos: https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos
A very good series if you like some crime and mafia boss-like thing.

 

[raman.bhadu]

Çukur (TV Series 2016–2021) - IMDb

Çukur: With Aras Bulut Iynemli, Erkan Kolçak Köstendil, Riza Kocaoglu, Cem Uslu. A dangerous neighborhood, "The Pit", ran by a noble mafia family called Koçovali. When the family is in the danger of losing the control of The Pit, their youngest son now must come back to his home, where he could...

www.imdb.com

Does anybody know if this is released in English? I tried looking on the internet but not found anything.

 

[Mav3rick]

Its on APV. Very old series from late 90s, I think. Almost everyone might have watched it already Watch Sons of Anarchy if you liked this.

The Sopranos: https://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos
A very good series if you like some crime and mafia boss-like thing.

 

[Mav3rick]

Spoiler: Clarification needed

Spoiler: What do you think? :-)

Hmmm...Here's what I did - I watched the last episode again. And I thought I had an explanation for your query. I thought, okay, he might not be paying attention or even thinking about 2 Grimas. He knows there is only one Grima and chances are he ignores the sudden appearance from one place to the other. Probably he is too happy witnessing the change in Grima. Normal. However, there is one scene in the kitchen when all 3 of them were there. He’s talking to Grima2, and Grima1 is right next to him, but he doesn’t even notice that there is another person in the room, never mind that he’s talking to her duplicate? It was annoying and frustrating to watch. However, I came up with this theory:

Kjartan does not "want" to believe that something has changed. He is only concerned about Old Grima being back and he "ignores" the other. Meaning, subtly he is trying to sweep things under the carpet and hoping what he thinks is true. If you observe Thor, Gisli, both knew there is something wrong and "chose" to ignore the "defected" originals and accept the changelings. Kjartan did the same thing. That's why I think he threw away Grima's note and did not ask anything about it to the changeling or to OG. Now all three of them were very happy with their "changed" loved ones. Its like deliberately ignoring something we don't like, and fervently loving something we like. Hoping the disliked one will be gone or disappears magically.

I also think maybe Kjartan knows what's happening, it's his own desire to have his wife back the way she used to be. This could be why the duplicate Grima came into existence. When he dismisses what the original Grima says about her being copied it's not really because he doesn't believe her - after her sister returned from the dead, I think he did. He's just trying to ignore and not think about it. This could have also led Original Grima to believe that her husband does not want her anymore. Hence the Russian Roulette.

 

[Mav3rick]

Navarasa(NF) : A lot has been written about this series in the media. For me, for a very long time, South Indian cinema was about extravagant fights, tantalizing dances, rhythm filled songs, sometimes too "kiddish" for my taste. A very few of them made a huge, but not enough, impact for me to watch movies from the south.

Navarasa, is an anthology about the 9 emotions of human life. Each episode tells you a story based on these emotions. I will not write about all 9 here. Because I feel this series is something that you should watch and deduce your own conclusion. Southern stalwarts like Prakash Raj, Revathi, Arvind Swamy, Delhi Ganesh, Siddharth, Suriya etc. make this at least a watch. Some stories just hit the right notes, but some are passable.

I made a few discoveries while watching these 9 episodes. Of them, one was that I need to pick and choose more South Indian movies and serials to watch. The other was, I was wrong about a lot of preconceived notions pertaining the movies made down south. I realized, like how I pick a few Hindi movies to watch, I should do the same for South Indian Cinema. I have missed out on a lot of good ones and am now asking around for suggestions

I watched some amazing acting last night, some very, very, very pretty actresses, fantastic locations, taut editing, colored stories and amazing music. Also, that Arvind Swamy should pick up direction as well. The episode directed was one of the best ones. Also, now that I have a new found love for South Indian Cinema and Series, I will spend some time in watching those

I would suggest, watch Navarasa once.

Oh yes!! Before I forget, can someone help me identifying the brand of wireless white headphones Prayaga Rose Martin was wearing in the last episode? I tried looking for it, but no luck yet. The logo was like 2 "Ls" juxtaposed. Gives it a squarish shape like a non-connected frame. It was over the ear type and the earcups were ovalish in shape.

This one please

 

[Ashenden]

SPOILER="What do you think?

Spoiler: my final thoughts :)

I think your explanation more or less solves the Kjartan mystery. If we think about it, Grima 2 is the only changeling who is of the same age as the existing one (she could very well be a year younger, going back to the better days when Asa was alive). Asa has been missing only for a year, so there won't be any major physical transformation. The others, Gunhild (20 yrs younger), Mikael (8 yrs old), Gisli's wife ( in her 40s? as opposed to late 50s and bedridden, now). So, each changeling ought to be a manifestation of the desirable traits/thoughts of the survivors. That kind of solves the trouble for now

I hope there is no second season, as I feel leaving the viewer a bit confused is better than dishing out all the explanations with a sequel.

 

[Mav3rick]

Spoiler: my final thoughts

Agreed. It needs to be kept at that. But who knows? If you have watched "The Mire", it had the same kind of feel to it. Then the second season came and the entire plot had a different feel to it. Serials like Dark which are so confusing that you need a pen and paper to understand what's happening, are a treat to watch

Let me know if there are others you need to discuss

 

[Ashenden]

If you have watched "The Mire", it had the same kind of feel to it.

Nope! This is on my watch list.

Let me know if there are others you need to discuss

I would've liked to discuss "Dark". But unfortunately, I don't remember most of the finer plot points. The final season was a mixed bag for me. It tried to do a lot of things. It was so confusing that after a point, I stopped bothering

So, I'll be back to trouble you after completing "The Mire"