I discovered some things while editing that I think we overlooked during the reaction. I made note of them and will share with the boys in the episode 3 intro -Corey Full length reaction available soon on our Patreon www.patreon.com/collection/726826 Come hang out in our Discord discord.gg/HQFtGkCf37
As a Christian, I appreciate this show for not only exploring aspects of faith well but also asking REAL questions we struggle with. Flanagan does an incredible job, and mixing faith and horror in this way works incredibly! It's my favorite of his series.
He did an excellent job with it. It's a very tricky line to walk dealing with this type of subject while also dealing with religion. If you don't do it right you can alienate a lot viewers but do it really well and you can have people of all kinds of beliefs even atheist or agnostic enjoy a story centered around religion. It's not "preaching" what is the right religion or belief system but also has frank discussions any person would ask when questioning their faith or if they believe in something. Just a really well executed concept.
I'm not religious and it's also my favorite of Flanagan's work. Pop culture tends to separate religious & irreligious characters into different cliques, so it's refreshing to see a portrayal of a community that shows the reality that communities and loving families can and do include both Christians and atheists (even if said family, in this case, is a bit flawed, but of course there's no drama otherwise). And in the macro, it depicts a predominantly Catholic community that includes different religions and sexual orientations-they're rejected by some of the characters, sure, but even the characters we're not supposed to like (Bev) are depicted as unlikeable because they're shitty people, not because they're Christians. There's plenty of ugliness in the world, sure, but most of us get along perfectly fine with each other despite our differences. It's a nice thing to see represented & normalized in a show.
Midnight Mass is my favorite Flanagan series & I've seen them all. The dialogue & acting is superb, each character getting their moment to shine. You're in for a ride! One hint: stay for the credit rolls.
Agreed! I've loved him since The New Adventures of Old Christine, but I didn't realize how impressive his acting range was until this show. If you haven't seen TNAoOC, I highly recommend it. It's hilarious! He plays the live in brother of Christine (Julia Louis Dryfus, aka Elaine from Seinfeld)
“What kind of priest makes house visits?”…. Me- Uhhh all of them, all of the time. They take a vow of poverty, obedience and chastity. Somehow people only focus on the last one. When church is closed, and they aren’t working on their sermons or sleeping they are traveling to houses of people who can’t make it to church, making DAILY hospital visits and overseeing funerals.
Not just Catholic priests either. My grandmother, while living, was in a small town where everyone knew everyone like this and it was standard practice if you requested a home visit with the church, usually because a relative was dying or bedridden, they would show up and pray with them. I think even with mega style churches these days, they have a team of people who can do this.
@@JonnySativaSeed23 I'm mostly just so impressed by Samantha Sloyan and how well she portrayed Beverly Keane that it almost overshadows how awful the character is and I just get giddy every time she's on screen.
It is Beth. When that someone laied down the food for the dog, we saw a swish of her skirt and its the same pattern as Beth's dress. Most people (including myself) missed this on the first watch.
The religious commentary and dialogue in this series is so good. Glad to see you guys sticking with this one. The dog death scene is really brutal, definitely sets the tone for the rest of it.
Blake I feel you brother, that part made me cry and I didn't know if I was gonna finish it but I'm glad I didn't stop because despite such a horrible scene it gets really good going forward and reflecting on it afterwards I think it really shows what the true face of evil can be despite what face you try to show to the world.
spent all day waiting for this one, boys!! god i love this show (and your reactions). Damm Cojo's been bringing some hard reads lately. You can always trust the Coreys to pick up on stuff (and Igli and Blake not to 😂)
I'm loving all the theories Honestly, I feel like the meat of the stories themselves in Flanagan shows isn't mind-blowing by any stretch (it's nothing groundbreaking or original - like, if you were to tell a short summary of Hill House or Bly Manor to someone, it wouldn't sound very interesting), but how well it's written, scored, directed, produced... couple that with the INCREDIBLE cast. I feel like this man and his team could take something as bland and as basic a premise as "why did the chicken cross the road" and turn it into a masterpiece.
I totally love Paul-Hamish Linklater's-wife irl. Lily Rabe. She's beautiful and has a great screen presence. I watch everything she does. You guys will see her in several seasons of American Horror Story. She is especially good in "Coven" as a Stevie Nick's loving hippie witch. Her Mother is the famous actress Jill Clayburgh.
Even though it sucks having Pike die, he did great as an actor. Being a veterinary tech, it really sucks when animals die or get into rat poison. It is typically and anticoaculant and causes excessive/internal bleeding but there would be signs before hand normally depending on how much they have ingested. They probably used cherry syrup and crushed banana for the blood and yellowish foam I'm guessing. Love your channel and Patreon so far 🥰
So, I read this popular screenwriting book back in the early 2000s called 'Save the Cat' and though there are no technical rules for screenwriting, one major theme was advice to not kill off pets or animals in your scripts, or you risk alienating a massive part of your ahdience.. ..not long after that, I wrote my first script and I debated for days and days if I was going to kill off a pet in the script..I wanted to be different and see what happened if I didn't follow that advice, so I killed the poor cat cos after all, other popular writing advice at that time was also 'kill your darlings.' That script did really well in a major competition..anyway, the point is that though you may risk losing a large audience, it has also worked well for the John Wick series and Midnight Mass is considered by many to be Flannigan's best work so far.. ..guess what I'm saying is that I think some of the best writing is the emotionally evocative kind, whether it's feel-good or not.. Anyway, Acting is superb in this series..everything is.. XO
Often, the people sensitive to that stuff will skip that part in a movie or show if they can. The kill the pet trope is so common in horror, and horror-adjacent work that as soon as people see a pet they know that it's quite likely it will die. Personally, I'm not a fan. It often feels like a lazy short cut to getting you to hate or fear a character or situation.
