Ed Bean

Mild spoilers ahead. Turn back! I really wanted to like this show. A great cast, though none of the characters they play is particularly likable. They’re all pretty unloveable, and make self-centered or stupid decisions or fail to act at all. Everyone who comes into their orbit is the worse for it. They are Schleprock tourists leaving a wake of misfortune and death everywhere they go. A really important part mystery writing is the contract between writer and reader that *most* will be revealed in the fullness of time. Too many red herrings, MacGuffins and Smoke Monsters and the reader feels cheated and manipulated, made to invest interest and time for no payoff. That’s what we have at the end of this season. The family has made a series of improbable escapes from the most untenable and deadly of predicaments, we don’t know why Margot stays with Allie, we don’t know how the family formed or why it’s on the run. We are as in-the-dark as the two children and just as frustrated. We do know we’ve got a whole lot of questions, one of which is “Am I excited to see a 2nd season of this show?” And no, I personally am not. Since “Lost”, I am leery of series where it feels obvious to me that the writers are not writing to a plan. That’s how this feels to me. If I’m even thinking about the writing while watching the show, something’s not right, is it? Your mileage may vary, as your tolerance for intellectual stimulation without resolution may be greater than mine. But I cannot recommend.