The River: Poor Monkey

Many reviewers and critics think that The River won't make it to the second season, which is sad.  I think what the River is doing every week is very innovative story telling.  For instance, this episode was different from all the ones before in that it used found footage of Emmet Cole.  There were a few scenes that took place on the Magus, but Emmet Cole carried the episode.  Not many characters or shows could do that. 

I almost knew when they showed the monkey that it was going to come back later in the episode.  I did not think it would be after it was skinned, and I also did not think they would kill a character like that either.  I totally thought it was selfish of Rabbit to run off with all of the survival gear.  I was very worried for the dog while Emmet was starving.  I was very happy that he didn't go through with it.

The ending with the outpost that was now abandoned was very smart.  I think that opens up the series to be out of the river for a few episodes, and it would be a little more tradition story telling which will give the series longevity. 
I was totally not bother by Lena's confession of setting of the emergency beaker, and I am glad she found her mark.  I hope that gets explored further.

My hope for this series is that it makes it to the next season, and that it has a graceful ending where many answers and story lines can be flushed out. 

The River: My Name is Jonas

In last night's episode, we get another piece of the puzzle.  Emmet Cole newly hired cameraman, Jonas, who is an adventurer.  He is also arrogant after being told not to film a funeral rite.  Jonas becomes cursed as the Hanging Man, and the jungle wants its revenge for Jonas's disregard for its people's tradition.

I really liked the character development of Jonas, from his interview tapes to his lying to the search party that he was thrown off the boat by Emmet. This storyline also showed that Lincoln is a better man that his parents who both were ready to throw Jonas off the boat to save themselves.  Jonas decided to take his life in his own hands, and he gave the jungle what it wanted i.e. contrition.

I am glad we got a new character to add to the search party, and I am sure we'll only learn more about the time on Emmet's boat before his disappearance.

Ironically, the episode title was "A Better Man" reminding me of a Pearl Jam song, and then Jonas's name made me think of the Weezer song.  So I included the Weezer video below.

The River: Blind in the Amazon

I was very happy to see Lincoln cut his hair, it looked so stupid.  To be honest, I couldn't sleep after last week's episode, I was so freaked out by the dolls and the general eeriness of the episode.  I think this week's was better for me and my sleeping habits.

They confirmed another layer to the story that Tess is guilty for having an affair with Clark. If you have been reading this blog long enough, you know my love of a forbidden love story and my loathing of cheating.  So the jury is out on this one until they reveal more or confirm they were separated before the affair.

While looking for a cave that Emmett may have gone into and gotten himself lost, the search party is attacked by an Amazon tribe that blinds its prey.  Everyone in the party except AJ slowly goes blind and becomes the hunted.  This show is systematically revealing all the things I would rather die than live through, like sleeping near a doll tree and having centipedes crawl all over me including my face.  I'd chose death. (You'll find out more about my survival tendencies in the Walking Dead blogs.)

The River also has no lack of drama, but you kind of knew it was going to be wrapped up by the end of the show.  Regardless, I am still going to continue to watch because it is intriguing, just like Lost and the X Files.

The River: Two Hour Premiere

When I decided to watch and blog about the River, I didn't know it was a 2 hour premiere. I've got to say it kind of reminds me of Off the Map, well the jungle theme at least.  But the River is way more scary and suspenseful.

The first hour is spent setting up the story of the lost explorer, Emmet, dabbling in magic myths of the Amazon. The search party of Emmet's wife, son, and tv shows affiliates find the boat, and lets out a ghost/vampire of a dead crew member.  The search party is trying to fight of the ghost/vampire, while trying to escape themselves.  After fending off the threat they determine that Emmet is still alive and they continue on their quest to find out what happened and find Emmet.

I am surprised how scary this show is.  It also reminds me of how much I should be watching American Horror Story. I can't believe how freaked out I am while watching.  But will the show run into the ghost/threat of the week with the series?

The show also reminds me of Cloverfield, which is one of my favorite movies. It is refreshing to see storytelling like this in the tv format.

So I find Joe Anderson's voice weird, he's trying to do an American accent.  But I think they could have made it work with his current accent.  See his interview from Comic Con below, and let me know what you think.