I feel like I am have the broad strokes of the mysteries understood but of course the writers could always write in an unexpected pivot.
Spoilerish talk below:
Random thoughts (forgive the inevitable spelling and grammar errors): Begin rambling…
The entity on Kepler seems to be behind all of the supernatural elements such as visions and voices. The entities influence is able to reach off planet but it is unclear if it can reach earth. Unclear if there might be more than one entity with differing goals.
The android’s design was found encoded in the mythraic scripture and the humans do not fully grasps all of the details but understood enough to build androids without knowing their full capabilities. It is unclear the origins of the scripture. I guess this has something to do with why the leader was so emphatic that atheists could never re-program the androids.
#2 makes it likely that Sol exists and is not just a human invention. It is unclear if Sol and the Kepler entity are the same or similar.
If Sol and the entity are the same then we get a pretty complete narrative. The entity contacts humanity and gives them the Mythraic scriptures which include the plans to build androids. Possibly Campion prime was influenced by the entity to capture and modify mother not just in her mothering behaviors but also to make a babies and sent her to Kepler. The entity seems constrained by it’s lack of a corporeal form. Perhaps the vision mother had in the card shows the past of the Entity? It is unclear what process/ceremony is happening: birth, death, imprisonment. It is throwing up liquid like the android blood so they may have a similar biology. I get the feeling all of this has been a long play for the entity to escape some type of planet scale prison.
The shrouded figure looks like the figures in mothers dream. There are various theories on if they are birthing/creating the creature, or worshiping it, or jailing / killing it. Since it seems determined to show Mother the information on the cards and that Paul who hears the Entity voice and who destroys the cards. I’m guessing the masked figure is opposed to the Entity. Maybe the last of a race of jailers meant to contain the entity?
I think it’s clear the Kepler entity and Sol are connected. Especially if this universe’s timeline wrt Earth history didn’t diverge in the course of Christianity and Islam dominating the planet as it does today. I suspect we’ll get more backstory revolving around the rise/rebirth of Mithraism on Earth. I suspect it started as a small group of people having the same hallucination as we see with people on Kepler-22b and then as more people started to have the dream the entity on Kepler-22b was able to spread its influence across the world which results in the extinction of other religions on Earth. And possibly this maybe explains why Mary doesn’t have any sort of hallucinations herself (same with the other Mithraic people because it could be genetic). So if they do show what I expect is the sudden appearance of Mithraism then I suspect this will explain the entity and the events so far.
I watched both parts last night. I found it enjoyable and interesting. No real bombshells or new knowledge, but it was slickly presented and nicely tied up many of the strands of this whole mess. It did seem about 30 minutes too long though – or maybe it’s just because I watched parts 1 and 2 back to back.
I am curious what the date is in the show relative to now and how much the characters know of our time. Clearly some of our myths have persisted enough to carry over into their time. But I get a feeling that the story is far enough in the future that the current modern world is lost. I think they might be more primitive than we are now, with the exception of the alien technologies. Basically biblical times with androids and space ships.
Interesting thoughts on if some people cannot see or hear the Entity. My gut feeling is that it is just selective in it’s chess like manipulations of useful humans. I am curious as to how people in general ended up on one or the other side of the war. They have given very little details about how the two differ.
The Entities main method of getting things to happen in meat space depends a lot on promising things to humans and then chucking them aside when they are no longer useful. I wonder if the Entity talking through sim Cambian to Mother about being lonely is actually truthful or if it is more empty promises. I could see the entity taking the child or inhabiting it and then chucking Mother aside just like everyone else.
We finished a binge-watching of Parks and Recreation last night before the show leaves Netflix this week.
Goofy as the characters and events are, watching stories about people who find an unabashed sense of pride and purpose in Public Service was a nice palate cleanser after the horrifying Presidential debate.
So the tunnels allow one to travel through the planet. Unclear to me how the ship would survive the collision with the surface of the liquid core. Was the baby required to make this transit? Unclear how the native inhabitants would have made this same journey.
The humanoids on the planet are neanderthals? Curious how they made the jump to Kepler 40k+ years ago.
So it seems that Marcus swallowed the eye of Mother giving him enhanced vision. I wonder if there are any old myths with humans swallowing the eyes of a god? It’s good Mother doesn’t have a remote view through that eye. I wonder if she will physically retrieve the eye from him? Humans are so squishy.
It’s pretty over-the-top and offensive in about a thousand ways but the primary target of the satire is American xenophobia, privilege and celebrity-worship so it’s not just shock for shock value. Cohen’s greatest talent lies in using his characters to make real-life people expose their idiocy and prejudices in hilarious ways.
Just be duly warned that Cohen uses very unfunny subjects like sexual assault and antisemitism as the basis of jokes (for example, at the beginning of the film he introduces viewers to one figure in his fictional hometown as “the Village rapist” and his community also an annual tradition called “the running of the Jew”) so it’s not for everyone.
I haven’t seen the film since shortly after first came out so It would be interesting to see how well or poorly it’s held up in the intervening 14 years.
I found a lot of the humor in the original film to be exceedingly mean spirited. Part of the fun of Cohen’s characters is how he’s able to cause people - often famous or powerful ones - to let their guard down and say terrible things. (Often by saying over the top offensive things himself and letting the other person fall into the trap of agreeing or even doubling down.)
A hypothetical example could be something like:
Borat: “We have a big problem with Jews in my country and we like to throw them in jail.”
Racist Guy: “Well, we can’t do that here… but I wish we could!”
Many of the regular people in the film that were bamboozled didn’t deserve the treatment that they got.
If you can watch Da Ali G show you’ll get more than your fill of Borat (and Brüno). Or Who is America? on Showtime for a new slate of alter egos.
I’ve never seen Vikings, but Norsemen is a comedy… It weirdly tries to get a lot of the historical details right, but then it does the whole modern human dimension. Like, it has the Landisfarm raid, the costumes seem relatively on point (they even mocked the stuff with the horned helmets, which was not common armor for vikings), the structure of norse society is pretty good, how people lived on a day to day basis, that not everyone in Norway was a viking, etc. But also like modern sentiments, such as when the Chieftain’s brother doesn’t want to go raiding (he likes to crochet) - it’s a very teen-like reaction:
You’re probably thinking of The Last Kingdom. A bit different focus overall, more about the English of the time than the “Danes”. I liked it, though. It’s still ongoing, they have umpteen books to work from.
Norsemen looks good, trying it after I finish Strangers.
