Requiem: The Mist

It’s time for another requiem - yes another show we follow has come to an end.

Sometimes a show ends and we mourn. We see the loss of Class and Dark Angel and Almost Human and grieve. We see the loss of Sense8 and we scream our rage to an unfeeling cruel world.

Some we’re conflicted about like Orphan Black but generally were positive. And some we see with a nostalgic sigh but acknowledge it’s time was done like True Blood, Vampire Diaries and Supernatural- ye gods why is this still being renewed?

And sometimes we’ve wanted to dance on it’s grave so much we’ve hired choreographers.

The Good

We actually debated this category because quite honestly we are extremely hard pressed to find anything good about the Mist, at least as it concerns characterisation and plot.

I will however throw The Mist a bone and admit that some the special effects were interesting. Mia’s interaction with her mother’s ghost was somewhat compelling and so was Nathalie and Father Romanov’s little field trip into the mist. Who doesn’t enjoy horsemen of the apocalypse suddenly appearing out of nowhere?

The Bad

I could write a book.

I mean the truly nauseating homophobia we’ve spoken about and will go into when we discuss the diversity.

Then there’s the central plot line of Alex’s rape. First of all… why? When the series started it looked like this would be relevant - there even looked like maybe exploring how rape is treated and rape victims are poorly served by the justice system. Instead it became another way for the town to hate her, seeming to be mixed with how the Misty Monster apparently doesn’t want to eat her, a vehicle with which to indulge in a lot of sex shaming of Eve (and my gods the treatment of Eve - the evil dirty slutwhorejezebel who was redeemed by a Nice Guy), and serve almost like a romance obstacle between Alex and Jay. The convoluted misunderstanding tope so often used to draw out the will-they-won’t-they of love interests. And, of course, a tool to further the homophobic hot mess

At no point was it treated as an important or integral plot line in and of itself - it was a tool to advance other plot lines and something to distract us with while everyone cowered inside with nothing to do.

These elements are so nauseating it’s almost redundant to mention anything else - but there’s also a major problem with the writing

There’s that annoying fast lane dystopia nonsense where people have been locked in the mall or police station for 5 minutes and are already discussing stocking supplies. Or the weird madlib mystery show trope where everyone seems to grasp the rules of the Mist disturbingly quickly (they’re more afraid OF the mist than the idea that there’s something IN the mist). Or how the people in the church were happy to jump on the murder train. Or how people in the mall were happy to banish people to their deaths. These people went from normal to serial killer so quickly the cast of Lord of the Flies would call foul.

And why were Bryan and Mia even there? The show managed to make them both main characters while simultaneously making them utterly pointless...

The Diversity

The main source of Diversity on The Mist unfortunately was Adrian. Given that there are few LGBT characters on the shows we watch we are normally excited to when a new show has an LGBT character but in the case of The Mist, I think we would have been happier with complete and utter erasure.  It became clear early on that Adrian would be a problem when it was suggested that he (a bisexual male) was using his male privilege to gawk at football players. Say what now?  If only this had been the worse thing that happened with Adrian.

By the end of the first and thankfully only season of The Mist, the writers had turned Adrian into a mentally ill rapist who killed people when they discovered just what a monster he is. If that were not enough, Adrian himself was repeatedly subjected to homophobia and the only sex scene he had, began with a gay bashing.  

There were several people of colour but other than Gus Bradley, the manager of the mall and Bryan Hunt, the military officer with amnesia, none of them were particularly memorable. Race isn’t a subject that The Mist chose to work with  but given the treatment of its only LGBT character, I can only say that I am relieved. Beyond being physically present as people of colour none of the characters had a specifically racialised identity or spoke about any fears they may have being in this particular situation as people of colour.

Random stuff

Honestly here we’d say something like “most awesome death” or “favourite clone” or something unique and special about the show. Not here.

I’d like to nominate Morgan Spector in the category of worst mean mug ever. Was I really supposed to take that expression seriously? Did Spector really think that look was supposed to inspire anything other than laughter?

I’d also like to offer some serious kudos to Frances Conroy who seemed to be the only actor capable of selling the ridiculous writing with any kind of convincing portrayal (which is an almost oscar-worthy achievement).  As bad as The Mist was, it would have been infinitely worse without Conroy.

The Mist Season One, Episode Ten: The Tenth Meal

I don't know about you but at this point, I feel entitled to an award for surviving The Mist. Who could have thought that ten short episodes could be filled with so much homophobia and rape culture?  I have to hand it to the writers for outdoing themselves on this one.

So everything this season has been building up to dealing with Alex's rape and discovering the origin of the mist.  It's a sign of just how virulent rape culture is that Alex's rape is juxtaposed to the mist. At any rate, it's sort of fitting that the mall is the site of the confrontation because the mall is the first location where people lost their minds, long before there was a reason to.

When we last left Adrian, he was placed into a room with Alex, Eve and Jay. Adrian watches the interaction between Jay and Alex and once again his jealousy kicks in.  Eve is adamant that she has to protect Alex from Jay and Adrian uses that as his excuses to beat Jay down with a fire extinguisher. Adrian yells that he has proof Jay raped Alex and promptly lies, claiming that at the hospital he saw the results of the rape kit.

