The Third Day

[batwings]

Fucking loved that. So glad they pulled it off. Want another 12 hours.

[kittens]

that was wicked yeah. never really thought much of jude law before this but he'll be happy to hear he has earned my respect.

[Hand Solo]

Not a fan of Jude Law.. his Caine remakes especially (Alfie, Sleuth) but he's done at least one decent film I've seen.. Black Sea.

[kitsofan34]

Not a fan of Jude Law.. his Caine remakes especially (Alfie, Sleuth) but he's done at least one decent film I've seen.. Black Sea.

Written by...

[Hand Solo]

Written by...

Didn't realise that, and he did the original Utopia too, not really a coincidence though is it?

[phantom_power]

Jude Law is brilliant in The Young/New Pope as well. He has really grown as an actor over the last few years.

So was this just the festival that the show has been talking about? When was it set in relation to the last episode? Presumably a while after given Law's beard. Has he fully taken on the mantle of lord of Osea or whatever it is now? Why was he digging that big claggy hole?

[BritishHobo]

If I wanna catch-up with this show, which I do, cos I fuckin love Wicker Man shit, is the twelve-hour festival gonna be next on the episode list on Sky Plus or whatever? Will it be on the Blu-Ray?

[olliebean]

Is the 12-hour jobby "available" anywhere yet?

[batwings]

Is the 12-hour jobby "available" anywhere yet?

No that I've seen. The Facebook streams are available for a few weeks, I beleive:

part 1: https://www.facebook.com/HBO/videos/1840545682750965/

part 2: https://www.facebook.com/HBO/videos/649899362624255/

They're a bit glitchy though so hopefully someone capped it off Sky Arts HD.

[olliebean]

Thanks, if all else fails I can use youtube-dl to rip it from Facebook.

[kittens]

newest episode was o.k.

Spoiler alert

i said oh my god at the little twist at the end there

[close]

but mostly just o.k. but i think the first of the last 3 was pretty much just o.k. so that's o.k.

[wooders1978]

I felt it was basically

Spoiler alert

the first episode with different characters, saw the twist coming too

[close]

However I am looking forward to see where it goes next

[kittens]

Spoiler alert

yes, reading online it looks like everyone saw it coming and i'm a big dum dum

[close]

[batwings]

That had a different feel didn't it, presumably on purpose. It's a different director and DP for the 'Summer' and 'Winter' portions of the series. Philippa Lowthorpe + David Chizallet are doing the second half, with the Jude Law-centric first half by Marc Munden and Benjamin Kracun. This looked and played much more traditionally. It was less dreamy / out of focus, more natural-looking. It was still pretty creepy though. I think the sound design really plays a huge part in producing the sense of dread / disquiet that has permeated all the episodes, even the 12 hour live event.

Plot wise, I was glad we got closure on the

Spoiler alert

daughter needing to poo

[close]

situation. I just hope the inevitable

Spoiler alert

Father/Mother reunion

[close]

isn't teased out too long.

[kittens]

most of the time this episode i was thinking this is bad now what a shame. but it ended quite strongly, so let's see what happens on crazy island next week

[phantom_power]

There is a 90 minute highlights package of the Autumn live event on Now TV (and probably Sky Catchup) now

[wooders1978]

Will be watching autumn later tonight

My view was that was the weakest episode and I am slightly fearful they've fell into that trap of telling a really good story but jot really knowing how to end it

[batwings]

Haven't enjoyed the second half of this as much as the first but the central mystery is still intriguing enough to make me want to see where this goes. I have a feeling the 12 hour live event will be the thing I return to most, just to soak up the vibe.

[phantom_power]

From what I saw it was like a 12 hour Herzog film, like Fitzcaraldo or Aguirre

[batwings]

HBO have put a 100 minute edited-down version of the live event up on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcZvNbt1ooA

[phantom_power]

SPOILERS!

Loved that. Really laughed at the reveal that Nathan was not only the wrong age but the wrong colour, and then the hint at the end that it might all be true. Jude Law was excellent, as was Naomie Harries, doing that angry incredulous thing really well. Good to see it go all Death Wish at the end as well, and good that it didn't end badly for Helen and her kids.

