The Resort: "The Disappointment of Time", "A Noxious Toothworm", "Tempus Exhaurire"

August 1, 2022 4:45 PM - Season 1, Episode 1

An anniversary trip puts a marriage to the test when a couple finds themselves embroiled in one of Yucatán’s most bizarre unsolved mysteries. Trailer via Youtube

Noah (William Jackson Harper) and Emma (Cristin Milioti), vacationing at an all-inclusive resort in the Yucatán, stumble upon the lost phone of Sam Lawford (Skyler Gisondo), a college student who disappeared 15 years earlier along with Violet Thompson (Nina Bloomgarden), another guest at the resort.

Also starring Luis Gerardo Méndez, Gabriela Cartol, and Nick Offerman. Episodes 1 & 2 written by Palm Springs' Andy Siara; directed by HIgh Maintenance's Ben Sinclair.

NPR: The characters in 'The Resort' make a visit worth your while
The AV Club: The Resort is a clunky but oddly gripping comedic thriller
Polygon: Peacock’s The Resort gives true-crime enthusiasts what they need: a mirror

Streaming on Peacock: first three episodes available now; new episodes Thursdays.

posted by thecaddy (5 comments total)

Man, I can't remember the last time I had such a good time watching a new show. The cast is stacked, to the point where Nick Offerman's casting is like, "oh, wow, he's in this too?" The pedigree of the writer's room is amazing, the action scenes are nicely competent, and the comedic timing is perfect. There is a bit at the beginning of the second episode that had us laughing so hard we were having trouble breathing.*

Tracking both the 2007 storyline and the 2022 storyline, along with the opening epigraph about time travel, suggests that things are going to get weird. But I really, really like how much the 2022 characters get wrong about what happened fifteen years ago, and if the timelines do wind up connecting, the payoff should be excellent.

*Also, the extremely deft deployment of "estoy caliente:" *chef's kiss*.
posted by thecaddy at 4:48 PM on August 1, 2022

I just now realized this post is actually for the first three episodes, which is great, as we've watched all three and have definite thoughts.

I think, based on the fact that this is written by the writer of Palm Springs, because of the epigraph about time travel, because of the secret book with the hourglass that Violet has, because of the repeated references to clocks and time, etc. that this is going to be some kind of time portal story. My kid also noticed that in one scene, Noah hits a [fruit? / green coconut? don't know, doesn't matter] with a golf club over the fence at Oceana Vista and then in the next scene, Sam's dad is hit by the same kind of [fruit/whatever] that inexplicably comes out of nowhere. His theory is that it is literally the same one.

He thinks Sam and Violet aren't dead/gone, they're through a portal and can be recovered.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:36 AM on August 3, 2022 [2 favorites]

And like Palm Springs: Circles. Everywhere there's circles.
posted by mochapickle at 10:15 AM on August 5, 2022

*Also, the extremely deft deployment of "estoy caliente:" *chef's kiss*.

Just watched Cristin Milioti's recent appearance with Seth Meyers, apparently that line was a bit of improv to make the crew laugh (during breaks, Luis Gerardo Méndez had been teaching her some Spanish not to say, and that phrase was one of them) and it made the final edit.

This show is totally delightful so far, and also definitely agree that there are time loop/displacement shenanigans afoot.
posted by LooseFilter at 10:52 AM on August 5, 2022 [1 favorite]

I’m going to have to give this episode another go, I guess. I got as far into it to when Emma wakes-up in the alt-universe bus, and just lost interest. It was just...dull. And, I loved Lodge 49.
posted by Thorzdad at 9:54 AM on August 6, 2022