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Cojawfee posted:I watched half of the one about the wife with the brain tumor and the subscription brain. It's ok, but it's capitalism but more of it. Maybe it's really hard to get away from the "What if *blank* but too much" trope with this show. They did this exact episode with Fifteen Million Merits, and I feel that one still holds up. This new one doesn't have dark humor to lean on. It's simply grimdark. And it's too obvious how it'll play out once it introduces the self-deprivation streaming. Maybe I'll change my opinion if there's a last second twist. I am paused near the end. I needed a break and distraction to psych myself up for what I'm pretty sure will be gore porn. I've been dreading the moment the dude fucks with his teeth or cuts off pieces of himself. Edit. It was worse than I imagined. Strong contender for most depressive Black Mirror episode. Attack Princess fucked around with this message at 11:45 on Apr 10, 2025 |
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Apr 10, 2025 11:24
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I liked Bęte Noire. A fun Black Mirror episode. They should've opened with that. The binge continues. I'm so here for what Hotel Reverie is doing! The Last Action Hero was way ahead of its time! 
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Apr 10, 2025 14:18
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Attack Princess posted:They did this exact episode with Fifteen Million Merits, and I feel that one still holds up. This new one doesn't have dark humor to lean on. It's simply grimdark. And it's too obvious how it'll play out once it introduces the self-deprivation streaming. It's a rough one right out of the gate, woof.
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Apr 10, 2025 15:42
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Attack Princess posted:
I feel like the plot concept of that one is a bit weird. Was their original plan really to have an exact 1 to 1 retelling of the original show with the lead character replaced, spouting identical lines? Also the actor basically has to do everytyhing on the first take. Why would anyone watch that? cant cook creole bream fucked around with this message at 17:42 on Apr 10, 2025 |
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Apr 10, 2025 17:28
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It was a bad plan by people in over their heads. That covers both the studio owner and the wreckless tech company. They were too in love with the idea of expanding their portfolios to consider that this would not be for anyone. Disney will do this the second it's possible though. And it will print money, considering the popularity of the Star Wars remasters.
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Apr 10, 2025 18:31
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Watched Common People and now I want to set the world on fire. Just... drat
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Apr 10, 2025 19:02
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Becoming a walking adbot is a special kind of hell. That was a bleak one.Attack Princess posted:I liked Bête Noire. A fun Black Mirror episode. They should've opened with that. On the other hand I'm glad they didn't. First one was straight up bummer, kinda thing that reflects reality so much it's just depressing, so I'm very glad it was followed by a fun one. The one In worried about is the last one revisiting an old setting. That one already had a happy ending so I'm assuming this one will be a gut punch. Khanstant fucked around with this message at 20:17 on Apr 10, 2025 |
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Apr 10, 2025 20:04
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gently caress me, that first episode was peak Black Mirror. Gunna need to have a lie down after that.
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Apr 10, 2025 21:01
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drat that's first episode was rough
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Apr 10, 2025 21:42
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Real disappointed with (first ep spoiler) “what if lovely subscription service models but the American healthcare system” episode. The mashup feels like it’s simultaneously overstating the impact of luxury/entertainment services enshittification and understating the impact of this country’s sociopathic healthcare on people’s lives. Also it was boring and predictable. Good cast though! They can’t all be winners.
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Apr 10, 2025 22:12
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I feel like Plaything's going to be a bit of a marmite ep but I bloody loved it. I want more of Will Poulter flitting in as this 90s techbro Lucifer and loving up the lives of weirdos e: The ending to Eulogy omg 
Rarity fucked around with this message at 23:22 on Apr 10, 2025 |
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Apr 10, 2025 22:35
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I was worried about the sequel for USS Callister but wow it actually turned out great, especially with the ending.
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Apr 11, 2025 04:47
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First episode was amazing. Really hard gut punch. Bete Noire was just lazy and frustrating. Terrible gimmick to enable the point of the plot. They need to take every multiverse story out back and shoot it in the head.