Yep, agreed. It can be a cheap/overused way to get heat on a villain, but it works in John Wick because it's satisfying to see him exact his revenge (same tried & true formula of old exploitation films!) It works here, IMO, because it firmly establishes two characters: Bev as an irredeemable sociopath, in a way that her fleecing the island after the settlement wouldn't have done on its own. And Joe, because it marks him hitting rock bottom. It also fleshes out Sheriff Hassan a bit more via his scenes with Bev & Joe afterwards. I think the takeaway is that killing off an animal gratuitously is an easy way to turn the audience against you, but if it's used in a way that does a lot of heavy lifting for the plot and/or character development, it can work. IMO the principle applies to victims that are powerless and/or innocent in general (Randy's rules for surviving a slasher movie in Scream come to mind!) We're fine with watching teenagers get cut to ribbons in slashers, maybe because we know they're at least capable of evil, but young children are typically off-limits. E.g. Georgie in the IT remake-it's rare that we see a child THAT young offed in such vivid & gruesome detail, but it raises the stakes because it establishes that none of our slightly older protagonists are safe from an even more horrific fate. The sequel, by contrast, stumbles out of the gate, with the gay dude that gets killed after being assaulted by a bunch of assholes. I suspect the intent was exactly the same as with Georgie's death, but it just came across as gross and off-putting to a lot of folks. Perhaps that's because, on top of the scene feeling out-of-place in general, the psychology is backwards-we want to see the transgressors & abusers of power punished, not their powerless victims.
Ha that's pretty neat. Of Flanagan's work, MM and Oculus are probably my favorite series & movie respectively, so that's a really cool piece of trivia that I never would've known
Samantha Sloyan is SOOO good in this show. She was Steve’s wife in Hill House and you’ll see her again in Fall of Usher but this is her best role in the Flanaverse. Bev is so fun to hate. This one may be my favorite of the series’ he’s done so far.
Kate Siegel has veneers thats why her teeth are perfect, if you look at older pictures you can see her original teeth. She is one of the few people I think actually has realistic veneers, usually they look creepy to me. She reminds me so much of Angelina Jolie, especially when she smiles.
This is one of the best of the shows he has made, I think fall of the house is a little better. You guys will enjoy the rest of the remaining episodes.
Leeza's walking. Riley's mom doesn't need glasses anymore, his dad no longer has back pain and he's looking a bit younger, less grey than he did in episode 1. It's a miracle. I just realized what Erin meant when she told Bev that her mother "never met a bottle she couldn't empty". I guess she's saying her mom was an alcoholic. I'm pretty sure Bev poisoned the dog. But if you want to be sure, go back and look to where the hotdog was dropped on the ground in front of Pike. The culprit is wearing a skirt. Find the match.
i love my furbaby to bits but midnight mass still my favorite flanagan work. it’s just that good! especially that one certain episode’s ending that just sucker punched me 😭
There were two upcoming episodes that sucker punched me. I was planning on binging the entire season, but two of the episodes made me have to take a break. I still haven't continued.
Hi just wana say that Priests do house visits for Catholics in the Parish that are physically unable to attend mass due to health issues. So its pretty much a norm. This is my favorite Flannagan show and you guys are awesoke for reacting to it. ❤❤❤
I am not a religious person, but I can really appreciate how they are handling this. It's not over the head or the dialogue so cheesy and unbelievable. Truly when Paul talks, you find yourself really listening and trying to pay attention for clues because I think he's definitely sus. That conversation on the bench where despite having several conversations with the townspeople, the only time he stutters and fumbles his words is when speaking about the former monseigneur and his whereabouts. My theory is that who/what is in that trunk is definitely supernatural and he's using maybe it's blood in the communion wine to help heal the townspeople, but that always backfires kind of like a "Little Shop of Horrors" vibe where it's going to keep needing more and more blood, but we're going to run out of people.
This show went CRIMINALLY unnoticed and while I was H O O K E D, I could not find anyone around me who was watching and I would talk it up etc. I think that the creators moved studios or something but couldn't they take the show with them? IDK how all that works.
Everyone in this cast is phenomenal, and Samantha Sloyan plays Bev so perfectly DETESTABLE. To this day, Bev is probably my most hated character in anything I’ve ever watched, read, played, etc. She’s such a horrible, egotistical, manipulative monster.
Amazing reaction boys! It’s an overall incredible episode, but watching people realize how evil Bev is, is one of the most entertaining things and the reason I keep watching reactions to this show.
