What really caught my attention, besides the fact that I really liked this show, were the time jumps being made at the end of the first episode and the mystery that surrounds this storyline. I don’t want to give anything away in case anyone decides to start watching The OA. What I can tell you is: one, the time jumps are needed to dispose of some of the mystery and two, it makes the scenes more impactive. Without those scenes, you would be left hanging, which you still partially are (but it is a good hanging), and the impact of the storyline they are pulling you into would be partially lost.
You start this journey in the middle of the story. The result is suspense from the beginning, as you have no idea what is happening next, or what HAS happened before in the timeline, which not only pulls you in, but leaves you on the edge of your seat. You get more information little by little, but those scenes at the end are there to connect the information together.
The time lapses specifically pertain to the backstory of the main character who remains a mystery while the people around her are starting to open up. In this timeline you specifically find out more information about her relationship with her parents, and find out how she became impaired. Sorry, for the spoiler but you find that out pretty early.
Another thing to pay attention to is the effect the time lapses have on the other characters. Watching the flashbacks and the ‘real time’ characters reactions shows just how skeptical they are of the main character and whether they can truly trust her. The characters are already having issues with how they feel about our protagonist because she doesn’t have the clearest path, and what is happening seems very var fetched. This skepticism has already played a part in the actions of the characters and I expect this skepticism will show later in the show as well.
At this point in the show I have realized that my feelings have been directly affected by the mystery surrounding the show. To only add on to the mixture of feelings I had these scenes are continuing to pull at my heartstrings. My feelings are being intensified by the minute strictly because once you see something in the flashback, you are then thrust into the present when all you want is to find out what happened next to our mysterious protagonist. The desperation to continue this elaborate back story is real, and I will admit I had a hard time not fast forwarding to ease my burden.
When the end of the episode approached, I found that I didn’t want it to. Not only because I still have so many questions, but also because lately I cannot find a show or movie that captures my interest the entire time, and The OA is one of the best I have found that keep my attention and interest. So, if my analysis of The OA hasn’t convinced you to watch it, which I understand if it hasn’t, let me tell you that I am very hard to please apparently and between this show and Hemlock Grove (which I wrote about last week) I have found enough mysteries to last me a while. This will be added to the list of shows that I will have to try to find the time to watch but I will definitely be back to it, and the time lapses that have pulled me in deep.
I know how hard it is not to give spoilers away for this show (and considering that it is my favorite on Netflix right now, I have talked about it quite a lot), but could you be a bit more specific about what you mean when describing the feelings the show created for you because of the flashbacks and time jumps? Is there a specific example you could make without giving away key plot points to the series?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you when you talk about your feelings being affected by the mysteries that occur in this show. I also loved how this show was filmed while the OA was blind because it really made me feel like I was searching around in the dark with the OA and could feel was she was feeling when she was making her way around. I think if this show was just filmed in the flashback time instead of having the OA escape and telling her story through flashbacks, there would not have been as big of an impact on the viewer. Everything about this show captivates me.
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