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The OA Season 1 Theories and Details Explained

Taylor Holmes
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My apologies everyone – between this massive lung crunching cough that I have, the holiday’s festivities and a massively overwhelming urge to stop writing about OA after 8 straight episodes, I have just not gotten back to working on this thread. But I do think this is the money post. It’s the one where we look back through all the episodes, from beginning to end, and then look for threads and themes and insights that we just didn’t have when myopically staring at each episode individually. So what I plan to do with this post is two things. The first, is to play out a few theories of what might actually be going on here. I will also take a look back at some of the theories I came up with over the course of the show’s journey and see how well I did predicting where this show was going. Secondly, I will also play out some options for where season 2 is going to go. There is one theory in particular that I’m absolutely fond of. But we’ll get to that soon enough.

There are two main theories that counter-balance this show, and only two. Obviously, there are shades and variations of theories that I will also throw in later. But this is a very Binary equation. On or Off. Either Prairie is right. Or Prairie is wrong.

OA Theory 1 – Prairie is Right

The first theory that we need to grapple with is this – she’s telling us the truth. Everything we see from the stories in the attic, to the conversations with the FBI, to  her chats alone with Dr. Hap. All literal truths. The muli-dimensional traveling? True. The experiments in the basement of Dr. Hap’s converted mine home? True.

Evidence for: There are a ton of facts that can be certified throughout the course of the first season. For example, she was blind, and now she can see. That is a significant unarguable fact. At the end of episode 8, Prairie had a real premonition telling her about the coming tragedy at the school which occurred. Also, Prairie quickly searches the interwebs and finds a YouTube video of Homer talking about his Football injury. She is definitely adopted, and originally from Russia. Prairie finds a video of herself speaking in Russian – so we can fairly certain this is true. We also know that while the five movements might not open an interdimensional portal, the first two definitely can heal. We saw this occur twice.

Contra Arguments Against: The fact that she was blind and that now she can see again is a real world phenomenon and has been documented before. Here is one example. Definitely doesn’t really prove anything, save to say it was weird.

Let’s talk about that football video of Homer’s injuries. Either Homer Roberts’ name isn’t Homer Roberts or that video is completely irrelevant because this quaterback’s name looks like C. Klein to me. And when I went digging, I found out that Reddit places the game as the November 19, 2011 game between K-State and that this video was just one of Collin Klein’s four fumbles. If you click through this image to get the bigger one – you can see that this screenshot of the video she pulled up on the YouTubes shows his name as Klein (or Allen, but definitely not Roberts.)

With regard to the premonition, we know from episode 7 that the radio was playing a news bulletin about a shooter loose in the community, and having killed 17 people. Could it be that Elias, the FBI agent, was right? That Psychics are really just Empaths that are highly tuned in to the world around them? That they take in details that other people would normally dismiss out of hand? Could it be that Prairie is just a highly empathetic person? (Don’t worry, I’ll cover that in another theory.) And if you look back at my episode 7? Or 6 recap? Not sure which, you’ll see that even I could tell that that shooter was going to be interwoven into the story at the end.

As for the Russian, fine, let’s say she can speak Russian, but how is it that she can read in English so well? Things like Homer’s Illiad? Definitely not simple reading. She was blind most of her adult life. Now as to the first two movements actually healing people, she could just be straight up lying to the Five. Right? We have no reason to believe that there was a dungeon at all, let alone that she and Homer healed people twice.

OA Theory 0 – Prairie is Insane

There is no if, ands or buts about it – this has got to be one of the most on target theories of the whole lot that we have discussed. Now, granted, I would love for this show to be legit and to take us into wild and supernatural multidimensional places, but that is NEVER going to happen. No no no. It’s just simpler to assume Prairie is wrong for whatever reason. Maybe it is trauma from a real abduction. Name your reason. But the bottom line is that Prairie is a little coo-coo.

Evidence For: The books Man! The BOOKS! If you are a huge proponent of this theory, then you are going to be yelling at the screen about the books that French finds underneath Prairie’s bed. And when Elias (the FBI agent) and French run into each other in the house French is of the mind that Prairie needs help offloading the stress of her ordeal, and French has done that for her.