I know you guys tape these at least a week in advance, so it's too late to give you a head's up, but the next episode (E3) contains two of the finest 5 minute blocks of television in all the Flanaverse, starting at 13:30 and 27:30 respectively. I always recommend them to people looking for great examples of the motion picture arts. Also, be on the look out for the Flannigan cameo!
Yep! He also played Hugh (the dad in Hill House), Uncle Henry (Bly Manor), and Fredrick Usher (Fall of the House of Usher). He was probably in Midnight Club too, but I didn’t get as much into that one so I can’t remember off hand.
👏🏽 Hehe.. The thumbnail & reaction~ Really good.. Wow, I forgot how dark this is. >.^ This was a good reaction~ I almost stopped watching the first time after the dog..
I’m watching this show along with you guys. Bev definitely killed Pike. The way she kinda gaslight the sheriff about how she would never forgive herself, or that anyone could have come in there and got poison… that was psychotic. That wasn’t her thinking something could happen, that was self preservation.
Flannagan made this series to make us think and reflect on life in a deep way, religion is just another plot element to add some perspective but it's not really the point because religion is just something personal
What did Fr. Paul do that was so sus? He’s just out here helpin people. Mentally, spiritually, physically. What if he’s there to combat the evil? * cough*Bev*cough*. I’m not giving up on Fr. Paul yet!
i never really liked midnight mass - i had to force myself to finish it. HOWEVER, i am loving these reactions SO MUCH!!! i'm even watching the full lengths on patreon and it's just so fun hearing the theories and seeing the facial expressions. i think it's a testament to how good your reactions are that i'm putting myself through the show again hahaha
I love horror movies but the one thing I hate is when they kill animals, especially dogs, but it’s usually quick or offscreen. That scene was horrible to watch!🐶💔 And Bev Keane definitely killed that poor dog! 😿
I think Bev poisoned the dog. The person who gave the hotdog to the dog was wearing a flowered dress, just like Bev. I doubt very seriously that she’d give that dog food out of the goodness of her heart. The creature! Those glowing eyes, the height when it stood up - yikes!
Nothing in a tv show has EVER made me so viscerally upset and FURIOUS as Pike's death scene. I genuinely had to stop watching the show for a few hours because it upset me that much...
I have started watching this series cause you guys were reacting to it and I heard good things about it. Having seen many horror content before, I had an inkling what the menace was in Episode 1 when someone knocked inside the big case. And when they talked about seeing a "giant albatros flying". And then seeing the former priest outside. And then seeing the dead cats with neck bite marks. BTW I cannot past the mayor. He looks like a cartoon character down to the fake mustache. lol Not sure what was the intent here by creating this character and why he is played like that.
the vibe I got from the mayor in the early episodes was just this broken man who's extremely anxious about everything. there's everything that happened with his daughter, then there's the oil spill and his community slowly but surely dying out, and now there's all these cats and he can't explain any of it so he's just nervously blabbering and scanning his memories for anything similar so that he can explain it away and not think about what the implications of all the cats dying could be.
@@petarbuglov8532 I got that was the intent. But he just comes off like parody. I don't know if it's the acting or something else. Even his mustache looks fake.
@@samantharose1144 comparing Shirley to Bev is like comparing a watermelon to a potato. Compared to Bev, Shirley was a saint. In comparison, she wasn't that bad of a person she just had her flaws and had a superiority complex.
This episode legit made me so mad and upset, it really really bothered me! It also hits way to close to home just because my golden girl passed unexpectedly in the park and I was holding her the same way!
There is no doubt Bev Keene (sp?) killed Pike. No doubt! Someone walked by and deliberately dropped that hotdog by that dog, and I think it was a woman. Next thing you know, the dog is dead. Whatever that poison is, it's very potent. Also, I wonder if her name "Keene" is symbolic, as in she's a blind-follower or believer. In other words, a fanatic. What exactly does she follow or believe, though? She's "acts" like a Christian, but a true Christian wouldn't act like she does. Absolutely not!! My sense is she's mad, bad and not a good person to know. Also, it seems obvious that this is a story about vampires. Vampires can fly, and we know there's a flying thing that's taken "Bowl." Before that it was clearly killing the cats (draining their blood?) because those kids heard it on their little expedition to "cat" island, and I think they saw it, too. Also, the vampire must be what Riley ran after on the beach, and what Erin heard walking on her roof. Clearly, there was something in that trunk Fr. Paul brought. He knocked on it, and something knocked back! So, what's the backstory there? How is Fr. Paul connected to the vampire? Has "good" Fr. Paul made a deal with the devil like Goethe's Doctor Faustus? This story is taking place roughly during Lent, a period of repentance and renewal. And, lo and behold, the congregants who are taking communion are being "renewed." So, I'm guessing Lent and Easter season are important aspects of the plot. Ah, don't vampires spontaneously heal if injured? Yeah, I'm thinking the communion wine is more than just wine, and it's clearly affecting the congregation. Right now it seems beneficial, but what's the price to be paid? What else might happen if you ingest vampire blood?? Also, isn't vampirism kind of a perversion of the Lord's Supper? Standing it on its head as it were. I do believe that's something Satan likes to do and been quite successful in leading many astray in so doing. And that idiot "Bowl." Clearly, it was stupid going into that house, but he didn't come across as the sharpest knife in the drawer, either. Even so, I'm a little tempted to give him a smidgen of the benefit of the doubt. On an island like that, he was probably the only criminal. I mean, there's for sure little or no violent crime, so he probably didn't feel like he was putting himself in any great peril lingering by and entering the house. What's up with Riley's rowboat dream, too? It seems vaguely nihilistic. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. And what's the deal with Riley's interaction with Fr. Paul when he got ashes on Ash Wednesday? That pause by Fr. Paul before he gave Riley the ashes clearly was a signal to us to take notice. Fr. Paul said: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” which is pretty typical when getting ashes. But the priest/minister can alternatively say: “Repent and believe in the Gospel." In Riley's case, I think the latter would have been more appropriate given he's an atheist. So, what am I to take home about what Fr. Paul said? Of course, Mike Flanagan is an atheist, too, so maybe he and Riley just take cold comfort in believing they're only soulless dust? I guess what I'm saying is I think there's some significance to this which is unknown at the moment. I like the show so far. It's shaping up to me as an interesting variation on vampirism, but I'm suspecting it's meant to be anti-Christian in some way or t'other, at which I will take umbrage. By the way, I do like the soundtrack, too. Nice arrangements and harmonisations.
