The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
10-20-20, 10:22 AM
#51
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Damn near every Show these days needs to have a gay relationship. In the second season of umbrella academy there are like 3 of them and they were all pointless and served no purpose whatsoever - this is the first time I've seen one kill an entire show though.
I'm hopIng we get away from this trend as this show and a lot of decent things for it. Also, the lead blonde who played Nell in Haunting of hill house, her acting was f'n terrible this time out. Couldn't stand her.
Hope they get rid of the tired catering to the gay audience on the next season. I would like to see a darker storyline that can be built upon multiple seasons, maybe create an actual specific lore.
I'm hopIng we get away from this trend as this show and a lot of decent things for it. Also, the lead blonde who played Nell in Haunting of hill house, her acting was f'n terrible this time out. Couldn't stand her.
Hope they get rid of the tired catering to the gay audience on the next season. I would like to see a darker storyline that can be built upon multiple seasons, maybe create an actual specific lore.
Are a lot of shows going for the inclusion angle these days? Yes. I think you could have made your point this way: "I think this show is just trying to check an inclusion box with these 2 characters and they are using lazy writing to do it. The show doesn't even need it because..." You get your point across and you don't have to come across as, "Fuck, I'm tired of these damned gays." Did you write those exact words? No, but the tone of your post could be interpreted that way.
10-20-20, 05:28 PM
#52
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
The longer I have to ruminate on this season, the less I like it. The opposite was true of Hill House, which I really liked on first watch and became one of my favorite seasons of television ever on second watch. Bly Manor was (mostly) good the first time through, but the more I think about it, the more flaws I find with it.
1) As I've said before, for a storyline that hinged so much upon relationships, the writing didn't do any of the relationships justice. They were all half-baked. We are supposed to simply accept that Hannah and Owen love each other, even though we're shown precious little about their relationship. The one episode where they interact the most is actually Hannah having a recurring memory. Dani and Jamie's relationship is the most central, but even that relationship spends most of its time in a state of frustration (as Dani deals with the guilt of her fiance's death) and really only solidifies itself somewhat in the final episode, when the two are just watching the clock of Dani's impending doom (more on that later). Miss Jessel and Peter's relationship is the most baffling, as they go from a moment of lust to I-want-to-spend-forever-with-you love even though Peter's treatment of her is frequently terrible. (And her feelings for him appear to remain even after he forces her to commit suicide.) Finally, Henry's feelings for Charlotte (and vice versa) aren't explored at all; by the time we find out about their affair, it has already happened, and the two barely spend any time together except when she ends it with him in hopes of restoring her marriage (and then dies).
2) As much as I love Carla Gugino (and I very much do), I couldn't help but feel frequently sorry for the wedding guests trapped listening to what must have been an hours-long story. Her air of self-centered smugness while telling it didn't help much. I don't know what went wrong there, as Gugino usually presents an air of approachability (which was why her Hill House character was so tragic), but she comes across as a self-important, long-winded snob here, which obviously was not intentional. And the less said about her accent, the better (this applies even more so to Henry Thomas' often hilarious attempt at an accent).
3) Speaking of odd accents, what the heck is up with Victoria Pedretti's intonations throughout this season? I have no idea what the heck she was going for, but her voice was absolutely grating.
4) Conquering the lady in the lake. No sooner has the "villain" of the season been identified than Dani suddenly (and rather conveniently) stumbles upon the words to vanquish her. Then over the course of those few rushed minutes, several characters become aware for the first time of the existence of ghosts -- and the shocking revelation that Hannah is one of them -- and this supernatural revelation barely seems to have any impact upon them. Ditto Dani's absorption of the Lady in the Lake. This is all taken in good stride, as is the acceptance of the fact that eventually TLITL will overtake Dani. It doesn't seem like Dani or Jamie make any effort to exorcise the ghost from Dani in the years that follow. They just tearfully shrug and accept the fact that she's doomed. Oh well. Se la vie.
5) Episode 8. Talk about a huge yawning momentum-killer right before the finale. The Lady in the Lake's storyline was simply not that interesting and could have been told in much less time within another episode. She woke. She walked. She slept. Yes, we know already. I'm ready to sleep myself. I do like Kate Siegel; I just wish she'd been given something better to do this season. And once again, we're presented with a chemistry-free relationship (both between Viola and her husband and Perdita and her brother-in-law-turned-husband; honestly, the sisters had more believable love with each other than the husband had with either of them).
