Anime First Impressions: Silver Spoon

I’ve been watching a lot of bad anime lately, for some weird masochistic reason. I tried starting a few series, but didn’t really get into them. Then I found out about an anime airing this season called Silver Spoon. “Oh,” I said to myself, “It’s all about agriculture.” As a farm boy, that interested me. It was a familiar concept, yet it’d be a bit unique since it was about agriculture in Japan, rather than America. Then I found out it was written by the same woman who wrote Fullmetal Alchemist (Hiromu Arakiwa), and my expectations for it shot through the roof. So far, they haven’t really disappointed.

In terms of genre, Silver Spoon is about as far from Fullmetal Alchemist as possible. It’s a slice-of-life story about Yugo Hachiken, a guy who, in an attempt to get away from his parents (the exact reasons are unclear at the point I’m at), attends a school far away from his home. This school happens to have an agricultural focus, meaning that this is basically a fish-out-of-water tale about a city slicker among country bumpkins. This gives Arikawa, a farm girl herself, the ability to go into detail about how exactly farms work.

Hachiken has a lot of really sensible attitudes to a lot of the things farmers take for granted. He has a near breakdown when he finds out that chicken eggs come out of the anus. He starts to grow attached to the runt of a litter of pigs, despite knowing it will probably end up as food (which is why he’s advised to name the pig “pork bowl”). He misestimates the importance of daily chores. His reactions to the stranger aspects of farm life are where a lot of humor (and drama!) comes from, but also allow exposition on how exactly that life works.

Arikawa, unsurprisingly, does wonderfully with the portrayal of farmers and farm life. All the farms themselves are different, varying in size and structure, but most all the farmers hold similar values in life. It goes into the details of small family farms and super-sized ones.

The characters themselves are great. Some are a bit nonstandard, like the Buddha-like advisor of the equestrian club or the diminutive principal of the academy. And, of course, Arikawa does hold that, in her own words “Men should be beefy! Women should be vavoom!” Interestingly, the stockiest female character is actually one of my favorites, since she’s so on top of everything. Hachiken himself is a good character, as he’s constantly developing. And, of course, there’s his love interest. Their relationship seems to be developing organically, and Aki is an interesting character on her own. The focus seems to be less on “can Hachiken land this girl,” and more on “will Hachiken become the sort of guy she would see as worth marrying?” There’s been a strong emphasis on how important family is to farmers, and I like seeing a relationship that puts so much emphasis on the future.

Finally, the story has a lot of great themes. The title comes from (and this is from memory) a proverb/legend/tradition that babies are given a silver spoon, so that they will never go hungry. To me, it seems like it’s some sort of metaphor for self-sufficiency. Times will be tough for some of these characters’ families. But they’ll at least have what they need to get by. Another theme is the importance of dreams (in which sense it’s kind of like One Piece if everyone was a farmer instead of a pirate). And finally, there’s a running theme about the paradox of both loving animals and raising them to be eaten. Speaking from experience, it’s really hard to explain or understand. You kind of have to grow up with that mindset, but Silver Spoon attempts to explain it.

Basically, for someone who grew up on the farm, Silver Spoon is an incredibly nostalgic and charming anime. It seems like it’s got a pretty niche audience, and I’m not sure how many people would love it. But hey, if it’s sounds like something you’d like, please check it out!

TV Analysis: Siberia Episode 7

Well, folks, I’ve heard that there are thirteen episodes in this season, and we’re at the halfway point.
If episodes 1-3 set things up, episodes 4 and 5 kicked the plot into gear, and episode 6 provided some exposition, then episode 7 was an emotionally hard-hitting episode. Nearly all the conflict in this episode was from internal elements instead of mysterious external sources, which made a bit of a nice change of pace.

I’m going to be restructuring these posts a bit this week, since I don’t think that the show will be introducing plot points at a mile a minute anymore. Things are pretty set now, and the proportion of elements introduced to elements wrapped up is probably going to shift in the other direction in a few episodes.

So before going into this episode, here’s….

Where We Stand

I’m going to provide a brief summary of what we can be probably at least 70% certain of what’s happened in the first five episodes, for the sake of clarity (for readers and myself both).
There are currently ten (or eleven—I’m still not convinced Natalie is really gone) characters hanging around. The others are probably safe and sound (save Tommy), having successfully left the show. However, Irene has been injured, and the entire production team has mysteriously vanished. Currently, about half of the remaining contestants are taking care of her, and half are hiking towards the light of a radio tower in the distance.

There have been some really weird and creepy things going on in the Siberian wilderness that border on the supernatural or extraterrestrial. The sky lit up one night, and two contestants stumbled out of the forest in states of disrepair, unaware of what exactly had happened. There’s some sort of face carved into a tree, which one contestant has taken to conversing with. He calls the tree “Ogdy,” a name he seems to have pulled from thin air, but is in reality the name of a sky god whose face is, in fact, frequently carved into trees. And on top of that, there seems to be some creature out in the woods—something unlike anything we know.

In addition, the contestants have to deal with the more mundane Evenki (and/or the Valleymen). They know about the Evenki after a few potential encounters and after finding the diary of Leonid Kulik, explorer of something called the Tunguska Event, a mysterious event in the Tunguska region of Siberia that lines up chronologically with the disappearance of the former settlers of the area in 1908. These Evenki are hostile, and appear to be able to spirit their victims away, leaving few traces (though this may be some other force). The Evenki also appear to hostile towards whatever creature is out in the woods.

Finally, the mundane is tied to the supernatural with a symbol: the cuneiform sign for “dingir,” used to denote a deity and having relations to the sky or heavens. The symbol appears to be made of four lines that make a sort of asterisk or compass rose, though the four tips from “southwest” to “north” have inward-pointing arrows. This symbol is found carved into trees leading to Kulik’s diary, in the diary itself, and most recently, carved into one of the contestant’s arms. It seems to be a key force in driving the contestant insane, and probably has some sort of link to Ogdy.

The production team seems to have had some sort of ulterior motive. Clearly they knew about the location’s history. How could they not have? What’s more, the “Revealer” seems to imply that they were conducting some sort of psychological experiment, and that they had run this experiment before. However, things seem to have gone south, as most of the production team is dead and/or missing after an attack on their base camp.

That’s about where we stand in how everything relates to each other, best I can tell. We can’t be sure of the specifics at this point, and I’m not sure how the jammed signal or the radio tower tie into things at this point….

“I’ve been trying to get out of the Siberian wilderness for sixteen years….”

No! No, dammit! I don’t want to keep making these LOST references! Quit making them so easy!

The Story

Okay, let’s move on. What happened this episode?

1. Crash and Burn

The Hikers (thanks to official Siberia social media for giving us the handy “Hikers/Settlers” terms to refer to the two groups by) find the door to the helicopter that took people off the show. They try to get to da find the rest of the chopper, discovering that it appears to have exploded out of the sky.
Also of note is Carolina cradling some sort of binder with Jonathan Buckley (the host’s name) written on it. Did they have some sort of connection? Is he dead (probably)?

2. Let it Snow

Snow hit suddenly and hard! This is fairly low on the whole “supernatural whatevers” scale, but it’s a great way to produce all sorts of conflict! Now the contestants have to find ways to stay warm and to keep those who can’t really help themselves (i.e., Irene) stay warm. The Hikers also faces huge challenges, since they don’t have access to what the first group has access to. Also, it sets up pretty much everything that happens in this episode.

3. Questions of God

Annie (finally) got some good character development this week, as we got to see some more of her backstory. The important bit is that she was raised Catholic, but is an atheist. Irene, meanwhile, seems to believe in some greater force. One of the more striking lines of dialogue this episode was an exchange of two equally piercing questions:

Annie: “After all that’s happened here, how could there be a God?”

Irene: “After all that’s happened here…how could there not?”

Clearly, with the info sharp-eyed fans have drudged up on Ogdy and that dingir marking, there are clearly references to deities of some sort. This exchange very clearly reinforced that, yes, these bits of information are important. Whether it’s the hand of some (likely malevolent) deity or just something supernatural that seems celestial to the contestants, religion in some form is going to play a big part in the second half of Siberia. Great foreshadowing.

Edit: Also worth noting here is that, when they get the Revealer open (see #4), Sabina mutters "Elohim." I've studied Christian long enough to know immediately that's the Herbrew word for God, and that Sabina is probably Jewish or Christian and giving thanks. Again, a strong nod to religion in this episode.

4. Do You Recall What Was Revealed?

Esther finds a key to the Revealer at the producers’ camp. This nets the Settlers some much-needed supplies, such as sleeping pills, vodka, food, matches, etc. Of course, at the end, we find out that she took something from the Revealer before she shared what she found to everyone else, that Miljan knows exactly what it was, and that it’s something important enough that he can blackmail her over it.

5. My Bad Foot is Certainly an Ice-breaker at Parties

The Hikers have to cross a stream to get to the tower, and they make it through with little incident. There’s one small problem, and that’s that one of Sam’s feet goes through the ice. No big deal, except for the fact that they still have a long walk through the snow and no way to get the foot dry. Sam’s foot ends up getting very severe frostbite, and he seems to be slipping into a pretty critical condition—hypothermia? At the end of the episode, Johnny and Joyce have managed to find him shelter and enough dry wood for a fire, but he’s still not in a very good place.

6. Miljan’s Still Crazy, BTW

Yeah, that’s not a thing that stopped being true. He’s gone from “creepy” to “downright murderous,” though, as he claims that they need to put Irene down before she suffers more, and even attempts murder, claiming “she was begging me to do it.” While unconscious. In a way that Annie couldn’t hear. Somehow.

Needless to say, Neeko is not pleased.

I will never get tired of these

The Settlers tie him up, but the end of the episode seems to imply that he’s escaped from his bonds with Esther’s help….

7. “Oh my God.”

NBC, you teases! The episode ends on this line from Neeko. The context? After Miljan tries blackmailing Esther into letting her go, Irene disappears. Neeko utters the line after looking in the cabin Miljan had been staying in. Considering that Miljan may very well be on the loose and he had previously attempted to kill Irene, this is one hell of a cliffhanger. What did he see? What did he see?

Everyone’s Prospects

Johnny and Joyce are still pretty set. Daniel and Sabina seem like they’ll be around for a while too, though Daniel’s chances are a bit lower at this point.

Neeko and Annie are interesting, as I thought they were fallen leader and red shirt archetypes. However, despite my guesses, they’re still alive. That, coupled with Annie’s much-needed character development this episode, means that, at this point, they could go either way. They’re still not as tied into the plot as most of the other characters, but they’re still relevant and have a strong presence.
Miljan is still in it for the long haul as well. Esther is also probably going to be around for a while, but I’m still pretty sure that neither is actually going to survive the series.