Kevin has made his way into the mall and seen some of the ensuing chaos for himself. As Kevin makes his way through the mall, he runs into Mia, who is looking for Bryan. Mia is happy to see Kevin and explains that the only reason they left is that they were told he was shot in the head.  Kevin reveals that it was Adrian who raped his daughter.  Kevin and Mia decide to split up to continue to search the mall and then regroup.

When we last left Bryan he'd been restrained and saluted by Wes.  Wes explains that he was told to be careful and that's why he chose to restrain Bryan.  It turns out that Bryan is Wes's commanding officer and so he pulls rank in order to get Wes to free him. Wes explains that they've got to get back to the base and that Bryan will learn who he really is then and exactly what is going on with the mist. While Bryan really wants to know who he is and why he was tortured, he's conflicted by his budding relationship with Mia.  It's Wes who points out that he's known Bryan for 8 years whereas Bryan has only known Mia for 5 days.  Mia walks in and tells Bryan that Kevin is alive and that they need his help to find Alex.  Okay, it's decision time for Bryan.  Promising that he will find her somehow, Bryan says that he has to leave with Wes to find out who he is.  Bryan backs out of the room slowlym apologising the whole way.

Connor has made it to the mall with Nathalie and they agree that it is Connor who will approach the residents of the mall because they don't know that Nathalie survived the Mist.  Connor's appearance initially raises the hopes of the residents of the mall because they think that he's there to rescue them. Connor disappoints them all when he says that he's just looking for his son. Gus takes Connor to his office and the tension between the two men is palpable. Gus talks about wanting Eve and Alex our of the mall and how when this is over they may all have to confront doing some horrible things while taking note of Connor's bloodied knife.  At this point all Connor wants is to get to Jay and so he makes it clear that whatever has happened is not his concern.

Gus takes Connor to the room where Eve, Adrian, Alex and Jay are locked up. Eve immediately begins to plead with Connor for his help but Connor is only interested in Jay.  Connor leads Jay to a waiting Nathalie. Jay wants to go back and rescue Eve and Alex but Connor keeps telling Jay that they cannot do that and that Jay has to trust him.  Jay is clearly suspicious but he loves his father and so does not flee.  Connor tells a crying Jay how much he loves him and that whatever happened wasn't his fault.  Finally, Connor pushes Jay outside and locks the door behind him.  Jay bangs on the door and pleads but when he gets no answer, he runs into the mist.  Connor and Nathalie wait but of course, the mist doesn't disappear.  Nathalie says that maybe the Mist hasn't take Jay yet and that they just have to wait. Connor begins to cry and Nathalie comforts him by saying that she's so proud of him and that grief is a beautiful thing.

It finally happens, Kevin has his big confrontation with Adrian in a paint shop. Kevin reminds Adrian about what he said he would do when he found the person who raped his daughter.  Kevin continues to beat Adrian, as Adrian begs him to stop.  Finally, Adrian plays the only trump card that he can - Adrian knows where Eve and Alex are being kept.  Mia arrives and draws Kevin's attention away from Adrian momentarily. Mia reports that Bryan has left with the military to figure out his identity. I guess we are not supposed to question how it is that Mia knows that Wes is a soldier.  While Kevin is distracted, Adrian uses the paint to start a fire, creating a barrier between him and Kevin. Kevin still wants to go after Adrian but Mia encourages to stop worrying about Adrian for now.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Nine: The Waking Dream

The Waking Dream is the penultimate episode of The Mist.  More than any other show that I've watched this season, I cannot wait to see the back of The Mist. It's been horribly homophobic as well as sexist.  The characters have jumped from zero to world ending panic in a fashion that makes absolutely no sense.  In short nothing the writers have come up with to expand the scope of King's novella are sensible or make The Mist even somewhat entertaining. 

The Tunnel

When last we left Nathalie, she was leading Conner, Ursula and Trevor through The Mist in an effort to reach the mall. Having chased a few suspects through the sewers, Conner is confidant about them finding their way. Conner talks about a suspect finding himself covered in rats and being horrified.  Thanks for telegraphing what the characters are going to face writers. At any rate, Trevor falls, breaking his leg badly and so calls out for help.  Nathalie is insistent that there's nothing they can do because they cannot carry Trevor.  Ursula argues to save her husband, suggesting that they could go and get help but still Nathalie will not relent. As Ursula pleads for Trevor, Nathalie and Connor keep exchanging looks.

Ursula begins to climb down some stairs to get to Trevor and after one last look at Nathalie, Connor approaches Ursula.  Promising to help Ursula, Connor moves closer as he pulls out his knife. Connor promptly stabs Ursula and pushes her down the stairs, causing her to land on her husband with a thud.  The two start to beg for help but Connor and Nathalie will not be moved. Rats approach Ursula and Trevor and start snacking on the couple like they've been presented with an all you can eat buffet.  Nathalie explains to Connor that this is all part of the cycle of life and death. They've now provided nature with food which it will recognise as harm and allow them to pass by unscathed.  Nathalie picks up a passing rat and then passing it to Connor, encouraging him to feel the love. 

