Wow so...um...what the fuck? Lots to think about and say.
This series either got Lindelof'd (Or Lost'd) really early, or they've got a shitload of explaining to do. There is a point when intrigue and mystery turns into frustration and annoyance. I didn't get to that point in this episode, but it was pretty damn close. There's only so many balls you can throw out of nowhere and this episode just did not stop throwing them. Now, I really like the whole town set-up as a whole and the way that it's the polar opposite of the first season in which everyone is wondering why they were forsaken and why the people that were taken were 'chosen', this town seemingly thinks that they were 'spared' and that the town of Miracle is just that; a miracle with all the inhabitants being some kind of holiness. Hence the psychotic father of the black family being some kind of judge (at least that's what I gathered), jury and (probably) executioner. That motherfucker smiles WAY too much, but the actor did a great job of portraying a very specific type of seemingly restrained, intelligent insanity. But no doubt, that guy is fucking batshit crazy (and I'm guessing most people in the town are that way...or something close to it, at the very least that whole family).
I'm not even going to start on the opening sequence...I've got a feeling that's never going to be explained if Lindelof keeps his track record...which is why I was skeptical to even watch this show in the first place. The man knows how to perfectly set up fantastical mysteries and then leave them way the fuck out in the abyss, never to be seen from again, let alone explained in the least. So...suffice it to say I am extremely skeptical going forward but I'll reserve my own judgement until things either really start to fall apart or begin to form again. I liked the episode overall, really...it's just that there were so many random things happening over and over that...shit, that's just a lot of small things that were somehow given this brief exposé of importance to explain without it seeming completely forced or having to play catch-up.
I'm excited to see the original family back, but the new family is really interesting as well; it'd just be nice if it held any water at all (HA!). My guess is that this town is the polar opposite of what all these people who seem to be so full of themselves think it is: I'm guessing the earthquakes, the random disappearance of the lake, is going to turn into a full on type of forsaken town full of one horrible thing after another happening to it and everyone in it which will set our 'main' family (I don't think this new family is going to stick, I'm thinking it was just a way to introduce us to this town and the insane shit happening in it; at least just for the season or this 'arc') on a course to escape or...combat whatever it is that's going to happen. All of the very ritualized things that go on, the extreme secrecy and exclusivity of the town, and especially the cult-ish aspect (the church scene especially, that repetition of lines was really eerie, and happened a couple other times in the episode) allude to something sinister, I think. Clearly something is afoot but whether that's explained at all, or if it's all just going to be random shit over and over is yet to be seen. I'm kinda worried, but still very much interested in seeing where this goes. At the same time I'm sadly taking this show now with a very restrained outlook instead of jumping in head first like I did the first season.
Oh, and fuck that opening (the actual opening, the song). I get it...it's completely the opposite of what the show is and I'm guessing even more so with this season, and the town especially. But it just sucks...the first one was perfect and while it was clearly ominous and epic, they seem to be trying to hard with this one to be...the opposite of what's happening, and that is abundantly clear. Eh...we shall see!