Right now, it’s Sam, Irene, and Natalie that we have to worry about, since the status of all three is unknown (I still say that the official site is lying by listing Natalie under “Quit”). Sam’s condition is critical, and we don’t know if he can recover. Irene has disappeared and may already be dead, as it could easily be her body that Neeko found at the end of the episode. And like I said, the jury’s still out on Natalie’s whereabouts.

And this is the part where I’d normally go into “lingering questions,” but I think I covered most all of that in the “Where We Stand” bit. I should maybe move that to the end next time.

Anyway! A few odds and ends! This post was later this week because I’ve been busy with an upcoming return to college for the school year. It shouldn’t hamper my ability to write at all (I’ll actually be spending more time in front of the computer), but since classes start Monday, my analysis might be late next week too.

Anyway, as always, check out NBC by skh and trashtalkTV for more (though the latter seems to be a few episodes behind), and let me know if you find anyone else who does cool Siberia stuff. It’s also a good idea to check the cast out on Twitter, because they interact with the fans and each other plenty!

TV Analysis: Siberia Episode 6

Hey, everyone! Andy here again, to overanalyze the best show you’re not watching (unless you actually are). This past week, I’ve discovered that three of my cousins are watching Siberia, and between us, we may have converted a mutual friend as well. Huzzah!

So last week was what’s described as a “Wham Episode,” an episode in which something really, really shocking and important that drastically changes the direction of things happens. Episode 6 was more of a “Breather Episode,” though it was more “let the action cool down so the audience can catch their breath” than “lighthearted episode to calm the audience down after a drastic turn of events.” Episode 6 was largely devoted to tying up some loose story threads a little better, meaning that it was probably a more important episode for the sort of people who don’t write out

Oh, by the way, enjoy spending the rest of the day stuck at TV Tropes.

Anyway.

New Story Threads

There really weren’t too many new story threads this week, but there were a few.

1. Test Group C

When Sam and Johnny push over the Revealer (which is apparently more rectangular prism and less cube than I thought), they’re able to get a look inside, revealing (no pun intended) that it’s on a set timer and that no one’s controlling it. But more importantly, a Russian note describes the device as a “Behavior Reward Simulator” for “test group C.” I want to say that “behavior reward simulator” gives me Pavlov vibes, but on second thought, that was classical conditioning and this sounds like operant conditioning (i.e., carrot and stick as opposed to stimulus and response. Or something. It’s been too long since I’ve taken an actual psychology class). Either way, there’s obviously some science experiment going on. The question is, who were test groups A and B? They probably exist in separate locations, but the Revealer could have been changed between groups. So do test groups A and B exist at the same time? Did they exist previously? What exactly was the experiment, and who was carrying it out? Why aren’t we seeing these other test groups being videotaped?

2. Get to the Tower

Last week’s theory about the Slender Man isn’t looking so crazy anymore, is it? So while Daniel is in the woods, he sees this light. It looks to be like it’s from some sort of radio tower, and at the end of the episode, he, Sam, Johnny, and Carolina take off to try to see what’s there and attempt to get Irene help. We don’t get much of anything to go off of this episode, though, because of….

3. The Crater

This one should not be a shock to any viewers who know about the Tunguska event. I’m sure that everyone who does not know about the Tunguska event, however, is scratching their heads. Those who do not know about the Tunguska event should click that little red link that says “Tunguska event” so that they can read about the Tunguska event and be enlightened.

4. The Stark Words

This isn’t really a big one. It’s just more apparent that it’s getting colder and colder. That’s right, everyone: winter is coming.

And with that taken care of (told you there wasn’t much), let’s move on to….

Character Arcs

We got some pretty good development from Esther, who’s finally (maybe) starting to turn things around after some advice from Sam, who’s been stepping more and more into the “father” role of the group. Esther apologizes to Irene, though Irene just sort of turns away.

Daniel also gets some decent development when we hear about his backstory. He’s incredibly torn up right now because he and his old girlfriend were jumped in the city. He ran, and she got stabbed six times, killing her. So basically, he hates himself for his cowardice and is terrified of something happening to Irene.

As we see more and more of Sabina, she actually seems more and more normal. She’s just a survivalist. Of course, there are still plenty of questions about her, though. I’m expecting to see more of her in the future.

It’s Miljan who really gets the development, though. He enters the cabin where Irene is sleeping alone, and covers the camera with his jacket, preventing us from seeing what exactly he did to her (rape? physical assault? forcible tattooing?). He later attempts to physically assault Sam when Sam discovers the journal. He’s really gone off the deep end now.

Things have remained mostly static for all the other characters, though, which is less and less good for Annie, who doesn’t seem to have much of any sort of character arc yet. At least she’s getting screentime, though.

Everyone’s Prospects

After four episodes with no deaths and one disappearance, I’m not about to start putting anyone into “won’t die,” “might die,” and especially not “will die” categories, and I’m definitely not going to go with some sort of elimination order.

But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still try to calculate everyone’s chances!

We’ve gotten some pretty good reaffirmation that Daniel, Joyce, Johnny, and Sam are sort of our protagonists, since they’re the ones who tried getting Irene to the helicopter and the ones who took off for the tower. They have active roles and are consciously driving the plot.

Miljan is probably going to be around for a while, though I’m pretty sure there’ll be a climatic battle against him where he’ll be killed. I’m also sure Sabina will be around for a while to clear up all the lingering questions about her, though I’m not sure what her chances of surviving the series are.

Natalie is a pretty sure bet to at least reappear, though I don’t know whether she’ll be alive or dead. The only other option I can think of for the purpose of her sudden disappearance was that she and the someone on the show had some sort of falling out, and judging by her positive response to the show on Twitter, that seems unlikely. So yeah, we’ll probably at least see something of her again.

And at this point, Neeko, Irene, Annie, and Esther could go either way in terms of living or surviving. Neeko and Annie because they don’t presently have any noticeable arcs, Irene because a good part of the current plot is the question of whether she’ll get help before she dies, and Esther because, now that the game is over and she has no “player” arc, the only route her character can go is the redemption route, and that often ends in death (and here you thought you had escaped TV Tropes!). I think that Esther is guaranteed at least just a little time for us to see a noticeable, genuine turnaround, though pretty much everyone else could go at any time and it’d work with the narrative.

Okay, now for the big one. The

Lingering Questions

Lots of good stuff this week, as we’re getting some good follow-up and exposition.

1. What happened to the base camp?

I was apparently incorrect in thinking that production just jumped ship and took off because “screw the contestants,” considering that they find blood (but no bodies). There’s not a ton of blood, so I’m thinking no everyone died, but it’s likely that those are where the gunshots came from. As for where they went—I’m not sure. But I think the Evenki were maybe responsible? I’m gonna go with “not Sabina” since we see her when the gunshots are going off elsewhere.

2. The Jounral

Sam gets his hands on Miljan’s journal (which is how he finds out about the Evenki), and the first thing he reads in it is that the first entry is signed by someone called Kulik. More real-world history! Cool! Anyway, Leonid Kulik lead the first research expedition to check out that Tunguska Event thing. So the journal was not from 1908 but 1921 (when Kulik’s expedition took place). That still leaves several questions, of course: who buried it? Why was it buried? Is it what’s driving Miljan insane, and if so, why?

3. Miljan’s Gone Crazy

Speaking of Miljan, if he went off the deep end last episode, he’s continued swimming downward in this one. He physically assaults Sam when he finds out the man found the journal, and he places his coat over the camera when he’s alone with Irene. In addition, the symbol is more clearly revealed to be the Anu symbol (which we apparently saw last episode but I didn’t notice). Also, by this point, I’m pretty sure that he did intentionally lead Irene into that trap, since not only did he know where to find a perfectly stationary deer, but he does something™ to Irene afterwards, gets his Anu Tattoo (hehehe—it rhymes) in tribute to her, and decides to “definitely stay” with Irene instead of going to the tower. So why exactly is this guy not setting off red flags for everyone everywhere again?

But let’s get off of Miljan again and back to the stuff we found out from Kulik’s Journal.

3. The Spearmen Evenki

No longer will I be calling these folks the Spearmen, as they’re probably the Evenki (and/or the Valleymen, though what they are isn’t quite clear yet). Sam helpfully informs us that they’re probably responsible for the spear that was left outside their door and the trap that got Irene. A quick browsing of the Wikipedia article, however, says that the Evenki tend to be against defiling killed animals, and sticking a deer head on a stake sounds fairly defile-ish to me. Artistic license, or foreshadowing? I dunno (I’m leaning towards the former but I might be wrong), though I’m sure we’ll find out eventually. And if we don’t, it’s definitely the former. Also, I’m pretty sure at this point that the little girl Sabina encountered is an Evenki girl. As sure as fellow Siberia blogger Shayla Heavner is that she’s got some connection to Berglind or Natalie due to her appearance, but I’m still rooted firmly in the “coincidence” camp on that matter. Guess we’ll find out who’s right eventually.

4. Who has the gun?

Well, Janie’s got a we still have no answer, but the answer is “not Sabina.” We’ve gone through most everyone else, so the only real options at this point are Natalie (unlikely), someone who left (possibly including Natalie and also unlikely), or, most likely, none of the cast members.

That’s all I can think of that was directly touched upon, but I’m going to lay down a few

Random Thoughts

as well. Some are theories, some are random tidbits, some are important information, but they don’t really fit anywhere else.

Anu’s Symbol and Ogdy

The compass thing that Miljan found carved on the trees and later found carved in his arm (by himself) appears to be ancient Sumerian cuneiform for “Dingir,” or “An,” which I think is another name for sky-god Anu (Wikipedia: scholarly source of champions!). Of course, since the latter page was pointed out to me first, I’m gonna call it Anu’s Symbol. Anyway, the point being made here is that there’s an association between it and the sky. A link to the Green Sky? The real question is this: what does Sumerian cuneiform have to do with Siberia and the Tunguska event?

Also, Hulu’s subtitles have informed me that Ogdee’s name is spelled Ogdee. Other sources have informed me that it’s most likely spelled Ogdy. Whoops! Ogdy is ALSO a god, one whose face the Evenki apparently carve into trees.

So basically there’s a chance that some gods are involved in this—or at least some things mistaken as gods.

That Show

Daniel and Carolina once more have a brief discussion about “that show” that Carolina was on, where she played “that character.” I just find it hilarious that, since the show most probably doesn’t exist, they’re going out of their way to avoid naming it. In fact, I’m going to assume that the show is actually called “That Show.”

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey

So there’s some indications that some weird time stuff is going on in the Siberian wilderness. Like Sabina’s necklace on some skeleton. That’s a theory I put forth last time and other people have as well. It’s a possibility.