I love u guys but I draw the line at killing animals. Someone poisoned my cat and that shit hurt me a a kid. I can’t finish this show so I’ll indulge myself in the other reactions. Let me know when Beth gets her karma.
I almost walked away from this show after the cats, it upset me so much I literally could not look at the screen, and the dog scene was too much too...I have never hated a character as much as Bev, with the exception of Joffrey/Ramsay in GOT. She's so smug and self righteous and evil. 😠
![[𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐈𝐬𝐭] 🎅 솔직히 나만 지금부터 캐롤 듣는 거 아니지? 🎄 | 크리스마스 캐롤 모음](/img/n.gif)
I discovered some things while editing that I think we overlooked during the reaction.
I made note of them and will share with the boys in the episode 3 intro -Corey
Full length reaction available soon on our Patreon www.patreon.com/collection/726826
Come hang out in our Discord discord.gg/HQFtGkCf37
Appreciate you!
Hope you're doing good~
Episode 3 is awesome and my birthday happens to be next Wednesday(9/11) so I can’t wait 😀
Corey is so precious. We must protect him. ❤
Always doing his extra credit 😊
As a Christian, I appreciate this show for not only exploring aspects of faith well but also asking REAL questions we struggle with. Flanagan does an incredible job, and mixing faith and horror in this way works incredibly! It's my favorite of his series.
He did an excellent job with it. It's a very tricky line to walk dealing with this type of subject while also dealing with religion. If you don't do it right you can alienate a lot viewers but do it really well and you can have people of all kinds of beliefs even atheist or agnostic enjoy a story centered around religion. It's not "preaching" what is the right religion or belief system but also has frank discussions any person would ask when questioning their faith or if they believe in something. Just a really well executed concept.
I feel like some people could take it as being critical of religion but it really never ACTUALLY condemns faith itself
I'm not religious and it's also my favorite of Flanagan's work. Pop culture tends to separate religious & irreligious characters into different cliques, so it's refreshing to see a portrayal of a community that shows the reality that communities and loving families can and do include both Christians and atheists (even if said family, in this case, is a bit flawed, but of course there's no drama otherwise).
And in the macro, it depicts a predominantly Catholic community that includes different religions and sexual orientations-they're rejected by some of the characters, sure, but even the characters we're not supposed to like (Bev) are depicted as unlikeable because they're shitty people, not because they're Christians. There's plenty of ugliness in the world, sure, but most of us get along perfectly fine with each other despite our differences. It's a nice thing to see represented & normalized in a show.
The cast of this just kills it. Hamish especially is amazing. It's bullshit nobody got any awards for this.
Hamish looks like the older version of Alex Wolff. You can quote me on that
@@dlasis Damn, he does. There's another actor that looks similar to him, he's a mainstay in the TV Series "Slasher". I need to find his name.
Midnight Mass is my favorite Flanagan series & I've seen them all. The dialogue & acting is superb, each character getting their moment to shine. You're in for a ride! One hint: stay for the credit rolls.
Ep 5 ref?
@@UltimaTheSeraph yes!
💯💯
Hamish Linklater's acting is amazing
He's so good in this. He's often scene stealing when he appears in anything but I genuinely love his performance in this show.
Agreed! I've loved him since The New Adventures of Old Christine, but I didn't realize how impressive his acting range was until this show. If you haven't seen TNAoOC, I highly recommend it. It's hilarious! He plays the live in brother of Christine (Julia Louis Dryfus, aka Elaine from Seinfeld)
Hamish was also good as one of the characters in a TV show called Legion about a Marvel character with way too much power.
