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 Enlightened is a comedy/drama that airs at 10:30pm on HBO following Girls. The show follows Amy Jellicoe (Laura Dern) as she seeks to change her life after an embarrassing mental breakdown following her secret affair with her boss leaking out to the rest of her coworkers at the Abaddon corporation. She goes into mental rehabilitation, and finds a philosophical reawakening upon doing so. However, when she returns, she finds that time has not healed all the wounds she caused by her self-destructive behavior; even still, her perception of both the change she feels she's experienced and the reality of the fact that she still clings to the person she was colors her "enlightenment." Amy instead seeks to be an "agent of change"; she attempts to change the world while simultaneously validating her own change, as she uncovers secrets about the corporation she works for. In 2012, Laura Dern won a Golden Globe for the role, and the show was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Televion Show - Musical/Comedy. It's a show that's not for everyone; there's really nothing else like it on TV, to put it simply. It's a very slow-moving show, but it's in the small moments that populate Amy's life where the show is quite possibly one of the most devastatingly emotional experiences on TV. Mike White's directing is phenomenal, and his extensive finesse with capturing women on film really helps to heighten our connection to Amy, and how she reacts to the people in her life. I can't find another show where the dialogue and interaction is as real or grounded. One particularly good description I've read about the show is that it's poetry. And, like poetry, it won't appeal to everyone, but it is in its quiet moments that you find magic. There's no mind quite as fascinating as Amy's, but at the same time completely heartbreaking. Enlightened is six episodes into its eight-episode second season, and the few of us that watch the show are hoping that HBO gives its greatest prestige show a third shot. Characters  Amy Jellicoe (Laura Dern) After a humiliating public mental breakdown at Abaddon, she receives rehabilitation at a holistic center, and returns determined to change both her life and the world around her. However, she hasn't quite realized that change never comes easily, and must instead be done so by small steps.  Levi Callow (Luke Wilson) Amy's ex-husband and a functioning drug addict. He at first reacts harshly to her attempts to change him upon her return, but the chemistry that still exists between them allows him to see that he can live a different life without the drugs he fritters away his time with.  Helen Jellicoe (Diane Ladd) Amy's impassive, unemotional mother also is taking her own time to adjust to the changes Amy has undergone. She's very guarded about her emotions, and the moments that her and Amy share become increasingly more heartbreaking and devastating. Diane Ladd is also Dern's actual mother, making their scenes even more amazing.  Dougie Daniels (Timm Sharp) Amy's boss in the IT department (where she is moved to, in the basement, upon her return, no longer being a buyer for the company), he's abrasive and always has a bone to pick. He's usually very open about his sexual exploits, and expresses them in a very misogynistic way, much to the chagrin of Amy's other female coworkers.  Krista Jacob (Sarah Burns) Amy's former assistant and friend who tries to stop her before her mental breakdown and fails. Upon Amy's return, she's kept her at arm's length, since now Krista has everything Amy wants: a job, a great spouse, and a child on the way. Krista does her best to not let Amy know the distance that has been put between them by time.  Tyler (Mike White) One of Amy's co-workers in the IT department, and is usually dragged into Amy's new plans and schemes because of his obvious interest in her. Mike White is also the director, and plays a character that is kind of "us" in the sense of reacting to Amy. Overall, I'd say to give Enlightened a shot. It's incredible, original, and awe-inspiring TV but in the minutiae, rather than the grandiose. It's not a show that everyone will enjoy, but those that stick with it will find themselves entranced by it. It's one of the few shows that has left me very, very emotional. Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at Feb 21, 2013 around 16:19 |
| # ? Feb 19, 2013 10:05 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 03:29 |
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An ominous corporation named "Abbadon" - really? Cmon. They decided to name themselves after a biblical fallen angel that releases plagues of locusts and participates in the end of the world, and whose name means 'Destruction'? Totally not an evil corporation, nosiree. From the description of the show you've given, the corporation having such an stereotypical evil name doesn't really seem to fit.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 13:49 |
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I love you sometimes, Azure. I was just thinking about making this topic a couple weeks ago, but never saw it mentioned in the Couch thread.Wolpertinger posted:An ominous corporation named "Abbadon" - really? Cmon. They decided to name themselves after a biblical fallen angel that releases plagues of locusts and participates in the end of the world, and whose name means 'Destruction'? Totally not an evil corporation, nosiree. From the description of the show you've given, the corporation having such an stereotypical evil name doesn't really seem to fit. That's one of the things that bugs me too, but it happens in movies and television a lot, so I can deal. Amy's journey is amazing to watch, especially with how it affects the people around her (Tyler comes to mind). She's still learning from her experiences. When she first came back, she was optimistic to a fault, but she's slowly coming back down to Earth. I wouldn't say she's reverting back to who she was, but she's definitely becoming less naive about the things around her. She's seeing what's really required for her goals and she's rising to the occasion. And Helen. Oh my god Helen. I've never worried more about a TV character than I do about her. Oh, and it's also worth noting that Tyler is played by the show's creator and Diane Ladd is Laura Dern's real life mother.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 14:38 |
