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Netflix’s The Society is one of the best YA shows I’ve seen

sappyday

sappyday

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,781
This random show just dropped like 4 days ago and it's pretty fucking great. The writing is great and mostly every single character feels real. I was engaged all the way through.


The show is about a group of say 100ish kids that get transported into an exact replica of their small rich New England town, but with no signs of civilization and seemingly in another universe entirely.

The mystery is strong and the creator has said he knows exactly the answers but will only tease it out in order to build to a satisfying pay off. I got the same feeling watching like I did when I saw Lost's first season (but this time the writers planned shit out)

But my favorite part are the characters. This is Lord of the Flies but with the Orange/Post Parkland Generation. It does a great job of using its concept to its fullest.


There are some slow moments and sometimes the characters just say stuff that is too on point. But it is a smart show I definitely recommend it to anyone who likes YA or just a good mystery show with some well written characters.
 
5taquitos

5taquitos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,860
OR
sappyday said:
The mystery is strong and the creator has said he knows exactly the answers but will only tease it out in order to build to a satisfying pay off. I got the same feeling watching like I did when I saw Lost's first season (but this time the writers planned shit out)
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Uh they said the exact same thing about Lost.
 
Jindrax

Jindrax

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 28, 2017
1,454
that just confuses me even more.

Shows starring young adults? Shows about young adults? shows for young adults?

Is this even a thing?
 

Deleted member 25606

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
8,973
I don't know, maybe it's put together well but after looking it up it sounds like they just pulled a bunch of played out concepts from a dozen different trends of the past half decade, with the only thing kind of original is how they mash together.

LIke the pitch was " you seen between on netflix? How about wayward pines on Hulu? I'm gonna mix em together while quoting inspiration from lord of the flies which is also a ripoff."

Hard Pass.
 
Delphine

Delphine

Fen'Harel Enansal
Administrator
Mar 30, 2018
3,658
France
The show honestly piqued my interest, but I doubt it'll exceed much or my expectations.
It reminded me a bit of The 100 in its premisce, I can only hope it'll be as good.
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,692
I intend to give it a look at some point but my initial thoughts were very much like Matthew77 's, there is such a 'been there, done that' feeling to the whole thing that has kept me away.
 
CaviarMeths

CaviarMeths

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,655
Western Canada
Jindrax said:
oh okay then, first time coming across the term in such a manner.
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Off the top of my head, here's some recent YA adaptations I can think of:

Harry Potter
The Hunger Games
Maze Runner
Divergent
Twilight
I am Number Four
Ender's Game
Seventh Son
The Mortal Instruments

And yeah, they're generally written about and for a teenage and young adult audience.
 
OP
OP
sappyday

sappyday

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,781
gforguava said:
I intend to give it a look at some point but my initial thoughts were very much like Matthew77 's, there is such a 'been there, done that' feeling to the whole thing that has kept me away.
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I felt the same too and if it wasn't for the fact that I was bored as fuck today then I would have never watched it. There isn't a YA material that I love, I'm indifferent when it comes to the genre and the only I would consider my favorite is Harry Potter and that's definitely not your standard YA thing. The characters are what set the show apart tho. The mysteries can still be ruined (they plant very intriguing things tho that makes me think they have something cool to reveal). The characters are used very effectively to creat drama and tension by having every single character defined in how they would act in a situation like this.


It's a great start so far and I'm eager to see where season 2 takes it
 

Deleted member 41520

Banned
Mar 29, 2018
7,078
Jindrax said:
that just confuses me even more.

Shows starring young adults? Shows about young adults? shows for young adults?

Is this even a thing?
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It's a super common term for the genre "young adult fiction" which basically means "friendly for teenages, not friendly for kids". It's slightly more mature than children's fiction but not as intense or heavy or dark as full adult fiction.
 
Muitnorts

Muitnorts

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,141
Huh, maybe I'll check it out.
The trailers looked pretty shitty but it seems like the show has a decent hook.
 
Arebours

Arebours

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,656
I've seen ep 1 & 2. Though they were exceptionally poorly shot. The show looks like it was produced by a group of youtubers with gimbals and drones. Also I'm so over these character tropes and stereotypes. I though we had moved on from jocks vs nerds but apparently it's back to the early 00's with this one.
 
OP
OP
sappyday

sappyday

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
2,781
Arebours said:
I've seen ep 1 & 2. Though they were exceptionally poorly shot. The show looks like it's produced by a group of youtubers with gimbals and drones. Also I'm so over these character tropes and stereotypes. I though we had moved on from jocks vs nerds but apparently it's back to the early 00's with this one.
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jock vas nerd? In what instances does that happen? There are jocks in the show cause that's how it is in real life too. There is no so called "nerd" in the show, except for one character who is really smart but even then he isn't a genius. All the jocks are extremely likable with one of them even being one of my favorites and I can't say why as to not spoil too much. Also as the show progresses these characters that may seem tropey change in order to adapt to the situation.