Contra Arguments Against: Wait. What is French doing in Prairie’s house again? Remind me? Cause that doesn’t seem like what a friendly FBI Trauma Counselor would be doing… unless?! Unless he had just planted the books to make it look like Prairie was making it all up.

It could very well be that she believes herself to be telling the truth. It could be that she is convinced. But that doesn’t specifically mean she is telling the truth. Could very well be that we have a detailed Empath on our hands that is truly crushed by the weight of 7 years in captivity and has a hard time seeing rightside up from upside down.

OA Theory 2 – Prairie Inception Theory

What about one more theory, (yes, this breaks my binary theory idea. But you know you want something other than Insane or Correct) one that jumps way off of this antipodal dialectic (that phrase ‘Anitpodal Dialectic’ is free. No extra charge at all. Such goodness right there. Pearls before swine I tell you pearls…) If any of you have been around long enough to discuss Inception with me you’ll know that I think the entire movie is being told at dream layer 1. And that I think Mal is the only one to have successfully left the dream.

So how would this play out in OA? Well, I had been talking throughout the reviews of the various episodes of the season mainly about Flatliners. Flatliners is a movie that had Med Students killing each other and then bringing themselves back in order to try and figure out what is beyond death. What if I was thinking about it all wrong and inside out? What if it’s more like Inception, in that the entirety of the season is a dream. And the only reality we see at all is the last few seconds… “Homer?” That bit.

Maybe Hap is her doctor in reality? Perhaps Homer and the gang are all there in rooms nearby? Maybe Prairie (or whatever her name is) has been picking up bits and pieces of reality as the seven years have toiled on? See where I am going with this here? No? Neither do I.

OA Season 2 Possibilities

Maybe a better way to go about finding the truth for Season 1 is by figuring out where Season 2 could possibly go. I am sure that if I was Brad Pitt, and I was being pitched this story by Zal Batmanglij, and Brit Marling, my very first question would be… “and let’s assume that these eight shows of yours are a success and everyone is clamoring for more? Where do we go then?” Don’t you think? I mean, I would anyway. And let’s be clear Zal has said in more than one interview that the show was designed to continue. So, Brad wasn’t requiring a rock solid answer, but maybe just a hint of a direction. No? We would sort of go this-a-way… which would be enough to say that the show hadn’t cul de sac’d itself.  I’m just going to toss out several different ideas as they come to me:

Another Angel possibility

What if, instead of starting with the Original Angel saying “Homer?”, maybe the show starts with a different Angel, which has just died, and came back and has visions of a mission and a calling that culminates in the finding of The OA? The reason this is a good theory is that it gives you a ton of run way to figure out exactly what happened at the ending of season 1. It’s like how Season 2 of Lost was all about opening the hatch that was found at the end of Season 1. (Sorry if I just spoiled it for you, but come on! That show has got to be fifty years old at this point!)

The Five Possibility

Or instead of a new angel, what is the Five go hunting for her? She disappears from the ambulance and then the five are on the hunt? Constantly getting visions and hints, but nothing solid. All the while being cajoled and battered by the FBI and their parents?

Awake From A Coma

Girlfiend in a coma I know, I know, it’s seriousssss…. (sorry, a little Morrisey there for you. Again, free of charge.) But what if the season kicks off with a boot to the head like, Prairie waking up from a Coma? This would put it right up there with season 1’s amazing start (you remember, her jumping from the bridge, right?) and we’d all be like… WHAT?!  And maybe he’s really been her doctor all along? And the Inception theory is right? But the struggle there is, where does the show go from here? Everyone casts doubt on her belief, until we find out that she did see Homer and the others. She did free them. And it was real? No, that’s rubbish. Oh no, I’ve got it now…

Prairie wakes up from a coma, she’s been unconscious for 7 years and then Dr. Hap walks in and he is her doctor? Yes. And maybe he has insinuated himself into the hospital? Oh, come on, that is good. But we don’t learn that until episode 3 or 4? So all that time we are doubting our own sanity. And the reason he interjected himself as her doctor (forged paperwork, transfer, I DONT KNOW, these are just details people) was because he realized that he couldn’t make the 5th movement work because the other four wouldn’t do it? Or, he got it wrong somehow, so he needs her again? And then as the show goes on we actually see that Prairie did free the five and they are all back here on earth?