Don't get me wrong; there were a lot of good things about this season: the atmosphere, the cinematography, most of the acting, and a lot of the dialog, and hunting for hidden ghosts remains a ton of goosebump-inducing fun. The Hannah-centric episode, while frustrating and repetitive at times, was the real heartbreaker of the season, not the finale. YMMV or course, and all of this is just IMO. But I contend that this season doesn't hold up at all to any kind of scrutiny. Maybe sometime in the future I'll revisit and see if it sits better with me on a second viewing.
1) As I've said before, for a storyline that hinged so much upon relationships, the writing didn't do any of the relationships justice. They were all half-baked. We are supposed to simply accept that Hannah and Owen love each other, even though we're shown precious little about their relationship. The one episode where they interact the most is actually Hannah having a recurring memory. Dani and Jamie's relationship is the most central, but even that relationship spends most of its time in a state of frustration (as Dani deals with the guilt of her fiance's death) and really only solidifies itself somewhat in the final episode, when the two are just watching the clock of Dani's impending doom (more on that later). Miss Jessel and Peter's relationship is the most baffling, as they go from a moment of lust to I-want-to-spend-forever-with-you love even though Peter's treatment of her is frequently terrible. (And her feelings for him appear to remain even after he forces her to commit suicide.) Finally, Henry's feelings for Charlotte (and vice versa) aren't explored at all; by the time we find out about their affair, it has already happened, and the two barely spend any time together except when she ends it with him in hopes of restoring her marriage (and then dies).
2) As much as I love Carla Gugino (and I very much do), I couldn't help but feel frequently sorry for the wedding guests trapped listening to what must have been an hours-long story. Her air of self-centered smugness while telling it didn't help much. I don't know what went wrong there, as Gugino usually presents an air of approachability (which was why her Hill House character was so tragic), but she comes across as a self-important, long-winded snob here, which obviously was not intentional. And the less said about her accent, the better (this applies even more so to Henry Thomas' often hilarious attempt at an accent).
3) Speaking of odd accents, what the heck is up with Victoria Pedretti's intonations throughout this season? I have no idea what the heck she was going for, but her voice was absolutely grating.
4) Conquering the lady in the lake. No sooner has the "villain" of the season been identified than Dani suddenly (and rather conveniently) stumbles upon the words to vanquish her. Then over the course of those few rushed minutes, several characters become aware for the first time of the existence of ghosts -- and the shocking revelation that Hannah is one of them -- and this supernatural revelation barely seems to have any impact upon them. Ditto Dani's absorption of the Lady in the Lake. This is all taken in good stride, as is the acceptance of the fact that eventually TLITL will overtake Dani. It doesn't seem like Dani or Jamie make any effort to exorcise the ghost from Dani in the years that follow. They just tearfully shrug and accept the fact that she's doomed. Oh well. Se la vie.
5) Episode 8. Talk about a huge yawning momentum-killer right before the finale. The Lady in the Lake's storyline was simply not that interesting and could have been told in much less time within another episode. She woke. She walked. She slept. Yes, we know already. I'm ready to sleep myself. I do like Kate Siegel; I just wish she'd been given something better to do this season. And once again, we're presented with a chemistry-free relationship (both between Viola and her husband and Perdita and her brother-in-law-turned-husband; honestly, the sisters had more believable love with each other than the husband had with either of them).
Don't get me wrong; there were a lot of good things about this season: the atmosphere, the cinematography, most of the acting, and a lot of the dialog, and hunting for hidden ghosts remains a ton of goosebump-inducing fun. The Hannah-centric episode, while frustrating and repetitive at times, was the real heartbreaker of the season, not the finale. YMMV or course, and all of this is just IMO. But I contend that this season doesn't hold up at all to any kind of scrutiny. Maybe sometime in the future I'll revisit and see if it sits better with me on a second viewing.
10-20-20, 08:50 PM
#53
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
At the end of the day, words matter. How you express yourself matters.
Are a lot of shows going for the inclusion angle these days? Yes. I think you could have made your point this way: "I think this show is just trying to check an inclusion box with these 2 characters and they are using lazy writing to do it. The show doesn't even need it because..." You get your point across and you don't have to come across as, "Fuck, I'm tired of these damned gays." Did you write those exact words? No, but the tone of your post could be interpreted that way.
Are a lot of shows going for the inclusion angle these days? Yes. I think you could have made your point this way: "I think this show is just trying to check an inclusion box with these 2 characters and they are using lazy writing to do it. The show doesn't even need it because..." You get your point across and you don't have to come across as, "Fuck, I'm tired of these damned gays." Did you write those exact words? No, but the tone of your post could be interpreted that way.
