Author Topic: Netflix's Atypical  (Read 5482 times)

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Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #35 on: October 06, 2021, 10:36:53 PM »
I think I have 2-3 episodes left of season 4. Eager to hear your thoughts when I’m done. Unless you have any that don’t involve spoilers for the last 3 episodes.

I can hold out until you wrap it up.
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Online Adami

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #36 on: October 12, 2021, 12:36:33 PM »
Finished!

I really loved it. The season had a few plot points that I found way too predictable or ....pardon the wording...typical...but they usually didn't last too long.
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Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #37 on: October 12, 2021, 03:19:10 PM »
Finished!

I really loved it. The season had a few plot points that I found way too predictable or ....pardon the wording...typical...but they usually didn't last too long.

These are my thoughts:

It's not that I didn't 'like' the final season....it was alright. I thought it was a step back in storytelling though as I felt the entire time that they had no real end game planned for Sam's character and it showed. I think the trip to Antarctica to see the penguins was pretty lame honestly but I can see how it 'fit' to an extent.

I felt that Casey and Izzie's lesbian relationship took centerstage for most of the season and relegated Sam to the background....and this series was always about him and the other characters were ancillary. Sure they had things going on but I just feel like they strayed too far off course with the season and tried to do too many things with all of the characters. Even Zahid just randomly has testicular cancer??? Completely unnecessary that added near zero to the story and Zahid's character wasn't nearly as interesting or funny as seasons past. He was almost annoying actually.

I just felt like the show was hijacked by the social and political era we are in and took the opportunity to preach a bit and got heavy handed at it and it just wasn't the same show as the other seasons. Really fun series over all but I've watched enough shows to recognize when a show/series is just putting out episodes to put them out with little direction and that's what that final season was in my eyes. A "let's wrap this thing up" with no real thought put into it.
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Online Adami

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #38 on: October 12, 2021, 05:12:42 PM »
Totally feel you on the first 2/3 of that. It didn't bother me much but I can very much see what you're talking about.

I don't see the last 3rd though. I don't think they were hijacked by anything. I think they told the stories they wanted to tell, even if they didn't have a very coherent structure to it.
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Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #39 on: October 12, 2021, 05:18:02 PM »
Totally feel you on the first 2/3 of that. It didn't bother me much but I can very much see what you're talking about.

I don't see the last 3rd though. I don't think they were hijacked by anything. I think they told the stories they wanted to tell, even if they didn't have a very coherent structure to it.

I think had they told those stories over two seasons allowing them to maintain more focus on Sam it’d have worked better for me. There just wasn’t enough time for it all and it got pretty packed and fast paced.
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Online Adami

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #40 on: October 12, 2021, 05:19:42 PM »
Totally feel you on the first 2/3 of that. It didn't bother me much but I can very much see what you're talking about.

I don't see the last 3rd though. I don't think they were hijacked by anything. I think they told the stories they wanted to tell, even if they didn't have a very coherent structure to it.

I think had they told those stories over two seasons allowing them to maintain more focus on Sam it’d have worked better for me. There just wasn’t enough time for it all and it got pretty packed and fast paced.

Yea, I'll agree with that. I did like the actual ending though. Sam going to Antarctica with his dad, Casey going back to her old school, Zahid finding a real relationship, and Sam and Paige having a very mature moment in their relationship. I really thought they did a good job with that.
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Offline Chino

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #41 on: October 18, 2021, 07:05:59 AM »
I wrapped it up over the weekend. I kind of echo most of Gary's sentiment here.

To me it felt like the writers sat down and said "Here's a checklist of the 10 most heated social arguments/debates in public eye right now. We need to find a way to work every one of these in". I actually don't oppose any of the causes the show decided to touch on, but it all felt like filler content to me some how. That arcs about the dress codes based on gender and Casey being privileged took up so much time and ultimately added nothing to the story or her as a character. It just felt like time wasted on something someone wanted to preach to me about. It felt very forced, and the show went from being about Sam and a family dealing with his condition to a show about a family that has an autistic member in it.

I have to disagree with Gary though on the trip to Antarctica being lame. I think given Sam's point in life and capabilities, getting there would have been a heck of an achievement. It was a good, realistic goal. One that would likely be possible or believable for someone like him. I think it was less about him going to Antarctica specifically, and more about him finding something in life he's truly passionate about. So much so he set a goal to see it for himself. He got out his comfort zone and raised money, planned, etc..

I don't have a lot to say about Zahid's ball. It was weird. I think the writers were trying to give us a moment or an event that shifted Sam's focus. We saw Sam completely tuning out the news because he was so focused on Edison, only to realize it later and drop everything to go be the best friend he could. I saw it almost as a moment of maturity for Sam.   


This seems like a classic case of Netflix getting to season 3 and having no clue what to do from there. Again, I didn't dislike the final season. It was just the weakest of the four because it strayed too far from what the show started as. I liked the show for what it was overall, and I'll probably give it a fresh watch a few years down the road.




Random: Remember the scene when Sam and Casey were in the industrial freezer training for the cold? Did either of you feel like that scene was supposed to set up something with Paige that ended up getting left out in the editing room? Earlier in the episode, Paige is in there rearranging all the boxes. Her manager makes a comment about how it's all different and she makes a case why it's better and more efficient or something. Later on, Sam and Casey are in there, and they made it a point to highlight Sam moving boxes in front of the fans, Casey questioning it, and then Sam explaining that he was purposefully blocking the cold air. I thought for sure we were going to see something like everything in the cooler thawing out because of Sam's repositioning, and Paige getting the blame because she was in there earlier. It was a lot of setup that didn't really lead to anything.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2021, 02:35:58 PM by Chino »

Offline gmillerdrake

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #42 on: October 18, 2021, 01:35:43 PM »
Let me clarify the Antarctic storyline a bit. It was right in line with Sam’s character and made sense. BUT….I feel with all the other BS and forced storylines they tried to cram into the season took away from Sam’s story and relegated the Antarctic trip to a side story rather than being the focal point it should have been….and being more developed.

It was just kind of there underneath everything and it should have been a better send off.
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Offline Chino

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #43 on: October 18, 2021, 02:35:03 PM »
Full agreement there.

Online Adami

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #44 on: October 18, 2021, 02:52:17 PM »
I will agree totally that Sam got unfairly pushed aside. I don't see Casey's storyline as them checking off social topics and forcing them in there. The show is contemporary, this is what's going on in a lot of the country.

I also agree that the Antarctica storyline wasn't given its due intention.
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Offline Chino

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Re: Netflix's Atypical
« Reply #45 on: October 18, 2021, 02:57:25 PM »
That word, "Antarctica", and how everyone on the show pronounced it. Do people where you guys live pronounce it that way? It sounded so weird, and everyone on the show said it the exact same way. l I can't even spell it right because of how we pronounce it out here.  :lol The first C is supposed to be silent! An-tar-ti-ca