In the first episode of the second season of Dead Like Me, stuff happens and just read the review. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Dead Like Me.
Okay, so these predictions were written before I started the season 2 opener. Seriously! Watch today’s commission video for ABSOLUTE PROOF. Let’s celebrate my ignorance:
- George will get promoted at Happy Time.
- Daisy and Mason will go on a date, but it’ll fail spectacularly.
- Joy will find out that Clancy has cheated on her.
- Reggie will begin to suspect that George is visiting her every time she sees the older version of George.
- We’ll see a new type of reaper.
- We will learn more about Rube’s past, since we don’t know how he died.
- Roxy will keep giving out parking tickets and being awesome? I dunno, I can’t think of something to predict about her.
- George will be threatened with re-assignment to a different city at least once.
- And finally, George will confront her family at some point. In person!
So, let’s get on with today’s review!
- I was thinking about how you’d describe Dead Like Me to someone without giving away much of the plot, and I realized how difficult that might be. I like this show, but I find myself more interested in the characterization than the show as a whole. It’s good, but it’s not something that I find totally and jaw-droppingly amazing. It’s at times ridiculous and then subtle, and it’s sort of serialized. Sort of. The show isn’t really interested in shocking plot twists, endless cliffhangers, or over-the-top character turns. (Plenty of the show can be over-the-top, though.) This all reminds me of going through Cowboy Bebop, which forced me to re-think how I view television. Not that I think that show and this one are all that similar at all, but I like the idea that Dead Like Me is a show full of vignettes about the reaper existence more than something that’s heavily serialized.
- Even with this season opener, we’re just given general hints at what may transpire over the course of the next fourteen episodes, but even then, it’s more like the show just ambles along to its own pace. I rarely feel like I need to turn to someone and say, “HOLY SHIT, YOU’LL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT THIS SHOW JUST DID.”
- That’s fascinating to me, but I think that it’s not always to the show’s benefit. I did find myself wanting a bit more out of this episode because we’re at a point where I feel like the show should give me more than it is. However, I know that my opinion on such things can change in an instant, so I’ll keep an open mind as I continue.
- For the first time in the show, George pursues a romantic relationship. For a single work shift, which is somehow the funniest thing in the world to me when I think about it. Brennan looks so ridiculous because half my friends had the same haircut in 2004, and I hate it. At the same time, I really do like the exploration of office romances, because I’ve been in a couple. One was a disaster, and the other was not. But the depiction of office jealousy and politics is SO SPOT ON. It’s barely a joke here because I can indeed verify that I’ve seen nearly everything in this episode happen in real life, including someone hurting themselves so that the office hunk will attend to them. I am dead serious. A girl slammed her hand in the refrigerator just to get this guy to pay attention to her. This was forever hilarious to me because I knew he was gay because he had dated my best friend, and all the women in the office were in denial about this. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
- Oh god, Delores is so protective of George! It’s kind of adorable. Though I am worried that George is taking Delores’s kindness for granted. BUT HEY, I GOT A PREDICTION RIGHT!!! Oh my god, I was prepared.
- I’m interested to see where Mason’s story is going because I don’t know what the writers are doing here. They make him sober for most of the episode, and that’s the extent of the time we get to experience his character growth. It seems strange to introduce this only to have him go back to drinking, so I am confused about what’s going on here. That being said, I think the text was highly critical of Mason’s behavior at the birthday party he was at, something that was unexpected. The show often uses humor for the sake of it, and I thought that was the reason for all his inappropriate behavior as a clown. I started wondering how the writers were going to let him get away with making dick balloons, swearing, and generally being an asshole, but then the birthday girl’s father completely rips into him. It’s a damning condemnation of the fact that Mason rarely takes reaping all that seriously and the fact that his job matters. What he does in the final moments of a person’s life affects those around him.
- Holy shit, Roxy is going to become a cop! I loved the way she clotheslined that asshole, and as soon as she did it, I thought, “Well, she just disobeyed her boss. That’s not good.” Except perhaps she’ll have an outlet for her anger and rage? Maybe? That’s a weird thing for me to say since I don’t trust cops in general, but I’d be interested in seeing what kind of cop Roxy would be.
- DAISY, YOU ARE SO FASCINATING. The writers are doing such a fantastic job of peeling away the mask she once wore to show us how much depth there is to her character. So what’s with the cross? What does that mean to her? I AM INTRIGUED.
- I am also heartbroken for Joy and Reggie. My god, Clancy, you’re the worst. I understand that Joy is stubborn, and I get that she may be a difficult person to deal with. But I have no patience for people who use the whole WELL YOU PUSHED ME THERE excuse as an explanation for infidelity. No, Joy did not push you to have sex with your students, which is also highly unethical given your position, dude. You chose to do that. And you chose to make your daughter’s life even more difficult!
- I don’t care, Reggie’s response to hearing about her parents’ divorce is amazing. God, she’s so great.
- Well, how is George going to react once she finds out what’s going on with her family? It’s not going to be good, y’all.
The video commission for this episode is now archived on MarkDoesStuff.com for just $0.99!
Mark Links Stuff
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