Send in the Clones

That’s the other idea I’ve got for Sabina’s necklace on the skeleton: clones. This theory is based more around the “Test Group C” bit. Perhaps they retain some memories of the “originals’” lives? I dunno. But if you’re doing test groups, you’d try to keep the constants as, well, constant as possible. Perhaps Carolina was just the variable in the experiment? The questions then are how and why.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this episode. Hopefully things pick back up some more next week now that we’ve all had time to breathe! Again, check out Trash Talk TV for some amusing recaps and NBC by skh for some good, thoughtful theories! And stop by next week for another analysis here at DaLadybugProductions!

TV Analysis: Siberia Episode 5

Well. Okay. Well.

I was expecting this episode to be pretty big, especially because I knew something was going to be happening to Irene (when you’ve got the cast throwing “Sorry Irene” hashtags around you know they’re not even trying to keep that spoiler under wraps), but I was not expecting the HSQ to be that high.

So let’s jump right into it, shall we?

New Story Threads

1. Sabina’s Cave of Wonders

This one wasn’t really too surprising in some ways. We see Sabina has the bullets (though we don’t see the gun) and some food supplies stashed in a cave.  We’ve seen her coming out of the cave and intentionally steering Daniel away from it. It does raise several questions, though: why is she hiding out in a cave alone? Where did she get the camera she’s using to film herself (and more specifically, is it the camera that “got lost in woods and no one can find?” (that should be read in a Russian accent))? And most importantly, where is she getting the supplies? This food was canned while the food in the shed seemed jarred, and there was a flashlight. Pretty sure they don’t have those.

My guess at this point is that she’s been special ops-ing it away from production, since I don’t see where else it could have come from. Her motivations, though, are still a mystery.

2. Miljans of Voices in my Head

I keep reading comments about how there’s something off about Miljan, and I keep using the “he’s just a goofball with an unusual sense of humor” rebuttal. This episode, I’m forced to agree with them. There is definitely something off about Miljan. Irene found him staring at—not speaking to—Ogdee, and he cut a tattoo into his arm (which we didn’t get to see) when Irene got hurt. He’s also been hiding the diary, but that can easily be chalked up to Miljan’s tendancy to not tell anyone else about potentially vital information.

Right now, I’m thinking that something is affecting his mind. I’ve read/watched/written enough fiction in the Slender Man Mythos to pick up on the symptoms of supernatural forces working on one’s mind. Miljan’s not just going crazy—something’s driving him crazy, and he doesn’t even notice it.

Also I am so very, very sorry for that atrocious pun in the section title.

3. Children of the Corn Woods

Irene hears what sounds like a child laughing, then again from the other direction. Later, Sabina hears the laughter, and an offscreen comment from Miljan implies he’s heard it too.

There’s a good chance this is related to the blonde girl (see #5), and the appearance of children rather than adults is pretty significant, but I’m not quite ready to commit to that link. Of course, that means that I don’t have any other ideas as to what it could be. Probably the ghosts of those who’ve died on the island? Augh, why is it so easy to draw LOST parallels?

4. It’s a Trap!

Ah, this is the big event of the episode. This is where all the #SorryIrene and #NotSorryWeSpoiledThisLOL comes from. Irene is hunting Deer when Miljan shows her to where a deer (head) is. She then triggers a spiked trap when she approaches, and one of the spikes goes through her leg. Then that kicks off a whole bunch of drama and leads into some other plot points, but we’ll get to those. Let’s talk about the trap for a second.

First of all, the fact that Miljan led her to the exact location of a deer is a bit suspicious. “Oh yeah, I totally know a stationary place where you can find an moving creature.” I’ve got a feeling that while he didn’t know about the trap (since he took off to legitimately help her), the voices in his head did. Second, the trap is clearly man-made, and most likely by the Spearmen. This is evidence towards the Spearmen being hostile instead of benevolent. Thought they might be helpful, but no such luck! Now the contestants have (probably) at least three factions after them!

5. Children of the Woods II: The Little Blonde-haired Girl

So Sabina runs into a blonde girl, who I’d give an estimate as being about twelve to seventeen years old. She hears something and turns around, and when she turns around, the girl is already gone. Here’s the girl, by the way:

Thanks, official Siberia Tumblr!

Anyway, it’s likely that it’s linked to the laughing, and that both of them are linked to the Spearmen, but I’m not 100% on that.

6. Sabina’s Feeling Quite Beside Herself

While chasing the little girl (see #5, i.e., what you probably just read), Sabina quite literally stumbles across something. It’s a locket identical to hers. Okay, that’s weird, and it’s attached to AUGH WHAT IS THAT A SKELETON? It’s…it’s okay, they probably just have matching the image inside is exactly the same okay wait.

Okay, in all honesty, the skeleton didn’t freak me out quite that much, though this whole thing has me going WHAT? pretty hard. Naturally, the body’s been there a while, as it’s decayed to bones. But who was it? And how did they manage to have an exact replica of Sabina’s locket? At this point, my best guess is that there’s a big ol’ wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey ball of…stuff that’s going on, and that it’s Sabina’s own skeleton that she found. Maybe they end up getting sent back in time to 1908? Wouldn’t that be cool if that’s why Sam’s bracelet is significant? If it’s because he had been the previous owner and the bracelet just appeared to create a stable time loop?

7. Gunshots

I dunno, I’ve got nothing clever for the title of this one. Anyway, this is a brief so it’s easy to miss: Sabina hears gunshots in the distance while she’s out in the woods. Does someone have the gun? If so, where did they get the bullets, since we see that Sabina’s not the one firing? Is it a different gun? Why were they shooting? So many questions, no answers for any of them. Everyone else is unaccounted for, so it’s either production (possible), the Spearmen (unlikely, since spears are their weapon of choice), or Natalie. Natalie? Wait a minute, Andy, whaaaaaaaaaaaa—?

8. Hello? Anybody Home?

When Irene gets injured, Esther goes to push the button to get help for her. Except that it turns out the button is just a prop and Esther didn’t actually do that in the first place anyway. After a bit of a spat with the cameramen (who apparently know just about as much as they do) and an inability to contact anyone on the radio, Johnny, Carolina, and Daniel head to the producers’ base camp. When the get there, they find a bunch of deserted tents. The place is desolate. Dun dun duuuuuuuun~!

The question now is whether they left intentionally or whether something made them leave? The sub-question to the former question is “why, and why now?” The sub-question to the latter is simply “what?” Either way, things don’t bode well for our protagonists.

9. Big Red Button (and Where Exactly is Natalie?)

In the episode, we’re told that Natalie is gone. She couldn’t put up with it and quit. Left Annie all alone, went back to her ex-boyfriend because she didn’t really need the money.

Except that that’s crap.

See, we’re never actually shown Natalie leaving. We just get a note from someone (I’m sure everyone’s so familiar with each other’s handwriting) that says that she left. There’s no footage of her leaving the show, because I don’t think such footage exists. There’s also the fact that the button’s not hooked up to consider. When did that happen? Did the button ever work? We know that George left, but we never see any of the other contestants take off in the helichopper.

The button could have been disconnected after Natalie left, but since we don’t see any footage of her leaving, I don’t think she ever did in the first place. Had she tried and failed, she would have told the camp. So where did she go?

This also raises the question as to whether any of the other contestants were truly free of the show. Did Berglind and Harpeet (they weren’t important enough for me to check if I got their names right) make it off? George left (remember George? It’s okay, nobody does), but where was he taken? Did Victoria get out?

Either way, the button being disconnected puts emphasis on Victoria’s prophecy of their deaths. They can’t just opt out anymore. It’s not “whoever stay’s is going to die.” No, now that they can’t leave, they’re all gonna die.

Character Arcs

Not as much to go off of this time, since the characters remained mostly static this episode. There are a few notable things, though:

Daniel and Sam really seem to have formed a tight bond. They’ve got a lot of good dialogue together. Nothing too important there, but it’s really fun to watch. Sam’s gone from a pretty stereotypical roughneck to one of the most well-rounded, deep characters on the show. Daniel kind of remains a nerd stereotype, but hey, you know.

Carolina’s decided she’s had it with the producers and ragequits their games. Most people still don’t trust her, unfortunately. Even more unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like she knows much more than the rest of them. Also HAHAHA HER REAL NAME IS JOYCE JUST LIKE HER ACTRESS I TOTALLY CALLED THAT.

We finally got to learn a little bit about Sabina this episode. Specifically, what she’s doing in the woods (hiding supplies in a cave) and a bit of who she is. That locket around her neck (which is not, as I had thought, identical to Sam’s bracelet) has a photo of…someone inside. Someone young-looking. Who that is isn’t explicitly stated, nor is whether he’s alive or dead, but he’s probably a relative or at very least someone close to her.

Irene’s still alive, though she’s not really in good condition. She’s looking better at the end of the episode, but she’s still pretty seriously wounded. Miljan, meanwhile, is slowly going totes cray-cray, though I pretty much said everything I needed to about that back in #2 above. He also tried to steal both a peek at Sabina bathing and her locket, though he kind of got his comeuppance for that pretty quickly

Thanks again, official Siberia Tumblr!

Neeko decided to talk to Johnny, having come to the conclusion that he seriously didn’t know what happened to Carolina. He tries to make amends, and Johnny seems to accept the apology. D’aww! It’s a shame that Neeko’s probably still doomed, though.

And then, of course, there’s Esther, who after attempting to seduce Johnny after Carolina betrays him, seems to do a 180 when Irene gets seriously hurt. Turns out that the only 180 she did was at the disqualification line. In terms of her personality, it was more like a 360. She got five people “out of the game” (for all the good that’s worth at this point) in one fell swoop. She and Miljan are locked in a very close race to see who can be the biggest villain. I mean, really, no one else seems to be trying.

Everyone’s Prospects

Yeah, sure, might as well give this its own section. Here’s a vague likelihood of everyone’s prospects for surviving the series. This now discounts leaving, considering that doesn’t seem to be much of an option anymore.

Johnny and Carolina are both pretty important characters at this point, as they’re getting the most screentime. They’ll probably be around for a good long while. Sabina is also going to be around for a while, since there are still a lot of unanswered questions surrounding her, even more so after this past episode.

Daniel and Sam are a bit less prominent. Daniel’s sort of dropped into the background now that other people are actually bothering to investigate, and Sam’s not doing much apart from translating Russian.

Esther and Miljan both have pretty prominent roles as the two primary villains. They’ve both also got some pretty notable story arcs going on. After this episode, I’m pretty sure I have an idea where Miljan’s is going to go (watch as he goes ax crazy), but it’s thrown Esther’s role from this point on into confusion, since the rules have changed and I’m not sure just how far she’s willing to go now that it’s not a game. Either way, that comeuppance is going to come for both of them eventually. I just don’t know when.

