Robert Ray

Some good visuals in the OA, which is hard to remember, hard to say into the little blue mic--Zal B is a genius; B Marling is a lovely valedictorian, the Boys are America; the teacher is Big Sis; Jason Isaacs is a chameleon; the structure needs re-building: the creators mapped out a five season shoot--that's 5 acts in the drama world--so the center bogged down--too much room in the playpen, permission to spread out--too few connections in Act Two (they bring on a private eye with a great physique; Marling re-assumes her Russian Girl Self, but we don't see why) she's always cool to watch, Young Blonde Goddess with lean feet, but story is story and she's a character--as we novelists know, you write the ending as soon as you can (How Does My Story End)--and then you slip back to Act One, because you've got Act Three locked down--and Act Two is very thin, too chancy, sad for these intrepid young folks aching to be different, but story is story, no fakery there, and the move you don't want to make is to bring on more characters, because every character needs a back story, which takes up more room, and forces you to make the connection: where did this character come from?what are they doing on my stage?--but I would love to see Act Three, R Ray The Weekend Novelist