There are a few boss moves in this series, both in universe (Flora shushing the ghost) and in the way it's told (using the same cliffhanger twice, or telling the audience that something terrible is about to happen with a closeup of a small inanimate doll). I love it for that.
It's such amazing storytelling, the way it all comes together, everything clicks and makes sense. Viola is kind of like Peter in a way. She is living her own purgatory and decides to make everyone who dies at Bly, befall the same fate. Peter killed Rebecca, to no longer be alone in his purgatory, and killed Hanna, because he couldn't stand her. They both act out of self-interest, and self-interest only. Which makes the final episode even sadder and more tragically beautiful than it already is.
My favorite episode of the season, I think it was beautifullydone and narrated. Part of me wishes we would have had an episode like this for Hill House to see the backstory of the Hill family.
I really love the contrast between Hill House and Bly Manor that is explored in this episode. There wasn't a definitive explanation for why Hill House was the way it was, just a bunch of theories, and the idea that some houses could be "born bad." However, this episode makes it completely clear that Viola is the single source of all the pain and misery and death that Bly Manor is heir to - a beautiful, charismatic woman with a will so strong that she defied Death itself and built such a strong web (gravity well) that it ensnared everyone who died on the grounds, not to mention the people she killed in her unthinking cycle of sleeping and waking and walking... I also really like how they told her story, with the black and white in the beginning in order to ground us, the audience, in the fact that this was the long-ago times instead of present day. I have to admire Viola's strength of will combined with her using her intelligence along with her looks to achieve her goals, but she was a royal B to her sister, and frankly, I'm not sure how she would have done as a mother to a teenage daughter. PS: Jamie is narrating the story, so she must have gotten the information from somewhere...
Every time I see this episode I remember Viola and Perdita are Theo and Poppy from Hill House and how Poppy was scary but Perdita makes me sad in a way,. Viola had that strong personality before she died that makes her the bad one after she became the lady of the lake. I was so annoyed that they didn't tell me what happened to Dani but I love flashbacks episodes. 😅
POPPY! Thank you. I thought she had a familiar vibe, but I just couldn't place her. Obviously Perdita is very different from Poppy, but dang. I kind of feel the annoyance slightly, I mean the ending is the THIRD time we saw that moment and it isn't until the 4th we finally move forward. BUT it was a really interesting back story that really helps frame the finale.
That plague doctor mask wasn’t meant to protect the doctor in the modern sense. It probably helped but the long snout was intended to be stuffed with herbs and such to mask the stench of the dead and dying. Besides being, well, gross, the stench of death was also considered a _cause_ rather than a symptom of disease (miasma is the term; stink so bad it kills), so fragrant herbs weren’t only more pleasant but thought to directly protect the mask’s wearer. But again, simply wearing a mask, fragrant or not, was the better part of the protection.
@@CasualNerdReactions My husband Ron and I saw it originally at the theater also. I didn't know about the plot; thought it would be a sappy holiday rom-com. At the beginning scene at the small church, I turned to Ron and said, "Looks like Croatia." I've never been to Croatia but am a product of Croatian immigrant parents & ethnic home life. I also had quintuple by-pass surgery in 2005 and feel I was given a new lease on life, (I'm 71.) And then the George Michael music...yeah! Needless to say the movie has a special place in my heart and is one of our Christmas favorites.
This was by far my favourite episode. I enjoyed Bly Manor, but I didn't love it, other than this episode. I think it is largely because I just didn't like Danni. I know the vast majority of people won't agree with me at all, but I felt she was a very weak character played in a very insipid way. I would love a whole series based in the past which fleshed out this episode.
Using the same cliffhanger ending twice is kind of a boss move.
There are a few boss moves in this series, both in universe (Flora shushing the ghost) and in the way it's told (using the same cliffhanger twice, or telling the audience that something terrible is about to happen with a closeup of a small inanimate doll). I love it for that.
Perdita is the same actress who played POPPY HILL. Such a difference. Love her.
Yes!! She’s great, I never would have recognized her.
This was a great flashback. Sleeping. Waking, Walking.
A beautiful analogy for depression as well.