10-20-20, 08:57 PM
#54
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
The longer I have to ruminate on this season, the less I like it. The opposite was true of Hill House, which I really liked on first watch and became one of my favorite seasons of television ever on second watch. Bly Manor was (mostly) good the first time through, but the more I think about it, the more flaws I find with it.
1) As I've said before, for a storyline that hinged so much upon relationships, the writing didn't do any of the relationships justice. They were all half-baked. We are supposed to simply accept that Hannah and Owen love each other, even though we're shown precious little about their relationship. The one episode where they interact the most is actually Hannah having a recurring memory. Dani and Jamie's relationship is the most central, but even that relationship spends most of its time in a state of frustration (as Dani deals with the guilt of her fiance's death) and really only solidifies itself somewhat in the final episode, when the two are just watching the clock of Dani's impending doom (more on that later). Miss Jessel and Peter's relationship is the most baffling, as they go from a moment of lust to I-want-to-spend-forever-with-you love even though Peter's treatment of her is frequently terrible. (And her feelings for him appear to remain even after he forces her to commit suicide.) Finally, Henry's feelings for Charlotte (and vice versa) aren't explored at all; by the time we find out about their affair, it has already happened, and the two barely spend any time together except when she ends it with him in hopes of restoring her marriage (and then dies).
2) As much as I love Carla Gugino (and I very much do), I couldn't help but feel frequently sorry for the wedding guests trapped listening to what must have been an hours-long story. Her air of self-centered smugness while telling it didn't help much. I don't know what went wrong there, as Gugino usually presents an air of approachability (which was why her Hill House character was so tragic), but she comes across as a self-important, long-winded snob here, which obviously was not intentional. And the less said about her accent, the better (this applies even more so to Henry Thomas' often hilarious attempt at an accent).
3) Speaking of odd accents, what the heck is up with Victoria Pedretti's intonations throughout this season? I have no idea what the heck she was going for, but her voice was absolutely grating.
4) Conquering the lady in the lake. No sooner has the "villain" of the season been identified than Dani suddenly (and rather conveniently) stumbles upon the words to vanquish her. Then over the course of those few rushed minutes, several characters become aware for the first time of the existence of ghosts -- and the shocking revelation that Hannah is one of them -- and this supernatural revelation barely seems to have any impact upon them. Ditto Dani's absorption of the Lady in the Lake. This is all taken in good stride, as is the acceptance of the fact that eventually TLITL will overtake Dani. It doesn't seem like Dani or Jamie make any effort to exorcise the ghost from Dani in the years that follow. They just tearfully shrug and accept the fact that she's doomed. Oh well. Se la vie.
5) Episode 8. Talk about a huge yawning momentum-killer right before the finale. The Lady in the Lake's storyline was simply not that interesting and could have been told in much less time within another episode. She woke. She walked. She slept. Yes, we know already. I'm ready to sleep myself. I do like Kate Siegel; I just wish she'd been given something better to do this season. And once again, we're presented with a chemistry-free relationship (both between Viola and her husband and Perdita and her brother-in-law-turned-husband; honestly, the sisters had more believable love with each other than the husband had with either of them).
Don't get me wrong; there were a lot of good things about this season: the atmosphere, the cinematography, most of the acting, and a lot of the dialog, and hunting for hidden ghosts remains a ton of goosebump-inducing fun. The Hannah-centric episode, while frustrating and repetitive at times, was the real heartbreaker of the season, not the finale. YMMV or course, and all of this is just IMO. But I contend that this season doesn't hold up at all to any kind of scrutiny. Maybe sometime in the future I'll revisit and see if it sits better with me on a second viewing.
1) As I've said before, for a storyline that hinged so much upon relationships, the writing didn't do any of the relationships justice. They were all half-baked. We are supposed to simply accept that Hannah and Owen love each other, even though we're shown precious little about their relationship. The one episode where they interact the most is actually Hannah having a recurring memory. Dani and Jamie's relationship is the most central, but even that relationship spends most of its time in a state of frustration (as Dani deals with the guilt of her fiance's death) and really only solidifies itself somewhat in the final episode, when the two are just watching the clock of Dani's impending doom (more on that later). Miss Jessel and Peter's relationship is the most baffling, as they go from a moment of lust to I-want-to-spend-forever-with-you love even though Peter's treatment of her is frequently terrible. (And her feelings for him appear to remain even after he forces her to commit suicide.) Finally, Henry's feelings for Charlotte (and vice versa) aren't explored at all; by the time we find out about their affair, it has already happened, and the two barely spend any time together except when she ends it with him in hopes of restoring her marriage (and then dies).