Me during the episode one reaction, when you were hoping that nothing was gonna happen to the dog:
😬😬😬
calling the dog poisoning was wild lol
and the walking at the end
I’d agree if Bev wasn’t such a menace. You see Bev and poison and you immediately lock up your pets and your infants.
@@joeymorrissey5916They are on it. They are very perceptive
I was furious after this episode. I think it speaks volumes that a show can make you feel that intensely.
you can tell how much Flannagan admires Stephen King because this could perfectly be a novel
Not the buffering Internet explorer for Blake reacting too slowly to the rat poison lmao
You guys are a great group, you play off very each other well. Thoughtful, observant and funny. I always enjoy watching your reactions.
21:06 yes! that was so satisfying because I wrote a comment on last week’s reaction, “I’m predicting that Corey will like the soundtrack” 😊👏🏻
the dog dying gets me everytime omg
Joe is Mr Dudley in hill house! What a great actor!
“maybe paul is LARPing as pruitt” killed me idk why
“What kind of priest makes house visits?”…. Me- Uhhh all of them, all of the time. They take a vow of poverty, obedience and chastity. Somehow people only focus on the last one. When church is closed, and they aren’t working on their sermons or sleeping they are traveling to houses of people who can’t make it to church, making DAILY hospital visits and overseeing funerals.
😂
thank you, i was looking for someone explaining this to them in the comments. it's standard practice for catholic priests.
Not just Catholic priests either. My grandmother, while living, was in a small town where everyone knew everyone like this and it was standard practice if you requested a home visit with the church, usually because a relative was dying or bedridden, they would show up and pray with them. I think even with mega style churches these days, they have a team of people who can do this.
I guess the chastity thing didn't apply to altar boys.
@@kimmomaki😂😂😂😂
This series has some amazing and poignant one shots, some of the best I've ever seen, even for a Mike Flanagan piece.
(Spoiler) Bev Keen is one of the worst fictional characters, right up there with Dolores Umbridge.
@@JonnySativaSeed23 I'm mostly just so impressed by Samantha Sloyan and how well she portrayed Beverly Keane that it almost overshadows how awful the character is and I just get giddy every time she's on screen.
@@illgillbates9561 me too. I loved her work in The Midnight Club also.
It is Beth. When that someone laied down the food for the dog, we saw a swish of her skirt and its the same pattern as Beth's dress. Most people (including myself) missed this on the first watch.
Bev* not Beth btw
I love hearing your theories and the way y'all bounce ideas off each other. Can't wait for the next episode, shits about to pop off lmao
I love this lighting you guys have. 💙
You Gentlemen are so incredible. ❤ Your compassion and reaction to the poor fur baby dying is a testimony of all of you having beautiful souls
The religious commentary and dialogue in this series is so good. Glad to see you guys sticking with this one.
The dog death scene is really brutal, definitely sets the tone for the rest of it.
Waited all week for this! 😍
The acting and writing in this series is phenomenal.
definitely the most brutal out of the flanagan bunch. such an amazing show that amps up with each episode
Blake I feel you brother, that part made me cry and I didn't know if I was gonna finish it but I'm glad I didn't stop because despite such a horrible scene it gets really good going forward and reflecting on it afterwards I think it really shows what the true face of evil can be despite what face you try to show to the world.
spent all day waiting for this one, boys!! god i love this show (and your reactions).
Damm Cojo's been bringing some hard reads lately. You can always trust the Coreys to pick up on stuff (and Igli and Blake not to 😂)
I frigging love this show. Thanks, fellas.
Yes, Blake noticed the opening beach scene is a one take.
Loving these
I'm loving all the theories
Honestly, I feel like the meat of the stories themselves in Flanagan shows isn't mind-blowing by any stretch (it's nothing groundbreaking or original - like, if you were to tell a short summary of Hill House or Bly Manor to someone, it wouldn't sound very interesting), but how well it's written, scored, directed, produced... couple that with the INCREDIBLE cast. I feel like this man and his team could take something as bland and as basic a premise as "why did the chicken cross the road" and turn it into a masterpiece.
I totally love Paul-Hamish Linklater's-wife irl. Lily Rabe. She's beautiful and has a great screen presence. I watch everything she does. You guys will see her in several seasons of American Horror Story. She is especially good in "Coven" as a Stevie Nick's loving hippie witch. Her Mother is the famous actress Jill Clayburgh.
Even though it sucks having Pike die, he did great as an actor. Being a veterinary tech, it really sucks when animals die or get into rat poison. It is typically and anticoaculant and causes excessive/internal bleeding but there would be signs before hand normally depending on how much they have ingested. They probably used cherry syrup and crushed banana for the blood and yellowish foam I'm guessing. Love your channel and Patreon so far 🥰
Bev Keane is the worst person ever.
React to the film: REC (2007), a very good Spanish horror in the Found Footage style, sinister and with disturbing ending, worth checking out.
REC would fold Blake over lol
Flanagan slays every single series he's making. This one is also my favourite but Hill House takes the top spot for me.
So, I read this popular screenwriting book back in the early 2000s called 'Save the Cat' and though there are no technical rules for screenwriting, one major theme was advice to not kill off pets or animals in your scripts, or you risk alienating a massive part of your ahdience..