Failed Jump

And what if the jump just ‘failed’? Prairie chats with Khatun and learns that there are 7 movements for portals. And five for stopping bullets. Or something? and then we stay in this state of balance and flux. We continue to assume she’s wrong, but could be right? It would allow for the toying to continue.

Will there be a season 2 of The OA?

The question of the day though is, will there even be a season 2 of The OA?

“Whether it will happen or not, I think that’s up to you guys. All of you in the world. If people connect to it. I would like to see this story continue…”

And Brit Marling? She also has stated for the record that she’d like to see the story continue…

“We spent a good three years just cobbling the mathematics of the labyrinth of a mind-bender that could go for many, many hours. We wanted to solve the riddle. We wanted to know what was at the center of the labyrinth within the very first chapter.”

So it would appear that the architects have at least built a main floor that is capable of handling a second story addition. Right? It would appear so anyway. And I for one cannot wait to see where Brit and Zal go with this thing. Because it has been a great ride so far. Do you have ideas on where the show is going to go? Or whether or not Prairie is insane? Love to hear about them below.

Interested in reading all of my OA episode recaps so far?
Episode 1 – The Homecoming
Episode 2 – New Colossus
Episode 3 – Champion
Episode 4 – Away
Episode 5 – Paradise
Episode 6 – Forking Paths
Episode 7 – Empire of Light
Episode 8 – Invisible Self
OA Season 1 Theories & Season 2 Conjecture
Previous Thoughts on the Death of a Princess
Next All the Passengers Movie McGuffins and Moral Delimmas Explained
Taylor Holmes

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28 Responses

  1. Why was Prairie’s hair short in The episode where she heals with Homer? Her hair is short with school kids and long braid w homer and Hap. But in one of the last episodes, her “present day” hair is in the scenes with the victims and when Hap leaves her on the road. Is this a clue?

  2. PLEASE HAVE A SEASON 2. I LOVED THIS SHOW AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN INTRIGUED WITH ANGELS. I LOVED IT AND HAD TO WATCH IT ALL AT ONE

  3. I am actually reeling from the finale. I found your page after I watched Ep1 and did like you did, watched an episode read the blog and still the finale leaves far too many questions. Would love to see an S2 just to try and find a few answers. Meanwhile, going back to watch Ep8 again. Glutton for punishment. #shellshocked #thanks

  4. I don’t think the books bare any relevance. Maybe she bought those books to better explain what she kept saying she could not put in words. Sometimes people read up on things for better understanding of what they are going through.

    I do believe that a lot of her story is true….maybe… lol.

  5. Not sure if anyone has picked up on this out there yet, but the 5 never picked up on the missing perso that would have been found in the hospital. They were researching everything, trying to see if what happened had any merit. The fact that it is never shown that they found that there were a massive amount of people found in the morgue of Hap’s colleague suggests that it was covered up. This plays into the theory that the FBI are aware and covering things up (i.e., planting books in OA’s room). Or maybe the producers just forgot to show them researching this, but I doubt it given that they were shown researching less important facts.

  6. What if the show is purposeful in our lack of answers not because they think it’s cool and artsy…but for us to realize what faith really is? Did anyone else see this? All along we are put in the shoes of someone who doesn’t have answers. They are guessing and reaching for the truth but it’s never very clear. There are those who have faith that prairie is telling the truth and those that don’t. And similar to faith in our world, you look a little crazy if you have strong faith in such a weird thing (five movements.) But what does faith do to people? Just make them look weird? No. It changes them. It gives them love, unity, understanding and empathy. It gives them courage to move on, to do good, to understand life more completely. I think one of the main points of the show is to get the viewer to realize that they are going through as much turmoil trying to get the truth as every character on the show. That’s what faith is, believing in what you cannot see. Most people don’t have faith, they want evidence. But there are some who do, and can be content in that.