Things aren’t looking great for Annie or Natalie, though Annie is still in good condition and there’s going to be more going on with Natalie. Annie’s still just pretty expendable, and Natalie’s fate is just too unclear to make a judgment call on. If she’s gone, she’s gone. If not, she’ll probably end up being really, really important. Now, I’ve seen a few people disagreeing with me (or just not wanting to agree with me) on how well either will fare, but I feel justified putting them this low at this moment. I want to see more of them as much as the next person, and they’re only this low because they’re just not as important as the other characters. Annie because she’s still had very little presence, and Natalie because, well, we’re already being told she’s out. Keep that in mind: Natalie’s actually “gone” and I’m still putting her above 2 other people ;)

Neeko and Irene, though, aren’t looking so good. I’m still convinced Neeko’s going to fall, and his (potentially last-minute) reconciliation with Johnny isn’t helping things. Irene, meanwhile, is pretty badly injured and can’t do too much of anything at this point. She could recover, sure, but it’s not looking great for her.

Lingering Questions

Okay, let’s go through what we’ve learned some more about!

1. What the Heck is Going On?

…One step forward, two steps back….

-sigh- Okay. So there are children in the woods (or something) that are probably linked to the Spearmen and/or the 1908 settlers. And the Creature’s still around somewhere in this. But the real question is the production team. We know plenty about what they’re doing, and this episode gave us a bit more information. The only problem is that we’re no closer to figuring out their motivations than we were in the first episode.

2. How Much Does the Production Team Know?

I guess now we’re wondering whether we’re talking about production as a whole, or just the cameramen. Who’s running this show (in both a figurative and literal sense)? Why did they suddenly pull out? Did it have something to do with Carolina’s decision to come clean? This is becoming and increasingly big question, and an increasingly frustrating one, too.

3. What’s in the Woods?

The laughter and little girl are prooooooobably linked to the Spearmen? The 1908 settlers are a possibility, too, I guess. Also the Creature’s still out there probably.

4. Who has the Gun?

We know Sabina has the bullets, but what about the gun? We heard gunfire, but it wasn’t Sabina firing. Is that the same gun or a different one? Right now, I’m thinking it might maybe be Natalie? Though that makes no sense in retrospect, since we don’t know how she got it. I’ve honestly got no clue on this one.

5. What is Sabina Hiding?

Apparently a secret stash of stuff. But most of us kinda figured that out already. Still plenty of secrets, though.

6.What Happened to Johnny and Carolina?

This should have been an easy question to answer. Just check the camera. Oh wait, no, “camera got lost in woods and no one can find.” Sure, whatever you say. You’re totally lying, but hey, sure, whatever.

7. What’s Up with the Diary? The Symbol?

Miljan’s still trying to read a diary that he doesn’t know how to read. Is that what’s subliminally driving him crazy? I dunno. Worth noting is that the symbol that both led to the diary and appears in it is practically identical to the one on Wikipedia’s page for Anu. a Sumerian sky-god. It’s the cuneiform for his name or something? I’m not exactly sure. Probably a link there, though. Strikes me as more than coincidence. Thanks for “Thorn” for pointing this out, though!

8. Who the Hell is Editing This, Anyway?

An even bigger question, now that everyone at the base camp has taken off and the cameramen apparently don’t know anything. What exactly is the goal of the production team?

*

Okay, so now that I’m done with all that, it’s crackpot theory time: the Slender Man is behind all of this. Subtle descents into insanity? Journals full of strange writing? People mysteriously disappearing? The association with forests? It all seems to line up. The only thing that doesn’t is the Spearmen and the Creature and actually quite a few things, really. But hey, that’s why it’s a crackpot theory! Still, it’s astounding how well the Slender Man would work in the story.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for this episode. I’m looking forward to seeing where they’re going with all this next episode. And now, a few links to other people whose work you should check out. And I’m not linking any posts since they don’t have anything from this episode up yet because I’M FIRST HAHAHA

First, Shayla Heavner’s NBC by skh blog has plenty of great theories on what’s going on. That’s one worth checking out.

Second, NouveauPoor has some amusing recaps on trashtalkTV.com.

Third, the show has an official Tumblr that I already linked that you should check out if you like Tumblr sort of stuff.

And finally, this isn’t a blog or anything, but pretty much the entire cast is on Twitter. You should check them out (look ‘em up, I’m not linking all of them), because they’re all cool people who care about the show.

Oh, yeah, also check out the show itself because it’s available for free streaming on Hulu and NBC’s website, but if you’ve read this far, you’ve probably already seen it so that’s kind of a given.

Well, I’ll see you all next week! Hopefully we get some more answers, though I’m sure they’ll only raise further questions!

Media Roundup 1

Instead of watching/reading/playing stuff and commenting on it a while later, or giving big, long, “first impressions” posts on everything, I think I’m just going to do start doing “Media Roundups,” where I briefly touch on all the media I’m in the midst of consuming, as well as a few brief opinions. Sort of a “recommendations” sort of thing.

Siberia

If you couldn’t tell from my prior two posts on it, I’ve been fanboying over NBC’s Siberia so hard lately. It’s got the mystery of LOST with better pacing, and the supernatural horror feel of something like the Slender Man Mythos or the Blair Witch project. It’s also got a great cast that seems to really care about the show. Basically, it gave me something I could fanboy over when I really needed it. I’ve called it “the best show you’re not watching,” and I stand by that assessment. If you haven’t already checked it out, do so.

A Song of Ice and Fire

After watching season 1 of A Game of Thrones, I decided to give the books a try. I’ve been listening to them on audiobook and am currently about 2/3 of the way through book 2, A Clash of Kings. I thought the series was pretty good but overhyped from S1, but when I started listening to the audiobooks…there was just something about them that was so much better, despite the TV show being one of the more faithful adaptations of anything I’ve seen (though I’ve heard S2 deviates). There’s just something about the writing that’s so wonderful and enjoyable, and I’m so upset I haven’t gotten into the series until now.

The Walking Dead

I’m speaking about the Telltale Games video game here. I’ve finished episode four of five right now, and it has been one heck of a roller coaster ride. I haven’t enjoyed later installments as much as the first couple, but they haven’t been bad, and those first two managed to singlehandedly restore my faith in zombie stories, convincing me try to restart my ZombieCon ‘18 project.

Attack on Titan

I haven’t been watching this anime as much as I’d have liked to, because it just…hasn’t interested me that much. The first episodes really hammered me over the head with “the world sucks and there’s nothing you can do about it,” and when things started to get more hopeful, the pacing started slowing down. I’m not sure if I like it yet, and I’m a bit behind at the moment, but I’ll probably be seeing it through to the end.

Tiger and Bunny

I’d had this anime recommended to me, and I decided to check it out as the dub aired on Hulu. I think it’s a great dub, but the show itself is pretty average. It’s got an average premise, average characters, an average plotline…it’s pretty solid and there’s nothing bad about it. I’m just having a hard time finding anything about it that stands out.

Free!

Ah, Kyoto Animation. Animators of anime like Haruhi Suzimiya, K-On, Chuunibyou demo…um, demo gata shitai de la…um…let’s go with “Chuu2,” which seems to be the most common abbreviation. Basically, lots of slice-of-life shows that are pretty to look at but kind of boring in actuality. Free! seems to be following suit, though it does have two things going for it. First, it’s a genderflip of their normal work. Instead of cute high school girls, all the protagonists are cute high school boys (or so I assume). Second, it’s a show about swimming that serves largely just to show how well KyoAni can animate water. They can animate water beautifully. It’s an amusing diversion right now, but I’m not expecting much more from it.

Etrian Odyssey IV

This is a pretty basic dungeon crawling RPG, but it’s fun. It’s neat that they make you draw your own map, actually, and the combat’s pretty entertaining. I dunno. I’m having a hard time putting my finger on what’s good about it, but it’s challenging and keeping me entertained, so I’m not complaining.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Kind of similar to Etrian Odyssey IV, though it’s got some gameplay differences and seems to be more plot-driven. A lot of people are apparently fans of this franchise, and I have yet to see the appeal, but I’m also not too far into it yet. I’m still giving it the benefit of the doubt.

The Awesomes

Saw this on Hulu and it looked interesting. There are only two episodes so far, but it certainly does seem promising. It’s funny, even if not in a laugh-out-loud way, and the pilot implied that there’s an end goal they’re building up to, so I’m looking forward to it being a story-driven comedy instead of an episodic one. Not many of those, really.

One Piece

Last one. Just a brief mention that I finished the Thriller Bark arc. Gotta say, it’s not one of my favorite arcs, though it’s one of the funnier ones and it seems like it’s setting up a lot of things that are going to be important really soon.

Well, that’s all for this roundup! I’ll be sure to post more as I consume more media!

TV Analysis: Siberia Episode 4

Episode 4 of Siberia was a week late, since some royal baby decided he wanted to be born or something (I don’t know the details since I didn’t really care and Siberia being a week late is the only way it’s really affected my life) so I had nothing to break down last week. But now I’m back, to do what I did with the first three episodes!

So! A lot happened in this episode of Siberia, so let’s break down what we’ve seen, shall we?

New Story Threads

The new story threads are the elements introduced in this episode relating to the external conflict and what’s going on around them, as opposed to the internal conflict caused by the characters themselves.

1. The Spear

The plot of the episode really kicks off when Daniel wakes up in the morning to find a spear stuck in the ground directly outside the men’s cabin. There’s a note attached, written in Russian, which Sam translates as “get out.” I’m really starting to get curious as to how much of Sam’s Russian is accurate, how much is mistranslated, and how much is just a flat-out lie. But anyway, Neeko insists that it’s a prop, and that the producers are trying to scare them, but at the end, Sabina insists it’s valid. Most everyone is wondering where the spear came from, but we’ve actually seen them before: in the cave painting that Daniel found in episode 2, with men using them in combat against the thing in the woods I have dubbed “the Creature.”

2. Esther and the Cameraman

Esther, while skinny dipping, seduces a cameraman, then steals the tape, using it to blackmail him into helping her win. That’s all we see from it this episode, but it’s bound to be important later.

3. Fire in the Sky

Remember Victoria’s hallucinations in episode 2 that led her to quit the game? Where she talked about how the sky was on fire, and it was green? Well, the payoff’s happened. The sky got all aurora borealis on us, but in a way that is decidedly not natural. The question (besides the obvious “what is it?”) is whether it’s a fantasy or sci-fi element, since I’m still not sure which way the show is leaning.

Also it’s been proven that Victoria’s visions were prophetic, but narrative kind of demanded they were, so I’m not really going “ha ha, I called it!”