..not long after that, I wrote my first script and I debated for days and days if I was going to kill off a pet in the script..I wanted to be different and see what happened if I didn't follow that advice, so I killed the poor cat cos after all, other popular writing advice at that time was also 'kill your darlings.'
That script did really well in a major competition..anyway, the point is that though you may risk losing a large audience, it has also worked well for the John Wick series and Midnight Mass is considered by many to be Flannigan's best work so far..
..guess what I'm saying is that I think some of the best writing is the emotionally evocative kind, whether it's feel-good or not..
Anyway, Acting is superb in this series..everything is..
XO
Often, the people sensitive to that stuff will skip that part in a movie or show if they can. The kill the pet trope is so common in horror, and horror-adjacent work that as soon as people see a pet they know that it's quite likely it will die. Personally, I'm not a fan. It often feels like a lazy short cut to getting you to hate or fear a character or situation.
Yep, agreed. It can be a cheap/overused way to get heat on a villain, but it works in John Wick because it's satisfying to see him exact his revenge (same tried & true formula of old exploitation films!) It works here, IMO, because it firmly establishes two characters: Bev as an irredeemable sociopath, in a way that her fleecing the island after the settlement wouldn't have done on its own. And Joe, because it marks him hitting rock bottom. It also fleshes out Sheriff Hassan a bit more via his scenes with Bev & Joe afterwards.
I think the takeaway is that killing off an animal gratuitously is an easy way to turn the audience against you, but if it's used in a way that does a lot of heavy lifting for the plot and/or character development, it can work. IMO the principle applies to victims that are powerless and/or innocent in general (Randy's rules for surviving a slasher movie in Scream come to mind!) We're fine with watching teenagers get cut to ribbons in slashers, maybe because we know they're at least capable of evil, but young children are typically off-limits.
E.g. Georgie in the IT remake-it's rare that we see a child THAT young offed in such vivid & gruesome detail, but it raises the stakes because it establishes that none of our slightly older protagonists are safe from an even more horrific fate. The sequel, by contrast, stumbles out of the gate, with the gay dude that gets killed after being assaulted by a bunch of assholes. I suspect the intent was exactly the same as with Georgie's death, but it just came across as gross and off-putting to a lot of folks. Perhaps that's because, on top of the scene feeling out-of-place in general, the psychology is backwards-we want to see the transgressors & abusers of power punished, not their powerless victims.
The shadow on the stage is actually the mirror from his film Oculus covered in a sheet
Ha that's pretty neat. Of Flanagan's work, MM and Oculus are probably my favorite series & movie respectively, so that's a really cool piece of trivia that I never would've known
"Body of Christ" eyy period😂😂
The yappy mayor guy is a real life Flanders.
Samantha Sloyan is SOOO good in this show. She was Steve’s wife in Hill House and you’ll see her again in Fall of Usher but this is her best role in the Flanaverse. Bev is so fun to hate. This one may be my favorite of the series’ he’s done so far.
YEP! Been waiting for this to complete my evening. Love you guys!!!
Midnight Mass series is Incredibly!!!🎉❤!
thanks guys for the early upload. ❤
"I can't wait for Bev to die..." Hahaha... Gett in line brother and it's a long line.
Kate Siegel has veneers thats why her teeth are perfect, if you look at older pictures you can see her original teeth. She is one of the few people I think actually has realistic veneers, usually they look creepy to me.
She reminds me so much of Angelina Jolie, especially when she smiles.
This is my fave show from Mike Flanagan. I can't WAIT until ye get further in to when it starts to come together. It's an amazing show.
Cojo - hair is on point bro.
Because that has a lot to do with the reaction and series jeez stick on topic
@@rachaelhogan7850 Who pissed in your coffee this morning?
This is one of the best of the shows he has made, I think fall of the house is a little better. You guys will enjoy the rest of the remaining episodes.
Great Reaction guys! I appreciate your perspective and attention to detail 🎉 Looking forward to more of this series!!❤
Leeza's walking. Riley's mom doesn't need glasses anymore, his dad no longer has back pain and he's looking a bit younger, less grey than he did in episode 1. It's a miracle.
I just realized what Erin meant when she told Bev that her mother "never met a bottle she couldn't empty". I guess she's saying her mom was an alcoholic.
I'm pretty sure Bev poisoned the dog. But if you want to be sure, go back and look to where the hotdog was dropped on the ground in front of Pike. The culprit is wearing a skirt. Find the match.
The next episode is maybe my favorite of the show. Can't wait for your reaction.
i love my furbaby to bits but midnight mass still my favorite flanagan work. it’s just that good! especially that one certain episode’s ending that just sucker punched me 😭
There were two upcoming episodes that sucker punched me. I was planning on binging the entire season, but two of the episodes made me have to take a break. I still haven't continued.
i LOVE this series, and am so glad you're getting to react to it!
its not uncommon for priests in smaller town/vilages to visit disabled/elderly ppl, not maybe for communion only but ya.