  7. Funny that you should say that, as soon as I read a load of reviews and message board comments and realised no-one had all the answers, I stopped yearning for them and felt happy with what I already had. Weird eh? Whether we get an S2 or not, I am perfectly happy with what we got in S1. hmmmm I’ll think in that some more.

  8. True about faith, and it’s a lovely piece of art as is, second season or not. However, and I could be wrong about this, I think answers do exist… I read an interview in which the creators claim to have spent 3 years on this story, likening it to a labyrinth with many clues and a final solution. Who knows though? Time will tell.

  9. Actually, I think that Prairie doesn’t know that there were a bunch of people in the morgue of the hospital. How could she? As far as we know from the Things she experienced, she only conjectured that Hap had had a fight because of his head wound and him telling her he had to do something difficult to protect the research. He never told her exactley what happened, so how could she tell the Five?

  10. Thanks for the review!

    Couple things you made me think wonder:

    1) “How could she read so well in English if she was Russian and blind” – I think the real point his “How could she read at all unless in braille?”. The book seem to be regular books with letters in them. If she only read braille while she was blind and since she regained her sight, was never free until the first season, when would she have learned to read regular text at all?

    2) Head wounds: did you notice that there are a lot of people hurting their heads in a similar way? Prairie when she was a child and learned running, again being hit in the head by the butt of a rifle. Homer when he bashed his head into the shower wall. Hap after he fought with his colleague. French after he fought with Scott. We don’t see all the wounds, but the ones we see are all positioned very similarly. I wonder if this is an indicator of the different dimensions somehow.

  11. This is a great point and a fairly in my opinion by the writers. By her telling the Five things we never saw Hap tell her we are either learning how she elaborates/lies or we are seeing things we couldn’t be able to know.

  12. The comment from Happy about ‘better and brighter than us will take up this work’ has me believingredients the FBI agent planted the books and he will someone who is continuing Hap’so work under the guise of the shoulder to cry on. Maybe even add in a government going along with it elament.
    Loved this show so far. Can’t wait for season 2

  13. There is one theory you did not consider. When Praraie jumped off the bridge she created a transition point in here current dimension. At the point of jumping off the bridge there awoke a possibility of a reality where Praraie died and one where she lived. Maybe this show’s run, except for the few moments in the beginning of the first episode, are all in this parellel universe. I am thinking this due to the flash in the mirror where Alphonso sees himself as Homer. Maybe the five Praraie assembles are stand ins for the abductee five in this universe.

  14. Oh right sure,
    like the movie Coherence. Have you seen that? Basically shattered dimensions that hold various permutations of all possible outcomes and people interchanged throughout the movie always startled by the awareness that they aren’t in Kansas anymore. Could be. I would have thought there would be more evidence to that end. But heck, this show is so wide open at this point that anyone’s guess is as good as mine.

    t

  15. Is no one going to mention the parallels between Hap and OA’s biological father? Her father made money mining metal. Where was she kept prisoner? In/near a mine. Copper was found in her scars on her back. How did Hap recognize that she was playing something Russian when he first found her? She said she went to find her dad in NY and instead Hap found her. And yet through meeting him she had another NDE and did see/find her dad.

    Also let’s think about her Russian father for a moment. She’s remembering him as a child. We see him possibly doing shady business but because of her innocence and age, she doesn’t see it. He has to hide? He has lots of money? Maybe he was funding the operations of doctors studying NDEs? How else does Hap afford all of his tools and the holding cells?

    Also, all of the purple! Another show I watched recently, Breaking Bad, used a lot of color to show moods and themes. I remember purple being representative of things being hazy and twisting the truth. My husband thinks that when we see purple in this show, that dimensions are bleeding into one another.

    Note the fish tank parallels as well. We see tanks all throughout the season. The cells that the abductees are kept in are similar to a type of fish tank. The ending of season 8, the cafeteria was encased in glass much like a tank. Biggest thing I noted was OA was on the OUTSIDE of the cafeteria while The Five were trapped inside. She wanted to free them. Much as she wanted to go back (get in) and free the other abductees.

    Seriously man. This was so good. So much to connect and think about. I haven’t been mentally stimulated like this in a long time. I think that’s why it’s a huge success and well received.

