These recap reviews are legitimately horrendous.

I just feel really bad now any time I see coffee in a show anywhere because I know you're pulling your hair out about it!

This really annoys me in theory, but I'll admit that half the time Myles shares #EmptyCupAwards videos on Twitter, it just looks like someone holding a cup of coffee to me. Is it possible this issue has driven him so mad that he sees a problem where one doesn't exist?

This is the first I'd seen of him, and I can't really get past my dislike of him. Part of it is the actor (who didn't really make me laugh with any of his deliveries or adlibs throughout the season), and part of it is the character. I HATE his character, his decisions, what a passive-aggressive schmuck he is, and I…

Bichael Jackson!

Totally agree that this was a big improvement, and not coincidentally because the show just did its own thing without relying on the books at all.

I would almost rather the show entirely try to do its own thing using Brakebills and the world of magic as a loose setting, rather than half-assedly take book events and translate them to the small screen. Maybe once they burn through the major book plots (making good progress there!) it'll start to take its own shape…

The first two episodes piqued my interest, so I burned through books 1-2 over the weekend and really liked them. But that's sadly made the series lose a bit of esteem in my eyes, because some of the changes are really taking away from what I enjoyed about the books. A couple examples (minor spoilers to follow):

So…can someone who watched this tell me what the Whispers actually were? Or did they not reveal that before it was cancelled?

The dual-perspective device had some fun payoffs tonight:

You are correct!

I understand what you're saying, I just disagree with it. You think the show so far has been "here is the past, because two people are telling a detective about it." And now that the interrogation is over, why are we seeing anything from the past at all?

That said, it's also possible Noah's book factors into this. Not ruling that out! But the show definitely stands on its own without relying on that being the case.

"The reason we were hearing about the past is to recount the story to the detective."

Honestly not trying to be rude, but I think you're missing the point, at least as the show's presented it thus far.

Brought this up in previous threads, but the framing device isn't storytelling, it's memory. Their disparate memories of the summer are wholly independent from the police interrogation and will continue to drive the show. This was made clear by them continually lying to the detective, with what the viewer sees…

I missed why this episode was called "Goldmine." Anyone? I was expecting it to be called "Uh Oh" when I came to the review!

I'm pretty sure Max *was* watching a more recent horror movie, if that helps - there was a bride doll in the movie too, so it was either Bride of Chucky or Seed of Chucky, I think? Either way, not the original-flavor '80s one.

At the end of the episode, Alison says she drove to the city after the party, but we see her walking at the end of the night still very much on the island. So at the very least there's a part of her memory she didn't share with the investigator.

This is the biggest thing I'm still trying to piece together, and it's something that's keeping me from getting fully on board with the show.