Devs (Alex Garland series - FX on Hulu)

extra gravy

Cina wrote: »

The main actress is terrible, she's ruining an otherwise really good show.

Garland is clearly a fan, she was in Ex Machina as well.

I've found her annoying as opposed to a noticeably bad actress.

Her sidekick I also find annoying, though I think the actor playing him is good.

I think the only character I actually like is the one being played by Nick Offerman.

I don't know why they have an attractive woman in her twenties playing a teenage boy. Is it a weird prank to try to make guys think they've started being attracted to teenage boys? ...Googling, apparently it's to have an adult actor that looks young.

Good show though. Though a bad ending would ruin it. I am optimistic that it will end strongly though.

Cina

Damien Millions Memorial wrote: »

I've found her annoying as opposed to a noticeably bad actress.

Her sidekick I also find annoying, though I think the actor playing him is good.

I think the only character I actually like is the one being played by Nick Offerman.

I don't know why they have an attractive woman in her twenties playing a teenage boy. Is it a weird prank to try to make guys think they've started being attracted to teenage boys? ...Googling, apparently it's to have an adult actor that looks young.

Good show though. Though a bad ending would ruin it. I am optimistic that it will end strongly though.

The big guy clearly calls her a her in the show and says "you're 19, why.. bla bla". They didn't make her a teenage boy, though admittedly I did think she was a teenage boy up until that episode!

Cina

Cina wrote: »

The big guy clearly calls her a her in the show and says "you're 19, why.. bla bla". They didn't make her a teenage boy, though admittedly I did think she was a teenage boy up until that episode!

Well you should tell Alex Garland that. This is from an interview with him:

"It's not a trans character, and it never was, and I never toyed with the idea of it being a trans character," he says, noting that he simply decided to cast a young woman to play a cisgendered boy.

https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/alex-garland-interview-devs

Meh I lost my sense of immersion during that episode. Was unable to suspend my disbelief.

The bridge bit spoilt it for me. Super genius gets excited spouts some quasi software developer speak and ****s themselves off a bridge.)

Some good action though.

Slydice

7: Wow! That was freakin intense

with Kenton!

:eek:

I could tell Jamie was gonna die. Something needed Lily to not keep to her stay-at-home plan. I did not see the Pete being a Russian agent killing Kenton coming!

All set up for the finale now.

Definitely recommend headphones or some proper sound system cos it was done really well this episode. Some proper sound design and direction to go with some really well shot scenes, and direction, and acting (

her arm shakes!

)


I looked up 3 things:
"open the bruise up, and let some of the bruise blood":
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Come_Out_(Reich)

The Harlem Six were six black youths arrested for a murder of Margit Sugar, a Hungarian refugee, in Harlem in the weeks following the Little Fruit Stand Riot of 1964

and

one of the boys involved in the riots but not responsible for the murder; he was nineteen at the time of the recording. At the beginning of the piece, he says, "I had to, like, open the bruise up, and let some of the bruise blood come out to show them" (alluding to how Hamm had punctured a bruise on his own body to convince police that he had been beaten while in jail). The police had not previously dealt with Hamm's injuries since he did not appear seriously wounded and they had beaten him themselves.

The Poem was Aubade By Philip Larkin:
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48422/aubade-56d229a6e2f07

Making all thought impossible but how
And where and when I shall myself die.
Arid interrogation: yet the dread
Of dying, and being dead,
Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Larkin

in 1974 he started work on his final major published poem, "Aubade"

and

Larkin's style is bound up with his recurring themes and subjects, which include death and fatalism, as in his final major poem "Aubade"

The song.. has Irish connections (Irish Story Link):

Slydice

Slydice wrote: »

Definitely recommend headphones or some proper sound system cos it was done really well this episode.

Gave the credits a shot. That was wierd! :eek:

Something akin of ASMR?

The next episode is the finale. The conclusion will either make or break the series for me.

Troyaferd

Quite interesting Series with nice atmosphere, let`s see how the finale will turn out.

somuj

Have only see a trailer

But I reckon it's based on finding proof that our reality is only a simulation

Cartman78

This started on BBC 2 last night...absolutely fuming that I missed it :-(

Is there any way of catching up after missing the first episode?? The Beeb don't seem to be repeating it

god that was a surprise

Badly Drunk Boy

Cartman78 wrote: »

This started on BBC 2 last night...absolutely fuming that I missed it :-(

Is there any way of catching up after missing the first episode?? The Beeb don't seem to be repeating it

I hadn't even heard of it until a minute after 9 last night but thankfully, it started 3 minutes late so I hit SERIES RECORD!

I'm sure BBC will repeat it soon enough, once they've shown the full series, but it'll probably be after midnight or possibly on BBC4 (but more likely BBC2 late night).

steve_r

Just watched the finale there. Honestly one of the most thought provoking things I have ever watched. Beautifully shot.

I think it's one of the most ambitious stories I've seen told, and yet also one of the best from a storytelling perspective becuase it doesn't get lost in its own mystery.

Cannot recomed this enough. Honestly in awe of Alex Garland for putting this together,

Slydice

Finished. Overall: Good new SciFi. Think thought-provoking more than action.. but with action in it.

8: Well.

It was all kinda laid out before this. I wonder was it his intention that she just do something, anything, he just needed the fuzz. Anyway, my guess is he didn't want the many worlds cos he wanted more than a simulation. His focus on the single world plus the ending feels like he wanted to change his world.. maybe I dunno.