I don't feel any pity for Ursula and Trevor mainly because they existed only to be killed to cement Connor's loyalty to  Nathalie.  Furthermore, Ursula and Trevor participated in locking people in the church and burning them alive.  Clearly the scene with the rats was to intended to meet The Mist's weekly quota of creep factor.

Adrian, Mia and Bryan

As we know, Adrian took a shot at Kevin and then took off to the car, claiming that his father killed Kevin.  Bryan and Mia talk about going back to ensure that Kevin is indeed dead but decide to push forward, not wanting to take the risk and believing in Adrian's assurance. When they arrive at the mall, they agree to go their separate ways since Mia and Bryan are technically criminals. The moment he's by himself, Adrian practices what he is going to tell Alex and Eve about Kevin's supposed death. This is clearly meant to remind us of how calculating Adrian is. 

The mall continues to be a cesspool of panic and nonsense.  Having blamed Alex for Shelly's death, Gus is now in a corner.  The residents of the mall want to hunt Alex down and make her pay for Shelly's death based solely on his lie about seeing Alex running away from Shelly's body.  Jones tries to tell the mall cop that this is getting ridiculous but when the mall cop makes it clear that someone is going to have to pay for Shelly's death, Gus gets on side pretty quickly.

Mia and Bryan take shelter in an outdoors store and they talk about what might have happened if they hadn't gotten together because of The Mist. I don't care how hard they try to sell these two as a couple, I simply don't buy it. When Bryan closes his eyes to daydream about the whole white picket fence scene he has created, Mia opens up her duffle bag which contains a shit ton of money.  Mia wants Brian to agree to run away with her. Bryan agrees to this and to look for supplies. Is anyone going to wonder how far the Mist extends cause if it involves more than their small town, that money is going to be useless to them?

The Mist, Season One, Episode Ten: The Law of Nature

I think that this episode should have been called everyone on this show is horrible to some degree and deserving to meet individual mist monsters, including the writers themselves.  Almost from the beginning, the writers have been determined to escalate the fear of this show, often sacrificing plot to do so and this episode fits in with that objective. 

The Mall

The mall is the first location in which we saw people lose their ever loving minds when they decided to exile Vic.  With supplies running short and only one day of food left, the tension has increased. Gus is desperate to try and maintain control but Shelly is attempting to wrest it from him. Gus tries to sympathise by saying he cannot imagine Shelly's pain at losing a child but makes it clear that he thinks that she has become unstable.  For her part, Shelly is attempting to weaponise the people against Alex while playing up on her grieving. 

The only authority that Gus really has is that he is the manger. Given the shortness of supplies, Gus tries to rally the people into going on a supply run but there are few options near by and Kyle rightfully points out that even if they leave the mall, there's no guarantee that anyplace they go hasn't already been looted. 

Things come to a head for Gus when his secret stash of food is discovered by none other than Shelly.  This is the break that Shelly has been looking for to finally be able to usurp Gus's authority and to get the residents of the mall to go after Alex, who she blames for surviving the mist monster while her child died. 

As for Alex, she is busy getting her flirt on with Jay, who it seems has managed to convince her by virtue of his cuteness and his heroically burned hands that he isn't responsible for raping her.  Alex and Jay even share a kiss which Shelly witnesses. Shelly of course reports on the kiss and talks about how Alex through a wedge in the town by accusing Jay of rape yet now is kissing him. Do I really need to say that judging how a rape survivor responds to her assault is problematic? Shelly has spent quite a good deal of time slut shaming both Alex and Eve.

 Eve becomes increasingly upset watching as Alex and Jay get closer and so she devises a plan to separate them in order to protect her daughter. Jay is sent into a secluded room to gather some water, only to find himself locked inside by Eve.  Eve must have had a moment of generosity because not only did she leave Jay with enough water but he has magazines, toilet paper and a bed. 

Knowing that hiding food is going to get him exiled just like Vic, Gus bashes Shelly over the head killing her.  As blood pours out of Shelly's wound, Gus calls out for help.  When people arrive to find Shelly dead, they are quick to blame Gus, despite his claims of innocence. After being punched several times and witnessing the mob mentality which is developing, Gus blames Alex for Shelly's death claiming that he saw her running away from the scene of the crime. 

The Church

Nathalie is playing all mysterious religious figure.  Nathalie explains that she is waiting for a sign before returning to the mist.  It's Nathalie's belief that the Mist wants something to right the violence because the last time that the mist appeared it was after a young girl was assaulted.  

Connor is actually relieved that it was Nathalie and not Father Romanov who returned. Connor explains that Romanov presided over his marriage, as well as ran the funeral service for his departed wife.  Connor developed a strong dislike for Romanov when he implied that Connor's wife died because Connor wasn't faithful in his prayers to God.  I'd say that's a pretty damn good reason to have resentment. Connor's next confession is his belief that Jay is actually guilty of raping Alex. Connor feels that because he wasn't the type of father that Jay needed and didn't teach him a proper moral code that Jay is guilty. That's a big huge leap to make on Connor's part but Nathalie is more than willing to go with it because she is looking to make a sacrifice to nature and Jay fits the bill. Nathalie decides that they need to leave the church and head to the mall so that they can sacrifice Jay to appease nature and quite surprisingly Connor doesn't object to his son being the sacrifice.