“Turns out that Dani being grabbed is an even better ending”
Yo dawg, I heard you like that ending, so I put that ending in the ending
It's such amazing storytelling, the way it all comes together, everything clicks and makes sense. Viola is kind of like Peter in a way. She is living her own purgatory and decides to make everyone who dies at Bly, befall the same fate. Peter killed Rebecca, to no longer be alone in his purgatory, and killed Hanna, because he couldn't stand her. They both act out of self-interest, and self-interest only. Which makes the final episode even sadder and more tragically beautiful than it already is.
Brilliant storytelling. Fits into the season so well.
Remember in Hill House when the penultimate episode was a complete flashback? Same here.
My favorite episode of the season, I think it was beautifullydone and narrated. Part of me wishes we would have had an episode like this for Hill House to see the backstory of the Hill family.
This is my FAVORITE episode of this series, followed by the next one ❤
My favorite episode of the series! ❤❤❤
I really love the contrast between Hill House and Bly Manor that is explored in this episode.
There wasn't a definitive explanation for why Hill House was the way it was, just a bunch of theories, and the idea that some houses could be "born bad." However, this episode makes it completely clear that Viola is the single source of all the pain and misery and death that Bly Manor is heir to - a beautiful, charismatic woman with a will so strong that she defied Death itself and built such a strong web (gravity well) that it ensnared everyone who died on the grounds, not to mention the people she killed in her unthinking cycle of sleeping and waking and walking...
I also really like how they told her story, with the black and white in the beginning in order to ground us, the audience, in the fact that this was the long-ago times instead of present day. I have to admire Viola's strength of will combined with her using her intelligence along with her looks to achieve her goals, but she was a royal B to her sister, and frankly, I'm not sure how she would have done as a mother to a teenage daughter.
PS: Jamie is narrating the story, so she must have gotten the information from somewhere...
haha one thing i love abt reactors is they also turn bnw if the scene theyre watching is in bnw, such a silly thing to do
🤣🤣 I don’t normally do that, but i found my saturation distracting as I was editing so I really muted my color.
@ makes sense xd
Every time I see this episode I remember Viola and Perdita are Theo and Poppy from Hill House and how Poppy was scary but Perdita makes me sad in a way,. Viola had that strong personality before she died that makes her the bad one after she became the lady of the lake.
I was so annoyed that they didn't tell me what happened to Dani but I love flashbacks episodes. 😅
POPPY! Thank you. I thought she had a familiar vibe, but I just couldn't place her. Obviously Perdita is very different from Poppy, but dang. I kind of feel the annoyance slightly, I mean the ending is the THIRD time we saw that moment and it isn't until the 4th we finally move forward. BUT it was a really interesting back story that really helps frame the finale.
That plague doctor mask wasn’t meant to protect the doctor in the modern sense. It probably helped but the long snout was intended to be stuffed with herbs and such to mask the stench of the dead and dying. Besides being, well, gross, the stench of death was also considered a _cause_ rather than a symptom of disease (miasma is the term; stink so bad it kills), so fragrant herbs weren’t only more pleasant but thought to directly protect the mask’s wearer. But again, simply wearing a mask, fragrant or not, was the better part of the protection.
AH! i have the impression that u were watching this as u were posting it
This holiday season watch LAST CHRISTMAS (2019)...you can thank me later. Merry Christmas!
Love that you suggesting that movie! I saw it in theaters and would be thrilled to see more reactions to it.
@@CasualNerdReactions My husband Ron and I saw it originally at the theater also. I didn't know about the plot; thought it would be a sappy holiday rom-com. At the beginning scene at the small church, I turned to Ron and said, "Looks like Croatia." I've never been to Croatia but am a product of Croatian immigrant parents & ethnic home life. I also had quintuple by-pass surgery in 2005 and feel I was given a new lease on life, (I'm 71.) And then the George Michael music...yeah! Needless to say the movie has a special place in my heart and is one of our Christmas favorites.
This was by far my favourite episode. I enjoyed Bly Manor, but I didn't love it, other than this episode. I think it is largely because I just didn't like Danni. I know the vast majority of people won't agree with me at all, but I felt she was a very weak character played in a very insipid way. I would love a whole series based in the past which fleshed out this episode.