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Despite being fiction, there has never been a show that more accurately captures life as it really is than this. In that sense, Mike White is to television what Richard Yates is to literature, despite having different styles and themes. Wolpertinger posted:An ominous corporation named "Abbadon" - really? Cmon. They decided to name themselves after a biblical fallen angel that releases plagues of locusts and participates in the end of the world, and whose name means 'Destruction'? Totally not an evil corporation, nosiree. From the description of the show you've given, the corporation having such an stereotypical evil name doesn't really seem to fit.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 15:00 |
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Wolpertinger posted:An ominous corporation named "Abbadon" - really? Cmon. They decided to name themselves after a biblical fallen angel that releases plagues of locusts and participates in the end of the world, and whose name means 'Destruction'? Totally not an evil corporation, nosiree. From the description of the show you've given, the corporation having such an stereotypical evil name doesn't really seem to fit. It's, as Joramun said, a metaphor. It's a metaphor for how Amy destroyed her life, and by coming back with a renewed sense of where her life will go, is able to see the destruction her company caused, and continues to cause. The Abaddon corporation is a part of the show, but not its focus.
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| # ? Feb 20, 2013 22:30 |
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The Best Show on WFMU has been going off about how awesome and underrated this show is for weeks so I'm gonna give it a whirl because they generally have good taste in everything. Mike White was on this weeks episode and pretty much flat out said it's probably getting cancelled which will be a bummer if I end up liking it. I did catch the episode with Luke Wilson in rehab a few weeks ago and actually really enjoyed it so I have high hopes.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 06:05 |
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Honestly it's impressive enough it got a second season, the first season's ratings were even worse. So glad they did though because this season has been a big step up and has done a better job at building up buzz for the show from what I can tell, albeit not by much but now you have AV Club writing articles that are basically an excuse to tell people to watch it. I'll be sad if HBO don't choose to renew it based on the acclaim it's received this year. Not like they can't afford it.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 07:32 |
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Bown posted:Honestly it's impressive enough it got a second season, the first season's ratings were even worse. So glad they did though because this season has been a big step up and has done a better job at building up buzz for the show from what I can tell, albeit not by much but now you have AV Club writing articles that are basically an excuse to tell people to watch it. I'll be sad if HBO don't choose to renew it based on the acclaim it's received this year. Not like they can't afford it. It's a show that really helps HBO define their brand, so I can't see why they wouldn't since the Metacritic went from 75 for Season 1 to 96 for Season 2, one of the highest-rated shows ever. I've also heard the Season 2 finale is just about the best episode of TV ever, but that's just going by some advance rumors/reviews. Azure_Horizon fucked around with this message at Feb 22, 2013 around 08:11 |
| # ? Feb 22, 2013 07:35 |
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Azure_Horizon posted:It's a show that really helps HBO define their brand, so I can't see why they wouldn't since the Metacritic went from 75 for Season 1 to 96 for Season 2, one of the highest-rated shows ever. Season 2 is a definite step up from season 1. Tyler's arc is really fascinating to watch, and the episode where he does the opening and closing monologues is one of my favorite half hours on television. He really starts coming into his own and it's fascinating to watch, and a little  at some points.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 14:19 |
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:Season 2 is a definite step up from season 1. Tyler's arc is really fascinating to watch, and the episode where he does the opening and closing monologues is one of my favorite half hours on television. He really starts coming into his own and it's fascinating to watch, and a little Enlightened is pretty much the only show I've seen that just haphazardly shifts its entire focus from its main character to its periphery characters at seemingly any time.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 17:54 |
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I was thinking about making a thread for this. I binged the entire series last week on HBO on demand and I'm really hooked. The episode "The Ghost is Seen" was probably my favorite. Fantastic writing.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 18:00 |
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:Tyler's arc is really fascinating to watch, and the episode where he does the opening and closing monologues is one of my favorite half hours on television. vyst posted:The episode "The Ghost is Seen" was probably my favorite. Fantastic writing.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 19:55 |
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Am I supposed to hate Amy?