The Homophobia of The Mist

The Mist is based on a novella by the same name by Stephen King. Given that the source material was originally published in 1980, to be relevant to today, it most certainly had to be updated.  Erasure is not something new to this genre and therefore the lack of LGBT characters in the novella while not surprising is certainly common.  As part of updating this series, the writers behind the Stars version decided to include LGBT characters.

The desire to make a series inclusive which was once erased is good; however, good intentions don’t necessarily lead to good representation. This is especially true when it comes to Adrian and Tyler.  It’s perhaps even more problematic that both Adrian and Tyler are teenagers, given that this is a time when youth are actively looking for characters they can identify with.  There is little enough LGBT representation on television for young people to identify with and therefore offering them not one but two characters that both leave so much to be desired is actually harmful.

When we first meet Adrian, he is sitting down for dinner with his father. Mr. Garff clearly disapproves of his sons sexuality and the fact that Adrian wears makeup.  Adrian tries to address his father, only to be met by silence. It’s Mrs. Garff who reminds Adrian that his father cannot hear him while he is wearing makeup. The viewer is meant to recognize Mr.Garff as the homophobe he clearly is, while seeing Mrs. Garff as the so-called good parent. The problem with this is that by not calling out Mr.Garff on his treatment of Adrian, she is equally guilty in the oppression of their child. Silence in the face of bigotry, no matter who is doing it, is not benign. More, Mrs. Garff’s wording focuses the fault on Adrian: she not only doesn’t challenge her husband, but openly accepts his narrative. Her husband isn’t ignoring their son, he “can’t hear you while you’re wearing make up” - she pretends sympathy but the fault is still her son’s.

Surely, there are parents out there who are just like the Garffs, who are actively doing harm to their children - but in itself this is why this unchallenged, unexplored scene is so damaging: there are a whole lot of Mrs. Garffs out there who think they are “the good parent” and that sorely needs to be challenged.

Clearly there’s a problematic juxtaposition when it comes to the Garffs; however, Adrian’s parents actually represent the least toxic version of homophobia that The Mist engages in.

After a less than pleasant supper, Adrian heads off to the football game to indulge in his male privilege to gawk at the football players. Yes, please do read that sentence again. What the ever loving fuck?  It’s only the first episode and it’s already clear that the writers have no idea what the hell they are talking about. You cannot just throw buzz words around with no rhyme or reason.  Adrian has male privilege because he’s male and it has absolutely nothing to do with his sexuality. In fact, just being a bisexual male in a situation like a football game (a sport known for its toxic hypermasculinity) could actually prove dangerous for Adrian.

This is not only logically ridiculous, but the show itself openly acknowledges homophobia (pretty much being the sum total of Adrian’s storyline) - it is mind boggling for the writers to decide Adrian is in the privileged position to drool over football players, while in the very same episode he’s attacked by one of those same football players.

Homophobic violence pretty much defines Adrian’s storyline, from being homophobically attacked at a party, to being violently assaulted by Tyler in the hospital. Follow this up with what can only be described as an attempt at a touching bonding moment with Tyler describing yet another violent attack on a perceived gay or bisexual man. We’re only only on the 7th episode and Adrian is far from a major or focused character but we’ve thrown in four examples of homophobic violence. Change the damn record.

Worse, the themes around these incidents is further toxic - most glaringly that Tyler himself is a gay or bisexual man. Look, internalised homophobia exists, it would be impossible not to in a society that still continually denigrates and abuses LGBTQ people; self-hatred and externalising that is a problem. But this meme that homophobia is caused and primarily perpetuated by LGBTQ people ourselves has to die yesterday. All homophobia comes from cis, straight people - even when it’s perpetrated by the self-loathing LGBTQ people themselves. And even that is by far the exception - the vast majority of hate crimes against LGBTQ people, discrimination against LGBTQ people and oppression of LGBTQ people is entirely at the direct hands of cis, straight people. This tired trope that that violent bigot is secretly gay themselves is never an attempt to analyse the damage society causes LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ youth, but as a way to shift the blame from straight people. Enough, homophobia is not an LGBTQ on LGBTQ crime, no matter how many times cis, straight people love to sell this narrative.

This comes packaged with another terrible message - endurance and forgiveness. Adrian is beaten bloody by a violent homophobe and seconds later is willing to make out, maybe have sex with him and suddenly they’re all friends? In case the message didn’t sink in, Tyler recites a story of abuse and his “respect” for the victim who didn’t report him for breaking his freaking arm.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Seven: Over the River and Through the Woods

There are only three more episodes left in The Mist's freshman season and at this point I think that the whole damn show just needs to be euthanized.   It's clear that The Mist has become incoherent and riddled with so much BS that the writers themselves might actually be lost in the fog.  For my continuing perseverance in writing this up, I think I'm due a stiff drink or at the very least, some high quality chocolate.