I could see a potential second season.

The way the senator at the end was asking about who knew has me thinking a maybe but getting Alex Garland again for a TV series? I dunno.

Damien Millions Memorial

Damien Millions Memorial wrote: »

god that was a:) surprise

This was a pun

Slydice

Slydice wrote: »

Finished. Overall: Good new SciFi. Think thought-provoking more than action.. but with action in it.

8: Well.

It was all kinda laid out before this. I wonder was it his intention that she just do something, anything, he just needed the fuzz. Anyway, my guess is he didn't want the many worlds cos he wanted more than a simulation. His focus on the single world plus the ending feels like he wanted to change his world.. maybe I dunno.

I could see a potential second season.

The way the senator at the end was asking about who knew has me thinking a maybe but getting Alex Garland again for a TV series? I dunno.

Think I remember reading that there would not be a second season.

He had a conversation with his friend explaining why didn't want the many worlds. If I remember correctly, he didn't want the many worlds because he didn't want it to have been possible for what happened his family not to have happened. He wanted to prove that there was nothing that could have gone differently.

Penn

Only up to episode 3, but the main actress is terrible. I mean she's godawful so far. Enjoying the rest of the performances though.

gmisk

Penn wrote: »

Only up to episode 3, but the main actress is terrible. I mean she's godawful so far. Enjoying the rest of the performances though.

I thought it was just me ..she is blank...maybe it will make more sense as it goes along.
It's blooming excellent so far bar her.

Actually she was pretty excellent in episode 3...just finished it!

Penn

Finished the show last night.

It was okay. It was saved by the performances of Nick Offerman and Alison Pill who were both fantastic throughout. Some incredible scenes and wonderful writing too. But I stand by my assertion that the main actress was awful, and while half the story was great, it was let down by the other half.

Penn

Penn wrote: »

Finished the show last night.

It was okay. It was saved by the performances of Nick Offerman and Alison Pill who were both fantastic throughout. Some incredible scenes and wonderful writing too. But I stand by my assertion that the main actress was awful, and while half the story was great, it was let down by the other half.

Which half did you like?
I'm guessing the conspiracy thriller part? The sci part is probably going to divide opinions more than the conspiracy thriller part.

Penn

Damien Millions Memorial wrote: »

Which half did you like?
I'm guessing the conspiracy thriller part? The sci part is probably going to divide opinions more than the conspiracy thriller part.

God no, it was the sci-fi part I enjoyed.

The discussions about determinism, free will etc, the reasons behind their motivations for creating and working on Devs... I really enjoyed all of that. Didn't understand a lot of it, but enjoyed it nonetheless .

The conspiracy thriller part I just felt was weak and seemed quite forced, as was the whole relationship between Lily and her ex. Not to mention super-Kenton who can track down and kill a Russian spy (side-note, worst fight scene ever and made even worse by doing it in slow-motion which really made it look awful) but doesn't consider the possibility Lily might grab the steering wheel when he tells her he's going to have her locked up in a mental hospital while driving her there.

BoroMan32

Watched the first two episodes on the BBC. Loving it so far, ending to episode two (and music) was brilliant.

the purple tin

Gripping stuff. Very beautiful yet ominous style to the show.
Stewart is one of my new favourite TV characters after telling the woke girl where to get off

Snake Plisken

BoroMan32 wrote: »

Watched the first two episodes on the BBC. Loving it so far, ending to episode two (and music) was brilliant.

Great soundtrack love that track on episode 2 Congregation by Low
https://youtu.be/xH7URVBpFV4

gmisk

What a fantastic series...devoured it in a few days. Intelligent and immensely thought provoking.
Really liked the ending and really happy with a one and done series.
Alex Garland is a genius.

extra gravy

Really enjoyed it too but wish they'd spent more time on the science side of it inside of watching Lily moping around. It was just a fascinating premise.

dinneenp

extra gravy wrote: »

Really enjoyed it too but wish they'd spent more time on the science side of it inside of watching Lily moping around. It was just a fascinating premise.

So, worth watching I take it?
Cheers,
Pa.

Corcaigh84

Started watching last night, got through 2.5 eps and am hooked, can't wait to watch later after work is over.

cdgalwegian

Slow-burn intelligent but engaging sci-fi is generally a rarity; usually, philosophical ideas are couched in action-based plots to keep interest up, or side-lined in navel-gazing 'arty' niches, so kudos to Garland for this offering.
As other posters have mentioned, the Lily and Lyndon characters seemed to unnecessarily skew attention from the plot and general mood pieces of the episodes. I actually expected more meat on the bone philosophically here (lame joke about Lily's anorexia thrown in for free). If Garland was trying to fashion a dream-like aesthetic production to reflect a view of conscious life as possibly automaton-like, then he succeeded, but I'm not sure this means that the end product is that satisfying, if not a tad gloomy. All in all, I thought it could have done with speeding up a bit (or cut to 5 episodes), or spent more time on some clever arm-chair thought-experiments and such for the grey matter. I would have preferred the latter. It's much better than most science fiction, even though it dragged a bit.
One thing that annoyed me though was Lyndon's breakthrough :

Surely the Everett thesis shouldn't have been a breakthrough; it would have been discussed as an obvious option, and banned (considering Everest's reaction to its application by Lyndon)