Sugar: Go Home

May 3, 2024 1:41 PM - Season 1, Episode 6

Sugar thinks he's made a break in the case. When a double cross forces him to do the unthinkable, he turns to Melanie and Henry for help.

"Sometimes, a thing is just a thing that happened."

Davy lives. The story of life. Today is a big day. Stallings returns home. A tip-off betrayal. Dobermannagement. A sprung trap and a cornered animal. Bullet time. Cowering in the basement. Bernie shoots the shit with daddy and talks craps. Henry plays doctor. Ruby can't give the game away. John's vision in the mirror.

posted by Molesome (9 comments total)

I can only hope there's another rug under this one that'll get pulled in a more satisfying way.
posted by RakDaddy at 1:43 PM on May 3 [3 favorites]

So it's aliens. Phew. I can keep trusting my instincts.

Now that I know it's aliens I realise that the final strains of the opening credits were a clue - where is that sound effect from originally? Is it The Invaders?
posted by Molesome at 1:45 PM on May 3

Yep. Been waiting for this. Knew it would happen... could've been ghosts, mind control, drugs, a cult... Turns out it's aliens, or sorta alien.
posted by SoberHighland at 5:47 PM on May 3 [1 favorite]

Technically I have it narrowed down to "Aliens or Androids or Genetically-modified Humans from the Future."

I still feel like those flashes of old movies aren't Sugar's memories of seeing films, they're his actual memories. Like he's been trained by dumping a bunch of old movies into his brain. Or he's straight up mentally ill and THINKS those are his memories.

I'm glad they're at least revealing something. I've been worried there would be no answers at all this season.

I'm also glad the reveal isn't "The whole world is a simulation". Probably.

Random note: Now that we have this reveal it would be awesome if he starts having flashes of old Sci-fi alien flicks instead of Film Noir.

Good job show runners putting lots of shots of the full Moon all over the first few episodes to put us on the wrong track.
posted by mmoncur at 6:47 PM on May 3

Well, it didn't piss me off exactly. But I seem to have gone from "I'm enjoying this while I wait for it all to be yanked away" to "eh, well, there's that, I guess."
posted by Naberius at 12:34 PM on May 4

I knew it! Or at least I knew it if they stay with the alien theme.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:32 AM on May 5

My money was on fallen angel.
posted by d-no at 1:49 PM on May 6 [2 favorites]

Love the name drop of 'LA Confidential', suggesting an upcoming sting where Sugar recruits Character Actor James Cromwell to impersonate Jonathan Siegel.

While I am relieved this is turning out to be more than just 'Dream On' without a laugh track, I now desperately want a whole neo-noir detective show like this without any of the alien observer framework but entirely presented using the rotoscoping of the credits for the ENTIRE SHOW.
posted by MarchHare at 4:54 PM on May 7 [2 favorites]

I still feel like those flashes of old movies aren't Sugar's memories of seeing films, they're his actual memories. Like he's been trained by dumping a bunch of old movies into his brain. Or he's straight up mentally ill and THINKS those are his memories.

I was quite surprised to learn on The Watch podcast that the noir film clips were not initially part of the script but something added by the director of the pilot.

Obviously at some point during the writing/rewriting of the rest of the series they were more directly incorporated, but it does make me wonder if there's really no there there.
posted by bcwinters at 6:38 AM on May 8 [1 favorite]