The Church

From almost the beginning, a war of ideology broke out at the church. On one side we have Nathalie, who I'm assuming is a pagan and of course the very catholic Father Romanov. Last week, the mist drew religious blood for the first time when Link, the alter boy, for some reason decided to become a religious zealot and attempt to put a stop to Nathalie, who he felt was corrupting the faithful.  Things didn't end well for Link.  Nathalie of course played up her injuries which hit a nerve with Connor, who having tossed aside his badge still has a strong urge to be protective.  As a cop, Connor has seen the worse of the worse and he deems that anyone who would beat an old woman to be vile. For once, I agree with Connor on something.  With Link now dead, Connor decides to take his pound of flesh from Father Romanov, whom he believes talked Link into physically abusing Nathalie.  The residents of the church look on with horror as Connor punches and kicks father Romanov repeatedly.  A knowing Nathalie only hums.

Having taken a beating, it's time for Father Romanov to lick his wounds.  Father Romanov heads up to the room that Link was locked in and speaks to the now dead Link about seeing the light and thanking him for his sacrifice.  On the other side of the door, we are shown Link's remains and they are suitably horrific.

Having made his peace with Link, Father Romanov sets off to save his people by challenging Nathalie to see which one of them can survive the mist. Romanov suggests that the residents will know for sure who to follow based on who survives and since he's confident that God will save him, he's happy to take this test. When the residents of the church are informed of this decision, they rightfully balk but both Nathalie and Father Romanov are determined to see this through to the end.  Father Romanov gets dressed in his best vestments and Nathalie strips down.  Together, Romanov and Nathalie leave the church. Nathalie is calm and stands with her eyes closed, whereas; for all of his faith, Father Romanov is clearly nervous. It's not long before the four horseman of the apocalypse show up and after a momentary pause, set their sights on Father Romanov.  Romanov is shot with an arrow and dragged away through the Mist. 

When Nathalie returns to the church, she talks about hearing Romanov die and how beautiful it was because everything sounds differently in the mist. Nathalie explains that she had her eyes closed and wasn't worried because she knew that Nature wouldn't see her as a threat. 

The Mall

Of all the settings in The Mist, the people at the mall are the ones who have over reacted the most and the fastest.  It seems that the writers are determined to carry on this trend.  They people in the mall have only been trapped there for a short time and they're already panicked about a food shortage.   

Gus isn't as worried about food because he has his own private stash in his office. I know that The Mist is set in a dinky ass town but how could they possibly run out of food so quickly? Gus has no problem snacking on his own sweet treats while hiding away in his office but when Gus is informed that the mall cop is helping himself to extra rations because the mall cop believes that the military is going to rescue them soon, Gus is quick to put a stop to it, rationalizing that they don't know when the military is coming. Shelly of course sees this as an opportunity to rile up people about Eve and Alex.  Shelly is particularly incensed when Eve shows up to request some of their board games to help pass the time for the people she is holed up with. Proving just how smart she is, Eve leaves behind a baby monitor so that she can spy. 

Alex is still cuddling up with her potential rapist which makes Eve very unhappy. Eve would love to give Jay the boot and quite rightfully so; however, Alex actually goes on the defense, claiming Jay should stay with them because he's afraid of the other mall resident because they exiled the kid who accidentally let the mist in.  Eve tries to say that the other residents aren't that bad but Alex ups the ante and questions if her mother would be fine with her joining Jay to be with the other residents.  Why the hell is Alex standing up for the boy who may have raped her? I suppose this round goes to the very misguided Alex.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Six: The Devil You Know

Because of The Mist is not a reasonable answer to all of the events that took place in this episode.  From the very beginning, The Mist has had its characters jump to feelings of immediate peril and act in ways that seem far out of proportion from what they've personally witnessed.  Unlike the 2007 movie of the same name, a television show has time to expand upon a plot and slowly move towards a crescendo.  The pacing at this point is absolutely horrid and has destroyed any kind of enjoyment in this show.

The cast continues to be large, unwieldy and divided. In a show of this nature, a large cast is necessary because it will require a large rate of attrition. The entire point is to have The Mist ever so slowly cause death and unbalance among the cast members but it seems as though the writers just want to do 0 to 60, bribing the audience each week with a few good shots.  This week for instance, we got the Mist coming out of Mia's mother's smashed in head and the Mist coming through the key hole of a door.  Yes, those scenes were awesome and added to the whole creep out factor but it's not enough to making for the continual problem of bad pacing. 

At the church, Link takes his concerns about Nathalie's idea about the mist to Father Romanov, who has seperated himself from his parishioners.  It's clear that Link feels that Romanov is shirking his duties by hiding in his office and that the only way they're going to get through this is by prostrating themselves before God. Before this episode, Link showed absolutely no signs of being some kind of freaked out religious fundamentalist but the writers escalated this minor character in order to increase the already overly tense situation between Romanov and Nathalie.  Unsurprisingly, it turned out that Nathalie can handle herself just fine and though she had to endure a slap across the face, she had no problems sacrificing Link to the Mist and then playing feeble old woman in need of protection, thus triggering Police chief Connor Heisel's protective instincts. Connor may no longer see himself as a cop but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel a drive to protect others.  

