Siggdalos wrote: ↑Tue Dec 13, 2022 7:11 pm
So,
E10, then.
I'm not sure what to say about it. I think that, for me, it feels a bit too fast and messy in the way things develop with Mark, Ellie, Claire, and Peter, but that's more of a gut feeling than a real complaint. I like the episode overall and the way everything comes crashing down makes total sense in-universe, and yet the thing that happens at the very end still managed to take me somewhat by surprise. Eleanor and Isaiah's interactions and the rekindling of their relationship is especially sweet, I think. I would've preferred a more definitive ending in case there's no second season; season 1 doesn't feel like a complete narrative as much as the beginning of a longer one, which is obviously intentional, but as I've written before I'm not too keen on the idea of several seasons.
With the exception of Eleanor being able to age again (which anyone could've seen coming after Daisy was partially cured early in the season), I was pretty much wrong with all of my predictions, but the events that ended up happening instead all feel truer to the characters than what I'd suggested anyway.
I'll need some more time to chew on the season as a whole, but I don't think the finale changes my view of the show that much. It's decent--entertaining, with good performances, and I did always look forward to seeing what would happen next after each episode--but the only thing that makes it deserving of having the same title as JAL's novel is that it shares a few core elements (Ellie and Isaiah's relationship, mainly) and has a bunch of superficial references to the original that don't amount to much in the show's universe and are only there as fan service (Mark tapping to Ellie in the box, the Rubik's Cube, some lines taken verbatim from the book or film, etc. etc.). I don't know. I've noticed that my opinion on the show tends to wax and wane over time, but I generally like it more than I dislike it. As far as TV shows loosely inspired by LTROI are concerned, we probably could've gotten better, but we definitely also could've gotten far worse.
I recently rewatched the Showtime series. As I've told you several times already, I feel quite a bit of disdain for how they treated JAL and decided to make up a new story, completely ignoring the original material. However, there are other points I’d like to add:
-The episode that shows how Ellie was turned, while being the most decent, has two major writing problems. The first one is how quickly Mark and his wife accept that their daughter is now a vampire — with no existential doubts, disbelief, religious questioning, etc. Not only does it feel unnatural, but I also think it was a missed opportunity to explore how Ellie’s parents might reevaluate their Catholic values while living that hell. Also, I don't understand why they never considered exposing Ellie's illness to the public to try to save her when she started starving. I understand that doing something like that would have separated her from her family, but it was a critical situation, so any option, like taking her back to the hospital, should be discussed.
My other issue is how conveniently Zeke knows so much about vampirism, just from watching movies, at the time of helping Ellie to adapt to her new life, even knowing not very popular rules like not being able to enter someone's home without an invitation. Maybe I'm being nitpicky, but Zeke felt like a bit of a deus ex machina in that situation. The way he accepted she was a vampire also felt pretty unrealistic
-The scenes between Mark and the disabled priest, despite their understandable purpose, were terribly structured. I don't buy that Mark — who’s usually very cautious — would open up completely to a priest he doesn’t even know, no matter how mentally devastated he may feel. And the priest’s reaction doesn’t feel believable either. He starts off a bit shocked once Mark tells him his past with Ellie, but then has no problem inviting Mark for a drink and starts lecturing him in a condescending and aggressive tone about his heinous actions. That kind of scenes works between Mark and Zeke because they’re close, but this priest doesn’t know Mark at all and treats him with an absurd level of familiarity. And let’s not even get into how stupid it is to act aggressively toward a man who’s either completely crazy or actually a murderer. It’s clear the priest was just a projection of the writer’s judgment about how immoral Mark’s actions are. I think those scenes were completely unnecessary.
-Aside from the flashback episode, the sense of urgency around Ellie’s need to feed on blood completely disappears after the first chapter. We never see her suffering from hunger again, not even when Mark conveniently obtains blood from a guy Zeke killed in self-defense. They could have at least shown the girl once more craving blood and feeling an uncontrollable urge to feed on Isaiah, until Zeke brings her the canister. I think it’s a major flaw to strip Ellie of all sense of danger, making her seem more like a superhero with powers than a cursed monster
-The CGI and practical effects (especially the chimpanzees and Ellie’s supernatural moments) are awful. The 2008 movie had weak CGI too, but it was barely used and more forgivable in a moderately budgeted European film from that era. Even LMI's extravagant effects look better, despite also being old and following Hammer's tradition of using special effects that look tacky on purpose. Seeing that level of quality in a 2020s series made by a well-funded production company is just inexcusable.
-The character of Isaiah is totally bland. Besides not contributing much to the plot, he lacks any of Oskar’s complexity and darkness. And they got rid of the bullying subplot so quickly — which, in the novel, is one of its narrative pillars. The only thing Isaiah impacts the story with is how Ellie begins to remember some of her humanity, although (with Mark and Zeke) it doesn't really matter that much in the end.
-I hate the purely scientific approach they gave to vampirism. It’s true that in the novel it’s also depicted as a disease, but there’s still an undeniable supernatural aura to it. Because of that, the series ends up feeling more like a sci-fi thriller than supernatural horror. Plus, there's no plausible scientific explanation for why Ellie bleeds when she enters without being invited, which creates a major plot hole.
-It's too unnecessarily long. I think the story could have been told perfectly in eight hours. I would delete things like Chris's story.
-What I hate the most is how secondary the “can’t enter without being invited” rule feels. In the novel and films, it’s one of Eli’s most important traits and carries strong symbolism in their relationship with Oskar. Here, it’s treated like a minor anecdote, mentioned and/or treated in some scenes. That’s unforgivable in a product that dares to use Let the Right One In as its title.
It's awful the damage Hammer has done to JAL and its magnum opus. I sincerely hope that, one day, another company will buy the rights and even make an adaptation that respects the spirit of LTROI.