  17. Head wounds….. I didn’t notice that but you’re so right. Very interesting feature/theme to include. There are apparently many clues so maybe this is one.

  18. Taylor… Thank you for sharing your insightful theories. And wow, what a great website you have. I couldn’t believe your review on Cloverfield and all those hidden puzzles scattered on the web. Excellent. But I digress. If I may, here are a few of my own thoughts, observations and queries on The OA… (I wrote two comments after your Episode 8 summary, but they really belong here…)
    1. I agree, Joy. What’s with all the purple? Watching it a second time, it just seemed so prominent. Starting from episode 1, it’s a predominant color, specifically in the clothing worn by characters from all time segments of the story – Prairie, her Russian father, Nancy, Abel (albeit less frequently), the blind school students, their teacher and headmistress, Betty, Homer, New York ferry travelers, Statue of Liberty sight-seers, and more. Even Hap has on a brilliant purple scarf in the subway station. And while admittedly the high school color, the final cafeteria scene is a sea of purple-wearing students. I wondered if purple clad people were similar or somehow linked. And maybe the more purple worn, the stronger the quality or experience that linked them. A red herring, perhaps. (No pun intended.)
    2. She can’t be lying. If we were left to make this determination based solely on her story, I wouldn’t be as confident, but we, the objective audience, witness with our own eyes, not via her storytelling, two events that prove she possesses some sort of magical ability. The first event occurs on her first visit to the abandoned house when Steve’s dog viciously lunges and attacks her. With a mere touch, she magically subdues him. And it’s not like she simply overpowers him, she actually transforms him from a menacing cur to a sweet, affectionate, almost loving pup. Secondly, and this is more subtle, but do you recall when she is trying on “Mom” clothes in the dressing room? Steve, who is on the other side of the dressing room door so they can’t see each other, starts to comment that her outfit (or maybe her hair style, I can’t remember which) is –…. At that exact moment, she blurts out, “boring,” as they finish the sentence in unison, making it clear that she read his mind. He looks bewildered, clearly taken aback that she predicted aloud this word choice, and she smiles ever so slightly. Both these incidents occur in “present day” (as opposed to in the past or as part of a flashback) so both are are outside of her narrative, meaning we can trust they really happened, therefore building the case that she genuinely has unique gifts… whether she’s an angel, I’m not sure, but she’s definitely has some kind of magic.
    3. When I watched a second time, I was amazed in the first or second episode when she is watching a YouTube video of Homer in the hospital right after his football injury being interviewed by reporters. He’s talking optimistically about recovering from his injuries and winning the football championship. Then, at the very end, he turns and looks directly into the camera, as if to look right at her, and says, “I’m going to get that championship ring and get out of here.” This is exactly what they attempt to do as captives – get the football ring out of Hap’s bathroom in their plan to escape. So, it’s like a time travel thing and he’s trying to communicate to her a future thought/plan guised as one that conveniently relates to the predicament when the YouTube video was shot years prior. They definitely seems to be communicating across time via videos. Why else does she keep shooting those videos under the covers? They’re accessing some kind of technology that utilizes a video camera but transcends video capabilities as we understand them.
    4. I definitely think the FBI dude planted the books. In addition to everyone’s point about not being in Braille, why The Iliad? Besides the name Homer, the story she shares with the others has nothing to do with the actual plot of The Iliad so she wouldn’t need to read that book to give her saga more credibility. However, I can see how the FBI agent, in an effort to discredit her story, would throw in such a book, assuming the others would associate the name Homer The Iliad. In reality, however, she’s not connected the the two in her narrative, so even if she was lying, re-reading the Iliad wouldn’t be at all necessary.