I understand the complaints about the directing. Most of the episodes are directed by Marc Webb (Amazin Spider Man) which can be a huge turn off but it's entirely saved by the writing
 
Charsace

Charsace

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Nov 22, 2017
2,845
Arebours said:
I've seen ep 1 & 2. Though they were exceptionally poorly shot. The show looks like it was produced by a group of youtubers with gimbals and drones. Also I'm so over these character tropes and stereotypes. I though we had moved on from jocks vs nerds but apparently it's back to the early 00's with this one.
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I watched the whole thing. It gets better after the 2nd episode when things pick up. Stuff happens that will catch you off guard.
 
Xiao Hu

Xiao Hu

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
1,497
I binge watched over the last couple of days and liked it. There are some logical issues here and there that even rl spoiled kids could have identified early on (cough, food supply, cough) but all in all it's a compelling mind experiment to follow. I look forward to the next season
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,692
I'm not going to do a moment to moment breakdown but I have to say:

3:34 into the first episode and I have paused it because they have already set up a web of romance nonsense that irks me. Girl A likes Boy A, Boy A has eyes for Girl B, Girl B gives a knowing look to Boy A but she already has a boyfriend, and on and on.

I am begging all writers but particularly writers of YA fiction, do not start with this stuff. Do not try to get me involved in the unrequited love shenanigans of a newly introduced group of characters before I know who these people are.
 
manchego obfuscator

manchego obfuscator

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,123
Brooklyn, NY
It's not a masterpiece or anything, pretty good. Binged it all over just a few days.

My two main concerns, aside from some spotty dialogue here and there, are
  • I'm wary of S2 delving more into the mythology/mystery aspect, since I thought S1 made the right move by keeping the focus on the characters, and whatever explanation we get isn't likely to make a ton of sense; why does no one seem to question where the town's electricity, running water, and cell phone service is coming from?
  • I like Sam and the limited amount of screen time that the gay romance got, but I really didn't care for how it was introduced out of nowhere in the seventh episode. By my count, he had all of one actual conversation with Grizz in the previous six episodes.
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,692
Finished the first episode...

For everything it did well(or at least well enough) it seemed to do something else that was annoying at best. Main girl gives this whole speech about The Poseidon Adventure and how she totally isn't the main girl even though she is and I'm left scratching my head, doubly so because the character she is talking to is a void at this point. You would also figure that they would make Will likable in some way but nah, him being the orphan boy who the rich kids look down on in supposed to be enough.

The show finally won me over with the coin toss scene, they handled it pretty perfectly, but then we get the idiotic asshole with a gun and I'm out again.

Positives:
  • Main girl's eyebrow game.
  • That brief scene between Deaf guy and girl with big hoop earrings where they are talking about what is going on without stupid bullshit interrupting them. *smacks desk* "I can't hear you."
  • Seeing recognizable faces when I wasn't expecting to(Rachel Keller! Chloe Levine!).

Negatives:
  • The asshole characters' disregard for the situation they are in, particularly Harry's constant sniping at Cassandra. There is being an asshole and antagonistic and then there is being unbelievable in your stupidity and inability to see the seriousness of your situation.
  • "I have gold!"
  • Killing Chloe Levine. What the heck, at least build up her character first.
 
Charsace

Charsace

Chicken Chaser
Banned
Nov 22, 2017
2,845
Harry is an asshole because he is the rich popular kid that runs things. He is an alpha personality or at least a wannabe alpha and realizes Cassandra is competition for the leadership role.
 
SaraNWrap

SaraNWrap

Alt account
Banned
Jan 30, 2019
665
watched it, it was ok. Not great but not bad at all. It did fall into the "lets make completely dumb decisions because we need the plot conflict" though, but overall not bad, give it a 6.
 
sabrina

sabrina

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,174
newport beach, CA
I binge watched the whole thing yesterday because I was stuck at work. I felt like after <redacted> dies the show slows down way too much. I also don't think they ever did anything interesting with Campbell's character. It was agonizing to see him be the obvious villain from the start, which even his brother recognizes and tells people about, and then just nobody does anything about him. Comparably, Lexie and Harry were much more interesting villains because you could see where they came from, why people would support them, and so on. But Campbell? Unlikable psychopath does unlikable psychopath things the whole show, just because "hur hurr that's what psychopaths are."

Actually, it was dissonant because the show does such a great job around Sam's deafness, treating the character with kindness and having people interested in learning about the condition. But then Campbell's mental illness does nothing except excuse his Nth degree assholery.

The mysteries are good though, and I like most of the other characters. I'll definitely stick around if this gets another season.
 
ApatheticDolphin

ApatheticDolphin

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,105
NYC
Ending spoilers

ok but that ending tho. 1. so they're all dead??? 2. how is this purgatory ~society~ going to go on?? military rule??
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,692
Mikey Jr. said:
Looking for a new show on netflix. How is that 100 show?
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The 100 is great. But its similarity to The Society fades fairly rapidly, it quickly becomes a different beast all together.

I watched a couple more episodes of this and it has grown on me, at least enough so I'll finish it.