4. Johnny and Carolina’s Amnesia

Carolina shows up dazed, shivering, and injured after going to make amends with Johnny in the woods. Johnny shows up later, also dazed. Neither can remember what happened past what we were shown. Their appearance happened shortly after the sky lit up, but since we don’t get a great sense of when this happened, it’s hard to know if the green fire is related to it or not. There was also something that ripped the bone of a deer apart. That could be the Creature, or it could be what caused their amnesia. Or both, even. I believe that Johnny attacked Carolina at some point in there, but I also believe that it wasn’t actually Johnny’s doing (see his character section below for more details).

5. The Face in the Tree

Miljan ends up running into his old friend Ogdee in the woods! Ogdee, as Miljan tells us, is his “old friend from high school (I’m kidding).” Ogdee is actually some sort of totem pole thing, carved into a tree It doesn’t seem too important in the long run. The bigger question is who carved it and what exactly it means.

6. The Diary

Miljan sure is finding a lot of things in the woods this episode. In addition to Ogwoo, he finds a diary buried at the foot of a tree. Of course, he can’t read it, because it’s written in what appears to be Russian. And being Miljan, the obvious answer isn’t to give it to Sam to translate! Of course not! It’s to keep it secret until he can reveal it at a time that’s convenient. Very likely that it belonged to a member of the 1908 settlement. Of course, as he digs it up, he sees….

7. Someone in the Woods

Miljan may have simply seen one of the cast or crew, but it’s unlikely at this point. It’s been just about proved that there is someone still out there in the woods. Someone other than the Creature, that is. It’s likely that they’re either linked to the people who disappeared from the settlement in 1908, or some sort of native inhabitants.

With those taken care of, let’s move on to

Character Arcs

Character arcs are the arcs dedicated to character development and the relationships between characters. Internal conflicts the characters themselves cause as opposed to external ones.

Carolina: We had a lot of questions about Carolina after the last episode, when she burned down the food shed. Turns out that we didn’t have to wait long for answers—she’s an actress (hence why Daniel found her familiar—she’s “that one character from that one show and I’m taking care not to give any actual names!”), and she’s doing what the producers are telling her, heavily implying that she’s a plant. And since she doesn’t use her actress’s name, there’s a good chance her character’s name is actually Joyce.

Also, the revelation that the producers told her to burn down the shed answers a question I had forgotten to actually bring up in my last analysis: why there was a conveniently placed camera inside the shed when she burned it down. Now I know. They prepared because they told her to. That’s one potential plot hole that isn’t a plot hole anymore and that I can sleep easy over.

Johnny: Johnny was on his own for most of the episode, and didn’t have too much presence. He’s still doing pretty well on his own, though after this episode it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be returning to the camp. It’s likely that he’s the cause for Carolina’s injuries, since Sam was insisting on looking at his hands, and Natalie commented that she’d “seen that before,” implying he was guilty. However, both his and Carolina’s dazed insistence that it wasn’t him, as well as his statements that he’d never hurt a woman make me think that he wasn’t in control when it happened. Something happened, and I believe his body was taken over by some force, though what actually happened is still vague.

Carolina and Johnny’s Relationship: At this point, it’s looking like this relationship is going places. Carolina stands by him even when there’s evidence he abused her. Johnny swears he wouldn’t do anything to hurt her, even after she’d framed him. Oh, yeah, did I mention that he knew? Apparently he figured it out. It’s probably going to be rocky, but it looks like they’re going to try to make amends.

Both Carolina and Johnny are major players at this point and are likely to be around for a while, especially since they’re in the middle of a character arc and since Carolina’s reveal means that she has information vital to the others.

Daniel and Irene’s Relationship: We didn’t see much from either Irene or Daniel in this episode apart from the development of their relationship. We’ve seen plenty of Daniel already, but we learned a little more about Irene. That bit about her not liking flowers because it’s telling someone you like them by giving them something dying? That right there? All writers should take notes because that is great character development. I’m also fairly certain that she had an idea that he liked her, because the way she states it sounds like she’s hinting. That, or clumsy dialogue writing. But I’m choosing to believe that she’s hinting, because when Daniel finds a pretty-looking blue rock (after she had specifically stated that a rock would be preferable to a flower) and gives it to her at the end of the episode, she certainly does look happy. No ambiguity in Daniel’s intent there. So things are boding well for them. Until everything goes horribly wrong, at least. Daniel’s probably one of the biggest players, but since Irene doesn’t have as much of a role to play in the plot, all this means is that (since she’s less likely to quit if she’s in a relationship) she’ll have a few episodes to build her up before a tragic death. But hey, at least things are boding well for their potential relationship!

Neeko: Neeko’s role is growing increasingly clear: he’s playing the part of the skeptic. He’s in denial of anything strange going on, insisting that it’s all just production trying to scare them, no matter how implausible. The green fire might be convincing him otherwise, but his refusal to believe Sabina when she says the spear is real isn’t encouraging. Add to that my belief that he’s being set up for a fall, and I’ve got a good guess at how his arc’s going to turn out. Sorry, Neeko. I’m pretty sure at this point that your skepticism is going to see our leader leading himself to an early grave, possibly as early as two or three episodes.

Natalie: We learned some stuff about Natalie this episode, for those paying attention, though it’s fairly subtle. She mentions that she doesn’t really need the money and that she has an ex-boyfriend. In addition, she was probably in an abusive relationship (maybe that’s why her ex is an ex), since when Carolina came out of the woods, she stated that she couldn’t deal with abuse right now and when she saw Johnny’s hands, she stated that she’d “seen that before.”

Sam: The more and more we see of Sam, the clearer it becomes that despite his rough appearance, he’s more of a gentle giant. He’s acting as a calm foil to the hotheaded Neeko, making sure to temper him. We also see that he’s forming a pretty close bond with Daniel, and that it’s been too long since he’s really been very close to people. He doesn’t have too notable of a story arc, but the fact that he can read and speak Russian (probably) and that the diary Miljan found is in Russian (probably), that’ll likely buy him a few more episodes.

Esther: Esther proves herself to be as manipulative as before, as she seduces a cameraman, films it, then uses that to blackmail him. There’s also her relationship with Miljan, which I’ll cover after I’ve covered him. It’d maybe make more sense to cover one after the other but since I’ve stubbornly devoted myself to “order listed on NBC’s site,” I’m sticking to it.

Annie: The cameras finally notice Annie! Yaaaaaaaay! We learn that Annie needs the money, and more notably that she has romantic inclinations towards women and likes Natalie. It’s not huge, especially after her invisibility the last three episodes, but it’s something.

Annie and Natalie’s Relationship: After Annie reveals to Natalie how she feels, Natalie eventually comes to the conclusion that with the conditions they’re in, she’s open to love in any form at the moment and reciprocates. The indication is that this is new to Natalie, so how their relationship will turn out isn’t clear from what we’ve gotten. Also, since neither character is a particularly big character at this point, because for whatever reason homosexual characters have a tendency to die, and because this arc hasn’t gotten very far off the ground and could wrap up easily, neither of their prospects for surviving the series look stellar.

Miljan: Well, in this episode, Miljan went from “funny character who’s kind of sleazy” to “charming scumbag;” more details in the Esther/Miljan section. He’s remaining fairly static: a constant joker who keeps things to himself and uses his affability to manipulate other people. Overall, Miljan’s become a very interesting character to me, as he’s simultaneously one of the funniest and vilest people on the show (he’s pretty unopposed in “funny,” but Esther’s giving him a run for his money in “vile”). I have no clue how he’s supposed to make me feel. Okay, that’s a lie: I know exactly how he’s supposed to make me feel, and that’s “conflicted and horrible for considering him one of my favorite characters.”

Esther and Miljan’s Relationship: With four potential relationships between 8/11ths of the cast, one’s bound to go bad. Esther slept with a cameraman to blackmail him, and Miljan’s sick of taking no for an answer. When she flat-out rejects his suggestion to “be romantic,” he grabs her by the throat and slams her against the bunk. He backs off quickly, insisting he was joking, but neither Esther nor the audience are convinced, and I suddenly feel extraordinarily awkward for joking that whether or not Miljan will get laid is the most pressing question in Siberia.

Miljan then talks to the cameras and acts genuinely surprised, going “Whaaaaaaaaaaat? What’s her problem? Are you telling me girls don’t like it when you pretend to rape them?” Anyway, Esther and Miljan were already fairly prominent characters, and this episode gave them both new arcs to boot. They’re going to be around for a while, though karma might catch up to them in the end.

Sabina: Sabina remains an enigma, though she got less screen time this episode. We only really saw her when she was returning from somewhere she leaves ambiguous, when she was confirming the verity of the spear, and in one other unusual circumstance: during a montage at the end reminiscent of the first season of LOST, we briefly see her kiss a flat disc worn as a necklace around her neck. A memento or keepsake with obvious emotional attachment, sure—but the very next clip is Sam looking at the bracelet he found in the last episode, which looks surprisingly similar. Could there be a link between the two? I think there is. It’s likely that Sabina has some connection to the location.

Lingering Questions

This section covers the mysteries touched upon that weren’t introduced in the episode, revisiting what we’re wondering now that we know a little more.

1. What the heck is going on?

Again, the big question. However, while I think they’re at least indirectly related, there are several different things going on.

2. How much does the production team know?

We got an answer in this episode: plenty. While the extent of what they know is unclear, it’s clear that anyone could see that there’s something weird happening, including production. However, while you could interpret the refusal to leave as a wary “they’ll probably be all right if we’re careful” or chalk the injured cameraman’s cries of “I saw them” as the Russian crew knowing something the rest of production doesn’t, the fact that they’ve planted a double-agent and encouraged her to sabotage them after a contestant was killed proves that production definitely does not care that something strange is going on, implying that they already knew.

3. What’s in the woods?

In addition to the Creature, which likely killed Tommy and the tiger and that probably got Johnny’s deer, we now have humans, who I’m going to refer to as the Spearmen, since that’s likely what they use as weapons. I’m tempted to say “the natives,” but that has the implication that they’re some sort of wild men (which they may not be) and discounts the possibility of a relationship to the 1908 settlers. Whoever they are, it’s unclear how hostile they are at the moment, since they haven’t made any direct moves, and the “get out” could be read as either a threat or a warning.

It’s likely that these Spearmen were the “them” the injured cameraman was talking about, but since the Creature’s footprint was found near the site of Tommy’s death, that’s probably what killed him. Since the cave painting implies an animosity between the Spearmen and the Creature, I’m thinking that the Spearmen were chasing the creature at that time, or there’s more than one Creature.

4. Who made the cave painting?

It’s fairly obvious now that it was the Spearmen, though since they’re still around, I have no clue how old the painting might be anymore.

