The Third Age: Episode Six - "The Spiral Path"
In this week's episode, Holly and Zinone catch up, while Jerrod meets some new friends. This episode is one of my favorites we've done so far, so give it a look, and let me know what you think of how things are developing.
And, if you haven't heard, The Third Age is a webseries I created and produce. It's been called "A combination of mad mythology and gritty verite," and takes a magical realist approach to classic mythological themes. If you like the kind of stuff I write about on here, you'll probably like the series. If you want to catch up on previous episodes, go here for an index.
Next week, the show is off, but it'll be back January 5th. In the meantime, prepare for the rest of the Best of the Decade posts, and some best of 2009 lists too!
And, if you've got a chance throw the show some support in the Streamys. We're targeting Best New Series or Best Experimental Series, but any votes would be appreciated!
6 comments:
Well, you've still got me interested, though honestly aspects of it have begun to shake my faith a bit. The last two episodes have frustrated me for a couple of reasons. The acting's a little uneven, notsomuch because any of it's bad but because a few of the actors seem to be operating on different wavelengths, and some of the mystical stuff could be a bit more elegantly written. I think you're courting criticism by assigning so much portent and significance to the Morning/Zinone plot thread this early on. We've spent a total of maybe 25 minutes with them. It doesn't feel like it's grown organically out of the situation and characters. Instead, it feels like the themes are being imposed on them from above. Which might be the point, and in retrospect, depending on how cosmic this all ends up getting (my forecast: very), might work, but from this vantage feels strained. Having said all that, I'm still watching, and will probably keep watching, both because there's just enough intriguingly crazy shit going on, and because I really admire what you're attempting here and want to see you succeed at it.
Thanks for sticking with it, and I definitely appreciate your commentary.
I think part of the reason the acting might seem on different wavelengths is because, particularly in this section of the story, the two plotlines are in really different places. The Zinone stuff is at its most low key and reality based, while the Jerrod stuff is spiraling into more psychological weirdness, so the performance styles are going to be different. That was definitely one of my concerns constructing the story, but I think it does become a bit more unified of purpose and style as things go on.
And, if you want to see cosmic, just wait until next episode, which I promise will be the most intriguingly crazy shit yet! And it also marks the end of 'Act I,' and should answer most of your questions about what's going on. That one's out in two weeks.
The main issue I have with the acting/wavelength thing is only in the Jerrod thread. It's as if he's in one show, the serious-minded sci-fi/metaphysical one, and his underlings are in another, like some quirky office comedy that just happens to be set in a laboratory where weird experiments are taking place. Sometimes the disjunction is funny, and sometimes it doesn't work.
I found these last two episodes interesting but not as great as the first four episodes. I knew there was some intimate history between Chris and Holly and Chris telling her who she used to be adds some human dimension to her character. I love her story of the revelation she had that led to her transformation from a troubled girl living on the seedy streets of the city to a serene, wise woman skilled in the arts of magic. I want to know more about the strange woman's boss, especially after he revealed a connection between him and Jerrod's father. Could he have had something to do with the death of Jerrod's father? What does the imagery with Jerrod in black at the end of the episode mean? And I'm noticing Jerrod is bending the truth on his future vision when he told the doctor guy that he will hit the mark on the guy's neck. I'm also sensing that he may have lied about Morning being in his vision as well.
The imagery with the black face paint at the end is a glimpse of a possible future, an ominous sign of what will happen to Jerrod Woolf in the future.
And thanks again for the in depth comment, I always love reading what you've got to say on the episodes!
Side note, I've been going through your pitch doc, I'll have some notes for you shortly.
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