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 20:40 |
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nooneofconsequence posted:Am I supposed to hate Amy? Yes and no. Once she starts to come to terms with who she is, and how she's affecting everyone around her (takes a few episodes, starts with "The Weekend" iirc), you'll start to like her more. Looking at her as a child who never got solid parenting at all helps you understand why she's so emotional, wreckless, conflicted, and selfish.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 20:44 |
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Azure_Horizon posted:Enlightened is pretty much the only show I've seen that just haphazardly shifts its entire focus from its main character to its periphery characters at seemingly any time.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 20:49 |
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nooneofconsequence posted:Am I supposed to hate Amy? As I was binge-watching this show, I would read comments sections online and constantly see people going "Oh, I didn't like this show until I realized how awful Amy is and how you're supposed to dislike her." So I guess to that end it's not an uncommon opinion, but it's a reading I don't understand or agree with at all. She's obviously a flawed character, but the only legitimately negative thing about her is the degree to which she uses Tyler sometimes. She's self-centered, she can be overly preachy and overconfident in her knowledge, but I think that her heart is largely in the right place even when she's acting this way. I feel like some people dislike her for being earnest to a fault and oblivious to the degree to which other people aren't, which can be uncomfortable to watch but isn't actually something that's hateworthy.
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| # ? Feb 22, 2013 21:02 |
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She reminds me of a lot of the people I went to college with, at least at the beginning. I went to a fairly liberal school, and there were a ton of people whose personalities were "down with the man!" and "corporations suck!" and stuff like that. Once she starts working on bringing down the corporation though, she starts changing a bit, realizing that things aren't as simple as she thinks, and that's incredibly awesome to see. She did annoy me a bit at first, especially when she was being preachy, but she's changed enough that I genuinely like her. And you can still see some of the ruthlessness she (probably) had before the meltdown. It's neat. EDIT: Azure_Horizon posted:Enlightened is pretty much the only show I've seen that just haphazardly shifts its entire focus from its main character to its periphery characters at seemingly any time. It's done pretty well too. Everyone has their role to play, which is another theme in the show. Rabbi Raccoon fucked around with this message at Feb 23, 2013 around 03:43 |
| # ? Feb 23, 2013 03:24 |
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The @EnlightenedFans twitter is hoping people retweet to show interest in a season 3. Positive responses so far, but we need more than "hundreds" of tweets, we need thousands. HBO is gauging interest this way, I guess. Hope it's worth it.
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| # ? Feb 24, 2013 05:39 |
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Didn't they have one of those a few days ago? I could have sworn I already RT'd it.
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| # ? Feb 24, 2013 16:24 |
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I'm going to have to give this show another go, I gave up a few episodes into season one, I admit I'm one of those people who didn't like Amy so gave up. Edit: My god what a waste of time, the twist turns out that something vaguely interesting happens, she is consistently annoying oblivious self involved bitch all the way through and I gave up halfway through the first episode in season 2, something interesting might start happening now,but I'm so sick of an entire season of her bitchy self involved made up problems that I couldn't stomach it if something legitimately horrible doesn't happen to her as reprisal for her horrible behavior. Mrens fucked around with this message at Feb 25, 2013 around 06:49 |
| # ? Feb 24, 2013 19:51 |
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Man, just caught up. Bout to watch the newest episode now and cry again. 