Overall it has some really interesting ideas. I liked the idea that this island was the centre of the world and all the shit that has happened in the last 5 years has been down to one fuckwit not being able to run it properly. It would have been nice to maybe see a reason why everyone thinks the island is so magical but then again it is probably better to have that ambiguity that it might be magical and we are just seeing it from the PoV of outsiders, or that they are just a bunch of inbred violent nutters. The latter seems more likely but that hint about Nathan at the end threw a spanner in the works

[wooders1978]

Not entirely convinced I am satisfied by the ending there to be honest - probably intentionally left open ended should they get tempted to do another series, but there isn't really much more story to tell

[phantom_power]

How is it open-ended? Ambiguous? Yes. Doesn't tie a bow on everything? OK. Wouldn't say it was open-ended though. Didn't really feel they were leaving a door open for a second series. It told the story it wanted to tell and explored the themes it wanted to and now it is done

[wooders1978]

Well the conflict between him and the American woman wasn't really resolved is all I am saying

[Noodle Lizard]

I've just caught up with this (to episode 5, including the (abridged) live special) and it's a handful of things all at once.

I know some people seem to really rate Dennis Kelly here, but if anything his fingerprints were battling for space with co-creator Felix Barrett's (known for his immersive theatre work with Punchdrunk), and knowing what I do of both of them, it was Barrett's influence I found more interesting. The plot itself is largely quite gash, to be honest - not only for how derivative it is, but for the fact that you could practically set your watch by the story beats. The visuals and the atmosphere, however, are largely very well-done - just a shame about all that pesky storyboarding and exposition.

For this reason, the live special is the best thing to come out of it. That's a truly remarkable thing, and the credit for that almost certainly goes to Barrett as anyone who's been to Sleep No More or any of Punchdrunk's London productions will surely recognise. It really benefited from just existing in the bizarre world the show had created, rather than trying to explain its way around it at any given point. Jude Law's an absolute champ for taking it on as well - between that and The Young/New Pope, he's really won back any credibility he may have lost in the dodgy decade or so preceding.

I'll get to the end, but whatever goodwill the live show inspired in me was swiftly destroyed by the mundane fourth episode. I don't hold out high hopes for a great ending, but if these six surrounding episodes were what it took to make that live show happen, then it's a moral good overall.

[Noodle Lizard]

Overall it has some really interesting ideas. I liked the idea that this island was the centre of the world and all the shit that has happened in the last 5 years has been down to one fuckwit not being able to run it properly. It would have been nice to maybe see a reason why everyone thinks the island is so magical but then again it is probably better to have that ambiguity that it might be magical and we are just seeing it from the PoV of outsiders, or that they are just a bunch of inbred violent nutters. The latter seems more likely but that hint about Nathan at the end threw a spanner in the works

See, I think that kind of ambiguity was handled a lot better in The Wicker Man (but there's not much The Wicker Man doesn't handle better than more or less anything else). There isn't, I don't think, a single clearly supernatural incident in that film, just a kind of otherworldly undertone that could easily be representative of how alienated our Christian copper feels by the inhabitants and their antics rather than anything genuinely paranormal. The Third Day has quite a lot of supernatural or otherwise mad things going on, even if only in dreamlike horror sequences, but there's still not much to support the idea that the central mythos of the island is true. Not that it especially matters either way, but I feel like The Wicker Man was far more confident in what it was trying to get across.

[kittens]

disappointing ending, oh well.  2nd and 3rd eps and 12 hr one were bangers. glad i was on board overall

[kidsick5000]

SPOILERS!

Loved that. Really laughed at the reveal that Nathan was not only the wrong age but the wrong colour

Absolutely. Fantastic rug pull. It made me feel daft for having fallen for this supernatural element. At the end, it's just another community fallen to mania, which is what I like about the Wicker Man.

Would love to know where they got the octopi from.

[phantom_power]

Absolutely. Fantastic rug pull. It made me feel daft for having fallen for this supernatural element. At the end, it's just another community fallen to mania, which is what I like about the Wicker Man.

Would love to know where they got the octopi from.

But then how did he know her last words to Nathan? AMBIGUITY!

[olliebean]

But then how did he know her last words to Nathan? AMBIGUITY!

Presumably Sam told him.