5. What is the significance of Sam’s bracelet?

It’s still pretty obvious that it’s linked to 1908, but now there are hints that it may have some connection to Sabina as well. Mysterious!

6. What is Sabina hiding?

She’s still going out frequently and spending time away from the camp, and she makes a comment on how she’s wants to know her surroundings, but it’s unclear what all she’s doing apart from exploring. Like I’ve already mentioned, the similarity of her necklace to Sam’s bracelet hints that she may have some connection to the 1908 events.

7. What happened in 1908?

The green light. The Spearmen. Amnesia and possible possession. We have more hints now than we did before, but we’re unfortunately no closer to figuring out what happened than we were last episode. Still, they can’t tip their hand this early, and the puzzle is clearly starting to slowly come together in a way that makes me hopeful. Whatever happened, whatever is going on, whatever scheme production has, I’m sure we’ll find out eventually, and I’m looking forward to the reveal.

8. Who the hell is editing this, and why?

A question that I didn’t ask in my last analysis that I really should have. It’s no secret to the sharp-eyed fans of reality TV that reality TV is edited to make story arcs that are more interesting. Since Siberia presents itself as a reality TV show and consequently has that fourth wall issue, it’s clear that there’s someone “editing the footage” they’ve gathered. The question is, who? And what are their goals? Sure, we see the camera drop so Tommy’s death went unfilmed. But there’s obviously a cameraman following Johnny and Carolina when they have their amnesia bout, and no production team would let Sabina walk around all day without a camera following her. That footage obviously exists, and there are reasons it’s not being shown to us. Do those reasons go beyond “for the sake of narrative?” Is there a reason they’re withholding that information from the audience? I’m really hoping this question has an answer, since I’m already thinking of “the editor” as a character.

Well, that’s all I have for this week! I’ll be sure to do this when the next episode comes out as well, since I love overanalyzing things. In closing, I’d like to go on a discourse to give a very, very special thank you to the Siberia cast and crew who left a comment about my blog post on Twitter. It’s mind-boggling and humbling to think that TV stars are actually reading the ramblings of a fan. So if you’re reading this, thank you. It tells me that you not only care about your fans, but that you care about the show enough to be fans of it yourself.

And if you’re just a fellow Siberia fan, well…thank you as well. And please, absolutely anyone reading this: leave a comment or the like pointing me to other people discussing Siberia. Hell, I encourage you to shamelessly plug your own stuff if you want! I’ll be sure to check them out. I’ll even promote them in my posts if I like them. Like this:

Shayla Heavner is doing some really good breakdowns of the show on her NBC by skh blog.

Just like that! It’s mutually beneficial! You get more views, I get that satisfaction of knowing people are reading my stuff, and we all get more discussion about Siberia. Isn’t that great?

Well, I’ll see you all next week! I’m sure the next episode will be as thrilling as the last!

Writing: Crafting Better Characters

I like writing characters. I personally think I’ve gotten pretty good at it by this point. There’s just something fascinating to me about diving into what makes someone what they are. Unfortunately, because I’ve seen some amateur fiction (including my own early works), I’ve seen a lot of really bad characters. So here are a ten tips that have helped me write characters in the past and general reflections about what does and doesn’t make a good character:

1. Spy and eavesdrop constantly. Chat with strangers.

The best way to make your characters realistic is to base them off of reality. As voyeuristic as it sounds, constantly observing your surroundings is a great way to get a feel for what people are like. Listen to how they talk. What they tell each other when they don’t think anyone is paying attention to their conversations and what they tell people when they’re in the company of more people. If you live in a place where it’s acceptable (e.g., rural America vs. New York City or the entirety of Japan), strike up conversation with strangers, especially people who come from a different area than you. You don’t even have to learn their names. Just get a different perspective. It’s these little bits of life that give you a bigger perspective of people.

2. Virtues lie between two vices.

Every character needs flaws to be interesting. You know that (and if you don’t, you may need some remedial lessons in writing characters). It’s easy to give a character negative traits. But keep in mind that this goes the other way as well. Aristotle believed that a virtue is a point between a deficiency and excess of a trait. In other words, lacking something good is bad (duh), but too much of a good thing can also be a bad thing. What’s more, due to its nature, such a trait can be portrayed as both good and bad at the same time, adding layers of depth to your character and your story.

Here’s an example from a pacifist playing devil’s advocate. Are you familiar with Trigun at all? It’s an anime/manga about an expert gunslinger called Vash the Stampede, who could probably take down the toughest adversaries in one well-placed shot if he wanted. The only issue is that he’s an extreme pacifist and does everything he can to cause as little harm to people as possible. His pacifism is portrayed not as cowardice, but as strength. It would be so much easier to kill his enemies, especially as they’re trying to kill him, but he refuses because of his commitment. However, that same strict pacifism also leaves his body covered in scars, and occasionally puts more people in danger because he’ll try to save everyone instead of simply killing one to save the rest.

Another example, and one maybe more people know, is Superman. Superman is noble, just, pure, and nigh indestructible. In fact, one of his character flaws is that he’s TOO strong. He always has to restrain himself because humans are as frail as bugs to him. Listen to his “World of Cardboard” speech in Justice League Unlimited. Superman’s greatest strengths are also his greatest burdens: he has the power to do anything, but he has to take care to keep that power in check so he doesn’t hurt anyone. He’s a savior of the people, but even he can’t be in two places at the same time and has to pick and choose who to save.

It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as that. Just keep in mind that there are always two extremes. Someone can be a nihilist, or they can be a zealot. They can be rebels, or adhere to rules so closely that it gets in the way of what’s “right.” They can refuse help from anyone, or be totally dependent. Flaws don’t always have to be so clean-cut.

3. Flaws should always have impact.

I’ve heard arguments that Bella Swan from the Twilight Saga is a terrible character because her only real “flaw” is that she’s a bit clumsy at times. Now, this isn’t the place to discuss the merits and flaws of the Twilight Saga (of which there are many of both), but I bring it up because of how Bella’s flaws are presented. Bella can be stubborn to the point of stupidity and trusting to the point of dependency, but we’re shown time and time again that this stubborn attitude of Bella is “right.” She’s clumsy, but it doesn’t affect her much and can arguably be an endearing quirk. The issue isn’t that Bella isn’t flawed. It’s that her flaws don’t matter.

There are a lot of things some writers view as “easy flaws.” Some flaw or vice to give imperfections to an otherwise perfect character. These flaws, however, are not to be derided, since they can work fine. Any flaw is a legitimate flaw, so long as it’s written well. Let’s pick on clumsiness again, since I’ve seen it a few places. People in real life are clumsy. Clumsy people can function in real life as well. But clumsiness does have repercussions. Make those repercussions important to the story. A girl who sometimes trips over her own two feet doesn’t have a flaw. She has a cute and endearing quirk. But that quirk is less cute and endearing when she loses her job waiting tables because she drops a tray of glasses, or when she fumbles the gun as the undead are slowly approaching. Going back to the previous point: Vash’s flaw is that he’s too kindhearted. Superman’s flaw is that he’s too powerful. Someone reading those sentences might scoff at them and say that those are cop-out flaws more fitting of a Mary Sue. However, those traits become legitimate flaws when written correctly.

4. Write characters who don’t share your beliefs, but aren’t strawmen.

One common bit of writing advice is to “write what you know.” This is often interpreted as “write so that whoever reads your work knows who you are as a person.” If you’re writing like that, you’re really restricting yourself. A better phrasing would be “If you don’t know anything about a subject, don’t make a fool of yourself by acting like you do.”

If your characters only believe what you believe, you’re preaching to your audience, whether you mean to or not. If you mean to, go right ahead. The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of Christian allegories, and they’re classics. But unless your story is set in a place where Christianity is the norm, making every character a Christian (save for the atheistic antagonist) just because you’re Christian probably isn’t a good idea. In real life, people are diverse and have mix-and-match views on politics, religion, sexuality, conspiracy theories, and whether or not LOST was an amazing show or overrated and convoluted crap.

Write what you know, but don’t stop there. Expand your knowledge and take a risk. Are you an atheist? Make a protagonist a Muslim! Have strong left-wing views? Maybe your main character’s love interest is a conservative! Don’t base characters’ beliefs on what you believe. Base characters’ beliefs on what they believe. And then? Do your best to make them sympathetic. Giving a character a belief just to have another character ridicule them for it is mean-spirited and sloppy writing. Writing a strawman will gain you no respect from anyone but those who hold the views you’re praising.

This tip, incidentally, will probably help you grow as a person, since it forces you to try to understand the point-of-view of others. Wouldn’t the world be a much nicer place if we could all entertain another’s point of view now and then?

5. What they look like isn’t as important as how they look.

We say that the first impression is always the most important, and that’s true of characters as well as real people. However, when we say that, we’re not talking about just their physical appearance. I’ve seen a lot of people struggle with trying to describe their characters, occasionally trying to detail something as inane as their cheekbones. It might just be me, but I cannot for the life of me remember the last time I looked at someone and noticed their cheekbones. Often times, a person can change much of their appearance just by affecting a different demeanor, just because our personalities and who exactly we are ends up being displayed in how we act. How we carry ourselves. How we move. Telling me the color of someone’s hair or eyes doesn’t tell me anything about them apart from what color their hair and eyes are.

Don’t tell me that he has blue eyes. Instead, tell me that his eyes are piercing, or tired, or shifty, or analytical, or that they have a glimmer of mischief in them. Don’t say she has black hair without telling me how she wears it. Long or short? In a braid or unbound? How deep is his voice, and what tone does he speak in? Does she have a rigid or relaxed posture? When he moves, does he stroll like a cat, or does he prowl like a wolf? Plod like a bull? Trudge like…like some animal that trudges? Does she stand with arms crossed or at her sides? Does he fidget, and if so, how? Yes, you need to paint a picture of what your character looks like. But you only need to make a sketch, not recreate the Mona Lisa. Readers will fill in details on their own. When you introduce a character, tell me who they are. You can always fill in the rest of the information later. Every fan of Harry Potter knows what Draco Malfoy looks like, but in his first appearance, all J.K. Rowling said was that he had a pale, pointed face and a bored, drawling voice. However, through those six words and the boy’s dialogue, she said more about who Draco Malfoy was than an objective physical description ever could.

6. Give them quirks.

It’s the quirks that really set people apart and make them interesting. When you get right down to it, nobody is truly “normal.” Everyone has something that makes them different from most everybody else. Maybe they drink vodka out of a sippy cup. Maybe they cross themselves before and/or after tense/important situations even though they’re not Catholic. Look to real people and be sure to note the little things that set them apart from others (if you have a significant other, these would be that list of things you love about them). Get creative, though not to the point that it gets gimmicky.

Also: quirks aren’t always a good thing. Give them quirks that make them irritating as well as endearing.

