{"id":6970,"date":"2018-09-05T13:00:05","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T20:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=6970"},"modified":"2018-08-27T12:40:49","modified_gmt":"2018-08-27T19:40:49","slug":"mark-watches-slings-arrows-s02e02-fallow-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2018\/09\/mark-watches-slings-arrows-s02e02-fallow-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Slings & Arrows’: S02E02 – Fallow Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second episode of the second season of Slings & Arrows<\/i>, the trainwreck has begun. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Slings & Arrows<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh my god, Kate actually left. SHE ACTUALLY LEFT. Look, so much happened in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fallow Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d that I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t realize until after I was done recording that this show committed to Kate\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 shocked? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s real. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S REAL, Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ALL. Holy shit???\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, so, I needed to get that out of the way because… lord, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coming. This is going to gloriously<\/i> derail, and I can see all the pieces of this disaster already<\/i>, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only a matter of time until it all comes crashing down. This is gonna be a nightmare, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M SO READY.<\/p>\n

Frog Hammer<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an echo of season one throughout this episode, though the set-up happens so much quicker this time around. If the board\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand Holly\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s company\u00e2\u20ac\u201dprovided the means for a commentary on art and commerce, then Frog Hammer is merely a different iteration of that. And it is very<\/i> different, mind you, and that distinction is vital. This time around, Frog Hammer represents a delusion: one where capitalism and art are apparently separated, despite the fact that they are indeed still very much a part of what Frog Hammer does. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a striking moment where Sanjay utterly rejects the notion that, as a marketing firm, Frog Hammer does any \u00e2\u20ac\u0153advertising.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d This rejection is meant as one of two things. It is either an intentional misdirection on Sanjay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part, an attempt to trick Richard into using his services by making the company seem different from the rest of the other marketing firms. Based on other things Sanjay says, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue this is what the writers were going for. However, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that Sanjay believes<\/i> what he is saying, that somehow, the artistic intents of From Hammer cancel out the inherently capitalistic deeds of the agency. Which is\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 still bullshit? You are still trying to sell a product to someone; you are just ironic about the fact that you are. Still, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something eerily real about what the show gives us. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a satire, an exaggeration meant to make a point, and yet it managed to feel really<\/i> fucking realistic. There are places that advertise just like that!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also the first real indication of just how south this is all going to go. Oh god, how the hell are they going to reinvent the New Burbage Festival for a younger audience?<\/p>\n

Domesticity<\/b><\/p>\n

I admit that this is more of a worry for what might come than what actually happens. With Sloane out of the picture, Ellen is now free to be with Geoffrey, and\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 lord, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really endearing? I can see it! I can see their chemistry, I can see why they enjoy one another as much as they do, and I can see why this relationship works<\/i>. Indeed, I expected far more drama from these two, but they actually seem to be excelling at domesticity. When Geoffrey returns home after Ellen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s disastrous Christmas tree outing, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fight with her; he comes up with a solution that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s both elegant and thoughtful. When Geoffrey begins to see Oliver again, she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t criticize him; Ellen listens<\/i>. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not to say that there won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be problems in the future, but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fantastic place to start. I believed their relationship, both the past and the present of it, and that is such an important thing to establish.<\/p>\n

Original<\/b><\/p>\n

The main conflict here resembles some elements in season one, but I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get the sense that this was a repeat. Geoffrey is still contending with the legacy that Oliver left behind, but after surviving a season that was, at best, a stroke of chaotic luck, I got the sense that Geoffrey was ready to do his own thing. Indeed, that seems to be where this is headed. Geoffrey knows that Oliver was important to this festival, even if he fundamentally disagrees with how Oliver ran it, but he was ready to spend a year developing the season himself. Like, literally<\/i> by himself.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And then here comes Oliver, in the form of Henry Breedlove, in the form of Macbeth<\/i>, in the form of mock stages and production notes, in the form of himself standing beside a bunch of kids during a elementary school production of the very same play that Geoffrey has been asked to produce. At the end of season one, I assumed that Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story had been promptly resolved. Geoffrey had found a way to put on Hamlet<\/i>, to live in the shadow of Oliver, and thus, there was no need for him anymore. And truthfully, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no need for him here, either. YET THERE OLIVER IS. Oliver is forced back into Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life because of Macbeth<\/i>, and thus, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a reason why this manifestation of both his mental illness and his creative conflict stands before him.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Oliver is not done with Geoffrey yet.<\/p>\n

Here, though, this is less about Geoffrey learning to love the theater again or to contend with a past he refused to cope with for seven years. Instead, this is about agency<\/i>. How can Geoffrey choose to produce this play the way that he wants? Initially, of course, he wants nothing to do with Macbeth<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too difficult to effectively stage it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too bloody. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too evil<\/i>. And then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that little curse that might or might not exist, and why would Geoffrey tempt that<\/i>? Yet once it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that he will have to do Macbeth<\/i>, Geoffrey\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, he procrastinates. A lot<\/i>. Oh my god, that sequence was too relatable, please never do it again. Seriously, just add scrolling through Tumblr and Twitter and that was me. ME. And I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m much better about procrastinating these days than I ever have been!!!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But once he gets down to it, Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legacy continues to haunt him. And just like season one, I love that this is both metaphorical and literal. How can Geoffrey stage this play on his own? Well, as it stands currently, he can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t. Oliver\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s notes are restricting him rather than guiding him. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s my guess for the arc of this season: external forces are pushing Geoffrey away from what he does best. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re diluting his vision and his creativity, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only going to get worse. I say that not just because that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s how last season worked, but LOOK AT HENRY BREEDLOVE. Oh my god, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like him. AT ALL. I can tell he is immensely talented and might even mean well, but that man wrested control away from Geoffrey at the table read, and I bet y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all that Geoffrey is going to have a hell of a time wrestling it back.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A DISASTER, I TELL YOU. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s coming!<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fallow Time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now out in the world!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"