2) As much as I love Carla Gugino (and I very much do), I couldn't help but feel frequently sorry for the wedding guests trapped listening to what must have been an hours-long story. Her air of self-centered smugness while telling it didn't help much. I don't know what went wrong there, as Gugino usually presents an air of approachability (which was why her Hill House character was so tragic), but she comes across as a self-important, long-winded snob here, which obviously was not intentional. And the less said about her accent, the better (this applies even more so to Henry Thomas' often hilarious attempt at an accent).
3) Speaking of odd accents, what the heck is up with Victoria Pedretti's intonations throughout this season? I have no idea what the heck she was going for, but her voice was absolutely grating.
4) Conquering the lady in the lake. No sooner has the "villain" of the season been identified than Dani suddenly (and rather conveniently) stumbles upon the words to vanquish her. Then over the course of those few rushed minutes, several characters become aware for the first time of the existence of ghosts -- and the shocking revelation that Hannah is one of them -- and this supernatural revelation barely seems to have any impact upon them. Ditto Dani's absorption of the Lady in the Lake. This is all taken in good stride, as is the acceptance of the fact that eventually TLITL will overtake Dani. It doesn't seem like Dani or Jamie make any effort to exorcise the ghost from Dani in the years that follow. They just tearfully shrug and accept the fact that she's doomed. Oh well. Se la vie.
5) Episode 8. Talk about a huge yawning momentum-killer right before the finale. The Lady in the Lake's storyline was simply not that interesting and could have been told in much less time within another episode. She woke. She walked. She slept. Yes, we know already. I'm ready to sleep myself. I do like Kate Siegel; I just wish she'd been given something better to do this season. And once again, we're presented with a chemistry-free relationship (both between Viola and her husband and Perdita and her brother-in-law-turned-husband; honestly, the sisters had more believable love with each other than the husband had with either of them).
Don't get me wrong; there were a lot of good things about this season: the atmosphere, the cinematography, most of the acting, and a lot of the dialog, and hunting for hidden ghosts remains a ton of goosebump-inducing fun. The Hannah-centric episode, while frustrating and repetitive at times, was the real heartbreaker of the season, not the finale. YMMV or course, and all of this is just IMO. But I contend that this season doesn't hold up at all to any kind of scrutiny. Maybe sometime in the future I'll revisit and see if it sits better with me on a second viewing.
Another mention on how terrible Pedretti's acting was. Not sure what happened there.
10-22-20, 10:08 AM
#55
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Ugh, what a disappointment this season was, it started off decent but I felt it could have been wrapped up much quicker and I found the 'narrator' insufferable by the 8th episode. As much as I love Carla she came off as grating. Don't get me started on Dani's weird voice either that 'accent' was freaking awful to listen to. I don't see myself revisiting this series at all and I've watched the original at least 4x since it was released. I agree with folks that say the relationships were never there to the point I really cared very much for any of them.
10-22-20, 11:08 AM
#56
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Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Then stop acting like one. There were adult relationships in the show. To what extent were any of them "necessary" to the story? That should be the question. It doesn't matter at all whether they were same sex relationships, for the purposes of this story. Your comments indicate that same sex relationships bother you (or at least depictions of them in entertainment do).
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VinVega (10-26-20)
10-22-20, 11:14 AM
#57
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Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
I liked this, particularly the performances of Rahul Kohli (the cook) and T'Nia Miller (the housekeeper), but the ending was weak. The last episode in particular dragged.
10-22-20, 11:46 AM
#58
Moderator
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Finished this last night. I thought it was uneven, but very well done. Atmospheric, good cinematography, etc. but felt the story dragged in parts and yes, some of the acting should have been better. It seems mixed, but I did enjoy episode 8 (Lady in the Lake backstory) and episode 9 was not how I thought it'd play out. I do like how it concluded -- my wife was crying during the final scene.
10-22-20, 12:18 PM
#59
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Does anyone know how true to the book the story was? Might be worth a read as books tend to be better than shows...
10-22-20, 03:41 PM
#60
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Then stop acting like one. There were adult relationships in the show. To what extent were any of them "necessary" to the story? That should be the question. It doesn't matter at all whether they were same sex relationships, for the purposes of this story. Your comments indicate that same sex relationships bother you (or at least depictions of them in entertainment do).