7. Fill out a character sheet for a tabletop RPG.

Okay, this one is incredibly nerdy, but bear with me. After all, generally one third of roleplaying games is becoming a character you create (the other two thirds are interacting with a fictional world and rolling dice, meaning that tabletop gaming is actually pretty great for developing your writing skills). Find a character sheet for some game. Dungeons and Dragons, maybe. Maybe for a game with a setting that fits your character’s world a bit better. It doesn’t matter. What this allows you to do is quantify your character’s personality. It’s not something you should swear by since stats are based around gameplay instead of narrative, but rather a way to look at their personality relatively. Figuring out how many points they have in strength, intelligence, dexterity, luck, and the like gives you a good indication of what your character is like.

Also, it’d maybe be a good idea to try to at least partially restrict yourself to the game’s rules on creating characters. Reminds you that your character can’t be the best at everything.

8. Details, details, details!

This one is, in my opinion, the big one, and is really the only important one since everything else is technically a part of it. To write your characters well, you have to know your characters. Everything from what their beliefs are and what motivates them to what their favorite food is and if they can play a musical instrument. Every little detail about someone tells you something about them.

This is perhaps simultaneously the easiest and most difficult part of writing characters. It has to be felt more than learned, but a lot of it is ultimately arbitrary and has to be thought up on the spot. While something as small as what brand of cigarettes your character smokes probably doesn’t matter to the story, knowing the answer helps both you and the reader understand the character just a little better. From what I’ve heard from smokers and people who sell cigarettes, there are stereotypes associated with different brands. If you’re asked the question, the correct answer could be “definitely this brand,” or “I don’t know, maybe this brand,” or “I’m not sure; what do you think?” The answer, however, is never “It doesn’t matter.”

You don’t have to know every little detail about your character. However, you do need to know the big details that the essence of your character is built on. That way, when the question of some small detail arises, you know them well enough to pick an answer easily.

9. Let them off their leash.

Knowing how to answer the question of details concerning your characters is different from knowing every detail about your characters. You cannot know every detail about your characters, and you probably should not know every detail about your characters. That way, there’s both room for interpretation and space for the characters to breathe and take over for you. One of the best (and worst) things that can happen to you is your characters taking on a mind of their own. Best because, when that happens, you know that you’ve successfully created a person and not just a puppet. Worst because they can sometimes screw up your entire plot. But hey, for a character who’s stable enough that they can write themselves, that’s a fairly small price to pay.

10. Become the character.

When professional actors are playing a character, they often start to become the character they’re playing. They act as them both on and off the set. And there’s some of that in writing, too. I’ve often thought that every character you write has a little bit of yourself in them. Now I think the reverse is equally true, if not more so: a little bit of every character you write becomes part of you.

I’m not advocating acting like your characters in your everyday life. In fact, doing so can be downright dangerous (bet you never thought writing could be dangerous!), as I’ve ended up going through a mental breakdown and insomnia along with my character, and I couldn’t for the life of me tell you which one of us was cause and which one was effect. What I am saying is that, as you write a character, your minds should be as one. You think their thoughts. You write with their voice. You feel their emotions.

This is probably the most dangerous advice on the list. Like I said, I’ve had a breakdown right alongside my character, and it’s fairly easy for the character to bleed into real life. But if you can master slipping in and out of characters and actually being who they are, you’ll be allowing them to speak directly.

 

Well, I could definitely come up with some more pretentious advice if I tried to. But for now, that’s a good, solid list of ten points. Good advice? Bad advice? Be sure to let me know! I hope this helps at least someone out!

TV Analysis: Siberia Episodes 1-3

It’s no secret that I’ve been really excited about Siberia lately. And what’s the best thing to do when you get excited about something? That’s right, analyze every little detail of it! And since there’s a lot to analyze about Siberia and I’m also three episodes behind on these analyses, I’m gonna jump right in without much preamble.

Naturally, spoilers will follow.

Episode Recaps

This covers what’s important in each episode. You can maybe skip over this if it bores you or something.

Episode 1

Episode 1 kicks off the series, and there’s not really too much that happens since it’s largely just setup.

It opens with the introduction of the show. Our host tells us and the players that there was a mysterious event that happened about 100 years ago that left the settlement uninhabited. A spooky story, to be sure, and it’s easy to dismiss it as nothing more. We hear that there are “no rules” (probably our first clue that the show’s not real, as “no rules” doesn’t rule out murder and what sort of reality TV show can get away with that?), then the contestants are sent off to reach the settlement, being told that the last two to arrive will be eliminated. Neeko takes the lead, with Johnny following close behind. However, it’s Sabina, who the cameras haven’t even focused on at this point, that gets there first. One of the men (Sam, I think? I can’t remember for sure) comments that Carolina seems familiar for some reason. I don’t know if this is related to the fact that she’s also one of only two cast members (the other being Annie, played by Anne-Marie) to not be using her actual name (Joyce Giraud), but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Esther takes out one of the flags marking the trail.  Berglind and Harpreet attempt to take a shortcut.  Daniel twists his ankle on the trek, and Tommy comes to help him. Everyone else arrives, and it comes down to those two pairs. In the end, it’s Tommy and Daniel who arrive, eliminating Berglind and Harpreet. That bummed me just a little, since it looked like Berglind would have potentially been a major player and she turned up to be not important at all, but what can you do? Boom. They’re out. Down to 14.

This opening sequence established a few things about several of the remaining characters: First, Neeko and Johnny are competitive. Second, Esther is willing to use any advantage she can in the game. Third, some of the characters, including Sabina and Carolina, are probably more than they appear. Finally, Tommy is a team player and the sort of guy who would risk his own status for others. Tommy’s set up to be instantly likable.

The contestants start to get settled. There’s some sexual tension set up between Esther and Miljan. There’s a mysterious roar in the woods at night. The cast finds a shortcut to information about mushrooms, more specifically that there are some here but poisonous until boiled. Daniel finds a three-legged frog in the woods that he describes as “mutated.” Miljan and Irene find a locked shed. A cameraman comes out of the woods bleeding from the head and yelling in Russian. According to Sam, he’s saying something about “I saw them,” though we don’t know the context or how accurate Sam’s translation is. Finally, it’s revealed that Tommy was fatally injured. Basically, he was set up to be likable so it was more of a punch when he died. That brings the number of contestants down to 13. The host tells the contestants that they can either continue playing or go on, take the money and run receive $5,000 if they decide to exit the game.

At the end of the episode, we were left with two main questions: what’s going on, and will Miljan get into Esther’s pants how much does the production team know about it?

Episode 2

In the end, only George decides to leave. Not really surprising that George left, considering how out of focus he had been, and not surprising that not many other people left considering that the show still needs a few redshirts. Anyway, we’re now down to 12.

The remaining contestants find out that there’s a gun hidden somewhere in the woods, and by the time the bulk of contestants get there, it’s been moved from its hiding place. Neeko suspects Johnny. I suspect Sabina, again because she’s too quiet and it’s pretty plain to me that she knows something. Later on, Neeko finds that someone has taken the bullets from him. Again, he blames Johnny. I blame not-Johnny.

Victoria starts picking up a presence in this episode. Unfortunately, that presence is short-lived, because the focus is on the fact that Esther encourages her to eat the unboiled poisonous mushrooms (though she believes it will only get her sick). But we’ll get to that later.

Daniel, meanwhile, is exploring the woods. He finds where the incident involving Tommy was, and discovers a large, strange footprint. He gets lost on the way back and finds Sabina emerging from a cave. What was in there? What was she doing there? Daniel stumbles across a sort of cave painting of men hunting “something big” that has a foot that matches the footprint he found earlier. Night falls, and he and Sabina end up pursued by something—probably the same something the contestants heard roaring that first night? Daniel later states that “when they stopped, it seemed to stop.”

A key is delivered (guarded by a snake), and Miljan automatically decides that the best course of action is to take everyone to the shed he told Irene not to tell everyone about and be the hero. Turns out the shed is full of food. Johnny thinks they should divvy it up and put everyone in charge of their own food. Neeko thinks they should ration it. The two get into a heated argument. Sam steps up, takes Neeko’s side, and ends up being put in charge of rationing the food.

Remember when I said we’d get to Victoria eating the mushrooms later? Well later is now. The mushrooms are apparently hallucinogenic, and Victoria freaks out. She starts seeing visions, and says something about the sky burning with green fire. Esther feels guilty, realizing just how dangerous what she did was, and that her actions are going to have consequences. Victoria’s fine the next day, but decides to leave, bringing the contestants down to 11. Daniel doesn’t buy her flimsy excuse and she privately admits that she remembered her visions, telling him that they’re all going to die. Ominous!

Oh, yeah, and Johnny got part of his finger cut off somewhere in there. But ironically, that’s not too important.

Carolina gained a much stronger presence in this episode, Sabina became even more mysterious, the tension between Neeko and Johnny built, and Daniel was elevated from “probably important” to “possibly the most important character of all,” since he’s the only one actively trying to figure out the mystery. Of course, this does not bode well for Natalie, Annie, or Irene, who’ve barely had any screen time or prominence up until this point and are consequently still very expendable.

This episode also raised a lot of questions. I’ll get to those at the end.

Episode 3

The contestants find a pool and go swimming (with some skinny dipping). The part that surprised me is that Sabina gets a confessional (i.e., a scene where she privately speaks directly to the camera) about it, talking about how pointless it is for them to be playing around like that. I might be wrong, but I think this is the first time she’s spoken directly to the camera.

Early on in this episode, we see some chemistry between Carolina and Johnny, who had been spending a fair amount of time together last episode as well. It also hints at some chemistry between Irene and Daniel, though it’s indicated as being mostly one-sided on Daniel’s part.

Anyway, the food shed burns down. Daniel notices that there should be more bits of glass jar than was in the remains, as well as a lantern, indicating that someone stole some food and burned the shed down. Johnny is furious, demanding that Neeko admit it was a bad idea to ration the food because of what happened. Neeko gives evasive responses, which the others present call him on. After all, he’s not trying to say that hindsight is 20/20 or that they had no way of knowing this would have happened, instead insisting that he “merely suggested” they ration the food.

The contestants get sent a bow and arrow, and Irene is revealed to be pretty good with a bow. Sam attempts to fish and fails, but finds a bracelet with some Russian writing on it (later supposed to be some sort of gift from one lover to another from the dedication (Sam speaks a bit of Russian)). Somewhere in there, Neeko spots a speaker up in a tree. Why he doesn’t investigate is beyond me.

Irene and Johnny hunt deer. Irene kills the deer with one shot, though it survives long enough to run off and make them hunt it down. Irene feels bad about killing it, but Johnny’s a farm boy who’s not bothered by stuff like that. He starts to bleed the deer to prepare it.

