Going into this show completely blind, I was captivated by the first couple episodes. I absolutely love this kind of show where dream and reality are intertwined together, and as a viewer one is always not certain what is real or not. I especially love the way the dream scenes are portrayed: the lack of ambient sound, the characters move in slow motions as if they are underwater yet can transcend distance much quicker, and the sudden switching of scenes and places without any logical connection; watching all of these feels just like a dream, and they convey perfectly the feeling of disjointed dream logic I often experience in my own dreams. I am also a sucker for multiple storylines that eventually converge together, and this show did a decent enough job of it.
However, I became more apprehensive once I learned this show's low rating; since the first couple episodes were great to me, I worried that maybe the show just fell off a cliff later, but this fear never materialized since season 1 is fairly consistent in quality and in building an unique atmosphere of mystery by revealing hints piece by piece.
Then I started S2 and I quickly got the feeling that something is wrong. The narrative pacing feels more uneven, the choice to change the actress yet retain the same character is hard to get used to, and the dream scenes lack that unique feeling they once created in S1. I lasted through 2 more episodes and just couldn't do it any more. Season 2 feels just like another generic thriller, with an out of nowhere big bad, while established story thread from S1 seem to be taking a backseat. The old saying "the magic is gone" is what I would describe of how I feel about S2.
Ultimately I still like S1 enough that I don't consider this to be a waste of time. If you are like me and love a show where the storytelling blurs the line between dream and reality, truth and illusion, then you should give this a watch. For S1 alone I would rate this show 8 out of 10, but S2 is just so underwhelming and disappointing, that I can only give this a 6.
However, I became more apprehensive once I learned this show's low rating; since the first couple episodes were great to me, I worried that maybe the show just fell off a cliff later, but this fear never materialized since season 1 is fairly consistent in quality and in building an unique atmosphere of mystery by revealing hints piece by piece.
Then I started S2 and I quickly got the feeling that something is wrong. The narrative pacing feels more uneven, the choice to change the actress yet retain the same character is hard to get used to, and the dream scenes lack that unique feeling they once created in S1. I lasted through 2 more episodes and just couldn't do it any more. Season 2 feels just like another generic thriller, with an out of nowhere big bad, while established story thread from S1 seem to be taking a backseat. The old saying "the magic is gone" is what I would describe of how I feel about S2.
Ultimately I still like S1 enough that I don't consider this to be a waste of time. If you are like me and love a show where the storytelling blurs the line between dream and reality, truth and illusion, then you should give this a watch. For S1 alone I would rate this show 8 out of 10, but S2 is just so underwhelming and disappointing, that I can only give this a 6.