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Apr 11, 2025 06:37
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Paul Giamatti. I knew it was going to be good. Hotel Reverie was the weakest for me but I have zero fondness for that time period so thats all me. This season wasn't as mind fucky compared to the past but with how the world is I'm not surprised. Common people was great because its completely believable. We already do it with regular medicine. Also I'm still waiting to scream mcdonalds in front of my TV to skip ads. Im saving uss for tomorrow but these episodes have been really good. FalloutGod fucked around with this message at 13:09 on Apr 11, 2025 |
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Apr 11, 2025 13:06
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Doltos posted:Bete Noire was just lazy and frustrating. Terrible gimmick to enable the point of the plot. They need to take every multiverse story out back and shoot it in the head. I enjoyed it, but they could have done more with it. It's not a traditional multiverse story. The Mandela Effect device was a clever sci-fi weapon, and the nut allergy scene was awesome. What I thought they could have done more with is the idea that trauma sticks in your head even if you get everything you want. The "being bullied as a kid turns someone into a psychopath obsessed with revenge" was lazy.
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Apr 11, 2025 15:15
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What if gaslighting, but too much?
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Apr 11, 2025 15:20
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Not Allegory
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Apr 11, 2025 15:29
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Episode three was the best, but ending stuff why couldn't they have just given Brandy one of those nub things that are ubiquitous in this setting instead of a stupid telephone? USS Callister was a good sequel, no notes. Good season all around.
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Apr 11, 2025 15:40
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Wrapped up the season with the return to the Callister which was a very fun mostly feelgood sci-fi romp. I think overall this is the best season of the Netflix era (maybe ever depending how The Waldo Moment plays in a post-Trump era). The weakest episode was Bete Noire which was still a solid 7.5/10 and the highs were really high. I did a ranking but drat it was hard this time, everything outside top and bottom was close. 6. Bete Noire - A really fun schlocky horror, great performances from the two leads, only at the bottom cause it didn't have anything deeper to say 5. Hotel Reverie - I've been watching a lot of golden age Hollywood recently so the references landed so well with me. I'd rate it higher if they hadn't done the sad dead lesbians thing 4. USS Callister 2 - Beforehand I didn't really see much point in returning to this universe but they did such a good job of making it relevant that it just feels like the same story. Also I feel like this ep just subtly explained who was doing all the blackmailing in Shut Up and Dance?!?! 3. Plaything - Going back to Bandersnatch however was such a good idea, there's so much more you can do with this world. Loved the lead performances, loved the return of Colin, loved what if the Sims but too much, so fun. With the ending I thought we were about to get the zombies from White Bear but for real 2. Eulogy - Did not expect to rate this one so highly at first glance but goddam. Paul Giamatti absolutely crushed it and as someone who's still nursing a heartbreak two years on this really spoke to me. 1. Common People - The most real episode Black Mirror's ever done. I hated every second of watching this, gently caress everything.
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Apr 11, 2025 15:40
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USS Callister 2: I can't get over the intro of Jimmi Simpson's clone. The camera pointed directly up his rear end crack is too funny. I wasn't sure if I saw nuts, but then we're flashed later. Well played, Jimbo!
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Apr 11, 2025 16:56
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Common People - Didn't watch, don't want to be that depressed. Bete Noire - I posted my thoughts above. I liked the invention of a Mandela Effect weapon to gaslight someone into insanity. Hotel Reverie - Boring as hell, turned it off halfway in when it was obvious where it was going. I skipped to the end and yep it was going to keep doing what it was doing for another 30ish minutes to get to the conclusion. Plaything - Eh, more Peter Capaldi and more Bandersnatch is fun. Plainly obvious what he's try to do from the first ask for a pen. The Sims thing was too goofy and I would have liked to see anything more of the ending. Ultimately a good idea but shouldn't have been a Peter Capaldi audiobook. Eulogy - Paul Giamatti was amazing. All my breakups are so far in the past I couldn't really relate to the heartbreak, but I imagine it'll resonate more for some people. USS Callister - This had the best total acting/actor chemistry of all the episodes. I initially rolled my eyes at more of this, mostly because they wrung the "digital DNA copies is evil" idea out throughout Black Mirror's run, but it was fantastic and sets itself up nicely for a sequel. It managed to blindside me with some of the OG Star Trek homages, which I didn't think was possible.