Meanwhile, the others spot a tiger and freak out (understandably). When he finds out that Irene and Johnny are hunting and the tiger might be drawn to blood, he risks his life to go after them. Fortunately, all three of them make it back all right and they chow down on venison that night.

That’s when Neeko and Carolina find Johnny’s shirt with a bunch of food from the shed wrapped up and hidden in the woods. They confront Johnny about it, and Johnny refutes the accusations, though he has no alibi to back him up. He stalks off into the woods. Carolina is upset by the whole thing. Neeko stows the food in a hiding place—to keep it safe, of course. Naturally.

The next day, Sabrina finds the tiger in the woods—dead. Mauled by something. We also see a bit of recovered footage of Carolina entering the shed, stealing the food and burning it down. DUN DUN DUUUUUN!

No one was eliminated in this episode, so we’re still at 11 contestants. Irene gained a stronger presence, probably buying her a few episodes for an arc. Unfortunately, we only saw a bit more of Natalie and still barely any of Annie, so their prospects don’t look too good. At this point, they’re the most expendable, followed probably by Miljan, Esther, and/or Sam, who don’t seem to be major players but are probably guaranteed a few more episodes to wrap up their arcs. Right now, I don’t know what to expect of Neeko or Irene’s longevity, since Irene’s only now coming into focus and Neeko seems like he’s being set up for a fall. Either way, I think you can expect Johnny, Carolina, Daniel, and Sabina to be around for the long haul.

And since I’m talking about characters, what all are their roles? What is there to know about them? Let’s discuss them a little bit.

Remaining Characters

Carolina: A pretty well-balanced Latina woman. She seemed to be just another character, but between Sam’s indication that she seems familiar to him and the fact that she was the one who stole the food and burned down the shed, I really don’t know what to expect from her at this point. One of two characters who isn’t using the name of her actress. Definitely a major player at this point, though her longevity on the show depends on what we’ll learn in upcoming episodes.

Johnny: He’s the loose cannon of the group. Self-serving, doesn’t care about getting along with others, etc. Of course, while he’s only looking out for himself, he’s pretty open about it, and it doesn’t seem like he’d go out of his way to sabotage everyone. This leads me to think that most everything he gets framed for, he’s not going to actually be responsible for. Probably a major player, though he could get killed off down the road. If he goes, he definitely won’t quit, since chopping part of his finger off wasn’t enough to deter him.

Daniel: Basically a stereotypical nerd. He looks like the youngest of the cast. He’s sort of the audience surrogate, in that he’s searching for the answers to the questions that we (i.e., both he and us audience members) have. He’s an incredibly valuable asset since he’s shown to be about the only person who’s truly analytical, and shows that brains are going to be just as important as, if not more important than, brawn. Definitely a major player, though his important specific niche and his curiosity lead me to think that he could get killed off at a crucial point. Definitely won’t leave, as he wouldn’t be satisfied leaving without knowing the truth.

Neeko: The man who seized the leadership role in the group. He seems well-suited for a leadership position. He has a pretty good command over most of the group, though Johnny refuses to comply. However, he’s confrontational, doesn’t take too kindly to relinquishing any bit of power, and has issues admitting to any mistakes, making him a bit of a bully. As the leader, he’s curently a major player, though all the tension with his leadership makes me think he’s being set up for a fall. That could either result in his death or quitting after cracking under stress.

Natalie: A sort of peace-loving, “save the whales” type of girl. We’ve finally gotten to see more of her lately (enough to get a bit of her personality), but the fact that she’s not playing any specific role makes her pretty expendable at this point. Not a major player, probably likely to quit.

Sam: A big, muscly auto mechanic. Looks intimidating, and while he seems to be able to keep his temper in check, he’s not exactly the most amiable person. He speaks some Russian, which he learned from his grandmother. He’s currently serving as Neeko’s unofficial second-in-command. He’s getting a fair amount of screen time, but he doesn’t seem like he’ll be particularly crucial in the long run. He’ll be around for a while, but his prospects of making it to the end of the series don’t look good.

Esther: An attractive and headstrong woman who’s willing to use any advantage she has to get ahead in the game. Might be changing her ways after seeing just how dangerous her way of playing the game is to others (i.e., poisoning Victoria).  She’ll be around for a bit yet, but I don’t think she’ll be a player in the long run.

Annie: I’ve barely seen anything of this girl. Um…she has a nose ring? I dunno, unless she becomes really, really prominent next episode, I think she’s pretty much just cannon fodder.

Miljan: This charmer certainly does like the ladies! He’s also proven that he’s kind of underhanded and untrustworthy. But he sure is charming! And he loves the ladies!

Irene: Shy (but attempting to come out of her shell), softhearted, a good shot, and a potential love interest for Daniel. A decent character, but her lack of relevance so far makes me worry for her safety. Her importance could tip either way at this point, but she could easily be built up just to make her death more impactful, or her softness could lead her to quit.

Sabina: We don’t know too much about her, other than that she’s a soldier (info provided in an online bio and possibly in confessionals). What we do know, however, is that she seems to know something. Definitely a major player, but it’ll probably be a few more episodes before we find out what. Also, her name doesn’t have an R in it. Sabina, not Sabrina. It took me three episodes to realize that.

The Mysteries

Anyway, on to the mysteries we’ve been introduced to so far. We’ve got a lot of questions. What is the meaning of [lots of various elements]? What is going on with Sabina? Who has the gun? The bullets? Why did Carolina burn down the food shed? Here are some some questions (in rough order of introduction) and some possible answers:

1. What the heck is going on?

That’s the big question. I think I’ll answer the smaller questions since I don’t think we have the whole picture, but we definitely have pieces of it. I’ll come back to it at the end to see if we can piece it together.

2. How much does the production team know?

At this point, I think they actually know quite a bit. Had they not, they probably would have pulled everyone after Tommy’s death, and definitely would have done so after some of the more mysterious events started occurring. Whatever’s going on, the production crew knows something about it.

3. What’s up with the frog?

Obviously, it’s a mutation of some sort. That sort of thing can happen naturally, but they wouldn’t have included it in the show if it had. All we really need to know is “it’s mutated.” The more important question is why.

4. What’s in the woods?

The first episode introduced a roaring, the second episode introduced a footprint and cave painting, the third introduced something that could kill a tiger. I’m pretty sure these instances are all tied together and that there’s one creature out there in the woods: a creature that’s nothing like anything we know. I’ll creatively dub it “the Creature.” We don’t get a good indication of what it looks like from the cave painting, but the structure of the foot makes it seem somewhat reptilian. It’s also somewhat strange that it stopped whenever Daniel and Sabina stopped, but I’m sure that’ll be answered later. I’m fairly certain, at very least, that this is what’s roaring, what was following them, what was depicted in the painting, and what killed both Tommy and the tiger.

5. Who has the gun? Who has the bullets?

Someone got to the gun before anyone else could. It’s obviously not anyone in that main group. It’s obviously not Esther and Miljan, since they went the wrong way completely and didn’t split up. It could possibly be Johnny or Carolina. Carolina is the more likely candidate after episode 3’s reveal, but I also think that the more likely candidate for the gun is Sabina. She was present when the information came, she knows how to shoot a gun, she’s obviously keeping some things to herself, and the first episode proved that she can get places quickly and without being noticed. However, I don’t think she has the bullets. The most likely candidate for that, in my opinion, is Carolina, in light of episode 3’s reveal.

6. Who made the cave painting?

This is an incredibly good question, and it kind of clashes with some of my later theories. Since the human figures are fighting it with spears, it seems to be quite old. I’ve honestly got no clue on this one apart from the obvious “ancient civilization.”

7. What was the significance of Victoria’s hallucinations?

Well, despite the fact that the hallucinations were obviously prophetic, there’s the vague warning that they were all going to die. Is that a fate they can fight? Is it possible for them to drop out? I don’t know. That one was pretty straightforward, though, and the answer is that they either will die or they can avoid that fate, and there’s really no way to tell which or who will die or survive. The bigger question is what was up with the green flames in the sky. Perhaps this has something to do with the 1908 event (see #13 for details on that).

8. Where did the tiger come from?

Probably from Tiger Village; how the hell do I know? Considering that the show takes place in Siberia and there are Siberian Tigers, I’m guessing it was just part of the natural wildlife. No great mystery.

9. Why is there a speaker in the tree?

There are two answers that I can think of. The first is that it’s put there by production. The second is that it has something to do with the events that happened 100 years prior. I’m thinking the latter, personally.

10. What is the significance of Sam’s bracelet?

I think Sam’s assessment was right, but there’s probably more to it than that. Most notably, it’s dated 1908, the date of the mysterious event that happened 100 years ago. Apart from that, there’s nowhere near enough to go off of right now.

11. What is Sabina hiding?

It’s obvious to me that she’s hiding something. I think she knows more than she’s letting on. I’ve got an idea that she knows at least some of what’s happening and is keeping silent because…well, I don’t know. But it should be obvious that she knows something, and that that something is going to end up being pretty vital.

12. Why did Carolina steal the food and burn the shed down?

Surprisingly, we don’t have to ask who burned down the food shed. Unfortunately, that answer only raises further questions. How did Carolina get in if Sam held the key? Why did she frame Johnny when it seemed that the two had some chemistry? And most importantly, why exactly would she do that? She doesn’t seem to be the type to sabotage things for everyone.  Could she be working with Sam? Is she trying to cause disorder and tension by undermining Neeko’s leadership, humiliating the trust they had in Sam, framing Johnny, and taking everyone’s food away? Is she thinking that’ll get them to leave? And is she really that manipulative?

And finally,

13. What exactly happened 100 years ago?

This is the big one, and probably what the whole show is going to come down to. It’s also one that I actually have a theory for.

The catalyst being talked about by the show is actually a real event in which a powerful explosion that left no crater occurred. At least one eyewitness account describes the sky as being on fire (sound familiar?). The show seems to be building up to giving an explanation for what caused it. There are really two directions the show can go for the explanation: fantasy or sci-fi. I think that either the Creature is a supernatural being that was responsible for the incident, or that the incident was the result of some scientific experiment that had effects on the wildlife, including the three-legged frog and the Creature.

The evidence for the first is mostly that the Creature appears in an old-looking cave drawing, hinting that it predates the incident. The evidence for the latter is some of the indications of human habitation around that time, the possibly atomic nature of the explosion, and the aesthetics of some structures potentially left by the Others Dharma Initiative scientists that I’m suspecting existed. Really, at this point the sci-fi/fantasy scale could tip either way.

That’s what I’ve been getting out of the show so far. I hope this is able to spark some discussion…or at least that someone sees this and points me in the direction of some community discussing this show!