Speaking of Connor, it's clear that he saw something in the Mist and he is slowly bonding with Nathalie, even as Romanov tries to remind him of civilisation by talking about being by his wife's beside when she was dying.  Romanov is trying to play on Connor's sense of loyalty by pointing out that he didn't let the Heisel family down and that Connor's wife was faithful to God, even in the face of an early death from cancer.  It's clearly manipulative and Connor sees right through it.  At this time however, it's worth pointing out that Connor made such a big deal about Mia and Bryan being criminals in episode four and yet by episode six, with no explanation, he's ready to take off the badge that clearly means so much to him without us seeing any further escalation which would engender such feelings.

At the mall, Alex and Eve decide to work out their angst riddled relationship with a little shopping and why not, they're in a mall. Alex wants to know why the smoke monster bypassed her and is certain that this means that there's something wrong with her. Look, I get Alex is a teen but really? Couldn't the reason be that there's something special about her rather than something wrong? Who whines about not being eaten by a mist monster? 

Eve decides that since the shopping trip distracted Alex that the residents of the mall need some distraction as well. She prints off some pamphlets encouraging citizens to stay indoors, making it look as though the pamphlets came from the government or the military. Gus catches Eve at this task and Eve of course responds with snark, causing Gus to wonder how they got there. Yeah, I wanna know how you got there as well Gus. When the residents of the mall find the pamphlets, conveniently just next to the doors, they experience a sense of relief as a cautious Gus looks on.  This of course is going to come back to haunt both Gus and Eve.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Five: The Waiting Room

We are now officially half way through the season and at this point, I think the writers have absolutely given up on the series.  I cannot for the life of me see the point of The Mist.  The rules constantly shift to allow the ensemble cast to do things that others cannot and then we have the whole hey fog has landed on the town, everyone panic before we know for certain that anything is really wrong.

Kevin and his entourage make it to the hospital because Bryan has been shot in the leg.  The minute they arrive, they are asked if the military has been called in or any other outside forces to deal with the mist. Yes, just like everyone else, the people in the hospital are in full on panic mode.  We don't even really know why. Bryan is taken for treatment and as they wait to find out whether or not he is going to survive, Mia takes the time to blame this all on Kevin.  It seems that she believes they wouldn't be in this position if Kevin had just shot Clay in the first place.  Kevin however feels that they aren't at the place yet and has not accepted this brave new world they are supposedly all living in.  His denial makes more sense than Mia's let's just kill everything because really, they've all run through the mist and been just fine. 

Even though the last Kevin heard from his family they were hiding out at the mall, he decides to do a little tour of the hospital showing pictures of his family to see if they are there. This is when Kevin comes across his older brother who just conveniently happens to be there.  When the Mist rolled in, Mike was working outdoors when he was set upon by a group of teens, who just so happened to know things about Mike they shouldn't have.  This experience makes Mike doubt his senses.  Mike is dying and will probably die of an infection because the doctor is unable to get to the surgical ward because some of the mist has made its way inside of the hospital.  The best that Mike can hope for at this time is to put out of his misery but Kevin absolutely refuses to euthanize his brother. 

Kevin's big deal is that he is driven to save people and this is why he isn't willing to give up on his brother.  And how does Kevin's saviour narrative express itself? Why through a flashback of course. We go back to Kevin and Eve setting up house to learn the source of the animosity between Kevin and Mike.  Proving that the writers can be cliche as fuck, it's Eve who comes between them. We first learned that Eve had slept with a lot of men in town when she was accused of being a slut by her daughter.  Mike also makes such aspersions when he snarks about his surprise that Eve settled down with Kevin, making Eve upset.

Eve and Kevin have some honeymoon sex, with Eve encouraging Kevin to go harder and faster, shocking Kevin.  This of course leads to the revelation about Eve's past and about part of her still being that girl. Eve then reveals exactly what Mike meant by his less than cryptic comments, spurring Kevin to promise to kick his brother's ass.  Eve however chose Kevin because he's not the alpha male violent bad boy she's been attracted to in the past and has reached a stage where she no longer wants to be saved.  

The Mist by Stephen King

When a dangerous storm rolls into town, all the residents can think about is the insurance claims they'll have to make and clearing away the debris. What they don't realise is that that the storm will quickly become the least of their worries. It's not long before 80 people find themselves trapped in a grocery store, unable to leave because something primordial and dangerous is living in the mist.  As the claustrophobia threatens to consume them, they must decide whether or not to take their chances with the outside world or get carried away with the hysteria. 

The Mist is a typical Stephen King horror/suspense story.  Everyone has been in the kind of fog where you can only see a few feet away.  It's never a comforting feeling to have darkness descend, particularly in a world that has become accustomed to electricity and convenience. In this case, the mist hides deadly creatures who few humans as prey. 