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Apr 11, 2025 19:52
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Common People isn't even "x but too much" it's literally the "US healthcare system but the same".
SCheeseman fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Apr 11, 2025 |
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Apr 11, 2025 20:09
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These three made it all worth watching: Common People  Eulogy  USS Callister: into infinity  Bottom 3, but honestly I didn't even feel like they wasted my time watching them, so they were fine: Plaything: it was fine Hotel reverie: it was fine Bęte Noire: this would've been up higher if the ending didn't just completely fall apart, because I was I was all in with the gaslighting
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Apr 11, 2025 20:33
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Slightly disappointed they've not retained the Red Mirror idea from last series, since it saved the show from using "hey, but what if the human mind is just software!" too often. Stealing Rarity's ranking format: 6. Bęte Noire - Maybe if it hadn't come straight after another episode with a glibly cruel and remorseless antagonist I'd have liked it better. 5. Common People - Just too brutal. Socially relevant, says something that should be said about the state of healthcare and enshittification, but left me feeling gutpunched in the same way Lars Von Trier films do. I acknowledge its quality but did not enjoy it. 4. Hotel Reverie - Quantum Leap/Pleasantville/Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid all rolled together; a lot of care taken to replicate the lighting/costuming/set design of a golden age movie, but with anachronisms like modern camera movements and quick edits becoming increasingly used as things stray away from the original film. The story itself - meh, but I enjoyed the technical aspects 3. Plaything - Nailed the look of the period (something Black Mirror always does really well), and at least did something a bit different with the mind=software thing. 2. USS Callister: Into Infinity - Fun, the most comedic of the bunch, looked great and I need more of Jimmi Simpson being a strangely charismatic shitheel in my life. Though thinking about a half dozen minds simultaneously running on one brain upsets me. 1. Eulogy - I'm probably rating this so highly because it resonated personally with me, and I'm a sucker for stories where people are slowly piecing together a mystery they didn't even realise existed. Brutal, but in a bittersweet "sometimes life goes down the wrong path without anyone being to blame" way rather than "life gets dragged down the wrong path by sociopathic corps trying to maximise profits" way. And how a devastating answer can at least give you peace from perpetual hypothesising. E: gently caress, Black Mirror really seems to set off some polysyllabic pretentiousness thing in me for some reason. 1 fucked around with this message at 21:03 on Apr 11, 2025 |
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Apr 11, 2025 20:59
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Finished the first two last night, not a huge fan of either. The first one just ran a little long, felt like we'd gotten the picture after 45 minutes or so. Not a bad setup, just fairly predictable and didn't do much with a full hour. Very glad they didn't show more of the husband debasing himself on stream, I was afraid they were going to get much more gruesome with it. Bete Noire wasn't bad either, just felt a little thin. I was waiting for some kind of social commentary, idk, something more than just she hates you because of high school and yep, she's just got a magic computer that's doing all the weird stuff, no need to dig any deeper into that. It's always vaguely disappointing when you spend forty minutes watching increasingly creepy things happening to the protagonist and then it's just like welp, it's all because of this device here, no mystery necessary. And that ending was fun, but again, didn't really seem to say anything. I'll dig into the rest this weekend probably. Hasn't felt like they've jumped the shark yet, but I'm hoping a few of the remainder wow me a little more.
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Apr 11, 2025 22:39
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LifeLynx posted:I enjoyed it, but they could have done more with it. Yeah I agree. Those parts were great.
