I was SUPER nervous going in because I cannot handle horror movies or even thrillers. I can’t even watch Supernatural because it gave me nightmares. But for this, I had to make an exception because Colin.
Long story short: I thoroughly enjoyed the show. Although I did have to keep my finger on the mute button to avoid a few jump scenes. Colin was SO SO SO worth it in this. I’m so pleased for him and proud of him and the career choices he’s made. His performance exceeded my wildest expectations. I know he’s talented but hot dog. And, um, there was some skin...
That being said, the story itself left me with many thoughts and questions. Perhaps there are some things I’m just not yet understanding, so I’m brain-dumping now as a way of digesting. Read on for spoilers...
NATHAN / COLIN
Can someone please get the man a leading role in an American blockbuster? Seriously, it’s time.
Colin is transcendent in this. He had a ton of material to work with, and he worked the heck out of it. Quite impressed by the range of emotion and also the physicality. Swimming, running, horseback riding, etc.
I was so stoked initially because Nathan was such a *kind* character. Seemingly a good husband. I’ve been especially impressed by Colin’s choice of character in everything I’ve seen of him so far because they seem to share a unifying thread of being kind. Even Cathal in Parked had this thread of goodness to him.
Nathan was always super quick to jump in when he sensed that someone had a problem. His tendency to do this read a bit odd to me at first, like he was almost overeager. Looking back, it makes sense that he’s eager to solve other people’s problems so he can avoid dealing with his own.
One minor criticism is that Nathan’s spiral seemed a tiny bit sudden. I wonder if it’s because they had only 6 episodes to play with. I would have liked just a bit more warning, a few more hints that things were going to go sideways. But it seemed everything was good with Charlotte until it suddenly wasn’t. Perhaps it’s the pregnancy that shifted everything.
Which wife did Nathan kill?!
If Nathan killed his first wife, why didn’t we see him care about that and feel guilty about THAT throughout the show? Why would he care only about his boy, who he didn’t even technically kill? Something about this doesn’t ring true. Why isn’t she also haunting him?
If Nathan DIDN’T kill his first wife, what happened to her? Why does no one mention her throughout? Or did they and I just missed it?
If Nathan ends up killing Charlotte at some future time we haven’t seen yet, that sucks balls. It implies that there could be a follow-on to this series but oh man. That would just be super depressing. I want this to end with Nathan and Charlotte happy. Not with him killing her. :/
NATHAN & CHARLOTTE
Nathan and Charlotte were a super cute couple at the beginning. Great chemistry, and a seemingly strong marriage. We should have known. Things are only good like that because they will eventually go bad.
The fight toward the end where Nathan was trying to push Charlotte away was genius. Nathan knew exactly how to hurt her. Nathan’s training as a psychologist both helps and hinders him through this. At first, it’s a huge help. But then when he’s spiraling, it helps him hurt Charlotte even more. Because he really should know better.
“Yes, I think it’s a good idea.” Nathan knew that Charlotte was asking to be farm manager before she even had to ask.
“I can’t remember what I ever liked in you.” --> Genius line. Married people know how this feels. Yet it’s also one of the most cruel things you could ever say to your partner.
The both of them came in to this situation so incredibly cocky. They were young and successful in the big city and expected that to translate well to the farm. They came in intending to “save” the farm and instead drove it to ruin. Charlotte believed that she could love Nathan enough to help drive away his sadness. Hubris. Reminds me of someone who thinks they can love a drug addict enough. Yet you can’t quite solve the problem. Nathan was super confident that he could fix any mental problem that anyone exhibited. He was blind to his own.
Why were Nathan and his first wife living on the property in the first place? Why were they not already in London so Nathan could go through the schooling he’d need to be a psychologist? Something about the timeline here doesn’t quite ring true, unless they got married super young. Gabriel was at least 5? 6? I suppose we could figure this out from his tombstone...
I was consistently surprised that Charlotte continued to return to Nathan. She says “I can’t stay here” after the school teacher tries to kill her. Nathan didn’t really present her with a good reason to stay. And then he accidentally hits her.
GABRIEL
Gabriel killed Nathan’s mum at the beginning, yes? He did it to make sure that his father would stay in the house, rather than go back to London as planned. So from the beginning, his intent was somewhat malicious. Or at least selfish. They made us believe that it was the other ghost, that Abel North.
Why doesn’t Gabriel appear to Nathan directly? This is unclear. Did he really want to drive him mad enough so that Nathan would commit suicide and join him?
How is Gabriel’s appearance linked to Charlotte’s pregnancy? Later, it’s revealed that he appeared to the other Appleby descendant women whey they were pregnant as well. So is there something about a pregnancy that attracts him? He doesn't want his father to have other babies?
Why wouldn’t Nathan have been aware of the recordings of his son’s voice on the phonograph? Was he not around when his son was younger? Was he off somewhere? This may be a detail I missed on first watch-through.
The first wife’s tombstone should in theory reveal whether she died before or after Gabriel. Did anyone catch the dates? I assume after, although I’m surprised that Gabriel wouldn’t also be upset that Nathan had killed his mother. Instead, he seems focused on the fact that he wants his father with him.
If Gabriel’s mother is dead, why can’t SHE be his mother? After all, she presumably died in some horrific way, which would have qualified her to come back as a ghost. I would expect that she would have been involved in the story in some way as well, unless they’re saving her for a series 2.
Why does Gabriel decide to bring in one of Nathan’s ancestors to try and torment him? There certainly could have been other ways to make him suicidal.
THE CAR
How the heck did future girl’s car end up in their land? I assume that Gabriel was responsible for pulling her into the 1894 timeline so that Nathan could see her. But why would the car stay?
If the car was left behind in the 1894 timeline, would they not have also found the body of the future girl in the car itself?
If the car was buried so dramatically and quickly in the marshland, how would Lottie’s father have been able to find her in the back seat to save her? There was a line at one point where I think Gabriel said that the baby’s father had come to get her. This seems awfully pat and not realistic. I guess the baby’s father could also have removed the mother’s body at that point as well. But then why wouldn’t they have cleaned up the car?
How would Nathan have missed the act of the car crashing? Perhaps Gabriel shifted the car over to an alternate timeline as it was crashing. Unclear what the point of doing this would be.
If the marsh land was worthless to their neighbor, why did he try to buy those 2 acres where the rental car just happened to be? His interest in this is awfully coincidental unless he’d also noticed the metal pieces on his own.
MISC
Why are ghosts always so freaking creepy? Is this really necessary?
“They’re coming for you.” Harriet says this to Nathan the second time she’s hypnotized. But who was coming? Unclear. Seems like an ambiguous misdirect.
Whose calligraphy is it? Lovely stuff, but I can’t imagine that Colin learned this for the show. Or perhaps he did? There were a lot of shots with him writing where they certainly kept close on him and implied that he’d actually written something. But having seen some of his handwriting, I can’t imagine this unless he had lessons.
Why did Harriet kiss Nathan? Did Abel North want her to? If so, why? Just because she was acting out? Her actions were a bit unpredictable.
That derelict house was crazy cool. It’s also really interesting to me that they likely had to film future girl’s scenes up front before they’d revitalized the house a bit.
Did the house actually look like that when the producers found it? Graffiti everywhere, including on the exterior? What a crazy place to film in!
