The Returned (Les Revenants) - C4 21:00

[Justin Cyder]

Pierre is the fly in the ointment for me. The most inconsistent character in terms of the writing. Camille blows him off at the start but now seems beholden with no real motivation & also not much the worse for what happened to him with Victor which would send anyone off for a think at the very least.

[ajprice]

Just watched it now after watching Hunt and Lauda. General thoughts...

Lucy has an interesting, umm, power .
Penis!
Is Lena's scar healed? Don't think we saw it this week.
Possibly related, Victors arm scar. Always been there?
People in the woods, more Returned?

All good stuff, a puzzle wrapped up in a conundrum

[Dracoro]

Very much enjoying this programme.

The water. I think this is part of the key to it all.

Animals appear all "preserved". Camille's coffin full of water. The dam/water image in the intro/ad breaks. The flood.

[FourWheelDrift]

ajprice said:

Just watched it now after watching Hunt and Lauda. General thoughts...

Lucy has an interesting, umm, power .
Penis!
Is Lena's scar healed? Don't think we saw it this week.
Possibly related, Victors arm scar. Always been there?
People in the woods, more Returned?

All good stuff, a puzzle wrapped up in a conundrum

Powers of the Returned? Serge healed Lena.

Victor was the first back (caused Camille's bus crash) they don't age but he seems to be showing signs of rotting like the Z word.

People in the woods, thought I saw Lena & Camille's dad at the front so some sort of whacky pagan/religious worship in the hope of calling others back? All driven by the sinister Pierre, who has already persuaded Camille to lie, and one couple comitting suicide on her promise that they will see their son again.

[FourWheelDrift]

Although thinking about it now, the people in the woods might be more returned, they are probably the group that attacked the cafe for food.

[Justin Cyder]

I strongly suspect the latter of those two ideas is the right one.

[roogi]

FourWheelDrift said:

Although thinking about it now, the people in the woods might be more returned, they are probably the group that attacked the cafe for food.

And who all the suicidal animals were running away from to avoid being eaten?

[vrsmxtb]

Losing patience with this series, just get the feeling that the elegance and subtlety promised at the start isn't going to appear and it's going to drag on not answering any questions.

[torqueofthedevil]

Justin Cyder said:

I strongly suspect the latter of those two ideas is the right one.

Don't give anything away!

[torqueofthedevil]

If Pierre is bad maybe he was plotting something when he killed victors parents? His parents might be important in all this? And that's why Pierre targeted them.

Camille will be upset when she learns those parents have died.

I defo think it'll never be resolved tho.

[Piersman2]

vrsmxtb said:

Losing patience with this series, just get the feeling that the elegance and subtlety promised at the start isn't going to appear and it's going to drag on not answering any questions.

Yes, it would be a real shame if this goes the way of Lost or Heroes or Revenge, as examples, where an initial show of real promise deteriorated into meaningless twists, turns and new characters being constantly introduced to artificially extend a story.

WEll lets see, only 3 episodes left to actually answer some questions. If not then I'll not be interested in a second series of the same.

[Justin Cyder]

torqueofthedevil said:

Justin Cyder said:

I strongly suspect the latter of those two ideas is the right one.

Don't give anything away!

No no, I'm really not. Bit of an error watching them all as I can't play the guessing game, but I'll not let the cat out of the bag. And that isn't some kind of sly reference either.

[ajprice]

PH question: Was the American Ford F Series pickup that Toni drives sold in France? It just seems odd to have an old F Series pickup in France rather than some other 4x4 workhorse like a Hi Lux or Defender.

[Dracoro]

Other Americanisms around too (the pub - sort of, the diner). Wonder if there's a parallel USA connection

[redtwin]

The Americentric components may have been part of the original plan with a view to selling the show to US networks.

If it was too French, and beyond the language, nothing about the show is, then it wouldn't go down well in the US. You would be surprised how many Americans have a dim view of the French based on nothing more than their refusal to join the coalition that invaded Iraq. That "Freedom Fries" nonsense was an embarrassment.

[Justin Cyder]

And yet popular American culture in France is quite pervasive. Bars like the Lake & the diner aren't uncommon.

[im]

redtwin said:

The Americentric components may have been part of the original plan with a view to selling the show to US networks.

Could you EVER sell a sub-titled program to the US networks???

[Mezzanine]

im said:

redtwin said:

The Americentric components may have been part of the original plan with a view to selling the show to US networks.

Could you EVER sell a sub-titled program to the US networks???

Especially a French one!

[toppstuff]

Justin Cyder said:

And yet popular American culture in France is quite pervasive. Bars like the Lake & the diner aren't uncommon.

This is true.

I often find a rather odd fascination with American culture in France. American cars and diners are not unusual really.

They have Johnny Hallyday after all, a French Elvis.

Strange.

[FourWheelDrift]

Usefully left hand drive and lots of US military personnel in Europe buying and selling cars as well leaving old stuff in the 2nd hand market?