I must admit to picking up The Mist because we are currently recapping and reviewing the television show. I believe it's always important to be familiar with the source material when possible. From the very beginning, even before we are introduced to the mist as hiding real danger, the story feels anachronistic for something published in 2007.  Cell phones may not have completely decimated people's use of payphones yet but making a call for ten cents most certainly wasn't possible. 

We meet several characters who are stuck together in the supermarket but the story is told entirely from the perspective of David.  David is an artist, father and husband.  David's one of the first to believe in the danger the mist poses because he's given hard evidence that the world they knew is gone.  Even as the evidence mounts that they are in mortal danger, not everyone in the store is willing to believe.  David's neighbour, who tagged along with him to the market to pick up a few things steadfastly believes that this is all one big prank on him and goes into denial. Norton simply cannot reconcile what he knows to be true. 

The people stranded in the supermarket fall into three categories: 

• people like David who accept with difficulty the world as it's presented to them
• people like Norton, who are determined to imagine that what they are seeing isn't real and that they aren't in any mortal danger
• people like Mrs. Carmody, who has a complete mental break and goes down a dangerous path of superstition and fear.

It's easy to identify with the fears of all of the characters and put yourself in their place.  I don't know however if I would find Mrs.Carmody, who starts going on about human sacrifice all that appealing, no matter how scared I happened to be.

The Mist, Season One, Episode Four: Pequod

The cast of The Mist continues to be large and very much separated.  Kevin, Adrian, Mia and Brian make a break from the church.  Kevin trips over the body of a young boy on the way.  The foursome pile into a car and Mia attempts to hotwire it but the car doesn't turn over.  This enrages Kevin, and he accuses Mia of not knowing what she is doing but Mia asserts that something is absolutely wrong.  After a little discussion, they decide to make another break for it run on foot through the mist to a garage.

The Garage

A quick search of the garage reveals no other usable vehicles. A light at the end of the tunnel appears when a car actually pulls up. Clay hops out of the car wearing a gas mask and immediately points his gun at the foursome, who quickly raise their hands.  Clay makes his way inside and apologises for pulling out his gun. Clay is a bit frantic and he pulls out a picture of his son who is missing to find out if the foursome has seen him. Of course, the kid turns out be the body that Kevin tripped over in their escape from the church.  Kevin looks at the picture and lies and says that he hasn't seen him. Following his lead, the others lie as well, as they make weird eye contact displaying confusion over their communal untruth. Clay is absolutely determined to find his son and explains he's been out looking for him for quite some time.

When Clay heads into another room, Mia immediately confronts Kevin about encouraging everyone to lie.  Kevin explains that he was just trying to save Clay the pain of learning about his dead son.  Mia quickly moves on to point out to Kevin that they are going to need Clay's car, or for Clay to give them a lift, if they are going to get to the mall.  An irritated Kevin promises to handle it. 

When Kevin does approach Clay, he learns that Clay is driving a bug out vehicle - one made to function in disasters.  Kevin asks for a lift to the mall, saying that this is where his family is. At this point, Clay only has a little bit of gas left and he wants to reserve it for his search for his son. Clay expresses his regret but makes it clear that his top priority is searching for his son.  Kevin asks him to think about it over night.

The next morning, Clay is looking at a map trying to figure out where to search next when Kevin approaches. Once again, Clay turns Kevin down to prioritise his search for his son. Unable to take it anymore, Mia reveals that Clay's son is dead, causing Clay to go into complete denial. Clay reasonably suggests that he is only being told this because they want his car and that if his child were really dead, they would have told him the day before. A nervous Clay grabs his gun again as the foursome cautiously approach.  It's Brian who ends up on the attack and the two men struggle for the gun. Kevin pulls out his own gun and Mia and Adrian call out for him to shoot.  Brian does manage to get the gun away from Clay but not before being shot in the thigh. The foursome move immediately to offer Brian whatever medical care they can, tying off the wound and applying pressure.  Mia says that if they don't get Brian to a hospital that he is going to die and this is enough for Clay to decide to hand over his car. The foursome load up and instead of going with them, Clay chooses to stay behind and take his chances in the mist to keep searching for his son. 

The Church

Father Romanov is not doing well trapped in the church with his parishioners. It's clear he feels that this might be the end of days, despite the fact that this is not how Revelations describes it. His fear that this is the end causes Father Romanov to start praying for Nathalie's soul.  Following through on her statement that the God she saw didn't belong to Father Romanov, Nathalie reads the diary of an old priest looking for a record of an event like this happening before. When Nathalie starts to talk about nature killing 6 people May 12, 1860, it's clear that Father Romanov is upset. Father Romanov offers to talk about church history and insists that if Nathalie really wants answers that she'll turn to the bible.

Father Romanov gathers everyone in the church and starts to talk to them about his concern for their immortal soul. Everyone gathers to listen except Nathalie, who is to busy looking for a sign.  When Nathalie finds a spider, she squeals happily. Before anyone can kill the spider, Nathalie slips it into a jar, referring to it as God and thanking it for making it's presence known. 

