Netflix - The OA

It seems weird that there isn't a thread on this one yet (or maybe I missed it).
Anyway I've finished to watch the show today and... well it's hard to talk about it. It's very unique, and it felt like a spiritual experience to a certain extent. I was very hooked into it after the first five minutes of the first episode and every single time I was left yearning to watch more. The ending was exactly what I was expecting. I knew they weren't going to give a specific answer and honestly I'm fine with that (though I get why many people didn't like it). It made me even more curious about the next season.
I'm not sure if I'd encourage people to watch it, but imo it's a very powerful show.

I don't even know what this show is.

Here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvHJtez2IlY

It's a weird show. Some of the weirdness is intriguing and some is just plain weird. I like Buck and Phyllis from The Office and the other neighborhood boys are interesting characters too. Much more interesting than the ones in OA's flashback, with the exception of Lucious Malfoy of course, but he's a bad guy so you can't like him. I agree with the OP that the ending was exactly what I thought it would be. If people are expecting them to answer all the questions by the end of the first season then you were not paying attention to this show. This is more of a Lost where it is more about the characters and the reveals are fed to you piecemeal and not until the very end of the series, if even that, will we get answers to the overarching questions.

i really liked the OA

but you're right there's more questions than asnwers at the end

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Originally Posted by Del Murder

If people are expecting them to answer all the questions by the end of the first season then you were not paying attention to this show. This is more of a Lost where it is more about the characters and the reveals are fed to you piecemeal and not until the very end of the series, if even that, will we get answers to the overarching questions.

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This. I read of many people disappointed by the ending, and, while I understand wanting to know what is going on, an open ending was probably the best way to finish the first season. The authors of the show said very clearly that they know exactly where they are going so I don't even worry about knowing everything at this point. I just wait eagerly for Part 2.

Well, they said that with Lost too... different writers though. :)

Haven't watched Lost yet! :D
(And I probably should...)

I thought this was boring. My brother put me on to this telling me it was sci-fi, but I waited for like 4 or 5 eps and I didn't really see the sci-fi part. How is that girl only like 27? She looks 35 at the minimum.

The show has nothing to do with sci-fi. And Brit Marling (OA) is actually 34, so maybe that's why.

Yeah, I watched one episode and I didn't get into it at all. Moved on to Falling Skies now which is showing a lot of promise!

I'll watch Brit Marling in anything. I'll watch Brit Marling read from a dictionary.

But this was one weird ass show. There were elements that I loooved. And parts of it that made me cringe so much I had to look away cause I couldn't deal with the 2nd hand embarrassment (all the dancing stuff). I dunno. Mixed bag.

It was, without a doubt, the worst show that I've ever watched through to the end. The concept kept me going for the first few episodes, cause it was an interesting idea. After a certain point though I was only watching because I'd come too far to not see how at ended, and because I assumed there had to be a reason that it was made into a show.

I was wrong. No reason. It's just some guys bad acid trip that a Netflix exec got drunk and greenlit one day.

wow lots of upsets at the show eh

i get why it wouldn't be some people's bag tho

i quite enjoyed, looking forward to p2 if that ever happens

i think it was very raw so the cringing was probably intentional. it's not a show that's supposed to make you feel good, i think

the best simile i can think of is re-experiencing the worst parts of the growing phase of high school from a very alienated perspective

i think the trapped in the basement subplot is a metaphor for the entire experience of school here, and vice versa

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Originally Posted by Bubba

Yeah, I watched one episode and I didn't get into it at all. Moved on to Falling Skies now which is showing a lot of promise!

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Originally Posted by Miriel

I'll watch Brit Marling in anything. I'll watch Brit Marling read from a dictionary.

But this was one weird ass show. There were elements that I loooved. And parts of it that made me cringe so much I had to look away cause I couldn't deal with the 2nd hand embarrassment (all the dancing stuff). I dunno. Mixed bag.

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Originally Posted by Pheesh

It was, without a doubt, the worst show that I've ever watched through to the end. The concept kept me going for the first few episodes, cause it was an interesting idea. After a certain point though I was only watching because I'd come too far to not see how at ended, and because I assumed there had to be a reason that it was made into a show.

I was wrong. No reason. It's just some guys bad acid trip that a Netflix exec got drunk and greenlit one day.

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It's definitely not a show for everyone, so it's very understandable that many people didn't like it.

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Originally Posted by krissy

i quite enjoyed, looking forward to p2 if that ever happens

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It's going to happen! Part 2 is confirmed!

I found it very enjoyable. To be honest, I thought that the (SPOILER)"unreliable narrator" aspect was signposted too much, but maybe that was just me. As soon as OA opened her story with 'I'm actually the daughter of a Russian millionaire', I knew something was up

Brit Marling's performance had a bit of a "Keanu Reeves in The Matrix" feel to me: as in, her performance felt a bit flat occasionally, but I wasn't sure whether that was due to the character or the acting.

I totally understand why some people just couldn't stomach it: there are certain aspects which you either just accept as part of the premise of the story, or don't.

My only small criticism is that I feel like it could have gone a bit weirder, specifically in regards to the (SPOILER) imprisoned five's changing perceptions of reality and their place in it. But then, that might just be me being familiar with the genre: I read a LOT of sci-fi, as this fit pretty comfortably into the 'stange event and/or artifact unlocks a new level of human consciousness' category, so it felt to me a little bit like treading familiar ground.

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Originally Posted by Mr. Carnelian

My only small criticism is that I feel like it could have gone a bit weirder, specifically in regards to the (SPOILER) imprisoned five's changing perceptions of reality and their place in it. But then, that might just be me being familiar with the genre: I read a LOT of sci-fi, as this fit pretty comfortably into the 'stange event and/or artifact unlocks a new level of human consciousness' category, so it felt to me a little bit like treading familiar ground.

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When it comes to criticism I think that, as someone said previously, maybe a better characterization of the cellmates would have been nice, considering how much time The OA spends with them. The changing perception would be an interesting theme to explore, maybe there will be something about it in Part 2.

Ugh. Everything was mostly fine until that ending. If that plot twist isnt basically retconned in Season 2, this thing is horrible.

(SPOILER)If Dream Endings are universally hated in a typical hour and a half movie. Why did they they think it was okay to make you invest 13 episodes or whatever. Madness.

i see what you're saying and had a similar feeling initially after the last episode

but what this show does and does well is turns what you think is happening upside down

just cause it's consensus that it's a "dream ending" between some of the characters, doesn't mean that it actually is

and after the the final few minutes i don't think it is