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 04:01 |
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Aw, Tyler can't stop smiling!
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 04:06 |
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You quoted the right part on Facebook, too: "This is a direct order from your superior, Tyler. Smoke this loving joint with me." Loved it.
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 04:08 |
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Azure_Horizon posted:You quoted the right part on Facebook, too: "This is a direct order from your superior, Tyler. Smoke this loving joint with me." The best part is I've both said and been told that. Oh my god this is the most adorable lunch ever.
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 04:13 |
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Was that Amy's first drink of the series?
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 19:32 |
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Rabbi Raccoon posted:Was that Amy's first drink of the series? No, I think she had drinks with Jeff in "All I Ever Wanted."
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| # ? Feb 25, 2013 20:04 |
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There's been an absolute flurry of blogs and posts written by online mags in support of the show. Here's hoping for a Season 3, people.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 01:00 |
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From what I've read, they're making the season 2 finale so that it could work as a series finale, but here's hoping it doesn't come to that.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 03:02 |
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I'm cuurently watching Undeclared and Timm Sharp (Dougie) just had a scene with Mike White in a pet store, that's how they must've met and kept in touch until White cast him on Enlightened. Similar to Molly Shannon in Year of the Dog that he wrote and directed.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 13:45 |
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I am not prepared to feel all of the emotions tonight.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 19:50 |
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I just hope it won't be the last time we ever see these people. There's still so much life left in these characters and we've only scratched the surface of the show's thematic and narrative potential.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 20:09 |
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Joramun posted:I just hope it won't be the last time we ever see these people. There's still so much life left in these characters and we've only scratched the surface of the show's thematic and narrative potential. Very true, but at the same time the main story will be over one way or the other (judging from what I've been reading anyway). So at least if it does get cancelled, we get some closure on the story. I wouldn't be happy, but it's still something.
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| # ? Mar 3, 2013 20:12 |
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This show is really fuckin good - probably my favorite thing on HBO right now. There are a ton of incredibly well-captured things in the show - the fact that Amy still can't get over her classism is honestly really true-to-life for people going through this sort of thing. She wants to connect with people, but she really means the right people - she is, in a sense, hamstrung by her attractiveness/former economic status to actually accept a happier life for herself. Instead, she has to keep striving to connect with people whom she deems worthy (like cool Mr. journalist man). Meanwhile, while Tyler's lover may seem to have a shittier awkward life, she's able to accept what's in front of her. She's not a weird dreamer like Amy - she's fully capable of taking what's offered and making the best of it. I wish there had been a thread before - there were so many moments that are absolutely worthy of discussion. One of my favorites was when Amy brings forward the sexual harassment claim, and the company ends up siding with her - in one sense, of course, but we really expected it to go completely against her for some reason. We'd completely bought into her narrative about her vs. the world, when really she's just a part of it. Diane Ladd in the grocery store is probably the moment I think back to the most... a great indication of how a moment that was meaningless to the woman in the store ended up the foundation of all of the bad things in Ladd's life. Although I loved the whole night out with Levi at rehab. The way the girl is first lusted after, then seen as some sort of validation of Levi's attractiveness as a man, only to realize that she was merely attempting to fulfill her emotional needs for herself. Other people in the show are always, surprisingly, their own people with their own stories, and the biggest surprises in the show are usually reminders of that fact - none of these people exist for the sake of the protagonist. Amy was hoping that people would come forward to defend her in the harassment suit, but of course, someone comes out for her for a completely different and unrelated reason. Hell, she'll take it. Really good show and I had no idea the Metacritic score was so high - it certainly deserves it. Also, of course, Dern's performance is basically flawless. No Wave fucked around with this message at Mar 4, 2013 around 00:12 |
| # ? Mar 4, 2013 00:10 |