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Apr 11, 2025 22:44
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Going through my rankings 6) USS Callister - Loved the sequel, loved the follow up with the characters, but it just felt like it went on a little too long. Really loved the Real Housewives cameo. 5) Bête Noire - Didn't feel Black Mirror, but rather a Twilight Zone episode, not enough "modern day"/"tech" issues. really did like the Barnies/Bernie's switcheroo for the audience you get a coinflip 4) Plaything - What if Tomagachi, but too much. I really enjoyed the finale and this "up to interpretation" that we got world peace, or just death. Capaldi delivered great monologues and you felt bad for the Journalist. 3) Common People - An absolute downer, some of the foreshadowing was very obvious, when it came to Dumb and the Crib. you really wanted a happy ended, but it just became more and more depressing, a lesson in healthcare, capitalism, and subscription and phone services. the most cruel episode of Black Mirror ever made. 2) Eulogy - This is my new "go to" episode for people to get into Black Mirror. it's not scary, it's not that devastating, it's a simple one man play (technically two) where it's Paul Giamatti wanting to forget about somebody he loved, and slowly learning the truth about the Cello playing girlfriend. Go with this one before you pick something like Common People. (This should be #1) 1) Hotel Reverie - I was getting that San Junipero parallels with the love story. Absolutely a story about hidden romance, and while it is still a sinister AI/Deepfake story, it is also one of the few Black Mirror episodes that didn't have such a depressing ending, you got the hint the Dorothy killed herself because she was gay and was never able to be herself, and the parallel with Brandy and her modern love life. they still found each other, even if it's just a simulation EDIT: I do think they should make a Red Mirror spinoff series though, only because I'm getting tired of the Easter Eggs, the Bandersnatch Logo, the use of the little button next to your temple
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Apr 11, 2025 23:10
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In Plaything, the computer magazine being called PC Zone is a reference to where Charlie Brooker worked before he made it in to TV and did such works as Lara Croft Cruelty Zoo
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Apr 11, 2025 23:39
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Pablo Bluth posted:In Plaything, the computer magazine being called PC Zone is a reference to where Charlie Brooker worked before he made it in to TV and did such works as Lara Croft Cruelty Zoo I was trying to figure out if the Editor was the Charlie Brooker stand-in, or if it was the background people playing Doom. It needed somebody reading a letter and getting deeply caustic
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Apr 11, 2025 23:57
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Final rankings: 6) Hotel Reverie Terrible chemistry between the leads and the premise was nonsensical even for Black Mirror. Stop putting Awkwafina in things she can't act at all. Soul mate put into computer is an overdone trope in the series. 5) Bete Noire Could have been ok but lost the plot with the multiverse/super computer hand wave. 4) Plaything Bloated and the ending seemed to miss the point of its own story. Fine commentary but just didn't have much to work with 3) Common People Pretty decent. Kinda tropey, frustrating, and unfair to the point of misery but fine for what it is. 2) USS Callister 2 Fun sequel. Kinda cringy premise to get going but that's most video game related media that's trying to connect with target audiences. Went on too long, guess it's Black Mirror's crown jewel or something. 1) Eulogy Pretty powerful performance from Giamatti. Great use of tech to observe a humanistic story. Nothing unbelievable but probably my favorite from a weaker season.
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Apr 12, 2025 03:41
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Bleh, this season sucked. I'm not going to bother to rank the episodes because they all stretched out their paper thin concept into oblivion and were boring as hell, except maybe Bete Noir which was at least entertaining even if it was dumb. I'm sad they didn't bring back a Red Mirror concept, Demon 79 was a better episode than anything they've done since Series 3.
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Apr 12, 2025 04:27
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Surprised people are so sympathetic on Eulogy, not that it's a bad episode, just that it's a story of a dude who sucks and still doesn't realize he's the guy who sucks that late in his life, even when confronted directly with it in what should be spelled out for him. Surprise proposals also irk me in the best of circumstances, and his was selfishly motivated on top of that. I really wanted a dark twist for him but it was him getting some undeserved peace/closure without her ever getting any. I get really frustrated at characters who refuse to see their shittiness for trying so hard to find it in others instead. Very human story but made me hate the dude and no catharsis for it. Just seems like he will still pity himself without seeing how
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Apr 12, 2025 06:24