    5. And what about the parents? In the final scenes, its months after that hideous night at the Olive Garden and all that. Nancy is nowhere to be seen…. Prairie is gardening with Abel, takes a bath, has a premonition, runs out the door, while explaining to Abel, “now I understand.” Despite the ankle band, he nods knowingly, almost as if he is in on it, and opens the door, freeing her to pursue her mission. It just seems like Nancy is really gone, like no longer living there kind of gone, not just at Costco kind of gone. A lot of conjecture here, but, to me, Nancy is noticeably in absentia. Also, I loved Nancy at first, but over time, she seemed more sinister, just as Prairie seemed to see Abel in a more loving/knowing light toward the end.
    6. This might be way out there, but I read that Brit and her collaborator (sorry, his name escapes me) included lots of clues but were disappointed that so many were overlooked by the viewers. Not sure if this is a rumor, but it made me scour for clues upon my second viewing. In doing so, I thought it was kind of odd when Nancy and Prairie are taking a walk around the abandoned construction site in the first episode. Nancy stops to notice some construction materials (I believe) close to the curb and says, “wait, how did all of this stuff get way up here?” What’s the relevance of that observation/comment? Maybe I’m overthinking it, but she seems truly perplexed. I think there’s something about those homes and that construction site.
    7. Upon hearing her play the violin in the train station, how/why did Hap recognize the music? What was it about that song that revealed to him it was played by someone who experienced a NDE inciting him to frantically find its source? How did he know she even existed? It was the same thing with the Cuban singer…
    8. Another obscure observation I made was that although meek, damaged, and vulnerable, Prairie had a strength that enabled her to quietly and almost imperceptibly take control, lead and prevail over others…. In addition to subduing the dog (mentioned above #2), another example is when she has the teacher meeting, disguised as Steve’s mother. I LOVED this scene. By the end of the meeting, so subtly, and without being aggressive or confrontational, she had the teacher almost hypnotized, eating out the palm of her hand; and most importantly, the teacher’s feelings of anger and plans for Steve’s expulsion were literally turned upside down. And even though the OA herself disliked being touched, did anyone notice how she firmly grabbed that teacher’s hand, saying, “you’ve lost someone, haven’t you? A parent? A friend? A sibling??” It was at that moment of physical contact that the teacher melted. (Also, how did Prairie know that the teacher was grieving a loss? I don’t think it was a lucky guess….) Also, remember how she requested that everyone close their eyes when first hearing her story? French refused at first, and she said, “okay, but will you do it for me?” He relented. (Now that I think of it, isn’t it kind of odd that she even made the close eyes request and was so adamant about it? Hmmmm.) Also, even though she was held captive by Hap, clearly not “prevailing” in that instance, she did seem to have some kind of power over him… like when he, with little hesitation, granted her request to actually go outside to feel sunshine, clearly a privilege not previously granted to the others. Also, he trusted only her, releasing her regularly to do housework. I don’t know what my point is except that she definitely had a way about her, a charisma, to almost take control others…. to bend their will. At times, it verged on being manipulative… and I almost feel guilty saying that because I wanted to like and trust her, but maybe that’s because I myself fell under her spell… Not really, but she is definitely a fascinating, complex and layered character. I hope we eventually (said with weariness of watching too many series that drag on and on and on) learn the real truth about her… This brings me to my last, rambling point…
    9. Although I loved the show, the nebulous ending infuriated me. I hung in there because I was riveted and dying to know how it would all go down; but in that final scene of the white room, I am pretty sure what the OA really said was, “You wanted answers? Oh my poor misguided viewers, you misunderstand. See, there are no answers, only more questions. And now that I have you hooked, I am going to ensure you tune in for season 2 by leaving you right here, with only this close up of my beautiful and slightly bewildered face…. Buh-bye… Homer is that you?”
    Sorry, I got carried away, but it felt like a cheap shot. Despite that, will I tune in the very second I learn that season 2 is available? You betcha. I loved it.
    Sorry if this is too long, rambling, way off, or stating the obvious.
    Thoughts anyone?