Father Romanov turns to Police chief Connor Heisel about the agitation he feels regarding Nathalie's actions.  Instead of doing the expected thing and getting all tough guy, Connor talks about cutting Nathalie some slack because everyone is tense and she's grieving.

The Mist: Season 1, Episode 2: Withdrawal

This episode focuses far more on the Mist and the dangers around it - but it does involve the cast all making some pretty major leaps and a definite fast-forwarded apocalypse. And we’ve already split this huge cast into several groups which is slightly annoying. There’s also a lack of brutal murders despite some people being really annoying.

Anyway, begin with The Police Station where Kevin, Adrian, Mia and I’m-sure-this-wasn’t-his-name-last-week Bryan are hunkered down in the police station. Kevin wants to go out in the Mist and get to the Mall to be with his family (reasonable) and also because they have supplies there.

Supplies? Kevin you can’t have been hunkered down there more than a couple of hours. Why do you need supplies?! This is what I mean when we talk about fast-forwarded apocalypses. Why does Kevin believe they’re going to be hunkered down that long? I wonder how TVlandia works, you get a power cut and everyone starts raiding the local shops and stockpiling? The slightest thing and everyone prepares for the end!

Mia is the only one who thinks this is a bad idea, but she doesn’t want to be left alone. This seems to be a major theme of hers because she almost panics when Bryan discovers she’s an addict and tries to take her pills: she begs him not to tell anyone and he agrees so long as she leaves the pills behind, because a heavily withdrawing woman is just what they need.

They leave the station, get in a car and have Mia drive (see this is why in crisis situations some information needs to be shared). They’re ambushed on the way by men with guns which Mia deals with by accelerating - which works. But her withdrawal means sh also keeps on accelerating until they have a car crash

And they have a weird moment when they all freak out a little at the glass cracking - they’re acting like the Mist itself is dangerous. But then they forget that and get out and head to the nearby church after Mia hallucinates her mother just appearing and speaking to her. Except her mother is dead and she also moves faster than any person can - appearing in front and behind

At the Church Father Romanov is comforting hippie Nathalie who is obviously pretty shaken by her husband’s death. Connor the cowardly police chief arrives after driving his car into a moose (causing it to drop both its poutine and its Timbits). Once there he promptly makes up all the excuses why he should hide in the church rather than get out there and find killers/monsters etc.

When the police station gang arrives all kind if pissed at him for abandoning them to die - to which he responds by lying (caught by Father Romanov) and cuffing Mia. This guy is a class act. When does something eat him? Or I’ll settle for his jaw being ripped off, totally not picky here.

Nathalie has a series of beautiful moments talking about her husband (and I like how the fluffy hippie is also more than that, she’s a real person and grounded in reality) and she asks everyone to drink in her husband’s memory - the cheap wine he loved.

And Connor stops Adrian drinking because Kevin should know about the dangers of underaged drinking. Yes he said that. Yes he did. No something didn’t eat him. Yes something should.

The Mist, Season 1, Episode 1: Pilot

A brand new show and we open with a guy who knows as much about it as I do since he has amnesia - he’s a soldier (or dressed as one but doesn’t apparently have dog tags) with ID identifying him as Bryan. He also has a dog called Rufus - in case you failed to read these names, Bryan helpfully reads it all around. Whereever he is, it’s pretty beautiful.

t’s the kind of scenery I could stare at for hours. On a HD television. In a centrally heated house with wifi and the ability to order pretentious coffee by the internet.

He wanders around until the Mist comes in - and turns poor Rufus inside out. Literally

Right guys, you’ve all be warned - there will be gore. Though i think the writers may be misreading their audience - most people are going to be way more upset by a mangled dog than they would be by something like, say, a child.

From here we go to a teacher called Eve who is being suspended by the headteacher. Ahem, amnesia bloke in the mountain and butcher mist? Unless Eve is being suspended for turning the class pet into a taxidermy plot, I want to go back to Bryan

Apparently she’s being suspended for teaching sex-ed much to the shock and horror of puritanical parents who want lots more teen pregnancies.

We’re not going to follow the 8,000,000 characters in this series with a brief series of introductions and a complete lack of people being turned outside out.

So we have Eve’s partner Kevin who plays permissive cool parent next to her restrictive controlling protective parent. That would be towards daughter Alex who identifies much more with her dad because he never says no rather than her mother because she always has to be the bad guy (which annoys Eve immensely).

Alex’s friend is Adrian, a bisexual boy who wears eyeliner and has a homophobic father who hasn’t spoken to him in 2 weeks for being a bisexual teen wearing eyeliner and a homophobic mother willing to let that stand. Adrian, in theory, is very socially aware, sadly the writer isn’t and it’s more like he just spouts word salad from social justice sites without context (hey, writers, male privilege exists, wel done for acknowledging it. But the idea that a bisexual man uses male privilege to drool after football players is just bizarre, ignores straight privilege and homophobia. Gay/bi men don’t generally get the privilege of being able to overly list after football players).

Alex has a thing for Jay the Popular Football Player and Jay’s dad is Connor, the sheriff/head of police.He’s not a fun guy.