Hi just wana say that Priests do house visits for Catholics in the Parish that are physically unable to attend mass due to health issues. So its pretty much a norm. This is my favorite Flannagan show and you guys are awesoke for reacting to it. ❤❤❤
I just wanna say that I love this reaction ❤️ And I'm happy to watch Midnight Mass with you guys 😁Looking forward to more 😉 Poor dog 🥺
I am not a religious person, but I can really appreciate how they are handling this. It's not over the head or the dialogue so cheesy and unbelievable. Truly when Paul talks, you find yourself really listening and trying to pay attention for clues because I think he's definitely sus. That conversation on the bench where despite having several conversations with the townspeople, the only time he stutters and fumbles his words is when speaking about the former monseigneur and his whereabouts. My theory is that who/what is in that trunk is definitely supernatural and he's using maybe it's blood in the communion wine to help heal the townspeople, but that always backfires kind of like a "Little Shop of Horrors" vibe where it's going to keep needing more and more blood, but we're going to run out of people.
I won’t say who but someone is cooking with the predictions. Great review guys.
19:40 - I LOVE BLAKE SO MUCH🤣💘
Good, the sour and foul parts of the show are behind you. Some interesting stuff ahead.
Ep 2! This series introduced me to you guys so I'm excited to see what you all think
I don’t think it’s too far off that the priest makes house calls… they are on an island of like 100+ people. 😂
This show went CRIMINALLY unnoticed and while I was H O O K E D, I could not find anyone around me who was watching and I would talk it up etc. I think that the creators moved studios or something but couldn't they take the show with them? IDK how all that works.
I'm an athiest and disagree with everything Paul said but boy can he preach! 😄 The casting of him is great
Corey your clever as hell
Poor island elected Ned flanders as their mayor! lol!
Everyone in this cast is phenomenal, and Samantha Sloyan plays Bev so perfectly DETESTABLE. To this day, Bev is probably my most hated character in anything I’ve ever watched, read, played, etc. She’s such a horrible, egotistical, manipulative monster.
Amazing reaction boys! It’s an overall incredible episode, but watching people realize how evil Bev is, is one of the most entertaining things and the reason I keep watching reactions to this show.
I know you guys tape these at least a week in advance, so it's too late to give you a head's up, but the next episode (E3) contains two of the finest 5 minute blocks of television in all the Flanaverse, starting at 13:30 and 27:30 respectively. I always recommend them to people looking for great examples of the motion picture arts.
Also, be on the look out for the Flannigan cameo!
“Bev can pound sand.”
😉
Is Riley’s dad the little boy from E.T.?
Yes that’s him!
Yep! He also played Hugh (the dad in Hill House), Uncle Henry (Bly Manor), and Fredrick Usher (Fall of the House of Usher). He was probably in Midnight Club too, but I didn’t get as much into that one so I can’t remember off hand.
Anybody else getting alan wake vibes from these shows cant wait till they do that number
Oooh yes! Yep, so excited for this~~ So dark..
👏🏽 Hehe.. The thumbnail & reaction~ Really good.. Wow, I forgot how dark this is. >.^ This was a good reaction~ I almost stopped watching the first time after the dog..
I’m watching this show along with you guys.
Bev definitely killed Pike. The way she kinda gaslight the sheriff about how she would never forgive herself, or that anyone could have come in there and got poison… that was psychotic. That wasn’t her thinking something could happen, that was self preservation.
Flannagan's best dialogues and monologues are in this series
26:45 May be able to catch a glimpse of the Lasser Glass in these scenes!
Flannagan made this series to make us think and reflect on life in a deep way, religion is just another plot element to add some perspective but it's not really the point because religion is just something personal
I love this show 🔥
The way I immediately clicked!
31:32 😂😂
What did Fr. Paul do that was so sus? He’s just out here helpin people. Mentally, spiritually, physically. What if he’s there to combat the evil? * cough*Bev*cough*. I’m not giving up on Fr. Paul yet!
i never really liked midnight mass - i had to force myself to finish it. HOWEVER, i am loving these reactions SO MUCH!!! i'm even watching the full lengths on patreon and it's just so fun hearing the theories and seeing the facial expressions. i think it's a testament to how good your reactions are that i'm putting myself through the show again hahaha
28:51 😂😂😂😂
I love horror movies but the one thing I hate is when they kill animals, especially dogs, but it’s usually quick or offscreen. That scene was horrible to watch!🐶💔 And Bev Keane definitely killed that poor dog! 😿
I can’t tell you how many times I said “god I hate Bev” during this show. There is no redeemable quality.
I think Bev poisoned the dog. The person who gave the hotdog to the dog was wearing a flowered dress, just like Bev. I doubt very seriously that she’d give that dog food out of the goodness of her heart. The creature! Those glowing eyes, the height when it stood up - yikes!
Nothing in a tv show has EVER made me so viscerally upset and FURIOUS as Pike's death scene. I genuinely had to stop watching the show for a few hours because it upset me that much...