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Khanstant posted:Surprised people are so sympathetic on Eulogy, not that it's a bad episode, just that it's a story of a dude who sucks and still doesn't realize he's the guy who sucks that late in his life, even when confronted directly with it in what should be spelled out for him. Surprise proposals also irk me in the best of circumstances, and his was selfishly motivated on top of that. I really wanted a dark twist for him but it was him getting some undeserved peace/closure without her ever getting any. I get really frustrated at characters who refuse to see their shittiness for trying so hard to find it in others instead. Very human story but made me hate the dude and no catharsis for it. Just seems like he will still pity himself without seeing how Eh, I don't know. The woman also just got the pretty tripe excuse of "got knocked up and I just didn't want to tell you the truth because I was so afraid" and she decided for them both to get the kid without talking to him and just leaving a note. That does of course happen so that the whole plot can happen but if you view it from his perspective it's at least understandable. I do agree that sudden marriage proposals are also kind of a weird thing but then again, so is just running away and saying nothing in that situation and just leaving a dramatic/cryptic note. I'd say if there is a big lesson in this story then "talk to each other and assume less about the other person" because that was really the core problem behind everything, both kept making assumptions about the other person. Love is not a replacement for communication. ^^
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Apr 12, 2025 12:15
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Watching Common People and immediately after they mentioned about coverage I got the circle and 0% buffering, and after the advertising in school I got an advert. I am on Netflix Basic so this is pretty funny if intentional
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Apr 12, 2025 12:44
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The most unrealistic bit in Eulogy was a camera shop still existing
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Apr 12, 2025 12:47
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Got through the next two, Hotel Reverie and The One With Peter Capaldi That I Can't Remember The Name. Reverie was kinda mediocre, I dunno. I thought they were going to get much more dangerous with it, especially once she got predictably trapped in the simulation, but they decided to make it more of an impossible love story when I was expecting the movie people to learn they weren't real and to turn violent (and, since they made a point of talking about it, possibly remember how racist they were). Enjoyed the Thronglets episode thoroughly, but again, I feel like they could have done more with it, although I knew they'd never let us see the results of the singularity haha. Maybe went into what happened during the 30 years of living with the Thronglets that they skipped past? We never got any information on them aside from the fact that they were talking to him. Not on my list of best Black Mirror episodes, but definitely the best for this season so far.
Phenotype fucked around with this message at 15:32 on Apr 12, 2025 |
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Apr 12, 2025 15:09
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I feel like Eulogy was wish fulfillment for a very specific (and I'd imagine common) type of person with a shoebox full of attic photos of the one who got away. Being really into someone who either isn't into you or is into you until they aren't can stick with you forever, especially if it happens in your twenties when Everything Matters. Finding out they were still into you too in a way that doesn't void your subsequent life and can't subsequently gently caress up is a big treasure trove of Old Person brain catnip.
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Apr 12, 2025 15:48
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Khanstant posted:Surprised people are so sympathetic on Eulogy, not that it's a bad episode, just that it's a story of a dude who sucks and still doesn't realize he's the guy who sucks that late in his life, even when confronted directly with it in what should be spelled out for him. Surprise proposals also irk me in the best of circumstances, and his was selfishly motivated on top of that. I really wanted a dark twist for him but it was him getting some undeserved peace/closure without her ever getting any. I get really frustrated at characters who refuse to see their shittiness for trying so hard to find it in others instead. Very human story but made me hate the dude and no catharsis for it. Just seems like he will still pity himself without seeing how The whole point is both of them suck rear end and they ruined their lives because they both suck rear end. She was cheating on her fiance when she first met him and then he cheated on her from loneliness and then she cheated on him back and instead of communicating at all with each other they both shut each other out and lost what they could have had. Thats why the step daughter was tearing up the entire time in the Eulogy App. The simulation was thinking of the great parents she could have had instead of the rotating cast of guys her mom brought in.
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Apr 12, 2025 17:05
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Yeah they both suck, but there also wasn't a happy ending to that relationship solved by communication, it would be miserable for them to get together after the cheating and counter-cheating. Angry lashout self-centered man wasn't going to change his whole character if she told him at the dinner where he was so absorbed in his own poo poo he couldn't read the room to save his life, and if he did show up and decide to stay, the daughter would've grown up with a dad who on some level resented her. Just hard to not see her better off without him since they showed us so much of him being a poo poo.
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Apr 12, 2025 17:32
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Starbucks posted:Watching Common People and immediately after they mentioned about coverage I got the circle and 0% buffering, and after the advertising in school I got an advert. I am on Netflix Basic so this is pretty funny if intentional I think the buffering thing was just a funny coincidence, but I do think they intentionally timed the ad breaks for those of us on the non-Plus tier, felt very thematic.
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Apr 12, 2025 17:37
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