10-22-20, 04:35 PM
#61
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
There is no gardener or cook or Lady in the Lake in the book (if I recall correctly), no romantic relationships except the one that happened between Quinn and Miss Jessel before they died, and no other ghosts besides the two the nanny thinks she keeps seeing (Quinn and Miss Jessel). The ending is also much darker and more sinister in the book. And there's also the open-ended question in the book as to whether there were ever any ghosts at all.
The book is a classic, but IMO, it's incredibly hard to read. I attempted to read it once and gave up because you have to sit and translate every sentence into modern English in order to understand what's being said. Maybe it's just me. Here's a sample paragraph:
Spoiler:
I did read one article that said that some of Henry James' (the author of Turn of the Screw) short stories were adapted into the side stories of Bly Manor, but I can't comment on that as I haven't read anything else by him.
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jpcamb (10-23-20)
10-24-20, 06:04 PM
#62
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
I know exactly what you said and meant and it was homophobic and mean spirited. There is no other way to make it out. I'll be ignoring your posts going forward.
10-25-20, 08:05 PM
#63
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
It's not only obvious that you didn't read what I said, but you also can't comprehend it (at all) either. Don't take your natural, narrow-minded, childish way of reacting out on me.
10-26-20, 12:27 AM
#64
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Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Just finished the series but didn’t see the first one. I thought it was pretty good, but the timeline was confusing and the lead actress was just OK for me. I did like the backstory episode being toward the end, and the touching relationship in the final episode was the most effective part of the season for me. Did the gender of the characters matter to me? Maybe a little, in that the fact that they knew they couldn’t be “official” added a little poignancy. Not that much, though.
Just started Hill House based on the better buzz here.
Just started Hill House based on the better buzz here.
10-26-20, 10:09 AM
#65
10-26-20, 08:34 PM
#66
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Finished it today. As others have said, I would agree, this isnt anywhere near the same level as Hill House.
That said, it was a pretty good show. As the season went on, it became less and less of a horror (not that it really had any scare scenes at all) and more of a drama/romance type of show. Not complaining as I probably wouldnt have watched it if it was labeled that way, but just didnt feel like a horror show at all.
That said, it was a pretty good show. As the season went on, it became less and less of a horror (not that it really had any scare scenes at all) and more of a drama/romance type of show. Not complaining as I probably wouldnt have watched it if it was labeled that way, but just didnt feel like a horror show at all.
10-27-20, 01:43 AM
#67
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
I was hesitant to watch this one because Hill House was pretty much a average at best, but decided to watch Bly Manor because of everyone talking about it.
I'd say it ranks about the same as Hill House, and that I wouldn't really recommend either of them to a friend tbh.
Took me what seemed like forever to finish this one because I just didn't really have the drive to do so. Episodes felt entirely way too long and I ended up having to force myself to finish it just so I could say I finished it.
I'd say it ranks about the same as Hill House, and that I wouldn't really recommend either of them to a friend tbh.
Took me what seemed like forever to finish this one because I just didn't really have the drive to do so. Episodes felt entirely way too long and I ended up having to force myself to finish it just so I could say I finished it.
10-27-20, 11:00 PM
#68
DVD Talk Legend
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
Just finished this. I really liked it. I was hesitant to begin watching this season, because I loved Hill House and I had read a few reviews of this season that were negative. Plus I had read that it was another adaptation of The Turn of the Screw. I thought Bly Manor dragged a bit in the first few episodes, but then it found its footing and really pulled me in for the rest of the season. The character building was great and while this show was not as scary overall as Hill House, there were still some good creepy moments. I thought the episode dedicated to Hannah and the one that tells the origin story of the lady of the lake were very well done.
Episode 9 gave--after the climax--a nice, bittersweet ending. One thing I would have liked in the denouement is a final scene with Miss Jessel and Quint.
I would definitely be up for a third installment in this anthology. Something Lovecraftian would be cool.
Episode 9 gave--after the climax--a nice, bittersweet ending. One thing I would have liked in the denouement is a final scene with Miss Jessel and Quint.
I would definitely be up for a third installment in this anthology. Something Lovecraftian would be cool.
11-02-20, 03:45 PM
#69
Moderator
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
11-29-20, 10:28 AM
#70
Re: The Haunting of Bly Manor (Netflix) -- from Mike Flanagan -- premieres 10/9/20
We watched this over the course of 3 days...and have to say it was not very good at all. I would love to say it was perfectly splendid but alas it was not. It was not really scary or creepy at all like the first one. Henry Thomas character was annoying as almost all the others were. Just didn't do it for me. My wife liked it more than I did. But if there is a third I will probably skip it.