  19. Sally…
    I believe that you and I might be long lost brother and sister. Holy cow can you write and write and write! Brilliant.

    a) purple as indicative color. In Sixth Sense M. Night used red as his indication of the afterlife. And they made a game of finding and killing red unless it was intentionally placed. So yes. I buy your purple theory… but unclear on it’s meaning. Spiritual portent maybe?

    b) the two events. Wait wait wait. The dog thing can be explained a million ways to Sunday. The dog just needed some sort of love? Hahah. I don’t know. But that’s not proof. Who’s to say that isn’t just the dog freaking out and then chilling out suddenly? I get like that sometimes. Let alone a dog! And your example of finishing each other’s… sandwiches (sorry, yes, that was a Frozen reference.) happens all the time in real life. The only reason I am dismantling your two examples is because the show’s creators went OUT OF THEIR WAY to keep from giving us anything that would “Prove” it one way or the other. Because they’d be idiots if they did. They had to keep the show balanced on a knife’s edge. Is she insane? Or is she credible? That is the point of the entire show. All of it. Why would they blast that tension by allowing her to do a miracle and heal someone at the highschool or the house or something. That would make 90% of viewers go… um crackpot much? (I have friends that do that already… but whatever.)

    c) got nothing for your youtube time travel theory. i say we contact google and let them know!

    d) The books. I personally think that they were just a random of loosely associated books that he threw in a box. But if they were hers… then I’d actually use the Illiad and the Trojan Horse in some sort of clever reference to fradulant something or other. But as that’s not necessary because we are already on to this guy as setting her up as a fake…

    e) I won’t be arguing with you on your Nancy is the root of all evil theory. She always unnerved me. I actually dug her dad giving her a hall pass to go get shot by a sniper. Hahahh. No really, he’s always been more understanding of his daughter and her spiritual and narrative predilections. He may not buy them. But he wants her to be happy, to be sane. And he knows that the current method of controlling her and ankle braceleting her isn’t obviously working.

    f) the music. I think it was more about the passion and the pathos of the playing and not what. I think Hap could feel the emotion and the bravado of someone who has had an NDE through his empathetic perspective of the arts. I can personally tell when I am talking to someone with trauma in their lives. Like it just oozes out of people and I can all but see it. Maybe for Hap he has a similar gauge that makes him attuned to this quality in a person somehow?

    g) teacher meeting. totally. that was an amazing scene. The words that Prairie used were so odd and so arresting as to be really powerful. What is your life purpose? Is that what took you away from your life purpose? And she just upended the discussion and made it about her. Which was fascinating. I do think they used this too much though. It almost became fairly manipulative. With her parents Prairie said nothing… did nothing, lived as a limp noodle. Outside of her parents care, and she was like a Spiritual Joan of Arc, sword and all.

    h) the ending. I actually thought the ending was perfect because I knew the constraints of what they had constructed for themselves. But if you assume she is telling the truth, I can totally see why you’d be disappointed. I know I talked about this, but I am betting that she’ll be hospitalized and Hap will be her doctor to start out season 2. Come on! that would be brilliant. But please don’t expect season two to actually cross over. Or to make any sort of bold claim about the afterlife. Because that would be the moment the show jumped the shark and would be over. If they plan on succeeding, they will construct a very similar season to season 1. Create more questions than answers. Create a balanced set of evidence for and against. Etc.

    So yeah, I guess I had thoughts! hahaha.
    Thanks for commenting. Sorry I can’t stay on top of the billions of comments that happen on this blog. But I’m glad you enjoyed the cloverfield discussion. There’s a lot more where that came from. Don’t be a stranger.
    Taylor

  20. ok newb question; whats the deal with the different types of deaths? Like Hap kills them by drowning in the tank thing, but then Scott dies for “real” and they have to bring him back? I’m lost

  21. I’m confused. Last I checked, there is only 1 kind of death. You are either dead, or you aren’t. The confusion comes in when we talk about Hap and his tendency to kill someone with the intent of bringing them back from the dead medically. Hap killed Scott dead dead. And then by performing the moves, brought him back from the dead. All one death. Just that Scott? He was dead for a LONG time, which gave him a chance to see a lot more of the other side than anyone else.

  23. A little late to the game, but I have a theory on “why purple”. Although it means different things in different hospitals, a code purple can mean:

    A person has gone missing
    A psychiatric emergency
    A large scale threat

    Purple could just be a foreshadow or a clue for any of these events occurring in the finale.

  26. Jess, Jan.5, 2017. I read your post and I agree with you whole heartedly. I just finished Season 1 at 1am last night 3/31/18. I want Season 2. I can’t even begin to write down my thoughts. My head is full of questions but I have been given peace through Season 1. Weird but true. I will be waiting for season 2 even if it takes 7 years!

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