I have started watching this series cause you guys were reacting to it and I heard good things about it. Having seen many horror content before, I had an inkling what the menace was in Episode 1 when someone knocked inside the big case. And when they talked about seeing a "giant albatros flying". And then seeing the former priest outside. And then seeing the dead cats with neck bite marks. BTW I cannot past the mayor. He looks like a cartoon character down to the fake mustache. lol Not sure what was the intent here by creating this character and why he is played like that.
the vibe I got from the mayor in the early episodes was just this broken man who's extremely anxious about everything. there's everything that happened with his daughter, then there's the oil spill and his community slowly but surely dying out, and now there's all these cats and he can't explain any of it so he's just nervously blabbering and scanning his memories for anything similar so that he can explain it away and not think about what the implications of all the cats dying could be.
@@petarbuglov8532 I got that was the intent. But he just comes off like parody. I don't know if it's the acting or something else. Even his mustache looks fake.
Lol I sit on my front porch
Remember when we thought Shirley from Hill House was the worst? No one is worse than Bev 😫
@@samantharose1144 comparing Shirley to Bev is like comparing a watermelon to a potato. Compared to Bev, Shirley was a saint. In comparison, she wasn't that bad of a person she just had her flaws and had a superiority complex.
@@marklouis1890 💯
Stupid comments confirming x / y theory as a spoilerfree teaser smh.
Hope these guys choose to avoid comments entirely until the shows done.
This episode legit made me so mad and upset, it really really bothered me!
It also hits way to close to home just because my golden girl passed unexpectedly in the park and I was holding her the same way!
The Exorcist 2016-2017 tv show next please 😊
Reaction suggestions:
The faculty
Truth or dare
Freaky
Malignant
Totally killer
My bad if you’ve already done any of these and I just didn’t see them yet.
There is no doubt Bev Keene (sp?) killed Pike. No doubt! Someone walked by and deliberately dropped that hotdog by that dog, and I think it was a woman. Next thing you know, the dog is dead. Whatever that poison is, it's very potent. Also, I wonder if her name "Keene" is symbolic, as in she's a blind-follower or believer. In other words, a fanatic. What exactly does she follow or believe, though? She's "acts" like a Christian, but a true Christian wouldn't act like she does. Absolutely not!! My sense is she's mad, bad and not a good person to know.
Also, it seems obvious that this is a story about vampires. Vampires can fly, and we know there's a flying thing that's taken "Bowl." Before that it was clearly killing the cats (draining their blood?) because those kids heard it on their little expedition to "cat" island, and I think they saw it, too. Also, the vampire must be what Riley ran after on the beach, and what Erin heard walking on her roof. Clearly, there was something in that trunk Fr. Paul brought. He knocked on it, and something knocked back! So, what's the backstory there? How is Fr. Paul connected to the vampire? Has "good" Fr. Paul made a deal with the devil like Goethe's Doctor Faustus? This story is taking place roughly during Lent, a period of repentance and renewal. And, lo and behold, the congregants who are taking communion are being "renewed." So, I'm guessing Lent and Easter season are important aspects of the plot. Ah, don't vampires spontaneously heal if injured? Yeah, I'm thinking the communion wine is more than just wine, and it's clearly affecting the congregation. Right now it seems beneficial, but what's the price to be paid? What else might happen if you ingest vampire blood?? Also, isn't vampirism kind of a perversion of the Lord's Supper? Standing it on its head as it were. I do believe that's something Satan likes to do and been quite successful in leading many astray in so doing.
And that idiot "Bowl." Clearly, it was stupid going into that house, but he didn't come across as the sharpest knife in the drawer, either. Even so, I'm a little tempted to give him a smidgen of the benefit of the doubt. On an island like that, he was probably the only criminal. I mean, there's for sure little or no violent crime, so he probably didn't feel like he was putting himself in any great peril lingering by and entering the house.
What's up with Riley's rowboat dream, too? It seems vaguely nihilistic. Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent. And what's the deal with Riley's interaction with Fr. Paul when he got ashes on Ash Wednesday? That pause by Fr. Paul before he gave Riley the ashes clearly was a signal to us to take notice. Fr. Paul said: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” which is pretty typical when getting ashes. But the priest/minister can alternatively say: “Repent and believe in the Gospel." In Riley's case, I think the latter would have been more appropriate given he's an atheist. So, what am I to take home about what Fr. Paul said? Of course, Mike Flanagan is an atheist, too, so maybe he and Riley just take cold comfort in believing they're only soulless dust? I guess what I'm saying is I think there's some significance to this which is unknown at the moment.
I like the show so far. It's shaping up to me as an interesting variation on vampirism, but I'm suspecting it's meant to be anti-Christian in some way or t'other, at which I will take umbrage. By the way, I do like the soundtrack, too. Nice arrangements and harmonisations.
I love u guys but I draw the line at killing animals. Someone poisoned my cat and that shit hurt me a a kid. I can’t finish this show so I’ll indulge myself in the other reactions. Let me know when Beth gets her karma.
I almost walked away from this show after the cats, it upset me so much I literally could not look at the screen, and the dog scene was too much too...I have never hated a character as much as Bev, with the exception of Joffrey/Ramsay in GOT. She's so smug and self righteous and evil. 😠
Para cuándo el capítulo 3 😮❤❤
The dog scene it's so sad and nasty.