I think the thing that keeps me from really loving it is the the antagonist side of the show. Nothing makes sense when it comes to to the whole Harry vs. Cassandra split at this point, there is no reason for anyone to be on Harry's side, heck, Harry doesn't even seem to be on his own side at times. Compare it to the very early days of The 100 with its similar in ideology head-to-head with Bellamy and Clarke.
On The 100 there are clear reasons for why Bellamy is doing what he is doing, reasons within the story(the actions he took to get to the ground), there are reasons why other characters would side with him(the way they were treated by the Ark, the deaths of their loved ones due to the draconian rules on the Ark, the fact that they were sent to the ground to die), and perhaps most importantly, the food situation(and thus their immediate survival needs) were solved right away with the group being able to successfully hunt. So the conflict boiled down to some sort of 'live it up now, fuck the Ark' vs. 'active organized planning, let's contact the Ark', people could fall into either camp without immediately threatening their own lives. And even with all that, it only takes a small amount of time before even Bellamy sees that there must be some order to things.
But on The Society, Harry's antagonism exists solely because the show wants to have a Lord of the Flies thing going on, it is this type of story so this type of conflict has to exist even when it doesn't make sense in this particular case. Him being a rich, privileged asshat who doesn't want to share his stuff isn't nearly enough of an angle to make him believable.
For instance, when everyone gets on the same page and there are now jobs people have to do, it makes perfect sense that he would chafe at having to work in the kitchens. But there is no real opposite position to take against it, there is no "Well, we could do this instead." viewpoint he could take, so we just get rape/murder threats lobbed at Cassandra in lieu of an actual organic conflict.

But Harry is a brilliant realized character in comparison to Campbell. He is flat out one of the worst characters to grace my screen in a long time.
 
timeforsana

timeforsana

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,207
It gets better as it goes on but towards the end everyone just becomes incredibly dumb.

Everyone has been given fair warning that Campbell is a threat, even after Elle goes to Allie and tells her what he's been doing to her Allie just leaves him alone. The Guard all start acting even more stupid than before, especially Luke who gets pulled into their bullshit. The whole election thing ends up being dumb because it's all just 'Allie is bad, she's making you do bad things so let's not do that' without actually saying what they wanted to do differently or improve. But neither Allie nor anyone close to her ever actually point that out. Basically characters end up in bad situations because they just won't talk to people.

Just needless backstabbing and drama just for the sake of it.

If it gets renewed hopefully they'll kill off Campbell quickly.
 
Chaos Legion

Chaos Legion

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 30, 2017
16,895
I binge watched this yesterday and it was great.

There is a scene where they make fun of Riverdale which might have been the highlight of the show.

Marc Webb is really good at these stories.

Random thoughts:
- Campbell sucks and continues to suck. Why didn't Elle try to leave before the pie fiasco, only to then leave immediately after once he now has dirt on her to impugn any of her stories.
- Luke's arc turned in the span of 2 episodes which was disappointing. I thought he was the moral QB who would end up blowing up the coup. Or at the very least I thought he'd be conflicted and tell his fiance about it.
- I hate that Cassandra was killed off so quickly. I would have loved if she lived longer, the show was much better when she was leading.
- Allie started annoying me and I thought she'd end up turning into a power consumed dictator, I'm happy that she caught herself and didn't go full Clarke from The 100.
- Why did nobody wonder where the bus drivers went?
- S2 had better have this coup situation wrapped up quickly.
 
manchego obfuscator

manchego obfuscator

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,123
Brooklyn, NY
ApatheticDolphin said:
Ending spoilers

ok but that ending tho. 1. so they're all dead??? 2. how is this purgatory ~society~ going to go on?? military rule??
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Not really sure why people are interpreting the final scene this way. The show establishes clearly enough that it's a parallel universe of some sort with the eclipse and constellations; all the closing scene confirms is that the original Earth still exists and the main characters are presumed dead there.
 

Deleted member 16657

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Oct 27, 2017
10,198
Just finished episode 1.

1.
J0u4l7b.jpg

2. everyone else except

3. the literal church shooter
 
Dynamite Cop

Dynamite Cop

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
3,002
California
Why are people surprised by "young adult" as a genre?

The last time I went to a Barnes & Noble I saw a section titled fucking "Teen Paranormal Romance"
 
IIFloodyII

IIFloodyII

Member
Oct 26, 2017
23,939
Watched it the other day and really like the setting and enjoyed the rest for the most part, pacing seems a bit off is probably my only complaint, as I feel like they ended halfway through a season for me, instead of a good season ending point.
 

Deleted member 16657

User requested account closure
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Oct 27, 2017
10,198
episode 3 done

Who killed Cassandra

Those with motives:

Harry - fucked up on drugs, has motive. Too obvious
Church shooter - probably his gun but too obvious to be him
sister - there was some conflict growing between them

Overall these are all too predictable. My guess is the murderer was not anyone that we know. I don't remember seeing that dog anywhere
 
gforguava

gforguava

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,692
PogChamp said:
Just finished episode 1.

1.
J0u4l7b.jpg

2. everyone else except

3. the literal church shooter
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No arguments there, easy #1.

I thought about actually doing a ranking of all the characters now that I am 7 episodes in but then I realized it is a hopeless task. Besides there being a large cast, it seems like at least once an episode we cut to a group of girls for a moment and I'm left thinking "Wait, is she new?"
 
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