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It's interesting that you bring up classism because, among the other million complex things Enlightened is about, one of them is the failing of the American Dream. Amy's always wanting more, because she used to live a life of excess, of "the American Dream." But when that dream failed her, and she was left emotionally bankrupt, she tries to recover the damage done to her by herself (and by her company) by desiring more -- more connections (Twitter, her coworkers, Jeff), more awareness (idealizing environmental issues, her company's malfeasance, etc.), more "enlightenment" but it's all just the ideal of wanting more without tangibly having it. And that, perhaps, is the most heartbreaking conclusion the show can provide. You can always want more, there's always so much time, but there's a difference between wanting more, and having it. And for some, that may just be impossible.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 00:40 |
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Azure_Horizon posted:It's interesting that you bring up classism because, among the other million complex things Enlightened is about, one of them is the failing of the American Dream. Amy's always wanting more, because she used to live a life of excess, of "the American Dream." But when that dream failed her, and she was left emotionally bankrupt, she tries to recover the damage done to her by herself (and by her company) by desiring more -- more connections (Twitter, her coworkers, Jeff), more awareness (idealizing environmental issues, her company's malfeasance, etc.), more "enlightenment" but it's all just the ideal of wanting more without tangibly having it. And that, perhaps, is the most heartbreaking conclusion the show can provide. The really obvious time this happened is the way she totally brushes off the waiter at the event that the journalist brings her to. He's totally down to hang out, but he's the wrong sort of person - he's not part of the "new world" (who are, incidentally, quite wealthy/winners at life). The "damage" done to Amy was one done to her self-image - she couldn't stand that someone treated her "that way" and that she was so out of control of the situation. What she learned in Hawaii was not to cling so firmly to her identity, ie, how she appears to others. She did go through a change there - she's now most disappointed when other people disappoint her expectations of them. They have much less power over her than they once did. At the same time, this makes her behave erratically - she thinks so little about her own appearances now that she'll go weeks without getting any work done and will completely lack self-consciousness when she really should. The chasing of Twitter followers is totemic, and of course nobody is any richer for it. It's convenient and easy and fun to tweet that the revolution is coming as the number rises without actually thinking about the impact that you're having. Amy's main challenge is that she has these very strong views on how the world should be, and uses reality to try to confirm these frameworks rather than engaging with reality on its own. When Zyden suddenly informs her that she could have had the job and the money, this changes everything she'd thought up to that point. Up to then she saw "doing good" as being somehow fundamentally opposed to making a good living. It's why she almost has a breakdown when something that she saw as a universal principle is contradicted. It's the same reason she talks about the new world/old world - she's creating one group of people that she can/wants to engage with and another group that she doesn't want to. By creating these artificial categories, she doesn't have to engage with her own classism/prejudices.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 01:11 |
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Argh, it frustrates me how a show so loving rich and complex is so underwatched. It's this kind of discussion over what I think is the most tragic/most fascinating female character on TV that makes me wish more people were "enlightened" about this show.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 01:30 |
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No Wave posted:Amy stuff That's what makes her such a great character. She's so much more real than characters trying to do similar things. She has her flaws, but is pretty unaware of them. She is so firmly entrenched in her views that she can't see the mistakes she's making nor the hypocritical nature of what she's doing. What she's doing is for both wrong and right reasons. She gets wrapped up in her causes and doesn't see that sometimes she's putting people in positions where they could get hurt (like Eileen and Tyler). She might care for these people, but she cares about her cause more. However, she does slowly become more aware of what she's doing. She learns from her mistakes and her triumphs, and what she's capable of doing. And she does show remorse (like when Tyler switches her hard drive out with that other guys whose name I can't remember who subsequently gets fired), but she doesn't back down. She's strong willed and stubborn, but doesn't always think everything through. She's very human. And I for one can't wait to see how her journey ends.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 01:33 |
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I can't... I just... all of the emotions. I felt all of them. That was a masterpiece of a season... series ... finale.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 04:38 |
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I spent half the episode making the  face and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 04:58 |
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| # ? May 26, 2013 03:29 |
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Ah that was such a good finale, it's too bad there wasn't enough critical praise (except for AVClub I guess) for it to get renewed
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| # ? Mar 4, 2013 05:07 |
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